《Cats Failure Box》


 Death and Reassignment

    At about 6 AM in the morning I was just seeing the dawn flow from my window. Technically this is the 6th time I have seen the dawn break. Since the latest factorio update I have dedicated my time to increasing science production by at least 400%. I honestly admit, the task looks grim, I am placing belts when there are not belts. My heart feels like it''s breaking out of the prison that is my chest. The amount of caffeine I have consumed is inhuman, but I have such a high tolerance the light shit lasts minutes. As I look upon the dawn, the light grows brighter. The light grows ever warmer, like it''s taking me into its embrace.


    11 hours later a bad smell was reported to the police. The landlord of the apartment smelled something far nastier than usual. But the landlord was a incredibly busy man. And wanted to kick the tenant off the property. He has already been given notice at least 5 times, but he still remains. Honestly the landlord has given him far too much leniency. The landlord pitted the man as he reminded him of his own son.


    That faith did not last forever, in fact it encouraged him to pay attention to his son''s education. For someone so young being in such a terrible position is unfair and must be rectified, But there are always exceptions to the rule. One must ensure that their children don''t become that exception. When the police came they tried to open the door. It was locked, so after various commands with no effect, they break down the door and entered the lair. The lair was stacked up high with rotting food. Empty containers made the shaky foundation of the most unsettling architecture. The legions of cockroaches were brazen even scaring one of the officers. After preforming basic archeology the officers found a glowing monitor. Well lit by the afternoon dusk of a nearby window. There lied the most monstrous of all beasts. A gremlin crack addict with bone and rib showing proudly through its skin. One might think he died only of starvation but to notice a tower of bowls licked clean beside his desk. Speaking of his desk it was a absolute mess similarly to the rest of the apartment. There were bottles of strange yellow liquid and brown bags. Chip bags, and old fast food containers strewn across the place with the occasional yellow tinted tissue lying around. The computer was actually quite nice and well maintained, a strange sight in such a place. And of course the what was on the monitor, a lovingly crafted base decimated by some unknown foe. With the simple defeat message "Game Finished, You have been defeated. Time played: 99.99.99" could not have painted a better picture.


    A few days later, there was no funeral, there was no will, and of course the main thing left by his untimely demise. A legion of cockroaches that quickly snuffed out a kind old landlord''s business. The body was tossed about, unclaimed for a while. They finally found a family member that completely disowned the body. Which led it to be tossed back and forth a bit more. Before a funeral company, a bit down in the dumps and desperate, decided to take the government compensation for burying such things. The gravestone of the man was a unmarked rough stone.


    <hr>


    When I woke up I found myself drooling onto a marble floor. Sitting myself up and assessing the situation led me to question many things. For one I was just in my apartment a while ago, why exactly am I here. Bit fancy to be a jail cell so I know i was not taken in the night. Although, fancy might mean you have been taken by someone powerful not necessarily the government. A strange man in a black suit suddenly grabs my waist and carries me like a bag of rice. I struggle, to no effect as it seems like my body has little to no muscle mass. Have i always been this weak or is it from these circumstances? Anyways from my struggling the strange man annoyingly bugs. [Hey man why won''t ya make my job easy, a little fish flopping around pisses me off.] I quickly respond [it''s not like I wanted to be here or anything] The man understood my position, and quickly bonked me on the head.


    When I woke up again for the second time today I found myself in a incredibly comfortable chair. There were about 5 other dudes in the room. And a incredibly strange creature at the end of a large board table. The actually quite fancifully dressed creature took a moment to clear its throat. [It finally seems like everyone is here and conscious] it pauses and scans the room with whatever you would call its face. After some form of conformation to whatever its query may be, It continued [I will get straight to the point, I need a cleanup crew to destroy a few things. I am incredibly busy, and a few insignificant things are a bit too expensive to manage. You know I could hire professionals to do the job, but that would be no fun. These things aren''t time sensitive and are not necessarily that important. So I am taking a few insects, you, and giving you a few weapons to let you get to work] After a pause to let everyone think for a bit he asks. [any questions] A man in a cheap suit asks. [what type of weapons are we talking here] The thing thinks for a bit before looking slightly disgusted and responds with. [I was thinking of forcing you to choose a single game from your world to empower yourselves. You even might get more if you do your job well. Of course you have a lot of time to do that job. So making it faster is not better, making it more entertaining is best. Although doing it as quickly as possible might be entertaining in some instances.] I perk up slightly on the mention of choosing a game. I was about to ask something when someone else asked for me. A older gentlemen asks [hmm, what type of games are you talking about. Video game, sports games, board games, you need to specify.] The thing looks softly at the man. Then answers [Well its quite refreshing to have a place get to that point. Most places just have board games, some have card games. That''s actually the point of getting rid of these worlds. They are lazy, and are going to take hundreds of thousands of years to progress to the point of industrialization. They are mistakes and so I am abandoning them. They will die without support, that''s how terrible they are. So leaving them is what I have done, but it''s a bit boring to simply watch your work go down the drain. You need a bit of entertainment to tide over such a long wait.] The thing pauses seemly noticing that he went on a rant. The thing states [As for your question, video games would probably be the most interesting.] The thing has a look of agitation for a moment. Bit strange to notice the facial expression from such a creature of undetermined understanding. But it seems almost instinctual to accept everything the creature says. The thing stands up from his chair if you could call it standing. The way the creature moves quite ethereal in nature, almost like gliding. The thing states [well I mentioned I was busy. So I will allow you to decide what you need to do for yourself. Just state the game you want on your notepad and make sure to choose a good one.] After that he left, I couldn''t even see him move before he was gone.


    Now I have to socialize with a bunch of weird strangers. The sheer idea of that is outrageous, but made worse with the fact that everyone is giving me strange looks. A bigger dude with a fairly toned physique said [hey skeleton, I know you were just dragged in here so i know you don''t know much. Me and the others already discussed this with the creature so we have a fair understanding of what is going on. I don''t want to ah, repeat too much so I will give ya a simple explanation. So basically your dead, and taken from your world to work for the thing that just left.] The man waited a bit to let that fact sink in and sink it did. I am dead, I thought this was some sort of punishment for my terrible decisions but to think it was to this extent. It must be a dream... Before I could pinch myself a young child pinched me before saying [yeah, lot of us were like that at first. Honestly I think its exciting, definitely better than my old life. It also replicates some of my favorite shows so it''s absolutely surreal.] The toned man continues after the child''s statement [yea... anyways, we decided since this is a new life we are just going to call each other nicknames, currently I''m Rook] he points to the old man [That dudes named Blackjack, it might be better for him to explain himself.] The old man apparently named Blackjack straightens his back proudly. He explained [it has been my nickname on the internet for years and I could not bare to see its history lost] I feel a bit of hypocrisy and suggest [isn''t the point of this nickname thing to get away from the past] The old man brazenly states [Ah well, maybe you should judge every else''s before you judge mine.] He points at a pale teenager at the corner of the room. [I mean his nickname is Darkhare] the teenager mumbles a bit before saying In a somewhat hard to hear voice [ah.. well... the reason for the name is two things. One is that the darkness represents my life and the current void that it''s in. And two is that I quite like hare as a name and a animal. I always wanted a bunny for a pet, but the doctor said I might hurt it. Quite a terrible thing actually, overheard my parents talking with him about it] the seemingly disturbed teenager takes a bit of time to think before looking at the child and stating [That young one over there decided his name would be Lord] The child looks somewhat embarrassed before saying [There isn''t much behind the name, just thought it would be nice] the old man Blackjack pointed out [oh really, you weren''t saying that earlier] a man in a cheap suit looked harshly at Blackjack and said [come on gramps, don''t give the kid a hard time] Lord, gladly finding opportunity stated [well that kind gentlemen is named David] The gentleman In question adjusts his suit and says [The name is my real name, thing is I lived most of my life using fake foraged identities. So I thought it most fitting to use my real name since it did not get that much rust in my past life. The only people who knew my name were my boss and my mother. And of course everyone here now] after thinking for a bit he adds [maybe also that creature thing that left earlier] Rook, having waited for everyone''s introductions, states [So yes, everyone has introduced themselves, so you probably get the nicknames. Most importantly what exactly should your name be] Thinking for a bit I come to the conclusion that I am probably creativity bankrupted. Jared, Darkstar, Catofdoom, Dogofruffness, HentieLover89, Killmonger, FacMusGrow, all terrible... terrible... names. I ask [do any of you have any suggestions] Blackjack responds [is it really that difficult, ah, don''t answer, maybe your brain has been mulched In your past life] Rook suggests [Maybe something to do with your looks.] With a bit of a snide remark under his breath [I''m going to need to teach you a bit about physical wellbeing ain''t i.] Darkhare calmly suggests [Rooks idea is quite nice. I''m sorry to say but you look like a crack addict. With your skeleton showing you probably died of starvation or something, so maybe something like darklich or...] before Darkhare could continue David suggests [how about Crack Skelly I mean that''s kinda how we already called him.] Lord counteracts [but that''s two words, we all have names with one so it''s a bit strange] I decided to stop this embarrassment and just say [I am going to go with Skelly] Rook nodded and said [Well since that''s settled let''s decided on our games. Personally I have already decided on halo so what about all of you] Blackjack bitterly said [shouldn''t we be thinking about this more strategically. I mean this is going to be our new life for quite a while] Rook defends himself by saying [Well, I say we should choose our favorite games first. This will also allow us to figure out the system first before thinking strategically] Blackjack chides, [Well, well, that''s if it actually functions how we think it does. I think we can reach a compromise here. Any game that involves nonviolent elements are off the table. We are here to destroy a world, not consult them.] Well Rook pauses to think on the statement. Lord speaks up [Well if we do something like a dating sim couldn''t we just date someone and push a country into disarray.] Blackiack states without pause [what''s faster, putting a bullet in a broads skull or meticulously planing from inside a country. We don''t have PR we just need to go there and pull the trigger] David steps in and references his experience [Well it depends, if a government is designed in a way to easily patch essential personnel it''s like cutting off a lizards tail. Although the lizard is weaker, once the tail grows back he will have experience. But anyways shouldn''t we just go with rooks idea. Even if one of our choices doesn''t work the thing said we don''t have a deadline.] Rook reinforces and diverts the conversation [yes, david has good point, I have chosen halo what about you Skelly] As everyone looks at me I have to consider what to do. Factorio is a good option as I have been on a factorio binge before my death. But I''m not really sure to say that''s it''s my most favorite game of all time. But really, since it''s the first thing that came up I''ll just go with that. [I will go with factorio as it''s quite a good game] Blackjack pipes up [well if we are not going to think through our decisions. I will go with my favorite game, runescape, what about all of you.] Blackhare responds [I will go with command and conquer as i have not played any games really and it was one I wanted to play for the longest time]


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Now begins a pause well everyone looks around...


    Rook points at Lord and asks [well if nobody''s going to continue I''m gonna have to force everyone like a teacher. Lord what game do you choose] Lord fidgets before saying [I don''t really know, how about we see David''s game first] Rook looks a David and David reluctantly responds [well compared to all of you I have lived most of my life away from entertainment. I have no idea what video games are even popular. So how about you choose a game for me] i think for a bit before coming to the conclusion, mount and blade Warband, a army sandbox game that could have enough general features for David. I begin [how about...] Lord cuts me of and says [you should go with hitman as that''s your profession right] David responds confusingly [they really make games out of that type of thing, it ain''t pretty. Anyways, no, I want to get away from that type of thing.] Blackjack snidely interjects [Well how about we go with little Lords idea of a dating sim. That way we would know about the features of such a thing well everyone else goes with a combat role.] David rolls his eyes and says [That type of thing is probably gross. I wouldn''t be the man to ever accept doing such a thing] Blackjack offended, sarcastically says [What, you don''t want the chance to court every woman in a entire world.] David at this point is visibly frustrated from the suggestions, I take the opportunity to present my ideas, maybe with a thing added on. [Well how about a general sandbox game like mount and blade, or minecraft.] David not really even paying attention to what i said states [yea, mount and blade sounds good, now stop yapping especially that old fox] after that statement and a fairly long pause as we all looked at Lord. Lord fidgets in his chair for a while before finally saying [I have decided, I will go with the game long live the queen] no-one really showed a reaction to the choice. Blackjack looked at Lord in a incredibly judgemental way, but that''s how he reacts to most things from what I can tell. After everyone said their piece it was quiet for a while.


    A creature came into the room to take our notepads and gave us a packet. This packet showed in bold letters at the top Mission 1 Details. Reading the packet It shows general information on the mission. Apparently the world we are going to has 1 planet and no moons. 3 current races are currently alive in the world. One race, the wood elves, are currently in supremacy over the other races. Apparently there were about 15 races but the wood elves drove the others to extinction. The purpose of the world was a experiment on conflict. The world was designed around rebellion and a constant change in the overlord race. The idea was that the constant teardowns would promote progress. But really what happened was that one race got ahead and would design the world toward their preference. There was a few times forceful intervention was put into place, but it turned around to wood elves just taking back the position. It was chosen because 1: The overlord is not used to war, and only are used to dealing with the weak slave races 2: the slave races are a perfect opportunity to demonstrate fodder. After I was done reading there was a flash of disorienting light.

 3rd Awakening

    When I came about I was laying on a fairly rocky bit of terrain. Sitting up and gaining my bearings I observe my surroundings. I landed in a fairly bleak island with few trees and a fairly large sand bank. My mind throbs like I had a incredibly bad hangover causing me to sit back down. Taking it slow I feel a few things that have not been there before. It''s actually quite hard to describe. Like a feeling that feels like it''s always been there, but you completely understand it hasn''t. Closing my eyes and focusing on this strange feeling, I began seeing a incredibly thin creature. Startled I open my eyes only to notice that the place the creature was siting was fairly similar to where I am currently siting. Closing my eyes again reveals the creature, but this time I decided to swing my left arm. The creature swings his right arm confirming not only that I am the creature, but I now have a mirrored top down perspective. I know the others called me a skeleton but I''m surprised they actually treated me as human. But since this feature is probably a video game based feature I zoom out. Now the skeleton is a small pathetic creature under my view. I take a bit to admire the ugly beauty of the island. The rocky place I woke up is a small hill like fixture with strange spikes coming out the ground. This area has 4 tree like things with some form of fruit. After this hill is just more fairly sharp rocks, dirt, and brush until the beach. This in-between area has a few shrubs and some sort of bird like species making their nests. The beach itself is full of round blue slimes, quite stereotypical, but what exactly did I expect. My Associates are split of doing their own things. Blackjack is on the beaches beating slimes to death with his bear hands. I almost had to do a double take with the image of a old man one sidedly beating a beanbag like creature. With the creature fighting for dear life it paints quite the terrifying image. I also notice a little stash of all the things he has collected. With litte round orb like things that are probably magic stones. The sand is baked with slime fluid which I guess is a form of blood. With a flash of light another slime apparently spawns. Only to be beaten with a driftwood club by David. I thought he wanted to abandon his violent life but, well, warband is quite a violent game isn''t it. Ignoring my mistake I find Lord and Darkhare moping around near some birds. Lord looks to be attempting to capture one of the birds well Darkhare rests and teases Lord a bit. I don''t really know the full story, but it looks like darkhare is a lot happier than my short time with him in the meeting hall. He must have had a really tough life if this deary island is better. Although it could just be teenage angst, even I have lied a few times to promote pity during those years. Rook is currently looking down standing on top of one of the spines on the top of the island. He seems to be doing some sort of weightlifting or something like that. Opening my eyes I am immediately disorientated with a quezzy feeling in my stomach. Staying still for a while I fought back the feeling and finally got up. Since my body is that of a reanimated flesh skeleton it was quite difficult.


