《A Lifes Journey》


 0. A Lifes Journey - Prologue

    Na¡¯amah¡¯s Point of View (POV):


    An indescribable pain clawed at my inner organs as if trying to burn me from the inside. I guess it really did.


    ¡°Kiyoko¡­ Please, I-I beg of you, please take this chil-d and raise him as your own. I wish not¡­ for him to become a killer, but, I would wish even less for this innocent child to¡­ Die¡­ before he ever gets to live.¡±


    As I was pleading with what was apparently the last of my strength my body sunk back to the burning floor.


    Strangely, it didn''t hurt anymore, it didn''t feel like anything, really, except for a cold chill maybe. Ironic.


    Kiyoko¡¯s lips moved as my vision slowly turned into a blur but no sound came out¡­


    In another futile attempt I smiled at her desperately trying to ask if she took the baby.


    I mustered enough strength to move my lips but yet again, no sound came out, or rather, the world fell silent. The flames around me danced as if reveling in my faith, a constant reminder of the sound I was oh so desperate to hear, if only I could hear the crackling of fire around me or listen to my sweet baby cry once more, or even hear Jake¡¯s nagging one last time. I guess you only know you miss something once you lose it.


    Oh Jacob, how fragile life is, a lifetime of choices, it only makes sense that it would end with one, so why then, why did I not get to choose¡­?


    How come a life is so fragile, how is it that 20 years of experiences have no value in the face of a single moment of tragedy?


    How come life is so¡­ unfair?


    The metallic taste in my mouth slowly grew bitter as did the bitterness in my heart. The thought of my boy¡¯s bleak future. The thought of what Jake would say when he finds his house burned to the ground, wife dead, child gone?


    Have I made the right choice? Would have death been the better option for him? And many more questions, to be left unanswered ran through my pounding head.


    As my consciousness was leaving me for the last time, a single thought sliced through my barely beating heart ¨C ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry, my ch..¡­..¡±


    ***


    16 Years Later ¨C Inoshi/Lifes¡¯ POV:


    ¡°Boy, it has been 16 years since I took you in. Today is the day for you to become a ¡®Slayer¡¯.¡± Whatever you say¡­


    ¡°As I do hope you comprehend by now. Slayers are faceless assassins that work in the shadows, as such, you will complete your first mission as you remain unseen, is that clear?¡± What¡¯s with the serious tone, is this really such a big deal?


    "As a cloudy day¡­" I retorted.


    "Your sarcasm is not appreciated, you little snob." Her gray eyes turned a bit brighter for a second.


    ¡°Your slayer name carries the meanings of both life and death in a long forgotten language, forget that for but a second, and there will be consequences. When you go out to kill a person, you go with the priority of keeping yourself alive at all costs.¡±


    How many times do I have to listen to this lecture.


    With a metallic, dim, yet loud thud she slammed the table between us with her hands for added dramatic effect ¡°AT. ALL. COSTS.¡± It worked¡­


    Her stern tone and sharp gaze sent chills down my spine as my face tensed up in an attempt to seem serious.


    ¡°Your first mission will be a rather simple one, to dispose of the count Lofer Sniles.¡± Pausing for a second, she¡­ smirked at me? ¡°Head of the Sniles family.¡± She concluded.


    ¡°... an-¡± It suddenly dawned on me.


    ¡°HUH?! Simple?? THE Sniles? are they not like, super, extra, duper unreachable? And the family head at that?!¡± I stood up and looked at her before hearing a familiar voice.


    "Hahaha, whatsa matter Lifey bro? Got yarself a big first mission eh?" My friend looked at me from the hallway with his disgustingly smug face.


    "Shut the fuck up Ostel, your retardation is not appreciated!" I threw a small rock at him as he laughed at me.


    Kiyoko stared daggers into the kid''s golden eyes and said "Shiawasu you''d be wise to shut your trap if you wish to keep it".


    Ostel¡¯s body visibly shook and he took off after apologizing half-assedly.


    Serves him right, braindead chocolate boy.


    ¡°Now, back to the matter at hand, wide awake, are we? Certainly, the count Sniles is somewhat of a difficult first target, but you are no ordinary Slayer either. Is that not so?¡± Her face became serious again, ¡°Would this mission really prove to be too much for a genius such as yourself?¡±.


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    Ha! As usual my teacher knows what she¡¯s talking about, I am a genius.


    ¡°But¡­ I just¡­ I-I don¡¯t wanna¡­" I whispered to myself "Pardon? A bit louder if you would."


    "Do you know how much planning it will take me to kill the head of Sni-, OW! What was that for?!¡± I snapped at her after she flicked my forehead.


    ¡°You WILL obey, is that understood?¡± my hair was standing from the frightening aura around the slim woman.


    ¡°Yes master¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t quite hear you.¡±


    ¡°YES MASTER!¡±


    Fuck! Why so serious?


    ¡°Good boy, now go and start making your preparations, you have but a fortnight to complete the job, use this time wisely.¡± With that, she concluded the too long of a briefing and left me to my thoughts.


    ¡°14 days, 14 days to kill one guy, how dull¡­ It''s like she thinks im incompetent¡± Murmuring to myself I started going through the paper documents Kiyoko left for me.


    First thing I gotta do is learn his schedule, right? Kinda sucks to have to follow someone like that, he''s probably some pervy old man, all rich people are.


    ***


    ¡°So this is Sniles'' mansion. Bahh, rich prick.¡± An impressive-looking, middle-aged man came out of the white, fancy front door surrounded by a group of guards. It was hard to see how he looked behind all of the plants around him and underneath this big green hat, was he trying to be a¡­ Greenen was it? I hate those lizard people¡­


    ¡°Nevertheless, yep, that¡¯s the guy, looks just like in the picture Kiyoko gave me.¡± I concluded with a whisper.


    His brown hair is sorta  hard to see under that stupid-looking hat, but with this disgusting, frowning smile, it has to be him.


    My heart skipped a beat as my eyes met with those of a guard that looked straight at the roof I was laying down on.


    ¡°Coincidence? Absolutely not. Kiyoko always says that coincidences are meant to happen...¡± Should I stop talking to myself?


    "Those idiots are sharp".


    ***


    After tailing the lively corpse for 7 days, I understood his schedule thoroughly.


    Organizing the information made me realize something as I looked down at the same metal table in the small, dim-lit Box room.


    "Oh how the purple eyes of the handsome boy remind me of an Iris blooming in the black sands of despair. Extravagantly so!" A feminine voice that always made me feel on edge teased from the hallway.


    "Fuck off crazy witch, go trick yourself into some happines and leave me alone."


    Slamming the door I turned back into the room as the silver-haired witch giggled in the hallway.


    On the table I wrote everything with a small piece of white-stone.


    Every morning he picks a different colored hat and walks for 10 minutes to Archi''s range with his guards to shoot arrows - maybe to practice Sy manipulation, maybe just for fun, can''t tell ¨C for about 2 hours, during which he¡¯s basically invulnerable due to the heavy security around him.


    ¡°Next is coffee with milk in the closest bakery right? Guards go to have breakfast at this point.¡±


    I don¡¯t even need to know any more than that, It¡¯s obvious how I should kill him¡­


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be hard?¡± Doubts came to my mind, but my nerves dissipated a bit.


    I decided to keep collecting information on Sniles.


    ***


    ¡°Master, what is this, it¡¯s so stupid, he¡¯s just drinking coffee in a public place with no guards, is this really what you want me to do? It¡¯s way too easy, no?¡±


    After 13 days of looking at that Lofer guy there¡¯s just no way to ignore that this is the easiest way to kill him.


    ¡°Hmm? Whatever might you mean dear student?¡± sarcasm was practically spilling out of her voice. Condescending bitch.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it supposed to be a test? Why did you give me such an easy task?¡± I asked, kind of pissed at her.


    ¡°Are you ¡®kind of¡¯ pissed at me right now? Do you think this test is not much of a test at all for you?¡± Geh, her mind reading abilities again.


    I felt the color draining from my face as I remembered calling her a condescending bitch just a second ago.


    ¡°*Sigh* Don¡¯t be silly, I can¡¯t read minds foolish child¡­ You¡¯re just far too obvious.¡±


    Phew, safe¡­ I hope.


    ¡°Eh-hem¡­¡± I tried to bring the topic back to her explanation.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the entire test, is there a purpose to it? Do you think because I¡¯m only 16 it means I¡¯m dumb or too young?¡± Her brow raised and she let out another sigh.


    ¡°The objectives for this test were as follows:¡± She pointed one finger at the ceiling. My eyes automatically followed in the direction just to see a small Light-Stone flickering inside of its frame of glass before she said ¡°1.¡± which made my face burn with embarrassment.


    ¡°To see if you would dismiss the blatantly obvious option only because it is ¡®way too obvious¡¯, binary thinking must not exist in the mind of a Slayer." ¡°2.¡± She added another finger.


    ¡°To test if you would do the opposite and take the easy way out, ignoring everything I ever taught you in the process. Not being thorough enough could lead towards an unfortunate end. And finally, 3¡± Master continued, wearing a mix between a smirk and a serious expression.


    ¡°It is quite clear to me that you¡¯re a coward, thus you also need to understand this fact and act accordingly.


    Being afraid is not necessarily bad, forfeiting your goal in front of  your fears is, you will learn how to carry out your missions without ever facing the opponent head on, is that clear?¡±


    What? I¡¯m always so calm and collected, I¡¯m not a coward!


    Her expression hardened again before she continued with her lecture.


    I don¡¯t even want to keep listening, can¡¯t we just finish this thing already?


    ¡°Whilst carrying out an assassination, one must enter the target¡¯s mind, think from their perspective, comprehend their disposition and embrace their entire ¡®self¡¯.   You must learn how to be a different per-.¡± The grayish eyes of my master flashed for a second as she sighed deeply before flicking me on the forehead to wake me from my daze. Leaving me alone, she left, closing the door behind her with a quiet thud as I rubbed the pain away.


    In the barely-lit small Box-Room I started planning my next step thoroughly.


    ***


    2 days after the short lecture, master Kiyoko woke me up with a grin that felt incredibly un-natural for her.


    She showed me an ink-stone paper article that talked about the death of the head of the Sniles family, Lofer Sniles.


    "It might please you to hear you have passed the test with flying colors."


    ¡°Bread&Butter Bakery, a Death Trap?¡± The nobleman ¡®Sniles Lofer¡¯ entered the bakery ¡®Bread&Butter¡¯ and ordered his usual morning coffee with milk, the man is reported by witnesses to have taken but a single sip of the beverage before collapsing to the floor.


    Experts say that poison was found inside of his body but not in the coffee, meaning a well-planned assassination had taken place in the modest bakery, ¡®there are currently no suspects¡¯ captain of the investigation unit tells us.


    For more details on the case, please follow our extra issue - ¡®Crime¡¯ that is relea-¡°. ¡°Are they fucking stupid?!" Looking at my master in disbelief I exploded in anger. "How can they NOT find traces of poison on the cup? I purposefully made it obvious so they don¡¯t think it¡¯s some master assassin, is this real?!¡± Her stupid grin changed into a more serious expression as she prepared to lecture me. Again.


    ¡°It matters not if they know that a master assassin carried out the job, so long as you have not been seen, nothing else matters. Like I said before, your life comes before anything else.


    4 years from now you¡¯ll attend the Mil-Ansk military academy for the purpose of perfecting your fighting capabilities and achieving a secret mission, until then, you will steal and kill without ever exposing yourself to meaningful danger.¡± She concluded another lecture before letting me go back to sleep.


    School huh? Ostel always talks about how fun it should be...

 1. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 1

    "¡­ise and shine fella, we''re here." A raspy voice woke me up from my nap.


    "The biggiest place to learn in ''Lirkan'' continent, academy city ¨C ''Mil-Ansk'', was ait?" My half drunk carriage driver turned his head to the right.


    "Boya you lookin'' kinda small ain''tcha? I thought only bigga people go here." His assumptions would probably piss off anybody else, but I am a patient guy.


    "You see sir, I may be on the shorter side but, my teacher says I have the potential to be one of the best fighters in the kingdom." I bragged, trying to keep it cool.


    "Plus, I am of age, so¡­"


    "Well I''ll be¡­ a showty like ya is gon'' be a military studen''? Yahyahayah." His crude laugh sounded somewhat unconvinced.


    Fuck.


    I hate talking to people, this is so annoying, why do I even have to listen to this bullshit, just take me to the city and fuck off¡­


    "Yep, I hope I can make it as a knight someday." We''re finally going our separate ways.


    "May fortune find ya, and be cirful with them rich folks ya hear me boy?"


    Words of wisdom, truly, what would''ve I done without you, toothless half-dead person.


    "Ahhhh, I''m missing the Slayer assassination missions already¡­" Whispering to myself, I remembered Kiyoko''s last words to me before I left.


    "You''re finally 20 in 2 days, when you get to Mil-Ansk, remember this, you have a bad tendency to be arrogant and stupid, take extra care to NOT do anything unnecessary." Arrogant? Stupid? Me?!


    "Well, whatever, attention is the worst enemy for someone like me, I mean, I don''t like it¡­ we''re gonna take it easy and avoid trouble here for su-."


    "HMM?! Did you just push me, you scrawny asshole?" The bald headed seemingly-sentient wall of muscles turned to me, ready to fight.


    I guess ''trouble'' is unavoidable¡­ Haha¡­ I let out a sigh in my head. De-escalation Lifes, de-escalation.


    "My bad buddy, I''m not looking for trouble, it was an accident. An accident¡­" Bahh I''m gonna make myself puke, can''t I just kill him??


    "Who you callin'' your buddy, bro, I''m not your fuckin'' buddy!" But you just called me bro? "I''ll let it go just this once, but you betta'' watch yarself in the future. Now fuck outta my sight, stupid stickman." impressive vocabulary, I guess.


    He smirked arrogantly before bumping into my shoulder as his ugly, fat friend let out a loud snicker.


    Well, could''ve been worse I guess. Now, where''s my new home?


    After some asking around and walking through the large, fairly empty, grass field I reached 2 rows of houses, dorm''s block - ''B''. After a little more walking, I finally found my dorm somewhere in the first section of the front row.


    A pretty simple design, 2 stories, blue roof, wooden walls and a green sign with black letters that was hanging next to the plain, wooden door - ''B-15''.


    "Yo. Were you assigned to this building as well?" An unfamiliar, crisp, clear voice, because of course it is¡­


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    I nodded without turning around. I don''t handle the charismatic types very well.


    "A quiet one, eh? Well, no matter, my name''s Leonardo, but you can call me Leo, if we''re gonna live together, can I at least hear your name?" Guess it can''t be helped¡­


    "Lifes"


    "...?"


    "*Sigh* Well, nice to meet you, Lifes, I hope we''ll get along."


    Well I hope we don''t.


    "Mhm." I nodded.


    Mister charisma said he''d let me pick a room first so, of course, jumping on this opportunity I picked the most secluded room on the 2nd floor when yet another unfamiliar voice came from downstairs.


    "Well well, I see people have already entered my palace before me, haha."


    Just kill me¡­


    "Hey, my name''s Leonardo, but you can call me Leo, what''s your name?" The charismatic red-haired said in a way-too-practiced manner.


    "Leonar-Ah hem, PRINCE Leonardo!" he saluted awkwardly with 2 fingers over his chest. "Your highness, I didn''t know you''re one of the residents, please forgive my impudence." The guy''s shiny, bald head sent light rays all around as he knelt down and looked up.


    "Prince?" I interjected from the 2nd floor, somewhat panicked.


    Leo shot me a bittersweet, somewhat sad smile as he nodded slowly.


    Well, guess he''s the type to hate his status, not that I care, I just kinda panicked because status=trouble but luckily this guy doesn''t seem like the type of dude to use his status for unimportant things¡­ Hopefully.


    "So, we have Lifes over there, Leo, as in me" He refers to himself with a nickname? "And Roger over here, yes?" the bald headed monkey nodded nervously, probably too much of a coward to speak.


    "Come on¡­ relax, I''m just a normal student, act normally, please." Prince charisma tried to calm him down.


    The red-haired prince suggested we go to the academy to make sure that we''re not late for the opening ceremony when cue ball finally spoke again.


    "O-oh by, by the way, I''m 23 years-old and I''m a 3rd year student. How old are you guys?" It was surprising to hear the bald monkey coughing out a few words after almost shitting himself earlier just from being in rad-hair''s presence.


    "I''m almost 23, and I''m also a senior." Red-hair said.


    "20, first..." Praise to whoever invented context.


    "So, my new friends, I know of a really easy shortcut to the school from this dorm block, shall we go?" Who''s your friend?! We both nodded and proceeded to follow mister prince.


    "We turn left at the end of this alley and then just go straight until we reach the military academy building. A lot of delinquent students often make this alley their home though, so, do be careful." Red-hair briefed


    After walking through the alley for a while and turning left like Charisma said I found myself in front of a scene that was kinda unexpected.


    "Guys, stay alert, those guys aren''t going to play nice".


    "Whacha whisperin'' about, pretty flame-boy? Eh?!" The skinny, tall, not-so-scary blond dude spat.


    "Hey guys, mind lettin-" before Leo could even finish, Roger started screaming.


    "You bastards dare treat this kingdom''s third prince like he''s some nobody you can mess around with?!" This fucking braindead monkey, even our flame lion looked like he died a little inside.


    "Stand back prince Leonardo, I''ll defend you!"


    "Ah, no, Roger, maybe we can just talk it out¡­?"


    "Ya fucking bald piecashit, d''ya thunk you can just talk to us like that, boys let''s kill ''em." The group leader said as he pulled out a small, somewhat rusted, karambit knife.


    "I''m out, good luck."


    As I walked by one of the other guys, he stepped up to stop me, I looked him in the eyes and he moved to the side and let me pass.


    Lucky¡­ I''m not supposed to get into trouble.


    ***


    "Woah, so many students, is this the spot for the ceremony?" saying this out loud was a tactic on my part, just like in the stories I read, some side character will help me now¡­


    "Yes." Thank you books. "The ceremony is going to be held here on the outer training field, are you a first year by chance?" Tch, a girl, bad luck, I guess.


    "Yes, Lifes." No need to drag the convo, just give me your name and leave me alone.


    "Sophia, nice to meet you, Lifes." Her voice was so soothing, It felt like I could fall asleep to it at any time.


    "LIFES!!!! You goddamn bastard, where are you?!" The bald headed monkey searched for me drawing everyone''s attention in the process.


    Reluctant, I walked up and tapped his shoulder.


    "You have the guts to just walk up to me like that?! I''m going to fucking kill you! Right here, right now!" He threw a haymaker with his right hand that was easily dodged by just a simple step back.


    "Why so angry?"


    "You''ve got to be kidding me, right? You just left us, the prince is strong so everything ended up okay but, what if they kille-" Before he even finished, I snapped.


    "Don''t make me laugh dude! Firstly, this is a fucking school not some warzone, second, this red-haired walking ball of charisma has Sy levels at least 10 times higher than those retards in the alley and third, which is also the most important point, I OWE YOU FUCKING NOTHING! For all I care, I could watch you both get killed right in front of my eyes, why the fuck would I have to help you? get your head out of your own ass!"


    "WHAT?! What the fuck are you talking about?!" He spat back "You should always help your frien-"


    "Huh? Who are you to decide that?! Also, who the fuck is your friend?!" From the corner of my left eye a sword suddenly appeared.


    So much for a laid back start for the year aye?

 2. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 2

    ¡°Stop.¡± And so I did.


    Luckily I''m a calm and patient individual, so I didn''t REALLY snap at baldy.


    While pointing her cyan blade at my throat, I felt the chilly steel as she spoke with an indifferent voice ¡°You¡¯ve said enough, things said in the heat of the moment, you will find, are often regrettable. Calm yourself young man.¡± her blue pupils mercilessly pierced my soul. Cold sweat formed on my forehead.


    ¡°Fucking asshole.¡± My sworn enemy spat out.


    The blue haired lady ¨C probably ¨C teacher sheathed her sword after seeing me nod in confirmation.


    Not sure what she meant because I was very patient and calm throughout the ordeal, right? Damn it.


    Behind the blue haired ice-queen, - which, I daresay, had a uniquely beautiful hair ¨C showed up a tall, strong-looking man with cropped black hair and an ugly looking scar on his right cheek - which, I daresay, looked somewhat scary - with widespread hands. The man clapped his hands as if trying to draw everyone¡¯s attention and said in a very deep voice ¡°Now now, everyone, please turn your attention to the platform at the front of the field.¡± His smile really didn¡¯t suit his scary looking face.


    As I turned my head towards the edge of the sand field I realized, this red-haired pretty boy, he didn¡¯t say anything ever since we ran into the robbers, was he shaking in his luxury boots?


    On the platform a very knightly-looking person with an extremely stern expression on his face - so natural that it made me wonder if his face was actually just permanently stuck from frowning too much - was standing behind a black podium with a small, black stone that had white stripes on it.


    ¡°Students, I welcome you all, I am the captain of the knight¡¯s unit - Silver-1 - of the royal army, Gorin.¡± stern-face gave a short salute ¡°I also work in this academy as the weaponized-combat instructor.¡± His voice was basically as deep as the voice of the scarred person, but it¡¯s kinda weird that I can hear him so well from this distance. Is there some sound amplifying Seal¡¯s power inside the stone or something? How interesting.


    ¡°We will now have a few words from your student council president.¡± Red-hair was the person that stepped up to the podium next.


    Very much unsurprisingly so.


    His name isn¡¯t Charisma for nothing¡­ Or at all but that¡¯s beside the point.


    ¡°My fellow students, I wish to welcome each and every one of you.¡± He said with a clear voice that sounded strange as it was somewhat louder than expected.


    ¡°My name is Leonardo, but you can call me Leo,¡± is he for real? I swear he practices this line in front of a mirror¡­ ¡°Some of you know me as Leonardo Hyland ¨C son of the king and 3rd in line for the throne, but please, just think of me as one of your fellow students, feel free to come to me as well as the other student council members for any complaints you may have.¡±


    I wonder if him being the 3rd prince was a very important thing to point out, if I was working right now, that big tree to the left of us would have been an awfully convenient  spot to assassinate him from with a single poisoned arrow.


    After Red-Haired Charisma left the stage, the scarred, powerful-looking person walked up, is he someone important?


    ¡°Dear children¡± 20 Year olds, by the way¡­ ¡°my name is Rick Liamendo and I am the principal of the military academy of Mil-Ansk, pleased to make your acquaintance.'''' He stopped to give a small bow and everybody started clapping and cheering.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep this speech brief, in our academy city, status or social standings do not apply, if you are qualified to be here then that¡¯s that.¡± He opened up his clasped hands and announced in a loud voice.


    ¡°I welcome all of you to try and be the best fighter this continent has ever seen!¡± closing his fists he announced loudly ¡°Strive For More!¡± Again with a short pause to let everyone cheer, is this some speech tactic? so annoying¡­


    He dropped his hands on the sides of the podium with a thud, leaned forward and continued with a serious expression "You''re all very skilled, you all have your expertise, you''re all from exclusive, interesting types of backgrounds¡­ But hear me well, here, you are all average at best, humble yourselves, keep yourselves straight, straight and honest and¡­ of course." Rick stopped to take a deep breath before shouting "Strive! For! MORE!" Every student who wasn''t a first year joined him for the last part.


    With that he waved one last time and finally stepped off the podium and the ceremony was basically over, it was somewhat exciting. Honestly.


    As I walked to my assigned class my efforts to stay out of trouble actually paid off for a change.


    ¡°class A-2 huh? Thank god baldy is 2 years older than me.¡± Walking in while whispering to myself wasn¡¯t quite my best idea as the students inside the class all looked at me funny, I think.


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    Stupid idiots, these losers probably can¡¯t even kill a person, yet here they are, in a prestigious military school.


    The straightest I¡¯ll keep myself is like a banana with all those monkeys around me.


    Humble yourselves? yeah right, I wanna puke just looking at them.


    Ahhh, this is gonna be such a nightmare, why did Kiyoko even send me here?


    I don¡¯t do people well¡­


    After taking the most strategically viable spot in the classroom, in the left hand corner by the window of course.


    The blue haired lady from earlier entered the classroom, she seems to be our teacher, I¡¯m not so sure that I¡¯m entirely here for it.


    ¡°Good morning everyone,¡± she opened, does she always sound so indifferent? ¡°Today is your first day so we¡¯re not going to learn anything" How very direct, is this normal for schools? "After a short introduction we will go to the inner training facility for an evaluation which will help determine your overall combat capabilities.¡± With a small bow that seemed somewhat comical to me she introduced herself as ¡®Lissandra¡¯.


    Introductions finally reached me and I needed to make the most unfriendly and unapproachable intro I could think of.


    After standing up I announced my name in the coldest manner possible, undoubtedly this will keep those idiots away from me, I hope¡­


    Just like Lissandra said, we made our way to this inner training place and the knight guy from before - I think his name was ¡®Groin¡¯ - as well as some other brown-skinned dude with a lean, kinda scrawny physique were standing in the middle of a gray room that looked like a stadium.


    The big white arena they were standing on made the brown color of this bald, scrawny guy stand out even more.


    Groin¡¯s armor clunked from him lifting his hands to point to the seats around the hall ¡°sit yourselves wherever you want in front of us, Lissa, come join us down here.¡± My cool teacher went on stage and kicked Groin, that¡¯s kinda funny.


    Their chemistry was somewhat surprising, endearing even, but is he mad at her now? He looks so angry all the time, I can¡¯t tell¡­


    ¡°Haha, now that everyone¡¯s seated, let me just introduce myself once again, my name is Gorin, and I will be your instructor for combat with weapons.¡± Oops. Well, I kinda prefer Groin now so... sucks to be you I guess.


    While entertaining myself with the thought of his stupid name the brown person opened his mouth to speak.


    ¡°Hohoho, my name is Djah¡¯ckel, I come from the free autonomous area - in the desert to the east of our city - named ¡®Markahtples¡¯, bery nice to meech you all.¡± With his hands behind his back, he gave a curt bow before going on about his role as a hand-to-hand combat instructor.


    For some unclear reason, his nasally voice made me think it was kinda funny that he¡¯s gonna teach us hand-to-hand.


    Maybe because of his unclear nasal system. I need help.


    In any case, I¡¯ve never heard of this ¡®Marketplace¡¯, and they¡¯re autonomous too, that means they don¡¯t live like us, right?


    ¡°Lissa- Lissandra, please pick a student to have a small bout with me and mister Djah¡¯ckel.¡±


    ¡°Very well, mister ¡®I have my own morals¡¯.¡± She said looking me dead in the eye, I felt the cold in her eyes even from that range, guess I made a bad impression, fuck.


    After climbing down from the seating area, I picked a bow as my weapon. The knight guy ¨C Groin ¨C was wearing his armor so this is going to be - probably - impossible to fight, but I just really liked bows so¡­


    ¡°Are you sure about using a bow kid?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, respected instructor, I only know how to use a bow or 2 knives, I chose a bow however, simply because I just like it better.¡± With a nod from mister stern I took my position as he began talking. ¡°Oh, and I¡¯m not a kid¡± He let out a sigh.


    ¡°Very well, here are the rules - injuries are allowed but fatalities are an auto loss, no Seal abilities if you have those, no Sy energy, you either win with your weapon or you lose.¡± he pointed behind him at some lady sitting on the sidelines.


    ¡°There¡¯s a healer with the ¡®Hazel-Foam¡¯ Seal here so you don¡¯t have to worry too much, but be careful nonetheless, she can only heal so much.¡± he said to no-one in particular, probably just wants the class to hear.


    Examining the knight¡¯s armor something was obvious, it isn¡¯t an actual knight¡¯s armor - or at least I hope it isn¡¯t - but rather a shirt with a few steel plates attached to it.


    ¡°2 arrows huh? Let¡¯s make it flashy.¡± Concluding to myself I took a deep breath.


    Everything slowed down for a second, I will win.


    After confirming that I¡¯m ready, we both waited for a cue to start from miss ice-queen.


    Lifting up her hands, she paused for a second, she nodded at both of us before dropping her hands back down as she announced, unenthusiastically.


    ¡°Begin.¡±


    The knight, of course, started running straight at me with his mace in his right hand and a shield in his left.


    I aimed my bow directly upwards as I held my breath tightly and let go of the string after adjusting my strength so that the arrow wouldn''t hit the ceiling.


    As the knight closed in I drew another arrow, held my breath, time as if slowing down just for me, I felt extremely calm. I shot the arrow straight at him.


    My instructor lifted up his shield to block my shot which would probably hit directly between his shoulder plates in a soft spot of his plated shirt if he didn¡¯t.


    My arrow was just about to hit his shield when a loud grunt came out from his direction. The plan worked perfectly, here I thought the teachers would be more experienced than that¡­ Disappointing.


    ¡°What an interesting way of fighting, way too flashy for a 1 on 1 duel.


    I applaud your technique, if nothing else, but you lost this battle.¡±


    I found myself standing with a mace aimed at my throat while the teacher had one arrow dripping blood to the floor lodged into his left forearm that held onto a shield until just a moment ago and another stuck exactly where I aimed at ¨C in the gap between the shoulder plates, so then, why - why and how did I lose? it doesn¡¯t even make sense.

 3. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 3

    ¡°Arrogance.¡± His stupid stern face is annoying ¡°Huh?¡±.


    ¡°Your arrogant attitude is so blatant, sure, you have a high level of skill with a bow but, it is incredibly apparent that you have little to no face to face combat experience, if I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d have guessed you grew up as an assassin.¡± I felt the color draining from my face.


    My muscles tightened as a single thought popped up. Run? But then again, it''s not really illegal¡­


    I mean yeah, I barely have any experience fighting face to face with people as almost all of my missions ended up with me just killing the target unnoticed but still, Kiyoko did train me for that too.


    ¡°-ey! Kid, are you still with us? Your face looks like you¡¯ve seen a ghost, let me finish my lecture before you panic.¡± His suspicious look tells me everything. He knows, absolutely. Maybe¡­?


    ¡°So, I said you lost due to arrogance but I¡¯ll be honest, your accuracy is astonishing, especially for a 20 year old kid, cheer up.¡± Tch, he just wants to kick me out of school or throw me in jail, should I run?


    ¡°hohoho go easy on the boy my dear Gorin, he¡¯s obviously shook by this fight.¡± What was this weirdo¡¯s name again? Dickel?


    ¡°Anyway, Amenda, would you please heal me before we continue with the fights?¡± I don¡¯t know what this muscle brain¡¯s thinking and if he wants me in jail or whatever, but master wanted me to study here for a while, I¡¯ll have to just bet he didn¡¯t figure me out.


    Since I think the rest of those people here are way smarter than him, I¡¯ll have to use bare minimum Sy techniques and just forgo using my Seal entirely like Kiyoko suggested while I¡¯m staying here.


    While I was lost in thought, the middle-aged woman named Amenda used her Seal to heal mister high and mighty knight while the other instructor ¨C Dickel - was preparing something.


    As she waved her hand over his wounds, a layer of dark brown foam appeared, it was called hazel foam but it just looks like literal shit to be honest¡­


    As if in response to my thought, bizzare bubbles with a light-green, clear color popped out and floated over the foam, giving a perfect, somewhat ethereal hazel hue.


    ¡°Seeing as our little spar was very short, I¡¯d like for you to fight Djah¡¯ckel as well, without resting, we will give you your rank after we¡¯re done assessing your combat prowess.¡± Ah, fuck, how do I keep messing up their names, Jakel is a pretty unique one though, kinda hard to remember.


    While the desert guy was wrapping his hands with some bandages, Groin explained to the rest of the class that they¡¯re all gonna have to fight the instructors. My blue-haired ice statue of a teacher will serve as an instructor for weaponized combat as well to speed things up.


    ¡°Are we ready little boy?¡± mister brown was in position already gesturing me to the farther end of the arena so as to give the other losers space to fight.


    ¡°Respected teacher, are the rules the same as before?¡± stretching my arms and preparing for the fight was essential, Kiyoko always warned me of little things like cramps.


    ¡°Not quite boy-boy,¡± huh? Boy-boy? ¡°hohoho, in this fight you¡¯re allowed to use Si energia¡± ¡®si energia¡¯? Is that Sy? ¡°but the rest of the rules are the same.¡±


    After we both finished our preparations, I took a deep breath and nodded before taking a fighting position.


    ¡°We will begin after this coin hits the floor, yes?¡± browny explained and just tossed the coin into the air after I nodded.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    With a deep breath, everything around me slowed down, I felt extremely calm.


    *ting* we both closed the gap we had between us, his body is undoubtedly coated in Sy, such inefficient usage, he¡¯ll run out of stamina in no time.


    A snake-like stab with his fingers at my face snapped me out of my thoughts, I redirected with my right hand while moving my head diagonally to the right and shifting my balance forward in order to go in for a strike into his flat stomach.


    My victory.


    To my surprise though, his stance had shifted from a normal one into a weird one legged stance, my open palm hit his right knee cap as he used the force of my strike to spin to his right as if dancing, my whole world sank and I found myself on the floor¡­


    Arrogance, was it? I guess those teachers are pretty strong.


    After taking a second to humble myself, I got up and turned to Jakel.


    ¡°Instructor, would you please give me a second try?¡± Asking this felt disgusting, but I had to try something out.


    ¡°Why of course my dear child, hohoho, enthusiasm is a blassink.¡± His weird laugh made me wanna throw myself off a building.


    My short ritual felt even more intense this time around, I took everything in, the sounds, the smells, the moisture in the cool air.


    Everything seemed to slow down for a second when I inhaled as I came up with a plan.


    I felt extremely calm.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    Browny tossed his coin yet again into the air and we started, this time I looked carefully, I needed to seize just 1 moment to shift the tides.


    As we closed the gap between us I just stood there waiting for my chance, his left hand shot forward, yet again in a snake-like movement, I followed the sequence to its natural conclusion and ended up in the same spot as before.


    This time is different though.


    As I felt the force of my strike being sucked in by his eccentric movement, I used the Slayers¡¯ special Sy technique to ease the centrifugal force and rebalance myself, I lifted up my right hand into an open palm uppercut but stopped just before hitting his chin in order to redirect his left hand from reaching my face.


    While our forearms collided, I already stepped down with my left foot onto his left foot.


    Seeing as he was in a one legged stance, his balance was supposedly his biggest flaw.


    Using the weight of my body I pushed him into the ground and won the fight by submission.


    With a snarky smile that had me confused, snake-man put 1 hand on my shoulder and declared me victor.


    ¡°You know boy-boy, you fight very intelligently when you get rid of your arrogant thoughts.¡± Prick.


    ¡°Howevar, this is not a good battle you just hat. One, you lost the first battle, and two, you assumed I would use the same tactic again just because you chose to do so, please do not think in this manner while fighting, hohoho.¡± Tch, I hate to admit it, but he¡¯s right, stupid owl¡­


    After my humiliations, heading to the southern seating area I could swear I heard some assholes talking about my loss to desert monk.


    *Sigh* I sat down, whatever, I¡¯ll just sleep until this whole test thing is over¡­


    ***


    ¡°Yo, Inoshi, how ya doin¡¯ brotha?¡± My goofy friend asked.


    Feelings I tried to bury re-surfaced, why am I seeing this guy in a dream, I don¡¯t want this.


    ¡°Ostel, you bastard, move your hands from my face, I¡¯m trying to concentrate!¡± My mouth responded on its own.


    Aghhhhh, this is the worst.


    ¡°Whatcha actin¡¯ all grumps about man, I¡¯m just tryna help ya.¡±


    Just hearing his nostalgic voice makes me feel like the piece of shit that I actually am, fuck¡­


    *THREAT!*


    My instincts suddenly kicked in and shook me from my nightmare as a sword was about to hit my neck, without even thinking I stopped the blade with my Sy-coated hand.


    Pulling the blade over my body I threw my hand towards my assailant¡¯s throat with the purpose of piercing a hole through it as a realization fell on me, I¡¯m in school, this is not ¡®Home¡¯, there is no¡­ danger?

 4. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 4

    Luckily for me, my blue-haired teacher - who appeared uncharacteristically surprised at first - stood her ground as I relaxed the strength of my pull and didn''t fall over me.


    "How unsettling, such murderous instincts¡­ Get yourself back onto the stage, we''re assigning ranks to everyone." She commanded.


    My body felt somewhat shaky and cold sweat rolled down my forehead as I got up from my seat, why? I''m not one to lose his cool so easily, what did I even dream of? I can''t remember at all.


    All the students were already lined up waiting just for me, as they should.


    The stench of sweat welcomed me onto the arena''s platform, taking my spot near the blonde, friendly looking girl that was just about my height, I sighed at my misfortune.


    "About time." Mister stern-face didn''t make an effort to conceal his dissatisfaction before moving on to speak to no-one in particular.


    "We will now give all the students here their evaluations and assign them ranks."


    "Hohoho, you have all done wondirfully dear children." Browny clapped while smirking, leaving me and probably everyone else confused, he does realize we''re all 20 years old, right?


    Ice-Queen was the next to open her mouth, did they rehearse that?


    "When you hear your name, please step to the assigned area on the floor." She pointed at the paintings on the floor that I somehow missed before.


    The knight spoke next in a very formal tone.


    "We will now begin:


    Sigmer ¨C D.


    Likiya ¨C D.


    Erald ¨C B.


    Lifes ¨C C." Huh? HUH?! C?! not A? not even B? wasn''t I the best here? This has to be some sorta mistake¡­ But it does work out for me as I don''t need any un-necessary attention, so I won''t complain.


    But it has to be a mistake though¡­ not that I''m complaining of course.


    It''s probably a mistake.


    "¡­Riley ¨C C.


    That is all, in total, we have 5 B rank students, 12 C rank students and 2 D rank students, 0 E rank students and finally at the highest rank¡­" is this supposed to be some unsuccessful dramatic drumroll hold? How anti-climactic for him.


    Pointing at the girl standing next to me, Groin announced "1 A rank student ¨C Chloe." Ehhh, so blondie here is an A rank, probably just a fluke, she doesn''t look like much.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    While examining blondie, our eyes met and she sent me a wink and a faint smile. Is she trying to tease me or something? What''s that supposed to mean? Ahhh I hate people¡­


    "Well then, now that we''re done assigning your ranks, I will also give a brief explanation as to how your classes are going to work."


    As he explained everything I constantly fought the urge to fall asleep standing, the gist was pretty simple though.


    First of all, each rank has its own classes in it, so getting a class and a teacher at first was basically pointless, how stupidly inefficient¡­


    Next, A ranks are team leaders and will create their teams with members they choose from different ranks.


    They are also the strongest students with the best overall combat-score, I also learned that A ranks could choose to not take a leading position as blondie decided that she''s not gonna be a leader but a simple team member like the rest of the ranks.


    Thirdly, the school has a lot of students so there are a few different divisions. We''re in division 4, ironic to say the least considering the slayer name Kiyoko gave me.


    And lastly, the ranks aren''t really an accurate representation of the student''s ability as it does not include Seals. Again, stupidly inefficient¡­ And this is supposed to be the most prestigious school on the continent, ridiculous.


