《Repetitions of existence》


 Prologue

    Rage still gripped him as he found himself back in that endless library. Instead of warping the room to fit his taste as he had in the past, he started destroying it. Shelves twisted and exploded. The shredded books rained down as fire started to engulf everything.


    He could hear that incompetent reaper talking in that mechanical voice but it faded to the background as he ignored it. He didn¡¯t know why he thought seeing this place in ruins would make him feel any better when destroying worlds hadn¡¯t. He loathed not just this limbo, this reaper, or this last life he had lived. No he loathed the entirety of this existence of rebirths that somehow came to be when he should have finally had his peace.


    He willed everything away. No more reaper frantically trying to get him to calm down. No more ridiculous library. No more rebirths. He floated there in the nothingness for a time. It could have been seconds or eons he couldn¡¯t tell. For the first time in several lifetimes he finally felt like he could take a breath.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡®Breathing in a place with no air. I''m definitely well adjusted. I guess I¡¯ll craft my peace that I couldn¡¯t ever find.¡±


    He began to create the place his mind would go to in his first life when he felt overwhelmed. The walls of the cave came first. Unnaturally smooth and perfecting round. The cave ceiling came next. A near perfect dome dotted with stalactites that dripped water into the center of the cave where he made a crystal clear pool of water. The floor he made was uneven and rough, but lacked any jagged edges.


    He walked along the edge of his cave. Running his hand along the wall as he went. Enjoying the feeling of the smooth stone. The only sounds in his cave were that of the water droplets trickling off the stalactites and landing in the pool. Calling to him. He turned towards the pool and walked the fifty feet from the cave wall and straight into the water.


    The gentle slope with a sandy shore was on the other half of the pool, so he plunged straight in as he walked off the edge. He slowly floated to the surface on his back. The sound of the water droplets soothing him as his mind began to wander.

 First Death and a second life

    His consciousness floated in the empty void of space. He knew he was dead and assumed this must be the last fleeting moments as his brain shut down. His death was the one he wanted but most people feared.


    It was not a sudden thing but long and drawn out. The pain he was forced to endure daily was a small price to pay, to not only know when and how his life would end, but to be given enough time to leave as few loose ends as he could. In his end, he still maintained a measure of control, and did his best to ease his passing on those that he left behind.


    The peace he longed for was finally his. True peace. No more of the endless struggles and pain.


    He could not really tell time drifting in an endless void but it felt like a long time had passed. Like a really long time. He was done with his self reflection and had felt content. Now he was starting to feel antsy.


    They better not bring me back


    Finally after what felt like an eternity the stars started to blur. Except instead of fading out he suddenly found himself sitting in his computer chair. He might have been tempted to think he was waking from a slumber but the only thing familiar to him in the room he found himself in was his chair.


    The room looked like it was the most massive library he had ever seen. He could see between bookshelves but not the far wall behind them. Spinning in his chair it was the same in every direction. In front of him was a computer. But instead of being his computer with a mental interface and retinal display it looked like a DOS computer he played on as a child. As he continued to spin in his chair he heard a voice.


    ¡°You were really hard to catch. Just ready to jump ship weren¡¯t you.¡±


    He stopped spinning as he heard the voice. The computer screen in front of him now had a face displayed. It wasn''t a clear picture, or a picture at all, but was instead made up of characters. He wasn''t sure why his dying brain would take him here and he just wasn''t really sure what to do so he did nothing.


    ¡° Now this is going to be hard to hear but you died. LIke soul moved on. You will never see anyone you know and love again kinda dead.¡±


    The characters making up the mouth moved seamless to its words as it spoke. Its voice had a mechanical quality to it but sounded like it was coming out of the crappiest speakers he could imagine. Again he pondered why his brain would conjure such a dream. He had felt contentment as he died, but now his subconscious mind was just starting to irritate him.


    ¡°Ok, I''m dead. Go away now please.¡±


    ¡°I know its hard to..¡±


    ¡°Not hard. I should be drifting off to nothingness, the burny place, or the fluffy place. Quit grasping at the end and just let go so I can be done with this.¡±


    ¡°I see now why you almost got away from me. Normally I would let you acclimate but I''m behind now because you ran off. This is your afterlife, or the main menu of it anyway.¡±


    ¡°My after life is a library?¡±


    ¡°Everything here are representations of things that would bring you comfort from your life.¡±


    ¡°I like libraries but like I mostly just read books on my tablet.¡±


    ¡°I literally am not responsible for the things here. There''s a bunch of information that you can go through that is going to decide how you live your next life. Maybe thats why?¡±


    ¡°Sounds like your asking the guy that has no idea what is going on and is still pretty sure this is in his head. Oh wait¡±


    As he realized he and the computer agreed he was responsible for this room and so he could change it. Instead of a library the room changed into a blank empty room with near walls and no doors or windows. Floating in the air in front of him was a search bar. The computer that was talking to him turned into a floating robotic sphere. The single thing he did not change was his chair. He loved that chair.


    ¡° I guess this could be considered an upgrade to someone. I personally liked the ambiance of a room full of endless filled bookshelves. But a room that looks like it should be used for interrogation seems good too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you didn¡¯t play a part in that first room choice at all I''m sure.¡±


    ¡°Ok fine i did, but it''s not like it was uncomforting. And this just seemed sad.Though i do like my improvement.¡±


    ¡°Your not very good at what you do are you? First you almost loose me and then you decide what my limbo room should be.¡±


    ¡°You do this for a few million eons you would get burned out too.¡±


    ¡°You said this is my ¡°main menu¡± so what am I actually doing.¡±


    He didn¡¯t really think this was real but at least it was interesting. If his brain wanted to go out with a lucid dream he wasn''t going to begrudge it that.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°You are making your character for your next life. You are getting dropped in a gamer style world. Congrats you earned enough points in your last world to not have to do a whole restart. It is still an option but most don''t go that route if they have the choice. So you will get to make a char with some basic starting skills and traits based on points and then will be dropped into a hidden alcove for reincarnies. Some small weak monsters, healing pool. Most of the world won''t be reincarnies though so you should probably try to hide that.¡±


    He was going to ask about his char creation screen but after a thought he had willed it into existence. It showed him when he was about twenty years of age. Along the side he saw a list of stats and above he saw his karmic score. The stats were not complicated. Mind, spirit, and body. He thought on each and got a description for them


    Mind : commonly linked with intelligence, memory, and physical perception. Can be increased on level up or with training.


    Spirit : Commonly linked with mana, willpower, and magical perception. Can be increased on level up or with training.


    Body : Commonly linked with health, stamina, dexterity and strength. Can be increased on level up or with training.


    He found a link to traits underneath his stats. Focusing to open it he saw he had one trait and it looked like he could buy more with his karmic score. Deciding it would be better to see what he had before what he could get he focused of his trait.


    Devout of efficiency : ******** tier rank 2


    Granted for a life devoted to the law of efficiency. All skills and activities gain a .002% efficiency per use.


    Efficiency : decreases time and requirements while increasing yield


    I know I can be a bit anal but this seems like an exaggeration. But seems super breakable so I''ll take it. Let''s find some spam skills.


    He found the list of skills and was immediately overwhelmed by the seemingly Infinite number of options. Knowing he wasn''t going to want to, and probably wasn''t even going to be able to, actually fling his arms a million times he filtered out physical skill.


    Heh. Now only have half an infinite number of options. Definitely need to cut some more.


    He added more filters for chaining, low cast time and low mana cost. Still at an infinite options he added auto targeting hostiles. And it was still like an Infinite number.


    "How am I supposed to find a skill when I have so many options?"


    "I have no idea what you are trying to do. Pick the skills you want that let you have a desired effect. Skills aren''t locked in to a single effect."


    Turning his mind back on the skills he focused solely on chaining and he got one single skill. Focusing on the skill further brought up info


    Chaining : An effect will cause additional effects.


    Selecting it he saw the cost to his Karmic score wasn''t very much. Then thought why is it that it is called Karmic score, and then lastly decided why question the death throes of his subconscious.


    He quickly went through and found all the necessary components to make his spell. Thanking when he selected the actual casting component it warned him he needed the skill to use mana all together and then was farther warned that he needed the skills for having mana and gaining mana. After that he found he also needed to set up when it would chain.


    This seems way too complicated. I just want to lazyly zap everything while not paying attention but I think I''m finally done.


    Attack Sparkles :


    Cast, Chain, On Impact, make aspect: electricity, energy drain, auto target nearest enemy.