    Slowly I reach the edge of the spire that Rook was atop and called up [hey, "wheese" Rook, "huff" how long was I out] Rook was staring at me for a while now with a extreme look of pity. But now I''m near his spire he jump down from the 19'' foot tall spike right next to me. I almost had a heart attack as I was spooked to the ground with a tad bit of shrapnel painfully scratching me. Being on the ground is probably better for me anyways, but as I was pitying myself Rook said [Well you have been out for about a day or two, it seems time flows differently in between worlds. Actually David and Blackjack got here first 7 days ago so if you consider that I guess 9 days.] I respond [so you got here two days ago? How''s your halo superpower or whatever] Rook states explaines frustratingly [My superpower is strange as it''s somewhat a flat buff. It provides me with a sheild and super-strength and that''s about it. What strangest is that I can''t seem to build muscle anymore.] I respond curiously [Why were you weightlifting then if it does not really do anything.] Rook responds frankly [I used to exercise as a form of stress relief, so I guess it''s a habit more than anything.] Suprising, I thought he was some sort of athlete or something. Letting him know my thoughts I say [I thought you exercised for a living, what job did ya do to gain so much stress] Rook thinks for a bit, seemingly mulling over if he should say so or not. He then decides responding with [It Actually has to do with my death. I work as a aerospace engineer and was working on a missile artillery system for a goverment contract. There was a unfortunate and, painful, misfire. You could probably get it from that.] Rook looks somewhat cleansed, before continuing on about exercise [But anyways it seems like my powers grant me a form of superstrengh and increased agility. Although it seems like I can''t do anything anymore. No matter how hard or how much weight I lift I never get stronger or even get a burn.] I try and find a solution to my partners problem. But first I ask about how exactly he knows all of this. [You know muscle growth doesn''t happen over night. How would you know this over two days] Rook accepts the question with a acceptable answer [I weightlifted till my muscles where torn and when I stopped I was neither weaker nor stronger. I actually did it until my sheilds were down, and my body seemingly regenerated back to the same state. So I concluded that I could not change myself] I question [So the sheilds don''t just counter external threats, they mess with internals as well?] Rook kindly answers my question [Yea, I mean I think you should look at the powers from the perspective of pure mechanics. In lore it might have been a literal sheild but in this reality and in the game it was just a regenerating health pool that nothing could get past. Think of me as a first person shooter protagonist without the guns. I can probably take quite a few hits and might have a few superpowers, but I''m not much just by myself.] Ok so he seems to be weak, although he probably has quite a will to be doing this for so long. I ask him [what are ya planning on doing if you can''t really do anything] Rook nodded, although he had a slight look of irritation from the question. [honestly I was waiting for you, I know factorio has some guns you can create so getting those is the next step to power.] Rook looks a bit shifty before asking [anyways so how is your powers chugging along] I honestly, and bluntly, reply [I just got here so I used some sort of top down camera thing] Rook frustrated, states [well get to it, or are you going to be more of a deadweight than lord.] I question [lord? I know Blackjack gave him quite the stern look, but is that game really that terrible] Rook responds snidely [Blackjack was absolutely right, lord gains power once every week and the power gained is pathetic. Right now he quickly understood this so he is just messing around, a deadweight. If we were not under contract from some mysterious being I might have done something about that. Although since I can''t weightlift that probably means others can''t as well. So Skelly you should probably try and find a method to walk around. Because I''m not willing to carry you.] With that Rook finally exits the conversation walking down the hill. Thinking about it Rook might not be as nice as a first thought. Or maybe it''s just that he is the type of guy to talk behind someone''s back. Nonetheless, if he is willing to go to such lengths for lord; how much would he go for a pseudo-cripple? If he actually acts on those actions, anyway, Now back to being alone.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    <hr>


    Lying down on the ground for a moment makes me think a bit about what exactly went wrong. I may have been a bit dense at first but it really seems like I am weak. I have never in my life been this hopeless and alone... scratch the last part, I have been alone for most of my life. Maybe being barely able to function may highlight those types of things. Insecurities perhaps, anyway, what exactly made me so weak. I never really cared for exercise so that is probably a factor. Thinking about it I have not really been outside my apartment in months. I''m a bit surprised that I am not immediately burning to a crisp in this island habitat. But that might just be something to do with how Rook can''t exercise. I wonder if our body''s are paused, or made of magic. Magic might be a interesting thing to look into. Although you would need to choose a game with those types of things. Actually how exactly does my weird game powers work. I have only really played with the camera a bit so I don''t really know if I can be useful. Focusing on the same strange feeling that offered me camera abilitys I try to do something different. In factorio I should be able to mine things so I try and mine my surroundings. Looking around It seems like there is nothing obvious to mine like a node or anything like that. So I decided to just try and mine the ground maybe it will work. Focusing on the ground I give myself the command of digging the ground. It was actually quite strange, to watch myself punch and claw at the ground without my input. A small bar at the bottom of where I was digging appears slowly raising. It was pitifully slow raising almost 1% each minute. At the 30 min mark I started to feel pain in my hands. Actually not necessarily started so to say, more like a slow rising throbing sort of pain. Since its going to take a few hours before the bar completes it''s starting to get quite boring. Looking at what the others are doing, they are doing mostly the same things as when I first got here. Although Rook is exercising at the beach rather than where I am. And Darkhare is taking a nap well Lord is collecting sticks for some reason. Focusing on lord for a while he seems to be trying to make a trap of sorts, I am guessing for the birds. But it is quite funny to see him constantly fail at making it. Especially when he tries to test them. One of the more recent traps was a box trap like you would see in a cartoon. The trap had a bait of fruit from one of the trees and a large stick keeping it open. A bird decided to try and eat the fruit, so it just used its large Beak to snach the fruit from the trap. The look on Lords face was quite amusing. Although I''m slowly getting more and more distracted by this growing pain coming up from mining. It''s actually getting to a point of complete annoyance. Looking back at the progress for the mining I see 95% so only about 5 minutes left until I can end this suffering. I spend the next 5 minutes just focusing on the pain. I feel it in my hands mostly but my entire body is currently in pain. I feel increasingly exhausted thinking about it. And with a unceremonious +1 obsidian I finally got something from mining.


    Coming back into my body the first thing I saw was incredibly brused and scarred hands. I realize that I was basically punching a smooth bit of rock for almost 2 hours. Thinking about it, this rocky bit of the island is full of sharp spikes and obsidian. If I am not paying attention when I do this sort of thing I might get hurt. But ah, what exactly will I do with a piece of obsidian. Technically it''s a stone, 5 stones in factorio make a furnace. But does that mean I will have to be out here for a few days to get enough for just a simple furnace. Not only will it take days, my hands are ruined with the acquisition of one simple piece of stone. Frustrated I open up the top down perspective to try and find the crafting menu. Similarly to how mining works it popped up after focusing on it. Looking though the menu the first thing I notice is that everything is a lot more complicated. Water pumps need a pumping mechanism. Boilers need a boiling chamber and a few other knick knacks. The furnace apparently just needs stone although the price is raised to about 30 pieces. Looking at the part section I see that all the parts have "any material" next to them. One of them "rods" only needs one piece of material. Out of curiosity I decided to make a rod out of the piece of obsidian I currently own. After a symbol pops up representing a crafting queue it was gone right after I noticed it. It seems like mining and whatnot has changed but the crafting system has not really. Assuming I have a inventory I open it and see a symbol representing 2 obsidian rods. Taking them out I "drag" the rods to somewhere close to me. Hearing a bit of a thump I return to my body to find the rods laying where I left them. Picking up one of the rods they are quite heavy. To the point that can barely lift them with my scrawny arms. I decided to try mining again with the rod to see if it''s more efficient. Commanding myself to mine again the progress bar quickly fills up. It took about 30 seconds for my mining to be successful. With such a increase in efficiency I decided to mine for the rest of the day.

 Prospecting

    Mining, quite a boring thing to do, especially if most of the process is automated. Especially if you don''t manipulate the world so the pleasure of slowly chipping away at something does not exist. I mean all I''m doing is slamming my obsidian rod into things until a get a notification, It''s actually making me quite sleepy. As I hazily slap my rod, it snaps in two, something that has surprisingly happened a few times already. Because of my sleepiness I trip over as it snaps giving me a face full of stone. Ahh pain, it may become a dear friend at the rate I''m collecting injures. Although it''s quite strange that I''m still able to move after treating my body like shit. No matter how many injuries I get, I am still able to move my body just fine. It''s even making me rethink a few things about Rook. If he gets the same benefits "I" do he is not really as strong as I thought. Thinking about it, it''s still somewhat admirable to fight through such a pain. A bit weird to do it purposely with no real benefit. What I am doing HAS actual benefit, I get a massive amount of stone that I can do... eh.. stuff with. You know what, I can make myself a fortress with a large spire so I can look down upon everyone else and pity them for not having a huge spire. Technically wasn''t that what Rook was doing? I should probably do that, might make me feel better. I suddenly slap myself in the face to get away from daydreaming, and to wake me up a bit. I look at my inventory to see how much stone I have, "367" not bad, not bad. About 12 furnaces worth of stone. Enough to do whatever furnace type thing I want to do. Maybe even enough to maximize a line. Well actually when it comes to that I don''t really know how fast the conveyer belts go. So such things can''t really be applied yet. Thinking of conveyor belts, I look at the crafting recipe for it: 2 energy sources, 6 plates, 8 gears, and 2 pieces of support material. I''m not really sure how exactly to get a energy source, make a few steam engines? I know in the game you almost immediately make steam engines but I feel in this environment it should be a bit slower. Since i need such things, I immediately look at the ingredients for a boiler: 2 pipes, 1 boiler chamber, 1 burner chamber, and 5 pieces of support material. Also I check the recipe for the engine itself which is: 3 pistons, 3 steam chambers, 1 gear box, 1 generator, 1 turbine, 6 gears, 16 pipes, and 20 pieces of support material. Finally I checked the recipe for the water pump: 2 glassy material, 2 rubbery material, 3 pipes, 2 rods, 1 piston, 3 conductive wires, and 5 pieces of support material. Looking at these things I feel like I am getting ahead of myself. Like how exactly am I even going to get conductive material, or even a rubbery type of material. I have not found any metals when mining around so nothing of that sort. A rubbery material might be made from tree sap or something like that, but what are the chances we have that specific breed of tree on this island. Nonetheless I need to increase the range of materials at my disposal and a tree seems like a easy start.


    Walking towards the tree is a bit easier since I have a obsidian Walking stick. It''s heavy as all hell but better than nothing I suppose. Well actually It might be worse than nothing but I''m too stubborn to stop now. As I get to the tree I finally get to see the thing up close. It''s bark is tropical in nature so it easily peels off. It''s fruit is spiked like a pineapple but instead of a vibrant yellow. The fruit is mainly grey with blue frills on the end of its spikes. Being a fair bit hungry I try to pick the fruit from the tree but as I do so the frills suck into my hands stabing my flesh. I suddenly feel a absurd draining sensation. As my vision gets blurry a figure steps up and smacks the fruit out of my hands getting blood everywhere. Pushed to the ground I start feeling absurdly tired and weak so I decide to take a nap.


    I wake up in almost pitch black nothingness I can''t really see much other than some flickering light a bit of a ways away. Getting up I notice that my hand has been miraculously healed. And not only my hand all the bruises and scratches I collected are gone. Quite rude to whoever stole them but I guess it''s somewhat helpful. Wandering towards light I start to notice that it''s a campfire with 5 figures around it talking and whatnot. Noticing I am awake one of them, I think David, waves me over to sit by him. They seem to be siting on logs like a proper campsite. Sitting down I enter a conversation half way through. [You know lord if you know how to make traps you should be able to make a net] Lord angerly states [what? there''s no real grass on this lowsy island what do you think I would make the net out of] Blackjack responds [you are being uncreative, you know there is a whole world out there and you are limiting yourself to just this island] Lord reputed snarkly [what do you want us to do? Make a boat?] Blackjack replys seriously [we are going to have to make a boat at some point, But what I meant was that there is seaweed growing nearby. You could easily swim down there and take the darn stuff.] Lord reputes [Blackjack, you know seaweed is not really the thing to use for stuff like that. How about you give me some of your rope. such a thing would probably be the easiest solution.] Blackjack suddenly noticed me, it''s questionable if he is trying to avoid the current conversation or not, but he states [Skelly, man of the hour, can you tell me if those stone rods are yours by chance] I tell him honestly [yes those rods are from my power.] I decide to go straight to the point [what exactly do you want] Blackjack rubs his hands together for a brief moment before saying [Well, well, it''s all coming together, with your crafting skills we can finally start making progress. My skill needs tools and workstations in order to function. Things I can''t find myself, or really make, as not much of use is on the island. So Skelly what things do you need to empower yourself.] Mulling over Blackjacks offer I feel a bit suspicious. But I say what I need anyway [I need 1. a conductive metal, 2. A rubbery substance, and 3. A Glassy substance.] Blackjacks eyes brighten up and he summons a object to his hand. [You know Skelly what about gold] Blackjack then has a look of inspiration, instead of just throwing a gold coin he also threw a strange strand of blue rope over to me. The gold coin is fairly stereotypical, but the rope has a similar texture to silicone gel almost perfect for what I need. Blackjack motions to the silicone [eat it]. Reluctantly I decide to take a bite only to be pleasantly surprised. It''s incredibly tough so I can''t really bite through it, but tastes like blue Liquorice. I give my appreciation for such gifts [Blackjack, this is exactly what I needed. I will try to figure out how to make your workstations as quick as possible.] Blackjack nods smugly well Lord and Rook looked fairly frustrated. Blackjack went in for the kill [I will give you these things on the condition that I will be the only one who will get your items] I quickly respond [Well Blackjack what you offer is nice but what about group cohesion, we will need to find a better middle ground.] I intend to at least be able to service Darkhare and Lord, bit questionable when it comes to Rook though. Rook sarcastically adds [Yes, Blackjack, why do you want to separate the group in such a way.] Rook stands up from his chair and puts a hand on my shoulder, startling me a bit. He tries to look intimidating before saying [how about we just go our separate ways, and let bygones be bygones] Blackjack says in a fairly grave tone [Rook... Put your hand off the Asset] as Blackjack and David start to rise out of their chairs. Rook takes me under his shoulder and starts to book it, saying [Little Skelly! Blackjack already thinks of you as property!] I respond justly [do you really think this is a good way to get me to your side? Kidnapping me and convincing me afterwords!] Rook replys in jest [well you better get comfortable, as I''m getting what I want no matter your wants!] I try to peer through the darkness to figure out if Blackjack and David are coming. Well shit, i can''t see a dam thing, and their footsteps are getting distant. Since it seems grim, I begin to struggle violently and start summoning obsidian sticks to jab Rook with. With the disposition of being pricked like a mosquito Rook slaps my head knocking me out for the 4th fucking time today.


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    <hr>


    I once again wake up only to find myself tied down with blue silicone rope in a fairly dark cave. There is only one lightsource I can barely make out. With Rook nowhere to be found I put my slowly building rage towards flailing about a bit. After I get tired and calm down I start thinking about weapons. Particularly because it seems I need something to defend myself. Looking up a gun in the crafting menu I can make a pistol using, 1 metal plate, 1 metal rod, and 1 piece of material. Looking at bullets I need 1 piece of material, and 1 propellant for caseless amunition, or 1 metal plate, 1 piece of material, and 1 propellant for cased amunition. There does not seem to be a option to build a gun that uses specifically either so I assume the pistol uses both. Looking at this menu is once again a sign of avarice. I have no real idea about where to get these things and the convenience of Blackjack has been taken away from me. Something I wonder is, if I didn''t try to argue and upsell with Blackjack, would Rook have not took me from the camp or wherever I was. But, more importantly, I have no real idea where on the island that is. I did not even have time to get my bearings before being taken again. I was there for at least a minumum of a minute or 2 so I had no real time to ask questions. Really I''m not the type of person to be active in a conversation so maybe I would have not done anything. I should probably figure out how to escape this current situation first before looking at water under the bridge. Desperately, I look for anything In the menu that could help my situation. The machine section has things that are way to expensive so I go immediately to the parts section. A lot of things in this section are blanked out leaving only 2 parts that could be made, that being rods and gears. Looking back at the military section there is nothing that could be made. Although I do notice a rifle being there, rifles require basic military research in the game so having that Is quite strange. This system seems to be a absurdly butchered version of the main product, which is kinda confusing as rooks system seems to be stupidly literal. Should we call it a system? Or should we call it powers? It seems like people are calling it powers so It might be fine to just go with that. Well I guess I don''t really have anything to do. I could take a nap I guess, wait for whatever Rook wants to do with me. I wish I had a knife or any other tool really. Once I get out I guess I could make a knife, fracture obsidian till you get a good bit, sharpen the pointy end, wrap it in blue rope.


    [Research unlocked simple recipe "obsidian knifes" progress 1%]


    What? So I can just make recipes, how does It work? I have not actually really looked at the research menu so I will go check that real quick. The menu was blank with only the obsidian knife recipe being displayed in the current research slot. The menu has no real way of telling how I actually unlocked or created it. Is it simply just because I thought of knifes. Obsidian knifes. obsidian knifes.. obsidian knifes? Maybe it''s thinking about how to make the knife. So if I would make a proper dagger, I would have 2 wooden plates that I would connect to a knife piece. The knife itself would be made out of a obsidian rod with one end cut flat for the plates. With a perfect point to rod it makes it a perfect stabbing dagger. The knife would have no sharp edge just a well made sharp point. As I have no training with daggers this makes the dagger quite effective. Anyone knows how to stab something, and a dagger made to stab can easily pierce through armor. Although I am not sure if it would be effective enough to stab Rook, It will be a interesting experience to try.