    Although he did say there''s a special rank - Z, saved specifically for certain ''unique'' Seals, whatever that means.


    After arriving at my new classroom for the year, I was greeted by an unpleasant amount of friendliness from my fellow losers.


    "Please almighty ''Firsts'' give me the strength to endure this yea-" My quiet prayer was cut short by someone tapping my shoulder asking if my name is Lifes.


    hoping it ends there, I nodded.


    The brown-haired walking tower handed me a letter that someone asked him to give me.


    Please don''t be a love letter, I don''t have the energy for that¡­


    "Dearest of the dear, oh how I see you so clear, make not a noise to steer and the contents of the desk bring here *small painting*" A riddle?A poem? I like puzzles but this is just weird¡­


    "Sneaky as you are, my scope reaches far, you will obey what is said or people will end up¡­ dead."


    With a lump in my throat, I flipped the paper to finish reading wondering if this is all just some twisted joke.


    "Hopefully this little poem isn''t too¡­ Distasteful, I presume you get the gist but I will clarify so that there aren''t any misunderstandings." My heart was beating faster.


    "I know who you are, Inoshi, the faceless assassin, the master thief that was never seen, not once." Yep, just like I thought.


    "You will now be my little minion, as you might have already guessed, I''m in need of a person to do my dirty work and you fit the bill perfectly." I''m screwed¡­ But this is exciting!


    "You''re probably wondering how I got this information, or what''s the purpose for this mission." Couldn''t care less, though It is kinda obvious "however, this is a s-e-c-r-e-t. :P" Does she really not understand how obvious this is? I''ll take it of course, some excitement is always good.


    The last part of the letter is just the conclusion of my supposedly anonymous savior''s literal blessings in disguise.


    I got back home right after school-day was over and started preparing for my first mission. I wonder what they even talked about in school, I was completely out of it.


    As I heard someone get into the house, I tried my hand at my newfound religious hobby, please don''t be Baldy¡­


    Surprising though it may be, I was happy to find out it was Charisma. For someone so rich, he looks pretty spent, ironic.


    "H-hey Lifes, how was the first day?" he asked.


    All this small talk for such a tall guy, this guy is just a walking cane of lame irony¡­ Why even bother asking if you don''t care about the answer.


    "Dunno." Let''s not hide the fact that I wasn''t even paying attention to anything after ''Simon The First'' spoke to me through a small piece of paper.


    "Dunno? You mean you don''t know?" Are you for real? His highness needs to lower himself to meet his people from time to time.


    "Mhmm." He''s really gonna go broke if he keeps talking to me, I''ll make sure of it.


    *Tch*.


    Wait, did he just click his tongue at me? Is he gonna snap? Hilarious, I don''t have time for it though, gotta go get ready for tonight, I''ll just go to my room before he s-.


    "Sorry, I just had a rough day, I''ll go up first, talk to you later." Don''t care¡­ also, don''t force yourself.


    Whatever, lets prepare a plan.

 5. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 5

    "Ffffffffm ahhhhh, the air smells so good up here." This fresh smell of the clean air is absolutely intoxicating.


    My heart is beating so fast.


    Standing on the blue roof of the tower that was just beside the iron entry gate into the ''Science and History'' academy''s grounds I looked into the void underneath.


    The feeling of my nose going a little numb, the fumes of my breath, the burning sensation freezing my face, the bright, almost blinding darkness of the night.


    It was all such a thrill, it makes me wanna just jump!


    And jump I did.


    The tower was about 50 meters tall I''d say which made everything just so much better, I closed my eyes and activated my Seal.


    The word meaning ''Darkness'' in a language that has long since been forgotten flashed in my brain as if trying to describe the scenery around me.


    It took less than a second after activating my Seal to ''sink'' into the darkness around me, as my entire body felt as if enveloped in some warm blanket made of mud that swallowed my entire being.


    If it weren''t for the fact that I could still hear myself thinking, I would''ve doubted my own existence, ironically enough.


    Ahhh, this familiar feeling, how I missed it.


    After a very, VERY long 1 tenth of a second, a small spot of a shadow on the floor spat me out.


    Inside of the academy''s territory the ground seems so¡­ rough, the stone was seemingly smooth from afar but looking at it closely, it was really rough, almost spikey.


    Wearing my Slayer uniform gave me confidence in just wandering aimlessly to get a feel for the place''s groundwork, scouting is always important before missions.


    My deep black hoodie was somewhat of a hindrance to my vision as I almost fell after missing the small height difference between the rough stoney area and what seemed to be a dry mud field the size of something like 3 dorm houses.


    After reaching a road made out of actual smooth, grey-ish marble, the entry to the main school building was right in front of me. A tall but somewhat disproportionately narrow door in the shape of an arrow head, colored some hue of gray with a tinge of green to it, or at least so it seemed in the darkness of the night.


    Using my Seal again I just entered the building through a shadow under one of the windows near the entry door.


    Searching for the principal''s office is the easy part. I didn''t even plan on getting this far today, convinced there will be guards in this place. I didn''t even bother planning beyond getting a feel for the school''s yard¡­


    Choosing to try and finish the mission tonight is probably somewhat impulsive but, the thrill in all of this is too much, I don''t wanna leave yet, let''s find the principal''s office and try to get this document thingy my accursed new god had asked for.


    Thinking of how I would''ve built the school, helped me decide to start in the middle.


    The school''s eerily quiet. Hallways were sorta like a triangle which meant that the most important room would be on the second floor in the middle, or so I thought.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Ironically enough, the very last door - which is the very first I skipped - is also the one I needed. Why am I not surprised¡­


    Whatever, at least I''m here, but who even puts the principal''s office basically at the school''s entrance. How ridiculous. Is this how schools are built? Isn''t the principal like the¡­ warlord or something?


    This is way too easy though, is this a set-up? I find it hard to believe as there''s just no point, they know enough about me to send me to jail easily or at least ruin my life here for sure, right?


    Maybe the academy''s principal is that confident in his hiding place for the documents? Maybe he''s just dumb?


    Too many uncertainties, this is so fun!


    Well, the door is unlocked, the table with purple legs is right in the middle of the office, am I crazy or is this a trap? I''m not taking any chances, although I absolutely want to.


    One of the first things Kiyoko taught me was to be thorough, I''ll try to get more information out of my ''unknown'' employer before risking getting caught red-handed in something like that.


    Getting out of the academy is simple enough using my Seal, but I want a bit of a challenge so let''s wing it.


    Of course my Seal is known in the kingdom as the Seal of an infamous assassin as well, so let''s keep Seal usage to a minimum while working.


    Since I also used Sy today in school, it''s better to not use any of that either.


    With my mind set on getting back to my dorm without being seen, I ran by the mud field until reaching the wall that faces my dorm block, I leaped into the air as high as possible and barely reached a bump on the wall to start climbing.


    Climbing this wall wasn''t much of a challenge, but it was a long process, this wall is fucking high.


    After running for a bit, I arrived at the edge of the wall. An unbelievable urge to throw myself off of it filled me with adrenalin.


    Breathing in deeply made time slow down for a second as my lungs felt tingly from the cool air.


    I felt extremely calm.


    The wall was about 7 or so meters high plus around 5 for the hill it was on top of.


    Jumping down was easy enough even without my Seal, but I need the rest of my route home planned.


    It wouldn''t be hard as my pre-planning was impeccable, of course.


    "As you jump down a few meters or so, just know your body could distribute the shock better if you let your knees buckle a bit and then roll forward, you''ll transfer the shock dealt to your body into force. Forward momentum, you know? Though do make sure to use your shoulder as you roll so you don''t injure yourself." My old colleague''s advice sounded very clear all of a sudden.


    Thanks, Snoopsi!


    Even though I did stick the landing quite well, the height was probably too much. My knees felt a bit shaky.


    After carefully making my way using the darkness as cover - which wasn''t so difficult even without my Seal - I finally reached the small wooden box behind building B-1 where my normal clothes were hidden.


    As I was changing clothes a distant noise from behind excited me, I''m ready to kill any witness in order to save my skin. Turning around, it disappointed me to see a cat walking by, near a piece of wood that looked like a tree that lost its life to mother nature after getting hit by lightning.


    Instead of going back home, maybe looking around this huge city is a better option. I heard the academy city has a bunch of leisure institutes for all the pathetic losers living here.


    Kiyoko gave me about 2 gold coins worth of silver, that should be more than enough for me.


    As I was arriving at the city''s square after a bit of walking, a realization dawned on me, my money is not here¡­ How could I forget something so simple, I''m usually so calm and thorough.


    Whatever, I''ll just look around for now, see what they offer here.


    ?"¡­ Di-da-di ho the Dirk collapsed to death!"? a cheerful song along with a loud laughter were coming from the distance - I''m guessing there''s a tavern here.


    Standing there at the edge of the square, seeing how the atmosphere was incredibly care-free and cheerful. How boring.


    Another realization hit me, SOMEONE MIGHT TALK TO ME.


    Should I join in? probably not.


    The amazing smell blessing my nose of what I assumed to be roasted Bilzar meat made me drool lustfully.


    How did they get Bilzar meat so far away from the northern wilderness?


    "Did you hear? they brought some Bilzar duckling piglets from the north, it is said they can live off of just a small pond with fish."


    I remember a conversation with Snoops again. This guy always knew everything.


    The sweetness and tenderness of the meat, just like a tomato. It flooded my mouth.


    Its natural taste of a chicken marinated in tomatoes made it so you don''t even need seasoning.


    Memories of my times in the wilderness flooded in as I tried to suppress them not wanting to remember some of the more¡­ unpleasant ones.


    While looking at the square, still debating whether I should go look around even without any money, a tap on my shoulder jerked me back to reality.


    "Hello" the unfamiliar - but very much pleasant - voice of the highest ranking member of my class made me wanna dive into the nearest shadow "Your name was Lifes, right? I''m Chloe, can we talk?" Why me?!


    ''Firsts'', give me strength.

 6. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 6

    "So, Lifes, why are you not upset?" she examined me, her blatant, fake curiosity apparent.


    "Hmm?" Please leave me alone¡­


    "Well, you were undoubtedly one of the most, if not THE most talented fighter amongst the students, how are you okay with being placed into C rank!?"


    "I was?" One in your hearth and one in your mouth, was it? Although I really was a better fighter than the rest of these idiots.


    "The instructors said that you''re way too arrogant and just placed you lower based on that, you should be furious, right?"


    "May I ask a question?" Guess I''ll have to talk to somebody sometime¡­


    With an indifferent expression, she nodded.


    "Excuse my blunt phrasing but, why do you care?"


    With a sinister grin she started explaining "you''re right, I don''t." huh?


    "I don''t even think you''re a good fighter, I was just trying to be friendly so I can get close to you." HUH?! Not a good fighter? Wanna fucking go, bitch?


    "I-I see¡­ And, why is that?" you better have a good answer!


    "I think you have other skills that you didn''t show off that I''ll need in the future, you used to be an assassin, or to be exact, you used to be a Slayer, correct?" Interesting, did she see other Slayers use Sy before?


    "So?" Her brows raised as she gaped.


    "Yo-you don''t care that I know? You''re not even going to deny it?" What''s wrong with this girl, dude.


    "You can''t prove anything, and if you do, however, decide to try to make problems for me, I''ll just kill you..." Please give me a reason, my stomach is aching in excitement.


    "Geh¡­! Hehehe, j-just¡­ Forget I ever said anything¡­" Her voice trailed off and complexion turned pale as she threw me a forced smile and ran away.


    *Sigh* Well, that''s disappointing¡­


    This intensely boring conclusion made me sleepy, better head back to the dorms.


    ***


    Everything is so quiet near the dorms. Really makes you wonder if it''s even the same city.


    "Oh Lifes, it''s you, where have you been, friend?" Friend? I don''t recall having any friends, at all.


    "Well, anyway me and Roger are about to-" Cue ball stormed through the door. Right on cue.


    "Lifes! You bastard, I''m not done with you!" Charisma lifted his hand to stop Baldy and bit his lower lip before addressing me. Was that frustration on his face?


    "Lifes, Roger is just mad becau-"


    "Don''t care, good night." I just walked past them and entered the house.


    "Okay, fine! You don''t have to speak to us, but don''t expect us to be friends with you if you ever come around, if you ever want us to be friends, you''ll have to earn it from now on, I tried enough for you, you dishonest un-grateful idiot!" Hilarious.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    I feel like I could cry laughing right now, how stupid, go play together, alone.


    "Good night." Waving my hand at them I went up to my room, and got into the shower.


    As the hot water poured over my body, I realized that for some reason my hands were trembling. I''m also feeling sick to my stomach, how strange, I''m usually a lot calmer than that.


    Hopefully I''ll feel better after a good sleep¡­


    ***


    "Ya tryna make some new typa poison brotha?" Huh? Is this another dream? "Yep, wanna help, Ostel?".


    "Ya betcha, whado I do though?" Just let me forget this fucking guy already¡­


    "Just hold this glass container. And listen, don''t fucking tell Kiyoko we''re doing this, got it?"


    "Fo sho fo sho, mah lips are S-E-A-L-E-D." I can''t believe we used to laugh like that, how sad and childish¡­


    "-s! Yo, Lifes!" What is Baldy''s voice doing in my dream??


    "Lifes, you jerk, wake up already!" Opening my eyes, I saw Baldy''s ugly, muscular face above me, what the fuck is this?


    "What?! Why are you in my room?" He looked like he was about to put me back to sleep after that question, why is he so mad this time?


    "You little¡­" he mumbled, quietly, menacingly.


    "Hello? Answer?"


    "Leo asked that I wake you up, I don''t even know why he bothers helping a piece of shit like you, honestly." He said as he opened the door to leave my room.


    This Leo is such a dog, just leave me alone already!


    Getting ready for school I figured it might be best to start locking my door from now on.


    Those guys are too persistent, didn''t he say he won''t try to befriend me anymore just yesterday?


    Whatever, let''s just hurry to the academy.


    Walking through the same route as yesterday, the fact that it wasn''t even an actual road suddenly stuck out to me. This prince is such a rebel, the king should watch out.


    Today I need to talk to my anonymous acquaintance. Sometime in between classes should be fine.


    My first class today is ''Seals'', are they just gonna talk about Seals? Kinda boring isn''t it?


    ***


    Entering the classroom I saw an average-looking short-haired four-eyed dude with his back to the class, maybe he''s blind?


    "Students, may the Firsts give you power, good morning." He turned to us as I sat down, what kinda opening is that, his glasses were barely hanging to his face which looked funny. He is for sure a weirdo.


    "C rank or not indeed, all of you are still candidates very much for military enlistments, it is so indeed much needed for you to learn about Seals, we will indeed start with the basics". I guess this guy''s gonna talk like a weirdo about boring stuff now?


    "Seals do indeed form in children between the ages of 12 and 15.


    At a certain, that is, point will the ''Sentence'' appear in their mind, as sure I am yes, you have all indeed experienced."


    What was mine again? ''??? ??? ????, ????? ???? ????''? I think it''s basically ''Like the Phoenix, he''ll appear after his death'', in Yirmish - the Hadohian language, right?


    Too bad Kiyoko made me get rid of it because she wanted money¡­ It was probably really strong as she got like 1000 gold coins for it.


    My hand felt heavy under the weight of my head as I felt like I''m about to fall asleep.


    "¡­thentic''." Apparently I missed some of it, probably the part about how original Seal owners are called ''Authentic'' and people who ''borrowed'' a Seal - like me - are called ''Fake''.


    "''Fake'' Sealers, yes they are, can reach only indeed level 5 ''?''. ''Authentic'' Sealers yes indeed can reach level 10 ''?''!


    Only 2 people ¨C whom we call today ''The Firsts'' - in the indeed true history of our blessed continent have indeed reached this highest level, it is yes indeed considered impossible." His eccentric manner of speech yes indeed is funny, but his head movements are the real-deal. Why does his head move like a chicken having a spasm??


    "There are yes 2 reasons for the indeed usage of letters from the CURSED! Hadohian language in the Seals'' levels indeed.


    1 ¨C Hadohians have received indeed their Seals before we Wistians have.


    2 ¨C Hadohians have system indeed called ''Gematria'' that yes is the basis for our Seals gaining more power for some indeed yet to be known reasons."


    With a deep breath, the brain-damaged teacher stopped himself from going into hyper-ventilation.


    Well, indeed, this person is unwell.


    "However but, ''Sentences'' can indeed appear in 3 different yes languages.


    Our indeed wistianic yes language, called ¨C Hylandish. The indeed devilish Hadohian cursed people''s language - Yirmish. Or, ''The indeed yes Forgotten Language'', a nameless language that yes indeed so has been long forgotten."


    Kiyoko still knows it though, she says some people still remember this forgotten language, her name and every Slayer''s name are all from this language.


    I wonder why.

 7. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 7

    Stretching my body after class, I mumbled to myself ¡°I should start looking for Esemoniya¡­¡± as a tap on my shoulder made me turn around to see the person I was just about to go look for.


    ¡°Hee-ya-hooooo¡± she waved at me with a cute smile that made me wanna throw up. ¡°Dearest! How I missed you!¡± I quickly took a step back to avoid her grabbing me.


    ¡°My, my, so cautious around your senior, you might just hurt my feelings!¡± As she lowered her head, she looked up at me with puppy eyes and continued teasing ¡°do you hate me, Dearest?¡±


    ¡°Tch, isn''t it obvious? Also stop calling me that you crazy witch, let¡¯s go talk somewhere private, this hallway is way too crowded.¡±


    I started walking towards the stairs to our left.


    ¡°Ehhhh, the roof? How cliche, is this a date now?¡± this crazy manipulating bitch¡­


    ¡°Can you drop the act already? Why did you try to set me up? If you wanna get me in jail, surely proving my past isn¡¯t a hard task for you, right?¡± I asked while looking over the roof at the big lifeless yard below me as her small brown eyes and dark hair suddenly appeared in front of me.


    ¡°Dearest, this is no way to treat an old friend, especially one that cares for you oh so dearly¡­ Did I not teach you better? What would your dearest friend Shiawasu think?¡±


    ¡°WATCH YOUR MOUTH BITCH! Keep Ostel¡¯s name out of your filthy hole!¡± I snapped, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt.


    She always gets on my nerves like that, especially that fake facade of hers¡­


    ¡°Hehe, Deeearest! Ohhh Dearest! my dearest of the dears! my most precious toy! Am I the one who told you to kill him?¡±


    ¡­


    She''s always like this. It feels like I¡¯m about to drown in the guilt and anger.


    ¡°Are you angry right now? Maybe a little guilty?? Is it really because of me though?¡± She put 1 slender finger to her chin, keeping her irritating cutesy mask. ¡°Ohhh how much I love my Dearest yet he¡¯s so cold to me, what should I do?? It feels like my heart is burning¡­¡± This person needs to see a doctor, because her jokes are fucking sickening.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m not angry at you, you only fulfilled your role as my educator. I¡¯m also absolutely angry, thanks to you.¡± Breathing in deeply and calming myself down I turned around to start walking away before the witch spoke up again.


    Her voice took a bittersweet tone laced with¡­ sadness?


    ¡°My Wistian name is ¡®Derny Trick¡¯ and my age is now 22, don¡¯t you forget it, okay Dearest? That is, if you manage to make it past today.¡± She tried to hide it but something was clearly off.


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


    ¡°You do remember that nobody can lie to me, right?¡± *Muwah* She kissed me on the cheek and proceeded to walk away before turning to me once more, ignoring my question entirely.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t forget your magic words did you? You might need those soon.¡± it was subtle but her expression was definitely that of agony.


    22¡­ This lady is 27 if I remember correctly, I mean sure, she looks very young and pretty but, this is still making me sick.


    ***


    Another somewhat uneventful day comes to an end¡­ The classes in this school are so boring, the class about Seals was incredibly bare-bones and every other class was just fighting strategy which I just don¡¯t care about.


    The only thing I need in this school is learning how to fight in close quarters as I¡¯m apparently not as good at it as I thought¡­


    ¡°Hey shorty, stop.¡± I knew taking this shortcut through the alley was a good idea today, I¡¯m really in the mood to kill someone.


    Turning around I saw a burly-looking guy at least as tall as prince Charisma, ¨C around 180 centimeters or so ¨C  HOW EXCITING!


    My heart started beating faster as he put his right hand on my shoulder before speaking.


    ¡°Give me some money or I''ll show you the color of your own BLOOD little monkey!¡± my hands were trembling with excitement as he said the word, the magic word.


    ¡°Huh? Are you about to piss yourself shorty? Why so scare-gah l-v g¡­.o.¡± his hands shot up to try and pry my right hand away from his neck.


    I felt his struggling grow more and more faint as my Sy coated forefinger sank deeper into his throat and a satisfied grin formed on my face with a feeling of absolute joy¡­


    My eyes closed for a second, I took a deep breath drinking in the sounds and smells around me.


    I felt extremely calm.


    I opened my eyes to see the bloodied dead body of a kid about a year older than me laying on the ground.


    What am I doing? Did I kill him? HOW EXCIT-SICKENING!


    My mind was going into panic mode.


    ¡±You killed him¡­¡± an unwelcome yet nostalgic voice said behind me. Did I? Really?!


    ¡°No no. NO! Ostel, listen to me, PLEASE! It isn¡¯t like that! It was a mistake, please, he¡¯s not de- bwahh.¡±


    Throwing up the tomato soup I ate just an hour ago, I leaned against the wall of the dorm building next to me to help keep myself from falling due to how badly my head was spinning and pounding.


    A quiet thud behind me grabbed my attention as I whipped my head to see Prince Charisma¡¯s books on the floor and an unwelcome expression of disgust on his face.


    My life here¡¯s over.


    ¡°O-Ostel?! Lifes what the fuck are you talking about! This-this kid! You just killed him! Are you insane?!¡± Don¡¯t call me insane you dog!


    I started walking away while relying on the walls for support. I had to run away from there.


    I have to go back to Kiyoko and ask her to help me.


    My stomach apparently disagreed with my decision as I started throwing up again, probably yesterday¡¯s pork-belly or something.


    ¡°Lifes! Stop! You need to go to jail for what you¡¯ve done, but I won¡¯t turn you in, I¡¯ll help you if you help me! Come with me, quickly!¡± He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back while I was trying to escape.


    ¡°Fuck¡­ off.¡± I sorta mumbled while pushing his arm away.


    ¡°If you leave now, everyone will know exactly who did this, a lot of people are already talking about the rumors of you being a former assassin.¡± Rumors? How?! It¡¯s only the second day of school, what the fuck!


    ¡°I won¡¯t trust some stuck up fucking prince that thinks his morals are the only thing that matters!¡± A sudden punch to the stomach knocked the wind out of me as I heaved whatever was left in my body once again.


    ¡°Get over yourself! You will come around and join me soon enough, I¡¯m sure of it, arrogant prick.¡± he bit his lip in desperation and walked away.


    I struggled back up to my feet and went to my dorm, after packing everything as quickly as possible, I left to get my old Slayer uniform from its hiding place and leave this cursed place for good. ¡°School isn¡¯t so fun, Ostel, you didn¡¯t miss much. ¡°


    I reached the cyan-colored entry gate to exit the city but there are guards all around.


    I will have to use my Seal to get out of here. Luckily, the sun was just starting to set so a lot of large shadows were looming all over the area outside the gate at desirable angles.


    It¡¯s good that this city is in the middle of the continent but only has an eastern entrance.


    ¡°The journey back home will be tough.¡± My whisper got lost in the sound of the rising gate¡¯s mechanism turning.


    First I will need a way out of here, and I think I have just the one.

 8. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 8

    Ideally, waiting until night would be preferable for my Seal, but it''s better to leave before they find the body. This small bush is only hiding me from the front, and the dorm building to my right is providing decent cover on that side but somebody is bound to run into me from behind and I''ll get caught for sure.


    As I see it, there is only 1 option for me right now, this big lever moves the gears of the cyan gate and makes it rise and fall. 1 medium sized stone should be able to break it with the help of a bit of Sy.


    After breaking the gear I have to get a bow from one of the guards. They have a recurved composite bow with stiffened ends made out of some kind of horn. That''s good enough.


    I''ll just swipe it while the one closest to me is distracted.


    This fucking prince playing with my brain like that is making everything a bit too simple, I can''t tell for sure if he''s lying or not about the rumors but just in case he is, I''ll wear my Slayer mask.


    Taking a deep breath made my throat burn a bit from the cold air as everything slowed down for a second.


    I felt extremely calm.


    I picked up a stone that was on the ground to my left. My hand trembled a bit. I channeled my Sy to coat the stone. While aiming at the metal gears, I used the Slayer''s secret Sy technique to throw the stone with some help from Sy energy gathered around my muscles to make it go just a bit faster.


    As the stone hit the mechanism with a loud metallic thud and the gears broke, the gate started falling down incredibly fast.


    I quickly closed the gap between me and the guard and took his bow with my right hand and whatever arrows I managed to slip out of his belt in my left.


    Before he could even react I already dove into his shadow while aiming at the shadow of the city''s wall on the other side of the gate right as it was about to reach the ground.


    The familiar mud blanket felt warm and comforting, being stripped of my senses gave me some relief.


    It didn''t last long however as things outside were still tense.


    They didn''t stop me in time, I should be able to make it out now.


    As my Seal''s word faded, I found myself outside of the city.


    "Where did my bow go?!" A distant voice exclaimed


    The carriage driver that just left the city looked back at the gate he had just exited, surprise plastered on his face, luckily for me he missed me in my black outfit under the big shadow of the wall as he turned his attention back to the road ahead to keep riding to his destination.


    "Something broke the gate''s mechanism, everyone keep your guards up, the murderer might be trying to use the confusion to escape!"


    Those idiots don''t even realize I''m already out, as my body was trembling from the excitement I started heading south towards the Hermesh border-crossing that leads to the Hadohian Wilderness.


    I guess they found the body already. Perfect prince guy doesn''t really owe me anything though, so it makes sense¡­


    After reaching my destination, I''ll have to walk west and stick to the riverbank while hiding. I can''t go into the Hadohian area even though it is a great hiding place, it''s not gonna help me reach Home.


    The journey toward Silka, the port city, should take about a week or so and from there I need to somehow get into a trader''s caravan or something and make my way to Silvermoon, the capital city of Rintiya. Where Home is.


    Simple enough, all in all it should take about a month, unless there''s unforeseen troubles.


    I only managed to get 3 arrows. It should be enough to survive with, I''ll just recycle while hunting.


    As I constructed the plan in my head, a bunch of soldiers appeared in front of me in the distance, it was already night but I''m sure of it, they are the guards of Hermesh so the river should be close by.


    Reaching the riverbanks, the sound of flowing water reminded me of certain poisons making their way to the heart when it flows through the bloodstream.


    While avoiding the soldiers in the border-crossing of Hermesh I walked west for at least 2 kilometers before finally finding a good hiding spot for the night.


    Without thinking too much about it, I started preparing for sleep. I definitely need to leave first thing in the morning. Sleeping in harsh conditions is something I''ve learned over the years training under master Kiyoko in random, wild, uninhibited areas.


    Laying down and closing my eyes, the thought of actually falling asleep haunted me, in a bad way.


    Dreading the idea of having to dream of my black-skinned friend that had a radiant smile that I can''t seem to get out of my head even this long after his death, made sleeping a really tall task.


    For some reason I''ve been dreaming about him more often lately. As if to serve as a warning to another accident that will happen intentionally in the near future.


    As much as I hate to admit it, I think the real reason is this charismatic prince.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.Dozing off with these thoughts in mind was hard, but not impossible and I really needed some sleep¡­


    ***


    By the time morning arrived I had managed to sleep for just short of 3 hours to my estimation. My eyes struggled to open due to how little rest they got, my plans for breakfast were already set.


    Out of the small bag that contained all of my belongings I pulled my spare white shoes, the white laces were perfect for my improvised bow and arrow fishing session.


    Tying the white makeshift rope tightly to the back of one of my arrows, I made sure to try and pull it apart really hard just to make sure I won''t lose one of my precious low quality arrows.


    ¡­


    Seeing as I''ve never done this kinda thing before, it makes sense that I''ll forget something so simple but, the situation I''m in right now won''t really allow for it, watching my only rope drift away like that is just too sad...


    HOW IN THE FUCK DID I MANAGE TO FORGET TO TIE THE OTHER END OF THE ROPE TO MY HAND?!?!


    If it wasn''t so depressing I would''ve probably burst out laughing right now at how incredibly idiotic it was¡­


    Down to only 2 arrows and no rope to use, I gave up on fishing.


    With an empty stomach and no other choice but to move forward and hope to find some wild animal I kept walking west on these seemingly lifeless vast and lush green fields that swayed like waves in the wind as a sudden scream of what I assumed to be a human child caught my attention.


    Debating whether I should check it out, the thought that it might be an animal attacking humans, and that this animal could be my next meal prevailed.


    I approached in silence while hiding behind a bush with red and orange, almost flame-like, leaves, the source of the scream finally came to view. In a small clearing in this very small, dense forest area, there is a small, horrified¡­ human? with blue skin and red-nose, its eyes were beady and glowed in a shade of green. It''s a mountain goblin, isn''t it?


    While the small humanoid was standing on top of a big rock between 2 trees waving with all of his glorious might an unimpressive-looking stick in the air.


    The small ''Colossal Water Wolf'' that tried to secure some food for the day probably noticed my smell in the bush behind it as the - probably - young yet ancient beast instantly turned around and started running in my direction.


    I dealt with those beasts from time to time during my training, all wolves act the same.


    Colossal water wolves were usually at least 3 meters tall and had the ability to produce water-like substance with a breath. They''re quite the rare species and are very smart so I have to be careful here, even if it is on the small side, it still is about 2 meters tall. It will for sure take my 2 arrows to kill it.


    When it reaches about 5 meters away from me, let''s throw it off with a stone first, aiming at the right eye will make it either dodge left or use water to defend, one arrow to the left and another one in a straight line just between its eyes.


    If even one hits, the game will be over, if not, I''ll have to fight it bare-handed¡­


    Throwing the stone with the same technique I used to break the gate''s gears.    The Sy coated stone launched with a strong snappy sound and flew faster than the wolf could create a water barrier so it jumped to the left, just in time for my arrow to pierce through the poor beast''s left eye.


    Not wanting to give it time to recover, I dashed forward out of my hiding place, avoiding the tree to my right while picking up a small stone off the ground. Using all of my strength I stuck the stone deep inside its skull and finished it off quickly.


    This wolf''s fur and its fangs will rack a healthy amount of money in Silka, that''s a sick find.


    "H-h-hum..ahn? Yir hoomz?" a small, chirpy voice, reminded me of the original situation.


    "Hoomz? Human?" Goblins are friendly to humans for the most part.


    He nodded and I confirmed.


    There''s no reason to be hostile, maybe he could even help ease my journey somehow.


    "hoomz cam to mee hoem?" His cute little, shy smile revealed a row of tiny pointy yellow teeth as he approached me cautiously while holding out his hand in an inviting manner.


    "Are you asking me to come home with y-" With a swift motion I caught the arrow that was about to hit my shoulder with my bare hand and the little goblin fell back on his butt with a terrified look on his face.


    Had I not coated my hand with Sy, this would''ve left a nasty scar on my right palm, what incredible strength for what I presume to be a goblin archer.


    Looking around me I realized that it wasn''t only the archer that came to check on the child.


    The entire forest-like area around me was filled with nothing until a second ago. Now there was an army of bald-headed blue-skinned humanoids at about my height or less with their weapons pointing at me.


    How unfortunately lucky for me¡­

 9. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 9

    As the army closed in on me from all directions, my heart was gradually pounding faster and faster and my entire body started trembling as a small grin creeped onto my face.


    "We-we-weit! Hoomz halp Zuka! No heart heem!" The child I had just saved ran up to me and stood between me and the army with his arms spread while yelling at his people.


    What I assumed to be the chief soon stepped up as the entire army just stopped in its tracks, the chief stopped a couple of meters in front of me and revealed a scary-looking, warm smile.


    "Youngezt Zuka, you zay what is true, yez? Human, I thank for helping youngezt my zon, you name?" As I pat the kid''s head and thank him for the help I started explaining everything.


    After explaining the situation to the chief ''Zina''ho'', he invited me into their village for today so they could thank me properly.


    As we climbed up the mountain I got to know some of the people of this mountain goblin tribe called Zinzangi''er, I even made friends with the archer named Zoing''e.


    His stories about archery are so intriguing, is there really a way to make an arrow fly around objects? He says he can hit a person standing directly behind a tree, I need to get him to teach me that!


    "Friend human Lifez, home iz here." Chief Zina''ho pointed in the direction behind him to a large spherical area in the mountain. The front was just an empty space but the walls were riddled with square-shaped caves, is this where they live?


    Suddenly his eyes glowed and he announced while drooling as if asking for confirmation "we make feazt of wolf meat az thank ritual, okay?!" I almost laughed out loud at the childish display but decided that it could be dangerous.


    "Sh-sure. I don''t mind you eating that wolf, just let me take the fur and the fangs alright?" To which he responded by furiously nodding.


    Are Colossal Water Wolves such a delicacy? Maybe they taste like tomatoes¡­?


    As preparations were on-going, the burly chief told Zoing''e to teach me his incredible shooting technique.


    Together with young Zuka,- that decided to use my shoulders as his new carriage - we didn''t enter the village and instead went to a small area that seemed to be a dedicated archery range made out of white stones almost entirely. How weird, are the stones soft enough to allow for it?


    Feeling Zuka''s small body shivering over my shoulders I put him down and gave him my old Slayer''s black jacket, his cute smile revealing a row of almost black teeth, was all I needed to warm me up.


    My new teacher opened his scary looking mouth which made the scar on the left side of his lips twitch in a funny manner.


    "Here me learn you to zhoot arrow, now I zhow, you look, yez?"


    Without waiting for my response, He pulled out his weird looking red bow that was covered with small spikes and 1 arrow made out of some animal''s bones.


    Placing the arrow normally on the bow Zoing''e took a second to aim and told me to look behind that big boulder in front of us.


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    I found what seemed like a cemetery for broken bone arrows and white stones, my new teacher then counted to 3 and released the string.


    The arrow never went in a straight line, instead it just circled around the huge boulder in the middle and hit one of the targets on the other side. Not only is he able to shoot an arrow at targets behind objects, he''s also able to accurately hit them without seeing, was this luck? Or is he using Sy?


    As if reading my mind Zoing''e explained "I no luck, me know how other zide iz look in mind, zee it many timez." I see, so this technique might not be as good in more of a¡­ dynamic setting.


    Looking at him pleadingly, I asked "Can you teach me?" to which he replied by raising the scarred side of his lips, containing my laugh due to how ridiculous he looked, me and Zuka just sat and listened quietly.


    Apparently he didn''t place the arrow normally on the bow, he used the arrow on the right side just like me of course but the special part was how he drew the string.


    "Drawing ztring like thiz, make arrow fly like that." What an incredible explanation, had he not shown how it''s done, I would''ve never understood anything¡­


    "Now human Lifez, look, learn, do, not make happen, do again, make happen, yez?"


    "So, when you draw the string in certain angles, it makes the arrow fly in certain angles, how interesting, that feels like something I should''ve been able to think of on my own¡­ this will be unbelievably useful in the future, I''m sure. Thanks a lot, Elder Zoing''e!" After trying the technique out for a bit, I got the gist which got me some excited claps and cheers from the adorable Zuka sitting on a boulder to my right.


    Of course I wouldn''t be as good as the elder but that didn''t matter right now, practicing can always be done after you''ve learned the basics for a skill.


    Only after a few hours of practicing did I realize that climbing the mountain must''ve taken almost half a day seeing as how the sun was almost completely gone by now.


    "Go beck better, okay bigger brader Life''ez?" Big brother?! Ahhh he is too cute!


    "Of course, your father might be worried if we stay out any longer. Elder, thank you again for teaching me your amazing technique!" Zoing''e zmirked as I bowed before we started heading back to the village.


    While we were crossing a small wooden bridge over a river inside of a cave, Zuka was excitedly tapping my head pointing at different rocks while Zoing''e explained what each of them was when suddenly a realization came to me.


    I don''t feel as arrogant or spiteful toward those guys as I do toward humans, it feels weirdly nice.


    Finally reaching the village area, my cute little new brother jumped down from my shoulders and started pulling me towards the huge fire that now appeared in the middle of the circle-shaped array of caves.


    "Welcome back human friend! Ztrong Zoing''e teach good?" Chief Zina''ho said while walking up to me with open arms as if asking for a hug.


    "Yes, strong Zoing''e was an amazing teacher, I''m very thankful!"


    "Good! Good! Now go to there, we make party to thank friend human Lifez!" His deep, raspy voice made it sound more like a threat, an incredibly unthreatening threat.


    The heavy smell of smoke that filled the area combined with the sound of the crackling of fire gave such a warm feeling. I would wonder why but that feels stupis considering how hot the flame is. But jokes aside, I do wonder why I feel so at ease here.


    As everyone sat down around the big fire on the many carpet animal furs, the chief that was standing in the middle near the fire together with his son signaled me to join them.


    The big, burly fighter-looking goblin took my hand as well as Zuka''s and lifted them high up in the air with his big, scary-looking but very warm smile.


    "Today human Lifez zaved youngezt Zuka, zon of me!" Every one of the blue-skinned goblins around us erupted into a loud cheer.


    "Tonight, we make rezpect and thank for human Lifez! Zeeeeeeeee!" His weird ending soon turned into a loud war cry-sounding chant.


    "Rinka! Zeee-Rinka! Zeee-Rinka! Zeee-Rinka!" Everyone screamed rhythmically.


    "QUUUUIET!" Zuka''s father shut everyone up with a shout that almost made my eardrums explode before letting go of our hands, signaling for us to go back to our seats while winking to me with a smile as his drool almost reached the floor.


    He then proceeded to lift something up from the floor behind him, it looked like a goblin-sized stone coffin.


    Has this become a funeral?


    Also judging by the size and thickness, that should weigh at least 200 kilograms, yet he''s lifting it up above his head as if it''s nothing¡­ Just how strong is this guy?


    As I sat down cross-legged Zuka decided my lap would make a good chair, to which I didn''t complain.


    We soon noticed the atmosphere shift. Everyone turned from excited to serious in a matter of seconds, all of the goblins were now holding themselves in the air only with the strength of their hands in the same seated position I was in while their eyes were closed, what a weird ritual, Zuka seemed super excited.


    What an incredible sight.

 10. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 10

    The blue humanoids proceeded to lift their noses up and with just their lips making a noise akin to the flapping of a bird¡¯s wings. Zuka and the rest of the kids suddenly ran to the side and started tapping each other¡¯s ears with their fingernails.


    To my surprise, one of the kids just opened his mouth and the sounds all as if converging to a single note started flowing from the youngster¡¯s mouth, it was shocking how harmonic everything sounded.


    After the weird ritual the chief said that we wait 1 hour for it to be ready and then finish the ¡®thankz offering¡¯.