    *cough*


    He ignored the robot reaper''s attempt to get his attention. It wasnt because he thought it wouldnt be important, though it probably wouldnt be, but because the robot was a fucking robot makeing a coughing noise. If the robot reaper wanted prompt attention he should stay on theme, He didn''t even make it sound like a robotic cough.


    Now that he figured out his skill he went back to the list of traits. His fear was that there would be some sort of cap on things. So he quickly found a trait that he would need.


    Limitless : No maximums


    The only problem was that he didn''t have enough karmic score to get it. He quickly started looking to see if there were debuffs to give him more. He ended up having to select two in order to have enough. Most of the debuffs were ones he would never take. Some weren¡¯t truly that bad but would take so many to actually be able to afford Limitless.


    In the end he choose two that were strong enough to let him afford Limitless, but wouldn''t effect how he lived to badly he hoped.


    Uncharismatic : charisma score .5 modifier


    Don''t really feel like talking to people anyway. Also where the hell was charisma.


    Slow learner : skill progression .5 modifier


    Should mostly be countered by my efficiency perk


    So long as i dont piss someone off enough for him to kill me right away, before I can spam my skill enough, I will be golden.


    ¡°Robotic cough¡±


    ¡°You just said that. Though you used a robotic voice so i guess it''s on theme so whats up?¡±


    ¡°How are you going to keep your spell from chaining to yourself?¡±


    ¡°Doesn''t it just chain to the nearest enemy if it''s in range?¡±


    ¡°No, as it is, it will chain completely randomly. It wont even favor life forms over a wall.¡±


    ¡°O god how many more components do i need for this spell. And why is this system so complicated.¡±


    ¡°Just taking mana intent should be enough. It''s a little bit of a catch all that smooths out spell making. Once it gets to high enough levels it alone is enough for more basic effects. As to why the system is so complicated, it depends entirely on the user. Most aren''t. Most would have just been like i choose spark, Your just anal and its reflected in your system.¡±


    The skill components were thankfully very cheap compared to traits so he had enough to add mana intent to his spell.


    ¡° I think I''m ready. Beam me down.¡±


    ¡° First of all it does not involve beams and secondly, it''s not down. You''re flowing from one existence to the next.¡±


    ¡°Dont care just hurry up and beam me¡­.¡±


    Suddenly he found himself in a clearing by a small lake. He could see some small blobs bouncing in the distance, Cliffs encircled him on all sides.Wondering how he could get out of here would have to come later. As would the ¡°hopefully a slime¡± blob.


    ¡° First things first.¡±


    He spoke aloud for no apparent reason but was happy to find it was his normal voice. He wasn''t sure how he would take it If he had some obnoxious voice because of his low charisma. He looked into the lake to see his reflection and it looked just like it had on his char creation screen.


    Charisma was always a weak point though so maybe my half of average is just my normal


    Next he summoned all the windows every game world needed


    Char:


    Inventory:


    Glad I started with pants


    Skills :


    Next he willed his health and mana to be in the corners of his visions. Going through a dozen different styles before he decided to go with orbs. Locking it into the orientation of his head instead of his eyes so he could focus on it if he wanted to.


    Now to zap some blobs

 Chapter 1.5

    He carefully approached the nearest blob and was happy to discover it seemed very slime like. Realizing he should probably have tested the skill before confronting an enemy as he got within target range. He stuck out his hand to cast only to find out that the spell came from his whole body, and left him feeling tingly.


    Distracted by the sensation and very much not respecting a mere slime he failed to notice as the slime lunged at him far faster than what he would have expected it to be capable of. Out of reflex he stuck out his arm, which is exactly what you don''t want to do with gelation monsters,  and it was engulfed by the slime. The sleeve of his shirt melted almost instantly and then it started to dissolve his flesh. He screamed as he dumped the entirety of his mana into the slime.


    Some flecks of something flew from the blob towards him. He tried to block thinking it was another attack only to find that the flecks were absorbed by his body. Out of breath from the screaming he fell to the ground a few feet from the slime. Believing the flecks must have been some experience he summoned his char sheet as he struggled to catch his breath and ignore the pain.


    Yup it was experience. Glad bottoming out my mana didn¡¯t kill me but damn I am thirsty and my body feels so heavy and fuck my arm hurts. Why does it feel like I''m out of stamina from using a spell? This is the whole reason why I didn''t go with a physical skill.


    He slowly made his way back to the lake. Deciding that the water looked clean enough, and that this is probably all in his head anyway, he stuck his acid burnt hand in the water. hoping cool water would make it feel better and assuming leaving traces of slime innards on your body was a bad idea. His hand instantly felt better as he saw the skin get repaired. He then dunked his whole arm in and it too healed instantly


    Awesome healing pool. Glad I don''t have to worry about heals now but I''m thirsty, so hopefully you''re allowed to drink a healing lake.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He took a drink out of his hand. The water instantly soothed his aching throat and the sensation soon spread throughout his body. Summoning his char sheet yet again let him know that he was full, rested, and his mana was maxed out.


    A single drink did that. Totally abusing this pool.


    He scanned the area in hopes to find another solitary slime. Most were in groups of two and three. After some time he managed to find one but he would have to sneak past two others to get there. Having no idea what the agro range for these creatures was and not wanting to get into a fight with three at once he decided to try on a group of two.


    He took a deep breath as he readied himself. He knew none of this was real but it still hurt. To make sure he didn''t screw up the start of the fight again, he checked his skill to see its range, cursing as he had to do mental conversions because it was listed in metric.


    Why the fuck, if the system is tailored to the user, why is it using a measurement im not as familiar with. I agree it''s better but still.


    He approached the two slimes slowly. Wanting to see when they would agro he took one step and then paused for a five count then continued. The slimes weren¡¯t far but the walk was a long one at that pace. Finally just outside of what he predicted his range would be they jumped at him.


    Knowing it was pointless, but deciding, just standing there was boring and lame, he held his two hands outstretched in front of him as he cast Sparkles. The attack launched from his body the same as before and he was unsatisfied with the look of his outstretched hands. The attack raced towards the slimes and dissipated right before the slimes would have collided with it.


    FUCKING METRIC


    He cast again quickly. As he cast, he wished it would arc between his arms, and release at his hands. To his surprise the attack did just that. The slimes at this point were just one more hop away from him. He was already casting again as the first one struck the lead slime. The electricity surrounded the slime for the briefest moments before it jumped to the second slime. By the time the electricity had left the second one to return to lead slime his new spell hit it as well.


    The slimes were locked in place as he dumped more and more spells into them. The spells were jumping back and forth nearly consistently and it looked as if lighting were arcing between the two. Two thirds of his mana was gone by the time the flecks of exp flew into him.


    That actually went fairly well. Time to get some water from that pool and hunt another group.

 Chapter 1.75

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    He wasn''t sure how long he had been doing this at this point, but even with his ability to hyperfocus on something to the point of losing sense of time, he was starting to get bored. His skill seemed pretty strong now and it took a half hour of casting the non overcharge version of his attack to empty his mana pool. He thought the efficiency bonus would just apply to his overall attack but it actually was even more broken than he thought. It applied to every component in the spell and since mana use, regen, and holding were all counted as skills they also benefited from the bonus.


    He added more electricity to all the other bolts that were already bouncing. The slimes in his area seemed to not respawn. The slimes had been enough to get him to level 2. Which rewarded him with more karmic points but not enough to be useful. Thankfully it wasn¡¯t that hard to figure out how to learn skills. He had to add ¡°bounce off object¡± and ¡°random direction¡± for when there wasn¡¯t a nearby enemy. He then figured out how to add ¡°overcharge¡± by pushing more mana into his spells when he wanted it, which then morphed into ¡°precise charge¡± when he started trying to underpower the spell.


    Then of course, because having to cast himself every time was beneath him, he figured out how to make totems by charging some of his mana with the spell and removing it from his body. He had to learn ¡°interval¡± and  ¡°remote mana manipulation¡± to make it work. While it made it cost more in the beginning, his endlessly casting soon made it all benefit.


    Plus he made himself a defensive aura that would zap anything harmful that got close. Or at least that''s what he thought it should do. His only way to test that one was by throwing a rock in the air and try to get it to land on him, so he wasn''t sure how effective it would be from an actual enemy. But it took forever how to figure out the skills for an aura.