    [Basic recipe "Obsidian Knifes" has progressed by 14%]


    [Unlocked prototyping for the recipe "Obsidian Knifes"]


    So that seems to work, but now I have a new feature just as I somewhat figured out how Reaserch works. Prototyping eh, it does not actually exist in the base game so I have no idea where this came from. My first thought is to look in crafting menu to try and find what may have been unlocked. Looking at the parts section I find obsidian knife piece 1 and obsidian knife piece 2. 1 simply requires a piece of obsidian to make 6 knife pieces well 2 needs 1 obsidian rod to make 3 knife pieces. I craft obsidian knife piece 1 and summon one of them into my hand, and start cutting at the rope. Since its the knife part and not the finished product I feel the knife slowly cut my hand a bit well working. Cutting away my bindings I gain my freedom. Standing up and stretching I find that my hand is actually quite bloody. Putting the knife piece back into my inventory I sit down on the pile of blue rope. My hand is fairly bloody so I need to do something about that before I take another forced nap. What exactly healed me back at the camp? In factorio you would be able to heal from eating raw fish. But they couldn''t have force fed me, would they? No. I think factorio has a automatic regen mechanic so that might be it. Well anyways I don''t want to wait so I do need to eat something. I look around only to remember that the rope I was tied with is somewhat edible. Standing up I put the rope into my inventory, only to realize that I probably could have done that from the beginning. Trying to simmer down the rage building up from realizing such a mistake I take out a small bit of rope to chew. My hand heals at a slow pace making me somewhat frustrated. After waiting a bit the wound is fully healed although the blood is still covering my hands and a bit of it has already caked over. I remember being fairly clean when I woke up at camp so I guess one of them cleaned the wound which is quite nice. I do stop to realize the absurdity of magicly healing myself. I have been ridiculously reckless the last few days haven''t I... wait it has only really been one day. Maybe because I have been basically meandering this entire time I did not really pay attention. Technically shouldn''t I be thinking in terms of it being a fairly short amount of time? I have blacked out quite a few times already, so the amount of time spent awake should be less than a day. I have really wasted my time, I should have been more active in trying to figure out how to survive. I am in the middle of nowhere in some weird elf world... I... I should have had better priorities. I should have made a furnace once I had enough resources to do so. Then experimented with that, make everything I can possibly make with stone. Dig trees, dig fish, I have a weird form of telekinesis through my inventory, figure out what I can pick up with it. Technically I have a 3rd person perspective I could use that a lot more efficiently. If I figured out the prototyping system sooner. I could have made plenty of weapons to defend myself. I wouldn''t have just been carried by the scruff like a weak little kitten. I should not trust my Associates even though we were hired, no forced, to do this. They are not allies, nor coworkers, they are a free anarchistic people, and should be dealt with as such.

 Prospecting P2

    Wandering around, I discover that there is an entire cave complex under the island. Rook seems to patrol the upper levels of the caves so I went deeper down. The bastard seems to be preoccupied with some sort of drama aboveland and I am a bit cautious about sneaking past him. Technically the level I am at is quite nice anyway so I will just hide down here for a bit. There is a fair amount of scalding steam which was incredibly painful, but I slowly got used to it. There are literal pools of lava in the floor below me so I would probably die if I go down there. It''s almost amazing that I''m not dead yet, with my skin steamed to all hell I do look kinda like a fallout ghoul. Which honestly defines my looks a hell of alot more than Skelly. The Caves seem to be somewhat populated mostly with strange fantasy like creatures, well not all strange. For example there is a slime like creature, but of the fire variant of the one above ground. They spit molten slag at you so they are a lot more dangerous than the surface slimes although i can tell they are at the bottom of the food chain, slime blood cakes the ground. Noticing a slime I try to sneak behind it, I''m not really sure if it''s working as they don''t really have eyes, but as a trail behind them they suddenly get attacked. A sort of fish that "swims¡± through the air assaults my poor companion. They look a tad bit eel-like and hunt slimes through a sort of frog tongue. The tongue shoots out and sticks to slimes, then slowly drinks the slime''s blood. The slime tries to defend itself but it does not seem like molten slag really affects the creatures. Sometimes they fall to the ground only to shake the stuff off like water. After the slime is eaten, drank? They swallow the core and put it into their cheeks like chipmunks. They are quite small and once I showed myself they were easily frightened by me, to the point that they are actually a tad bit cute. It really makes me pity the slimes however, not only do they easily get beaten by old men, even when they are special they are put into a situation where it''s useless. I know that god created this world, so what exactly did the ah.. Thing have against goop creatures. Maybe I should be thinking from a design perspective. The goop is a easy way to feed the eel.. Things.. And maybe the ah.. Slag powers are to kill.. things. Actually maybe I should not question god and his great, ¡°creativity¡±, would that be blasphemy? If I am sent here by God, am a holy son of sorts.. Kinda.. I was sent here to kill people so I can''t really abuse it. People would probably call me a demon more than anything, especially rook. Rook is a fairly, em, Large man, that can take many bullets without breaking a sweat. How exactly do I hurt a man like that? It''s not proven that his shield is really that powerful, but I don''t have bullets. What if i smack him with a very large stick¡­ Suddenly i feel a piercing pain in my back, looking at my assailant, those damn cute eel bastards were tricking me. I quickly summon one of my knives to cut the thing''s tongue, causing it to screech and retreat back. The knife is still not finished yet so I hurt my hand in the process. I quickly throw away my knife to summon an obsidian pole, right as I do so another tongue hits my left shoulder. I swipe away the tongue as I do a quick head count, there are about 4 creatures teaming up to attack me including the one whose tongue I cut. I slowly swing my pole at the nearest fish, as that fish easily dodges, the other two combat ready creatures hit me in the back, in the right shoulder and the right thigh. I started to feel immense pain as I realised that my tendon is torn in my right leg. I understood that the obsidian pole was too heavy and slow for this type of fight, forcing me to open the crafting menu to make a finished knife. As it crafts i fall to the ground, I immediately slam my back into the ground in an attempt to crush the creature''s tongues. With a crack the creatures try to recall their tongues with sharp bone shards and blood leaking out their toob like orifices. The first one I injured was creeping up closer throughout the engagements and finally bit down hard onto my left leg. Conveniently the knife finally finished, the knife i chose was knife 2 a sharpened stone stake more so than a knife. It was a knife I designed for self defence so it will get its first use here. I summon it into my left hand and stab straight into the eel-creatures cute beady little eyes. I stab it a few more times until its jaws lose pressure on my leg. I noticed the two other eels sneaking into my right side, I suddenly got an idea. I waited till one of the eels went in for the strike and put my knife into my inventory then into my right hand. Stabbing the eel mid strike the jaws of the eel still grasp onto my right shoulder but I got a headstart on killing it. I suddenly get a bout of familiar dizziness before remembering that I am probably bleeding quite a bit. I look at the struggling fish on my arm as my thoughts start to drift. Fish¡­ Raw Fish¡­ Raw Fish equals health, drowsy, almost like a zombie, i sink my teeth into the fish. At that moment I experienced something new, something fresh, the warm blood, the delicious sashimi, I devoured the creature and as I did my injuries healed, my flesh folded over and molted, a burning sensation near my heart. With renewed vigor I pounce onto the 3rd fish stabbing it''s underbelly well biting its nape. It tries to bite me, well I keep on ravaging it until still. One creature left, a strange one, a coward. It has different features than the three taking a proper look. A gem within its nape, a fair amount larger, a slight shimmer to its skin, i guess it''s some sort of evolution. Fully recovered, and with a strange bastion of vitality, I sprint towards the creature. As I get close the gem enlightens, the skin on the creature''s chin expands, It spits out a ball of energy. I jump forward towards the creature narrowly dogging the ball. The ball hits something behind me before my vision gets blinded by light. I feel a massive amount of pain and a massive amount of force propels me forwards. I hit the eel on my trajectory, and me and the eel slammed against the wall. The eel has turned to paste, I am definitely not fine, but not paste. I try to eat the paste, or any bits that still have volume. In a vain attempt to see just how godly my supposed healing abilities actually are. My bones are fractured, I don''t have a leg anymore... I don''t have a leg anymore? I really don''t have a leg anymore, extreme pain ailes me as my mind catches up. In an attempt to hold in a scream I clench my jaw hard, too hard in fact, with a snap one of my canines fractures filling my mouth with blood and distracting my mind from my leg for a moment. I start to tear up as I quickly get a bundle of blue rope to bite down on. Technically the damage is done but the rope provides a slight bit of comfort, the sweetness, focus on the sweetness.


    <hr>


    It has been a fair amount of time but my leg has finally "healed" . It''s more or less a stump that has molted a few times, adding an inch or less to the leg. This time has led my to think about a few things mainly that I am supposed to be weak aren''t I? It always comes back to my laziness, my avarice. I don''t understand this body, not only the powers but my own flesh. There was a reason Rook desperately tried to understand such things. I''m a twig yet I can move agily. I can also put a fair amount of strength into my muscles. I did not notice it, but I am not breathing heavily at every strenuous action. The only time I did so was when I first got here. I can easily ignore scratches and bruises when I am working, focusing on benign tasks. But when I see my tendon get torn my leg stops working, when I see myself get bitten I fully experience the pain. Quite strange, quite strange, it may be best to ignore especially if ignoring it is a common factor. At present I am worried, really worried that something is going to sneak up on me in this state. Slimes sometimes pass by, they seem to ignore me. The eel like creatures seemed to avoid this area because of the corpses. The problem is creatures that are attracted by the blood they are quite large and I can''t really get a good look at them. One is a large lizard like creature with very large mole like claws. There was also a snake like creature and a shiny goat. The shiny goat looked out of place but I guess that supports the type of word this is. The goat came back instead of passing by which led to a bit of tension. The goat came incredibly close to me to the point I could feel it''s breath. It then started licking a bit of the goop off of me for some reason. This went on for a few uncomfortable minutes before it went near a mound of stone. The stone looked different from the rest a bit shiny, similarly to the goats skin. He isn''t going to eat that, is he? The goat opens his mouth, the mouth is quite terrifying, front teeth triangular like chisels, and back teeth made of pure metal. With canines that look like a professional blacksmith was the creature''s dentist. It would break off the ore with its front teeth then chew with its back. The creature eats mostly everything before moving away. I got up using my trusty obsidian rod as a walking stick. In the time that I was healing I designed a new tool, an actual handheld chisel made from an obsidian rod. It unlocked Chisel Research similarly to how making the knife unlocked knife research. Wandering over at a measly pace I get closer to the shiny rock in question. Getting close I try to find anything special about the ore. Not being a geologist i can¡¯t discern much other than its shiny and kinda reminds me of magnesium. Using the tool I collect the ore by mining with my new tool which is far faster as it now gives me an ore every 10 seconds instead of 30. Once I mine one piece, the ore shows up as ¡°shiny ore¡± which at first does not make sense. When I mine stone it shows up as obsidian, when I mine this it shows as ¡°shiny ore¡±. Is shiny ore something new, something i don¡¯t have a context for, this is a new world after all. I try to think of how to test the material to see its differences, then I come to the conclusion of a hardness test. I take out my obsidian knife then try to scratch the ore, surprisingly the metal gets easily scratched by the obsidian knife. With a ping a notification arises that states ¡°Theory: Material ¡°shiny metal¡± .1 %¡± At this moment i realize something, i begin to fanatically scratch the ground, anything that even seems slightly unique. Theories start to build up but only lead to another realization. The naming sense is unreasonable, all of these things are simple, only defined by color. The theories that appear are things like ¡°Black Stone, Grey Stone, Yellow Stone, Metallic Gun Gray Stone '''' i first think of obsidian, the glassy stone on the surface, i try to get rid of my preconceived notion that it''s obsidian. I have to sit in relative silence for who knows how long but I completely realize that fundamentally the glassy stone that has been called obsidian is not so. I decide to call it Sharp Stone based on how everything gets cut by it. I will think of a proper naming system later to organise such things. Color is not a good defining factor for most things. I still have terrible naming sense but i will only regret it once i find something that is sharper than Sharp Stone. Looking at my inventory and the research menu the names have changed based on my preferences. Proving the point that these materials are not the same as my world. My worldview shifts once more, it may be evershifting, I might need to define a proper outlook. Efficiency, something I used to consider important might need to be brought back to the forefront. My avarice is something I have acknowledged for some time but proper measures may need to be made. I have made the same mistake twice, or this may just be a principle of accuracy, my flaws are stacking together making a bigger mockery of myself. I begin my work, scratching everything within sight until all knowledge is gained. The more I gain the more accurate my work, I am able to guess when a material would be scratched or not. I have scratched all I would wish to scratch within the room, not wanting to leave. I begin to make daggers out of all the materials I have discovered. No matter what the material it is I can make it into a dagger, even the rotten corpses strewn about the room although ineffective. Their bones are surprisingly durable, it would have been a bad thing if I hit one when stabbing the creatures. I try to design the daggers to be more efficient at stabbing even if i am primarily using it for scratching. I construct 7 daggers, to match the 7 materials I have discovered, discounting the ones that can¡¯t be used for such things. Two of the disappointing ones are the yellow stone and the Gun Metal Gray stone, the Gun metal gray stone is more of a metal and bends easily like copper or gold. The yellow stone turned into an incredibly chalky like substance which is an incredible contrast to how it looks on the ground. It does put into consideration that it might be a composite. The rest are traditional stone things, a grey looking one is quite heavy but yea, brittle stone things¡­ The shiny ore was a lot better than expected and makes a proper metal looking dagger. Although not as hard as my obsidian one it''s incredibly light to the point I think I''m carrying a plastic weapon. I decided to make a proper slashing weapon out of it, a sort of short sword. The thing is so light that I could probably make it bigger but it would start getting ridiculous at this point. Anyway, even if this is good practice, it still looks like a sharpened slab of material. A pointy, stabby, shank like knife is far easier to understand than a slashy, long, flashy, type of thing. Its still good to do even just for the research, as I get more knowledge I seem to get better at determining and designing these types of things. I really wonder what happens once i get a research lab. Things may start to kick up quite a bit.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

 Why was this abandoned (Causal Genoside)

    I abandoned this project because I felt I was too incompetent to actually be able to pull off the concept that I wanted to pull off. Every character was supposed to be the main character and it was quite stupid. I do think i could pull it off a lot better now that i have written a lot more nonsense in my free time but yeah. Probably not. Especially since the general idea behind it was to make a story that would go on for a very long time. The initial idea was to make something like some casual games where you''re in an island void and have to automate things in order to complete some task. So like a blank void in which you would struggle to kill people and nonsense like that. At the end of the day this general concept with all the main characters is a better dnd campaign than a book.


    Would i return to this concept.


    Yes i quite enjoy the idea of it. Although I might make the story be more constrained to make it less wishy washy. And probably make i more of a character focused story. It''s already a character focused story but make it more-so.


    Original abandonment


    (honestly i don''t really think anyone cares, but i am going to mothball this progect, it was quite educational when it comes to how a webnovel type thing would go, but it''s becomeing incressingly evident that this format does not support the type of writer that i am. I am not going to abandon this progect, as compared to many things i have thrown away, i still think this is somwhat of a decent idea. Although executed poorly in some places, there is somewhat of a reason why i decided this was the day to make something on a public platform. I''m going leave, make a complete progect, and then release it to see what happens, the website suggests staggering entries and this progect worked under that logic so its a good idea. The few books i have read on this platform usually fall into the trap of getting quick success then falling into the gutter becase of the deadline of publising a chapter every week so it should be a better way of doing things. And its pretty obvious this got ratioed by whatever asshole gave this 3 stars at the first chapter. I never knew the weight of that before now, but really none of this is writen, its like reviewing a alpha to a video game. It really supports that you should make a complete progect before publishing, which is why it is strange and ubsurd the idea that people just post shit anyway. What i''m getting at is if you want to write a decent quality novel don''t use the webnovel format, it gives little to no flexibility, and really webnovel platforms should just be considered places like youtube where you publish completed stuffs, or shortform content. Its a bit of a trap to be honest, unless you have no life/writing is your life, or you are writing a incredibly simple story, you should make a properly Edited, Vetted, Thing, before sending it to the sharks. First impressions are everything and i have messed up on that front)


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

 C1 Good as Dirt

    My days are quite simple: wake up, have breakfast, tend to the fields, have lunch, tend to the fields, check for monsters, and finally eat dinner. What happens after dinner is freetime, which usually ranges from hunting, going straight to bed, or indulging in my hobbies.


    But today, caught in the middle of lunch, there was a fairly large change. My neighbor, John, told me that he found traces of monsters in his fields. I went out into my fields, Sure enough, there are traces, fresh...


    Me and John looked at each other with a look of bewilderment. We understood that if it''s only our fields it would be manageable. But of course that''s only if it''s just our fields. I told John,


    [ I''m going to get my rod, you tell the village elders. If ya go around, and we get some men together, this should be fairly easy. ]


    John, as he was walking away, froze a bit watching something in the distance. Stressed and fidgety, he cuts almost unnaturally


    [bastard!? that rods the only thing you have. when I feed you to the wolves I won''t feel a thing!] He looks around with a fair amount of agitation. With a sudden change of tone he states.


    [You know what, I better get going, you... should... sit tight and finish your lunch! Everything is going to be a walk in the park with a full belly.] With that John leaves to supposedly tell the elders.


    I''m not necessarily sure what caused that outburst, but I will handle my end of the bargain. I head into my home to grab my rod. A AB-42 Blasting Rod, a fairly expensive magical weapon I bought for my hobbies. I am somewhat magically gifted although I have never been properly tested. It Allows me to use magical equipment without buying expensive mana storage. I use it for hunting, and it''s designed for hunting in mind. Although not for traditional game, mainly monsters and whatnot. It''s adjustable, almost completely silent, and at full power can gorge a meaty chunk out of most things. A fairly important weapon if I need to protect my home, and maybe the village. My fields will probably be damaged by this attack. I don''t necessarily have many friends I can think of to support my burden. My mother and father died quite a while ago. My brother left God knows where to become an adventurer, the bastard. Maybe I''ll finally become a full time hunter. Well thinking absent-mindedly I notice my still steaming lunch and am reminded of John''s kind suggestion. I decided to sit down and enjoy one of the most favorite parts of my day. I was eating a portion of stew with bread, cheese, dried meats, and jam. After taking my time eating I wash my face and begin lazily wandering outside. I see a fairly unusual sight, many.. many... villagers out and about. Something you only really see during festival season. Seeing that I have my prized weapon, many of the villagers barge back into their homes to grab their own equipment, mostly bows, although they are grabbing as many arrows as they can carry. Quite a convenient thing, although instantly worrying. Village guards start shouting to head inside the village walls and into the palisade. Now I understand... we are in a fairly terrible position...