    In the meantime I had the pleasure of dancing a very un-fun dance with my new teacher, his wife and the rest of the tribe in a funny-looking prayer-like dance.


    Is it just me or is it getting cloudy?


    After about an hour of hearing stories, learning manufacturing secrets for bone arrows and some weird cloth made out of bug shells and spider webs and dancing a funny dance, it was finally time to reveal what I assumed to be the colossal water wolf inside the stone coffin. Please tell me they cooked it with tomatoes.


    Chief Zina¡¯ho and 3 other goblins ¨C including my teacher, Zoing¡¯e ¨C stood in the middle of the big circle of blue tribesmen by the fire and started what seems to be the second stage for the ritual.


    As my teacher together with another strong-looking goblin were lifting up the coffin with the help of 2 large pieces of wood, another female goblin kneeled in front of the chief while holding a small stone bowl above her head.


    My newfound father dipped his fingers into the bowl and in one quick motion lifted up his hands above his head and sprayed what looked like blood all over the scorching hot stone coffin as it was being lifted out of the fire.


    The blood quickly hissed away into the sky together with the rest of the smoke from the big fire.


    After a few sprays of blood and smearing his own face with some of it while chanting inaudible prayers, the ritual was finally ready for the next stage. Or at least I think it is because they just called me to stand next to the chief.


    ¡°Friend human Lifez now open small stone pot!¡± Small? pot¡­? Sure buddy.


    ¡°Just push the lid?¡±


    ¡°No push, lift, throw on ground and make break!¡±


    ¡°Li-lift it? I don¡¯t think I¡¯m strong enough honorable chief Zina¡¯ho¡± I scratched my cheek while averting my gaze.


    ¡°Human Lifez strong! Can lift!¡± I¡¯m not one to be encouraged by praise to try and break my own limits but, I can at least try I guess.


    Squatting down over the ¡®pot¡¯, I placed both hands on both sides of the rectangle, crudely cut lid.


    Coating my hands to protect myself from being burned was apparently unnecessary as the scorching hot stone pot¡¯s lid was actually just damp somehow, is it sweating?


    While using my secret Sy technique to strain my muscles just a tiny bit more, I felt veins popping out of my neck while trying my hardest to lift the lid up. Finally getting it above my head in order to drop it on the floor almost got me to lose balance and fall backwards, I¡¯m completely out of breath.


    With a loud battle-cry that fit perfectly with the lively atmosphere, I threw ¨C or rather dropped ¨C the stone tablet the size of my body on the floor in front of me and broke it into big chunks of stone.


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    My view suddenly changed as Zoing¡¯e lifted me up on his shoulders and started jumping from his left foot to his right making me feel some strangely good feeling, a feeling I haven¡¯t felt since Ostel¡¯s death. Happiness, was it?


    ¡°HA-HA-HA-HA!¡± The chief¡¯s loud laugh grabbed everyone''s attention as he started explaining the end-stage for the ritual.


    ¡°Now human Lifez will take ztone from broken pot and¡­¡± he paused while picking up a small chunk from the tablet I just broke. Meanwhile teacher Zoing¡¯e put me down so I could follow the instructions.


    ¡°Break break break. Make very zmall piecez. Take piece of wolf meat from pot and eat with zmall piecez.¡± Bah, I need to smear stone powder on the meat before eating it? That sounds disgusting¡­


    ¡°But, it will make the meat taste nasty, right?¡± trying not to hurt them, I used the most innocent tone I could muster.


    ¡°HA-HA-HA! No no, human Lifez no underztand, this ztone, tazte good, taste head wants!¡± Ohhhh, maybe it tastes like tomatoes?!


    Still somewhat reluctant, I tore off a small piece of meat that basically fell apart from the lightest touch. Only 1 hour and it¡¯s like this, the smell is also just heavenly, I wonder what they put in it.


    ¡°Like this?¡± Smearing the stone powder over the tasty-looking meat made me feel bad.


    ¡°Hmm! Hmm!¡± Zuka and his father nodded excitedly with drooling mouths.


    Opening my mouth and closing my eyes as if it will make the taste better somehow, I placed the small piece of tender wolf meat in my mouth.


    ¡°¡­¡± my eyes shot open and I realized everyone was awaiting my response, how could I even begin to describe this taste¡­ It was just¡­ Unbelievable.


    Words failed me but my face was probably looking like the face of a person that just experienced true bliss for the first time.


    Cheering erupted all around me as I fell to my knees while I pressed my cheeks in as if it would make the heavenly taste last longer.


    After I ate my piece, everyone did the same. Apparently this stone is a special type of stone, my archery teacher did, in-fact tell me and Zuka about this special stone, as it was in the cave on our way back to the village, but I forgot about it until now¡­


    He explained it is capable of recreating the favorite flavor of whoever consumes it when grounded into powder and smeared over a piece of edible object, Aromni-Stone, he called it I think.


    Who would¡¯ve thought that such an unassuming, ordinary-looking piece of rock will make for such incredible seasoning¡­


    I never thought I¡¯ll experience the taste of a slow cooked Bilzar meat, those wild pigs naturally taste like tomatoes and are incredibly rare!


    After a little bit more celebrating, my little brother brought me back to his and the chief¡¯s home to stay there for the night. The small squared entrance doesn¡¯t do this place justice, it¡¯s so spacious, how interesting, in the cave I also met Zuka¡¯s mother for the first time, Zorina, she looked almost exactly like the chief except she had breasts on her back like the rest of the female goblins¡­ Not really my type I¡¯ll be honest.


    Apparently female goblins only give birth to twins, their breasts are on the back so the children could drink from it while helping their mother gather food in the forest. Very efficient.


    Zuka''s brother died to a Red Mane Wolf while playing in the forest about a month ago, Zina''ho said the wolves have recently started showing up in the area and they don''t know why, but the village will probably have to start sending patrol groups into the forest.


    My bed was on the floor next to Zuka, the 2 parents were staying in a seperate section behind a curtain made out of some kinda plant that - apparently - grows inside those caves and only dries a month after being harvested.


    As my consciousness slowly drifted away while laying on the big fur of a brown bear, I started thinking about something seemingly random.


    Why did the prince keep calling me ¡®friend¡¯? Why do I dread our interactions so much¡­ Before I knew it I was dreaming about Ostel again.


    ¡°Ya know, we¡¯re gon¡¯ be late if ya be doin¡¯ all your poison shit again brotha¡¯, pack it up and let¡¯s get movin¡¯!¡± Ostel said while closing my small suitcase filled with poison flasks and antidotes.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, just let me ¡®Up¡¯ one more anti down, I don¡¯t want you dying on me due to accidental poisoning.¡± To think we used to tease each other like that, I really miss those days.


    ¡°Haha, Inoshi¡¯s lookin¡¯ out for his brotha¡¯, or was it a threat? If I didn¡¯ know any betta¡¯ I woulda thought you feel somethin¡¯ for me.¡±


    I threw a small needle at him which he easily caught between his thumb and forefinger and used as a toothpick.


    ¡°Let''s go buddy.¡± I put the last antidote flask I ¡®Upped¡¯ down in the suitcase and closed it while opening the door.


    ¡°My dear Shiawasu, this mission will be our biggest, ¡®Small-Kill¡¯ yet are you ready?¡± His expression remained as care-free as ever. He nodded faintly while walking out of the door with his small sword on his back and the crossbow installed over the back of his arm guard.


    His long, crude, unwashed hair that smelled oh so bad was flapping in front of me for the last time. Why do I keep seeing those nasty reminders of my past mistakes?


    I don¡¯t want any friends, I don¡¯t need any, Ostel is the greatest proof for that.

 11. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 11

    ¡°Human Lifez, frend of Zinzangi! be careful on road!¡± The masculine chief Zina¡¯ho exclaimed with a hint of sadness that he tried to hide with confidence.


    ¡°MmphMMPHmEZ!¡± The small head buried in my stomach added while strengthening his hold so I won¡¯t run away. Even his whimpering had a bzzing sound to them.


    ¡°Zuka, come on buddy, you know I can¡¯t stay¡­ Listen, I¡¯ll come visit real soon, ok?¡± Patting his head while holding my own emotions in check wasn¡¯t easy. I¡¯m really not the emotional type but I grew super close to those guys in the short time I stayed here.


    Zinzangi¡¯er  was basically a second home to me at this point, in the span of just 1 day I¡¯ve grown close to them to the extent of considering these ugly blue-skinned, demi-human creatures of the Zinzangi tribe - family.


    Bowing to them one last time to thank everyone for the incredible hospitality and for everything they taught me, I then turned to start my descent down the mountain.


    My breath was somewhat shallow due to the height and the cold certainly didn¡¯t help either. The journey to the bottom of the mountain was annoying more than anything else but I made it down by the time the sun reached the middle of the sky which was good enough for me.


    If I had the confidence in surviving the cold on the way down and finding a black surface to use my seal on, I would¡¯ve just jumped off the mountain¡­


    It was necessary  to take a second to breathe some fresh, breathable temperature air that didn''t burn my throat before continuing my journey. I also took this time to run through what the mountain goblins gave me for my journey starting with the most important thing.


    ¡°A pouch full of tomato-tasting powder!¡± I have to visit this place again at some point in the future!


    15 average-sized bone arrows, Zoing¡¯e also suggested giving me a bow but, I can barely handle my current heavy draw-weight recurve that the average soldier uses, I¡¯m used to a bit lighter. The goblins use special recurve bows with an insanely heavy draw-weight, no way I can use that.


    Lastly they just packed the fur and fangs I extracted out of the colossal water wolf with a piece of green cloth made out of beetle shells and spider webs.


    I can definitely sell this strange piece of cloth together with the loot but, keeping it is probably better, I want a little keepsake from those guys.


    While taking a small breather and examining my current stash, I noticed that beyond the small forest under the goblin¡¯s mountain, there are just grass fields as far as the eye can see. I decided to make up for some of the time I lost by using my Seal.


    After tying a small piece of cloth that I tore off my Slayer uniform to an arrow, I climbed onto a nearby boulder to increase my range of vision a little bit. Nocking a bone arrow onto my red bow I drew it as hard as I could, - almost all the way back - while aiming in a sharp angle.


    ¡°Can¡¯t make it too high, the arrow has to travel as far as possible.¡± I whispered to myself. Luckily for me there¡¯s barely any wind.


    Inhaling deeply while holding it in helped me squeeze out as much strength as I could before I released the arrow.


    The feather-like material the goblins used as tail scraped my cheek as the arrow launched with a sharp whistle.


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    I have to act quickly now, there¡¯s a bit of shade next to me from the boulder, it should be enough.


    Looking at the arrow flying, I waited until the arrow started dropping before activating my Seal and jumping into the shadow cast by the boulder while locking onto the shadow the small cloth on the arrow created before it could land.


    After less then a second I appeared out of the ground, around 300 meters ¨C to my rough estimation - away from my original location and my arrow was just about to hit the ground some 10 meters ahead of me.


    Using this method is much more efficient, I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t think about it earlier, it will also strain me to a much lesser degree than walking.


    And so a whole week worth of walking, got shortened to around 3 days.


    I had to take frequent breaks as drawing arrows at this weight level is kinda hard for me and using the special Sy technique is also quite stressful, there¡¯s also the position of the sun to consider, I can only use black-ish surfaces that are big enough as targets.


    Finding a small boulder to use as a cover from the road above I stopped for a break until nightfall, when it''s dark out, I can basically just teleport to as far as I can see, so around 2 kilometers at night without any elevation.


    It was somewhat of a risk traveling like that, blindly, at night, but it was incredibly efficient so I opted into this method. After about 20 kilometers worth of Darkness traveling I finally reached Silka.


    The whole journey turned out to take me less than a single day, how dumb of me to not use this method since the beginning.


    I used a black face-mask just in-case there were detailed wanted posters of me and walked into an inn with the alluring name of ¡®FishSmell¡¯ to find a place to sleep for the night.


    ¡°Ahoy there lad!¡± the young man that resembled a brown grape called to me while leaning the counter.


    His attitude doesn''t fit his looks.


    ¡°Lookin¡¯ for a place to sleep are ya?¡± responding with a nod I reached for my pocket to pull out a few silver coins.


    ¡°yar only gonna need 15 coppirs a night and 5 extra if yar eatin¡¯ when ya wake up.¡± I handed a single silver coin and asked for 5 nights with breakfast.


    ¡°Alrighty young lad, just head upstairs, it¡¯s cabin 12 for ya.¡± Aren''t you like, around my age?


    Cabin? ¡°Thank you very much sir, good night.¡± He gave me one healthy, rotten smile with his yellow teeth and waved in response.


    Well, tomorrow is gonna be when I have to start being more careful, the city is probably filled with bounty hunters and all that, I should get into some trader¡¯s caravan and head to the capital as soon as possible.


    The night thankfully went without any undesired appearances in my dreams, at least not that I can remember.


    As morning came I ate the bland cream-textured fish soup and the small piece of dry bread that the inn offered, which truly left me with the smell of a fish. Afterwards I left in a hurry to start my search for an easy entrance into Silvermoon.


    Walking around the city and also before I left the inn I noticed there were a bunch of posters about a murderer that looked fairly new. I can only assume that it¡¯s supposed to be me because the dark clothes in the painting look somewhat similar to my Slayer uniform¡­


    Did the prince lie to me about the people in school knowing that I¡¯m an assassin? If they knew, they could¡¯ve easily given a description of me. If he didn¡¯t lie, how did he know that I was a Slayer?


    I put those worries to the side as I walked into a small tavern to ask around about merchants or anything like that heading toward the capital anytime soon.


    A very clear and relaxed voice intervened right as the woman at the counter was about to answer me ¡°You lookin¡¯ for a ride kiddo?¡± a man that looked at least 40 years old asked behind me, what does this fucker want from me?


    After thanking the bartender I started walking towards the nosy man¡¯s table, while responding ¡°I am, do you happen to know anyone that can help me mister?¡± as I brought a glass of beer as thanks for the information.


    ¡°That I do boy, you sure know your stuff bribing me with the divine drink.¡± He took a sip before going on ¡°but let me ask you one thing first¡­¡± his fiery, carefree, annoying voice got cold and serious as he signaled for me to get closer to him.


    His face suddenly stiffened and his gantle carefree expression turned serious as he placed the wooden beer cup on the round wooden table. I got ready to escape while moving close enough for him to whisper while doubting my own decision.


    ¡°Who you tryna kill there, ¡®kid¡¯?¡± The cold tone of his voice burned through me as I was about to run away.

 12. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 12

    ¡°Pardon?¡±I tried keeping it cool while formulating an escape plan.


    ¡°Haha, loosen up kid, only jokin¡¯ with ya. So, you¡¯re looking for a ride into Silvermoon aye?¡± He was most definitely not joking. Fucking annoying¡­ But I¡¯m interested in seeing where this goes.


    ¡°Yes sir, I¡¯m trying to get Home.¡±


    ¡°Home, you say? Mind if I ask where you live boy?¡± He pulled back the wooden chair, signaling me to sit down to his right.


    ¡°Well, at Home? I guess that¡¯s too vague, hmm, the slums¡­?¡± I tried to explain as I sat down innocently.


    Gotta endure this stupid interrogation in order to get Home¡­


    ¡°Is that a question? If you live in the slums, it means you need the southern entrance which is the closest. By the way, are you one of Kiyoko¡¯s kids?¡± Before he could even react I held an arrow to his throat, fully prepared to kill. He looked at me with a playful smile that made his brown eyes squint, almost close in a weird manner.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Tch, this person really throws me off¡­ I backed off and sat back down.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take ya boy, me and your mommy go way back. Though after she found out she can¡¯t have kids she became twisted¡­ Well that¡¯s a story for another day.¡± Children? Mommy? Twisted? I don¡¯t understand what he¡¯s saying.


    ¡°You probably think I look more like a sell sword or a bounty hunter but me actually an adventurer, a merchant and a bounty hunter, ¡®??? ???????¡¯ as they say in Yirmish haha, pretty great aye?.¡±


    ¡°Ish Eshkolot?¡± I raised a brow.


    ¡°It means a man of many talents, spent a long time in the Hadohian lands, even had a wife and kid there.¡± He said while raising his cup for another sip of beer.


    ¡°Should you really be telling me that mister? We never even introduced ourselves¡­¡±


    *Cough* he choked on some of his beer before answering ¡°True enough, guess you really remind me of my wife, especially those purple eyes of yours, Na¡¯amah was her name.¡± he smiled, trying to hide the agony in his voice.


    ¡°Was? I¡¯m sorry for your loss, I guess.¡± Can¡¯t really bring myself to hate this guy for some reason¡­ Also, why is he speaking in such an inconsistent manner?


    ¡°Hey don¡¯t worry about it kiddo, there¡¯s this famous quote in the theater ¨C ¡®things without all remedy should be without regard, what¡¯s done cannot be undone¡¯, tend to follow this philosophy.¡± He cracked another faint smile.


    Actually I¡¯m starting to like this guy, maybe traveling with him will be fun.


    ¡°Anyway kid, the name¡¯s Jake Laytear, what about you, got one?¡± more than one actually.


    ¡°Lifes, just Lifes, I¡¯m an orphan.¡± His eyes widened as he heard my name for some reason, does he know me? Shit maybe the wanted poster had a name and I didn¡¯t notice?


    ¡°L-Lifes you say, that¡¯s quite the coincidence¡­ Well, I have 2 more party members that will join us, care to meet ''em?¡± No elaboration on the coincidence?


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not very good with people, when do we leave for Silvermoon?¡± The waitress arrived at our table with 2 bowls of what I assumed to be mushroom soup, does this city have no tomatoes?


    ¡°That might take a while, we need to go visit a dungeon in the area first, rumor has it that it was just excavated a few months ago so nobody has gone any deeper than floor 3.¡±


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    ¡°So you don¡¯t plan on leaving any time soon?¡± I¡¯m not really in a hurry but I¡¯d rather not stay here for too long¡­


    ¡°Not really, judging by the bow you¡¯re carrying, I¡¯m assuming you can fight? Care to join?¡± Oh god, I¡¯m carrying a guard¡¯s bow out in the open, thankfully those bows are incredibly common, I completely forgot about it.


    ¡°Sort of¡­ But I have to sell some stuff before I can join you.¡± Fuck. I hate speaking politely.


    ¡°May I also add, aren¡¯t you awfully trusting? I¡¯m just a 20 years old guy that needs to get home, or am I? How could you just trust me like that?¡± I said as I took a spoonful of the creamy soup.


    ¡°Listen, have my reasons. If you don¡¯ trust me, can just help you find another ride.¡± He smirked at me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough of your interactions with the people in this tavern and spoke to you enough to trust you, for now¡­ I believe myself to be a fairly good judge of character.¡± I sent him a smile that didn¡¯t quite reach my eyes.


    ¡°You Slayers are all same aye? Whatever.¡± He seemed disappointed, sad almost.


    ¡°Aight then, meet us here in like, 3 hours, will that be enough to sell yar stuffs?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Should be, see you later.¡± I got up and left the tavern.


    Walking through the streets of Silka I saw a lot of shops that sold all sorts of things. I really need a trader for the teeth but all of those shops just sell clothes.


    I walked into a building in the shape of a square with rounded corners that was made out of a yellowish smooth-stone - just like almost every single building around the port area - I¡¯ll start by selling the wolf¡¯s fur.


    ¡°Hey hey, how is your day?¡± The shopkeeper asked in a cheery, somewhat high-pitched voice.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s fine, can I sell this here?¡± The surprise on his face told me all I needed to know.


    ¡°Haha, cheap as wood, nothing about it is good!¡± Retard¡­


    Without even answering him I just turned around and left, not gonna bother with idiots like him, especially not ones that lie.


    Instead of checking each and every store on the street, I decided to head deeper into the port after hearing some people talk about the large auction house near the ¡®Red Market¡¯.


    A market for the wolf¡¯s teeth and if I had to guess, an auction house is the best for the wolf¡¯s fur, based on the retarded shopkeeper¡¯s reaction to it.


    I was sweating like crazy while walking through the streets though the air was somewhat cold. It¡¯s so humid here, is it because of the sea?


    Thankfully I soon arrived at the market.


    The air here felt so refreshing, the salty smell of sea water was also quite unique.


    Underneath the red cloth used as roofs for the stalls, at least 50 mosquitos were buzzing around trying to make me lose my mind from all of the activity.


    ¡°Smorkin meat, fresh from the sea, new batch, only today! Only today!¡± some fat fish seller screamed.


    This atmosphere is so mentally draining, too hectic, too lively¡­


    ¡°Buyin¡¯ everathin¡¯! sell me all ya¡¯ve got!¡± the way too skinny, brown person announced loudly in a funny voice, he kinda reminds me of this combat instructor, Dickel? Jakel? Something like that.


    ¡°How much for this one?¡± I put a tooth the size of my pinky finger on his green table that was filled with all types of foreign goods.


    ¡°Hmmm, interisting,  these colossal water wolves are a lot more common now because of this new dingoen so price is going down.¡± He mumbled as if to himself.


    ¡°1 piece of silver for this one.¡±


    ¡°2, it was incredibly hard to hunt it, I almost died.¡± I lied.


    ¡°Your struggles are not matter for this deal, 1 silver and 20 coppers, for courtesy.¡± So he¡¯s willing to go up.


    ¡°1.5, If you take 22 of them for this much, I¡¯ll give you the rest for 1.3.¡±


    He raised a brow at this ¡°Rest? How many?¡±


    Pouring the rest of the teeth from my little, almost-green cloth pouch I said ¡°42 in total.¡±


    ¡°Bery strong customers, I like! Teeth are very goot cleaned, goot quality. I will take." I have my blue friends to thank for cleaning and maintaining the quality for me.


    After shaking hands he handed me my money. Truth be told, I don¡¯t even care about the money this much, I just like winning bargains and this just now is a win in my book¡­


    The merchant also told me he¡¯s from Marketplace - the autonomous zone - and invited me to visit if I liked trading. He also gave me a letter of recommendation to help sell my wolf¡¯s fur.


    There are still not-so-shitty humans in the world, I guess¡­ Now where''s this main auction house place?

 13. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 13

    The air was humid but even though the sun was out, it wasn''t too hot. I decided to take a look around the market before heading to the auction house. An incredible, fresh smell that originated in some small stall selling unique bread, made me crave some food. The red sauce on this mysterious bread he''s making is what caught my attention, that, and also the mildly strong aromatic smell.


    "Excuse me, what is this bread-food you''re making?" The smell was just incredible, the olive oil with onions and some unfamiliar spice made my mouth water profusely even though I just ate an hour ago.


    "Ah, customer welcome welcome! This is my special recipea for a type of food from my family in the autonomousa city, Waterbound!" Tch, the way he speaks is annoying, I heard this dialect before and I hate it¡­ "The bread is called Focaccia, I make it with tomatoa saucea but it is originally with justa holive hoil." Autonomous city¡­ Is everything out of the capital just autonomous? What''s even the point of having a kingdom?


    "Waterbound? Where is it? And please give me 1 piece of this focachia."


    He shielded his face from the heat of the improvised-looking flat stone stove as he lifted 1 piece of his special bread with a big metallic stick that had a flat head sort of like a big spatula. The young man placed it on his open palm that now glowed with white as a small piece of fabric emerged.


    "Waterbound is a zmall autonomousa zone justa houtside of the capital of Rintiya, it is a city hin the middle of a circular river, the only waya to get hinside is through the zmall city Waypoint just north of Waterbound. Waterbound is alsoa called ''City of Freedom'' becausea it is ruled by the people and not a king."


    Ahh, I saw this place a bunch of times before, didn''t know it was an auto-zone though.


    He handed me the piece of bread and said it costs 15 coppers. The thin fabric he created with what I assumed to be a Seal felt like some kind of a cheap type of fabric to keep the heat away.


    After complimenting the man that looked no more than 2 years older than me for his incredible recipe and handing the 15 coppers I owed him, I started making my way to the auction house.


    To a bird looking from above the big market would probably seem like a small red carpet leading to this huge palace-looking building. I wonder if they purposely placed the auction house just at the edge of this red-market.


    "Go away kid, this isn''t a place for some sewer''s rat like you, though I wouldn''t mind kicking you out by force." One of the 2 guards at the entrance to the bright, soft yellow palace spat toxically.


    Fucking nasty attitude, I''m here to do business muscle-head, fuck you.


    "Excuse me mister but, I''m here to sell goods, is that really a way to speak to customers?" I said in a condescending manner to piss this piece of shit off.


    "Wha-!" he was cut short by some tall, important-looking person coming out of the building.


    "Good day to you Owner!" The burly guard lowered his ugly head to greet the walking tower, his low-pitched, threatening voice sounding mild and tame, he''s like those dogs that bark a lot but get scared easily.


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    "Yes yes, whatever. Now, what might we have here?" He turned towards me with a curious expression.


    "I apologize mister Owner sir, I''ll get rid of this nuisance at once!" The bowing guard pulled out a sword as he walked in my direction.


    "Hello mister, I''m here to sell goods, I heard your auction house is the most prolific when it comes to evaluations and price." I said while giving him a curt bow.


    "Guard, please refrain from insulting our customers, this young man clearly came here to do business." The angry clown turned and went back to his post, face as red as a tomato.


    After I showed Walking Tower the colossal water wolf''s fur and the letter of recommendation, he told me to follow him towards the leather evaluation room.


    "Ho-ho, what do we have here, high and mighty mister Blin Owner bringing some kid into this reputable establishment? How intriguing." Some old lady said when we entered one of the many rooms inside of what I assumed to be the storage area of the auction house.


    "Johanna, a customer is a customer, surely you jest, thinking I would turn down an opportunity to make profit." He said in his indifferent tone before turning to me.


    "Young man, would you please give the goods to this¡­ elegant young lady to evaluate?" He smirked at her.


    After giving the old lady the fur, I took a look around the room while waiting for her to finish her tests.


    It was filled with all sorts of different types of cloths, in particular though, there was a type of silk made out of a sea creature''s skin, apparently it was this city''s specialty, the owner even said that this city is named off of the special silks'' name ''Silkar'', original if I do say so myself.


    "Oh my, that''s quite the piece of fur you''ve got here, how d''you manage to get it?" the old lady asked after a few minutes of examination.


    "I killed the beast myself, though the fur was extracted using other methods that I don''t trust you enough to explain."


    It might cause the goblins trouble, so I''ll keep their methods a secret for now.


    "Unfortunate¡­" Miss old lady''s voice trailed off.


    "Be that as it may, what is your evaluation for the price Johanna."


    "Ah, yes, Blin my dear, this is incredibly high quality, hell, this is the highest quality I''ve ever seen. To my estimation, anything less than 120 gold pieces is not enough." Both my and the owner''s jaws dropped to the floor.


    "Unacceptable, I shall not pay 120 pieces of gold for a simple piece of fur." He looked at me with annoyance while his fa?ade started breaking, what an original response¡­


    "Listen her darling, how long have we known each other for? 20? 25 years? Trust me when I say this, that fur belongs to the very rare Colossal Water wolf species, not only that but, the quality of this fur is also the highest I''ve ever seen, you should buy it."


    "Ah-Hem, I apologize for my unsightly behavior just now, I will purchase the fur from you young man, is 120 pieces acceptable?"


    His crumbled fa?ade was being built back up right in front of me as he gave me a smile that didn''t reach his eyes.


    "Of course, thank you very much miss Johanna, I owe you one." Winking at her I took the small pouch of gold the owner handed me.


    "Don''t be silly boy, you said you don''t trust us, someone with access to this level of leather-working has to become an ally to this place and trust, like any piece of architecture, always needs its fundamentals." She ended with a genuine smile that made me feel fuzzy inside for some reason.


    "Young man I do hope we meet again, I will also add that I put a little gift inside of this leather pouch in order to purchase your precious trust."


    A gift? We''ll see about that, you''re kinda annoying so I wouldn''t count on it. Although I really appreciate how direct these people are.


    *Giggle* "It''s probably just more gold." Johanna whispered from behind him.


    "Right¡­ Well, either way, it was a pleasure doing business with you, I''m not sure if I''ll ever visit this city again but I will remember your kindness." I concluded before walking out of the room. I felt like such a noble with that ending haha!


    As I walked out of the building, I tossed a silver coin to the hot-tempered muscle-head of a guard.


    "For your trouble, bad sir, have a terrible day." I grinned at him while walking away.


    I swear I could hear something snapping inside of his brain before the other guard broke into a fit of laughter.


    Maybe we can explore the city for a bit seeing as I have almost 2 hours to spend before the meet-up.

 14. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 14

    After walking around in the market I noticed a crowd gathering close to one of the traveling merchants. A slave trader.


    Of course they¡¯d be excited, slave traders aren¡¯t very common around these lower class areas, slaves are a luxury in Rintiya.


    The variety was impressive, Dune Gliding Dwarfs, Peak Hawks, Headahalf Dogs, and a lesser species creature, Snowflake; I hate those fairies, how are they even alive outside of a winter region?


    All of the creatures seemed very scared and sad, I guess you can¡¯t really choose your lot in life sometimes. Somehow, just a little bit, I feel like I can understand it. My chest felt a bit heavy for some reason.


    ***


    2 hours had passed, the air was still just as humid and gross, the sun was still in the middle of the sky, nothing really changed, but I guess it¡¯s time to go.


    I walked into the inn and there they were, my middle aged acquaintance and 2 other¡­ men? their bulging muscles would make it seem that way if not for the eccentric appearance...


    ¡°With confident strides the scared man arrived, it was all just a show, yet the show goes on.¡± Jake said, smirking at me.


    ¡°What the fuck is that supposed to mean, old man?¡±


    With a wave of his hand he just blew me off, claiming I¡¯ll understand at some point, what a weirdo.


    ¡°Ready to go?¡± He took a sip of his beer and stood up, placing a hand on the shoulder of the creature to his left.


    It looked like a man, I think? It had pink hair, very long eyelashes, and an expression I can¡¯t even explain.


    ¡°This is George, you might be thinking, why does he look like that, to that I say¡­ good question. George is a good friend of mine, we been huntin¡¯ together for 15 years now, I trust him with my life.¡± He slapped George¡¯s shoulder as the guy chugged down his entire glass of beer before getting up to greet me with a handshake.


    ¡°Hoho, Lifesy-boyo, welcome to the crew!¡± He sent a wink my way and squeezed my hand really tightly, fuck it hurt.


    ¡°And this one here is George¡¯s twin brother - Viktor.¡± Basically looked the same as the other guy, just brown hair instead of pink.


    This one too, winked seductively, or at least I think that was the purpose here.


    ¡°H-Hi, I¡¯m Lifes, I¡¯ll be joining you on this expedition.¡±


    ¡°Hihihi, we heard as much, boya, glad to have a sweetie pie like you with us, right, Georji?!¡± Viktor Stood up suddenly and punched the table really hard while grinning.


    ¡°Awooooga! Absolutely true Vikky! Real eye candy too.¡± George jumped in place and hugged Viktor, winking at me again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind them, they¡¯re a bit¡­ eccentric.¡± To say the least¡­ I didn¡¯t really know what to think to be honest.


    ¡°Hoho, HO! Let¡¯s go already Jakey, I¡¯m ecstatic! Pfahhh¡± He struck a strange pose showing off his bulging muscles while making a weird expression.


    The entire inn was looking at us, laughing. Firsts, give me strength to get through this. I just need a way into the capital.


    ¡°On a road unknown, march, march, march and yet again keep marching, for you will find all you seek as you learn the road. Off we go fellas!¡± I still have no idea what this old man is saying. These guys are all out of their minds.


    I felt my stomach aching in anticipation as we set off, this is exciting!


    This detour, it feels important.


    George¡¯s seal was apparently a Container, how convenient, he can place things inside of an invisible container that only he can access. All of our luggage was placed inside.


    On our way there, Jake gave me 2 daggers as I couldn¡¯t get any before we left.


    ¡°The weapon is the warrior¡¯s heart, don¡¯t lose it.¡± He said. Not exactly a warrior, but sure.


    The closer we got to the entrance, the less civilized the area around us seemed.


    I guess since this is a newly found dungeon, they haven¡¯t really gotten the chance to organize things here.


    Of course this whole journey wouldn¡¯t be complete without some cliche encounter. Took around an hour of travel, but here we are.


    ¡°Halt, if you wish to continue, you have to pay the toll!¡± Just like an adventure book.


    Some rooster-head person with crooked teeth stood in front of our carriage.


    ¡°Jakey, seems like we¡¯re getting robbed by this ugly munchkin.¡±


    Rooster-head smirked as he heard that.


    ¡°Quick on the uptake, freakshow, give us all yar stuff or you die, aye?¡±


    George, who was the one driving, pointed at the guy, smiled and said ¡°Bye bye ugly-puff¡±.


    His nail suddenly popped out of his finger and flew straight into the guy¡¯s forehead.


    There was a loud metallic thud and rooster-head just stood there, smiling as he deflected the nail with his small knife.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°*sigh* Prepare for battle¡­ guess.¡± Jake announced as he jumped out of the cart and pulled out his flail


    Following him was Viktor who had an enormous 2 handed sword.


    ¡°I counted 7 of them, 2 archers, 4 close-range fighters and 1 guy without a weapon¡­ So maybe some type of long-range seal?¡± I noted and nocked an arrow. We probably want to take out the archers first.


    Since they¡¯re standing on the hills, there¡¯s no way for me to use my seal from this angle.


    ¡°Lifesy-boyo, you follow Jake¡¯s orders, don¡¯t do things alone!¡±


    Tch. I fucking hate when inferior fighters try and tell me what to do.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just focus on getting the other 4, I¡¯ll take out the archers.¡±


    I took a deep breath, everything slowed down around me. I felt extremely calm.


    The sounds around me were jumbled, it was all irrelevant now.


    With an arrow nocked and my vision locked on the archer to our south, I held my breath and let go of the string, the arrow whisked through the air, everything around it was a blur, all of the brushes and the grass, the hill and the 2 people underneath it running towards us, I felt the heat striking my head as it started pounding, the dry, still air made my throat burn. My focus waned.


    ¡°...oyo?! Can you hear me Lifesy-boyo?¡± a sudden sense of dread filled me, as I came back to my senses, what was that? What happened?


    I looked behind me and saw George, holding his huge shield as a gigantic bald-monkey of a man slammed down against it with a large warhammer. When did he get here?


    ¡°Y-yes¡­ Wh-.¡± my confusion was cut short by an arrow scratching my neck.


    ¡°No time for that, kid, can you take out the Seal user?¡± Jake pointed at a tree behind the group of bandits to our north. His flail was now on fire; though it seemed to be his doing?


    If there''s darkness, there¡¯s a way. Although it is risky to use my Seal in front of other people and I hated the idea of following his instructions, I guess that¡¯s our best option for now.


    Resolute to finish things quickly, I responded with a nod and slowly started sinking into the cart¡¯s shadow while looking towards the guy under the tree.


    It took less than a second and my dagger was sticking through the other side of the cloaked man¡¯s throat.


    As he fell to the floor with streaks of blood running down his neck, my brain started pounding again, there it is, it¡¯s this thing again, I have to stay calm, I have to stay here. I heard their voices again. I felt their gaze, even seen their silhouette, maybe?


    Focusing on the vague sounds of fighting helped me distract myself from the accursed reminder of my past wrongs. Or is it something different? The headache went away after the guy stopped moving.


    ¡°Sonva fuckin¡¯ bitch. Marcus, he killed Marcus!¡± The 2 warriors started towards me with a frantic run, but I was already back at our cart, now I can kill the 2 archers easily.


    It wasn¡¯t much of a challenge, nobody can match me in a battle of marksmanship after all. Their party went into disarray, Jake and the twins were stronger than expected too and so everything ended just as quick as it started.


    But what is this, why can¡¯t I get rid of this feeling, why can¡¯t I stop shaking, my heart is about to explode, my stomach is trying to jump out of my throat, what is going on?


    ¡°Not bad, ki-, hey kid are you alright?¡± Jake¡¯s words reached me but I couldn¡¯t focus enough to respond.


    He was taking on the ugly rooster head from before, but it looks like it wasn¡¯t much of a fight. Rooster head was now roasted chicken.


    George¡¯s huge shield pushed back the warhammer of our remaining enemy and Viktor took advantage of this opening, stabbing through the heart of this big ball of muscles.


    As I was watching the fighting between my companions and the rest of the bandits, I realized both George and Viktor got hit by arrows while I was busy with the Seal user. An overwhelming sensation filled me again¡­ I don¡¯t like being with other people.


    ¡°Hoho, should we chase the other 2, Jakey?¡± George asked while searching the body of his enemy for any spoils.


    ¡°No point, let¡¯s just continue into the dungeon. They done for anyway.¡±


    His attention was then turned to my pathetic display of weakness, I couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore, overwhelmed by emotions and intense sensations my eyes welled up and the food from my launch, launched itself out.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what is going on, but I think I¡¯m fine.¡± I told him in between heaves.


    ¡°Sure¡­ This expedition is going to be ripe with those types of encounters most likely, be it monsters from the dungeons or bandits looking to take advantage of the fact that this a new dungeon without no oversight from the military. We shouldn''t waste energy on pointless fights. Are you sure you can do this though?¡± My nod wasn¡¯t really convincing, but that was all I could muster right now.


    Man that sucks¡­ I think I¡¯ve grown allergic to killing people.


    ¡°Hey kid are you using a ¡®fake¡¯ Seal?¡± His question really surprised me.


    ¡°Wha- How did you know that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You see, the reason we explore dungeons is, Seals research. Not a lot of people know that but, ¡®fakes¡¯ have a big side effect on their users, it has to do with what they call ¡®Normativity¡¯.¡± He explained in a fit of passion.


    Normativity? dungeons and Seals?


    Confusion was probably written all over my face as I was trying to piece things together, eventually just resorting to ask more questions. ¡°What do you mean by that? I¡¯ve never heard that word before, also what do you mean by exploring dungeons to research Seals?¡±


    Jake said he doesn¡¯t want to waste too much time so he¡¯ll explain more as we go, but generally speaking, this entire world that we live in, seems to be affected by the power of what we know as Seals and ¡®fakes¡¯ like me suffer side effects when using our powers.


    With that, we continued down the non-existant path towards the dungeon.


    We soon came across a big array of rocks. There were a lot of wolves'' bodies spread inside of the arrangement. Next to it was a¡­ cave? It looked like a cave that was made by a bunch of retarded people.


    ¡°And so it presented itself, it was glory, glory and knowledge. Glory that only awaits the strong and the brave. Knowledge that only awaits the curious and pure-hearted.¡± Jake blurted another strange line.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, what¡¯s with all the random quotes?¡±


    ¡°Haha, Lifes, have you ever seen a play in the theater?¡± *sigh*, sorry for asking.


    ¡°Take that as a no, just try to think how remarkable it is that random plays that have nothing to do with the situations you run into, can give you so much insight into what said situation might entail.¡± I hate to admit it but it is an interesting idea.