    He was just about to leave when a sensation filled him. It took him back enough that he stopped casting for the first time, since he learned to cast a spell automatically so he could focus casting on other different spells. He smirked at how long it took for all the bolts of electricity to dissipate. He felt like electricity was still running underneath his skin.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Fearing he broke himself somehow, he checked his char screen. Finding a new trait ¡°Elemental of lightning¡±. Focusing on it he read its description. You have gone far beyond a mere master. You have become so familiar with lightning that it has become a part of you, transforming you into a partial elemental. Bonus damage with that element. Rejuvenated by that element.


    Well fuck that changes everything. ¡°Make lighting aspect¡± was a skill so if he could figure out how to make other elemental aspects. Or if he could figure out how the magic from the pool works to heal and feed him he wouldn''t need to eat. Well, fire should be easy. I think I''ll start with that.


    He pulled two units of mana from his body and moved them several feet away because he didn¡¯t want to catch himself on fire. Thinking he could cause the mana to condense and ignite by forcing it together he started ramming the two units together. He was really glad he did it so far away from himself as its the only reason he survived the explosion.


    Skilled learned : Mana Fusion


    He ignored the prompt Because all he could think about was the pain he was feeling. The blast Had thrown him a dozen feet along the shore of the healing pool. He knew he needed to get to the pool and all would be better so he started to drag himself towards it with the misshapen remains of his limbs.


    As his body started to touch the water it started to regrow itself and put himself back into shape. He had never hurt himself this badly. Never actually got hurt accidentally except for with that first slime. After that he had made some small wounds repeated to see if there was a limitation about the amount but he was unwilling to do anything too severe for a real test.


    Ok first things first i need to figure out how to copy how this pool heals. Also omg i unlocked fusion because I''m an idiot. Though can i learn mana fission hehehe. But yeah first self heals before I accidentally blow myself up again

 Chapter 2

    To use any magic it required the ability to perceive magic but it was very limited. In learning to use his totems he did have to make the skills more robust but it was still more just tracking something that was familiar to him. Something that started inside of him that he moved outside of himself. So he decided that his best bet with learning the magic of the water will be to try to study it as it flows through his body as he drinks it.


    He knew now with his intrinsic connection with the lightning aspect that it was mana altered to have a certain feel. Which made the earlier blunder in his excitement all the more stupid. Lightening aspect made the mana feel like it couldn''t stay in one place. That it had to race forward.


    He cut his hand before dunking it into the pool. As the mana of the water flowed through him he tried to grasp its feel. He could feel it give strength to his body. The mana wasn''t making his body be well so much as it was giving it the ability to make itself well. He felt his hand stitch itself together at the behest of and with the nourishment from the mana. The mana became whatever the body needed it to be to be whole.


    Feeling he had a start, he pulled his now healed hand from the lake and cut it again. This time instead of dunking his hand he pooled some of his mana there. He focused on making the mana infuse his flesh and encourage it to replicate to replace the damage. After several minutes and several different perspectives but the same premise something finally clicked and his flesh healed.


    Damn it took most of my mana but I did it. I mean my mana is full again already but still that was a small cut. I better grind this out until I''m comfortable with replacing limbs or some such.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    He truly had no idea how long he had been training skills. After learning Life aspect and proceeding to break it so he no longer ever needed to eat, drink and rarely needed to sleep, he started to grind.


    The clearing looked like an apocalyptic scene. The pool was the only part of the landscape that remained untouched. The ground misshapen and scorched was now covered in frost. Discarded stone weapons laid everywhere as he started training physical skills simultaneously as his magical ones.


    After gaining the elemental affinity for Life, and gaining a confidence that only being able to repair your body almost instantly can grant, he started working on fire. After chidding himself for almost blowing himself up with Mana Fusion he spent a lot of time thinking about what he should have done so it came easy. Instead of foolishly trying to force mana together he used the mana to excite the manner around it causing it to ignite.


    Casting spells took very little conscious thought once he figured out the aspect. He made extra spells like a fire aura but since he mostly just needed to spam the spell like crazy he decided he might as well work on physical skills. Running in circles and jumping wildly. By the time he finally got the elemental affinity for fire he felt like a master acrobat along with being a marathon sprinter.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Next was earth, so he could use it to make weapons and learn weapon skills. Air followed because why wouldn¡¯t he want to fly. Lastly was ice. He could have learned more but after years if not decades working on this in seclusion the loneliness was starting to get to him. He couldn¡¯t find the energy to throw into another project. It was finally time to leave the tutorial area.


    The exit of the clearing was through a stone archway leading into a mountain. He was always very careful to not strike the stone archway, fearing what might happen if he broke it, so it was the only pristine thing left at ground level.  He never actually crossed the barrier of the entryway but it was the only opening in the mountains that surrounded him. He supposed that maybe he could be expected to climb up one of the cliff faces, but he doubted it.


    He stuck his leg through and waited. The distortion hid the end of his leg from him. What was left of his pants never reached the distortion, instead draping off his thigh. The rest of his cloths were in a similar level of disrepair.


    Now should I make myself clothes before I go? Like I feel like i should probably not look this haggard if im going to try to find people. But it might also just be me trying to stall again.  If i do make clothes for myself, what do i make them out of? Can I grow clothes?


    His leg still outstretched in front of him, he began growing himself clothes. The only plant nearby was grass so that is what he began to cover himself with. He started by making a blade of grass so slender and long it could have never have existed without the benefit of magic. It climbed up his body until it got to his neck, circling it as the blade of grass started to weave around itself.


    He decided as a mage he should have a robe. He was in the wilderness though so he would keep the hem short. The grass continued to weave. Once done, the robe was a vibrant green, with a length that went down to his mid calves and had long flowing sleeves. The blade of grass used to make it so thin you couldn''t tell it was alive.


    Ok I hella dig this color


    He finally lowered his leg so he could hop around. His first attempt to hop ended in failure as he didn''t give himself any slack in the blade of grass so his magic had him pegged to the ground. After actually giving himself the slack he needed to do so, he began jumping and jogging in place.  And a single flip just for fun, not that he thought that would be necessary to do so in the future in this robe.


    Yeah, good enough. I don''t look like someone that should be turned away by the city guard now I hope. Though I should probably make sure it doesn''t die. That''s totally a reasonable concern im sure. Everyone on this planet probably has living clothes they need to nourish.


    Chuckling to himself, he began to do what he does when he makes a totem. Take a piece of his mana from his body with the instructions to keep the robe healthy and whole. He made sure to separate the blade from the ground right at the collar where it formed. Not bothering to tie it in but instead trusting that the mana nourishing it to also maintain its shape.


    No more stalling


    He stepped through without anymore hesitation. What greeted him on the other side was not what he expected. He assumed it would be the start of a tunnel, but now he stood in the middle of a forest. He turned around and the gateway was nowhere to be seen. He waved his arms through where the gateway should have been but felt nothing.


    Bye lake, was kinda hoping to be able to backtrack.

 Chapter 3

    His eyes took in the trees towering over him. The sunlight shining through the canopy let him know he was still in the same half of the world at least. Where the Sun actually was in the sky to make a more accurate prediction, he had no idea.


    When was the last time I actually cared about what time it was heh.


    He started walking forward carefully. The tree canopy stifled the plants growing on the forest floor. With little underbrush to impede his movements, or hide critters, his careful progress was honestly quite fast. The most careful part involved carefully picking a tree straight ahead, and once getting there, picking another, to make sure he didn¡¯t end up going in circles. Not that he needed to worry about substance, but he sure as hell did want to get lost in this forest forever.


    One tree¡­..two tree¡­..three tree¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­one hundred and eighty seven tree.


    He stopped and leaned against number one hundred and eighty seven. At this point he had been walking for hours, and still he could see nothing but endless trees in every direction. Fighting the urge to start burning his way out as the sun set, He decided to camp for the night. Not needing sleep, food, or water, he had expected to be able to walk until he found some sort of civilization. The fact he had to stop because he couldn¡¯t see well enough to pick his trees was infuriating.


    Now what do I do in order to pass the time? I haven¡¯t cast a single spell the whole time I have been out here. I guess I could practice. Like that''s something I actually need to do but whatever.


    Still barely resisting the urge to use fire he decided to cast sparkles. Not thinking about how far it might go, He cast it full strength. It actually pleased him watching it strike and bounce off the trees like a pinball as it raced off into the distance. By his fifth cast he started to see the exp flow into him, the trickle quickly became a torrent


    Oh shit what did i do


    He looked at his notifications to see he had already gained two more levels. Trying to put his mind off what might be dying to give him all this exp, he contemplated how to use his new found gains. Not needing to use them to get anymore skills he wasn''t sure if he should try to get more traits or just up his attributes. Clearly being able to kill things in this starter area just fine he ended up deciding to wait until he got more info to make a decision.