    A Sergeant of the town guardsmen comes up to me


    [Ken, you better be heading to the palisade soon or we will figure out how to put your name on an execution list.]


    [Erm, Sargent Barken, I will do so shortly, I just need to grab a few things real quick, I didn''t know the depth of the situation.]


    He looks at me suspiciously, although before he said anything a guard comes up to him saying


    [Sargent we need to hurry! lookouts say they are close!]


    With that I went straight back into my house before anyone could criticize me.


    I quickly take all my rations, food, water, and other valuables and put them into my cellar. My cellar is quite well made and most importantly hidden and fairly deep. My rummaging takes a bit of time. I stop halfway through after a loud scream. Determining that the scream is fairly far off I continue trying to stuff stuff into my cellar. Until I glanced out my backyard window and saw a massive hoard of monsters coming to the edge of my fields. I immediately drop the packet of herbs I have in my hand and immediately begin the process of hiding the cellar. Half the process is starting up basic runes, the other half can be done in the ladder well. These runes will ensure airflow and that the cellar will be hidden with some sort of alchemic complexity. I am honestly not specialized in these types of runes and had someone come in and etch them. Jumpstarting the runes I hop into


    the cellar hoping that the startup process will finish before anything notices. The second part of the process is to insert a key into the main circuit, the key is made of mithril and is quite good at conducting magic. I take my blessing as paying for such an expensive system allows the runescript to finally start up into completion. As the insistent stomping above me starts to begin. I stay, completely still, senses on overdrive, trying to look for the slightest sign that someone knows I''m down here.


    The footsteps keep on coming. And just keep on coming, and just keep on coming. I am fairly relaxed at this point, my arms are fairly cramped hanging onto this ladder. And I was just starting to feel that I''m in the clear when I started hearing a proper stomp more than a footstep. It started getting absurdly loud, I imagine a beast, no, a monster like no other. With a bit of a screech the lid to my cellar bulked a tiny bit. After I almost had a heart attack the runes flared up showing its almost vain attempts to repair such a thing. Causing me to immediately go down the ladder, and set up a small fortified position made from the furniture I have down here. I just aim my AB-45 at the entrance trying to find an excuse to fire it. Slowly... Surely... the movement calms down. I aim my gun at the entrance until sleep claims me.


    -


    There is an old theory that the Gods treat this world as a playground. That if they truly needed faith, why would they make such a terrible world. Is God incompetent?


    If so, why don''t we try and take the reins behind this terrible system. That old theory was tested time and time again before we finally noticed that there was nothing. This isn''t a game, it was simply a natural function. Every system of reality had evolved and set to its function. To become a creature of pure magic, to take the reins of our systems, one must subvert their own systems, their own reality. Becoming something irrelevant and self-serving, something absolutely abhorrent. Magic itself is an antithesis of Reality. And Reality itself is malleable and fragile, such things can be easily abused. It has been abused throughout history. Ultimately, there is a very good reason the gods don¡¯t change the world for their gain.


    [ The Theory Behind Reality, Sage Helith ]


    -


    Waking up I feel incredibly hungry, this may be one of the rare times I missed dinner. Although of course cooking down here might attract monsters, so technically it''s an acceptable sacrifice. I feel terrible body cramps as I fell asleep on a makeshift barricade, and of course, in a terrible position in general. Getting up and stretching I decide to have a cold breakfast of provisions. You never know if something is still up there. Thinking about it, I could have just eaten a cold meal yesterday. I guess I wasn''t in the best state of mind.


    After finishing my meal I go up the ladder and deactivate the runes. The runes are built to last quite a while, they are quite expensive so abandoning them will be painful. Peeking outside I have to come to terms with the fact that abandoning everything will be a tad painful. The fields are smashed, houses are broken, my own home doesn''t have walls anymore. Noticing no real monster activity I retreat back into my safe space. I look at all the things in this dusty old cellar, the food and supplies roughly piled in a corner, the book-shelves with tons and tons of gold worth of investment, my hobbies and all their tools wasted for all their worth. I need to find a way to at least scavenge something. I head upstairs to try and find my bags, I have a few. Going into my bedroom I notice my closet has all its belongings spread out into the floor. Most things were missing but my pack was still there. Although torn open and tossed aside. Picking it up, I check for the most important thing attached to the bag. That being magical bags. Luckily 3 are still on, the herb bag, the beast bag, and the general bag. Although the general bag was rummaged through. This means the monsters that invaded knew how to figure out which bags which. A terrible sign of intelligence. The only force I can think of that would be that intelligent would be the demon king''s army. We are near the border so I guess my village was the first on the chopping block. The bags that are missing are my money pouch and ration bag. Basically the entirety of my savings and a bag that made it so food remained fresh. I felt wronged, 10 years of my life, 10 years of life was in that single bag. I take a deep breath, then another, then maybe one more. I beat the shit out of the nearest object, the closet, making a large ruckus. I throw my bed as far as it can go (which is quite pitiful as it''s a bed). I Storm back into my cellar slamming the hatch on my way down. I didn''t take my pack and the bags with it... going back up, the awkwardness of the situation made me cool my head a little. Grabbing the bag I headed back into the cellar and to my workspace. I have quite a number of tools and doodads I have collected over the years although that''s not the focus now. I take out my general sewing needles and thread. I pick up a few small scraps of leather and start trying to repair my bag. I sigh often as I try to focus and clear my mind, hard to do when what you''re mending is a constant reminder of your frustration. Slowly... But surely... I got the simple task done. I felt a little bit refreshed, but soon I remembered my situation. I sat there stewing in my own pity for quite a while. Before I heard something, yelling? Grabbing my AB-45 I climbed the ladder upstairs. I see a zombie, an undead, fueled by some sort of weird magic. It mumbles loudly, enough to hear at least from my dinky torn down home.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    [ You... you... you... bastards... fight.... terribly.... bastards... too¡­ many¡­ ]


    The zombie looked like a town guardsmen, a girl many people called the town pass around. Supposedly she slept her way to an officer''s position. I think her name was Mary now that I think about it. She was fairly annoying toward me especially. She would constantly try to illegally confiscate my hunted game, and would ask for a ridiculous amount of money to do things... with her... She was at least decently confident from what I remember, a pity she is¡­ now something else. I decided to try to get her attention. The newly risen undead are said to have strange properties. Getting into her view she stopped mumbling and fidgeting about and let out a blood curdling howl


    [ ken... KEN YOU BETRAYING! BACKSTABBING! DESERTER!... CUn... ]


    She starts spouting every insult her rotting brain can think of and starts to sprint wildly toward me. I rush to take aim and I fire, taking a massive chunk out of her right shoulder. Pushing her to the ground and making her a deflated bag. I feel relieved, but suddenly unnerved, she did call me a betrayer right, a deserter. Frustrated, I look at her and tell her.


    [ you look terrible, my blasting rod wouldn''t have changed anything but maybe a few seconds, maybe a few bodys... ]


    I realize that I''m trying to tell off a corpse, and since that corpse was undead. I remembered that it was probably just simple resentment. She blamed me for her death the pathetic sod. I heard once that the newly risen dead is the saddest thing one can come across. Undead come from resentment, so when they first rise, their


    body''s aren''t that rotten. Their faculties are still somewhat there so they remember a bit from when they were alive. The constant howling and jabbering of how things could have gone. Although that still makes me frustrated, they blamed me of all people. I wouldn''t have done jack yet little miss Mary thinks that i could have saved the world. Pathetic... but really I don''t have a good memory of Mary. So unless I''m wrong she might just be a terrible person.


    Focusing all my frustration on Mary did wonders for my productivity. I stopped sitting around and now I really just grumbled when getting work done. I focused on trying to make use of the more stationary tools and heavy tools that will inevitably be abandoned. Although there really is only one stationary thing. The rest would just be too difficult to pack up. The alchemist machine, a large box of steel and runes meant to fundamentally change the aspects of how a thing functions, or in rare cases you can simply pop things out of thin air using pure magic. I mostly use it to make plants like seeds that can grow anywhere or more potent healing herbs that can more easily make high level potions. Currently I am trying to make the seeds for a few potent herbs: Lenthal Grass a supplement, Regith a fertilizer, and 3 mix tufts. With these three I can make a garden anywhere and be able to still remain relatively healthy. I''m probably not going to be able to eat bread for quite a while, or at least until the bread I take with me rots. I personally don''t like the taste of lenthal. It''s used in a lot of travel rations, military rations, and just many dry terrible things. It''s ok on roasted or cured meat but there are better spices that exist. Lenthal is built to have absurd nutritional value making it a logistical wet dream. Your soldiers are guaranteed to be healthy eating a Lenthal biscuit. The only worry is actually overdosing on the various nutrients it provides. Thinking about it I also make Kenion seeds which are a flavorful root vegetable that makes a pretty good soup stock. The only problem with these magically altered and manufactured plants is that they suck out nutrition like it''s nobody''s business. Regith is a plant designed to put as much nutrition into the soil as possible from basically nothing. One crop of regith cut down and burned is capable of providing enough nutrients for the area to produce for at least 5 cycles. Although if you''re working with magic, 5 cycles becomes fairly short. Maybe something to happen within about half-a-month or so. It''s how I became the richest person in the village. Or.. at least how I was the richest person in the village. Anyways I look into my herb pouch to try and get rid of that thought.


    I tear up looking into the pouch. I bought herbs to create a sweetener for my tea, a lovely thing to have after work. A luxury I just know is going to be gone for a long while. I will have bitter tea every morning or maybe no tea at all. I don¡¯t have any recipes for a good tea plant. I create that sweetener, it has a short shelf life of a day or so. I brew some tea and decide to just sit there for a while, and think about what I should do. What should be done¡­ I look at my bookshelf, quite a few of these are collectors items, nobles would kill me to have a few of these. Reading might put a bit of time between me confronting reality. You know I could just live here, in the skeleton of my home, in the basement. With that comforting thought I look at my shelf for something to read, a few collectors books catch my eye. I stored them to resell them at an auction event, apparently they are considered forbidden in a few countries. Really those plans don¡¯t matter, let''s just rip them open anyway. The first book 140 days of a Lady of the Plains, smut¡­ I¡¯m not in the mood for such¡­ things¡­ And if I remember right, this one is banned in a lot of countries. It might have some really terrible stuff in it. The second book, ahh some fine reading, Hell Economy, by Sage Helith. Helith is a Patron of one of the four gods of knowledge, particularly magic, and planes, and dimensions, and really just weird stuff. The forbidden tomes written by her usually talk about something most orthodox religions or particularly tyrannical states don¡¯t want people to know. They are a common black market item and even if you are caught, unless you have actually practiced what was in the book, you would just have to burn the darn thing. So let''s have a go, i am a professional collector so I keep my books in good order, this may be a good chance to actually read one of the things I have lying around.


    -


    Introduction to the Hell Economy


    This book is a dedicated guide to the Hell Economy, in order to understand Hell one must know its Economy. There are 2 major currencies Blood and Emotions, Blood being the lifeforce of a dimension, and Emotions being the sins or virtues of a plain or dimension. Hells and Heavens are the same thing, parasites looking to increase their economic value by stealing from other dimensions. You may think to yourself that these practices are unsustainable, and you would be correct. Many Hells collapse into themselves, or their hierarchy collapses into anarchy, which leads to the collapse of their economy. So, why don¡¯t they just use an Orichalcum standard, you say? They are fundamentally linked to these industries, they are fundamentally born to serve in these industries, they are slaves to their instincts and their economy. They are simply drones in the game of free will, and this can be abused to great effect. This book holds many guides on how one can abuse a hell, produce a factory of emotions, and become a Hell Baron. Hell Demons, or Angels if you''re a weirdo who doesn''t like hell as an aesthetic. Are the perfect workforce for any activity, want to dig a giant pit for no reason, why not summon legions of undying loyal servants to dig through stone with their bare hands. Or maybe claws if you don¡¯t want to just watch them dig until their hands are paste. Many wonderful things can be done with such magics, the field of demonology, a specialization of dimensional magics. You might ask what''s the difference between Hell Economy and an introduction to demonology, well demonology requires prerequisite knowledge in dimensional magic. In a hell economy you are abusing the economies of pre-generated hells instead of making a hell and ruling over it like an overlord. There are 3 copies of this book to limit the amount of overlords generated by this knowledge reaching the hands of weirdos and book collectors. 1 of demonology so have fun finding that if it isn¡¯t burned by some inquisitor or something. I think I also printed 1-3 books on dimensional magic so if you really make that your goal. You are probably a real go-getter. For any demons reading this, understand that you are not a hell demon, and are just called demons because many races are racist, now onto the index.


    [page 1, Hell Economy, Sage Helith]


    -

 C2 Haze

    awaken in a cozy reading chair, wrapped in blankets, with cold tea out on a stand. I seem to be half way through reading Sage Helith¡¯s Hell Economy. With a yawn I get up, put the book on my shelf, and stretch for a bit. You know I could just stay here in my comphy cellar. Really, why did I think so hard about leaving this place? Well, I know why¡­ but I need to make sure eventually. It may be best to prepare for the worst you know. I decided to look through my collection of Sage Helith books. Most are wrapped in covers to keep them away from prying eyes. Also to protect them, they are hardy, rune infused things, but you do need to take care of the things you own. I look for the books I have, hell economy seems quite useful, and if i ever need to... hell economy...  I will keep it around. I seem to have 3 other books than hell economy, a thin one simply named, eh, Carpentry? Another one is named ¡°guide to spirituality and the divine economy¡±. I don¡¯t really know what the difference between the hell economy and the divine economy is but it¡¯s probably another weird convoluted energy based system. I mean in hell economy emotions are an important ¡°resource¡± for ¡°hell demons¡±. How does someone actually harvest such things? Do they Torture them? Give them some sort of fulfillment in life? Actually the book somewhat says what they do now that i think about it. They make some weird industry categorized around sins, although it does not make much sense. Like Greed for example, how do you make an industry around greedy people? Producing greedy people and harvesting their greed, I think, was the only way, but for Lust... I think it was¡­ Brothels? really i don¡¯t necessarily understand that book all that well. Harvesting emotions¡­ Like I''m quite stressed right now, how does that turn into a tangible resource? Why exactly do they classify the system under sins in particular, and how exactly does that make everything more efficient? I should keep this ¡°divine economy¡± book on the backburner, as I barely understand hell. Why should I understand heaven? I should honestly start being more productive.


    The last book? Yes, another thin one, ¡°Advanced Warfare '''', reading that title sent a chill down my spine. Sage Helith is one of the most intelligent people in history. What exactly does she think is an ¡°Advanced'''' version of warfare? Its not good practice, but fuck it, my lifes almost over anyways.


    -


    Introduction to Advanced Warfare


    This book is a dedicated guide to the pinnacle of warfare, it has no other copies. The book you have in your hand is the only one ever conceived. Reality has its limits and one can subvert those limits and ignore those limits to strategically gain an advantage. What is the limit to technology? What is the limit to magic? It''s a very disappointing realization but I take great joy in telling you that these systems aren¡¯t forever. These systems are flawed and one cannot subvert them, for good reason. Although that''s the information at the highest level in this novel, you''re probably some pathetic lowly creature that can¡¯t destroy something at the flick of their wrist. Limits are Limits but one must understand the ground in order to understand the sky. So I''ve included all the information needed to understand this information. Although I have included a catch, you need to complete a bunch of random tasks for my amusement. By opening this novel you are now hereby immortal, you will not die, and this book can¡¯t be destroyed, you are now my servant, and that means you will gain great power. Although if you ever come up to me and proclaim yourself my servant i will kill you. Now, what type of immortality? You will simply never age, you will die of disease, you will die of poisons, you will die of hunger, you will be killed. Why should I give a weapons manual to someone who can¡¯t die? think about it! You can¡¯t feel the thrill of battle! You can¡¯t feel the adrenaline of killing something on the brink of death! You can¡¯t even have the experience of your arm being ripped off from sheer recoil and raw power! It would be a crime to take those types of things away from you, and yes, some of these things are in the task list. Now onto the task list.


    [page 1, Advanced Warfare, Sage Helith]


    -


    Honestly I don''t feel anything, so this ¡°immortality¡± or ¡°curse'''' is probably nothing special. And even if it is pressing, I would not know for a long while. I''m about 35 years old, I still have quite a bit to go, or at least i think i still have quite a bit to go.