    ¡°Whatever, can we go in already?¡±


    ¡°Hihi! YES, Let¡¯s go Georji!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so excited Vikky!¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ sure, let¡¯s go, you guys are boring.¡± Jake concluded.


    Jake led the way as he said we¡¯re going to try to reach as far as we can, if we can map the entire dungeon, we¡¯re sure to get a hefty reward from the army.


    ¡°By the way kid, what was the ¡®Seal dissipation¡¯ for this Marcus guy? It seemed to be some type of a psychological effect.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, I completely forgot about it, I think it said ¡®Thou shant exude malice¡¯, probably a barrier to prevent evil intent.¡±


    All 3 just nodded and stood still for 10 seconds, it was a tradition to pay attention and speak out a dissipated Seal for the last time after the user died.


    But now it was time for the real adventure.


    I wonder how a dungeon looks on the inside, this is exciting!

 15. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 15

    As we walked through the dimly lit entrance to the cave; I turned to Jake and asked him about this dungeon and this Normativity thing.


    ¡°A lone wolf spares no food, though ¡¯tis all for naught when you hunt to survive, said the gray huntsman to the youngun. Thus the wolf rejects solitude.¡±


    What is this guy on about¡­? Although that sounded familiar to be honest.


    ¡°Hahaha quote from the book ¡®Hunt To Survive¡¯.¡± Ohhh I read that one!


    ¡°There was a big wolf that lived here alone before, though as it struggled to find food, it had no choice but to form a pack.¡± Jake said, looking more passionate than ever.


    He shuffled through the pouch on his waist and took out a small notebook before continuing.


    ¡°That ¡¯course doesn¡¯t explain why a simple wolf den became a mysterious, medium dungeon aye?¡± Jake flipped through the pages while going on about how Silka¡¯s governor sent out a scouting group to figure out where all the wolves started popping out of.


    The scouts came back with information of a 10+ floor dungeon inside of the Lone Wolf¡¯s den which used to be just as the name suggests, home to a single wolf I guess.


    The middle-aged man started writing some stuff in his notebook while Viktor held a torch to it.


    He turned to me as his expression hardened and we stopped in our tracks.


    ¡°Lifes¡± not a kid anymore? An upgrade! Maybe¡­ ¡°What I¡¯m about to share with you is something nobody else on the continent knows, be careful who you share this information wi-¡±


    ¡°Wait hold on man, why would you share it with a stranger like me then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Thought I told you already, have my reasons, doesn¡¯t mean trust you.¡± he responded.


    ¡°Those being?¡±


    His expression softened again, the corners of his lips curled downwards slightly, sadness? Why?


    ¡°Can¡¯t quite explain yet, promise I will, in the future; I will.¡± He finished off while averting his gaze.


    ¡°Anyway, listen to me, Seals are more than just special powers people have, words are more important than you¡¯d think.


    Already told you that most of our world¡¯s functions are altered by the power of Seals.


    That¡¯s not quite all there is to it though.¡±


    The passionate guy presented his notebook to me, pointing to the drawings and phrases in there while going on with the lecture.


    ¡°Seals are a power that stems from the ¡®Normativity¡¯ of a concept; that which is represented by a word or a phrase.¡± All of a sudden he¡¯s so eloquent¡­


    ¡°Normativity is an idea that was recently brought to light by the academics at Mil-Ansk¡¯s science and history school but is actually an ancient understanding that I stumbled into during my research.


    It¡¯s a more concise way of saying ¡¯the meaning a thing normally has¡¯.


    There¡¯s also ¡®Normative Loading¡¯ which is a term used to describe the concept of associating human ideas and thoughts with a concept, word or phrase.


    For example: Sword=Sharp.


    But a sword could also be blunt, does that mean it¡¯s not a sword anymore? No, it just means you either need to sharpen it, or this sword has a different purpose, maybe it¡¯s meant for defense?


    That¡¯s because the definition or the normativity of the word and the common opinions of what this word represents or the normative loading are different.


    It¡¯s worth mentioning that speakers of different languages might have different sets of normativity ascribed to the same word depending on the context.


    For example: In Yirmish - ???? (siper) could mean both ¡®cut his hair¡¯ or ¡®told¡¯ as in told a story; in Wistianic, the word told could only mean ¡®told something¡¯.


    There might also be variation with phrases as these are very much exclusive inside of languages.¡±


    He said and stopped to search for a sign of understanding on my face. ¡°But what does Normativity have to do with dungeons or my s-...¡± it suddenly clicked in my head.


    ¡°People associate darkness with fear and the unknown, is that normative loading?¡± I asked, to which he simply nodded.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why I keep seeing those shadows, that¡¯s why I keep shaking after using my Seal.¡± I added as we turned to continue our journey.


    Kiyoko¡¯s voice calling me a coward echoed loudly in my head.


    Jake also said that this rule only applies to ¡®fakes¡¯ like me, authentic Seals don¡¯t seem to run into the normative loading issue for some reason.


    We started walking again, getting closer and closer to the previously hidden staircase.


    ¡°Wait but what do dungeons and Seals have with each other? Don¡¯t Seals only manifest in humans?¡± This whole thing has me curious now!


    ¡°Technically, yes. Seals are a manifestation of Normativity, nobody seems to know how they came to be, but it seems like they only interact with human language.


    Probably because humans seem to have a unique relationship with communication, or at least that¡¯s my guess.¡±


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    The smell inside the cave grew more musky and rotten as we got to the staircase. A mouse squeaked nearby.


    Jake closed his notebook and turned to us, his face all serious. ¡°Kid sorry¡± downgraded again¡­ ¡°but we¡¯ll continue later, maybe you¡¯ll even get your answer by the end of this journey anyway, for now though.¡± He pulled out his flail and activated his Seal, making a blaze appear on the chained edge.


    ¡°Everyone! Prepare for combat, something is waiting down there.


    The unprepared glory hound meets demise sooner.


    He who seeks truth must also learn lies!¡± His little speech really set the mood, even I felt all tensed up and ready to fight now.


    Though I still have no clue as to what he¡¯s saying.


    With that we started walking down the stairs, some of which were bloodied.


    The stench of death was palpable here.


    Is this what dungeons are like? how intense.


    It didn¡¯t take long for us to meet our first opponent right at the foot of the staircase, a Spike-Fur wolf. It was snacking on what seemed to be human remains before noticing us.


    The predator revealed a row of sharp teeth and released a blood curling snarl. It didn¡¯t seem normal.


    ¡°A mutant? Think I¡¯m starting to understand what¡¯s happening here, Lifes you said you ran into a colossal water wolf on your way to Silka yeah?¡± Jake asked.


    I responded with a nod.


    My focus on the wolf striding ominously to the right.


    ¡°This dungeon generates wolf creatures based on folklore and human understanding.


    My guess is all non-mutants in this dungeon were chased out of the pack, hence creating an overflow of wolves appearing in the vicinity.


    This one¡¯s spiked fur is poisonous, watch yourselves!¡± Jake concluded before ordering me to take the lead on attacking from a far.


    I took a deep breath as the different smells grew vague and the sounds around me quietly intensified for less then a second. I felt extremely calm.


    The wolf dodged my first arrow and charged at us, it was quick, but we were ready. George stopped the animal with his shield and my next arrow hit its right leg. I still struggle using Zoing¡¯e¡¯s curving shot but that was still bad.


    Luckily Jake¡¯s flail followed up and hit its head from the left.


    A loud whimper was heard and just like that, our first encounter was over.


    ¡°Are we going to harvest materials from this guy?¡± I asked the party leader.


    ¡°It will take too long, we¡¯ll keep moving, we can take our time with stuff here once we¡¯ve achieved our goal here.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell the boya, Jakeoo?¡± Viktor added.


    ¡°He never asked¡­ but whatever, our goal is, s¡®said before, to research Seals.¡± Vague much? And why did he become a snake?


    He turned towards George and asked for some water.


    Our group started progressing towards the 2nd floor now that we dealt with the mutant.


    ¡°You see, dungeons are a type of Seal that went out of control, or at least, that¡¯s my understanding at the moment.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®went out of control¡¯? Also how can a Seal exist outside of a person or an artifact?¡± though I guess he did say ¡®went out¡¯ hehe.


    ¡°Artifacts are the basis of my theory here.


    Artifacts are made when a Seal is extracted from a person and imbued into an object, the rule with artifacts is that the Seal grows weaker the more you replicate the artifact, after 5 replications, the Seal will stay forever at a basic function of level 1 ¡®?¡¯ (Aleph).¡± Jake pointed at a drawing of 6 objects in his notebook again. I¡¯m familiar with everything he said so far.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t going to explain everything right now, as we need to focus on the expedition, but guess there¡¯s no harm ¡¯til we reach the 3rd floor at least.¡± So he says but his childish smile begs to differ.


    Are dungeons usually this quiet? The occasional squeaking of a roaming rodent, a distant growl of a wolf or the quiet howling of the wind, was all I could hear.


    ¡°Dungeons are akin to artifacts in a sense that; those are words or phrases that have become imbued into the very core of the world we ¡¯xist in.


    Sometimes they connect to a building, much like this dungeon.


    Sometimes the words just become a part of nature, the winter regions are ¡¯xample of that.


    In more ¡¯xtreme cases, the normative loading can become the driving force behind certain phenomena, that¡¯s how we got the big 4 dungeons.¡± Why did his manner of speech evolve again, what is wrong with this crazy old man¡­


    ¡°All of this information, I¡¯ve never heard any of it, how come?¡±


    Jake looked at me proudly and announced that nobody in the world can compete with his knowledge and understanding of Seals and how our word functions around and in regards to language.


    ¡°You see, when was younger, before my child was born, was sent on a suicide mission.


    The mission was simple.


    ¡®Go into The Frozen Tomb dungeon and clear as many floors as you can¡¯.


    It was supposed to be the end for all of us but here am.¡± He ¡¯xplained. It¡¯s infectious.


    ¡°Wait, you went into one of the big 4 and came out alive? Why did you even have to do that at all? How did you survive?¡± What an incredible feat!


    Jake¡¯s ¡¯xpression - ok not funny anymore - turned somewhat somber as he pulled out another notebook; this one a lot more tattered and old looking.


    ¡°Said it was a suicide mission aye? You see, used to live in the Hadohian lands before. Told you that even had a wife and child there.


    That was our downfall though, the current ruler of this continent, the king of Rintiya, piece of garbage that he is, has deep hatred towards Hadohians. Wistianic people, in general, hate Hadohians.


    The king would sometimes forcefully conscript men from the Hadohian lands to go on suicide missions, just to enforce the Wistian superiority. They call it ¡®scouting missions¡¯.


    It was me and all of the men from a nearby town called Rika.


    We were sent to die in The Frozen Tomb, by the time we reached the 4th floor, just the 2 of us remained.


    A corrupted snow worm the size of a house was about to get us both but Menachem pushed me to the side and I passed out as was falling into a hidden pit nearby¡­¡± Jake¡¯s trembling voice trailed off as he took a second for a deep breath. He felt extremely calm.


    ¡°...¡±


    Pfft. I held it back, this is a serious topic, Lifes.


    We were now walking in a hallway on the 2nd floor that looked like a torture basement.


    There was some natural light coming in from somewhere but I couldn¡¯t figure out where.


    There was an eerie feeling here, it smelled like rotten flesh and human shit. The ground was surprisingly easy to walk on as everything felt so refined and smooth, contrary to the overall design of this place. I heard more mice squeaking around us. Something felt off.


    ¡°This place makes me shiver in anticipation oooowa!¡± George let out a battlecry while throwing his hands in the air.


    I looked at Jake, hoping he¡¯s ready to finish the story. Not wanting to make the others nervous over a hunch, I took it upon myself to keep note of our surroundings.


    ¡°Sure kid let¡¯s keep going.


    By the time woke up, was in an unfamiliar space, at least 50 meters fall that somehow didn¡¯t kill me, didn¡¯t even hurt me. To this day don¡¯t know how.


    Either way, found this notebook over there, this notebook details the research and journey of an adventurer who died a long time ago.


    Some of the info in here makes me believe it was at least 6000 years in the past.¡± He looked at me for some reason. Expecting a reactio- wait¡­


    6000? isn¡¯t this world only supposed to be 3000 years old?


    ¡°See you caught on aye? Yes, at this point, can tell you with utmost certainty, this world¡¯s history is entirely fabricated.


    ¡¯Gardless though, this notebook had detailed mappings of the mountain that is now The Frozen Tomb.


    That¡¯s how I got out.¡± Another speech upgrade?


    ¡°All of this is too much, you guys made it all the way to the 4th floor? and that was 20 years ago? The kingdom didn¡¯t even make it beyond the 6th floor yet, what¡¯s more, you¡¯re telling me all of the history of our existence as we know it has been fabricated? by who? why? HOW?¡±


    Jake just shrugged and shook his head.


    He told me that this information is yet to be discovered and that it is partially why they explore dungeons and research Seals.


    ¡°Jakeoo, this entire conversation you cuties had, we had no encounters throughout, don¡¯t you find it strange?¡± Viktor asked him. It¡¯s funny how Vik gave such a normal impression considering how insane his twin lover is.


    I looked at our party leader to gauge his reaction. Jake seemed shook.


    He might¡¯ve caught on to what I noticed earlier.

 16. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 16

    We were already inside of the final cell on the 2nd floor by the time Jake finished his explanation.


    ¡°Think we might want to back track a bit aye? Something not smelling that good here.¡± I guess he didn¡¯t really notice.


    ¡°I see, so you guys didn¡¯t notice it. You¡¯re right Jake, something is off here, I¡¯ve been paying close attention to the terrain ever since we fought the mutant, somebody else is in this dungeon with us.


    I also believe they use mice to track us somehow, probably some type of Seal.


    There¡¯s a small chance they will try and fight us here, from my observation their trap is set up wherever the scouting group managed to get to, my assumption is they didn¡¯t want to risk taking on bigger challenges in the dungeon and there¡¯s probably also terrain advantage.¡± Another thought I didn¡¯t want to say out loud was, there¡¯s someone close by who¡¯s waiting for a good moment to attack.


    ¡°I¡¯ll also add, it seems they only have vision on us.¡± Jake looked at me suspiciously as I just winked at him and took a step back to assume my position.


    Hopefully he catches on to my plan.


    ¡°Right then, ¡¯veryone, up your guard from here on out, we¡¯re moving towards the 3rd floor, Lifes is responsible for our backs.


    Us three keep the same formation as before.¡± The party leader sent me a wink back and started walking down the stairs.


    As soon as we entered the 3rd floor, a rumble was felt, a mouse was running towards one of the stone tables that were scattered around the room.


    A soft grunt came from behind us. A woman in a gray cloak put both palms on the walls of the entrance we just passed through while activating her Seal.


    It looked as if she¡¯s trying not to fall down.


    I already predicted this situation though, I threw one of my knives at the girl and dove into a black puddle of darkness nearby. She managed to avoid the knife at the cost of taking her hands off the walls.


    Appearing behind her, I hit the knife¡¯s blade with my Sy coated palm, trying to control the power so it doesn¡¯t hit the ceiling. It¡¯s a variation of the move I used against the teacher knight, that¡¯s how it should be used.


    I spun on the spot and sent a heel kick to her head. My sudden appearance did surprise her but this girl¡¯s reflexes were good.


    The cloaked bandit swiftly dodged with a slight lean backwards and snapped back with a punch to my face. I took a page out of the bald teacher¡¯s book and used her momentum to make her fall to the ground while regaining my balance as I caught the arm trying to punch me with one hand, locking her hand behind her back, under my knee as I caught the knife on its way down with the other hand.


    It was all over in a matter of seconds, I had her arm locked behind her back as I kneeled on her shoulder blades and held my knife to her throat.


    My hand was shaking and I was neaouses, this thing needs to end quickly!


    I closed my eyes and let muscle memory take over.


    ¡°W-wai, hold on plea-¡± it was too much for me to watch another person¡¯s horrified face as my knife sliced their throat.


    The symbols of ¡®?????¡¯ in Yirmish, which apparently meant ¡®Tremor¡¯ flashed inside my mind.


    The ground underneath me shook for a second and my balance was disturbed, I fell on my ass and heaved once again.


    Wait, what about the others? Looking back George¡¯s shoulder was pierced through with a big spike made out of some stoney material, that of which now encircled all of us like a big wall.


    Jake and Viktor also suffered minor injuries, I guess there¡¯s another Seal user on the other team. There was a clear oversight in the enemy¡¯s plan though, they didn¡¯t account for anyone using the aerial battlefield.


    I focused Sy energy into my eyes and looked through the walls the Seal user created, 3 people.


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    I can¡¯t see the other 2 as well as their Sy emissions are very faint, but the one in the back is clearly the one I need.


    My arrow was pulled back with just enough force to reach the target in the back, this first one will be bait. The second one is going to be tricky to hit.


    Everything around me slowed down as I breathed in deeply, my vision sharpened and my hands shook less than before, the air around me was stale, heavy, and warm; As if the environment itself was protesting my actions.


    I was extremely calm.


    The feathers on the arrow cut my cheek as it flew with great power, I sunk into the darkness around me and appeared on top of one of the chandeliers above one of the bandits. The light source immediately collapsed under my weight and started falling down.


    My first arrow was easily blocked with a small piece of stone from this guy¡¯s Seal but I had already shot another one from above and dove into the shadow of the guy underneath me.


    The Seal user just fell to the ground with a thud, alerting his 2 friends, 1 of which had now been crushed by a big chandelier and the other one turned around to face a cowardly, shaking murderer¡­


    I couldn¡¯t drive my knife into the back of his neck. I couldn¡¯t even hold my knife at all.


    The bandit lifted his arms and yelled something I couldn¡¯t even understand, it was impossible to grasp what was going on around me, is this how I die?


    ***


    ¡°Shiawasu and Inoshi, have you thoroughly prepared for your mission?¡± My master looked at me and Ostel with a serious expression. I remember this day all too clearly¡­


    ¡°Masta don¡¯cha worry so much I¡¯mma clean the cache all on my own.¡± Ostel said and then turned to me and proudly announced ¡°Inoshi broyo, your master thief title is mine today!¡±


    Kiyoko clapped loudly and added ¡°I have deemed it a necessity for you to be joined by both Kashikowai and Esemoniya.¡±


    ¡°Wait master, I can understand Snoopsi but why do we need the witc-Niya with us?¡± I retorted, which earned me a death glare, master hates it when I call this maniac a witch.


    ¡°Inosh-Lifes! Lifes! Hey kid, wake up!¡± I opened my eyes to see the party leader leaning over me. Right, we were in the middle of a fight.


    ¡°Good, you¡¯re awake. Thanks to you we all came out with just minor injuries, but what happened back there? He almost killed you.¡± Jake¡¯s head turned towards the body of a young man who had nails sticking from his wrist and throat.


    ¡°Oh, thanks Viktor, you saved me I guess, did you guys find out who those guys were? I think they had to have been with the group at the entrance.¡±


    ¡°Boya is right, those meanies are together, you think so too, right Vikky!?¡± Is he asking or declaring?


    The 2 brothers linked hands and flexed their biceps before Viktor yelled ¡°Yes Georji!¡±.


    ¡°Why do those guys always act so flamboyant?¡± I asked Jake who was just smiling bitterly back at me.


    ¡°Used to wonder much the same d¡¯yaknow, apparently it has to do with their upbringing, violent parents and all that. I think the academy nowadays calls this type of thing a coping mechanism.


    Regardless though, we¡¯re already done with this part of the dungeon, the rest of it is probably not going to have a lot of people in it as it took us all day just to get here and the first 3 floors were cleared already.¡±


    He also concluded that this dungeon continuously gives birth to more wolves so it will be tough going forward.


    ¡°By the way, how do you know a full day has passed?¡± I seriously can¡¯t get a grasp on the time in this place.


    He took out a small stone that had a peculiar shape, it was half a circle sitting on top of a square, the half circle also had lines on it and was a bit dirty.


    ¡°That¡¯s a Sun Stone, no matter where you are, if you put some dirt from the earth on it, it will shine the position of the sun in the sky.¡± Oh so that¡¯s how a Sun Stone looks¡­ I¡¯ve only ever heard of it, only seasoned adventurers and royalties can usually get their hands on these.


    ¡°On ¡¯nother note, kid, are you up to keep going? like I said we¡¯re unlikely to run into more people here. Won¡¯t force ya though.¡± Jake said.


    ¡°Yeah boyo, you¡¯re not looking good, you passed out right after killing the other 2 and almost got your head cut off.¡± Viktor added.


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know¡­ The side effects from the Seal are making me completely overwhelmed when I kill people recently.¡± I¡¯m such a fucking loser.


    ¡°Recently? How recent? Your reactions don¡¯t seem like a Seal side effect to me.¡±


    What is this old man saying? How recent? How recent¡­


    ¡°Maybe ever since I killed the student in Mil-Ansk.¡±I responded.


    ¡°Right, you killed a student did ya?¡± Oh, woopsi¡­ Well he knew I was a Slayer so that wouldn¡¯t matter too much.


    ¡° ¡¯ssuming that happened right before you got to Silka, was it about a week ago? Why¡¯d ya even kill a kid in school?¡± His expression and tone were more investigative and curious than accusing, guess he¡¯s trying to help me?


    ¡°Now that you mention it, I wonder why¡­ I can¡¯t remember much of it at all.¡± It¡¯s the same as my last mission with the other Slayers where Ostel died. Wait¡­ It was the same! The magic word bullshit, the thirst for blood, the fragmented memory, it was all the same as the time I killed Ostel!


    ¡°-id! Hey kid, are you with us there? Looking like ya saw a ghost.¡±


    ¡°Huh? o-oh, sorry¡­ Well, something like that. Just a bad memory, forget about it.


    Anyway, I think I know what happened, we can just keep going, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± That¡¯s a lie, I can¡¯t even piece together what¡¯s going on right now, let alone understand why I can¡¯t handle killing people.


    I¡¯ve killed so many people before without feeling anything, but everytime I do it now, I can¡¯t handle it. Sometimes I just see Ostel¡¯s face and hear his voice.


    ¡°Jakey, let¡¯s just rest here for a bit, we¡¯ve been doing all those manly things for the entire day now.¡± George said while clasping his hands in front of his chest.


    ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll stop here for the night, get some rest, kid, goes for you too, Vik, Jo Jo.¡± Jake concluded the day with that and set up a small campfire.


    He said the smoke will get out of here as dungeons are very well ventilated due to all the secret passages.


    Guess we can relax for now.

 17. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 17

    My brain couldn¡¯t stop thinking about this information, why did I kill Ostel and that student? I always tried to figure out what happened with Ostel, but this new incident, it was a new piece for a bigger puzzle.


    Viktor took my hand and held it in his palms ¡°Boya, can you tell us some Slayer stories? me and Georji always thought you guys were so cool!¡±


    *Tch* if he would¡¯ve asked me earlier today, I wouldn¡¯t have minded¡­ Right now I¡¯m really pissed off at the Slayers.


    Something definitely happened because of Kiyoko, wait didn¡¯t Jake say they¡¯re old friends?


    ¡°Kid? are you alr-¡±


    ¡°Jake, can you tell me a bit about my master? anything you know about her will help.¡±


    ¡°Geroji¡­ This cute boy completely ignored me!!!¡± Viktor snuggled into his brother¡¯s chest and cried, oops, my bad there¡­


    ¡°By master you mean Kiyoko right? D¡¯ya know, we go way way back, we grew up together actually.¡± Jake started, his expression conveying a sense of nostalgia.


    ¡°We both grew up in the slums of Silvermoon, the capital city of Rintiya. Was a half Wistian half Hadohian kid and she was from a forgotten, eradicated dynasty called Koshinjiro.


    We were both outcasts so got ¡¯long kinda good.¡± He laid down on his back, staring at the ceiling and invited me to do the same.


    ¡°This girl was always really uptight, very strict and punctual¡± No change there I guess.


    ¡°but that didn¡¯t stop Yoko from also being one of the most loving, caring people I¡¯ve ever met.¡± Yoko?


    ¡°Yoko was strong, but not in the kind of strength that crashes people with brute force, had that too, don¡¯t get me wrong.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll say¡± I added, to which he let out a curt giggle.


    ¡°But Yoko¡¯s real power was how beloved she was by everyone.


    It was to the point where Yoko became the leader of the slums, and when say leader, mean Yoko basically became the mayor of the slums of the capital.


    It is obvious in hindsight that this level of power couldn¡¯t be ignored by the king, after all he wouldn¡¯t let another autonomous zone be created right under his nose, in the kingdom of Rintiya.¡± Jake brought one of his hands up to his face and covered his eyes.


    Viktor and George also listened in at this point.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave us on a cliff here Jakeoo, what happened next?¡±


    ¡°Vikky, patience now honey.¡±


    Jake removed his hand and smiled slightly at the exchange ¡°Sorry boys, this story brings back some really bad memories.¡± He looked at me with a sad smile before going on about the unfortunate end my master had come to meet.


    Jake described how the king and his men kidnapped the young girl, she was 16 years old at the time.


    ¡°When we found her again, that girl was beaten and bruised, the gross royals and their soldiers had completely broken her down and then thrown her out in the middle of the street for all to see.¡± Jake¡¯s eyes slowly closed as he just laid there.


    I feel bad for making him remember all of that ¡°Jake, you don¡¯t have to continue right now, I just want to know if Kiyoko has anything to do with my current condition¡­ Don¡¯t force yourself to tell us everything.¡±


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    The party leader curtly smiled again before opening his mouth ¡°Good kid you are, aye, think this girl really does have something to do with how you¡¯re feeling.


    You see, the girl known wasn¡¯t there anymore¡­ Those bastards destroyed her.


    They abused her in ways can¡¯t even imagine but the worst part for her was, they took away her ability to bear children.¡± Jake bit his lip and put a forearm over his head.


    ¡°You see, kid, the girl¡¯s Seal has the ability of suggestion. She can plant ideas in a person¡¯s brain.¡± What?! I¡¯ve never heard of it before!


    ¡°Yoko always used that power to gain control over the masses, of course all in good intentions. Never seen Yoko use her power to achieve something evil.


    That is, until she came back.¡±


    Jake looked at me again and murmured something inaudible, his lips read as ¡®please don¡¯t hate her¡¯.


    Does he know I can read lips?


    ¡°This girl had decided to exact her revenge and for that, she created the Slayer organization.


    The kingdom never realized she was the girl who led the slums before and the king even uses Slayer¡¯s services for his dirty work.¡±


    ¡°Wait, how come they didn¡¯t recognize her?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well for one, that girl was a shell of her former self, ¡¯t was as if she was replaced by a creature out of a book.


    Her eyes were gray, almost pure white instead of the usual brown, her hair was raven. Pitch black. It used to be brown, very bright brown.¡± Jake pulled one of his bangs upwards as if showing it to us and then released it with a sigh.


    ¡°What¡¯s more, the girl changed her name. According to her, she lost her rights as a leader as well as the ability to bear children, so she named herself¡­ - ¡°


    ¡°Okajanai, right? Meaning ¡®not a mother¡¯ in her language.¡± I concluded his thoughts.


    ¡°Right you are, kid, so you understand the meaning of the names you children of Slayer receive.¡±


    ¡°As far as I know, those names were given to us for a few reasons.


    So we don¡¯t get caught by the kingdom¡¯s special investigation forces and retain the ability to go undercover with our Wistian names.


    To represent what the master thinks defines us as people and Slayers.


    And I just thought of it after listening to your story, but maybe Kiyoko wanted to rebel against the Wistianic lineage by effectively erasing the Wistian names the children have.¡±


    ¡°Tell you what kid, don¡¯t know any of her reasons nor do care to know, this has been too painful to think ¡¯bout. Hopefully this girl finds some happiness.¡±


    Jake flipped to his side and said that we need to go to sleep.


    I honestly didn¡¯t care to learn about my master to this level, but I did get the important information.


    Kiyoko¡¯s Seal. I honestly can¡¯t believe that it¡¯s a thought in my head right now but, is Kiyoko the one that¡¯s to blame for those dreaded, way too forgettable moments that I¡¯ve experienced?


    Either way, I¡¯ll have to confront her to figure it out.


    ***


    ¡°?The sun has risen once again, it was so dark throughout the night, the sunshine light. It¡¯s oh so bright. it brings the colors back to life and soon the darkness runs to hid-?¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP! What is wrong with you, crazy old man, who even sings as soon as they wake up?! and there¡¯s no sunlight here you fucking psycho!¡± I hate it when people wake me up!


    ¡°Huh? Pfft! Bahahahhahahah, someone¡¯s showing us a new side here aye? Whatsamatter kid? you don¡¯t like me singin¡¯?¡± Jake¡¯s smug face was staring at me as I struggled not to fall back asleep.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s not burn too much daylight guys, rise ¡¯n shine you sleeping Frompsies.¡±


    ¡°*yawn* Frompsies can¡¯t leave the sea Jakeoo, don¡¯t be silly.¡± Viktor corrected him with his eyes still closed as he snuggled closer to his still slumbering twin brother.


    ¡°What is this dysfunctional party¡­?¡± I whispered to no-one in particular.


    ¡°Why, true it is that chaos comes at a price.


    ¡¯Tis also a fact that a straight line sees no curve, and so I pose the following to you, my dear Squeldo. Is a road filled with chaotic entertainment not preferable to the monotone path?¡±


    ¡°Another book quote? This one¡¯s from The Adventures of Night Garden, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked, to which Jake nodded in response.


    ¡°Well fellas, if everyone¡¯s ready, let¡¯s move out, our goal is to find the hidden room on the 7th floor before tomorrow comes!¡± He announced.


    We started towards the 4th floor soon after and I couldn¡¯t shake this feeling of inconvenience that kept brewing in my stomach.


    Should I just run away if we run into another ambush?


    ***


    Jake was wrapping a bandage around my arm to help stop the bleeding while announcing proudly.


    ¡°Boys, we found it! That¡¯s the artifact from the book!¡±


    He lifted up a broken sword from the marble tablet it was laying on top of.


    ¡°The key to the White Prism!¡±


    ¡°The way to the 7th floor was soooo boring Jakey, can we go to the 10th now? Pweeeease¡± George fluttered his eyebrows. I think I¡¯m about to throw up¡­


    ¡°No. We have achieved our goals here, everything went smoothly thanks to Lifes¡¯ scouting abilities, we can¡¯t risk any more now that he got injured during this last fight. Behave yarselves, Vik Jo Jo.¡±


    ¡°Ay ay sir¡± they both responded in unison, looking glum.


    ¡°So, about this sword why did you ne-¡±


    ¡°Say kid, di¡¯ya enjoy exploring this dungeon?¡± Jake looked at his feet, all of a sudden somewhat dejected.


    ¡°It was always a dream of mine to explore all of the big 4, so yes, this whole thing was¡­ fun, I think?¡± Now that I think about it I didn¡¯t really feel anything for a while.


    Jake¡¯s already somber expression turned even more grim as he handed me the old notebook.


    ¡°I see¡­ say, Lifes would you mind carrying on my dream for me?¡±

 18. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 18

    ¡°W-what are you sa-¡±


    ¡°Kid! Sorry, Lifes. Please just listen to me.


    ¡®Ts been a long journey for me. I¡¯m tired kid¡­ Never thought this chase after knowledge would end. But now you¡¯re here.¡±


    I put a hand forward, signaling him to stop.


    ¡°Wait Jake, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying. Not in the weird quotes way either. What are you talking about?!¡±


    ¡°Kid, there¡¯s something you¡¯ll learn about me once you meet that girl again¡± does he mean master Kiyoko? ¡°I¡¯m too much of a coward to tell you that right now. All I ask is you trust me, could you do that for me, Lifes?¡± I was about to protest again, but something about this man just throws me off. I can¡¯t quite understand why but I can¡¯t help but feel a strong desire to help him.


    ¡°Jake, I¡¯ll take the notebook and the sword.


    There¡¯s something my master used to tell me before, I don¡¯t understand why, it just feels correct when I think about you.


    It feels like I need to tell you this. ¡®When a ghost of the past comes to haunt you, don¡¯t run away, confront it with all your might, only then will you find tranquility.¡±


    There was just silence in the room, even with all the noise Viktor and George made as they packed up our things, there was pure silence.


    I couldn¡¯t figure out Jake¡¯s expression. Even an expert like me couldn¡¯t. I just know that something overwhelming is trying to burst out of me now that I¡¯ve said it.


    ¡°Sh-She re..reme-mbered¡­! Yoko, this poor tortured soul.¡± Jake¡¯s eyes started welling up and he collapsed to his knees.


    ¡°Jakeoo! What¡¯s going on Boyo, why¡¯s Jakeoo crying?!¡±


    ¡°Aggh I- I-¡± Shit, why am I so overwhelmed?! If I try to speak I¡¯ll just end up crying as well.


    My chest felt tight, my eyes felt watery and the air was thicker, thoughts of my dead mother flashed in my head, all the times I wondered and asked Kiyoko about my parents.


    Kiyoko¡¯s training about constant mantra recitings also came flooding in.


    ¡°J-j-j ak-e¡± I can¡¯t do it, I can¡¯t speak.


    Jake suddenly pushed Viktor¡¯s hand to the side and rose to his feet.


    He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me in for a deep hug. I wanted to protest and move away, but instead all I did was just¡­ cry.


    I couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore, the tightness in my chest relented all of a sudden, giving way to a stream of warm, liquid butterflies that ran through my body and made me feel weak.


    ¡°K-kid! If you ever confront Yoko ¡®bout your issues with her¡± Issues? I¡¯m feeling lightheaded. I can¡¯t even understand what he¡¯s talking about.


    ¡°Just know, for what it¡¯s worth, your father is eternally grateful to his childhood friend!¡±


    Father? What?! What¡¯s going on?


    ¡°Jakeoo, is it rea-¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP VIK! Stay out of it! I can¡¯t hold it in anymore! Yoko, she used her Seal to make Lifes recite my own quote back to me.


    Yoko is trying to teach me what I taught her all these years ago!¡±


    ¡°Wait, Jake, what do you mean by father? Why am I feeling so overwhelmed right now? what¡¯s going on?!¡± I asked in-between sobs.


    ¡°Lifes, that¡¯s the name of the child my wife gave birth to 20 years ago. A child with violet eyes, just like hers, or so I heard. You are that child.¡± Jake is my father? Is that why I¡¯ve been feeling this strange attraction to him?


    ¡°But so what?! It¡¯s not fair! I don¡¯t even know you, or your wife, why do I have to feel so sad right now?!¡± Stop being such a baby!


    ¡°You don¡¯t just get to waltz into my life after 20 years and claim you¡¯re my father.¡± Stop treating this person with such contempt!


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    ¡°Blood relations are meaningless in my life!¡± That¡¯s not true! I always wanted someone to call family, someone just like¡­ Ostel¡­ Is that it? Coward.


    ¡°Get off of me!¡± I pushed him backwards. I¡¯m sorry father, no, Jake.


    I can¡¯t allow myself to have people I care for close to me.


    ¡°Wait boya! You don¡¯t know how much Jak-¡±


    ¡°George! Thought told you guys to stay out, didn¡¯t?!¡± Jake snapped at him.


    ¡°Lifes, I deserve your contempt¡± No you don¡¯t, please stop!


    ¡°I understand that, please just take this notebook and the sword, promise I¡¯ll l-lea-ve. You¡¯ll never hear from me again. Please just see the world for what it is.¡± Jake said with a shaky voice as he looked at his feet.


    ¡°Fine, only because we went through all of that effort together.¡± I took the objects and turned to leave the secret room.


    ¡°Jake, PLEASE don¡¯t ever talk to me again!¡±


    I¡¯m sorry father, we¡¯ll meet again and I¡¯ll apologize for this, I promise. Someday, I will.


    ***


    By the time I got back to Silka, it was already the 4th night since our departure.


    The man at the inn I slept at said he saved my room as I asked and gave me the key. I''ll just go to sleep and look for a ride to Rintiya tomorrow.


    It took a long time but I could feel myself finally falling asleep. I honestly dread the thought of dreaming at the moment but I really need some sleep.


    ¡°My dearest, I see you have finished your job here, what a beautiful mess you¡¯ve made.¡±


    Niya slid a slender, cold finger and swiped some blood off my cheek.


    ¡°This dirty look doesn¡¯t fit you quite well.¡± Her face turned somewhat sad as she said something about the master''s request.


    ¡°Do you remember your magic word, Inoshi?¡± Esemoniya whispered in my ear.


    ¡°Fuck off, witch!¡± I pushed her away and she just faked a laugh as she walked out of the room.


    Here comes the part I didn¡¯t want to ever experience again.


    ¡°Lifey-boy! Oooy, where are ya brotha?¡± Ostel and Snoopsi came to the entrance of the room. Snoopsi sent me a suspicious, thoughtful look and kept walking. He tried to convince Ostel to come with him and not bother me, but Ostel didn¡¯t listen. Please don¡¯t come here.


    I guess Snoopsi knew what was going to happen here.


    ¡°Chiyaaa so much BLOOD! What a me-¡± Ostel couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as his face contorted in horror and blood came out of his mouth.


    His eyes sort of¡­ softened as he looked at my face.


    I wonder how I looked right now. I could feel a big smile on my face and the warmth of tears streaming down from my eyes.


    Blood-thirsty monster, just a piece of trash that stuck a knife into the throat of his best friend. The closest thing he has to family. My black-skinned partner lifted his hand to my shoulder and mouthed something off before he dropped to the floor with a quiet thud.


    I always thought Ostel died resenting me, but his lips read ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯...


    Disgusting! I¡¯m disgusting!


    Next thing I knew, I was bent over Ostel¡¯s body, heaving and crying. There was one thing I could take from this dream though, the feeling of uncontrollable emotions that came over me, it was exactly how I felt during my interaction with Jake.


    It wasn¡¯t Niya¡¯s fault, it was Kiyoko¡¯s Seal.


    I woke up with a strong headache, what now? I think I¡¯ll just go back to the capital and confront Kiyoko, I need to know why Ostel had to die.


    First there¡¯s the issue of getting into Silvermoon in the first place.


    I walked out of the inn after eating some of their famous mushroom soup, still no tomatoes I guess¡­


    The flyers I¡¯ve seen around town before departing to the dungeon were now replaced with wanted signs with my name on it.


    So they figured it out¡­ But my face is still not clearly shown, I¡¯ll wear a mask just to be sure.


    ***


    After about an hour of wandering around Silka aimlessly I ran into the same slave carriage that was here a few days ago.


    ¡°Jonas, are we ready yet? We need to get to the capital before the king¡¯s announcement.¡± The fat, short slave trader said to his co-worker in a high pitched voice.


    ¡°Since Marcus is missing, we need to find a fill for guarding us¡­ The roads have been too dangerous ever since the wolf dungeon was found.¡±


    ¡°Where in the name of the Firsts is this wretched Marcu-¡±


    ¡°Hmm, excuse me, are you guys looking for a bodygu-¡±


    ¡°Huh?! Who are you? Why are you butting into our conversation?¡±


    ¡°Haha, I apologize, I happened to overhear you guys by chance.