    Unfortunately it was at this point he had just crossed level seven and doubled over in pain. It was the worst pain he had ever felt in either of his lives. Almost as if the entirety of his body was being shredded simultaneously. Worst part was the pain was completely unaffected by his healing. While curled into a ball, he blacked out from the pain.


    No longer in pain, but sore everywhere, he woke. The sun was again in the sky above the trees and again he had no idea of the sun''s position. Failing to heal himself he groaned as he sat up. Checking His status sheet he saw that he had made it all the way to level eleven.


    Ok from now on i''m going to level one level at a time. No full forced spells unless i think i might die


    Closing his status screen he looked around. Glancing passed a strange glowing creature to look at the trees around him. He had no idea which way was forward for him. He had rested his back against a tree so he was facing the direction he needed to go, but he now found himself in the middle of several trees.


    Must have rolled while in agony. Well I need to figure out a light spell so i don''t have to stop again. And so I can practice magic without accidentally killing anything. And what the hell is this glowing thing?


    He got up and slowly moved towards the glowing thing in front of him. It wasn¡¯t a slow of caution, but a hobbled slow from everything being sore. He tried to swipe his hand through it but it dodged out of the way. He tried a few more times and every time it dodged.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Are you alive, little glowing thing?¡±


    He felt stupid trying to talk to it. Whatever it was didn¡¯t look like it had a body let alone the capability of speech. Which is why he was very surprised when it started flying around excitedly, and he damn near fell when it started talking.


    ¡°Yes i am oh great elemental¡±


    ¡°Ok what do you want?¡±


    ¡°To make a pact of course great elemental.¡±


    ¡°Why are you calling me a great elemental?¡±


    ¡°You''re a partial elemental of several elements and I don''t have your name. ¡°


    ¡°Assume I know nothing¡­..


    He doesn''t need to know i actually know nothing


    ¡­and tell me everything. ¡°


    ¡°My kind bonds with beings of high magical aptitude. The benefits I get will depend on the creature I pact with.  Elementals normally lack intelligence so they wouldn¡¯t be suitable for a pact but benefits of pacting with one with intelligence such as yourself are impressive. I¡¯ll gain a small fraction of the power you earn and I''ll get access to whatever elements you command.¡±


    ¡°What would I get out of this pact? That detail would be part of everything.¡±


    ¡° I would become your servant to command as you will. Initially I might not be able to offer much in the way of strength but I am a very knowledgeable creature. I could lead you to the nearest city for starters and then help you navigate a word you for some reason you seem to not know anything about. ¡°


    I better not end up as some thrall but I literally don''t know anything about this world I''m on and that lack of knowledge almost just killed me.


    ¡°What do we have to do in order to make this pact?¡±


    ¡°Imprint your magic on me. Just open up your magic to me and once I touch it it will be done.¡±


    He moved a single point of mana out of himself and towards the creature. He realized he had no idea what the creature''s name was. He should probably have gotten something like that before making what seems like a fairly permanent bond with it.


    As soon as the magic reached the creature it started glowing. It was bright enough that it actually started to hurt his eyes. He refused to lose concentration though in fear this was part of some trap. He continued to watch as the creature''s glow dimmed but the creature itself seemed to start to become more solid.


    Suddenly the creature shot towards him. He raised his hand to protect himself but as the creature touched his hand it vanished. He looked around frantically to try to see where it had gone but could find no trace.


    ¡®We are done oh great elemental¡¯


    ¡°Where are you?¡±


    ¡®Inside your mana pool oh great elemental¡¯


    ¡°Could you stop saying that, and also how am I able to hear you?¡±


    ¡®Telepathy oh great¡­¡­ummmm sorry i don''t know what else to call you. Sir? Master?¡¯


    ¡°Oh god none of those things. If you''re just going to be speaking into my mind just don''t bother calling me anything. Now are you reading my thoughts? Do I need to be bothering to speak?¡±


    ¡®I can only read the thoughts you push towards me master elemental.¡¯


    ¡®I am going to start fucking calling you glowing little guy if you dont stop calling me weird things. My name is David. But still addressing me so often is weird.¡¯


    ¡®But I am your servant, using your name would be improper.¡¯


    ¡®As far as i''m concerned we agreed to a contract of mutual benefit between equals. I have no desire to have some sapient pet living inside of me. Are you stuck in there now?¡¯


    Little glowing guy popped back into existence in front of him. Before the bonding he had been a faint colorless glow. Now he looked like a small sphere of swirling plasma. Little glowing guy had a colorful swirl matching every element David had mastered.


    ¡®Can you still hear my thoughts even though you are outside of my body¡¯


    ¡® Yes because I am still bound to your magic even when I''m outside of your mana pool.¡¯


    ¡®What is your name¡¯


    ¡®I don''t have one yet. My kind don¡¯t usually acquire a name until we make a bond and have our new master name us.¡¯


    ¡®Do you need me to name you?¡¯


    ¡®yes. ¡®


    A big ass grin spreads across his face.


    ¡®OK. I''m going to call you LGG.¡¯

 Chapter 4

    ¡°Take me to your leader¡±


    ¡® My people don''t have a leader¡¯


    ¡®Ok just take me down to the paradise city¡¯


    ¡®I''m sorry but I don''t know where that is.¡¯


    ¡®Margaritaville?¡¯


    ¡®...........nooooo?¡¯


    ¡®Ok fine just take me to the nearest settlement.¡¯


    LGG darted forward. David was surprised at having to actually run to keep up. All the training he put himself through meant he could maintain a run for hours even before his new level advancements. He was eager to see which of them would tire first.


    ¡®What can you tell me about where we are going?¡¯


    ¡®Quite a lot¡¯


    There was silence for a good long moment.


    Not sure if he''s messing with me or not


    ¡®So how about you tell me where we are going.¡¯


    ¡®Oh yes of course. We are headed to the city incharge of this area. it''s a low level area. You are now at a level where you should already be leaving even though you just got here. Lots of guild representation so you should be able to find a guild and then move on very quickly.¡¯


    ¡®This forest seems rather barren. I have seen the occasional animal, but it doesn''t seem like nearly enough.¡¯


    ¡®Things were avoiding you. And with how many of the monsters in the area you killed in such a short amount of time I would say with good reason. ¡®


    ¡®Is that going to cause any problems?¡¯


    ¡®It will probably take a year or two for the monster levels to fully recover but you are already over leveled for this area so you need new hunting grounds anyway.¡¯


    Double make sure I only kill a few at a time. I seriously did years of damage in a day.


    ¡®How far away is it?¡¯


    ¡®At our current pace we should be there by the morning. And there''s no reason to be there earlier than that. The gates are closed during the night. ¡®


    ¡®Are they afraid of monster attacks?¡¯


    ¡®No there more worried about attacks from their rivals¡¯


    As they ran the sun descended. This time though David didn¡¯t have to stop. LGG still led the way. His glow was more than bright enough to make sure David didn¡¯t trip as he ran. And as far as directions, He had no choice but to trust that LGG knew where he was going.


    Every so often David would ask LGG a question about something, but for the most part they ran silently through the trees. It didn¡¯t actually start out silently, but after about an hour of their running, David acquired a skill called forest movement. Every step he took it triggered, so it quickly became yet another broken skill in his toolkit.


    True to LGG¡¯s estimate, They started to see glimpses of the city through the trees as the sun started to rise behind them. As they got closer to the city the trees started to thin. Which gave them much better sight lines, but also hindered their movement as the underbrush was no longer being smothered. So it was everywhere. LGG could just fly right over it but David had to zigzag around it or occasionally hurdle it if it wasn''t too large.


    He thought they were much closer than they were when they finally got clear of the trees and entered the fields around the city. It felt like it was just right there, but as they ran it just stayed there in the distance. The city didn¡¯t gel with the ideas of what he might find out here. He expected either a well established castle city with stone walls or a small fort. But what he saw had to be the largest fort city he could possibly imagine.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡®How big is this place exactly?¡¯


    ¡®About thirty square kilometers.¡¯


    Will I never escape Metric?