    This book is really really dangerous, I''m probably not going to touch it for quite a while. I think back on how I got this book, mostly because I think I got it for cheap. Such a thing should not necessarily be in my hands. Books like this would make a killing if sold to a country, or really somebody who can utilize strategic weapons. No matter how condescending, destroying something at the ¡°flick of your wrist¡± is not a convenient thing to have. In fact this book is a perfect example for why these books are so heavily persecuted. This book I have laying on my shelf for who knows how long. Is a book capable of telling you how to make strategic weapons! I really started to look at the book, the book is thin, being thin usually means if it has little to no information. In the trade of bookselling Thin books are usually sold for cheap. As usually they just have a simple spell, or recipe, or really just something random sage helith decided to put into it. Of course this is a lucky situation as if the introduction is true. This means that it''s a compendium, or magic book. Making this book, who knows how large, as compendiums can hold an almost infinite amount of pages within. It¡¯s common practice to not look at introductions, the only thing that would be looked at when selling or buying a book would be its title and size. Mostly because a lot of these books have weird curses, and spells grafted into them. Just by reading the introduction you may be binded like I am apparently binded to this book. And binding means that the book can¡¯t leave you, so you can¡¯t ever sell it. It also means that whenever you actually open a book it''s a gamble, a fun one, but still a gamble. So I''m guessing people saw the lofty title of this book and thought it was a trick by Helith. Helith is definitely not the nicest person, and a lot of her books potentially kill people. I would have never cracked open these books if I was not in a situation where the future is grim. Honestly this almost reminds me of buyers I see in the black market for these books. They were ravenous, almost addicted to them, you could con ''em out of a lot of gold, but it bothered me somewhat. I was never necessarily sure why they are so interested in these cursed things, but it''s somewhat understandable now that I have cracked open a few. Knowledge is quite valuable after all.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I put Advanced Warfare into my general pouch to keep for later. I look at the other Helith books left, I put Hell and Divine economy into my general pouch. I Don¡¯t Want To Care About Whatever The Divine Economy Is. I do look at carpentry. It''s a thin book similarly to Advanced Warfare so it''s probably just some chair or something. I decided to look just to check.


    -


    Introduction to Carpentry


    This book is a dedicated guide to the pinnacle of Carpentry, it has no other copies. The book you have in your hand is the only one ever conceived. Reality has its limits and one can subvert those limits and ignore those limits to strategically gain an advantage. What is the limit to technology? What is the limit to magic? It''s a very disappointing realization but I take great joy in telling you that these systems aren¡¯t forever. These systems are flawed, but one cannot subvert them, for good reason. Although that''s the information at the highest level in this novel, you''re probably some pathetic lowly creature that can¡¯t make something absolutely sublime. Limits are Limits, but one must understand the ground in order to understand the sky. So I''ve included all the information needed to understand this information. Although I have included a catch, you need to complete a bunch of random tasks for my amusement. By opening this novel you are now hereby Binded, this book will never leave you until your life falls before its pages. Its pages will reset on death meaing progress will be defaulted. You may have a few questions, for one why exactly is there only one of these books. Carpentry is a common profession, a common way of doing things, why not give the knowledge of such mastery to everyone? If everyone was good at carpentry: Buildings would always be stable, every carving sublime, every bow mastercraft, everything within perfection. It''s a problem with making carvings sublime, it''s a problem with beauty. Beauty is not a universal concept. It has no bearing other than the bare basics of reality. To make everything sublime eliminates the concept of Beauty, and that''s not necessarily something I want. Value is contextual, The concept of Value itself can easily be lost or even thrown out. Concepts can be easily lost, but they must be maintained in order to keep your anchor to reality. And even then, you probably don¡¯t necessarily understand the true power of absolute mastery. That information must be earned through the task list. So, Onto the task list.


    [page 1,Carpentry, Sage Helith]


    -


    Another task... book... thing¡­ Really I don''t want to bother with this right now. I throw it into my general pouch.


    I look around for more things to bring with me, i look at my blankets, i have many as its the main thing i know how to sew. When it comes to my hobbies I have 3 main ones, Alchemy, Hunting, and Book Collecting. Sewing I only dabbled in, or at least dabbled to the point I could repair my own clothes. I can also make blankets and coats out of pelts, although if you ask me to make anything else I would probably fail. Maybe I could make a shirt, it¡¯s somewhat similar to a coat. Although of course I have never made pants. I learned it because the local tailor did not like me and would give ridiculous rates whenever I needed something repaired. The tailor would give many people free service in the village, but I guess I was a far exception to that. The pile of blankets I owned would probably not fit into my general pouch. So i guess i have to pick favorites, i have a few that are quite nice, they are my hunting trophies. I live in a fairly cold neck of the woods and many monsters and beasts have fluffy fur. That fur can be made into some amazing blankets, although thinking about it I don''t remember seeing my blankets on my bed. I guess I was preoccupied with getting my bag, although I will double check. Walking up the stairs and checking my room, I can''t help but be surprised that the roof was still blown off. The bed was broken and it seemed they took all of the blankets, the mattress was on the floor although I think that was my own doing. I opened the closet I knocked over earlier, all my clothes were stolen. A look at the floor by the closet, most of my clothes are stolen. Most of the stuff that was left behind are old old clothes. I guess they have a sense of quality. From that I feel that it was incredibly lucky that they left my bag, maybe because it was damaged? Sadly I go back into the cellar. I pick out my favorite blanket on the reading chair, made from a Shadow Wolf pelt. A Monster who blends into darkness, and has the most wonderful sheene on its pelt. I wrap myself into it, sitting there, obstinately just doing nothing.


    I sit there for a long while, until I get the motivation to actually do something. I wrap up my blanket and put it into one of my pouches. I definitely need to protect my things, it seems like I don''t have the power to defend myself. Or at least, I did not try to defend myself, I just ran and hid. I am the one to blame for things going this way. I knew this would happen one day... The demons would come... Taxes are cheap on the border. It''s why my parents settled down here, in this little old town. Border towns have no name, for good reason, they last a generation, maybe two. Before the demons come to invade again. common... repetitive... The demons. Always coming along and killing everything once their new lord or king or whatever comes over. My parents strongly suggested I leave, like Willam did. Ah William, Stupid, Stupid, brother William. Why exactly did he have to leave? Of course I still could stay here! Yes, yes, yes I could stay here! I definitely can stay here. Stupid, Stupid, Ken ingnoring reality once again. You really must have some sort of talent for that or something. At least I''m living for myself, Or maybe I think I am living for myself. I don¡¯t feel too good about it but it is necessary, those people are dead! My parents are dead! their opinions don¡¯t have a ¡°Say¡± about how ¡°I¡± should go about things. William is a puppet to how things are supposed to go, the damn idiot! Getting out of my haze I grab only what is needed, a herblore book, a firestarter, a tent, everything I would need to live by myself. No mourning, no second thoughts, just what is needed. I get out of my cellar and look at the sky.


    It is midday.


    I see a large Murder of Albon Crows.

 C3 Lucid Dream

    Walking briskly through the streets I observe the aftermath of carnage, it''s strange that they didn¡¯t burn much. Houses were, sort of¡­ walked through? It''s a very strange thing to see, and definitely not traditional. Although one thing was burning, a strange sight considering I spent a day or two in my cellar. The palisade was still burning?! Or at least producing smoke? I know it''s made of ironwood but I never really knew that ironwood could burn forever. The palisade was my destination, going there will get me the information I need. The main thing is to check for distress signals, it''s a part of general crisis management.


    Quickly I come upon the newly risen undead. A few days have made them more sluggish, and less loud but still annoying. The Zombies should be fairly easily dealt with. Especially since they have not evolved or done anything monster like. I pity necromancers, instead of tamers, or any real profession of worth, they have to start with a terrible base. I hear that augmented soldiers are actually a decent base for zombies now that I think about it. And now that I think about it, augmented soldiers are a lot of the corpses in wars. I should really avoid mass graves. The people of the black market are strange, and I probably should not take their worldview. I am just a hunter and have never considered necromancy as a valid profession. Even if you can revive a monster like a drake into a cool dragon servant I will never consider it, never. John will never convince me that all his cool toys are nothing more than that.


    As I walked I came across an old bull far past his prime.


    [ken¡­ Ken¡­ KEN¡­ you should have¡­ not stolen such things¡­] an old farmer nags.


    Every zombie I come across seems to have some sort of grudge with me. I was initially offended by Mary, but now it just seems strange. Just why exactly does everyone have these little unnecessary gripes with me. Newly risen dead are supposed to complain about something like ¡°Oh i was murdered oh deary me¡±. But the baker around the street complained about a harsh criticism I had with one of his pies. That one was almost comical i was expecting him to say something like ¡°oh ken fuck of, i allways shat in your pie¡±. Terrible baker that one, i think most people just dealt with his malpractice. Although he was a big baker in town, maybe he really did shit in my pie? Nonetheless most of the people in this town had it far more out for me than i thought.


    As I reach closer to the palisade I do get a good look of it, the palisade up close is a lot more intimidating than all the way out in the fields. I never really liked this place, the elders had it out for me, and it seems like the town as a whole did as well. I''m surprised that all of them did not run me out of town and instead let me fester beside them. And maybe I am even more surprised about how they hid it so well. The palisade is built on top of a man made hill with a dirt ramp that spirals upward toward a gate. It has 3 watchtowers, two facing the general entrance points to the valley, and a small one attached to the gatehouse that leads to the top wall paths. The palisade walls, fort, watchtowers, and general structure are all made of ironwood logs debarked with a metallic polished iron-like sheen. Each log is stabbed into the ground/put into position then welded together with molten metal making a practical, but brutal aesthetic. The elders paid a lot in polish and shaving making it less brutal overall, they were strange like that. In this land of beasts, monsters, and one hell of a winter. Making your fortress look a tad bit better is absolutely pathetic. Continuing on, one important note is that the palisade is not burning, something, or someone, is simply producing smoke in its courtyard. This could be many things. All of them are bad for me: A demon scout, the survivors burning dead, maybe even the signs that some sort of ritual is going on. If anything I need to be careful, if not, I could get myself in a terrible situation. I did have a coat with stealth runes engraved into it, I really guess I''m going to have to make a new one eventually. Remembering something, and having a slight heart attack I look at the watchtowers. They conveniently have nobody in them, making me sigh with relief, but also increasing my stress. If they have no-one in them that might mean I''m going to have to deal with a demon! I really don¡¯t want to deal with a demon, but¡­ maybe I will be lucky? Well the first plan of operations is to climb the walls and into a watchtower. Stealthily, which is probably never going to happen. Forts like this are designed to not be climbable, although because of the jaggedness of the construction process, it usually can be by intelligent creatures. Or at least people with a fair amount of expertise in climbing. Although when I look at the walls they are smooth, polished to a shine. I think I''m starting to understand why the elders went through the effort. Well since i can¡¯t climb it i guess let''s look at the main gate.


    It''s been blasted through, I don¡¯t know with what or how, but it was one mean gate. The gate on an ironwood palisade is usually just made out of pure metal, mostly because ironwood is impractical to use for anything other than log construction. It doesn''t stop rich folks from making their houses out of ironwood planks but that''s unimportant. The door was destroyed, demolished, honestly just how? I have never been alive during a demon invasion. But I guess the rumors of demon power might be understated? Or maybe it''s me thinking that it''s overstated, they really complain about the strength of demons a lot. Really i don¡¯t know why i didn¡¯t think the demons were that powerful? Maybe I was just really ignorant of it all. I do live on the border, and even on the border demon interaction is rare. I don¡¯t have a good excuse for why I underestimated such things. All I know is that they are annoying, I have killed drakes, I have killed shadow wolves, I have hunted many strong creatures. Why exactly are these demons a reason to run away? Really i might simply be stupid about all of this. If a drake was intelligent, it could easily blast through a door. If a drake was tamed, then taught how to properly use its magic core, educated, it could easily destroy the town. Maybe demons follow that sort of principle? They are intelligent sentient creatures with their own empire after all. Although not as strong as a drake, they are still far more efficient at utilizing raw strength. I might simply be overthinking this, it¡¯s just a demon scout, like any even lighty dangerous prey we simply need to ambush it. It''s not a drake, it''s not even something I really need to worry about. I simply need to hunt it like I do with most beasts, although this is an intelligent beast which may cause problems. I should look into the courtyard.


    It was not really noticeable until now but peaking my head through the gatehouse gave me a strong smell of death and smoke. In the courtyard was a massive pile of bodies in a corner. A small fire burns a smaller pile of bodies. If i was less of a person i would have immediately puked. There is also a strange looking man maintaining the fire with some sort of magic. The man had strange equipment: 2 weird wooden poles attached to his back, a sheath of some sort, a basic looking blasting rod made out of a shiny black material, and a strange mix of robe and metal hanging off of his body. The metal looks like some sort of armor plating or just normal plates of metal kept up by cloth and the general free flowing black and red robe. The metal almost looks unnatural with how it''s suspended into the man''s frame. The metal is made out of the same material as that simple looking rod which makes me assume that it''s a standard material for the demon legion. The clothes actually don¡¯t look practical, making me think the armor probably is outdated or has a niche purpose. The man has a nicely chiseled face and two almost pitch black bull horns extending from the sides of his head. The demons have a strange caste based system and if i remember right, the darkness of a horn represents magical talent. Such a shade means this demon might be a rising prospect, maybe even put on a boring old scouting mission to prevent his rise. Currently he is sitting around looking bored, looking at the floor like some depressed layabout. In this state it would be quite an easy shot, although to be sure I put my AB-42 on maximum charge. I have to put more mana into it but at maximum I can kill a drake. No demon will decide my destiny and with this I can live here¡­ With this I know I can survive against the demons and can live on my own. I will be able to stay here and retain everything I have done, everything I have accomplished. Finally with a long awaited resolution I took the shot, and a plate on the demon''s armor floated into the air and completely absorbed it.


    The demon instantly became active and shocked for a moment before throwing away its blasting rod to the ground and pulling out a shortsword from his sheath. The sword has a strange design, it''s made from an orange looking metal that I have never seen before. The blade itself is orange, but it''s not dual bladed. It has a ridge made from the same black material used in most of the demon''s other equipment, and an ornate highly decorated hilt, handle, and pommel. He was brisk but quickly ended up Walking up to me almost casually letting me get enough time to get my bearings. I fire once on low power, a plate conveniently blocks it. I fire again and the plate conveniently blocks it. In a panic I throw down my own blasting rod and take out one of my skinning knives. The demon looks at me pitifully and lowers his guard in an incredibly disappointed fashion. I take the chance to try and wildly stab him, the attempt puts a fairly large shock in my arm. Almost as if I hit steel, but looking at where I struck no mark, no dent, nothing. I look up at the demon with anguish, waiting for the demon to simply stab me or something. Eventually the demon states,


    [Human, pick up your rod and go over there] Pointing quite obviously,


    Well now i guess i might become a slave now, i don¡¯t really know the value of myself but maybe i am more¡­


    [Human, do so quickly or I will impale you on a branch for decoration.]


    Quickly, I pick up my rod and go into the spot designated. It''s in a more open part of the court. I''m not necessarily sure of the purp¡­


    [Human, fire the rod at me]


    Well, understanding that he is immune to what i can do i fire it once¡­


    He blocked instantly, then, frustratedly stated [Use Your weapon properly] The demon is looking somewhat frustrated but still looks to have a tinge of patience.


    I do as abided and start firing a few high setting shots, draining my mana slowly but steadily. I do have quite a bit of endurance in accordance with actual mana capacity. But, of course taking quite a bit at a time constantly becomes quite painful. I am used to a one and done type deal, or a hit and run type deal. Not necessarily a sit in place constantly shooting backed to wall type situation. I have done so before for mana capacity training, but training does not really constitute experience. With every shot the demon expertly maneuvers the plates to intercept. I am still unsure of why he is doing this but it''s pathetic. Doesn''t this demon, or creature, or whatever have some semblance of honor? How exactly could he torture or play with me like this. this.. pet! I try to do everything I can to try and get past his plating? I eventually decided to try a little trick called ¡°Vent Shooting¡± which is to do a high power shot before quickly switching to a low power shot to confuse the enemy with the end goal of quickly getting a shot in. The demon seems to be neutering himself with his responses; he always tries to use only one plate. I hope to at least get him to use two with this parlor trick, preparing. I shoot a heavy shot toward his head and a weak shot toward his left thigh. Doing a somewhat fancy maneuver he blocks both with one plate. He raises an eyebrow before stating,


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    [If you can use technique I would prefer that. You could just start shooting until dry, but if you can demonstrate basic capability I will let you go. How about it?]


    If the situation was not weird enough he asked me to show off and i might get out here alive, as a slave or not i do not know. A demon is not necessarily trustworthy, i say


    [If yes, if no¡­]


    The demon quickly responds [i did not expect an answer, continue]


    So different techniques ehh¡­ well¡­ I don''t really have anything else. To begin with, the first one isn¡¯t even really that hard. I simply try a few more Vent shots, one toward both shoulders, one toward a leg and a shoulder, really i just start randomly shooting at random places on his body for a bit. I stop doing weird tricks like a trick shot and simply start shooting standard shots and attempting to try and trick him through sheer weight.


    The demon has a bored look on his face. He walks up to me, picks me up like a kitten, and wraps me up to a pike.


    The demon takes out a sort of pipe, preparing it properly, and then takes a short Puff of whatever material he put into it. The demon looks me straight in the eyes


    [Ok¡­ Who are and what are you doing, I assume you''re some sort of scout force, state your unit.]


    Speechless! I really don¡¯t know if I could be compared to such a thing. I''m just some village man? Why would I ever be a military man?


    [No¡­ i¡¯m not apart of anything i just live here]


    The demon responds, [Really, really, you think I would believe that.. a man of your talents just sitting here doing nothing? no important role? A peasant? Albon¡¯s training regime must have been lighter than the last invasion, really prideful those fools.


    Well then, entertain me! Tell me your full backstory, whether it''s true or not doesn''t really matter. A good storyteller is valuable and may cost you your life.]


    I try to be honest. [Well, I''m not sure why you think I''m a soldier, but I''ve lived here my entire life. Farming, hunting, dabbing in alchemy, that''s just what I do and what I have been doing. Not necessarily what I''m going to do now or later, that seems to be.. past business now everythings coming to light.]