    My name is Li-Dawn¡± Sorry Dawn, I¡¯m gonna use your name, don¡¯t beat me up!


    ¡°I really need a ride to Silvermoon and it just so happens to be that I¡¯m a very strong fighter.¡± I pulled out a small leather bag filled with all kinds of materials I extracted from the wolves on my way back to Silka.


    ¡°How lucky Gornieve! This guy can be our bodyguard!¡± The tall guy, Jonas declared, which seemed to be to the dismay of his partner, did he think he¡¯ll be able to make me sign a bad deal here if they pretended to not want my help?


    ¡°Hey listen, I don¡¯t need any payment, I¡¯ll work for free, all I ask is that you give me a ride to the slums of Silvermoon.¡± Gornieve¡¯s eyes lit up and he took my hand in his palms, shaking it enthusiastically. Nailed it, I guess.


    ¡°Well then, of course you¡¯re welcome to join us, friend. Sir dawn was it? Hop on board!¡±


    Sir? This ride will be annoying but, I guess you have to make sacrifices sometimes.

 19. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 19

    We were now halfway through the ride. The road got a bit rough, it seems like there were quite a few battles between neighboring Dirk and Orc villages around here based on what the slave traders told me.


    Rintiya is very hostile towards demi-humans, how come 2 races are fighting here with no oversight from the military?


    I looked at the dejected slaves and couldn¡¯t help but feel bad for the locked creatures.


    It felt like we¡¯re in the same boat in some weird way.


    Snoopsi once asked me what I thought about slavery. It always seemed like a strange question, I don¡¯t know, slavery is just a thing that¡¯s there.


    I still think that it¡¯s a weird, pointless question. At the very least, now I can see how someone wouldn¡¯t enjoy having their ability to make decisions stripped away.


    My stomach turned at the thought of my farewell with Jake, or should I call him ¡®my father¡¯ now? Doesn¡¯t matter, we won¡¯t meet again until I get rid of this curse Kiyoko put on me.


    ***


    It took a full day for us to make it to Silvermoon¡¯s southern entrance.


    ¡°Thanks guys, I appreciate the ride!¡±


    The slave traders waved at me and we went our separate ways.


    First I need to hide Jake¡¯s notebook and the sword. I don''t need Kiyoko to know about it.


    There was a place where me and Ostel used to stash the books we stole from the residence complex area, only Snoopsi knows about it so those things will be safe there.


    ***


    I finally arrived at Home. The juniors from this year''s crop looked at me funny as I walked down the corridor leading to Kiyoko¡¯s room.


    ¡°Oh my, dearest? I haven¡¯t seen your beautiful eyes in such a long time, have you come to ask master for forgiveness?¡± The all too familiar voice of the woman who made me escape Mil-Ansk sounded from ahead of me.


    I looked up to see her sad expression hidden under a condescending smile.


    This lady clearly doesn¡¯t know that her lies never work on me.


    ¡°You know, Niya I¡¯m quite good at reading expr-¡±


    ¡°Haha, my my, Niya, not witch? Are you trying to seduce me, dearest?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Fuc- Forget it, where¡¯s Kiyoko, I need to talk to her.¡±


    Niya walked past me and told me to be careful as she pointed her finger towards Kiyoko¡¯s room.


    It¡¯s time to confront her, I can¡¯t move on until I learn the truth.


    I opened the metal door with a loud bang and walked up to the woman who stayed seated at her desk in the middle of the room.


    ¡°Should you not have a satisfactory explanation for this insolence, punishment would not be light.¡± Kiyoko got up and turned to face me, her aura as frightening as ever. Her figure, not so much, she was pale, thin, sickly, what happened in the past week? Forget it, I don¡¯t care.


    ¡°Speak, insolent child. Now!¡± She crossed her arms and furrowed her brows.


    Rage welled up inside of me as I saw her slim figure.


    ¡°Master, can you tell me what the power of your Seal is?¡±


    From behind me the children started whispering quietly as I left the door open


    Kiyoko started walking past me to close it but I grabbed her arm and yelled ¡°ANSWER ME!¡±


    ¡°Unhand me at once, insolent one, we will speak in private.¡± Her calm voice irritated me even more and I tightened my grip, to which the lady retaliated by slapping my face.


    I looked at the floor, trying my hardest to calm myself down.


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    Kiyoko could kill me before I¡¯ll be able to even blink, I can¡¯t challenge her like that, calm down.


    I let go of her arm. She closed the door and turned to sit back down, gesturing to me to do the same.


    ¡°Now for your question, I see that you have met with your father, is that it?¡± W-what? How did she know that?


    ¡°Child, who do you think raised you? I can read you as easily as the books you favor so much.¡±


    Kiyoko leaned back and took a sip from her small cup of water, she gave off the feeling of somebody who¡¯s in total control, I won¡¯t let you get away with it, you monster.


    ¡°So that means what he said is true, let me ask you another question then mas- no Kiyoko. Why did Ostel have to die?¡±


    Was her calm demeanor starting to crack? The corner of her eye twitched slightly.


    ¡°Whatever might you mean, insolent child? Were you not the one to take the life of your dear friend Shiawasu?¡± This bitch, how dare she say that!?


    ¡°Correct I was the one who stuck a knife inside of Ostel¡¯s throat, I stuck it there and made sure to cut his trachea, quite excessive wouldn¡¯t you say so?¡± I clenched my fist and tried to keep myself in check. Patience.


    ¡°Quite excessive indeed. It would seem there¡¯s no longer a need to pretend, you seem utterly convinced.


    Let me tell you, child, why your dear friend needed to die and why it was you who needed to do it.¡± What?


    Kiyoko started explaining how her life had led her to believe people are not to be trusted in this world. How the citizens of the slums she helped so much turned against her at the sight of a lump sum of money.


    I guess Jake didn¡¯t know this part of the story.


    ¡°You see my child, I favor your life as much as I favor my own, your father is the only person to ever reach his hand and pull me out of the darkness that surrounded me.


    Yet, just like the rest of them, he too has abandoned his childhood friend.


    We had our differences, yes, this man did not agree with my methods.


    So I have chosen to take it upon myself to teach his only child that¡­ In this world, you can not trust the ones around you.¡± Her cold demeanor was back on full display. On the contrary, I was burning with rage.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why Snoopsi ran away, you¡¯re fucking insane.¡± I murmured.


    Kiyoko suddenly raised her voice ¡°All of you here in the Slayer organization are my children. I will carefully mold you into the best versions of yourselves!¡±


    I got up and punched the table hard, breaking it in 2.


    ¡°Children?! Is that it?¡± I walked to the door and opened it.


    ¡°Inoshi, mind your actions!¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up, crazy bitch!¡±


    I took a deep breath and started shouting ¡°Kiyoko, the master of the Slayer organization is washing all of our brains!¡±


    The children were looking at me questionably and I heard a laugh from behind.


    ¡°You think that¡¯s what would turn my dear children against their mother? How brazen of my sweet Inoshi.¡±


    ¡°It seems I was quite wrong in taking you in, you will now be brought to justice for the countless murders and cases of theft under the name of Slayer number 4 ¡®Inoshi¡¯.¡±


    Kiyoko took another sip and commanded the Slayers to apprehend me.


    I won¡¯t go down so easily, I dove into the dark glass on the floor next to me and jumped out at the edge of the corridor.


    A rope tied itself to my feet and I fell to the ground, another kid from the side jumped on me and before I could react he put a Seal Jumbler on my arm.


    ¡°Fuck, let go you pieces of brain washed shits!¡± I couldn¡¯t get out of this situation! My Seal isn¡¯t working, what now? Niya, Niya can help me, right?


    ¡°Niya, help me! don¡¯t let this fucking bitch control you! I know you never wanted to do her bidding!¡±


    ¡°Deare- Inoshi¡­ Forgive me but I can not help you at this moment.¡± Why not?! Her Seal is perfect for this situation! Did they Jumble her as well? No, wait, at this moment?


    Fuck¡­ Kiyoko walked through the crowd of teenagers and squatted down to look at me.


    ¡°Throw the insolent child in the punishment chamber. Worry not, your punishment has been decided already.¡±


    ***


    I woke up in a dark cell of a room, not like I wasn¡¯t familiar with this place, but this time was different. They put me in here for a few hours already after Kiyoko hinted at my punishment.


    ¡°Rebellious children like you need to be dealt with harshly, luckily for us, the king is delaying his announcement for your arrival.¡±


    What did she mean by that¡­?


    ¡°In the darkest of places, there¡¯s no respite for the helpless. A life betrayed is so sad, oh so sad.¡± Esemoniya? What¡¯s she doing here now?


    ¡°Dearest, I can not express in words how sad I am at this situation, you might have deduced as much already but, your mission in Mil-Ansk was just a death sentence.¡±


    ¡°Niya, what are you talking about?! Why are you helping Kiyoko if you know how terrible she is? What do you mean by betrayed?¡± I don¡¯t really have a right to demand she answer me, I always hated her and treated her like a witch.


    ¡°My dear, some questions are better left unanswered.


    As for the betrayal, I see, you didn¡¯t realize it yet. Don¡¯t you find it  awfully convenient that the king¡¯s announcement is today?¡±


    ¡°What announcement? I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡±


    ¡°Oh I understand now, my dearest, you didn¡¯t know did you?


    The king is planning to announce the capture of an assassin from Slayer. This announcement was planned for over a week now.¡±


    What¡­!?

 20. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 20

    ¡°A plan more than a week in the making. ¡®Inoshi will serve his purpose as the broken tool destined to give comfort to the people of Rintiya and our organization.¡¯


    Is what master said to me. How much I pleaded with her to look at what she¡¯s doing, Inoshi, my dear Lifes, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Niya continued her story in between sobs.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Kiyoko wanted me to die for the citizens to have some peace of mind?


    None of that makes any sense Niya! Even if I believed you, why would Ostel need to die?!¡±


    ¡°Will you really force me to say that? Shiawasu was a spot of light in your life of darkness and killing. Your will had to be broken.


    Please Lifes, please don¡¯t despise the master for her actions. Is what I would like to say, but looking at your face right now, the master¡¯s suffering is none of your concern.¡±


    My mind went numb, this information is too much to handle¡­


    Esmoniya turned on her heels before telling me one more thing ¡°You are scheduled to be executed in a few hours, it wouldn¡¯t matter what information you give them about Slayer as this is a collaborative action with the king himself.


    Worry not however, I have a plan to help you avoid execution.


    Stay strong dearest. I have loved and always will love you¡­¡± The shaking voice trailed off at the end.


    Her words went in one ear and through the other, I don¡¯t care about torture or execution.


    I was staring at the floor for a while now, trying to process everything.


    Now that I think about it, it all made sense, Kiyoko made me into a legendary assassin and the best thief on the continent, nobody has ever seen my face. They only know my uniform number is 4. My stomach was turning.


    All of this build up for the last 4 years has been in order to make me the perfect scapegoat, is Kiyoko doing to me what the people in the slums have done to her?


    I heaved whatever was left in my body. To think I felt bad for her.


    This bitch, this fucking piece of trash, this disgusting liar, THIS FUCKING LIAR!


    ***


    At least 3 hours have passed since I was put into the punishment room.


    The sound of footsteps and clanking armor was heard in the stairs, I guess it¡¯s time to go.


    ¡°So this is the legendary Number 4 is it? Less impressive than I imagined.


    Hey loser, you¡¯re coming with us.¡± Huh? Are they soldiers? I guess they¡¯ll take me to the execution.


    ¡°Pfft, there¡¯s only hell waiting for the likes of him! ¡®Legendary¡¯ yeah right.¡±


    The door to the small punishment room opened with a clicking sound and 2 men clad in metal plated shirts and swords tied to their hips walked in.


    Those fucking pieces of shits, I can kill them both without my Seal yet they are so arrogant. I guess I¡¯ll trust Niya, she said she can help me, let¡¯s not complicate things anymore.


    As we exited Home, Slayer¡¯s main residence, I turned around one last time. I swear I will come back here and fucking kill you Kiyoko, piece of shit.


    One of the soldiers kicked me in the back and yelled ¡°Who do you think you are to stop like that, if we tell you to walk, you walk, fucking scum murderer!¡±


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    Murderer¡­ I guess that¡¯s true, I am a murderer. However, I will kill at least 1 more person before forsaking this title.


    We arrived at Silvermoon upper district soon enough. My feet were burning, my wrists, tied way too tightly with a rope were bleeding from the harsh pulling of the horse I was being dragged behind.


    People on the street stopped and stared confusedly at my pathetic form before the soldiers started yelling ¡°All of you who wish to learn the identity of this criminal, make sure to attend the king¡¯s announcement in 2 hours time!


    Spread the word, one of the continent¡¯s most infamous criminals is to be handed a sentence today in public!¡±


    ***


    For the last 2 hours I was on my knees with just a small piece of cloth to serve as an undergarment, getting beat up and whipped constantly.


    The pain wasn¡¯t much, Kiyoko¡¯s training was much more brutal and painful.


    Those guys are just having fun beating up a helpless person, how pathetic.


    A rough punch to the stomach made me throw up and start coughing. My throat as well as my back were on fire.


    No broken bones yet, I made sure to coat my bones with Sy to make sure I don¡¯t break any. Those guys are just too weak.


    ¡°Tch, I wanted to have more fun with this murderer scum but the king is ready.¡± I looked up to meet the eyes of the young soldier, my hair fell over my eyes and blood dripped from the tips of it; it was hard to see the man¡¯s face as my vision was blurry. He didn¡¯t like my stare regardless.


    ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re looking at, maggot?!¡± The man grabbed my hair and hit my face with his knee. Again I managed to protect my bones with Sy.


    Those fucking retards don¡¯t even understand how weak they are.


    ¡°Tch, still no reaction, crazy bastard. Hey Jason, bring the scum to the announcement platform.¡± The weak man said to his colleague.


    I was roughly released from  the binds that held my hands up and my knees tied to the floor, Jason, the younger-looking guard helped me get up to my feet.


    ¡°Fucking murderer, I hope your death isn¡¯t painless¡± he whispered as he dragged me outside.


    I was brought next to an important-looking old man. He was wearing a white coat made of expensive cloth,


    ¡°Behold my citizens! This beaten and broken man that you see before you, is a criminal! An infamous murderer and thief.¡±


    The crowd murmured about my identity as the soldiers pulled my hands up and tied them to the pillars of wood on top of the platform.


    The man I assumed to be king lifted up the black stone he¡¯s been shouting into and kept talking ¡°Not more than 1 week ago, this man had infiltrated into the academy city of Mil-Ansk!¡±


    The murmurs and curious voices got louder.


    ¡°This filth! It was sent by a notoriously evil organization named ¡®Slayer¡¯ to take the life of my youngest son!¡± The king wiped some tears from his eyes.


    ¡°Luckily for me and tragically for my good friend, the baron of Shinville, this murderous abomination of a human being could not control his urges to kill.


    This creature has struck down the noble child of Shin Villfer!¡±


    *SNAP* The soldier behind hit me with his whip. The entire crowd started yelling insults and throwing things at me.


    The humiliation was harder to bear than the stones that occasionally hit my face.


    ¡°It is, however, a great day for the kingdom of Rintiya!¡± The king continued ¡°The Slayer organization is no longer going to be a threat to our peace! This announcement symbolizes the dawn of a new era!¡±


    The king put down the black stone and proceeded to announce my sentence before he was cut off by a familiar, charismatic voice that came from behind me.


    ¡°Father, if I may, I have a suggestion for the punishment of this individual.¡± Leonardo, the third prince walked up to his father, our eyes met for a second but he averted his gaze.


    ¡°Leo, how insolent of you, get back to your seat this instant, you can¡¯t just barge into the middle of father¡¯s important announcement like that!¡± Another voice, probably another prince came from behind.


    I could barely see from the corner of my eye but it seemed like the king lifted up one hand and the other prince quieted down.


    The 3rd prince and the king started discussing.


    Nobody could hear what they were talking about, but the answer soon came in the form of the king stepping back up to his booth and saying that Leonardo¡¯s suggestion is quite the unavoidable one.


    ¡°We will now announce the punishment for this criminal, as proposed by my youngest son who was the target of Slayer¡¯s vile plans!¡±


    The king said something I couldn¡¯t hear or see to the soldiers behind me and they walked up to the wood pillars next to me.


    The soldiers raised their swords. I guess that¡¯s how it ends¡­ Life is just so unfair.


    ¡°Cut it!¡± The king yelled.


    I closed my eyes and accepted my faith.

 21. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 21

    I heard the sound of the swords hacking at the wooden pillars and before I realized, my face met with the wooden floor of the announcement platform.


    Opening my eyes, I realized they didn¡¯t kill me. Did prince charisma say something to save my life?


    The crowd seemed just as perplexed as me, they started calling for my head as I got up to my feet. The jumbler isn¡¯t on my arm, do I just run away?


    That would be even more suicidal.


    ¡°Lifes, remember me? Leo, from your dorm? From now on you will call me master and follow my commands, is that understood?¡± I spat in his direction and got punched by the soldier next to me for that.


    ¡°Dear citizens of Silvermoon, no, citizens of the kingdom of Rintiya. It would appear my son has some better ideas than his old man yahahaha!¡± The crowd erupted into fake laughter.


    ¡°It may not be my place to delay the rightful punishment of this criminal, however, I¡¯m sure the noble baron of Shinville would allow me this opportunity to put the murderer¡¯s skills to good use.


    I, Leonardo Hyland, 3rd in line to the crown, will gather a group of capable warriors and together we will defeat the evil Dirk Lingyle and the Winter Congregation!¡± The crowd was silent, isn¡¯t this basically a declaration of war in a meritocracy like Rintiya?


    Would his brothers really be ok with that? I guess it doesn¡¯t matter to me.


    ¡°My prince, his highness, I ask that you compensate my house for this decision! The Villfer family¡¯s honor will forever be tainted if we don¡¯t punish this scum!¡±


    ¡°Silence insolent noble-¡±


    ¡°Stop Geornell, the noble baron of Villfer is right to have his gripes and demand compensation.


    Father, I ask that, for the duration of their stay in the capital of Silvermoon, the Villfer family will have charge over the criminal.


    The proud nobles will have authority to do as they wish with him just short of killing or inflicting permanent damage that will hinder our mission in the future.


    In addition the family will receive a great sum of gold; is that acceptable to you baron Shin Villfer?¡± The 3rd prince concluded in a threatening tone.


    ¡°Of course my prince, I offer the sincerest of apologies for interrupting you.


    Many thanks!¡± The blond and gray haired man bowed deeply.


    I guess these next few days are about to be painful, all of this is because of this fucking piece of shit. Kiyoko, I swear I¡¯ll kill you!


    ***


    The soldiers dragged me off the stage and back into the stadium cell I was held in before.


    ¡°Hey Lifes, long time no see, right? Sorry about the rough treatme-¡±


    ¡°Save it, rich pri- Bahhh¡± I threw up as the guard punched me in the stomach again, this fucking guy is pissing me off.


    The red haired prince took a deep breath before squatting down to meet my eyes ¡°See, Lifes, there¡¯s a reason you¡¯re alive now, this reason is to serve as my meat shield. Now, I don¡¯t want my meat shield all beaten and bruised before we even have to fight.¡±  His voice was somewhat shaky and his expression was trying to hide something, maybe¡­pain?


    Fuck, why is everyone around me like that, just fucking tell me what you really think, stop being so dishonest!


    ¡°Fuck¡­ You.¡± That earned me another kick to the face. ¡°Let me tell you something about me, o high and mighty, noble prince. Nobody has ever been able to lie to me before, not even my master. That facade of yours doesn¡¯t work. Just say what you want to fucking say already!¡±


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    The shitty prince looked at the ground and bit his lower lip ¡°Lifes, or should we just call you ¡®slave¡¯ from now on? Settle down already, get off your high horse and work with me here.¡± Calling me a slave and saying that in the same sentence royals truly are shameless, how fucking gross.


    ¡°Regardless of your decision, you will end up helping me. Have you ever heard of artifacts, slave?¡± The garbage, lying prince got up and turned his back to me.


    ¡°Haha, what am I saying, an assassin from Slayer, not knowing what artifacts are?¡±


    The sleazy bastard picked up a cup of water and walked towards me. It occurred to me that I was really dizzy from puking so much¡­ This guy.


    ¡°Mmm so refreshing, if only you just acquiesced¡­ Though like I said; it wouldn¡¯t really make much of a difference.


    You see, slave traders have a way of branding slaves with a certain artifact, it is a secret that only some nobles and the traders themselves know about.


    The artifact is kept hidden so people don¡¯t try to duplicate its effect.


    You¡¯re a smart guy, you can see why duplicating would be undesirable right? After all, level 5 Seals are much stronger than level 1 Seals.¡±


    Level 5¡­ So he¡¯s somewhat aware of my abilities, but to what extent?


    Tch, talking to this prince always leaves a bad taste in my mouth.


    ¡°Anyway, you don¡¯t have to worry about getting branded for the time being.


    First you will serve your punishment with the Villfers.¡± Red hair handed his cup to one of the soldiers and gestured with his head.


    Jason appeared in my view and grabbed my chin. Is this guy trying to drown me?!


    He poured the water into my mouth.


    ¡°Geornell, Jason, take this filth over to his temporary owners. Make sure the baron is aware of his limitations.¡± The prince walked out of the room and the 2 soldiers proceeded to drag me in the other direction.


    Those fuckers, can¡¯t they handle me a bit more gently? ¡°I can walk you know?¡±


    ¡°Not another word out of you scum, I¡¯ll let you off with this one as you¡¯re about to experience true hell, but keep that hole of yours shut.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Noble baron of the town of Shinville, we have brought the prisoner!¡± Geornell and Jason let go of my arms in order to salute. This tradition looks so idiotic.


    The 2 soldiers held the 2 fingers of their left hand over the left side of their chest and made a circle sign with the right hand over the left shoulder, they proceeded to look into the sky and turned their heads to the right.


    ¡°Pfft, hahahahahhaha, how fucking stupid¡± I didn¡¯t mean to laugh but honestly, who thought this salute would make any sense at all.


    Geornell pulled me by my hair and was about to start beating me up before Shin Vilefart or whatever his name was, interfered ¡°Stop right there soldier, this filthy animal is mine to punish.¡±


    Geornell let go of my hair and apologized with a curt bow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I tried to help you here, you vile murderer, you are about to regret ever being born, I assure you as much.¡± I looked at the guy¡¯s face for the first time and it was impossible to figure out, is he sad? angry? maybe¡­ elated?


    What the fuck is wrong with this old man.


    I waved and winked at the soldiers as the baron¡¯s guards led me towards the carriage.


    For a second I thought I might get to ride it, but of course that¡¯s not the case¡­ They just tied my hands to the carriage and forced me to run behind them. How fun.


    ***


    And just like that we arrived at this man¡¯s house in the capital and I got   thrown into a dungeon, or at least I think it was supposed to be.


    It was just a room in the house, but the windows were covered with wood planks and there were no furnitures aside from the chair I was tied down to.


    Is this guy not aware of my Seal? They removed the jumbler and the planks don¡¯t even cover the entire window. Are they daring me? Is this a joke?


    A sudden feeling of angst came over me as I had some time for my own thoughts.


    That¡¯s right, I can escape, I will escape and kill the monster.


    My thoughts were interrupted by the raspy voice of a man that opened the door to my room.


    ¡°My, my look at what we have here! Father said he managed to get the guy who killed my baby brother, but to think a wimp like yourself is the him. What a joke!


    We will make you regret ever being born!¡± Like father, like son, I guess.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry Christopher, you will get your time with this toy, we have it for 3 whole days after all. Now let me play with it a little bit.¡± The family head came into the room and closed the door.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s make this a night you won¡¯t ever forget, you disgusting, filthy, evil murderer!¡±

 22. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 22

    It really was a long night, we¡¯ve been going at it for 4 hours now. All I could taste at this point was blood mixed with stomach acids.


    Everything hurt, it wasn¡¯t to a level I couldn¡¯t handle and I didn¡¯t allow for any of my bones to break. Another weak person, unaware of his place in this world.


    The man looked at me with tears in his eyes and asked ¡°Are you comfortable there, freak?¡±  Honestly, I¡¯m surprised at this guy¡¯s imagination.


    He cut me up all over, drowned me, hanged me, even brought an electric shock artifact¡­ What a deranged person. The empty room smelled like shit, sweat, and blood; it also looked the part.


    The old man slowly caught his breath as he straightened his back and in between pants told me I can rest for now before throwing a bunch of nails behind me and kicking me in the chest, making me and the chair fall backwards.


    I see what you¡¯re going for, old man, been through worse though.


    ¡°Still no reaction huh?! Filthy murderer! I¡¯ll find a way to break you. Have faith that I will.¡±


    ¡°Old man, do you really think I ever killed someone unjustly?¡± I don¡¯t know what came over me, I never cared for those things before but something about hearing him and everyone else calling me a murderer over and over again ticked me off.


    ¡°A filthy animal like yourself pretending to have morals¡­ How disgusting! You creatures of Slayer who decided to become assassins, all of you have no remorse or any morals to speak of!


    Go ahead and explain to me what my innocent son ever did to you!¡± He said before kicking me in the face.


    ¡°Well he did try to rob me with a knife¡­¡± His eyes widened and his tears kept flowing while he screamed ¡°I don¡¯t care! He was my son, my son that was destined for great things.


    He would one day lead a unit of soldiers and push back the dreaded Winter Congregation of Lingyle, and you, a murderer that has no concept or understanding of remorse in his heart, killed him! and for what?! For threatening you with a knife!? I don¡¯t wish to speak with a creature like yourself that can¡¯t even comprehend the feeling of losing a loved one.¡± As he was about to leave the room, something in me compelled me to prove him wrong¡­


    ¡°I did, you know¡­ I lost one of 2 people I considered my family.¡± Why am I even telling him that? This man is grieving the death of his son, he¡¯s already insane enough to torture a person like that for revenge, what¡¯s the point in this conversation?


    ¡°Alright boy, I¡¯ll bite, did it sadden you? Did you cry?! What do you hope to achieve by telling all this to me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure myself, I just hate it when people call me a murderer and the conversation came to this so I brought it up¡­ You know, it occurred to me recently. Losing a person you love is really¡­ painful.¡± I stared at the black hole that was the ceiling of the empty room, my chest felt tight and air felt dry in my throat. Why am I even sharing my thoughts with a person that hates me so much?


    ¡°What right does a murderer like yourself have to feel pain at a loss? have you even for a second considered all of the lives that you have taken over the years?


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    The average citizen may not be aware of the existence of Slayer, but someone like myself, I¡¯ve read those articles about the proud nobles that dropped like flies all around the capital. Many of them good friends of mine, with families of their own.


    After the king bestowed land to my name after the battle of ¡®Orange Dust¡¯ in the fortress of Guardian, I took my family and went to build a city there, just to the northwest of Mil-Ansk.¡± Isn¡¯t he being awfully talkative? Shin suddenly fell down to the floor and looked at me with tears in his eyes.


    He lowered his head and in between sobs and said ¡°I tried to keep my family safe, 20 years of fighting for this country, countless citizens that I have saved, all of that and I can¡¯t even protect my own son!


    Why did he have to die! Tell me murderer, please, give me a good reason!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a reason to give you, your son threatened my life and I returned the favor.¡±


    The sound of his weeping filled the room as I laid there and contemplated the man¡¯s words.


    After a few seconds of quiet blubbering, the man opened his mouth again ¡°It¡¯s so easy for you to just say that isn¡¯t it, I guess it¡¯s true what my father used to say ¡®a hunter does not consider the life of his prey¡¯, you really don¡¯t understand the consequences of your actions.


    You are just a child, yet you chose to become an assassin. Or maybe I''m the naive one, thinking a child has a choice in a matter of such significance.¡± I wonder if he was trying to express pity towards me, kind of ironic considering what he just did to me.


    ¡°You probably struggle to understand why I¡¯m even talking to someone like you.


    I don¡¯t get it either. I guess you are the age of my son that you killed. I think I was trying to see if I could get you to understand the gravity of your actions. Maybe I could find a good reason as to why my son had to die.


    I can see now however, you¡¯re a coward, you can¡¯t even face your own emotions, you can¡¯t even let go of your cynical view of this world, people¡¯s lives are just a piece of paper with instructions for you.


    I¡¯ll bet all of your assassinations were done using poison or a long range weapon. Long enough so that you don¡¯t see the expressions of your dying victims.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck do you know about me! Your son was a delinquent in the school and I exacted rightful punishment on him, you¡¯re just an overgrown baby who can¡¯t even accept that his son is not the perfect little innocent lamb you thought he was, you¡¯re weak!


    I killed my best friend and I can live with it! You are the real coward for not accepting your reality!


    Fuck you and fuck everyone else who keeps saying I¡¯m a murderer! My mother died when I was born and I grew up as an assassin. I was born and this is who I am!


    Why is everything I do wrong and everything you do right?! Fuck you! Those nobles needed to die!¡± My throat was aching as I was screaming, I couldn¡¯t even make out the old man¡¯s expression as my vision grew blurry. Everything around me was still and quiet but also deafening at the same time.


    ¡°She said Ostel needed to die so I could be broken! Fuck her, I¡¯m never going to break! Who do you think I am! I killed so many people, do you think 1 more will do anything to me?! SCREW ALL OF YOU!!¡±


    ¡°What a pathetic, pitiful, broken young man you are. I see torturing you was utterly pointless, you¡¯re doing that plenty yourself.


    I wish you all the best, child. This little talk has clarified many things to me. If it is any comfort, I may not have forgiven you, but I am thankful for our meeting.¡±


    My eyes were hurting, I think the blood from my mouth got into them.


    Before Shin left the room he cut the ropes holding me down and said I¡¯m free to go.


    As I was struggling to get up to my feet, I realized how dizzy I was. It was hard to stand up at all.


    Nevertheless. I will kill Kiyoko, I will go Home and kill her right now, even if I die in the process!

 23. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 23

    Popping out of the darkness outside the window of the torture room landed me in some fancy house¡¯s yard.


    The amazing smell of fresh, chilly, night air, the dark, brown leaves around me and the sounds of annoying bugs made the amount of time I spent in captivity feel so insignificant.


    I started walking and of course, my head wanted to lay down. The headache and dizziness almost made me fall down. If that wasn¡¯t bad enough, the shadowy figure in the corner of my eye made it clear that it is too much for me to use my Seal even once.


    This is going to be a rough night.


    I headed out, still confused about the reason the baron let me go just like that, but I will take this chance to get back at Kiyoko.


    I was too careless before but this time my head is clear. This piece of shit, she has to die!


    ***


    It was difficult, navigating the streets of the Upper in Silvermoon like that, usually when I came here for missions. It was when my condition was perfect, I could just use my Seal and some movement techniques to traverse the area easily.


    It was difficult but I managed to make it to Home. Luckily for me, this place would never have guards as this bitch wants the world to think that she runs an orphanage, making infiltration a trifling matter.


    I walked through the dreaded corridor leading to Kiyoko¡¯s room, the door was open and I could hear voices. Why would anyone be awake at this hour?


    ¡°Lyn! What am I to do now?!¡± Kiyoko? and she¡¯s talking to¡­ Niya? Why would she use her first name?


    ¡°Everyone leaves me Lyn! Please don¡¯t leave me!! Please don¡¯t go away like Jake did!¡±


    ¡°Master, hush now, you know I would never do that. You are my mother, our mother.


    Everyone in Slayer loves you. Please put down that knife, punishing yourself wouldn¡¯t make anything better.¡± Knife? Punish?


    If I get any closer they will notice me, I guess I¡¯ll just listen for now.


    ¡°Lyn, my dear Inoshi, he was a child of mine, I have loved him, I swear I loved him so much. Why then did he favor Shiawasu over his own mother?!¡± Is that it?! She was fucking jealous?! That''s why she killed Ostel!?


    ¡°Inoshi, oh how I have wronged my dear child¡­ You know Lyn, when the king came to me 4 years ago and requested that we provide a proper explanation for the deaths of nobles to the public, he promised me the prosperity of the slums, education, more jobs in the Upper, everything I ever dreamed of was finally achievable.


    It was oh so tempting, making the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the ultimate reward.


    Incriminating information on the evil king and the rehabilitation of our home, how could I refuse! Even if I had to sacrifice one of my own children, I would do so!¡±


    ¡°M-master! drop this blade already, stop hurting yourself! You¡¯ve grown so frail and sickly due to loss of blood, please just stop!¡± Esemoniya yelled, followed by a metallic sound.


    ¡°Lynny, you don¡¯t understand! I have tortured and killed my own children just to achieve my goals. I wanted to make the slums a better place as it was before! I wanted evil king Hyland to be shamed and dethroned!


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.But alas, the king has made major efforts to amend his past wrongs, even going as far as reconnecting with and compensating the Hadohians in the south.


    The people who made me the empty husk that I am today have long been punished. Jake always said that you should not throw out a casket of apples when just 1 is rotten, yet here I am, picking up the one poisoned apple in the bunch.¡±


    Kiyoko sounded like she regretted her decisions, her tone was completely defeated.


    A distant thud followed by Niya¡¯s panicked voice pulled me out of my thoughts ¡°Master! Master Kiyoko! Wake u- Who¡¯s there!? Identify yourself!¡± I took just 2 steps towards the room and she already caught on to me¡­ As expected of a Slayer assassin.


    I walked into the room with my hands up so as to not alert Esemoniya too much.


    ¡°H-hey Niya¡­ So this is what Kiyoko has come to, how pitiful.¡± I inspected the unconscious body of my former master.


    She was frail and sickly like before, but now she had a sleeveless shirt on and I could see all the wounds her body suffered from her own grief.


    ¡°Dearest?! Did Leo allow you to come here? Have you escaped? Why are you here?¡±


    I didn¡¯t really know what to say¡­ I looked at my feet and just said ¡°To kill Kiyoko.¡±


    ¡°Lifes! I understand your desire for revenge, but please Lif-¡±


    ¡°Niya, do you think she really deserves to grieve like that? Someone like that who caused so much agony to other people. Do you think this kind of monster deserves to feel sad? Do you think they deserve mercy? Redemption?¡± I clenched my fist tightly, my nails drawing blood.


    Niya walked up to me and took my left hand in her palms.


    I saw a tear drop down to the floor next to me as she responded ¡°W-what? Lifes, my dearest, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to say and I won¡¯t ask you to forgive the master but please, if you care for me even in the slightest, please just turn away and go back to prince Leo.¡±


    ¡°Niya, please just answer the question¡­¡± I could feel the frustration and sadness in her body language while keeping my eyes on the ground.


    ¡°Does a monster with no understanding of remorse, one that a person¡¯s life is not worth more than a piece of paper for. A cowardly, weak monster, so vile it would not even look their victims in their eyes as it plays with their lives.


    Do you think they deserve any sort of forgiveness¡­?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°Dearest, I truly can not answer this question as I have never met such a creature.¡± This sentence really stung my heart, so much so that I had to hold back my tears.


    ¡°If this person truly existed, I would say that all humans deserve some relief from their past wrongs if they are trying to make it better.¡± I bit my lip, for some reason her answer frustrated me even more. It hurts to listen to.


    ¡°Well, I disagree with you! There should be no forgiveness for this type of disgusting, evil, WEAK MONSTER!¡±


    I walked up to the chair behind Niya and looked at Kiyoko¡¯s cup.


    It was a cup that I got her for her 40th birthday just 5 years ago. It was blue and white with a drawing of a mother holding the hand of her 2 children.


    I picked it up before Niya said from behind me ¡°It¡¯s her favorite cup you know? She won¡¯t even drink anymore if it¡¯s not from this thing.¡± How convenient¡­ This much will be enough, even for someone like Kiyoko.


    I turned back, eyes still on the floor and started walking out of the room.


    Before closing the door behind me I looked over my shoulder to see my Senior standing over my former master¡¯s frail body one last time.


    ¡°If this woman ever wakes up, please make sure to tell her that Jake was very thankful to have his own words slap him in the face.


    Also tell her that Lifes will never, ever forgive her.


    Goodbye Niya, although we¡¯ll probably meet soon enough.¡±


    Niya¡¯s hands wrapped around me, stopping me from walking away ¡°Dearest! Lifes! Inoshi! Please, just please keep your eyes open! The world is not as ugly as you think it is.¡± With those parting words and a warm embrace from behind me, Niya let me take my leave.


    I wasn¡¯t sure where I should go now, but anywhere was probably better than Home.

 24. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 24

    Without much purpose left in my life or energy to continue to go anywhere, I just rested until the morning under an olive tree near a small pond on the edge of the slums.


    Those types of places used to be our favorite hanging spots when we were young.


    We used to have olive wars and I¡¯m the best with ranged weapons so I would win every time.


    Snoopsi always just sat down and read a book or drew something, his drawings of dungeons are what made me  want to explore a dungeon.


    Ostel was always on my team and the only person worth mentioning on the enemy team was Dawn, he wasn¡¯t good at throwing olives, but his strength was no joke¡­


    He¡¯s probably the strongest Slayer.


    All of that is irrelevant now though, Ostel is dead, Snoopsi left Home, Dawn is the personal servant of some young lady, Niya is basically just a nanny for Kiyoko now and I don¡¯t want anything to do with this place anymore.


    I guess it¡¯s true what the book said, ¡®home is where your heart is¡¯¡­ My home is all gone.


    I stopped here to rest but, granted, sleeping wasn¡¯t really possible with the bittersweet memories, and the cold that kept me awake for most of the night.


    Either way, the sun didn¡¯t really care about my needs or wants, it just made the choice to rise again and forced me to go back to the red haired prince.


    I had some time to think about it throughout the night, I guess the prince really was Niya¡¯s way of keeping me alive. She clearly knew I¡¯m supposed to be under his command.


    ¡°If you care about me, just go back to Leo, she said.¡± I guess I might as well, I¡¯m done with Slayer, I¡¯ll ask the prince to let me go if we manage to complete our mission, this guy seems like a pushover.


    ***


    ¡°The assassin from the king¡¯s announcement?! Why is he walking around in the upper district like that? Is he heading to the palace?¡±


    ¡°Shhh, he might hear you! this guy is a murderer remember?¡± Tch, this fucking word again.


    I glared at the 2 retarded girls whispering next to one of the street stalls and they turned their heads, before I could even say something though, someone yelled in my direction ¡°Lifes! What are you doing here?! You¡¯re supposed to be at the Villfers¡¯!¡± Prince charisma ran towards me, I guess he dropped the act of the evil prince¡­?


    He soon arrived and the girls gawked, they seemed awestruck by his sight.


    ¡°Ahem, worry not dear citizens, this slave is coming back from carrying out his master¡¯s orders. He will not harm any of you.¡± Must be rough, being this smooth¡­


    The prince took my arm and dragged me behind him into the palace¡¯s gardens.