    ¡®Why is it so big? Is it protecting something important?¡¯


    ¡®Nothing like that. This is an important low level training area for several important minor factions. One of whom is close to becoming a major faction.¡¯


    They continued to walk for another hour before they made it to the gates of the fort town. LGG had already jumped back into his mana pool before he could be spotted by someone. There was a small line moving through. As the people passed the guards they would be asked a question before they were allowed to pass. After what felt like an eternity¡­


    Lines weren¡¯t so bad when I could just play around on my phone.


    ¡­. It was finally their turn.


    ¡°What business do you have here?¡±


    The guard looked bored as he asked his question. Like he''s asked it a million times before and the answer had never mattered. The guard''s equipment looked well maintained as far as he could tell but lacked a shiny quality he would have expected from a town guardsman.


    ¡° Looking to join a guild¡±


    Please dont notice my clothes are weird. I''m not suspicious, I swear.


    ¡° There''s been some strangeness going on in the forest. You know anything about that?¡±


    Oh shit


    ¡°No.What kind of strangeness?¡±


    Suddenly the guard got more alert. He looked at him as if he only now saw him. David couldn¡¯t help but notice how the guard''s hand rested a little less relaxed on the pommel of his sword.


    Oh crap


    ¡° A powerful presence got detected. A lot of monsters vanished too.¡±


    ¡° I didn¡¯t notice anything on my way here to explain either.


    ¡° Where you coming from¡±


    yup im screwed. Don''t know what they want from me but the fact that they are one hundred percent looking for me is terrifying.


    ¡®Tell him you are coming from the wilds.¡¯


    ¡°I''m coming from the wilds.¡±


    ¡°What were you doing out there?¡±


    ¡®You are a wandering hunter. And you are only coming from the wilds now because you are ready to join a guild.¡±


    ¡°Hunting. I am finally ready to join a guild so here I am.¡±


    The guard looked at him suspiciously. He wasn''t sure which way the interaction was about to go, when finally, the guard let him through .


    The wood walls on the outside did not match the inside at all. There were stone roads several carts wide running in between stone buildings that were several stories tall. There were even what looked to be street lamps encased in stone.


    ¡® Why is the entire outside made of wood while the inside is stone? Shouldn''t they make the walls of the strongest material available?¡¯


    ¡®They actually did. The wood isn''t normal wood but magically infused warding wood. It keeps monsters from spawning inside the walls. For the most part anyway. Sometimes it can still happen in a cellar or sewer but its very uncommon¡¯


    Oh god how long until i get a clear the rats out of the basement/sewer quest.


    He wandered aimlessly through the streets for several minutes before he began to wonder how he was supposed to get established in a new city without any money. What sort of guild would he join?


    ¡®Where should I head?¡¯


    ¡®Well that depends on what you wish to do. You can join a hunter guild if you want to cull monsters for coin, of course a mages guild would love to have you, or you could join one of the factions. Fractions are less specialized and can have the prestige of nobility while not being bound to any kingdom.¡¯


    ¡®Kill shit for coin seems like the least restrictive option. I would really rather not get hung up on political stuff. So where''s the hunters guild?¡¯


    ¡®There are several, however they are all in close proximity to each other. I suggest you get assessed by several and take the best offer.¡¯


    ¡®Don''t I just take bounties or contracts? Why do I need to shop around?¡¯


    ''There will be numbers for things like mandatory contracts, how much the guild will take, and minimum number of contracts.¡¯


    With a heavy sigh David started walking to the part of the city with the hunter guilds. It was near the edge of the city to keep the smell from the butchering of their hunts away from the majority of the city. It just wasn''t near the edge they happened to enter from.


    Walking through the city he couldn¡¯t help but feel like the whole place was far too streamlined. There weren''t any street vendors peddling their wares, or any urchins trying to rob him. Despite the constant stream of people and carts moving in every direction, the whole city so far has felt sterile. The people that passed weren''t even kicking up dirt because apparently the city was kept clean.


    I know I cast magic, so I shouldn''t be surprised they can keep a city this clean, but what sort of magic is this?


    He was so lost in his thoughts of his surroundings that he didn¡¯t notice the man approach him from behind until he spoke, and startled the hell out of him.


    ¡°So you''re new to the area.¡±

 Chapter 5

    ¡°What was that?¡±


    David pretended he hadn¡¯t heard him as he stalled for time to prepare himself for this encounter. The man looked to be middle aged. He wore a loose fitting robe, that was much longer than his own, and his chest length hair, both head and face, was streaked with gray.


    ¡° You''re new to the area.¡±


    The way he said it as a fact and not as a question put him immediately on edge. He held his face in check, not showing the racing thoughts going through his head.


    ¡°Yeah I just got here.¡±


    ¡°Where you from?¡±


    David wasn¡¯t sure who this man was, but since he wasn''t dressed like one of the guards, he figured he should try to get out of telling him anything.


    ¡°Places. Now what do you want?¡±


    ¡®Please don''t antagonize him. He is too high of a level for me to read.¡¯


    ¡°I have the guards keep a lookout for any interesting people. To see if they are a spy or someone I should recruit.¡±


    ¡°What guild are you with? I was just on my way to get assessed and get offers. I can add yours to my list if it''s of a type that interests me.¡±


    ¡°Not a guild but a house, House Trezon.¡±


    ¡®Who is that?¡¯


    ¡°That would be the faction that controls this area.¡±


    ¡®Shit.¡¯


    ¡°I mean no disrespect to such a great house but I feel I don¡¯t have that level of ambition. I am only joining a guild because I am stagnating here. I just wish to continue my hunts in peace.¡±


    ¡°The world isn¡¯t always so cooperative.¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just have to conquer the world then¡±


    LGG¡¯s voice was frantic as he said


    ¡®Act scared now¡¯


    He didn¡¯t need to act scared because LGG¡¯s warning scared the hell out of him. He started to look around as frantically as LGG had spoken. Seeing everyone that had been passing back and forth in the streets come to a dead stop and look around. Even the horses had skidded to a stop and were searching for something.


    ¡°Well it seems something has come up. I will have to go check on this but I will be back to take you to your assessment.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The man just suddenly vanished. Not light show or smoke. No indications of any sort of spell. He just suddenly wasn''t there anymore.


    ¡®What just happened? Why is everyone freaking out?¡¯


    ¡®I think you generated a regional threat. Possibly even a world threat.¡¯


    ¡®How?¡¯


    ¡®There must have been some seriousness in your heart when you said you would conquer the world if you had to, along with the ability to follow through.¡¯


    He was dumbfounded by the thought. It was one of those absurd statements he would make to deflect that also happened to be completely true. The fact the world acknowledged him was just not something he knew how to handle.


    ¡®I am not hanging around for that guy''s assessment. Worse case scenario they realize it was me that triggered the threat, and still bad, is if they decided to assess me and want me. I have no desire to be beholden to some fancy nobles.¡¯


    He walked through the terrified people on the street. They were no longer frozen but they walked much slower than the pace they had been before. Constantly searching for the source of the threat despite it walking briskly past them.


    When he got to the hunters'' district, he honestly couldn¡¯t tell it apart from any of the other districts. The people were still on edge by the time he arrived but they had at least started walking at a reasonable speed again. Having to walk around everyone was annoying and he feared it made him stand out. He however feared the man from House Trezon more.


    He walked into the first building that was marked with a hunter¡¯s emblem. The outsides all looked the same so he had no real reason to not walk to the one closest. Especially if he was going to try several anyway.


    The inside looked alot less drab than the outside. Just inside the door and to the left was what appeared to be a giant dining hall. It was half filled and loud. His eyes darted between all the tables taking it in.


    Not everyone was at the same stage of their meals. So not defined eating times. So hopefully I will be able to find a time when it''s not so crowded.


    To the right was a shop. It seemed to have a large variety of items, ranging from weapons and armor, to food stuffs and bed rolls.


    I suppose everything one might need on a hunt.


    In front of him was what appeared to be a reception desk. There was a line of only a handful of people so he hoped the three receptionists would get through them quickly as he joined the rear of the line.


    He listened to the conversations the people were having with the receptionists. Two of the three had just come back from a hunt. Different hunts or at least they were claiming different beasts. They were both arguing the same thing though. That the corpses were not as damaged as the receptionists had claimed. It seems they were supposed to harvest the corpses but they had been so badly damaged from lightning that most of the parts were useless.


    The third was joining like him. He paid extra attention to that one. The man grabbed a small sphere that measured him in some manner. It was probably common knowledge since it was never specified. Afterwards, they haggled over the terms if the man joined. The man claimed he was stronger than the device was reading and that he warranted preferential recruitment with a thorough assessment. The receptionist seemed to disagree completely though.