    The demon is somewhat hysterical. [Coming to light? Coming to light you say, an understatement if i may say. The place you live? Gone. Looted! If you''re going to be a folk of art you must be more dramatic. I''m the man, the demon, the monster that has destroyed this place, why don¡¯t you have attachment.]


    I catch under his breath [Because your a idiot of a artist thats what]


    The demon straightens out his Robe [Well, Well, make a better character, tell me why such things don¡¯t exist.]


    The demon actually looks like he is having a lot more fun, smoking his pipe, harassing me, I really am starting to understand what harassment is. I may change my definition yet. I mention this


    [You look like you''re having a lot of fun, maybe your delight is rubbing off on me, making me forget that my lifes utterly ruined. My house is¡­]


    The demon interrupts [ahh, Ahhh i think i get it you''re an Idiot, how exciting, wonderfully done!]]


    I try to continue, but hold my mind on the statement, Idiot? I have not really been that for the most part, at least i hope so at least. More so, I''m really a nobody. All I have for myself is my hobbies: farmer, hunter, alchemist. I used to have wealth, but that''s gone, nothing to really call my own. I continually question why I''m still here, or even why I shot at this annoying demon. Ah yes I had pride, but, why? I don''t really know anymore.


    ¡°My house is gone¡±


    The demon looks over me, his back straight, pipe in one hand, wide smile on his face. [Anything else?]


    [My pride]


    The demon jests [understandable, continue.]


    [My worth, my value, my harvest, the reason I keep going.


    Every memory, every trinket, every reason to have pride.


    What I have done as a person has been removed, with such a shaky foundation. Why should I even try? It''s simply going to be gone again! it''s not like I can be powerful like you. Demons¡­ wyverns with intelligence, I spent most of my life hunting. Killing things most people are afraid of. Yet i guess that isn''t enough.]


    The demon still has the same look on his face, the entire statement just made his smile wider.


    [So you saying I took everything from you, well technically not your life, but I don''t see myself being that greedy just yet. Losing all hope will just make you a dull thing, so how about we cheer up a bit and get back on topic, Which corp are you from?] he takes his strange orange blade and casually takes a swing toward a nearby corpse. Chopping the corpse clean in half, and I think I know the person he chopped. The leader of the town guard in his full armor and garb. He paints his sword with blood, noticing the blood is dried he casts a simple spell to make the blood wet again? Unbelievable! Just why would you ever make a spell for that? After he is sure there is enough blood sticking to his blade he whips the sword at me covering me in blood.


    I am quite confused, is this supposed to intimidate me? I think it''s a bit too out there.


    The demon looked at my confused expression, surprised, then said [You''re a bit of a weird one? Usually people get quite afraid of that. They don¡¯t expect me to be strong enough to cut one of their comrades in half.]


    I respond frankly [he was a bit of a prick]


    Really? I don''t know if he was or not? Did not really meet the guy, but his subordinates treated me poorly so it''s a good guess.


    The demon however has a surprised look on his face [eh, really you say?]


    He quickly starts to grow his smile and asks [tell me why?] well pointing his pipe in my now bloodied face. He has a slightly different demeanor than before, it''s hard to discern, but he does not ¡°jest¡± as much as he did.


    I repeat my feelings [His subordinates treated me especially poorly, taking my game, over exaggerating the law, Harassing me outside of my house. I stay home a lot, or even go out of town, that''s one good reason for it.]


    The demon begins a show


    He gestures his hands out wide, in a grandiose manner, in a big sense. He states, his arms perfectly still, unusually so, perfect coordination. [I am an interrogator, I discern stories, I have interrogated every single person here. Getting bits, bobs, anything to entertain myself. So you! I can discern that you are Ken.] He wishes his hands down rashly like a terrible actor, or a frustrated drunk. He then stands up straight and observes for a response.


    I look at him coldly, simply wishing for him to continue this farce, which he did.


    [So, Ken, if that''s your real name?]


    It seems like he thinks my reaction is adequate


    [There are many strange things about you. Everyone has a terrible opinion whenever I hear anything about you. I started to use you in conversation, a prod into their life. Everyone had an excuse about why they should hate such a fellow, although, I see one fairly obvious one that a lot of the guards used. Why were you not here when everyone was having fun?] he tries to discern my reaction


    I am still cold


    Speaking with authority he states [Why are you a coward. Why did you abandon your people? Why did you let these people die?]


    I try to be cold


    He speaks with his own cold tone, and own cold face, [i see a little somethi¡­]


    I am rash, [why does a demon need to know! what value does the life of some layabout serve to your plans, or anything really!]


    The demon reverts back to being a man of comedy ¡°The art of a layabout is Irony, the story of a man that could be so much more, a wonderful story about Sloth, laziness, and atrophy¡±


    Such talk reminds me of hell industry, simply uttering such things reminds me of the harvests, the industries! If I am a man of sloth, creating an industry of such things is simpler than I thought, although I never thought myself to be such a man¡­


    The demon brings me back to reality, ¡°Snap¡± ¡°Snap¡± [You know doing such things is dangerous, although i can¡¯t be the one to fix such a thing. You have actually impressed me! with your bold chivalry. and your bold cowardes. But most importantly is your cold heart. Do you really feel nothing for these folks? I don''t personally because they are insignificant, In-demon!]


    I try to muster feelings. Almost to simply spite the creature in front of me, but they never really came. I keep to myself. They keep to theirs. Where did that process fail?


    The demon continues [Really, nothing at all? Something to be proud of my friend! To cut off such things is a beginner''s first step into the unknown.] The demon puts his arm around my shoulder, putting his hands towards the sky as if it really means anything.


    He takes me down from where I was imprisoned, wipes my face off with a damp cloth? Cups my hands like a passionate lover on a honeymoon? [Ken, I am an honest demon, you have impressed me so i will let you go!] he twirled me around like a fairytale princess on her first dance at a ball, straight into the entrance of the fortress gate. He dusted me off and gave me a slight push of good luck to send me on my way. I start walking, slightly dizzy and confused, but glad that this is probably over with.


    I Felt a hand on my shoulder. I stood stiff.. as still as possible¡­ I turn my head to see a face, a smiling face, the kindness, the warmth, immeasurable. The nails of the creature dig into my shoulder, it pierces the skin, I feel pain, then warmth, flowing down my shoulder.

 C4 Strong Will Has Limit

    I Have just come back from the worst day in my life. I came in front of my peers to tell them the absolute truth and they told me I was a liar. I decided that today is the best day to take out my unopened Virlusiun Wine imported from the demon provinces. What the heck! Take out a few fine cheeses and cured meats as well. These items were meant for celebration, a great reward for a hard day''s work. But of course we are probably going to die soon, and I can''t really do that much about it.


    I hear a knock at my office door. [Come In]


    A large rotund man squeezes into my room and says [Ah Willam, have you set up a fine meal for me, ah you wouldn¡¯t have] The man sinks into a chair custom built for his bulk, he comes by often.


    [No Breivik this is a meal of celebration, coming out preemptively]


    Breivik''s cheery face turns to concern, he then states [Ah, well, Willam, there has been no holidays recently? So what exactly are you celebrating?]


    I turn my tired face toward Breivik, mostly to check if he is actually serious. He''s the type who would know about this type of thing before me. I guess I''m lucky in a way.


    [No Breivik this is a celebration of failure]


    Breivik mutters under his breath. ¡°Failure? It''s not The Meeting is it. It really better not be The Meeting.¡± No cheer emanates from the man now, and probably not anytime soon. I let him stew in his thoughts well. I poured him a glass of wine. Building tension when handing out gossip is always interesting no matter if I''m the main subject.


    [Yes Breivik it was the meeting]


    Breivik first had a look of pure shock, then absolute horror, a somewhat funny reaction coming from the man. Breivik is a Crimelord, not only a Crimelord, the biggest one in the conglomerate! This man who has probably killed millions of souls to get into the position he is in, and that man is afraid! Oh who am I kidding, I am William the Hero and my back is spined like a coward. In these types of situations we simply need to tough it out. I tell myself that.


    Breivik brings up a point [Do you have any other plans or did you just think telling the Conglomerate would work?]


    I admit [I''ll probably start fighting, I mean what else is there to do? It''s not like I can just get up and walk to a different world now can i?]


    Breivik mentions [i don¡¯t know much about different world nonsenses, but the god of knowledge probably has something]


    Really? [Dimensional magic? That sort of stuff sounds a tad bit shady, and really I don''t want to get in trouble with the church.]


    Breivik looks at me like I''m an idiot [The church doesn''t exist in other planes. Although maybe not our church, quite a bit of nonsense.]


    Well, I get up and chug the rest of my wine, no waste, we need to start doing something at least.


    As I''m getting up, someone nockes frantically on my door. [Come In, i guess i''m getting 2 visitors today]


    A messenger comes into the room and quickly puts some paperwork onto my desk, ah well i guess i can¡¯t get up just yet. I slink back into my chair a tad bit sluggish as the alcohol slowly kicks in. I start to look over the papers ¡°ah well, it looks like there''s some more on our plate¡±


    Brevrik looks intrigued ¡°what exactly is important enough to ¡°add¡± more to our plate¡±


    I tell him exactly [The Fortress City Albon has fallen, and the demons are currently regrouping. Forming a staging point to cut into Vircuis]


    Brevrik has a strange look on his face before cautiously going [Ahh, i don¡¯t want to be too personal, but don¡¯t you have family in Albon?]


    Ah yes. [Another monster like myself? A selfish fool, takes what he has and lets it rot. Don¡¯t think too hard about it. I have cut off such things a long time ago]


    [So there is another monster like you out there? Why don¡¯t we grab em and force the fool to fight for a proper cause?]


    I do genuinely think about it for a moment. My brother Ken, if properly trained and introduced to proper understanding, would probably be quite an asset. But [The demons probably got him, if albon has fallen, he is probably some fresh undead corpse rambling out there. The man won¡¯t fight for good causes anyway. Even when he was alive the man wasn''t the type.]


    Brevrik looks surprised [What a difference! If true, blood breeds blood, but I guess that saying failed in this respect.]


    I look at Brevrik questioningly, should I be offended by that? Ahh, well let''s move on, [well since we have information about the situation we can come up with something.]


    Brevrik looks depressingly snide [Ah you know, that Albon has fallen, the linchpin of the bureaucrats upstairs. Vircuis is by no means in a situation to deal with a modern army. If I may ask? why did we never modernize them?]


    Well straight to the point are we [Vircuis¡¯s modernisation is a bit difficult, but something i was trying to lobby for quite a bit. The Dwarfs are to blame, they thought that it would be a waste of industry!? As soon as we Modernize Vircuis, industry would be far too ¡°forward¡±, meaning that we would have to Modernize them again. Although I think that''s an excuse, I believe they simply don¡¯t want to do it to an economy primarily reliant on guilds and rife with interfering nobles. No matter what grand strategic sense the actual maneuver would be].


    Brevrik has a skeptical look to him [I have worked with dwarfs, so I somewhat understand their religion. Usually this sort of talk means that it won¡¯t expand ¡°their¡± industry. They are quite selfish in that sort of way. Although usually they have good reasons for not accepting such offers. They thoroughly calculate such things.]


    I know [They brought up their calculations during the meetings. Really if those calculations accounted for the current severity of this demon invasion, I would be very annoyed.]


    Brevrik has a kind of pitying look to him [Well.. they probably did. If leymen like us can figure that out. Why wouldn''t the highly skilled dwarfs in their Calitorium get it.]


    Well [Most of the counsel didn¡¯t show any inkling of care about such a thing when I brought it up. The dwarfs have decent excuses, which I guess shows they at least somewhat understand the situation. The elfs? pompous asses only concerned with their world tree projects. The Empire? Unconcerned as the demon invasion is in their ¡°colonies¡±. Most of the various immortals of the counsel didn¡¯t even show up in the last meeting?! Among the few immortals who showed up. The only ones who care are people living in the border regions.]


    Brevrik brings up [You know what, lets calm down a bit eh? Let''s move to the Map Hall. I haven¡¯t seen that idiot Bendan in a while as he locks himself up in there. And Really, if we are going to find a solution to all of this. We will need our strategist, and a big map will make things easier in general.]


    Honestly, good idea, [But we need to eat our cheeses first]


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Brevrik looks at his gut [sigh, well let''s at least hurry]


    -


    With papers in hand I stand in the doorway to the map hall. Brevrik right behind me trying to be cordial in his movements. I hear a snoring sound, probably Bendan, he works hard the bugger and sometimes i feel bad for him. I give a signal to Brevrik and he shifts his muscles around to fit a more agile frame. He silently stalks troward Bendan, or at least that''s how it would be. He is making a sound which is strange for him. He may have packed too much weight. The immortal does not stir, and Brevrik is able to hit him straight in the belly. He yelps with a bit of pain and immediately flops to the floor banging around and gasping for air. After recovering he gets up and sets himself to attention. [High General Willam, to what i owe the pleasure]


    I am frank [The Demons have breached Albon, and it seems no-one has a solution to it. may i ask if you do?]


    General Bendan Fei Yu stands to attention and in respect he answers [I have High General, well you were playing with politics i was making strategy. The Crag may be a good place to retreat to or we could even just reinforce the nation states Basilisk and The Windy Hills. Vircuis is a good buffer; their honorbound nature will allow them to fight to the last. giving us at least some time. I am worried however about if their lack of industry will hamper that aspect of them.]


    So we are just going to throw them to the wolves? [Bendan? Is there any way to save Vircuis and its people? Or is that truely a lost cause?]


    I can tell that Bendan started sweating, it seems there is no real way. I guess we just have to live with it? A sacrifice like that for our future.. It''s something we need to stop, but I have been trying to stop it for a while now. The political arena is something I don''t want to understand, I just want to stab something.


    Brevrik speaks up [You know William, I have been telling you this for a while now. You need to accept these things, if you live life without such troubles, you won¡¯t ¡°have¡± issues like this. Accept what I do, I have killed a lot of people it''s not that bad?]


    Fei Yu notes [Brevrik, you must understand that''s not the best thing to say]


    It''s Fine [He is within limits, he is true in a sense, although maybe not in the right place. You are right, Bendan, I have been playing politics for too long. I need to help people up front, I can''t trust to make the system do it.]


    Fei Yu is a tad bit frantic [Hold your horses High General, we need you to do one last thing. The dwarfs requested that you meet with them about a ¡°plan¡± they had in the works.]


    Ok, [Why would I ever accept a plan made by those short bastards? They kick me in the shins and want me to aid in their ¡°plans¡±!? Really explain to me why it''s needed.]


    Fei Yu tries to be careful [The dwarfs are your only access to the modern military. You ¡°need¡± them, and you will just slow down whatever they are doing by not cooperating. I am not sure why you got in their bad graces, but that''s unimportant. This is not a request from the dwarfs, it''s a demand.]


    So they are demanding what? I guess I can go over and shut down whatever they are doing manually. [I¡¯ll go]


    I get up to leave, I don''t want to be a part of this farce any longer than needed. I say all I need to say [Breverik discuss how we should mobilize our forces, when I get back I''ll write a letter to the adventures guild. Prepare a good bounty for those greedy fellows.]


    -


    I step out of the teleportation network into a web of poorly lit tunnels. No reception and nowhere to go? A few of the locals even looked at me like I''m a weird animal, typical. Well I guess I can just choose a branch of the dwarven power-structure and when they aren''t the people who requested me. I can sow a bit of confusion in the dwarfs'' annoying little plans. Of course, navigating the dwarven capital is really really annoying. The dwarfs inherently have some sort of sound based navigation and lowlight eyes that allow them to thrive in the caves. They also have 3 forms and versions depending on how deep you are into the earth. As pressure increases they just get uglier. So if a headquarters is located in the lower depths I may have a bit of an issue moving. And I also need air, the mix of the deep dwarven atmospheres are not breathable by humans. I can just use magic for that but it¡¯s annoying that I have to. So which ones are the nearest? Remembering correctly I think there is a government hall nearby. The dwarven government would love it if this was a plan of some House, But if it''s a plan of the Church, they will just let it be. It''s annoying that most people don¡¯t understand the power-structure of the dwarfs; they just like to call it ¡°dwarfs¡± instead of any of the dwarven factions. Then I wouldn''t have to go through this sharad, they would just tell me a dwarf to go berate and then I would be done with it.


    Wandering in the approximate direction of the Government hall I feel a hostile presence. I go into a more quiet location to figure out if they are my reception. I pretend to walk like I don''t even know they are there, and just conveniently found a shortcut. The dwarfs are loud, I can hear them a mile away. They are tring to be stealthy but its utter incompetence. I let them get close to see what they would do, I can sense they are hostile so how are they going to ¡°subdue¡± an immortal. They sneak up behind me and try to smother me with a cloth. The cloth had a really interesting poison on it. It was magical in nature, and actively tried to slow down and stop my body. Honestly I''m impressed, I take the poison out of my system and throw it at the dwarf who is trying to smother me. As the poison hit the dwarf, he almost instantaneously started to jitter uncontrollably before slowly rotting then turning into dust. Not necessarily something I thought I would see today, but I do notice that the gloves he was wearing were not affected. After sweeping the dust around which made all the other dwarfs instantly step back a few paces. The Pouch the poison was stored in became revealed. It''s a sort of dust, well I know a good way of figuring this type of thing out. Pointing out [You there, dwarf, can you by chance tell me what poison is this?]