    ¡°Phew, thank the first I was passing by, why are you here, Lifes? Did you escape? no that wouldn¡¯t make sense. What did you do, Lifes?¡±


    ¡°Charisma guy, let¡¯s make a deal, if I help you and we succeed, you remove all charges from my name and make sure I can enter all of the dungeons on the continent freely, what do you think?¡±


    He scratched his head as he looked at me, his brows furrowed.


    ¡°What in the name of Simon the Saint are you talking about, Lifes? Why are you here?! Do you even think you¡¯re in a position to make any demands? you¡¯re supposed to be my slave, remember?¡±


    ¡°*Sigh* Listen, this old fucking man said I can go, he doesn¡¯t care about me anymore. You don¡¯t seem like the type of person to force someone into being his slave so I figured I might as well try¡­¡±


    He clenched his fist and bit his lower lip ¡°You know nothing about me, don¡¯t just assume I can or can¡¯t do som-¡±


    ¡°Trust me, I can tell, I¡¯ve seen you for long enough, nobody can fo-¡±


    A harsh slap to my face shut me up.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°You¡¯re just a slave, don¡¯t you dare talk to me like that anymore. Now follow me, I¡¯ll introduce you to the head of servants and he will teach you how to act properly.¡±


    Guess I hit a sore spot somehow.


    Weak piece of trash, can¡¯t even face his own weakness without lashing out. Loser.


    After following the weak prince for a short while, we arrived at the backyard of the palace, he stopped in front of an area with a floor that was just 2 thick lines of marble with some grass in-between.


    On the marble floor there were 2 women, each standing on 1 part of it, dressed in some type of black and white uniform.


    The younger girl was incredibly pretty too. The older one seemed a bit¡­ tired? Either way they were just folding clothes they picked up from a long stone table.


    Prince shitland turned to me and smiled faintly before saying ¡°L-Lifes, I¡¯m sorry about earlier, I lost my cool there, forgive me.¡±


    Apologizing to a slave? Whatever, this guy just can¡¯t handle his own emotions, as expected of someone so weak.


    ¡°My prince, may I ask what brings you here? I see you have company.¡± An older man asked from behind us. He was wearing some type of black and white uniform and gave a small bow in our direction.


    ¡°Corolio, this guy here is Lifes, the new slave that will come with me back to the academy city. He grew up in the slums so please teach him what is expected of a royal servant.¡±


    ¡°With pleasure your grace, rest assured, this old dog can teach new tricks pihihihi.¡±


    Huh? ¡°Pfft, hahahahhaha, good one old man!¡± This grandpa is just too funny!


    ¡°*Sigh* As you can see, he¡¯s quite the wild one. Well, Coro, I¡¯ll leave it up to you.¡±


    The prince turned around and waved to us before walking away.


    My attention was drawn to the young girl¡¯s voice as she was excitedly looking at the flowers in the garden. I didn¡¯t even realize there were flowers there.


    Looking at the black haired servant running her fingers through the different flowers reminded me of Niya during our monster hunts. Ironic, considering their hair colors.


    One flower in particular caught my eyes, it was her favorite.


    Without thinking I walked towards the girl and asked ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the name of this flower?¡±


    I guess I frightened her as she suddenly jumped backwards and lifted her hands as if to defend herself.


    ¡°You there, why is a peasant in the royal garden?! Who let you in here?¡± The older lady ran across to our marble platform before grandpa said ¡°Milinda, this is Lifes.¡±


    He also joined us next to the flower patch.


    ¡°Lifes, the criminal that was sentenced to serve the young prince.¡±


    ¡°W-what? Back away from Mia you filthy murderer! Don¡¯t you dare harm her!¡± The old hag pulled flower girl away from me.


    Hearing her really pissed me off ¡°Tch all of y-¡±


    ¡°No Milinda! It¡¯s ok he only startled me a little bit as I didn¡¯t notice him that¡¯s all.¡±


    The young girl quickly walked up to me and grabbed one of my hands.


    ¡°Hey, Lifes? My name is Mia, nic-¡± I jerked my hand away from her.


    ¡°Murderer this murderer that, at least I¡¯m not a weak piece of trash like the rest of you,  grandpa just hurry up and show me what to do. You 2 better not fucking talk to me anymore, I¡¯ll kill you. I¡¯m a murderer, remember? Tch.¡± I bit my lip and turned around.


    As we walked away, the soft and now shaky voice of Mia was heard from behind us ¡°It¡¯s called Violesa, the flower you asked about! P-please don¡¯t kill me.¡± Why is this retard trying to talk to me again, she wants to die?


    Grandpa put his hand on my shoulder and snapped me out of my thoughts


    ¡°Pihihihihi, quite the first impression you make don¡¯t you? I let things go for today, however, I¡¯ll allow no more of that threatening aura you exude.


    Even the flowers cower in fear at your sight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just because those flowers were taken care of by weak losers like this old hag. All they do is judge people they don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°The flowers do?¡±


    ¡°This much is fucking evident, right?¡±


    The old man just sighed, let go of my shoulder, and gestured to me to follow behind him.


    ¡°This ¡®old hag¡¯ as you put it, she has had her child taken from her by a group of bandits when she was out for some errands in a nearby village.


    Before Mia came to the palace, Milinda was but an empty husk hence why she is protective of the child.


    Would you forgiv-¡±


    ¡°Pahh, just like I thought, a weak loser who hardly has the guts to fight their Makhshava demons.¡± My stomach hurt for some reason, I guess I¡¯m more pissed than I thought.


    Grandpa turned around and had a slightly angry expression on his face before he looked at me.


    His eyes softened and his face relaxed before he let out another deep sigh ¡°We have some work to do so let¡¯s not waste any more time.


    Hurry along now, pitiful child.¡±


    He turned his back to me again and started walking towards a door that seemed to lead into the fancy residence of the royals.

 25. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 25

    As we walked through the hallways of the palace, the smell of cooking made my mouth water. It hardly occurred to me earlier but I haven¡¯t eaten anything in the last 24 hours at least¡­


    ¡°O-old man, before we do anything else¡­¡± all of my energy was sapped away as soon as my attention went to this fact, I could barely stand straight.


    ¡°I¡¯m REALLY hungry, can we eat something? Anything will do.¡±


    ¡°Pihihihi, but of course. You really are quite the wild one, aren¡¯t you?¡± He waved his hand in the direction of one of the rooms, gesturing for me to go ahead and enter.


    As soon as we entered, it was like going into a dungeon, everything felt different, it was so intense, so hot and the smells were incredible.


    People running from side to side carrying cooking tools and foods I¡¯ve never even heard of before.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s with this place¡­ Is it a battlefield?¡± I was hesitant in walking it, what if we got in the way of someone here, the food will be ruined.¡°Pihihihi, of sorts, yes. This room is the main kitchen, the place is usually much calmer, but we have important guests coming in very soon.


    The servant¡¯s buffet is over in the backroom, you can take a plate over here.¡± Corolio pointed to a drawer next to the room we were heading towards and continued ¡°Once you¡¯re done eating, you can bring your plate to the sink behind you.¡±


    He opened a door at the edge of the line of big pots with boiling water spilling out of some of them.


    ¡°Here is the backroom, the household servants as well as the servants of our guests all eat and take breaks here.


    The buffet is over to the left, eat as much as you¡¯d like and please keep things orderly and clean.¡± He gave me a bit of a dirty look after saying that. I don¡¯t like the implication here.


    I walked into the spacious room, it looked like a wooden cabin on the inside, how strange, this type of building inside of a palace made of stone and marble.


    There were a few other people already eating there but it seemed as though each of them just minded their own business and kept to themselves. I took my plate and scoured the buffet.


    It was indescribable¡­ I didn¡¯t even know food could have this type of color, those smells. I could even hear meat sizzling on one of the stands.


    There was also a large plate with a big bread-looking food on top of it, and from the corners of it spilled the prize!


    Tomatoes! Whatever it was, it had tomato sauce in it! I can identify this texture and color anywhere!


    I picked up the large knife next to the bread plate and sliced a piece of it.


    To my surprise, it wasn¡¯t only tomato sauce inside the bread, there was also some type of meat or at least that¡¯s what I think it was, the bread itself was solid but also kind of soft, how incredible!Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    I never knew you could make stuff like that with food.


    Going around the buffet I ended up getting too excited about all the food and took so much that things were spilling out of my plate. Of course I took every dish that had tomatoes in it.


    Either way, I sat down at the corner of a table at the edge of the backroom and the big moment came.


    The first thing I tried was the bread thing from earlier, how is it even possible to make something that tastes so good? The crunchy, yet fluffy and soft encasing complimented the sweetness of the tomato sauce perfectly and the real big taster here was the meat.


    I didn¡¯t know meat could be made in this texture, it was just¡­ grains of meat or something, the spices and the small chips of onion and garlic mixed into it were just unbelievable to me, trying to understand the taste made me remember something Snoopsi tried to tell me back when we were children.


    ¡®Noshi you don¡¯t understand how amazing food can be! it¡¯s so amazing but we can only use other foods to describe the taste, isn¡¯t it strange? What if somebody doesn¡¯t know what a tomato tastes like? Would saying Sweet and Sour help at all?


    I don¡¯t think so¡­ We have sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy. Those are basically all of the real taste descriptions our language has, isn¡¯t it too general?


    So from now on, I will invent ways to describe taste!¡¯


    He looked so proud of himself when he climbed on top of the food table and lifted his fork.


    Of course he received a death glare from Kiyoko and sat back down just a second later¡­


    I totally get it Snoops! There¡¯s no way to describe the tastes, it¡¯s driving me crazy!


    While eating and experiencing true happiness for the first time, it took me 10 minutes to reach the point where I couldn¡¯t eat anymore and my plate was still half full¡­


    Can I take this food out and go give it to Snoopsi? He would lose his mind!


    I got up from my seat and went out of the room, to put the plate in the sink, as the grandpa butler told me.


    Someone cleared their throat behind me as I was about to drop the plate in the sink


    ¡°Young man, please make sure to dispose of your leftovers before putting the plate in the si-¡± I looked at the terrified expression of the fat kitchen worker who was talking to me and realized I dropped the plate into the sink.


    Fuck¡­


    The lady''s terrified expression changed to sadness, anger and eventually acceptance, all in the span of 2 seconds before she opened her big mouth and yelled ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU LITTLE¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­!?!¡±


    She just made a sad expression and turned around to leave with a defeated sigh.


    I was about to walk away before a hand landed on my shoulder and the same fat lady said ¡°You are going to fix your mistakes now. Take those gloves and clean this sink!


    I want it spotless, you hear?!¡±


    Honestly I can¡¯t even complain too much, I¡¯m too happy about getting to eat this food and this whole thing is my mistake regardless.


    ¡°All of this tomato sauce makes it look like someone died here, it¡¯s just like BLOOD everywhere, you little troublemak- AHHH, what are you!?¡± She fell on her butt at the last second and avoided my knife. I couldn¡¯t see clearly but this time I knew what was happening, it¡¯s that damn word, I can¡¯t let it control me!


    I tried my hardest to reject the urge to kill her, I felt a big smile grow on my face as I squatted down and grabbed the fat woman¡¯s shoulder I tried as hard as I could to stop myself, my knife was already at her throat, there was blood coming out and the lady was screaming and crying incomprehensibly.


    I tried using Sy to break my own arm but it didn¡¯t work, it was stronger than me, I felt tears flowing from my eyes as my fate was being sealed.


    I couldn¡¯t even close my eyes, my hand was just about to slice through her throat, as a boot suddenly came into my peripheral view and everything went black.


    Next thing I knew, there was a person sitting on top of me holding my shirt collar in his hands.


    ¡°Noshi, that¡¯s how we meet again I see. What a fucking retard you are, still just as lame, cowardly and whiny as before.


    A capable killer like yourself should grow a little backbone, don¡¯t you think?¡± Only 2 people ever called me Noshi, I couldn¡¯t make out his voice or see clearly, everything was blurry and vague but it was obvious to me that Snoopsi would never talk to me like that¡­


    There was only 1 other person who would use that name¡­


    But why is he here?

 26. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 26

    ¡°Dawn, do you know this person? We¡¯re lucky to have arrived on time, this poor kitchen worker passed out due to fear but other than that, she¡¯s fine.¡±


    Dawn. The strongest Slayer, also one of my old friends.


    ¡°Lady Liliya, don¡¯t come close to this guy, he¡¯s the legendary number 4 in Slayer, Inoshi. They called me the strongest, but if we had a real fight, this guy would kill me, regardless of who won.¡±


    ¡°H-hey Dawn¡­ Long time no s-¡± The prince barged into the room.


    ¡°Lifes!? What is going on here, why are you picking a fight with the servant of Count Brown¡¯s daughter?¡±


    Dawn let go of my shirt and got up to help his master stand back up.


    The brown haired girl looked at me for a second before diverting her attention towards Leonardo and taking a curt bow and saying ¡°Your highness, it is a pleasure.¡±


    ¡°I apologize Miss Liliya, this person is a new servant in the palace, he¡¯s not familiar with proper etiquette yet and will be severely punished for his actions.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, his highness shouldn¡¯t apologize, at least not to me, my servant just stopped this man from killing one of your kitchen workers¡­¡± As she said that my head started spinning and I threw up on the kitchen floor.


    ¡°Heh, stupid loser, when will you stop being so weak.¡± Dawn said.


    ¡°At least I don¡¯t think the sun rises out of my fucking ass, piece of shit Katsuki.¡±


    Dawn just laughed at that.


    The prince finally opened his mouth again ¡°Miss Brown, would you please join your father and siblings while I deal with this rogue one?¡±


    The blue eyed noble looked at me again before leaning in to whisper something in red-hair¡¯s ear.


    I could swear Dawn blushed and got annoyed at that.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go Dawn, father is waiting for us.¡± Us?


    Now the girl was blushing for some reason.


    ¡°Lifes you come with me. Corolio, you come too.¡± Leonardo commanded and we followed, I felt like throwing up again, thinking of how I couldn¡¯t control myself.


    We arrived at some small plot of grass in the garden that was hidden behind a wall of flowers.


    The prince just dropped on his back and told me to lay down next to him, so I did.


    The grass felt unnaturally soft here, almost like a bed. Is everything just better when you have money?


    ¡°Lifes, I heard from the young lady that when they arrived at the kitchen, it looked like you were fighting yourself while trying to kill Margaret, she said she even saw you cry as you were about to cut Margaret¡¯s throat.¡± Was she trying to help me? I closed my eyes and felt myself drifting off into half sleep as the guy kept talking.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really believe her at first but when I first saw you on the kitchen floor, the memory of you killing that Villfer kid at school popped into my head.¡± The prince stopped for a few seconds.


    What is this guy getting at? Does he know I can¡¯t control myself?


    ¡°At first I thought you¡¯re just a coward who can¡¯t even look the people you murder in the eyes.¡± What? My eyes opened widely, I clenched my fists. My body felt like it was shaking.


    ¡°That might be true, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. You seemed like you were in so much pain when you killed that kid.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Lifes, do you feel guilty?¡± He turned his head towards me and I stared back at him.


    I don¡¯t really know what I felt but it was a mix of anger and something else.


    ¡°Why would I feel guilty?! Are you also implying that I¡¯m a murderer? Are you trying to say I just killed those people for no reason?¡± I got up to my knees and hovered over the prince¡¯s face ¡°All of you people are getting on my fucking nerves, I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re the prince if you call me a murderer again I¡¯ll fucking kill you!¡± He just looked at me and smiled. His smile had a hint of sadness to it.


    My body felt hot and I felt like something was trying to escape my throat for some reason.


    ¡°Fuck you¡­¡± I said in a small voice and laid back down.


    ¡°Corolio, do you have any thoughts on the matter?¡± Come to think of it, this grandpa didn¡¯t even try to stop me, his Sy energy is so high, there¡¯s no way he¡¯s just a butler.


    ¡°My prince expects too much of a lowly assassin¡­ I am, however, inclined to believe the young man needs to...¡± He looked at me before shaking his head and declaring it doesn¡¯t matter what he says, he didn¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever change.


    ¡°Yeah right. Like you 2 would know anything about me, fuck both of you!¡±


    I turned my back to them and closed my eyes again.


    ¡°Just let him be for now, once he wakes back up, continue with the training.


    We need to be prepared to leave for Mil-Ansk in 3 days time.¡±


    ¡°Understood, your highness, everything shall be ready on schedule.¡±


    My eyes felt heavy, the wind felt nice on my skin and the grass smelled great, everything slowly drifted away and I found myself shielding my eyes from the sun.


    Snoopsi¡¯s voice called out to me.


    I was looking at the clear, blue sky and listened to the waves while playing with the sand as he and Ostel ran towards me.


    ¡°Noshi, Wasu, look at this!¡± He was holding a baby Scrillton.


    ¡°Snoopsers put the birdy in his nest bro, the mama will come and bite ya in the forehead!¡± Ostel said.


    ¡°No no Wasu, a lot of people don¡¯t know it but Scrillton birds don¡¯t believe in protecting their babies.


    It says in the book I read that Scrilltons are so smart that they understand morality. Those birds kill other birds to assert dominance but some of them feel bad so they end up thinking they don¡¯t deserve to have things they care about.¡±


    ¡°S-Snoopsi, don¡¯t tell me you believe that¡­ Animals can¡¯t feel bad, aren¡¯t you supposed to be smart?¡± I retorted.


    He just looked at me with squinted eyes and a disappointed expression before saying


    ¡°So, Noshi, if you¡¯re so smart, tell me, what makes humans different then animals?¡±


    I tried to think about it, it was hard but eventually I had an answer ¡°Humans are big and walk on 2 legs, they also can¡¯t fly and don¡¯t have feathers or fur!¡± Ostel and Snoopsi looked at each other and after a second of silence, started laughing.


    ¡°Pahahahhaha Lifey are you stupid? What¡¯s that gotta do with feelings? It¡¯s ¡®cause we laugh, cry and cook food! Food makes me feel happy!¡± Dumb Ostel said.


    ¡°Bahahahahahaha both of you are so dumb¡± Snoopsi was rolling on the floor and crying from laughter before he started coughing and calmed down a bit.


    ¡°Those answers are so stupid it¡¯s almost hard to believe.¡± Looking back at it, he¡¯s right.


    ¡°In my opinion, the real difference between humans or demi-humans and everything we consider to be animals is¡± He lifted his left hand and put a finger on his forehead that was covered by brown bangs ¡°our ability to think and also¡± he lowered his finger to his mouth ¡°our ability to speak, or more specifically, our complex language!¡±


    We both looked at him with sparkles in our eyes and Snoopsi put his hand on his waist and struck a proud pose.


    ¡°So now think about it, if that makes us special, would animals capable of communication be able to feel emotions like humans do?¡±


    Of course, we couldn¡¯t answer¡­


    Little did we know, the Science and History academy would later come to find that¡­ Snoopsi was right. They redefined the term animal to be a ¡®creature that is incapable of complex cognitive functions and language¡¯.


    Snoopsi¡¯s book also proved to be correct¡­ just not about birds, it was Dirks.


    Pathetic creatures. Can''t even face their own emotion, how lame and stupid, they enjoy fighting so much yet they are so weak they can¡¯t even handle the consequences.


    I slowly opened my eyes to see the smiling Corolio standing next to me with a background of the increasingly red sky. Why was he smiling?


    The nice breeze was now a chilly wind.


    My head felt a bit lighter and my body was finally somewhat well rested, only my eyes hurt a little bit for some reason.


    I guess I needed that sleep¡­

 27. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 27

    As I followed behind Corolio, I kept thinking back to my dream, something is wrong with everything around me.


    People calling me a murderer shouldn¡¯t be something I care about, I¡¯m usually such a patient person but my emotions take over when I hear this word¡­ And why do I keep running into weak and incapable people. Even my dream just now revolved around this topic.


    Snoopsi once said when me and Ostel were arguing about who¡¯s stronger - ¡®when you have a problem with a concept or an idea, try to get an outside perspective on the words you¡¯re using. Outside meaning outside of your own head¡­ Just ask each other what you mean by this word.¡¯


    It turns out Ostel just thought strength was how much a person wants to do something, and I thought it was how physically strong they are¡­


    Of course we couldn¡¯t really understand it to this level at the time and Snoopsi had to translate us to each other haha. Might as well try I guess.


    ¡°Hey old m- sir Corolio, may I ask you a question?¡±


    He stopped and turned to me with his eyes open wide before opening his mouth ¡°Why of course young man, it would appear you do understand politeness, how pleasant.¡±


    ¡°How would you define the word ¡®weak¡¯?¡± Isn¡¯t he just going to laugh at that? I mean weak is just weak¡­


    ¡°Quite an interesting question indeed, well it would seem to me that my answer depends on the context of the usage.¡± The old man closed his eyes and for a quick, quiet moment touched his white mustache with his right hand.


    ¡°A weak person could be someone who¡¯s physically frail, a weak person could also be someone to whom an insult cuts deep into the heart.


    Then again, a person who¡¯s cut deeply by an insult could have bulging muscles and a person with no physical prowess could be quite mentally resilient. My answer is that the weaker person is the one who¡¯s mental resilience is not quite up to par with the requirements of the task at hand, does that satisfy your curiosity?¡± I nodded in response. His answer was about the same as mine I guess, though I was surprised he answered at all.


    ¡°Why the sudden interest in my opinion on the word, pray tell.¡±


    ¡°Just trying to figure something out.


    Another question if you don¡¯t mind then, do you think I¡¯m a weak person?¡±


    He quietly looked at me for a few seconds before answering ¡°I believe this question to be something you need to figure out on your own.¡±


    ¡°Tch¡­ What a useless response, whatever.¡±


    He just giggled slightly and continued leading me towards whatever it was that he wanted to get to.


    ¡°Then do you think I¡¯m a murd-¡± I felt a small sting in my heart and decided against asking ¡°never mind, forget it.¡±


    I was completely lost in thought as we walked through a hallway in the palace when suddenly my body hit something, I stumbled a bit and the girl I ran into fell to the ground. It was the noble girl from earlier and next to her was a VERY angry Dawn.


    He was about to start shouting at me when I said ¡°Hey Dawn I need to ask you something, can we talk?¡±


    Before he could answer I sensed an immense pressure coming from behind them, it was suffocating, I jumped backwards and got into full alert mode, it was a do or die fight, I¡¯m probably going to die.


    From behind the flustered, angry Dawn who was now helping his mistress stand up, appeared the large frame of a strong man. It almost seemed like the walls around him turned into curved lines, his presence shrunk the room entirely and made me feel as if I was being crushed.


    I coated my hands and calf muscles in Sy and instinctively jumped with full strength, probably tearing my own muscles apart in the process, towards the man before he said ¡°Lily, you dummy why are you on the floor?¡± Does he know this girl? I couldn¡¯t stop the momentum anymore and the man seemed entirely unfazed by me charging at him.


    Luckily for me, the same boot from earlier appeared in my vision and kicked me into the wall.


    I dropped to the floor and lifted my head as blood was flooding out of my probably broken nose to see Dawn bending a knee to the formidable man while apologizing profusely.


    The man walked up to me and smiled before holding his hand out to me. I took his hand and got up to my feet.


    He opened his mouth and a very low, unsettling voice came out ¡°Feisty boy, not many people would try to attack me when we first meet, I like you for that!¡± He started squeezing my hand tightly before adding ¡°However, not many people survive after hurting my little sister either!¡±


    I panicked and activated my Seal to teleport behind him before trying to jump away, only to find out my legs gave up and I fell to the ground, my head spinning from the Seal¡¯s all too frequent side effects.


    I really needed some time to relax a bit at this point¡­


    ¡°Zick! Wait, it was my fault as well, I wasn¡¯t looking and we bumped into each other, please forgive this servant!¡± This girl¡­ My face was feeling a bit hot as I looked up to her from the ground.


    ¡°If Lily says so, I guess it¡¯s fine¡­ Dawn, you better not let my sister get hurt, or it¡¯s your head that will roll on the ground. Is that clear?¡± Dawn, still bowing down, responded affirmatively of course.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Here, Inoshi was it? I¡¯ll help you get up. You wanted to talk to Dawn right? Is it alright if I join you guys?¡± I took the girl¡¯s hand and got up on my shaking legs again.


    ¡°Y-you¡¯re asking for my permission?¡±


    She nodded in response and I said I didn¡¯t mind but, before we started walking away, Corolio reminded me that he needs to have me sign into the staff and give me lodgings.


    ¡°You stupid psycho, attacking master Zick, one of the strongest people on the continent like that, go get some sleep so your fucking brain starts working again¡­ Oh wait, I guess that wouldn¡¯t matter, you''re retarded either way.¡± Dawn said before the Brown group walked away. Asshole, though he did probably save my life there so I¡¯ll forgive him this time.


    ¡°Pihihihi, there¡¯s no quiet moments around you, isn¡¯t that right young one?¡± Corolio said, half asking half matter of factly.


    On our way to Corolio¡¯s office, I kept thinking about this person and his incredible power, the walls just curved around him, that had to have been a Seal¡¯s power, probably at least at level 6 ¡®?¡¯ (yod) too and his Sy energy was also really high, not as high as mine, but still very high, maybe the highest I¡¯ve seen before.


    The other thing I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about was my past encounters with other people, the Villfer guy, Kiyoko, the old maid, the guards in the stadium.


    Something that kept coming into my head was Kiyoko¡¯s voice calling me a coward.


    I couldn¡¯t make sense of anything, it was all a big salad of organized information that I can¡¯t connect.


    ***


    I finally arrived at my room for the next few days. When I opened the door I was greeted by a familiar face again, Dawn¡­


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re in the same room for the next few days huh? Great now I can ask you the ques-¡±


    ¡°You may not. Lily said she wanted to join this little talk, so you will wait until we can all talk together.¡± And with that he took off his clothes, lay down in his bed and closed his eyes.


    ¡°What?! What are you talking about? She doesn¡¯t even know me so why would she need to listen to my question? You¡¯re not seriously going to make me wait until tomorrow right?¡±


    ¡°Aghhh you¡¯re so noisy, fuck! You and Wasu were always like that, can¡¯t you just shut up and go to sleep?¡±


    I rolled my eyes at that.


    ¡°Whatever man, you¡¯re still an asshole¡­ By the way, does the lady know you call her Lily? And are you guys like¡­ a couple? I coul-¡± A pillow hit me in the face.


    ¡°GO. TO. FUCKING. SLEEP!¡±


    Come on¡­ this guy¡¯s always so angry. I kind of missed him though.


    I finally got a goodnight sleep, this time dreaming about one of my wild hunt missions with Dawn of all people. It was the first time I ever had Bilzzar meat.


    After waking up I went straight to meet up with Corolio again, he said he wanted to have a spar with me in the morning to test my abilities.


    We arrived at a small training room. Of course prince red-hair, Liliya, Zick, Dawn and 3 other men I¡¯ve never seen before sat there to watch the show.


    I heard their talks behind me as we prepared to fight.


    ¡°Dawn, you actually know the kid, who do you think is going to win?¡± it was Zick¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Oh yeah only Slayer assassins can perceive Sy levels so you guys can¡¯t tell. Noshi¡¯s Sy is even higher than master Zick¡¯s. If the goal was to kill the other person, Noshi would¡¯ve won against anybody¡­ But he¡¯s not allowed to kill his opponent here, this old man seems quite practiced in single combat, I¡¯d wager he was a Dualist of Clorze before coming here. So probably the old man.¡±


    What? I turned my attention to Corolio, his stance was really similar to a dualist from the Clorze company, he¡¯s right. This is going to be difficult.


    The old man had one hand behind his back and his body tilted in a way that made it look as if he was hiding behind his arm that was stretched forward.


    ¡°You may begin as soon as you¡¯re ready, youngster.¡± He said while teasing me with an inviting gesture.


    ¡°You better not regret it, old man!¡± We¡¯re not allowed to use weapons, but other than that, the only restriction is no fatal injuries.


    I looked at the ceiling above the grandpa, the Light Stone was very stable and lit the entire room from just that single source. I took off my shirt and rolled it very loosely around my fist.


    I extended my calf muscles just a little bit with Sy and started running as fast as possible towards the man. When the distance was short enough to deploy my plan I threw a fake punch with my shirt covered fist and used another special Slayer Sy technique to make the shirt launch out of my hand and into the air. I kept my running speed steady and approached Corolio which I now realized had closed his eyes.


    My shirt casted a large shadow over the battlefield and I dove into it while maintaining my speed.


    My instincts screamed to stop and reconsider but I couldn¡¯t stop here, he only closed his eyes, that¡¯s just a deception!


    I popped out of the same shadow behind the man and went for a kick behind his kneecap to throw him off balance. To my surprise, Corolio was already facing me, his body shot forward in a swift motion that maintained his stance.


    it was as if he was a wall with a sword sticking out of it. His left side of the body invaded my space.


    His left knee  forced me into an unstable stance and with his left hand he stabbed forward towards my chest with his fingers completely straight and coated in Sy.


    I managed to react in time and caught his wrist. I was about to pull him towards me in order to grab his neck but he was one step ahead, both figuratively and literally. His left leg got behind my left knee and forced me to the ground.


    His fingers were inches from my forehead now but I managed to hold him back with one hand. I used my free hand to throw a strike at his kneecap, it was supposed to be a bait for him to try and break my hand. It worked.


    Corolio lifted his knee upwards to meet my fingers and break them, but I stopped before impact, I grabbed his kneecap and pressed hard on the sides, below the joint.


    The old man collapsed to the ground immediately while grunting.


    ¡°Pshh, you may stop young man, it is your victory. Very well done if I do say so myself!¡±


    Corolio sat down on the hard wooden floor and slowly caught his breath.


    ¡°I may not be as young and strong as I used to be, but anyone capable of defeating me in a duel, is capable of protecting the young prince. Your technique is quite crude and unfit for face to face combat, but you make up for it with impressive reactions and creative strategies. Very well fought!¡± For some reason seeing him smile and hearing his compliments made me feel really happy.


    ¡°Yo ho ho ho, very entertaining indeed! I heard from Dawn over there that you are not well versed in actual combat but it seemed to me like you¡¯re very much a capable fighter. How about we go for a proper round as well?¡±


    I turned my head to find out the obvious, this voice belonged to Zick¡­

 28. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 28

    ¡°M-may I decline¡­ sir?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Pfft, why are you acting all timid now, just yesterday you tried to attack me. No worries, I won¡¯t force you, but at the very least, let''s have a Syphon competition.¡± Sy competition? But even Dawn said I¡¯m stronger, why would he need that¡­


    ¡°Sure, I guess. But you already know that my  Sy is more developed don¡¯t you? Is there a reason for that?¡± The big man opened his mouth to speak before he was stopped by 1 of the unidentified people who were in the training arena.


    ¡°Son, don¡¯t bother the king¡¯s servants too much, no person on this continent is more proficient in Syphon than you are, there¡¯s no need to prove a moot point.


    Besides, young man, I heard from the prince that you¡¯re a convicted criminal turned personal servant, should you be speaking in such an insolent tone to people of higher status?¡± Phh, higher status, who cares about that shit, rich pricks are all the same.


    ¡°Father come on, don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯m sure Leo is fine with us having a small bout, isn¡¯t that right, Leo?¡± He winked at red-hair.


    ¡°S-sure, if the teacher wants to have a small contest with Lifes, I don¡¯t see a problem.


    Also, Lifes, mind your manners, please¡­¡± He sounded more exhausted than angry. No more of the tough guy performance around other people?


    ¡°What¡¯s all this abou-Sorry, may I ask why you called him teacher, your highness?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Y-your highness huh? You really went all the way, haha.


    Well, Zick is a volunteer teacher in the military academy, he¡¯s one of the strongest Seal users on the continent.¡± Zick went next to the prince and put an arm over his shoulder.


    He smiled and said ¡°I¡¯m also this guy¡¯s personal tutor hehe.¡±


    Should he really be gloating to a slave? What a bunch of weirdos.


    I sighed heavily and asked when and how he wanted to measure our Sy capabilities.


    ¡°Right here, right now, just give me your best attack. Then I do the same to you.


    Blocking and hitting only with Syphon.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I understand¡­ sir, you want me to kill you?¡±


    Everyone except for Dawn took a step back and went into fighting positions.


    ¡°W-what are you guys doing? I just meant that my best hit would kill him¡­ Besides, I¡¯m an assassin not a knight, do you really think I can beat all of you at once?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Pah PAHAHAHAHAH. This guy¡¯s something else, Dawn, is he being serious?¡± To which Dawn just nodded while yawning.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that! I¡¯ll defend with all of the Syphon I can gather and you try to kill me!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean try¡­ You WILL die.¡±


    Everyone got incredibly tense again and I just sighed in response.


    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m supposed to be a personal butler or something, how is it that ever since I came here, I''ve been fighting people everywhere?¡± I asked, looking at the prince.


    ¡°W-why are you asking me? You¡¯re the wild one¡­ Ever heard of common denominators?¡± He retorted. What¡¯s he getting at?


    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m not participating, everyone here looks like they¡¯re about to beat me up just for stating the truth, I¡¯m not looking to be executed for hurting a noble.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, ironic.¡± Dawn said quietly while giggling with Liliya. Asshole.


    I got up to my feet and started walking towards the exit before a hand on my shoulder stopped me.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Slave, who said you could leave? You will participate. A brat like yourself could never hope to hurt me. Now hit me with your best attack!¡± Zick¡¯s veins on his hand were popping as he was pressing down on my shoulder.


    It didn¡¯t hurt as I coated it with Sy of course.


    ¡°You know, all of you rich assholes act the same, you all think that the world revolves around you, that¡¯s why killing you people was so easy.


    None of you ever saw it coming.¡± I released all of my murderous aura and turned around to face him. I was presented with 2 swords at my throat and calmed myself down. Corolio sheathed his sword but the other guy, who I figured was the king¡¯s guard, seemed pissed at the missed opportunity and clicked his tongue before removing his sword as well.


    I walked closer to the big man and continued ¡°Fine, try your best to not die.


    Dawn, I¡¯ll trust you to stop me if this loser can¡¯t defend himself, would that be fine?¡± He just looked at me with drooping eyelids and nodded. Zick didn¡¯t seem too pleased but reluctantly accepted.


    I lifted my hand and put a finger on Zick¡¯s neck, right above his collarbone and said ¡°I¡¯ll hit you right here, it will be a slow hit so take your time with defending yourself.¡±


    With that I just walked back and headed towards my starting position.


    ¡°You brat, you¡¯re underestimating me way too much, regardless of how this goes, you will be punished afterwards, better learn your place.¡± His eyes were twitching and veins were popping on his forehead and thick neck.


    We got into our positions and Zick¡¯s Sy energy all immediately gathered around the place I touched.


    I focused some of my Sy in my eyes and started walking slowly towards him.


    Sy energy was just energy siphoned from everything around us, as the world isn¡¯t perfect at least by some definitions, so is the energy it exudes. I haven¡¯t met a person with Sy that has no fluctuations in it and no weak points.


    ¡°Everyone knows that Sy has a soft part and a hard part.¡± I lifted a finger and concentrated Sy at the tip.


    ¡°Everyone knows that, yet, nobody does anything with that information. isn¡¯t that interesting? You know, a friend of mine used to say that ¡®perfection must contain imperfection¡¯. Do you think Sy energy is perfect?


    For someone like me, who¡¯s been training his Sy ever since he was a toddler, Sy is much like breathing air.¡± I took a deep breath, everything slowed down around me.


    ¡°Say, you rich noble who never had to work for anything, have you ever tried to focus on doing something like walking and breathing?¡± He seemed so tense that he didn¡¯t even answer.


    ¡°The answer is probably yes. Once you do that, it suddenly becomes harder to breathe or walk correctly. That¡¯s because you wouldn¡¯t be able to function properly if you had to divide your attention into so many complex actions.¡±


    ¡°Oh! oh! I remember hearing you and Kashi talking about it!¡± Dawn said from behind, his eyes suddenly opened wide.


    ¡°Yes, Snoopsi helped me figure it out. Figure out what happens if you learn to give conscious attention to an intuitive action.


    The simple answer is - it gains unlimited potential for growth.¡± The small needle of energy on the tip of my finger started swirling and I stopped in front of Zick and took one last look at his Sy.


    The harmony was quite impressive, but it was also too chaotic. There was no intention there. It was like throwing random herbs on a wound and hoping it heals.


    He just condensed all of his Sy into one point.


    In contrast, my Sy¡¯s soft parts were flowing together with the hard parts, it was all completely synced and directed by my intentions.


    I lifted my hand and was just about to touch my finger above his collarbone, before Dawn caught my wrist.


    ¡°D-dawn! What are you doing?! This attack wasn¡¯t dangerous at all!¡±


    ¡°Master Zick, trust me, if Noshi tries to kill someone, the person dies. Your Sy can¡¯t handle his technique, I¡¯ve never seen a person who can, quite frankly.¡± Zick just pushed my hand to the side and turned to walk away from us.


    ¡°You will pay for this humiliation, slave! And Dawn, you¡¯re lucky to be my sister¡¯s dog, or I might¡¯ve just killed you.¡± The overgrown baby yelled.


    ¡°Pfft, what a sore loser¡­ Sorry Dawn.¡± I really was sorry, Dawn was like an older brother to me.


    ¡°Tch, don¡¯t worry about it, this guy¡¯s ego needed to be knocked down a peg. He was also the one to provoke the situation.


    Oh and by the way, I¡¯ll tell Kashi how much you butcher his ideas with out of context quotes. You¡¯re so stupid it¡¯s really funny sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Well, sorry not everyone is a genius like you or Snoopsi¡­¡± We laughed.


    ¡°Aheeem. Dawn, Inoshi, or Lifes, I guess.


    You 2 are talking about my brother, you know.¡± Liliya suddenly popped out of nowhere, her face was really close to us, where did she come from?


    Dawn turned his head to the side and blushed, making the girl giggle.


    Footsteps came from behind us as the rest of the observers joined.


    ¡°Lifes, you and I need to talk. Count Brown has agreed this situation was provoked by his son and so he will allow for the punishment to be dictated by the royal family. But your madness needs to stop.¡± Leonardo approached me and grabbed my shoulder before dragging me away.


    What is it now, why do I keep getting in trouble here?!

 29. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 29

    We walked outside, I hate it when the sunlight bounces into my eyes like that. The marble around us was basically a weapon against me.


    The prince exhaled heavily and put his hands on his waist before stopping and lowering his head.


    ¡°Lifes, I really need you to take it easy¡­ You¡¯re supposed to be my servant, not my headache, at least not for now.¡± What do you mean not for now?


    ¡°How ridiculous, mister charisma, you wanted me to be your ¡®meat shield¡¯ as you put so beautifully, now you seem like a bit of a herbivore, honestly. I¡¯m a convicted criminal, remember? a murder-murderer. *Tch*


    Why is it so important to keep my reputation in check all of a sudden?¡±


    He went towards a bench nearby and sat down, signaling to me to do the same.


    ¡°It is exactly because you are a criminal that I need you to show some signs of change. There are reasons for me to need you on my side, there are reasons as to why it has to be you. For the kingdom¡¯s sake.