    He was so engrossed in what was going on in front of him he didn¡¯t notice the man from earlier was standing besides him. Though in his defense when you can silently teleport without any noticeable effects it''s easy to sneak up on a person.


    ¡°You¡¯re really adamant on this whole, just want to be a hunter thing.¡±


    ¡°Well yes because I just want to be a hunter.¡±


    ¡°Well after I assess you, if you don''t want to join House Trezon I will return you here.¡±


    ¡°Return?¡­..¡±


    He suddenly found himself in a completely different place.

 Chapter 6

    Suddenly being in a different place was very disorienting. The fact it was still the same time of day was a little reassuring but the fact the buildings around him were built differently was not. He was in a training yard of some sort with some very crude buildings made of wood surrounding it. He could see people practicing their range and close combat skills. Some were practicing with stationary targets while others had targets that were dodging. Some even had targets that would strike or fire back at them.


    ¡°So this is where we shall do your assessment. First catch this.¡±


    The strange man threw an orb to him. Out of reflex, he grabbed it. He was lucky that the man threw it gently so it hadn¡¯t triggered his defensive auras. Zapping the man from an important house, would probably not be conductive to his plans of hunting in peace.


    The orb quickly started getting brighter and brighter. So bright in fact it was hard to look at. Relief came only when the thing shattered. Relief from the light. Not relief in general. In fact it made him even more nervous. The man he saw tested the orb had barely glowed. And now he broke his. And what if it was expensive.


    ¡®What the hell does that breaking mean¡¯


    ¡®It means your mana capabilities are way to damn strong for someone at your level¡¯


    ¡°I have never seen someone below level 30 break one of these before. It''s ok though. I have another that is designed to withstand people up to level 100.¡±


    The man tossed another orb to him but this time he was smart enough to dodge it. It landed on the compacted dirt with a loud thud. It sounded heavy and thankfully also sturdy as he hadn''t heard any cracking.


    ¡°I really just want to hunt. Thorough tests aren¡¯t needed. I can hunt just fine. Don¡¯t have any lofty ambitions.¡±


    ¡°Come now. I am not going to take no for an answer..¡±


    As he spoke another man teleported behind him. The newcomer used the same manner that left no traces as far as he could tell but still the first man turned towards him instantly.


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I am just curious to see what was so important that you would abandon a meeting about a world threat. Really though, recruiting some low level was more urgent.¡±


    ¡°Pssh. Nothing was or is going to get accomplished in that meeting. But also yes. I believe this man has the potential to help expand the influence of the house. I will probably be sponsoring him.¡±


    ¡°Ridiculous. If he has so much potential he should be able to defend himself from a guard.¡±


    The angry man pointed at one of the guards that was patrolling the outskirts of the training area. The guard marched over quickly.


    ¡°Kill this man.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    Was all he could out before the guard swung his sword at him. The guard had moved so fast, and it was such an unexpected turn of events for him, there was nothing he could do to save the guard''s life. As soon as the guard breached his aura with his sword, A massive discharge of electricity struck him straight through his chest. The hole in the guard''s armor had a cherry red ring.


    It was all he could do not to gag on the smell of cooked flesh


    ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t believe he was actually yelling at the scary people but they made him kill a man and had tried to order his death. He was done. Clearly the soft approach had failed. He wondered if he could take them If the need arose. He had no idea what their level was. Even after gaining levels from the guards death they were still too far above him. But he also couldn¡¯t see the level of the guard he had killed either so that clearly wasn¡¯t a determining factor .


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Completely ignoring him, the man that had ordered his death continued to talk to his assessor.


    ¡° I will concede you might be right about him having potential but still not more urgent than the meeting.¡±


    huh


    ¡°I pulled him out of a hunters guild. They would have offered him a lucrative contract and if he agreed on the spot we would have lost him.¡±


    ¡°I doubt they would have given him that lucrative of terms. He managed to kill a guard way above him in level  so I will concede he has potential but you make him sound like he has the potential to be our next champion.¡±


    ¡®Is this normal?¡¯


    ¡®I am not that familiar with human customs but I don''t think so.¡¯


    ¡°He broke the assessment orb. Of course they would offer him good terms on the spot. And now you have probably soured him on our house because you are too damn careless with people''s lives.¡±


    ¡°You''re so over dramatic. It''s of no consequence and you know it.¡±


    The second man pointed his staff and the burnt husk that was once a guard. A white sphere engulfed the body before changing shape to that of the guard standing. As the white light faded it revealed a whole, but very disoriented, guard.


    ¡°See no harm done.¡±


    ¡°Just because you can resurrect someone doesn¡¯t mean their death isn¡¯t going to cause harm. Especially to our image to our hopeful recruit¡±


    He was happy to have not killed someone but the guard being alive again was concerning as well. He wasn¡¯t sure what the repercussions would be for killing someone, even if it was in self defense, and he didn¡¯t stay dead. He did know however that he needed to get away from these people.


    The problem was even if he could take them, which was a complete unknown, he also didn¡¯t know how many people he would end up killing. Which meant he didn¡¯t know how many levels he might gain very quickly. If what happened on the first day happened while he tried to escape, he knew he would be screwed. Since there could be no good plan, and these people seemed to be too busy arguing to pay him any attention anyway, he just started walking away.


    ¡°See what you have done. Now he''s trying to escape.¡±


    ¡°Does that really count as an escape? He is just walking. It''s more like he''s just taking a tour of the grounds while he waits for you to unbunch your knickers.¡±


    They casually followed him as they continued their argument. He honestly wasn''t sure what he was doing at this point since they were clearly paying attention to him. He continued walking though in hopes he would find something that would be helpful to him.


    They seemed content to just keep following him and bickering. He kept walking until he found a small library. At least by his world''s standards. He had no idea how it measured up in this one. He grabbed a book at random and started reading.


    Like seriously if something urgent was supposed to be going on why is he not going back to it


    The book was a dreadfully boring thing about titles and protocols of situations with the nobiles of this house and others. He skimmed the book enough to know that he didn¡¯t want anything to do with nobles. Putting it back he grabbed another and then another.


    Every book was boring . It was all rules and regulations in some form. It''s like this room was a parody of a place he should enjoy. He chuckled at the thought that a library should be a place he enjoyed with how much flak he gave his reaper.


    This world better not be all this boring.


    ¡°Ok these books are boring. Can we just get this assessment over so we can get to the part where you make me an offer, I politely decline, and we go our separate ways.¡±


    His attempted executioner scowled as his assessor laughed.


    ¡°No need to assess you any more, I will just make you the offer. I will sponsor you. You will go to our training grounds that will get you up to level 50. You will be given an allowance. And I will demand nothing from you.¡±


    ¡°Demand, so you will make requests of me.¡±


    ¡°Of course but it will be up to you to say no if you wish. Once you are level 50 we can negotiate our terms again. I am sure you will see the benefit of staying with our house and gladly commit to us at that time.¡±


    Probably going to offer me someone''s hand at some point. I skimmed enough from those damned boring books that that is how houses gained loyalty from important outsiders.


    ¡°Well how can I say no to that? So what happens now?¡±


    He suddenly found himself in another strange place.

 Chapter 7

    All the instantaneous travel was starting to give him a headache. He found himself in a richly decorated building. The walls were carved wood and covered with art, armor and what looked to be trophies from hunts. There were chairs that looked to be designed for looks more than comfort and tables along the sides of the room. Towards the back of the room there was a long counter that had room for many people to work.


    The only people in the room were a single person that stood behind the counter and another that rudely pushed past him as he struggled to get his bearings.


    "Out of the way plebeian"


    da hell is his problem


    The man was as richly dressed as the room they were in. He wore a metal Chest plate and greaves that were well polished, on top of brightly colored tunic and dark pants. The hilt of the sword on his waist was adorned with Jewels.


    "Excuse me but he was here ahead of you so you will have to wait your turn". The other man didn''t even bother to look back at him before dismissing him and finishing his way to the counter. He shook his head as he started to speak.


    "I''ll forgive you because clearly you ain''t aware of who I am. You see I am from the Bolton family, Yes the same family that was responsible for saving the Kingdom by holding the western wall against the orc onslaught. Who have now graciously allowed you to train me, a favored son. Now I know you must be wondering why such a great family as ours would send one of..."


    what are the chances I get to never see this guy again


    "their most promising sons to House Trezon instead of their traditional partner House Steelwood. One of the High Houses who have trained a great many of the kingdom''s greatest heroes. My family''s generosity of course. They knew that Just one of their sons would be enough to elevate this house. Now I don''t know about this man in such a plain, and oddly short, robe but surely you don''t mean to imply his time is more valuable than someone who will elevate your entire house."