    The dwarf looks very shocked, and shakily says [ y-y-y-yes mr william, it is a poison called, s-s-s-singularity dust. It stuns immortals making it s-s-so we could, transfer y-y-y-you to your meeting]


    Well I guess it''s time to go to a meeting. No more fun and no more harassing dwarfs, I feel sorry for the unfortunate soul that I have killed. Really my anger should be targeted toward the high brass of the dwarfs and not their pawns. I may have been too rushed in this instance not showing the maturity of my age and position. [Bring me to the meeting, we should get this done with]


    Although my pride may not let me admit that openly.


    -


    I stand before the 3 most powerful people in the dwarf empire, the 3 High Inquisitors. HI-01, HI-02, and HI-03, the dwarfs love to get rid of the emotion and meaning behind a name. HI-01 a fat old dwarf with a spider-like mechanical frame. Starts the discussion in a slow droning voice [Hero William, we have.. ¡°Cough¡± ¡°ARRACH¡±]


    The dwarf starts a coughing fit and HI-02 similarly old, but filled with battescars and war-augments, he has been scowling this entire time. [Willam, we have a plan to deal with the demon invasion, it will take time, yes? But even your pathetic nature will allow you to be a tool for industry on this occasion. Progress will be made no matter the sacrifices.]


    ¡°Sigh¡± well [no matter the sacrifices, eh]


    HI-02 looks offended, HI-01 Finishes his coughing fit and resumes what he was trying to say [We have.. A technology¡­ Lost to the ages¡­ Estimated Potential, over 95% Success rate.. Small problem. Forbidden, but solved recently. Technology can now be implemented. Without problems, Another Problem. Too forbidden, Technology burned from archive. Need time to reassess. Reverse engineer. Time you will give us.]


    The old dwarf looks almost out of breath, HI-03 a dwarf with cold mechanical eyes, speaks up [HI-01 you don¡¯t need to overexert yourself. This technology is a weapon, a weapon we are not necessarily sure about what it does. All we know is that this weapon was sealed for a reason, the history states it was an absolute mistake. But vague in accordance with the sealing laws. But we can discern that it''s destructive. Destructive enough to destroy the unprecedented organized demon invasion? Hopefully, you can make a deep enough dent that they will be tired before we bring out the weapon.]


    Tired? [I know that this invasion is bad, but do you know the specifics?]


    HI-02 yells [YES WE KNOW THE DAM SPECIFICS, WE ARE THE DWARFS! ¡°Our¡± ¡°Diviners¡± ¡°state¡± ¡°THEY¡± ¡°will¡± ¡°Push¡± ¡°to¡± ¡°the¡± ¡°Empire''s¡± ¡°capital¡±]


    HI-03 stops the rant [It''s Very Bad Sir William, From this point forward we of the church are willing to give our full support. The houses are preparing to defend the homeland when ¡°they¡± come. And the State is shipping resources to build the weapon in the empire. We need some fragments located in the Vault of Albon. The city of traitors apparently had some un-sealed information on the technology. You, as the strongest Immortal of the current era, are the best candidate for retrieving such information.]


    It''s at least nice they are trying to flatter me but [I will try to protect and save as many people as possible. But how much do you think those papers will affect your research?]


    HI-02 responds [it won¡¯t affect much, but the information in those papers may reveal the actual use of the weapon. We know it''s some sort of wide-scale grand ritual, those types of things require a lot of strategy if they don¡¯t have range. The damn thing may only protect the empire without such pieces of information. It supports industry, but I dislike the idea of placing it somewhere where it can¡¯t protect my home. You will do this, if not in the name of the dwarfs, in the name of The Conglomerate. The Conglomerate doesn¡¯t have a purpose if The Empire is the only thing left. And the New Continent is going to be left for death at this rate. Willam, I need my Home, And I need my County, many dwarven lives are at stake here.]


    Even the Fundimentalist is pleading for their life. Really? What is the world coming to?

 C5 I Am Outside my Home

    I wake up with a kink in my back and a groggy sort of hunger I have never felt before. First Sight, Then Cold, a Chill crawls up my back as I notice that I am naked. I am in a field of blood surrounded by corpses stretched out onto platers. It''s sort of grand, in a sense, but there are more important things at hand. For one, where exactly am i? Where is my Blasting Rod? And what exactly happened? Well I dwell on my confusion, I notice a small stone slab with a magical bag on it. I grab it and check what''s inside. All of my Sage Helith books are in the bag, but nothing else. The bag is of incredible quality. Honestly something I have never seen before. It has a fairly large amount of space, and can organize and categorize features.


    I try to think back on what has happened, as it''s a good assumption this isn¡¯t a hangover. The demons invaded.. and I don''t remember much else. I was in my bunker, I came out of my bunker, and then something happened. I¡¯m not sure what, but it gives me a burning feeling in the chest. In fact this feeling pushes away the cold and I stop shivering. I look down and observe my body to find that it has changed, or shifted more-so. The script on my skin has been changed and even the script under the skin has been changed. With the most obvious factor a large rash/bloat borrowing out of the flesh pumping and writhing with energy. Masterful work! and another surprise; something I have never seen before. Beautiful runescript attached to an artificial heart, this must be a blessing today? Or maybe not. this may be someone trying to make me do something. My parents warned that a day like this would come, me and william are supposedly things that others covet. Although what task they have for me must wait, I have to at least find something to cover myself with.


    Wandering around I notice the ritual, the ritual is as beautiful as the script on my body. Although larger and harder to see the grand picture. The maimed corpses look grueling, but there is a mastery only a master of blood can drag out. And another master only a druid can drag out. Really many disciplines of magic are on full display, a festival of sorts. I notice cloth on one of the corpses and take it for myself. It''s caked with blood, but so am I, so it''s not much of a transaction.


    Really it¡¯s almost enlightening, I have lost a lot, and now i have lost everything. And it hits me far differently from before. It''s refreshing like a cold glass of water. Or the time of purity as soon as you''re done throwing up may be a better example. The pain of the past does not matter, only the future needs clarity. And speaking of the future, it''s time to pursue a course of action. Of course in order to do that I need to understand where I am? A look for the Ridge of the valley and look for markers. These markers are used generally for travel, the north gets little sun and little access to the sky. For one i am not in The Valley Of Death anymore, i actually don¡¯t recognize a lot of the markers. I squint my eyes to look long and hard at the valley ridge and I find the north marker. Trying to think heavily about the direction of the north in relation to everything. I wasn¡¯t the best at geography but I knew how to travel. I¡¯m probably not good enough to figure out where I am based on the markers alone. I can only head south away from hell.


    So I do so, positioning myself away from the northern marker, I start wandering toward the forest. I reached the edge of the forest, before I had a sudden shock. I don¡¯t have a weapon, the wastes are dangerous, the demons have invaded! What the hell am I doing?


    I stare into the forest, I realize I don''t hear anything, no birds, nothing. I look back, I am at a blood ritual site there¡¯s probably something that can rip out of the ground. Metal, wood, blood there might be something, yes? I have a few books right? Carpentry and maybe blood. Blood sounds useful; just generally useful. I remember the Hell Economy book needed blood for a few things.


    -


    A Guide To Summon a simple hell creature


    Reality


    Any Form Of Blood, Meat, Bones, Or Organs


    NonReality


    Trace Elements of Any form of Emotion, This will determine the type of creature summoned.


    Create a Circle On the Ground and surround the circle with a magically conductive material. Woods are incredible for such things, making a circular faggot will do if you don¡¯t have access to expensive crystals and metals.


    Putting in the Realitys


    Blood: Pour Blood Into the Circle


    Organs, Meat, Bones: Put it as close to the center of the circle as possible


    Putting in the NonReality


    Channel your own mana into the circle Or


    Use a Dust of a Particular emotion and channel that energy into the circle.


    -


    In order to do this ¡°simple¡± procedure it seems I need something called ¡°dust¡± whatever that is. Looking through the book I can find a method on how to extract dust but, honestly, this is starting to look like a bit too much effort.


    You know, i could help


    I hear a strange voice inside my head. Immediately my first instinct is to ignore it and hope it goes away. I am not insane, so such a thing should never happen.


    You are not insane, an insane person has left me in your care. I am quite annoyed, but it''s not the worst thing that could have happened.


    Well I guess the blood ritual was some sort of mind breaking ritual. Am I really in a forest, or in reality am I killing things or doing things I shouldn''t be doing?


    None of that, you have become an apostle.


    Like Sage Helith? The same thing that seemingly made her an insane maniac?


    Yes, somewhat, it''s not that she is insane so to say, it''s more that she has seen more than enough for what life has to offer. Which in a way is insane.


    Are you saying she is bored? Like bored out of her mind! How did she even get to that point?


    She services one of the gods of knowledge, she has the knowledge of just about everything in her tiny little head. She has interesting rituals but not ones of pure madness at least.


    But.. If I''m an apostle, who''s apostle am i?


    Isn¡¯t it obvious you''re my apostle.


    Yes?


    I will explain it later. Don¡¯t you have a ritual to do?


    Yes? Well? You said you could help me with this and I am skeptical a voice in my head can help me.


    I will provide the NonReality for the ritual. Just make a wooden circle around one of the corpse pires and I will send you an angel, or demon if you prefer. I personally like to call them servants or assistants as that''s all I use them for.


    Questionably, I begin to collect fresh and flexible sticks around the perimeter of the ritual site to turn into a proper ritual circle. I use basic alchemy to connect the sticks together in a bond after bending the sticks in a somewhat curved shape. I get about 6 mismatched wooden curves and try to put them around one of the many corpse pires of the ritual site. I try to fix gaps by applying more sticks to the bond. And try to mold the wood into proper shape to make the circle not completely terrible. I discovered that wood is harder to manipulate than metal, kind of like trying to use water to plug a hole. I have to be extremely careful or I will warp the wood too heavily. Honestly it''s difficult but the sheer freedom of it is enriching. Metal is probably the better material but there is a lot you can do with such a moldable material. I stand back and look at my work, Its almost completely circular. Because of excess magic usage it did not take that much time and it looks half decent. I am hungry however and I don''t really have much food. Unless¡­ No, I''m not going to do that.


    You can Corpses used in rituals are disinfected and are ready to eat. Mostly because some cultures eat the flesh as a special rite. Demons especially like to do so and season specific corpses with spice.


    If they like to do so, Wouldn''t they have eaten the spiced corpses already?


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    They didn¡¯t, they left them for you to eat actually. This is an interesting ritual made from the stigmatization of demonic gods. Even demons don¡¯t trust their gods and do this to please an apostle and their god so they themselves don¡¯t get eaten.


    Have you.. Ever eaten actually anybody? Because if that''s the case I might have a problem.


    No, but this also led to another interesting ritual where the demon will just assume that''s what the god wants. So they will go out of their way to do it anyway. Almost all Apostles of demonic gods start a bloody rampage as they ascend. Other than edge cases where you are disconnected from demon culture. Such as you.


    I mean why exactly do you let this sort of thing happen? Won¡¯t it lead to you getting less followers or whatever you use to retain power?


    It doesn¡¯t happen nearly enough to have any real effect on anything really. It¡¯s simply not important. And really I don''t think you know demons well enough if you think that would affect their faith, or really any attachment to me at all. To you, you probably think of them as anarchistic, insane, or even absurdly prideful. It also does not help that a fairly insane demon put my heart inside of you.


    Your heart is inside of me? A God''s Heart is inside of me! Why aren''t I dead? isn¡¯t this a lot more important than you are letting on!


    It''s not that you can¡¯t support it. Really if it could get more blood that would be nice. That artifact is something I made after it became a trend for a bit.


    A Trend?


    The goddess of Light Ithune made a stupid sword that could cut down armys. Called the Hero''s sword. Everyone in the world knows of it.


    I mean yeah i know of it, but really? Can this heart be compared to such an artifact?


    No, not at all, the heart produces blood and mana on its own, getting stronger the more blood gets into it. It withers into a sort of gem-like object once the user dies so it''s easy to put into someone else or even insert into yourself. It''s most often used with demons that have no mana and wish to create a grand ritual. In your hands and with your talent the artifact is only somewhat useful. Really becoming my servant and having to do my bidding is a really big downside compared to the benefits of the darn thing. Most consider it cursed and the rituals produced by trying to keep the heart safe and contained are incredibly interesting.


    What are these rituals?


    I would like to tell you but you have just been standing here talking to a voice in your head for about 17 minutes. That''s not much time but it''s still quite a bit.


    But really I want to know more about these rituals. The heart is in my body and I think it would be a good thing to know. If it¡¯s really dangerous don¡¯t I need to do something about it?


    The heart is safe, the rituals are only secondary, finish the ritual already.


    How?


    Use the heart.


    How?


    I''m not your mother, just use it.


    I look at the ritual and then a look at my new artificial heart. Then I look at the ritual again. So I will guess? just channeling mana like normal? Attempting such. I notice that there is a distinct feeling of the heart''s energy and my own. Such a distinction that I get why the voice in my head is somewhat miffed. The energy is a tad bit worse than my own, lending credence to the voice''s statement about it being a ¡°bad deal¡±. More magical energy is always half decent, and well the voice also said the thing can be improved so i don¡¯t think much on that.


    Channeling the Heart''s energy into the ritual, the corpse slowly starts to get eaten away by some sort of invisible entity. Bits, gashes, and wounds start to appear all over the corpse. It began to reach a point where the corpse collapsed in on itself. Then it fell into a pool of blood strangely pooling up in the ritual circle. The corpse melts into the ritual until the only thing that remains is blood. Blood started flooding into the center of the ritual and began to slowly form into a creature. Organs I have never seen before and strange bone structure began to take shape. Ending in skin, the remaining blood flowed into the creature until the ritual became bare.


    The creature that stood before me was an unexpectedly large one, the same size as a human although a tad bit taller. It had no face and a strange Keg-like bone structure attached to its back. Its hands had 5 fingers and had strange nimble looking arms. Its bone structure is extremely pronounced on its body Mainly top heavy although its legs look fairly strong with large claw like feet. I can¡¯t help but be surprised by such a.. creature? I have seen monsters but usually they look a lot more natural.


    You haven¡¯t been to many places if you think most monsters look natural. Although that''s mostly because the natural looking ones are the first to be put into a dungeon. Easy things to kill are killed easily, almost surprising.


    These Hell demons look quite strange, really, i don¡¯t think this is on the upper end of looking natural. This thing looks straight out of a druid''s laboratory yet you suggest it''s the norm?


    The Assistant does not look strange, it''s actually quite pleasing to the eye. I could have made something far more ugly, but I didn''t. And not noticing such wonderful effort is quite depressing. The Assistant is called a Blood Mule, It produces blood and has a similar effect to my heart, the more meat it feasts upon the more and higher quality blood it produces. Basically with one of these you can manage a small number of other demons. And no, I''m not going to give you another one until you can ¡°pay¡± for the next.


    Pay eh, what exactly do you want?


    I will be blunt. I need two things, Blood and Mana, the more you get me the better. Also the better my relationship with you will go.


    Time to explain the contract. As my apostle you will have access to the myriad of things I can provide. But I need things done and I fundamentally as a god require Mana. Blood can be shifted into mana and mana can be shifted into blood, how nifty. So of course things i need done, Things I Need Done is what i need you to do. I will ask you politely to do them and you''re guaranteed to do so. What a nifty ritual. I give you things then you do things, what a wonderful, maybe even profitable ritual.


    Profitable you say?


    Yes Profitable, ¡°mutually beneficial¡± one might also say, you rub my back i rub yours. Although what a strong back to rub, the back of a god? You need to do a lot to match my expertise and cunning. So I expect you to start working, yes?


    What if I don''t work? I just go somewhere to build a cabin in the woods and not bother anyone.


    I''m stuck in your head bud, do you want real insanity?


    I don¡¯t think i want real insanity, or at least a strong maybe.


    Ah? Stange lad? Good Lad. Good Lad. A cabin in the woods is not the worst place to do what I want you to do, you know. Quiet out of the way, not in the middle of the current war that''s going on right now. Sounds pretty nice, yes?


    I guess this place isn¡¯t that nice, so maybe I should go somewhere else?


    This place is fine but do note that you''re not a demon in the middle of demonic territory. The strong monsters of this land could be put to some use, yes. But you need to start moving. The army is here and you don¡¯t want to be here when the ritual starts.


    What Ritual?


    Nothing, Nothing, Just a little surprise a few ambitious people are cooking up. Nothing for you to concern yourself over, Unless you wait here too long.


    Hmm, Nothing, as a term it doesn¡¯t make me feel any better. I really need to prepare or im going to get murdered by demons. The demons think I''m in some sort of blood rage right now so they aren¡¯t anywhere near here so I have a bit of time. I do just generally need more things, a weapon for one, the ¡°Blood Mule¡± as it''s called looks strong but will probably get popped by the demons blasting rods. And well, it''s large enough that it probably can¡¯t get behind a demon and stab its throat or anything like that without difficulty. I do remember that I am hungry. Can I ask Mr. Demon god to tell me where those corpses were?


    I will gladly uphold such a wonderful ritual.