    I sat down and leaned back in the bench to look at the sky, the fucking sun ruined the plan so I looked back at my feet¡­ ¡°Why should I care about your reasons? Also, you¡¯re the prince and I¡¯m just a slave right? can¡¯t you just force me to do as you wish? You¡¯re pathetic really¡­


    Your brother seemed much more assertive to me.¡±


    I smirked and lifted my head to look at the prince. His face looked like he was about to rip my heart out of my chest with his bare hands, guess I touched a painful subject?


    He closed his eyes and rubbed his nose bridge with 2 fingers before speaking again ¡°Lifes, I¡¯d like to tell you something about me.¡±


    The prince lowered his head and leaned forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped together.


    ¡°Like you said, I¡¯m pathetic. I pretend to have grand ambitions, truthfully I don¡¯t care about the throne, I don¡¯t care about helping the Hadohians, I don¡¯t care about normalizing relations with demi-humans¡­¡±


    Should I have thought he did care about it?


    ¡°You probably know the Hero of Liberation, Silver, right? I bet you do. I want to be him, Lifes, I want everyone on this continent to know my name and know of my accomplishments!


    Silver died 500 years ago and he¡¯s still the most well known character in history, except for maybe the Firsts.¡±


    I stared at red hair¡¯s dejected form as he spoke. I think that might have been the most honest thing I¡¯ve heard in the last few months.


    ¡°Why are you telling me all of that? You don¡¯t even know me, you should hate me if anything, I¡¯m trying hard here you know.¡±


    ¡°Haha, Lifes, looking at you always makes me feel a sharp pain in my chest. I guess I just can¡¯t help but feel as if we are in a similar position.


    There are also the other reasons I¡¯d mentioned earlier.¡±


    ¡°Similar? You and me? Don¡¯t make me laugh! I don¡¯t go around pretending to be all righteo-¡± Something inside my head clicked all of a sudden.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Red-hair just looked at me and raised a brow.


    All of the voices calling me a murderer attacked from all directions. Is that why everything felt so strange lately? Why I got so angry every time? Was I pretending to be someone I was not?


    ¡°Fuck that! I¡¯m not like you. Don¡¯t compare the two of us, you were born with a golden spoon in your mouth; never had to worry about a single thing, now you¡¯re saying we¡¯re the same because you¡¯re secretly a little selfish?


    Yeah, no thank you, don¡¯t lump us together.¡±


    His lips trembled slightly as he pursed them tightly.


    ¡°If you need me to be your meat shield or whatever, that¡¯s one thing, but make no mistake, I am not and will not be your friend.


    We live in 2 different worlds and you understand nothing about mine. Just make sure I¡¯m free to do what I want after we¡¯re done with this mission and we can go our separate ways and never interact again.¡±


    I got up from the bench and started walking away.


    ¡°Lifes, I refuse to treat you like a slave. I don¡¯t care if you ever see me as a friend or not but, now even more than before, I truly believe we¡¯re similar, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll understand one day.


    My secret reasons are not really important at all for my next decision. Lifes, I won¡¯t treat you like a slave and I give you my word that if we make it back alive, you will get your freedom!¡±


    Tch, annoying prick, hearing his words made my chest tighten a little bit and my hands tremble. I bit my lip and went back to the training room to receive permission from Corolio to have my talk with Dawn. This talk just became a little more urgent.


    ***


    ¡°Dawn, I¡¯ll just get straight to the point, do you think I¡¯m a murderer?¡±


    My old comrade and his master both just stood in the middle of the hallway and stared at me.


    ¡°Noshi¡­ are you sick?¡± He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow ¡°Do you remember what organization we belonged to?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Annoying asshole ¡°whatever, I guess salvation isn¡¯t to be found here, thanks for nothing, asshole.¡± I turned around and started walking away.


    ¡°Wait Lifes! Dawn was just joking, he¡¯ll answer your question seriously!¡± Liliya said desperately behind me.


    I looked back to see a flustered Dawn trying not to contradict his master too much ¡°W-what? But I did, Lily¡­ We were both assassins before leaving Slayer, it¡¯s common knowledge that assassins murder people, is it not?¡± The noble girl threw a death glance towards her servant and hit him with her elbow.


    ¡°*Sigh*, ok, Noshi, are you asking if you¡¯re a person who has committed a murder in the past? or are you asking if you are a person who commits murders? Think about this question long and hard, if you ever find a suitable answer, you¡¯ll probably figure the rest out. Also, maybe try to think about how you define murder.


    Nobody else can answer this question you¡¯re asking, but other people can help.¡± How would learning a definition help me feel better?


    The answer earned him a pat on the head and I think the guy almost passed out from happiness.


    Liliya said she hopes I manage to find my answer and wished me goodbye, then left together with Dawn. I could hear her praising him as they walked towards the dining room.


    I can see why Snoopsi and Kiyoko always said this guy is so smart.


    Am I a murderer¡­ I guess it was the wrong question.


    But why did he say it was obvious that Slayers committed murders? That¡¯s not true, all of the people I killed, they were all scum, deserving of death. One glance at the files and you¡¯d know.


    My first target was a man who kidnapped children from the slums and experimented on them. One lady used to take slaves from the trading companies in Silka and arrange fights to the death; the slaves would be starved before too and treated like trash.


    All of those people deserved death!


    I bit my lip and yelled at the leaving Dawn and Liliya ¡°Katsuki! Those people deserved death! I¡¯m not a murderer, you¡¯re not a murderer, Ostel, Snoopsi, Niya, none of them are murderers!


    All the people we killed were terrible people that deserved to die!¡±


    They didn¡¯t stop walking, he just turned his head towards me and asked ¡°Said who? Who decided that?¡± His head turned back towards Liliya as they stopped before he added ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t bother answering, I don¡¯t care, I know I used to be a murderer. I was born, I took a life in an unjust manner, It is what happened and it is what it is, I don¡¯t care about it.


    Good luck figuring your stuff out Noshi, I don¡¯t know why it bothers you so much, but that¡¯s for you to figure out.¡± The couple waved goodbye and walked away.


    What do you mean who decides they deserve to die?! They are bad people so they deserve to die! I didn¡¯t do anything wrong.

 30. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 30

    For the last 3 days I was taught how to clean, cook and show respect to nobility.


    It wasn¡¯t fun but at least it¡¯s all over now.


    They branded me like I was a piece of meat to be sold, this fucking artifact was kind of painful.


    ¡°Sorry Lifes, I said I wasn¡¯t going to treat you like a slave but they ended up using the slavery artifact on you, I promise I¡¯ll do my best to treat you well however.¡±


    I sat next to the prince inside of the carriage and looked out the window at the passing trees, the wind felt nice and the air was fresh.


    It all felt very much the opposite of being stuck in a cage, it felt freeing for some reason.


    I put my hand on the window frame and leaned my head against it ¡°Pr-Your highness, have you ever been to a dungeon before?¡±


    ¡°Wha-? Where¡¯s that coming from? No I haven¡¯t, I heard those places are incredibly dangerous and should be avoided, were you ever in one?¡±


    What a boring answer¡­ ¡°Hmmm, how uninspiring, the ambitious prince has never been to a dungeon¡­


    But jokes aside, you should try and join an expedition once, dungeons, they are special. I only ever visited one dungeon in my life, but I¡¯ll probably remember this experience until I die.¡± I closed my eyes and imagined my time with Jake¡¯s group.


    I wonder where they are now and how they are doing¡­


    ***


    We walked into the same old dorm house, it looked just like it did 14 days ago, I guess nothing really changed.


    ¡°So many things have changed since you left. But you probably know it better than anyone else.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? I don¡¯t think anything has changed at all.¡± I retorted


    The guy looked at me and paused for a moment before closing his mouth into a curt smile.


    ¡°You don¡¯t feel like you¡¯ve changed at all, Lifes?¡± He asked.


    ¡°What? No¡­? And what would you know? You don¡¯t even know me; certainly not enough to know that I¡¯ve changed in any meaningful way. Also, weren''t we talking about things in Mil-Ansk?¡±


    Red hair averted his gaze and softly mumbled ¡°Right¡­¡± his voice trailed off at the end.


    What¡¯s with this guy? Why is he acting all hot and cold with me all the time? And why does he remind me of Ostel so much?


    ¡°Well let¡¯s forget all of that, Roger is still a roommate in this dorm right now and this is something I should tell you in general as well.


    Lifes, you are prohibited from exhibiting any level of physical aggression towards other people while we¡¯re contracted with the Slaver¡¯s Trade Company. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°The ice is boiling again¡­ Whatever, I never want to get into it with anybody regardless of what you say, and I¡¯m not looking to defend anybody either so don¡¯t expect me to play bodyguard for you.¡± Truth is, I¡¯m kind of scared¡­ I had this feeling while facing Zick as well.


    I don¡¯t understand what it is but, my hands keep trembling and my stomach turns whenever I get into an altercation recently.


    Than there¡¯s the kitchen worker in the palace that sent me over the edge with this fucking magic word. I need to be careful.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°The ice is boiling again¡­? Whatever, just know that even if you don¡¯t want to attack somebody, the slavery artifact¡¯s Seal will prevent you from doing so without my explicit commands.¡± Leonardo said as he opened the door to his room.


    ¡°Pfft, pahahaha, good one!¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back the laugh when he repeated my sentence back to me.


    The guy stopped and stared at me, I looked into his eyes probably for the first time since we reunited and felt a stinging sensation in my chest.


    His small smile that didn¡¯t reach the eyes didn¡¯t seem as ridiculous as before, it seemed more¡­ desperate?


    The noble prince dropped his head and shoulders, let out a hollow laugh and walked into his room.


    Thinking back on it, I sort of wish I had looked him in the eyes when we talked on the marble bench at the palace, his voice sounded much more filled with pride and hope.


    I wonder what changed¡­ Or is it just my perspective that changed?


    Either way, I don¡¯t care about this guy right now, I need to figure out what my next goal.


    Before we left Silvermoon, Niya came to meet me and said Kiyoko had died from poisoning and that she will inherit Slayer and make it into a real orphanage.


    She said that Kiyoko smiled and cried when Niya told her about Jake¡¯s reaction like I asked her to. Niya probably hates me now, good.


    Why did I help this monster get a closure like this, she didn¡¯t deserve it, just like I don¡¯t deserve this life that she forced on me!


    My vision became a little distorted, I felt dizzy and decided to go to sleep.


    ***


    I walked out of my room on the 2nd floor and before I reached the stairs a voice called loudly ¡°Tch, look who made his way back here, filthy creature, I don¡¯t understand what Leo expects to achieve by having a murderer like you at his side, disgusting.


    Just looking at you makes my blood boil, please hurry up and die already.¡± Baldy, or I guess Roger was his name? Regardless, that¡¯s a nice greeting I guess.


    ¡°Fuck off baldy, I¡¯m not in the mood for your shit.¡±


    ¡°Oh, not in the mood is it? Who the fuck cares if you¡¯re in the m-¡±


    ¡°Did your brain fall out of your head together with your hair? Why are you still talking to me? Didn¡¯t you hear? The last student who spoke to me died.¡± I cut him off.


    He swallowed loudly and opened his mouth to speak before biting his lip and turning around to leave for school ¡°Leo might accept you, but I never will. I will make sure you suffer in this school.¡± He opened the door to leave and I spoke up one last time.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will, I do hate sunlight in my eyes and your head is a very good conductor for that.¡±


    ¡°Lifes, please don¡¯t think too badly o-¡±


    ¡°Now where did you come from? and would you fucking stop with this nice guy act? I hate it more than the bald piece of trash, fake people make me sick.


    You thought you could buy my sympathy with acting all exhausted yesterday? fuck that, I¡¯m never going to trust you or care about you!¡± I tried to look at the prince but when I met his shocked expression my body trembled a bit and I bit my lip in frustration.


    ¡°W-what? Lifes, what are you talking about? Are you even talking to me? I¡¯m not trying to buy any sympathy, I¡¯m just tired.


    Didn¡¯t I tell you already that I hate having to pretend? I¡¯m not trying to put an act in front of you! Why do you hate me so much?


    I don¡¯t understand you at all¡­¡± The prince just let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose before picking up a kitchen knife and starting to cut vegetables.


    Why do I hate you so much? Is he really asking me that? Why do I hate him so much¡­?


    I wasn¡¯t sure, maybe hate is the wrong term. I feel a type of revulsion towards this guy, I feel like I need to stay away from him. If I don''t, something bad will happen.


    ¡°Do you want something to eat? I know you¡¯re technically the slave here but I can cook for us today¡­¡± He mixed something in a bowl and didn¡¯t bother turning around to ask that.


    I felt my stomach growling and realized how hungry I am.


    ¡°S-sure¡­¡± Maybe I need to tone down the temperature a little bit, sadly I¡¯m not the one cooking so just the language will have to do.


    ¡°Don¡¯t we need to head out to school though? do we really have time for a fancy breakfast right now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Pfft, who¡¯s acting all hot and cold now¡­? Regardless, there¡¯s an hour until the first class starts, you¡¯ll be learning in my class from now on by the way, so with people 3 years older than you.¡±


    Tch, this fucking guy. But he¡¯s right, what even came over me to ask that¡­ I need to disengage from this relationship a little bit more. Or, do I even need to? Why does it feel like I do?

 31. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 31

    ¡°I heard you liked the tomato dishes on your first night at the palace so, here¡¯s my special tomato soup.¡± Is he not going to mention the incident that came later that day? and why did he have to remind me¡­


    I raised an eyebrow at that and asked ¡°First of all, why would someone as rich as you know how to cook at all? and a royalty member at that.


    Second, why would a prince go through so much trouble to cook for a slave?¡±


    The prince sighed heavily and put the plates on the table before sitting down.


    ¡°Oh man, you sure are suspicious of everything¡­ I get it though, why would a prince cook for a slave? I did tell you right? that I will consider you a friend even if you protest.¡± He smiled softly and motioned for me to eat.


    I looked at the bowl of soup, it looked just right, creamy but with a bit of grounded tomato texture to it, the onion smell and the spices blended in perfectly into the light reddish - orange color.


    However, for some reason my hands wouldn¡¯t stop shaking as I looked at the brew.


    The light red slowly turned darker and more thick as sweat formed on my forehead.


    I picked a spoonful of what seemed like a gooey mess with a shaking hand as the other guy started speaking again, his voice getting muffled and distant.


    ¡°...cooking, Milinda¡­ me, ¡­personal maid thro¡­ ¡­y childho-¡± As the soup touched my tongue, it went numb and I fell from my chair and held my mouth so I wouldn''t throw up.


    I couldn¡¯t see what he was doing but I heard the prince get up from his chair and come closer to me.


    Instead of muffled and distant, he sounded loud, obnoxiously so. ¡°Lifes?! Are you that disgusted with my food? Is it really necessary to try and humiliate me like that?! I get that you don¡¯t want to be friends but isn¡¯t that going too far?


    What is this fucking guy talking about¡­?


    In between pants and heaves I tried to respond ¡°W-wha Uhmp, what are.. you t- *cough* talking about? STOP FUCKING YELLING!¡± I spat out the soup and my body started to stabilize.


    ¡°Yelling¡­? Anyway, I thought you were just trying to make fun of me but you¡¯re actually suffering¡­¡± He put a finger to his chin and mumbled to himself ¡°Did I make a mistake with the spices? Maybe I put too much sugar instead of salt?¡±


    I started getting up to my feet and even my knees felt weak and wobbly now.


    looking at the glob of soup mixed with saliva on the ground, I suddenly remembered something Snoopsi told me before he left Slayer.


    ¡°People tend to connect situations and memories with sensations, so be careful. Savor the joyful moments and don¡¯t let external influences hijack the sensations with bad memories¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m allergic to tomatoes now¡­?¡± I mumbled quietly.


    ¡°What!? Lifes you¡¯re allergic to tomatoes?! Why didn¡¯t you tell me? I¡¯m sorry man¡­¡±


    ¡°W-what? No I¡¯m not allergic, dude can you fucking back off and give me a second to breath here?¡± This has to be some sick joke Kiyoko is playing on me from the grave, I can¡¯t even eat my favorite food now?


    I refused to accept this fate, I got up and quickly went to the table, took a spoonful of the bloody concoction and stuffed it into my mouth.


    ¡°Lifes, be careful! Allergies are a newly researched topic, they might not have a cure for yo-¡± I pushed the guy to the side and collapsed to the floor once again, this time my vision went blurry and my head was pounding. The smell of onion and spices turned into a vague odorless gas.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    It was just like all those times I keep getting reminded of. Right on time, memories of my past exploits, including but not limited to Ostel¡¯s death, started flooding in uncontrollably.


    I started banging my head against the floor and yelled ¡°Get the hell out of my head!¡±


    I lifted my head and saw drops of blood in front flowing from my forehead and my bangs, red-hair¡¯s voice caught me off guard when he started panicking at the sight of my blood. I can¡¯t let this thing happen again!


    ¡°L-Lifes, you¡¯re bleeding man, just stop, calm down for a second! we need to stop the bloo-¡± I jumped up from the floor and pounced on the guy, putting my hand on his mouth.


    ¡°DO NOT SAY THAT WORD! If you say it, I WILL kill you!¡± I felt warm tears flowing over my cheeks and dropping to the floor as I looked into the prince¡¯s wide-eyed expression.


    ¡°Please¡­¡± I added before letting him go and dropping my gaze towards my feet.


    ¡°Li-Lifes! What is happening right now? Why are you crying? What¡¯s got you so tense? I don¡¯t understand anything, please just talk to me man, I told I¡¯ll be your frien-¡± He paused before finishing as he saw my murderous aura.


    I breathed in deeply and relaxed a little bit before concluding ¡°Just stay away from me, and don¡¯t even call yourself my friend. I¡¯m the slave, you¡¯re the master. That¡¯s how it is, that¡¯s how it will be until I die or finish my mission.¡±


    I walked back upstairs and into my room, leaving the prince to figure things out on his own.


    I crawled into my bed and covered my head with the blanket. My hands were shaking as I hugged myself and tried to sleep.


    It was a strange feeling, my body felt heavy and sluggish but not really tired. My head was pounding and, contrary to my body, it felt like my brain, which now officially felt like a separate entity from my body, was completely fatigued.


    I was tired and not really tired at the same time. With a black curtain in front of me I tried to make the show stop and slowly drifted out of consciousness.


    ***


    ¡°Noooooshi! Wasu and I are going to hunt a Bilzar we just saw! I heard their meat tastes like tomatoes! You¡¯ll love it!¡± Snoopsi announced as he entered our tent.


    ¡°We¡¯re on a mission to lure and capture a Dirk alive. You vegetable predators need to remember we don¡¯t have much time left.¡± I retorted


    ¡°Pfft¡­ Pahahahahahaha, Noshi your jokes are always so bad!¡±


    ¡°Tssssss, mmmm, smells so gooood, I¡¯m gonna flip it ova and do the otha side, are you sure you don¡¯t wan¡¯ a piece Lifey? Tssss, listen to the TOMATO tasting juices just oooooozing outy, mmmm, YU-MMY!¡± Ostel stood behind Snoopsi, next to our sleeping bags and made gestures with his hands to simulate a grill.


    My mouth started watering a little bit and I mumbled ¡°Yu-mmy¡­¡± before realizing what I was doing. I shook my head and felt my face becoming hotter as I yelled at Ostel to fuck off.


    I suddenly heard knocking on some wood outside our tent. How strange¡­


    ¡°Lifes! Hey Lifes, wake up!¡± The voice outside yelled, it sounded familiar.


    My dream ended abruptly and I found that the source of the voice came from outside my room.


    I opened the door to see a bittersweet expression on the royal prince that stood with a bowl of soup in his hands.


    ¡°Hey, Lifes, I made you some soup to help you feel better, I promise there¡¯s no tomatoes in it.¡± he said.


    It was then that I realized that I haven¡¯t eaten in a long time, even the 2 spoons of cold tomato soup from this morning were spat out.


    ¡°Tch, do you really have to try so hard? I keep telling you, we¡¯re not friends, stop cozying up to me like that already, treat me like your slave and it will work better¡­¡± I took the soup from his hands and finished ¡°For both of us.¡± before closing the door.


    I turned around and looked at the window above my bed just to realize that it was now nighttime, I really slept through the entire day.


    The weird part was I was feeling even more tired now, or at least, my body felt heavier and more sluggish, my eyes felt swollen and tired too.


    Sitting at my desk in the corner of the room, I put the bowl down and looked at its contents. It was a type of comfort food I knew all too well. Niya and Dawn would make this type of soup if we ever found any meat on hunting missions.


    ¡°Carrots, parsley, potato, salt, pepper, some rejuvenation stone powder and 2 chicken drumsticks that were boiled in the mixture for a long time¡­ It looks perfect.¡±


    The first sip of the greenish water, along with the amazingly nostalgic smell made it obvious to me that this guy put a lot of effort into making it.


    It¡¯s getting difficult¡­ This fucking Leo is making everything so hard, why can¡¯t he just leave me alone or hate me like the others?!


    I need to find a way to distance myself.

 32. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 32

    It was the next morning before I knew it, the soup and my already shaky mental state mixed into a strong sleeping pill I guess.


    When I woke up my body was just feeling as if 5 little Zukas were clinging to me¡­ I wonder what that cute little goblin is doing now.


    My fingers and toes were hurting for no reason at all, my arms were heavy, my head was aching and worst of all my eyelids refused to stay open.


    How do I even get out of bed like this?


    I heard 3 knocks on the door so I flipped to the other side and put a pillow on my head, unfortunately, I forgot to lock the door before going to sleep and so mister charisma walked in and said we have to go to school today. Apparently they agreed to let us have a day off yesterday because of the prince being¡­ well, the prince and a top student.


    ¡°Lifes I made you some food, no tomatoes, don¡¯t worry.


    Eat it quickly and let us head out, we need to make haste so we don¡¯t miss the first period.¡± He said.


    ¡°Gif me like 5 more minutes¡­¡± I could barely finish the sentence as everything slowly turned black again before my warm shelter was pulled away from me.


    The prince threw my blanket on the chair next to the bed and said we need to hurry in a more serious tone this time.


    I pulled myself out of bed, it was an incredibly difficult experience, I¡¯ve never felt so bad, ironically enough, getting out of bed. My movements were sluggish and clumsy, red hair had already left the room so I could just crawl back to bed and fix this tiredness maybe.


    I shook my head and pulled myself to the bathroom to wash my face.


    Today will be a difficult one.


    Luckily for me, the brainless crystal ball had left earlier so I didn¡¯t need to hear how much of a terrible person I was first thing in the morning. At least not from him.


    I looked at the prince as he opened the door to leave after we finished eating, a mixture of feelings filled me. I can¡¯t quite understand any of it, all I know is that it felt bad, it sucked.


    ***


    The first class was finally over, if I had to listen to another lecture about different stones and their usage in medicine, lighting and everyday activities. Don¡¯t get me started on plants in general, I might just lose my already lost mind.


    I was just walking behind the prince before he stopped and turned to me. ¡°Lifes, you don¡¯t have to follow me around, you can just act as any other student, your slave status is only in name.


    Of course you¡¯re free to do so if you wish, but don¡¯t force yourself.¡± He concluded while grabbing his shoulder and looking away from me.


    This guy is a mystery to me¡­ ¡°Well, if that¡¯s the case, bye.¡± I said and turned on my heels. It was obvious that I need to keep my distance from this person, he¡¯s no good for me. He¡¯s dangerous.


    I walked around the school hallways, looking here and there. People kept staring at me and whispering, I guess that¡¯s what you¡¯d expect¡­ I did kill a student in this school after all. Everyone kept their distance.


    ¡°Ha! Look what the wind brought into our school¡± More like the flame¡­  ¡°It¡¯s a piece of trash!¡± A familiar voice said from behind me. Honestly, not a bad joke.


    I was about to turn around but my senses warned me and I ducked just in time to dodge a slap, I was about to counter with a swipe to the guy¡¯s legs but before my foot hit him, an incredibly painful pang pulsed in my chest and I stumbled forward instead, holding my chest with one hand while preventing my face from meeting the floor with the other.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Pfft, this fucking loser, he tried to attack a student on school grounds again, look at this pathetic dog everyone! He¡¯s under a slavery Seal, he can¡¯t harm anyone! Don¡¯t be afraid of this Greenen in human skin. Instead...¡± The student squatted down and grabbed my hair and said loudly in my ear ¡°Just treat him like the doormat that he is now!¡±


    I caught a glimpse of the guy¡¯s face before he pushed me to the ground and put his foot on my back.


    I can¡¯t put the finger on where, but I¡¯ve seen this kid before.


    I don¡¯t care much for the humiliation or the pain, the thing that I hate about this fucking situation is the lack of options that I have¡­ I can¡¯t fight back, I can¡¯t even defend¡­ Wait, can I defend myself without hurting him?


    Putting this idea to the test I used my Seal with the help of the student¡¯s shadow to get away and as I jumped out of the black door that led to one of the classrooms, I looked towards the confused student that almost fell down as he lost his footing before the pain in my chest and the nausea from using my Seal made me lose focus for a second.


    The guy yelled something I couldn¡¯t understand and ran towards me, he tried for a punch but I dodged to the right, getting away from the wall behind me.


    ¡°You fucking worm, stop moving, get what you earned, you killed my brother and you dare show your face here again!¡± The now identifiable student inefficiently used Sy to make his point. He tried for a kick, just a straight push kick with his right foot.


    I remember something Kiyoko used to do sometimes. I hated the feeling but it was incredibly effective.


    She would direct all of her murderous intent to 1 point and send an invisible arrow towards us. That¡¯s how she taught us to avoid lethal hits.


    I¡¯ve never intentionally tried it but I think that the principle is the same as thinking of you¡¯re about to attack and taking it to the extreme.


    I dodged the kick by tilting my body and put my theory to the test by acting as if I would shatter the guy¡¯s left knee. I really intended to do it and made sure this fucking loser knows it.


    The Villfer kid fell to the ground and held his knee before gasping and looking at me.


    Everything around us went quiet for a few moments, my idea really worked.


    After staring blankly into the floor for a short while, the guy screamed at me ¡°What did you do? How did you attack m- Wait, did you even attack me? What the fuck is this, you freak I¡¯ll kill!¡± He jumped back up and was about to attack me again but I just turned around and ran away.


    This method isn¡¯t very useful¡­ But it is a step in the right direction, I can figure out a way to defend myself without fighting.


    Either way I¡¯m sure the students are going to be too confused and scared to approach me now.


    It wasn¡¯t difficult to get away as my opponent was seemingly still limping for some reason.


    The next class was about to start. It was ¡®practical combat¡¯.


    The teacher was of course knight Stern-Face and his co-teacher Mr Brown, both of which I had lost to, quite unfairly, during the rank assignment test.


    Since I couldn¡¯t really fight, I just sat in the stadium seating area and observed. It was my first time actually getting to see the prince fighting.


    It¡¯s obvious how strong this guy is just by looking at him, this much can¡¯t be achieved through natural talent either, he has got to be skilled on top of this level of power.


    The students picked up their weapon of choice and got assigned a sparring partner, red-hair got paired with a brown haired lady that picked up a dagger and a gauntlet. Not a combination I¡¯ve seen before.


    Prince charisma picked up a standard sword, how boring¡­


    Now that I think about it, those guys are all supposed to be much stronger than my previous class, they¡¯re all 3rd years after all.


    The students all went to take a seat on the floor outside of the main arena and the first pair was called up, I guess they¡¯re being tested? Or are the teachers just incredibly inefficient in managing practice?


    Either way, this whole thing is going to take a while, hopefully it¡¯s not too boring to watch¡­


    The first guy was a lean man with a surprisingly big frame, his purple earrings swaying back and forth as he climbed the stairs to the arena.


    Opposing him was a¡­ Fat, long-haired, muscular man. Quite the combination of distinct features.


    Contrary to his looks and to his opponent¡¯s noticeable presence, the fat guy gave off a very bland, unimpressive feeling. He was equipped with a 2 handed axe.


    The opponent was using a metal chain wrapped around his arm and a short spear.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too heavily favored towards earrings boy?¡± I mumbled to myself as I waited for the both of them to begin.


    Stern-Face lifted his hand over his head before shouting ¡°Begin¡±.

 33. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 33

    The fight started off with the spear user sticking his weapon into the ground and using a Seal to launch himself off by stretching the spear¡¯s handle backwards in a way that made it look a little too flexible to be a solid object.


    As he was flying at full speed towards his opponent, the fat guy crouched down and with his entire body, jumped up as high as he could with the intent of landing on top of birdman. I didn¡¯t expect the fight to be so intense honestly but this was fun to watch.


    Both fighters were still in the air as the spear and chain guy threw the chain at his enemy¡¯s left foot, I¡¯m not sure why he would think that helps but let¡¯s see what happens next.


    I was proven wrong with the guy pulled the chain towards his stomach and rolled into a ball mid-flight, he ended up doing a full front flip and forced his opponent¡¯s leg to harshly hit the floor at an awkward angle, spear guy then lunged forward, his body very close to the floor and hands aiming at the vulnerable leg of the fat man.


    Fat guy didn¡¯t take it silently though, he used the bad momentum of his left leg and forced his entire body weight onto the left knee, dropping to the floor on 1 knee and solidifying a good defence against the other fighter¡¯s attempt at controlling the flow of the battle.


    Seeing this, the chain user stopped his charge at the nick of time and avoided a two handed axe dropping on his head.


    The match reached a stalemate of sorts after just 2 moves and Stern-Face decided to call it a draw and stop the 2 students.


    I kind of wanted to see the conclusion of this fight.


    I think the spearman should¡¯ve won if he just used his weapons correctly, that spear is very strong against slow opponents, it could even be used as a ranged weapon, especially if you have the chain to cover for your lack of defense.


    The next set of fighters came up. The fights went on until we reached the prince¡¯s turn.


    It seemed to me that my close combat experience wouldn¡¯t be good enough to compete with almost all of the fighters so far. In a fair fight that is.


    I have, however, learned quite a bit about their habits and techniques from watching the fights closely.


    Red-hair and his female opponent both tied their hair into a ponytail and went up on the stage.


    The prince unsheathed his sword and took a classic royal army swordsmanship stance, sword held in 2 hands, held parallel to the floor, almost like a spear and the body weight resting almost equally on both knees.


    The girl on the other hand just casually threw her dagger into the air and caught it with the blade pointing backwards instead of towards the opposing fighter.


    It was an interesting stance that was usually meant for defense. If I were in her shoes, I¡¯d definitely use the gauntlet for defense.


    ¡°Begin¡± The knight yelled again and the girl rushed in first without hesitating.


    The prince closed his eyes for a second, lowered his body and lunged at his incoming opponent, the fight was over in a single move.


    Red-hair adjusted his speed to surprise the girl and managed to get close enough for her to not be able to react as he held his blade to her throat.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    I don¡¯t think that was his original intention. He covered his abdomen with Sy as they were about to clash into each other. Too specific and accurate to be random luck, he covered the part where her dagger would¡¯ve struck and forced his body into point black range with her gauntlet-clad left hand¡­ This guy is smart.


    He knew that Sy wouldn¡¯t completely negate the damage from the shock a blunt attack would cause, so he forced the girl who rushed in too hastily to attack with her dagger which he could easily stop or divert with Sy energy.


    Even if the girl broke the Sy shield, the damage would¡¯ve been negligible due to the angle of the prince¡¯s body. Interesting.


    The fights went on for about 10 more minutes until the class was over. As they were leaving, I heard people talking about me while I was going down the stairs to leave the training stadium. ¡°This murderer, isn¡¯t he studying our weaknesses so he could kill us? Creepy.¡± The tension in my stomach started rising to my chest and I felt my body becoming hot.


    ¡°Pfft, he¡¯s just a first year weakling who can¡¯t participate so he has to watch from the sidelines.


    also, he¡¯s like, C rank or something and didn¡¯t you guys hear? This guy is under a slavery Seal so he can¡¯t even attack students if he wanted to.¡± The group started laughing loudly as one of the girls looked at me with a punchable face.


    ¡°But you know, fighting the A rank students is so scary¡­ Why did we have to do an age class today instead of a rank class?¡± Another voice in the group asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s because the younger students were busy today with preparations for their first class vs class tournament.


    Only 2nd and 3rd years would be available for ranked classes so the teachers decided to have us take a small re-assignment test for efficiency¡¯s sake.¡± A short haired guy explained.


    I was about to exit the room when a hand on my shoulder made my instincts take over and I grabbed the person¡¯s wrist and was about to twist it before the same familiar pang in my chest stopped me.


    ¡°Hohoho, a familiar face we haven¡¯t seen in a while. Boy boy, how does it feel w-?¡±


    I cut mister brown off as I tried to stand up again and said in-between pants ¡°What do you want? Feeling the need to tell me what a murderer I am? How does it feel walking around school with my new title? Feels amazing. Now fuck off. ¡±


    ¡°He-!¡± Stern-Face¡¯s interference was cut short for some reason and I just walked away without bothering to look at their faces.


    I almost forgot in the last few days. I almost forgot how much I hate the people here. Putting up a gentle smile to greet a friend while showing their real smile when they talk to me.


    Everyone here keeps treating me like some monster while their own poisoned fangs stick out.


    My chest hurt as I walked down the corridor filled with monsters. This place reminded me of when I learned what a monster is, it was just like the part in the book when Jesse was walking down the corridor of regret, everything around him was dark. Every time he lifted his head from the ground, his eyes met with a creature that was vaguely human.


    Every time their eyes met, the creature would put a piece of thin cloth over Jesse¡¯s face and tell him there¡¯s a monster walking beside him.


    Jesse asked the creature what a monster was and the creature just said that he doesn¡¯t know. Nobody really knows, but everyone is afraid of it.


    At the end of the corridor, Jesse, for the last time couldn¡¯t hold himself back from looking at the creature. At this point however, the layers of cloth over Jesse¡¯s eyes were too numerous and he couldn¡¯t see what was in front of him. Even the vague figure of a human was now pitch black. He could only look at the floor.


    It was then that Jesse started thinking more and more about his past interactions with the creature and reached the conclusion that the creature was just trying to help Jesse avoid the monster. Afterall, he¡¯s supposed to be afraid of it, right? The creature then whispered in Jesse¡¯s ears that avoiding the monster would not make it go away and snapped his fingers.


    The pieces of cloth disappeared and everything around Jesse was back to normal.


    He looked around him and saw pictures of his childhood, scenes from his past encounters with enemies and regrettable interactions with friends.


    When he turned his head forward to keep walking past the corridor, there was a wall and a mirror.


    Jesse couldn¡¯t understand what he was seeing in the mirror, he didn¡¯t really know what he was looking at but he knew he was scared of it.


    He was scared of the thing that vaguely resembled a human.

 34. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 34

    After the school day came to an end without any more major incidents, I decided to tour the city a little bit. Didn¡¯t really get the chance to do this before escaping.


    This place was very big and some parts seemed way better maintained then others, in some ways it resembles a real city. I guess it is a real city¡­


    I arrived at a secluded looking area with a small grove of vibrant grass and a wooden bench hidden behind the trees.


    There were houses that seemed out of place for the academy city, this area is probably for rich families or something.Either way, it was quiet. I listened to the birds singing on top of the big oak tree next to the bench. There was a raven that stood at the very top of a tall Cupressus tree looking down at the happy orchestra on the oak underneath.


    The sun reflected off its shiny feathers, making it seem almost white.


    I sat down and listened to the harmonic chirping as my mind started to wander back to Jesse''s walk in the corridor of regret from ¡®Masked & Laid Bare¡¯. Something about this scenario just clicked with me in ways I don¡¯t understand.


    I never was one to dive deep into analyzing an author¡¯s intentions. If I enjoy the characters and the plot, the book is good.


    This was the first time a scene from a book resonated with me during a real life situation. I can probably blame Jake for that. Ever since meeting him, I¡¯m constantly reminded of quotes from books.


    Ridiculous¡­


    There¡¯s nothing for me to relate with Jesse on. Jesse was consumed by regret, rightfully so. You only regret an action if you think you were wrong in taking it.


    Why would I regret doing something I think is the correct choice¡­?


    ¡°Gahh! What are YOU doing here?!¡± A familiar girly voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I opened my eyes to see a blonde girl with bright, pink eyes pointing her finger at me, my throat was exposed, I should be more cautious.


    ¡°Sorry? Do I know you?¡± I asked.


    The girl clenched her fists and looked down while gritting her teeth, she¡¯s obviously angry, what now¡­?


    The happy orchestra was interrupted by the crude, yet somewhat distant call of the crow.


    Her scowl turned into a pretentious smile before she stuck up her nose and pointed down at me again. ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t remember people, it¡¯s easier to kill that way, you murdere-¡± She paused when I let out my murderous aura. The flapping of fleeing birds was loud enough to make me look at the now mostly empty Oak tree above me.


    I coldly straightened a glare into the annoying girl¡¯s eyes as her face turned pale, she started slowly walking backwards.


    ¡°W-w-well j-just make sure you remember my name next time! It¡¯s Chloe! Chloe Lyxia!¡± The girl named Chloe turned on her heels and ran away.


    Tch, this fucking shit for brains. My decent mood was ruined.


    Even the once pleasant orchestra was nothing more than an annoyance now.


    Everywhere they all say it, killer, trash, scum. All of them pointing their fingers at me so they don¡¯t have to touch their own shit.


    There¡¯s no way I would be a murderer, a murderer doesn¡¯t have a good reason for his actions! I only killed people who deserved it.¡°Who decides if somebody deserves to die?¡± Dawn¡¯s voice suddenly rang in my head.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Then what about who decides if somebody was killed unjustly? I can¡¯t figure anything out anymore.


    Jesse¡¯s story, Dawn¡¯s questions, the fact that I can¡¯t even eat tomatoes anymore, what am I supposed to do with all of that?! This fucking world sucks, everything sucks, I didn¡¯t choose to become an assassin because I wanted to, I didn¡¯t choose any of that and everyone keeps blaming me! Shouldn¡¯t they look at themselves first!?But then again, who am I even arguing with¡­?I sat at the bench quietly and listened to the bird¡¯s irritating singing above me.


    As I started walking back to my dorm, the crow from earlier followed me and annoyingly kept calling louder and louder.


    ¡°What a day¡­¡± I mumbled to myself.


    ¡°Got it rough, aye, dog?¡±


    I turned around to see a blonde noble student and 4 others standing behind him.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Ha! Cat¡¯s got his ton-¡±


    ¡°PAHAHAHAHA! That was a good one!¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back my laughter. ¡°Rough-Dog hahahahahaha! and then you added a cat to the mix. You guys are hilarious!¡±


    The blonde guy¡¯s arrogant expression soured real quick. His brows furrowed for a short second and he launched forward with some speed.


    I tried to avoid the fist coming at my face but my body went against my desires. Instead of stepping backwards, I stepped forward and my face met with the full force of my opponent¡¯s fist.


    Of course I managed to protect myself in time, people of this level would never be able to harm¡­ me? I tried to put a finger to the throbbing sensation on my face and found out that I can¡¯t lift my hand, rather, the other hand went backwards instead. My nose was definitely bleeding.