    Holy info dump. I still don''t actually know who he is though.* And does the length I made my robe really stand out that much? How do they not trip over it when it''s long?


    "I would never dismiss the greatness of your family nor the contribution you yourself will make Paul Bolton...."


    Hey a name finally, now to see if I can actually remember it.


    "However, the only person that would have shifted someone into this room is the chancellor, so I''ll show him the greatest courtesy, simple robes or not."


    In a huff the man.....


    (Narrator thoughts) no use his name or you will end up forgetting it


    In a huff Paul stood to the side. David Just stood there, not moving until he was beckoned over. The person at the counter was wearing a robe. He tried to get a look of the length over the counter but he felt that would be considered rude so he gave up after only a moment.


    *Their robe has some nice embroidery on it but it''s just so drab. Mine might be plain but at least it''s a pretty green.


    "Hello, May I have your name?"


    "sure. Its David."


    "And your family name?"


    "NA.''


    "It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance David Na."


    "Actually it''s.. never mind."


    They hesitated for the briefest moments before continuing, He hoped there wasn''t an actual Na family but he couldn''t find the ability to prolong this beyond the bare minimum.


    "The assessment won''t be until tomorrow so you will have today to get settled into your rooms."


    They stared at him expectantly. Clearly accustomed to receiving questions or demands at this point. He wondered about where he was, He wondered if he actually needed to do another assessment. The most important thing he wondered though was...


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Where might I find this room?"


    They raised a hand away from the other two people in the room. An orb formed then slowly floated away from their hand. fading away it revealed a small Pixie like creature.


    "If you follow my summon they will lead You to your room.''


    As the pixie darted towards the door, His eyes met the summoners and they mouthed the words thankyou. He supposed they must have thought he was doing them a favor with how fast he left as opposed to just trying to get away.


    He turned to follow the pixie creature. Paul was clearly engrossed in the creature. So much so that he was forgetting to scowl. Either the doors were automatic or the Pixie could open doors with its mind because it opened as he approached.


    He found himself in a hallway full of doors and not a single window. it only just occurred to him that there hadn''t been a single window in the room he had just left. He idly wondered and hoped they were underground as they walked or flew to their destination. So lost in his thoughts was he, that the Pixie startled him when it talked.


    Standing in front of a random door that looked exactly like the rest.


    "Here are your rooms, would you like me to give you a tour?"


    After taking a moment to get over his shock. He said yes and they entered.


    The room they entered was far larger than he had expected and it was obviously just a sitting room of some sort. Already furnished with an assortment of chairs and small tables all carefully angled towards the only small couch in the room.


    "How many people will be staying here with me?"


    The thought of being confined in here with others was already making him uncomfortable. He always liked to have his space alone and after so long in seclusion he wasn''t ready to give it up,


    "I should fit however many retainers you wish to bring reasonably well. There are four bedrooms besides yours and the traditional beds can be replaced with bunks if need be."


    They said they were going to give me the same courtesy as if I was a nobel. Which means they were really saying my rooms. I don''t have any stuff for all this space.


    The pixie continued on to the next room which was a weird room. Just ahead was a set of double doors with alot of ornamentation. To the right there was a simple door, to the left was a narrow hallway with five doors.


    "straight ahead is your bedroom. to the left are the rooms for your retainers along with their washroom. And lastly to the right is your kitchen?


    He walked into the kitchen first. Not that he was hungry or ever expected to be hungry again, but because he was curious what a kitchen in another world would be like. He spent so much of his last life in one he was eager to compare.


    It was remarkably boring. A small room with what looked like a couple of burners, an oven, a sink, and some cabinetry. He was curious if any of it had magics for refrigeration but didn''t bother inquiring. Instead he just left to head down the hallway.


    Each of the rooms were the same and were simply furnished with a chair, desk, and bed. Their shared bathroom was equally as simple with just a toilet and shower stall.


    Finally entering his room he was taken aback by the size. It was easily a third of the size of the rest of the place and he could see two more doors. A massive bed was along the far wall. To his left was a couple of chairs and a table. to his right were bookshelves.


    Going through the first door he found himself in a closet that was probably bigger than the workers rooms. Through the other he found a massive bath, there was a toilet and shower as well but the bath was of a size he could swim in it.


    Once that thought occurred to him it was hard to focus on anything else. He needed to be in that water. Steam was coming off of it but his mastery of fire should spare him of any ill effects from the heat. Barely Resisting the urge to make the pixie leave right then.


    "What can you tell me about the assessment tomorrow?"


    "First you will hit a bunch of dolls with melee weapons as they attack you and then you strike a channeling crystal with a magical spell."


    "How many dolls do people defeat on average? How does the crystal measure magic?."


    "You don''t really defeat the dolls, the better you do the harder they get. And the crystal channels the magic to other crystals that light up."


    "How many crystals do people make light up?"


    "between two and four is passing I think. I am really better at answering questions about the room."


    "Thank you. You have been a big help. if it''s customary to tip or something I am afraid I have no money."


    "A drop of mana is common, but by no means a requirement."


    He thought the pixies face looked expectant and not wanting to cause problems he willed a single point of mana from himself. As he moved it over to the pixie it consumed it eagerly. He wasn''t sure but he thought its flight began to waver.


    "I think I am all set now."


    He walked the wobbly pixie to the door. Seeing the door open and close without using the knob again made him uncomfortable so he walled off the door with stone, doing likewise with the hallway and the kitchen he had no need for. Lastly walling off the doors to his bedroom once he passed through them.


    Having never thought about ever having a need to take off his robe, it didn''t really have that feature. He knew he could tap back into the magic and try to make the neck not quite so snug but that would have meant even longer away from the pool hath so he slipped in, robe and all.

 Chapter 8

    He floated in the massive bath face down and thought. It was something he would do in his last life. Seeing how long he could hold his breath. Finding out in this one, his magic that removed his need to eat and sleep also took away any need to breathe. It was a weird sensation where he continuously felt like he had just started holding his breath.


    Never having to surface for air his mind raced endlessly without any need to stop. Every so often he would ask LGG a question. Like when he realized he got levels for killing someone that didn''t stay dead


    ''Not all of your accumulated power will come with you when you die. Some of his power that gets left behind is what grants you, experience, as you called it.''


    ''So he got resurrected but there was a level penalty''


    After an unknown period of time someone tried to open his front door. David had left just enough space for the door to have the ability to move but not even to be able to clear the frame. He didn''t want anyone to be able to see how he had the door blocked if he could help it.


    ''Someone is repeatedly trying to open your door''


    I know!


    Still being able to feel the stone he made with his magic made it the perfect warning system. Every whack of the door sent vibrations through his stone that he could feel. He wasn''t sure what the range of the ability was though, as he had never lost connection to it before leaving the tutorial area, when he lost connection to all he had made at the time.


    He worried for the door as they tried for some time before leaving. He wasn¡¯t sure what the door was made out of but he was sure it wasn¡¯t meant to repeatedly hit stone. After some time they came back with a renewed devotion. Smacking the door dozens of times before giving up again.


    During the second long pause of their attempts to open the door he got out. Despite having no audience, or more likely because he had no audience, he got out of the water in a dramatic fashion. Moving the water out from under him, so his feet rested on the bottom of the tub, before then making himself stairs out of the water. Casually walking out of his bath as dry as he entered it


    As he approached his stone barricade, he contemplated what to do with it. He could will it into existence with mana but not out of it. He could hide it in the backrooms, or spread it out amongst the walls and floor. What he really wanted to do was make himself a throne.


    Resisting the urge to make himself a throne he Instead made his rough barricade into a proper one. He built up stone around the door frame. Making a foundation for a drop bar.


    It''s ugly but it will do. Let them wonder where it came from.


    Finally ready to leave, but not really eager to, He raised the drop bar and went over to the couch and laid down.


    ''In the training area how did the one guy know he was there even though he made no noise when he shifted.''


    ''It probably affected his aura."


    guess I need to make an aura that doesn''t kill people.