    In my vision the corpses that were prepared were highlighted with a strange red glow. They were close to the stone slab in the center platform and looked spiced. Honestly i don¡¯t really know why i asked the god for where they were when i could have just looked. There are two corpses and I know I can''t eat all of them in one sitting. To be productive I tell the Blood Mule to eat all the corpses currently not in use other than the future food rations. The Mule that was mostly just confused and meandering suddenly became fairly excited at the prospect of having ¡°all¡± of these corpses. The creature walked up to the nearest corpse and its faceless head detached and unhinged into a large jaw. Well it''s strange arms unfurled? Into two large blade-like claws. It started to efficiently eat and tear apart the corpse starting with the exterior limbs like the arms and legs then going in for the meaty chest.


    Taking some example from the supposed expert, I cut off an arm of the spiced corpse. The corpse was a corpse of a demon which gave me a slight bit of clarity I guess. Taking a bite out of the arm I was honestly surprised as it was a lot better than I thought it would be. It tasted like beef but of an extremely high quality, almost divine. I honestly didn¡¯t think that beef this good even existed.


    I was going to tell you later that this is a delicacy in many upper-class areas of human territory. It would have been funny if you decided to never partake because of morality or some nonsense. Honestly my rather insane demon follower seems to have found a good one this time.


    I ignored the statements made by the god and just kept eating the arm until I ate about half it. By then I was quite full and I was told by the god this meat will keep so i trust that. The mule is still eating. He has eaten 3 corpses already but this area has a fairly large amount. Taking a fair amount of time to count we have about 460 corpses arranged in this ritual.


    Do note that you could have just asked me for that information.


    Why didn¡¯t you tell me as I started counting?


    Does not matter.


    Well.. Then? Are there any rare metals in this ritual?


    Yes there is Orichalcum in the center of the ritual. I suggest taking a bit and the rest is just a steel alloy.


    Ah, going to the center of the ritual and paying close attention to the ritual bindings I find that at a point the metals shift into a strange looking orange metal. I feel the metal is quite familiar but I do know I have never seen such a metal at markets. Mithril is usually the rare metal I expect but it''s strange to know there are multiple. I use alchemy to slowly detach and take the metal from the ground. I then put the metal in my newish magic bag. Thinking a bit, I should just do this with as much metal as I can. As really, it''s not like I will be going back to civilization soon. And it''s not like I will run into anywhere I can find metal.


    It should take a long time but I assume it will be worth it.

 C6 Hey. Eh.. Armchair General

    Preparing for war is a fairly long complicated process. Unfortunately, I did not have that distinct advantage, and my peers have locked us out of such privileges. Even then it''s not just my peers but the people of Vircuis that hamper the war effort. The land is a land of nobles and large in scale stretching from sea to sea east west. Bordering the tundras of Albon, the mountains of the hills, and the deserts of basilisk, most of Vircuis is temperate making it a good place to farm plant based goods. Such a large land is hard to govern, not to mention the land is governed by a strong feudal hierarchy. The nobles have a strong military culture poking and prodding its neighbors to prove themselves. Such a headstrong and stupid princible would have gotten themselves conquered and or killed if the conglomerate did not exist. Although much more of a truth if you consider the nation''s neighbors.


    The state of Basilisk has an extremely strong military and strong ties to druid heritage. With genetically modified warbeasts and monsters coming out of massive dungeon complexes. They have dug deep into the earth like the lot of them were incredibly angry ants. Not to mention their rival The Windy hills being a nation state of fortresses that pierce the sky primarily using flying warbeasts slowly being retrofitted for flying warmachines. Ants crawling underneath the ground and birds ripping up worms. What exactly does Vircuis offer at all compared to the other two states? Food, Money, And political power, all things that should rightfully be in the hands of the two superior states yet not. The deserts and mountains have little to no farmland and the only farmland the two states own are border towns on the northern and southern border of both states. Not to mention Grav the state behind the two being a peaceful farming state far from its roots. Most likely the softest target in this war after its guardian states fall.


    A lot of the more cowardly nobles of Vircuis are actually retreating to their safe havens in Grav which simply demonstrates what the nobles truly think about the situation. Selfish for such an honorable culture and despicable for what it means to protect. Such a culture needs to change and change violently which is what I have advocated for many a session in the conglomerates counsel. If we forced modernisation and improved their discipline we may have had 3 buffers for this war instead of 2. Of course these buffers won¡¯t do their jobs if the dwarfs are to be trusted. We would simply have had more time at least. Of course I need to consider my own plans at the moment.


    The Crag is a network of canyons and plateaus and the main natural deterrent to stop Basilisk and The Windy Hills from annihilating each other. Rat holes from basilisk run deep into the crag and mountain fortresses spread from canyon ridge to canyon ridge and plateau to plateau. Making it into a great choke point for defense and what I''m currently working on. If Vircuis is to be sacrificed, holes must be patched. And the cheesed out rat network of tunnels in the crag leads a straight path for the demons to take. Only problem is one of two extremes, either the Vircuis noble is so corrupt that they demand absurd, upfront, material gain for their ¡°participation¡± with outdated Modified soldiers using equipment that would be ineffective against the enemy. Or a Vircuis noble so obviously tricked and brainwashed into the Vircuis ¡°Honor¡± system. That they ¡±want¡± to charge a line of fully augmented demons with an enchanted sword. They Actually don¡¯t care about retreating and actually participating. It''s almost pathetic and almost strange when it comes to how many of them actually exist!? Of course we finally land on the royal family that has no chaps and no sway in their own governmental system. Obviously taken advantage of by vast swathes of nobles and noble hierarchies. Vircuis as a nation would probably be 4-5 nations if the conglomerate didn¡¯t prevent a change to national borders. Meaning i have to convince the 4 major political parties of Vircuis to actually work towards the conglomerates ends rather than their own. And well.. How well is that going? 3 out of the 4 party leaders have already ran tail between their legs to Grav. Leaving their commanders confused with orders to stand their ground. The honor system of Vircuis mostly affects their bottom line so to convince soldiers that would rather die than retreat to actually retreat is a pipedream. So it''s somewhat understandable to not make an attempt. But really? To just leave them to die is another thing entirely. Really it just does not sit right with me for a leader of a nation to so easily run away. So all the letters I sent to those dimwits were for nothing. Really I''m starting to get tired of politicking. Well more than usual, it¡¯s just a game of fucking people over, and man i¡¯m bad at that. Or well i guess im good at it when it comes to "face to face" conflict. Somewhat depressed I looked to a fairly particular slender man sitting in a large chair to maybe make me feel a tad bit better.


    ¡°Sigh¡± ¡°So Breivik, what''s the situation of the windy hills and basilisk? are they fighting right now?¡±


    The man was sleeping and woke up to my words.


    ¡°WHAT!?¡± ¡°Er¡± ¡°what did you say?¡±


    Well I guess I have to be polite. ¡°Are the Hills And Basilisk fighting?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Breivik looked properly confused, I assume because he had just woken up?


    ¡°Uh, give me a moment¡±


    Breivik puts his hands to his head in a way you would usually see a disappointed teacher.


    ¡°Where did you get your information on the fallback countries?¡±


    ¡°I got it from the official logs and historys. What''s the problem? Did they have a major ceasefire and we didn¡¯t know about it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get some booze.¡±


    Breivik gets up from his chair and leaves my office with no other thought.


    Well.. it can¡¯t be that outdated? We supposedly check about every demon invasion. Which happens about every 200 years. I suppose 200 years is a tad bit out of date, but it''s not like a nation would improve that quickly. Although tech introduction was beginning according to my logs. Ah! Maybe they had some sort of revolution? But that doesn''t necessarily mean ideas. Old ideas will still linger and old grudges would still exist right? I get out of my office to go to the library. I think I know a way to solve this.


    -


    An old librarian sits peacefully sipping tea, lax about someone entering the space.


    ¡°General William. What can i do for you today?¡±


    ¡°I want to look at anatomical books about Birdmen and Goblins if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    The librarian starts manipulating a runescript machine quite easily pulling out two books out of a welded-on compartment. As i take my books i ask


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Did Brevik come in?¡±


    ¡°No i did see him running past the hallway¡± With a pointed movement to the north


    The north is in the direction of a the side exit into the railroad. So I assume brevik is working on something. ¡°Well thank you for the information¡±


    ¡°No Problem¡± as the librarian goes back to sipping tea.


    So sitting down in a quite conner of the currently barren public library. the two books I received are Goblin Evolution Hierarchy by Sage Helith and Guide To Druidry, Birdmen. I somewhat know this Helith book, supposedly it is only useful to goblins, and curses goblins. Although the information inside can be viewed by any race. I need these books to figure out how long these races live. Looking at the book of goblins every possible evolution a goblin can go through is stated in a fair amount of detail. I begin with the most basic goblin.


    -


    Goblin Base


    Notable Features: Adaptability


    Curse: Strong (it''s not necessarily that the Curse itself is strong mostly that the base goblin is weak)


    Lifespan: 2 years, 10 day growth cycle


    The goblin base is created by a goblin that had mated with a goblin female. Extremely weak and doesn''t have access to many evolution options. Will inevitably end in the upper mid tier of goblin evolutions unless an augment is put in place or a druid interveniens.


    (the text contentious on with a wide variety of draft work and anatomical images. The base goblin is quite small with extremely limited musculature. Even if I''m not a biologist I can tell that the organs look shriveled and a few look out of place.)


    -


    2 Years? If this is a baseline for goblins I completely understand why most tribes are feral. They technically don¡¯t even really have the chance to live or succeed. I guess these goblins just live to eat and fuck like animals, but an established socity like basilisk wouldnt have these types of goblins commonly. I look for another baseline.


    -


    Orc-Goblin base


    Notable Features: Adaptability, Large as a Human, Unnaturally Strong, Unnaturally Aggressive


    Curse: Strong (the curse is worse in Orc-Goblins as they tend to have no self control)


    Lifespan 35 years, 4 month growth cycle


    Orc-Goblins are a testament to a tribe''s success. To be able to capture an orc female and the even harder task of impregnating one is amazing no matter how distasteful. Usually these tribes fall apart from infighting as the Orc-Goblins become maddened by the curse and actually kill and butcher even their own tribe.


    -


    Ah! So this is a baseline that makes sense for an empire of sorts. Although I don''t see an empire of angry orc goblins the orcs have founded society''s so some have probably popped up. Although of course for such a society to exist they have to have some sort of enslaved orc subgroup. Quite evil that. Of course the goblin curse is strong in this theoretical orc-goblin empire as well. Such an empire would be absolutely hated by its neighbors. Undying lust and a fundamental need for slavery I don''t really understand how a truce would happen. Of course the neighbors in question are birdmen so I need to figure out what the base for that is?


    -


    Birdmen-Goblin base


    Notable Features Adaptability, durable, Minor Gliding Capabilities, Funny


    Curse: Normal (the strange disposition of the birdmen has transmitted somewhat)


    Lifespan: 22 years, 1 year growth cycle


    The birdmen goblins are mostly native to Basilisk being the only goblin colony next to a birdmen settlement. The inherent mutations of the birdmen has caused strange mutations to the goblins. Birdmen-goblins have skin of stone and 2 large feathery wings. The stonelike skin and solid bones of the goblins prevents the wings from being useful similarly to the birdmen. Requiring use of magic in order to allow flight. But worse than birdmen with the stone mutation. With such large downsides the birdmen goblins aren''t preferred in the basilisk goblin settlement. With the settlement mostly taking humans from Grav and Vircius to reinforce its slave population. Especially assorted tourists from gravs tourist economy. The only useful thing about a birdmen-goblin is that the Curse has minor effect on the subspecies.


    -


    Hmm the tourists of Grav? Well that means we won''t necessarily know the makeup of basilisk. Well I also think I have gotten a bit ahead of myself. The ages are about 25 years so 200 years can probably make some sort of major change in that time. Through simple population death and generational change. Massive changes like a ceasefire may be possible.


    Stewing in my contemplation, my thoughts get interrupted by Bendan Fei Yu entering the room to seemingly get some strategic documentation. The man looks at me as asks politely with a bow "High General William, I am Researching a training regime to turn Vircuis bowmen troops into blasting rod marksmen"


    I ask somewhat casually "how''s that going for ya"


    Fei Yu seemingly has a straight face "Yes. It''s going fine."


    Let''s prod a bit. "Explain to me the specifics, maybe I could help."


    Fei Yu looks at me skeptically, sort of breaking his straight face. "No need to be rude general but what kind of knowledge would assist me at this point"


    "I don''t mean to be offensive or even as rude as you. I guarantee I am qualified enough at least in this aspect."


    Still skeptical, Fei Yu slowly explains "well the Vircius archers are prideful to a point, even if modified with superior vision and are decent soldiers. The majority of the difficulty is trying to get them to switch to a better weapon."


    That is indeed something I can''t really help with "how about the knights you have any plans for them?"


    Fei Yu looks exhausted "the only thing we can do for them is give them militia treatment. Even if they are skilled knights, really warfare involves knights so little nowadays. I think it''s a waste of resources, not to mention somewhat of a strategic pitfall.¡±


    "But aren''t they still knights? Why push them to that sort of role when they could be defensive or even offensive?"


    Fei Yu looks miserable. "Sigh" "It''s a problem with lethality. Yes they can be used defensively but those men will be shredded. No matter what position you put them in. It''s almost better for such well trained soldiers to use that training in a more basic position."


    "Would take a lot of effort to push such stubborn fools in that direction"


    Anyway "have you heard anything from the Adventures Guild."


    Fei Yu tiredly answers "they put out a notice a bit ago. Should have at least 2000 volunteers. Rather small and no real big names. It seems it''s not just the Vircuis that knows this is a deathtrap.¡±


    Not many, well ¡°everything good for mobilization¡±


    Fei Yu does perk up a bit for this, it seems to be good news at least. ¡°Yes, we will be able to mobilize soon so you will be doing what you do best and out of HQ¡±


    Honestly i genuinely start smiling

 Chp 7 the roads are dangerous and full of idiots.

    After gathering all the steel and orcuiliuium in this ritual I need to figure out a safe way out of here. The first thing I need it to find a railroad smuggling point. If I can find that the tunnels should go under the fighting. Although first I need a weapon, I''ll just make something simple. Using alchemy I shift a piece of steel into the shape of a spear head. Then taking a piece of wood I make a shaft. Alchemically bonding the two together will make for a decent weapon. I am not a blacksmith so I have no idea how to make a good spearhead. But don''t I have a book on carpentry, won''t that have something to do with a wooden shaft?


    Opening up the book I am surprised only one thing is in it


    -


    Mission 1 look at a tree


    -


    I look at a tree than back at my book


    -


    Mission 1 complete¡­


    Mission 2 think about the tree and its uses


    -


    Well a tree can be used for wood, and buildings, and weapons, and other things I guess?


    I immediately look back at the book


    -


    2 missions completed


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Review (now available)


    Mission hints (now available)


    Mission 3-1 search for carpenters tools


    Mission 3-2 create a plank of wood


    Mission 3-3 create a simple wooden spear


    Mission 3-4 find a rare type of wood


    Mission 3-5 research basic druidry


    Book study materials


    Basic druidry


    How to make a good spear out of only wood


    How to make a plank


    List of important carpentry tools


    -


    Ahh so I have found what I need, but how do I get to it? Think "how to make a good spear out of only wood?" Looking at the book nothing happens. I decide to touch the sentence,  and it apparently takes me to the information I need.


    -


    You find a stick, then sharpen said stick, then put barbs on the end to make ripping it out of someone painful. If you have a rock it might be a smart idea to find a way to strap it onto your stick somehow. Put a rune of shattering on the stick. Really sticks are quite cheap, and I don''t necessarily see myself using one.


    -


    The "study materials" were only this sentence and a diagram for the rune of shattering. I uh, am kinda starting to understand why people with these books haven''t taken over the world yet. I guess on the upper end the information gets good but this is quite simple. What is a rune of shattering anyhow.


    That rune was something invented by the dwarfs incredibly long ago. Really when dwarfs still used Melee weapons more generally. Most of the time it would usually be put onto hammers. the effect of the rune would shatter the enemies armor. This rune in particular seems to shatter whatever the rune is placed on.


    Shatter whatever it''s placed on?


    End.


    This is the last chapter, this is when I stopped writing this.

 Why was this abandoned (Woodsmen)

    This story was simply too boring, the general idea was to make a story that mimicked minecraft modpacks with their railroaded stories and whatnot.


    The place in which the story starts is interesting but not really all that great when it comes to expandability. I had a lot of trouble, and writing blocks, trying to figure out how to get the character where I wanted him. Which led to the story being very blocky, filled with whiplash, as it switched to various things. With nothing really that interesting in-between where I wanted him to go. With it being a rather dangerous woods It is not impossible to make this interesting. I just found it strange to try and mix this with the book systems and the sheer amount of other nonsense I tried to shove in. Other versions of this story in my head started with a old veteran adventurer and that probably would have been a better way of doing things.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Would i come to this concept again?


    I may intersect this concept into other stories but as an actual story? These types of novels are actually quite boring in that the inbetween is really tedious. How most of them I read functioned was by ignoring the tedium. Leading to many timeskips and rather wishy washy timescaling. This type of story seems to function best with a more laidback premises. The main character being in lush semi-safe environments living the true farming life. You could tell I got bored and started writing from the brothers perspective. And now that I think about it, that''s how a lot of those farming stories end up. Fuck the farming man main charater i made. Let''s focus on actual interesting people in the world.