    He pushed out mana like he did for his defensive aura but left it aspectles. It took several mann to saturate the entire room, Unfortunately it made everything look foggy.


    well thats a mood but would be terrible to try to maintain all the time. oh pardon my fog bank.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    He pulled his mama back before dispersing it once more. This time as he pushed the Mana out he thought of the nature of light. Repeating this several times before it cliched and he blinded himself as it came out as the brightest flash he had ever seen.


    Light aspect obtained


    Its a good thing I heal quickly.


    Closing his eyes he pulsed his light aura as fast as he could for several minutes. Once his skill level had reached the intermediary ranks, After several thousand casts, he began working on making his aura more like lidar and less like the flash bomb it was currently. His overall mastery of Mana skills made it a trivial manner.


    As he was about to send LGG out to test its detection abilities the door opened. A very frantic pixie-like creature along with the man that recruited him entered.


    OH yeah there was stuff to do hehe.


    The chancellor was the one to talk as the Pixie creature just flew around so fast he couldn''t tell if it was identical to the one from before


    "You''re late to your assessment. Is there a reason as to why you barred your door?"


    "Security as I have no retainers. Though I don''t know how to keep your people from shifting into here."


    .


    "I assure you that no one will be shifting into your rooms, let alone one of my people. The walls are enchanted against it."


    Of course I¡¯ll just blindly trust you, guy that kidnapped me a day ago.


    ''LGG can you check out the enchantments when we are alone?''


    ''Easily. Reading magical energies is a specialty.¡¯


    "Even still I''ll keep my doors barred. Now aren''t we late?"


    David walked past the Chancellor, and the frantic pixie, out into the hallway. He had no idea which way to go so he had to wait for them to get ahead of him.


    The walls might have been enchanted against shifting but the chancellor was using a  movement ability of some sort. They walked at a casual pace but their surroundings moved past as if they were sprinting.


    After a few turns, and several flights of stairs they found themselves in a box suite for the arena where the assessment was taking place. There were about a dozen people but it looked like half of them were retainers as they were lined up along the back wall waiting to be called upon.


    Worst part was that nobel from the day before was here, and worse still, but not in the least bit surprising, was that he immediately started talking as they entered.


    "Finally we can get started. Now I know I said he should just test with the other commoners, but you''re right. To rob him of seeing true excellence would stifle his future growth."


    I really hope we aren''t stuck together until I reach level fifty.


    "Now I will gladly go first so he can see what he should aspire to."


    "No David will go first."


    Of course I will.


    "Ok so what am I supposed to do?"


    "It''s a combat test so just attack them as you see fit."


    There was a door to the side with stairs leading down to the Arena floor. Guards were stationed at several points but It was clear they were more for general crowd control than protection.


    Glancing back as he walked down the stairs he saw the man the Chancellor had been arguing with had joined them.


    What''s one more person to all the people already here about to watch me, there must be hundreds in the stands and it''s not even half full.


    As he reached the bottom the guard at the base of the stairs addressed him as he was being announced to the audience


    ¡°Don''t worry. The dolls won''t attack until you do, so you have as much time as you need to set up."


    He was worried he was about to make a fool out of himself because he was going to hide most of his abilities. Nobody needed to know that though


    "The only thing I''m worried about is what happens when I break them."


    The guard shook his head and laughed quietly as he passed.


    probably used to fool nobles.


    As he approached the five dolls he conjured a stone sword. It looked like it was made of plain stone but was far stronger. Its razor sharp edge would never chip so long as he had any mana left. The grip literally molded to his hand.


    Never breaking his stride as he approached the dolls, he dispersed the Mana for his detection aura. And since he didn''t want the fight to end instantly, he released his protection aura.

 Chapter 9

    Eager to test out his physical skills on an actual opponent, he spent the briefest of moments looking at the equipment of the dolls before he charged at the one that was unarmed. He flowed over the ground effortlessly smooth. The air whined at the speed at which he lashed out with his sword. Nearly falling over as the doll he tried to strike docked under his swing. Actually falling to his knees as the unarmed doll hit him in the stomach,


    Note to self: don''t over comet to a swing.


    He could feel movement in his detection aura but it was just a vague impression of something being there. It wasn¡¯t enough to let him tell what it was, however It was  enough to let him know he needed to move, as two of the impressions were directly behind him.


    His acrobatic skills made rolling forward and then rising back to his feet an easy maneuver. Doing it just in time as the two dolls with long staves struck where he had been just Moments before.


    Now for attempt number two.


    He could feel all five of the dolls circling him in his aura. They were just there waiting to swarm him as soon as he made his move. Lunging at the unarmed doll again. This time he tried an overhead chop. The doll easily stepped to the side. As the sword went past, the doll launched its counter strike.


    This time he was prepared for it. Dropping his sword, he did a backflip. Now able to see the dolls that had been approaching him from behind as he was sprang off his hands. The stave wielders had lunged forward trying to jab him with their range,


    He landed on and kicked off one of the staves. Then doing the same to the other staff wielders head. Barely missing the Axe wielder''s axe before jumping off the shield of the last one as it tried to slash him with its sword. By the time he landed back on the ground he was laughing hysterically.


    Ok the ridiculousness of being a master acrabate when I could never get my swordsmanship past level two. At least my efficiency perk will let me swing forever and probably pack a punch if I can actually get a hit in.


    Knowing he needed to do something about his aura to be useful in a fight, He began tweaking it. It had let him know something had moved behind him but its impression was vague so he couldn''t really tell how many or get a good grasps of their attacks,


    The first thing he did to try to fix the issues was to dump mana into his aura. The problem with this was that by the time he dumped enough to get a grasp of their shapes they were trapped in his mana. Completely unable to move.


    Oops


    He dropped down onto one knee as if he had done something strenuous. Quickly dispersing it before sending back out the weak version.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    My problem is the mana gets moved too easily , and doesn''t refit the gaps. So what happens if instead of having the mana be passive I have it be active?


    The dolls had reached him again so the aura experiment would have to wait. It was the shield and sword doll in the lead. With the axe and unarmed ones to its sides  With the stave users on the flanks


    Formations seem like over hill when I can''t hit'' anything


    He swung at the Shield user assuming it would block so he could at least see how he fared against defenses. Of course the dolls weren''t going to let him get a hit that easily.


    The shield user was blocking like he expected but their formation meant he was going to take a chop from an axe if he went through with his swing instead he darted at the stave user on the side with the unarmed doll. The doll thrust its stave at him forcing him to side step. The doll then tried swing the extended staff at him.


    He did a side flip over the staff before launching off the face of the unarmed doll. He lunged forward at the staff wielding doll, trying to catch it before it pulled the staff back to defend itself.


    His hope was to impale the doll as he descended. Unfortunately he couldn''t fall fast enough. The doll changed its swing as it sidestepped out of the way. Unable to dodge in midair, it caught him in the back before launching him across the arena


    Trusting his body to catch itself he focused on his aura. Deciding to start with a simplistic approach to Making his mana active. He made it cycle expanding and contracting repeatedly. So focused on this task, he was only vaguely aware of his body as it twisted in the air to face the doll''s as he landed with a slide.


    The detection aura was now actively mapping his surroundings and the dolls as they approached him. He wobbled on his feet trying to process it all.


    Oh this is way too much information to do on the fly. The feedback from the aura is making me nauseous. Time to Daredevil this bitch.


    He closed his eyes as he waited for the dolls to cover the distance he had been flung, He swayed Slightly as he tried to get used to perceiving his body through the aura.


    The dolls approached in the same formation as before but he did nothing but continue to sway. The staff users thrusted and he could see it clearly through his aura. Dodging by stepping forward towards the shield and sword doll. A sword stabbed at him, an Axe descended from above while the two staves tried to block his escape.


    The staves were separated, one high and one low, as they were swept towards his back. As he dove backwards through the opening, they tried to pincer him, first grabbing both staves before yanking on them.


    As David landed on his feet the dolls. all had lost their balance from being sandwiched by the staff users. He lunged forward and slashed at the center mass of the entangled dolls.


    He was surprised when he actually managed to hit the stave doll on the left. His surprise turned to confusion as his sword went through the doll as if it wasn''t there. His sword was already through the axe doll as his confusion turned to horror but still his sword made its way through the dolls.


    He stood over the pile of doll halfs. Not even the shield hindered his sword. His whole body ached despite his ceaseless self heal and he turned off his detection aura in hopes it would make his head no longer feel like it was going to explode.


    He raised his sword over his head and then threw it into the ground before heading back to the box seat. As he passed the guard he had talked to earlier, he made eye contact before glancing back at the pile.


    I guess I better pretend I am a melee build.