    Something was wrong, my body won¡¯t listen to me, my Sy concentrated in the back of my head instead of where I wanted, my body decided to step forward instead of backwards, is this a Seal?


    The eyes of one of the students in the group glowed. I glared into his eyes and the short Seal user took a step back.


    ¡°Having trouble finding your north star there, trash?¡± The Villfer boy smirked down at me before motioning to his friends to come and hold me.


    North star? I had an inkling as to what this Seal¡¯s power is, I¡¯ll have to test it but my balance is still shaky from the first punch.


    What now? Do I just take it? I guess that would get those guys off my back right? I can¡¯t really fight back or run away¡­


    The ceaseless calling of the crow got louder.


    I decided to at least finish my testing so I could protect myself somewhat.


    I tried to move the pointer finger of my right hand and the left hand moved instead. The 2 students in the back saw me move and stopped. They started walking backwards before their leader Piss Hair yelled at them ¡°What are you retards afraid of?! This piece of trash can¡¯t do anything to you, he¡¯s under a slavery Seal, remember?¡±


    The 2 students walked up slowly and hesitantly grabbed my arms, they pulled me up and helped me or should I say forced me to my feet.


    I tried to lift my left knee and the right one rose instead. I think I got it.


    While I conducted my experiments, the guys pulled me into a secluded alley and threw me against the wall. By now I was quite sure that this Seal is making my body react opposite of what I want it to do.


    ¡°Time for you to learn your place in this world, doormat.¡± piss hair push kicked me in the stomach and only a tiny bit of Sy was there to protect me. I coughed and spit from the impact. This guy might just be trying to kill me¡­ This guy really loves his performances.


    I guess I should¡¯ve known that understanding this power and countering it are 2 different things.


    ¡°T-Thompson, take it easy, we can¡¯t kill him¡­ He¡¯s the prince¡¯s property, remember?¡± The Seal user said from behind his leader¡¯s back.


    ¡°Shut up Luiz! This freak killed my brother! I don¡¯t know why father forgave you and let you go that day but you still owe me a night of torture and I¡¯m going to claim it!¡±


    I lifted my head to look into the blonde¡¯s eyes as a smile formed on my face.


    His face was under a veil of darkness as the sun got blocked by the figure of a crow standing on the roof behind me.


    The same crow that has long since gone quiet as it just looked at the commotion underneath.


    Thompson¡¯s eyes narrowed and his face contorted in anger as he looked into my eyes. When I saw his fist approaching my face again.


    I closed my eyes and listened to the guy yelling profanities as I got hit by one punch after another. With my Sy barely protecting me due to the enemy¡¯s Seal, I resigned myself to the pain.


    The sound of a bird flapping its wings and the crude panting of an angry student delivering his retribution were the last things I heard before my consciousness drifted away.


    It was strangely peaceful.

 35. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 35

    My body felt heavy and sluggish. It was a beautiful sight, those green waves of grass caused by the deceptively chilly, midday wind.


    There was a man about my age in the distance, he chased after a bird with shiny, white feathers and the bird flew in my direction.


    I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply.


    My body felt light and responsive. It was a dreadful sight, those dark red waves caused by a deceptively warm evening wind.


    There was a child much younger than me in the distance, he chased after a bird with crude, pitch black feathers and the bird flew away from him.


    I blinked once again and the bloody image of a faceless child laying at my feet appeared before me.


    My body was numb. It was just another sight.


    The sky was grey and the grass was gone.


    A crow drank the boy¡¯s blood before jumping on top of my head and trickling it onto my face.


    I opened my eyes to see water trickling down from my hair, my body was bound by a rope and my face was throbbing. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure if I was dreaming before but now It was obvious I woke up, mainly due to the blonde guy that was standing in front of me while pouring water on my head.


    ¡°Finally awake are we? Been out for 4 hours now.¡± He emptied the cup of water and walked away. I took the time to examine the surroundings, it seemed like a run down dorm that fell victim to the forces of nature¡­


    ¡°So, did you have a good nightmare?¡±


    I wanted to retort but my voice came out all cracked due to how perched I was.


    Thompson poured more water into the cup and helped me drink it before he said that I need to stay awake and healthy as we have a long night ahead of us.


    I looked around and realized that it was just the 2 of us now, I could probably escape easily enough if I wanted to.


    ¡°Your little boyfriends aren¡¯t around to keep you safe, you sure it¡¯s wise to push your luck with a guy like me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A guy like you? You mean a murderer? A piece of trash with no regard to human life?¡± I clicked my tongue and averted my eyes. ¡°Or, wait, is that too hard for you to listen to?¡± His retort was straight to the point.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, tonight we¡¯re going to cleanse you! I¡¯ll finish my father¡¯s work.


    You will pay for your sins and you will thank me for it.¡± He added.


    I gritted my teeth as I struggled with the thought of running away, something was holding me back. It wasn¡¯t the slavery Seal either.


    I need this to be over, let this guy get his revenge so I don¡¯t have to look over my shoulder all the time, is that really it¡­?


    But why should he be allowed to take revenge? It¡¯s all his brother¡¯s fault! That¡¯s not the reason¡­ Something else is keeping me from escaping.


    My stomach started turning the more I thought about it.


    My thoughts went back to the beating from a few hours ago. The dream afterwards too. There¡¯s something I¡¯m missing here. Almost as if I need him to get revenge¡­


    ¡°All of you people keep calling me a murderer, you guys don¡¯t know anything, you all think you¡¯re so much better then me but you can¡¯t even see how disgusting and hypocritical you all are.¡± I said to the guy as he was rubbing some kind of liquid on a pair of very small clamps.


    He ignored me and kept fiddling with his torture devices so I kept going ¡°You want revenge for your brother but how many people did he hurt before trying to assault me? Did other student¡¯s brothers come for revenge?¡±


    The blonde turned to face me and slowly walked as he picked another pair of metal clamps from the fiery pit he put it in.Stolen story; please report.


    He walked closer to me and without saying anything, knelt down to eye level with my hands that were tied to the chair¡¯s handles.


    Thompson grabbed my index finger and let the hot metal of the clamps snap on it.


    ¡°Mhm, just like I thought¡­¡± He said as he went to grab another pair of clamps from the fire. ¡°When the guards brought you to our house that day, your body seemed a little too clean to me. I wanted to test my theory by ambushing you, we forced you to take a punch to the face and you were so surprised by the damage.¡± He snapped the second pair on my middle finger and went to bring another hot pair of clamps.


    ¡°Now, riddle me this, why would someone be surprised at taking damage from a punch?¡± He squatted next to my hand again and looked me in the eyes.


    ¡°My theory was that your Syphon control is just so good that you¡¯re not used to taking any damage at all.¡± Thompson playfully smiled at me and snapped another pair of hot metal clutches on my thumb.


    He started whistling to himself as he hummed a song.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how many of these you can take, Lifes the murderer, ironic, isn¡¯t it?¡± and with that he put a piece of cloth over my mouth and tied it tightly.


    ¡°You know, what you said earlier really pissed me off, my brother hurt many other students? Why the fuck do you think I care? He was MY brother, they weren¡¯t.¡± He said before slapping my face lightly.


    I guess it really is that simple.


    ¡°But I¡¯ll let it slide cause I¡¯m happy that I get to torture you tonight, nobody is coming to save you!¡± The blonde guy started laughing loudly.


    I can already guess his plan, he¡¯s going to force me into spreading my Sy too thin throughout my entire body to protect myself.


    Smart¡­ I guess.


    The only problem is that it takes a while to achieve the results he¡¯s looking for and the metal is going to cool down over time. Is that not too simple?


    I think he¡¯s heavily underestimating my Sy control.


    I can make it easier for him though.


    ***


    ¡°Pahahaha, squeal piggy! Squeal louder!¡± My deranged tormentor yelled as he watched my body twitch from the pain.


    He freed my mouth and said he wanted to hear me scream.


    ¡°Is this really all you can muster? Are you Slayer scumbags that weak? It took just 12 clamps for your Syphon to give in!¡±


    Most of my body was now covered in those hot clamps, it seems I was wrong about the metal cooling down too quickly as he just replaced them every so often¡­


    Compelled by something I can¡¯t comprehend, I chose to just let him inflict me with some pain.


    It made me feel better in a weird way.


    ¡°Are you enjoying your punishment?! Fucking freak, maybe now you¡¯ll learn your place. A slave that has no future other than dying for the sake of someone else! Murderer scum.¡± With those words, Thompson has decided to leave me tied to a chair, mostly naked except for a pair of underwear and a bunch of metal clamps ¡°See you tomorrow, loser.¡±


    Even after he left, I didn¡¯t really use my Sy to protect myself. How pathetic and disgusting am I?


    I went on and on about the weakness of the people I met, yet here I am¡­ Accepting the revenge of some piece of shit noble rich boy that has no business even taking revenge on me in the first place.


    Truly just pathetic.


    I sat there with my head hanging powerlessly ¡°I¡¯m so tired¡­ What am I even doing¡­?¡±


    Ostel¡¯s bloodied face from our last mission suddenly popped into my head.


    First it was Ostel, then Snoopsi had to run away. Dawn probably got in trouble because of my fight with Zick¡­


    Of course there¡¯s my mother, she died to protect me, my father spiraled into a miserable existence of distracting himself from the grief of his loss in whatever way possible.


    The area above my stomach felt as if it was stabbed by a warm, poisoned dagger. My heart felt like it was melting.


    My master¡¯s figure sitting at my bedside and reading the story of Frail the Strong appeared before me as if to remind me of another person that needs to be thrown into the equation.


    Now that I think about it, Frail reminds me a lot of Niya. She also did her best to help the people around her.


    Her body was made of a lot of straws, so many that it made her really strong and resilient. However every time one of her friends or the people she loved ran into a problem, Frail would break a few straws to help them solve the problem.


    Soon enough, much like Niya, Frail had nothing left to give, her body was¡­ Frail.


    Ironically enough, I¡¯m like the exact opposite of Frail.


    What was the name for the number that could be divided with different fractions for the same result again?


    ¡°Common denominator¡± Snoopsi¡¯s voice whispered from in front of me.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I lifted my head to look at him.


    ¡°Haha¡­¡± A small smile formed on my face as I looked into the empty, dark space around me.


    I felt a warm liquid rolling down my cheek.


    ¡°Oh yeah¡­ I¡¯m all alone. It¡¯s probably for the best.¡±

 36. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 36

    The thought of being all alone has never really crossed my mind before.


    It has to be better this way, right? If I¡¯m the common denominator to everyone¡¯s pain, take me out of the equation and everyone is, at the very least, not suffering¡­


    The pain all over my body faded away as time stretched on to infinity, I wasn¡¯t bored per se but my mind had a lot of time to wander and reach conclusions I was seemingly trying to avoid.


    In hindsight, everything was very clear to me. That¡¯s why I pushed Jake and Leonardo away, I shouldn¡¯t have friends or people I care about.


    Everything around me just suffers.


    It kind of reminds of the story I heard on one of my wild hunts with Dawn and Snoopsi, the villagers  said that there¡¯s a legend that this continent of Lirkan is actually a part of a bigger world, a world that stretches beyond the ¡®End Falls¡¯.


    In this bigger world there are 2 creatures, 1 female and 1 male that are called Re¡¯Em, the male is Re and the female is Em. There can only be 1 of each at any given moment, they exist on the opposite side of each other and they only meet once every 50 years to create a new pair of Re¡¯Em.


    The reason only 2 of them exist at a time is because they are said to be so big that there¡¯s not enough space in said bigger world for more than 2.


    They said just 1 of those creatures is about 5 times the size of all of our Lirkan continent¡­ In the past it would¡¯ve sounded like a child¡¯s bedtime story to me.


    The reason they live on opposite sides of the world is related to another unbelievable fact, the villagers said the legend claims that our world, Vailour, is a sphere rather than a simple plane. The Re¡¯Em walk in a clockwise direction and the force of their steps spins the sphere around thus making the sun appear in our sky during the day and disappear throughout the night.


    Ridiculous¡­


    The villagers told us that the Re was said to have walked past Lirkan once, during which, his ginormous hooves cast a big shadow over the continent, the shadow made it so the sun couldn¡¯t reach the animals and citizens and a lot of people and cattle froze or starved to death.


    The sun disappeared for a month when Re passed through. The creature just goes about his life and things around it suffer, funny how I can empathize with some legendary, probably made up creature¡­


    I never really believed this story before. Our continent is just a piece of land that floats on a vast sea, at the end of the sea there¡¯s a big waterfall called ¡®End Falls¡¯ and at the bottom of the waterfall there¡¯s just darkness.


    At least that¡¯s what I used to believe, that is, until I met Jake. The fake history and the truth about the dungeons and our Seals, I wonder what all of it means...


    ¡°...ow, meow¡± The sound of a cat at my feet ended my day dreaming.


    A black cat rubbed against my shins and purred before jumping up to my lap and shook his body from some water moving the metal clamps that pinched my skin in the process before nestling down.


    I cringed at the slight pain but the cat¡¯s fluffy fur felt nice on my skin regardless.


    In a weird way, the sound of the rain outside, the warmth of the cat¡¯s body and the smell of its slightly wet fur all combined into a weirdly comforting experience.


    I sat in silence so as to not disturb the cat¡¯s sleep. I watched as his small body went up and down with every breath.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°So lucky¡­ If only I could be as carefree as you are, I wish I could be a cat. I guess I¡¯ll call you Lucky¡­¡± I whispered to no one in particular.


    The time went on as the rain grew louder outside. The sound of creaking wood woke up my fluffy friend for a quick second before it put its head back down.


    ¡°H-how awful¡­¡± A somewhat familiar, soothing voice of a girl said from behind me.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±  I felt my eyelids becoming heavy as the girl spoke.


    ¡°H-hey are you awa¡­¡± Her soft voice trailed off as my consciousness slowly faded.


    The sun was shining above my head, my body felt warm and heavy, but not in a bad way¡­ It was similar to taking a nap after a meal.


    The smell of freshly cut grass around me and the chirping of birds made me feel at ease.


    There was a person next to me but I couldn¡¯t open my eyes at all. Another dream I guess.


    That person made me feel comfortable and warm, as if it was the sun¡¯s warmth that embraced my body.


    I finally managed to open my eyes just to see the same pitch black room. The ceiling seemed high and unreachable from this angle. There was something soft and warm under my head and my body was now covered in a girl¡¯s school jacket.


    The feeling of rhythmic breathing on my chest made me lift my head. It was Lucky, I guess he¡¯s still here.


    ¡°What¡¯s this guy¡¯s name? Also, are you feeling well?¡± I sat up in a haste, waking Lucky in the process. There was a girl behind me, she seemed strangely familiar, her eyes were big and orange, almost red. Same color as a flame. Her hair was very unique, it was so white that it was almost shining.


    ¡°S-Sorry I didn¡¯t mean to scare you, my name is S-¡±


    ¡°Sophia,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re the girl I met on my first day here, right?¡± Her voice and appearance were unique enough that I wouldn¡¯t forget it.


    Her face was just a tiny bit red and she smiled widely ¡°Yes, I¡¯m happy you remembered!¡±


    I looked at her leaning against the wall as she sat on her knees, her hair was dripping with water. I picked up the jacket on my lap and gave it back to her ¡°T-thanks for the jacket¡­¡± The girl was very pretty, maybe the prettiest I¡¯ve ever seen. I realized what I slept on until now and my face and ears got hot.


    The girl chuckled softly behind me. Lucky suddenly jumped up on my lap again and started rubbing against my stomach, ¡°AWWW what is this cat¡¯s name?! Is it yours? So cuteeee¡± She said as she crawled next to me and looked over my shoulder. So close!


    ¡°L-L-L-Lucky is his name!¡± I moved away from her and the girl laughed again.


    ¡°So the mighty legend, Slayer number 4 is scared of girls?¡± I looked at her and my face got even hotter so I looked away.


    What is this, this person throws me off so much, she keeps catching me off guard!


    Sophia went to pick Lucky up from my lap and the cat looked at me as if asking for permission ¡°haha, it¡¯s ok Lucky, you don¡¯t have to stay with me.¡± I said as I patted his small head, it was boney and bumpy but the fur was soft and warm.


    The white haired girl hugged Lucky and smooshed his face into her cheek.


    I looked at them and my body felt strangely fuzzy and warm inside, the things I worried about were gone all of a sudden, I couldn¡¯t even remember what tortured me a few minutes ago.


    ¡°So anyway, why are you in this run down place in the first place, Sophia?¡± I asked.


    She put Lucky down on her lap and stroked his fur slowly.


    The sound of the small fire we lit to warm us up filled the room, the smoke was searching for the open window to escape out of, much like Sophia¡¯s eyes looking for a way to escape mine.


    Her expression turned slightly somber and her gaze fixed on the serene cat on her lap.


    ¡°I followed you guys¡­ At first I was just kind of curious to see what Thompson would do when he finds you, so I tailed him for a little bit.¡± Her brows furrowed slightly and her hair bangs loosely fell over her face.


    ¡°To be frank with you, Lifes, I was also one of the people who were hoping someone would get rid of you in some way¡­¡±


    ¡°G-get rid¡­?¡± I asked, my eyes now locked onto the dancing flames.


    ¡°I was scared!¡± Her voice turned somewhat shaky ¡°It¡¯s scary¡­ having a famous or should I say, infamous assassin in our school. Your reputation precedes you, you know¡­¡±


    ¡°Tch, again with this bullshit¡­ Whatever, just forget about it, I don¡¯t want to hear.¡± I retorted.


    ¡°What? Won¡¯t you at least let me expl-¡± I looked into her eyes, my murderous aura partly released. I don¡¯t need any excuses.

 37. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 37

    Between me and the frightened yet strangely determined girl, stood Lucky, snarling at me and protecting her.


    ¡°So, even you¡¯re siding with them huh?¡­ Whatever.¡± I said while pushing a stick into the fire. I retracted the aura so the cat finally stopped making noise and just sat there, silently listening to the crackling fire.


    I put my head between my knees, it shouldn¡¯t be anything new by now¡­ People hating me and all that, for some reason however, there was a strange inconvenience that consumed my attention, similar to a drop of water that keeps making a bloop sound at set intervals, stirring waves of discomfort that kept radiating from my chest and throughout my body in the process.


    The ground underneath me kept switching between the orange of the flames and the darkness of my shadow. My body kept alternating the cold from the wind and the warmth of our small little fire.


    The sounds around me were all jumbled up, a soothing mixture of crackling fire and pouring rain with the unfortunate expectation of the occasional thunder and the howling wind against the already creaking woods of the dorm.


    ¡°Is it really that much fun?¡± I asked under my breath.


    To my surprise, Sophia heard me and responded ¡°W-what is?¡±


    ¡°Is it really that much fun going around and talking about how much of a despicable human being I am?¡± Ahh, what am I even saying¡­? I don¡¯t want to hear her opinion, I don¡¯t want to talk to her.


    ¡°Lifes, I think you¡¯re misunderstanding something¡­¡±


    I hugged my knees tightly and said ¡°What¡¯s there to misunderstand!? I¡¯m Inoshi, Number 4, scum of the earth, the nightmare of the Upper district, a murderer, isn¡¯t that right? Everyone keeps saying that so that must be the case! Am I wrong? Is that not what you think?¡± I¡¯m not sure what came over me but as I spoke the drop of water in my chest grew into an entire waterfall, it was such a strong waterfall that the water started leaking through my eyes.


    The dam was breached and I couldn¡¯t think of a way to close it other than letting the water drain.


    ¡°W-wait a second, you just didn¡¯t let me explain, I tried to tell you that I don¡¯t think of you in this way at all. Ever since we first met on the day you arrived at this school, you have given me a different impression¡­¡±


    ¡°That might have been true before but now you know the truth about my past, now you just want to tell me all about how terrible of a person I am.¡± I started lightly punching the floor as I kept talking.


    ¡°All of you rich, annoying, spoiled people who never had to struggle for anything in your life. All of you who had someone else make the tough decisions for you so you don¡¯t have to face the consequences.¡± The punches were becoming stronger and I didn¡¯t bother covering my hand with Sy.


    ¡°This fucking Thompson guy for one, what gives him the authority to decide what harm is fine and what isn¡¯t?! I really should¡¯ve just attacked him instead of taking this bullshit ¡®punishment¡¯.


    Or this bald retard, Roger. Who is he to even talk to me?! I never did anything to him but all he cares about is his twisted, fake sense of justice, probably so that he could brag about it to whoever cares to listen.¡±


    I lifted my hand up and looked at the cracked floor before using the Slayer¡¯s Sy technique to boost one more punch.


    ¡°I FUCKING HATE ALL OF YOU!¡± The sound of thunder shook the rundown dorm we were inside of and the shattered marble floor underneath my fist caved into a small crater painted with blood.


    The silent girl to my left and the cat that now stood his ground to protect her again, both looked at me as I grabbed my shaking, bruised fist. Some parts of the bone were showing from the deep cuts that were made as a result of not protecting my hand with Sy.


    I wanted to savor that pain, I felt like I should. This pain is a reminder for¡­ Something.


    Dawn always called me stupid and Snoopsi used to say I shouldn¡¯t rely on my intuition so much. What else am I supposed to do?If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Answer me¡­ What am I supposed to do?¡± I whisper to the flame in front of me as Snoopsi¡¯s face briefly flashed through it.


    ¡°If you ask me, from my perspective you seem to be quite dishonest with yourself¡­¡± I looked at her and Lucky snarled at me loudly.


    She lifted her head to meet my gaze with an expression I couldn¡¯t comprehend. ¡°There¡¯s this saying where I come from, ¡®the crops and the rain don¡¯t care about my hunger or what happened yesterday.¡¯.¡± She said.


    I bit my lower lip and looked back at the daunting, hot flame.¡°I don¡¯t know what that means. I don¡¯t care to know either. Probably just another way to tell me that you really don¡¯t care about my self pity. Heard that one before.¡± I said.


    ¡°W-what? No! It means that if your crops won¡¯t grow because there¡¯s no rain, there¡¯s nothing you can do about it, so just find another solution. In my opinion it also means that you shouldn¡¯t care about what other people think.


    I don¡¯t know you very well but, from what I heard so far, I think you need to accept that your past can¡¯t be changed, you need to figure out how you go about things in the future.


    Also my opinion but stop trying to convince people to hate you, it really starts to get on my nerves.¡±


    ¡°*Tch*...¡±


    ¡°Is¡­ If that¡¯s your idea of an ironic joke, it¡¯s not funny.¡± I said


    ¡°H-huh¡­?¡± She retorted


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just tell me not to care about what other people think, and then proceeded to say what you think?¡±


    ¡°Pfft¡­ How unique, I¡¯ve never met anyone who thinks like that hihi.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, just stop talking to me and leave as soon as the rain stops.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to at least heal your fist, it looks painful¡­¡±


    I closed my eyes and hugged my knees, the pain in my shaking hand kept grounding me in the situation. A sudden warm, fluffy sensation against rubbing my lower back made me jump a bit and my traitor of a black cat let out a loud noise in response.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch or get close to me, that¡¯s the last warning.¡±


    ¡°Pahh, as if you can even threaten me, I know that you can¡¯t harm any of the students. Whatever man, I¡¯m over being courteous to you, I¡¯ll just do whatever I want.¡± She responded.


    This fucking girl is really getting on my nerves. I felt slightly cool, slander fingers grabbing my hand.


    Reacting on instinct, I reached for the girl¡¯s throat with my other hand but just as I was about to grab her, the same old painful pang hit my chest and I got dizzy.


    My vision turned somewhat blurry but her eyes reflected our small flame and glowed brightly. My hand started to burn, or at least that¡¯s what I thought it looked like beyond the blur.


    The more the pain in my hand subsided and the skin stitched itself back together, the more her face grew red and her breath became heavier until eventually she fell on her back and my hand was completely healed.


    In between heavy pants, the girl started talking again ¡°there¡¯s this legend amongst the Hadohians, it speaks of a bird, they call it the Sand Bird as it ¡®rises from the ashes¡¯.


    That¡¯s my Seal, ¡®Like the PHOENIX, she shall appear after her death.¡¯.¡±


    ¡°What? Why are you telling me this?¡± This phrase sounded familiar.


    ¡°I told you, I will just do whatever I want and ignore your wishes now. And by the way, I¡¯m a faker and my Seal is not even at level 5 ¡®?¡¯, so it takes a lot of stamina to use the healing flames.¡±


    ¡°Faker you say¡­ How ironic.¡± Now I understand why it sounds familiar. That was my original Seal that Kiyoko forced me to sell in order to give me a Seal more suitable for an assassin.


    ¡°Ironic, how so?¡±


    ¡°W-what? No, I¡¯m not talking to you. Why are you even telling me about your Seal?¡± I asked. The pain in my chest and my hand were both entirely gone at this point.


    Phoenix girl sat back up and caught her breath before she started talking again.


    ¡°I already said that I¡¯m just going to say whatever I want¡­ Agh, whatever, I¡¯ll just keep talking then.


    Anyway, as I was saying before, I followed after Thompson and his goons as they carried you here and I listened in on your guys¡¯ conversation when he... tortured you.¡± She made a sound as she shuffled in place.


    ¡°After Thompson left, I stayed outside of the dorm to watch you, I mean, earlier today in the school hallway you escaped him using your Seal and some strange powers, why didn¡¯t you just run away now? I was curious to see what you¡¯ll do.¡± I saw her playing with a rogue strand of white hair as she intently watched the flames.


    ¡°That¡¯s when I heard you talking to yourself, it made me think I might have been wrong about you..¡± Her eyebrows curled upwards and her lips downwards as her voice trailed off and she hugged her knees.


    ¡°Wrong¡­?¡± I mumbled under my breath.

 38. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 38

    The white haired girl looked at me. I saw her from the corner of my eye as my stare was locked on the rhythmic movement of the gentle flames.


    With an expression I couldn¡¯t make out, she just looked at me before responding to my question ¡°Yes. I think you are just another person¡­ Just another person who feels lonely, gets angry, sad, happy, maybe even excited.¡±


    I guess I really was just a dog up until now then¡­


    ¡°Eep!¡± She exclaimed as she put a hand over her mouth.


    ¡°S-sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t mean it like that, it just that you were so sca-¡±


    ¡°Quit it already, I don¡¯t want to listen, I know exactly what you meant.¡± As if I¡¯ll listen to those excuses now.


    As usual the girl ignored me again and kept going on and on about this and that.


    The sound of her voice just made my stomach turn and my heart kept pounding faster as I was about to snap.


    ¡°Seriously, what is wrong with you people, it was Niya, the fucking prince, the girl in the garden and now you.


    Are you all just insane?! Stop trying to be fucking nice to me, just leave me alone!¡±


    ¡°W-what¡­? Why are you suddenly snapping again? I¡¯m just being honest, I was terrible towards you and now I want to make amends!¡± She retorted.


    I wasn¡¯t sure why but I kept feeling the urge to make her understand that she¡¯s not in the wrong at all. As if someone else took over my brain, Snoopsi or Dawn¡¯s spirits were possessing me to think that way.


    ¡°Amends for what? For calling me a murderer? Fuck I don¡¯t even know if that¡¯s true anymore.


    Who even cares if it is or not, objectively speaking, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong to me yet I treat you like trash, it¡¯s the same with all of you!


    It took me a bit to realize it but just fucking stop already, you don¡¯t owe me anything and this is really getting on my nerves, do you need something from me?!¡± It has to be a set up from all of those people, they¡¯re trying to get me to trust them and owe them something.


    ¡°For the health of the firsts, you are so impossible to talk to! How do you keep twisting everything I do or say into something bad?!¡± It was her turn to snap so she stood up and started walking from side to side mumbling things to herself.


    ¡°This a¡­oying brat, he¡¯s driving .. crazy! Wha.. I¡­do .¡± I couldn¡¯t really hear the rest of her rant but it all came to a surprising halt as she stopped pacing around the room and stood in front of me with hands on her hips.


    Seeing her standing over me like that made my face turn a little hot ¡°Got it! From today onwards, we¡¯re going to be friends. I will teach you what it means to be a normal, functioning member of society!¡± She announced.


    What is this crazy bastard even saying¡­?


    ¡°Pass¡­¡± I said and averted my eyes from her towering form.


    Even after trying this hard to push her away, I just can¡¯t handle that type¡­ I don¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°Hoho, you really think you have a say in the matter? Sorry but you don¡¯t get a choice, we¡¯ll meet tomorrow in school again. Now go back to your dorm, take a shower and go to sleep!¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Why do you think you can just comman-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to hear it, you will do as you are told.¡± She retorted.


    I felt oddly compelled to obey her¡­ This situation gave me a nostalgic feeling, it was warm and nice. How strange. How irritating¡­


    ¡°Seems like you understand you have no choice here, great, the rain has stopped a little bit ago so you may leave now. Go.¡±


    I opened my mouth to say something as I got up but when my eyes met with hers again, I just didn¡¯t really feel like arguing anymore.


    With mixed feelings about obeying this seemingly random girl, I left the run down dorm with Lucky chasing closely behind, I guess he did end up choosing me in the end.


    Never in a million years would I have expected the night to end like this.


    From a tree next to my dorm a few birds were chirping as the sun slowly started showing from over the city gates.


    I guess I don¡¯t have a long time to sleep, I really need to take a shower too, hopefully nobody is awake right now¡­


    ¡°By the way, little guy, are you really going to come sleep with me? Don¡¯t you have a family to go back to?¡± I asked Lucky, to which he just meowed in response and rubbed against my legs.


    I went inside and met with a red-haired prince sleeping on a chair in the kitchen. Did this guy really wait for me here?


    He woke up as I closed the door loudly on purpose and looked at me, still in a daze, before yelling ¡°Ah! Lifes! Where have you been?! It¡¯s morning already, are you crazy? I was really worried about you!¡± The prince said before realizing something.


    ¡°WAIT! Where are your clothes?! Don¡¯t tell me¡­ You were with a girl?!¡±


    ¡°I mean, I guess, sort of¡­?¡± I answered.


    He stood and walked up to me, grabbed my shoulders and started rattling at an incredible speed ¡°What do you mean by sort of? And who is she? Tell me everything right now! Is she older than you? Is she pretty? You have no clothes so you guys must¡¯ve had sex! Was it good? Was it your first time? Ahh I still remember my first time¡­ How nice! Tell me tell me!¡± This fucking guy¡­


    ¡°What I do isn-...¡± I stopped in the middle as my head was much clearer now, I don¡¯t want to be so rude to this guy anymore.


    I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and  faintly smiled at him.


    ¡°L-Lifes? Is everything alright?¡± He raised a brow, tilted his head and started backing off from me.


    ¡°Why are you running away all of a sudden!?¡± I yelled.


    ¡°I-I mean, you¡¯re acting strange¡­ Did you have so many pent-up sexual desires? Is that why you were so mean before? I don¡¯t think sex changes a person that much.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have sex!¡± I said.


    ¡°I guess there really was a lot of pent-up stuff released though, huh?¡± I mumbled to myself.


    ¡°Come again¡­? I couldn¡¯t hear you.¡± Leo said.


    That explains why my mind is so much clearer now.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Leo, I need to sleep a bit before school, you should also get some rest.¡±


    He stood there frozen with an unexplainable expression on his face.


    As I started climbing up the stairs to my room Lucky made a sound and reminded me to introduce him, to which Leo just said ¡®S-sure¡¯ and went into his room.


    What¡¯s wrong with this guy now¡­?


    I went into the shower and sat there for a few minutes, contemplating the last few days.


    Dawn¡¯s voice laughing at me and saying I¡¯m stupid for following my guts almost exclusively kept ringing in my head.


    It¡¯s true that I can be a bit flippant with my decisions but, if my intuition says something, there¡¯s a good reason for it.


    I wish I had the brains to find the reason every time but I feel as if every time I try to find the reason I just end up in a sea with endless ¡®thought currents¡¯ to go through¡­


    When I entered my room again, Lucky was already sleeping comfortably on my bed.


    I barely laid down and the fatigue hit me in an instant. You would think that I wouldn¡¯t be so tired after sleeping so much throughout the day but, I guess I was¡­


    It didn¡¯t take long for me to regret falling asleep as the dreaded face of my best friend appeared before me once again.


    I haven¡¯t seen this guy in a bit now, why appear again? Didn¡¯t I have this dream already? Isn¡¯t that¡­ our last mission?


    Why again? Why now¡­?

 39. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 39

    Morning came or maybe progressed and It felt like I didn¡¯t sleep at all. My head was all fuzzy and my body felt sluggish, which seems to be my default state lately.


    Strangely enough, I was feeling somewhat excited to go to school today.


    Everything was good until I saw this bald idiot downstairs talking to Leo, my stomach started hurting a little bit and I tried to keep myself slightly hidden from him.


    ¡°Leo, please be careful around this sociopath! He only cares about himself!¡± He exclaimed.


    ¡°Come on Roger¡­ Lifes deserves a second chance, don¡¯t you think?¡± The prince retorted, a reassuring smile on his face.


    ¡°No! Obviously I don¡¯t.


    I don¡¯t trust him and you shouldn¡¯t either. Those Slayer bastards are the reason me and my sister¡­ Nevermind, just be careful around this freak.¡± He has a sister?


    I remembered how I acted last night, I really let myself loose huh? Is it really alright for me to be friendly with this prince?


    ¡°Oh! Lifes! Good morning!¡± He waved at me.


    ¡°M-morning¡­¡± I got out of my hiding spot behind the stairs¡¯ safety rail and walked down to have breakfast and prepare to leave.


    Baldie clicked his tongue loudly and stormed out of the dorm.


    ¡°So, Lifes, do you feel like telling me little about what happened yesterday? I¡¯m really curious, it was almost like you came back a different person, you know?¡± Leo said.


    I coughed with a piece of toasted bread in my mouth at the idea of talking about yesterday.


    ¡°I thin- I¡¯d rather not. Nothing interesting happened and I¡¯m exactly the same as usual¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh come on¡­ You aren¡¯t seriously telling me that nothing changed about you!¡± He retorted.


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Well, you actually said my name for one, your smile also felt way different. Usually you just smile to get people away from you, yesterday it actually felt genuine. At least that¡¯s how it seemed to me.


    Of course there¡¯s also the fact that you¡¯re even talking to me in the first place.¡±


    Fuck. This guy actually just reads me like an open book, he really does remind me of Ostel.


    ¡°Ah, I guess there¡¯s no real point in hiding it. I had a pretty intense conversation with someone, I feel¡­ better now, I guess. Also, were you always this much of a chit-chat?¡±


    Leo¡¯s eyes got sparkly and he started murmuring things about how glad he is for me.


    Much like Ostel, Leo is really irresistible in a lot of ways, it¡¯s hard to stay away from him even when I try. I¡¯m somewhat thankful he doesn¡¯t hate me after everything I¡¯ve done up until now¡­ But he really is too similar to Ostel.


    We rushed to school after breakfast.


    On my way there, I couldn¡¯t help but think, will she really meet me again today? Why is my heart beating so quickly? I can¡¯t understand it, I thought I hated her for treating me like a murderer but I can¡¯t seem to get rid of that excitement to meet her.


    Sure enough, as we arrived at the school sand fields, a white haired girl with flame colored eyes waited for us in the distance.


    ¡°Say Lifes, why is this girl waving at us? Do you kn- Ahhh I get it now! She¡¯s the one you were talking about, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    I was about to answer when a female voice intervened ¡°Hoho, did you tell the prince about your meeting with the beautiful lady that had come on the back of a white horse to save you from all your troubles?¡± Sophia said.


    I could feel my face getting hotter, what is it with those 2? They are so pushy!


    ¡°W-what are you saying¡­ I just told him we talked! Why are you even here? I thought you hated me for being a murderer.¡±


    ¡°Boooring¡­ Say, Mr Prince, was this guy always such an annoying idiot?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Haha, he really is a pain in the ass isn¡¯t he?¡± He responded.


    ¡°...¡±


    The 2 kept bonding over their shared annoyance with my attitude until Sophia had to go to a different class. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Leo and I went to his classes and during breaktime, Sophia came to take me around the school.


    She explained the structure and hierarchies of the student body, it was actually quite interesting, in a weird way, it all resembled the way our current society was structured.


    Different groups had their own version of elitism towards others.


    Some were broader in their inclusion of inferior outsiders and some were more nuanced and would only treat someone as inferior if they directly had a negative interaction with said group or person.


    Either way, everyone belonged to a group, even students who didn¡¯t belong to a group, formed a group of outsiders.


    ¡°You don¡¯t really talk much, do you? Got any questions?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m mostly curious as to how you know all of this stuff¡­ You don¡¯t seem like the type to care about social structures.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, there¡¯s a lot you don¡¯t know about me Mr. Assassin!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that¡­!¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, whatever you say, anyway, ¡± I guess she¡¯s just going to ignore me, just like yesterday. ¡°Everything I said so far are things you pick up on as you exist in society. You know? as like, a functioning member?¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    ¡°I told you already, I¡¯ll make you a functioning member of society, remember?¡±


    ¡°Ah ha¡­¡±


    Her face went blank for a quick moment before she erupted into laughter ¡°That expression on your face! That¡¯s priceless! Don¡¯t move a muscle!¡± Sophia pulled out a small journal and a marking stone and started scribbling something.


    She made a few short strokes and looked at my face before making a couple more ¡°Annnnnnd, done! Perfect! You actually kept the expression on the entire time, incredible in some ways, creepy in others haha.


    But most of all I¡¯m surprised you cooperated!¡±  She flipped the small notebook and stashed away her marking stone. The drawing was surprisingly detailed, I knew how my expression probably looked as I¡¯ve always had a good understanding of how expressions felt and looked but seeing it from another person¡¯s perspective was interesting.


    The left eyebrow was lowered and the right one was slightly pulled up and towards the middle of the face. She even captured the shade on my left eye from the nose bridge.


    ¡°The lines are very soft and round, I guess different people draw in different ways¡­?¡± I whispered.


    ¡°What do you think? Good isn¡¯t it? Haha, I¡¯m pretty confident in my drawing!¡±


    ¡°Not as good as Snoopsi, but pretty good.¡± I said.


    She scratched her cheek ¡°S-Snoopsi? Is that the name of your dog?¡±


    ¡°How?! What? First of all, I don¡¯t have a dog and 2nd, why would you assume a dog draws better than you?!¡±


    ¡°Hihi, calm down, I was just teasing. So is this Snoopsi a Slayer friend of yours?¡±


    I nodded and looked down at my feet, I guess I don¡¯t even know if Snoopsi would consider me a friend anymore, I did kill Ostel and now Kiyoko after all.


    ¡°What is it? Do you guys not talk anymore?¡± She asked.


    ¡°J-just forget it, it¡¯s none of your business.¡±


    ¡°Geez, aren¡¯t you a downer¡­ You seriously need to stop taking everything so seriously. See what I did there? Hehe.¡±


    ¡°Good one... Besides though, how I take things is none of your concern.¡±


    I started walking as she said ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s easier to find solutions with 2 brains instead of just 1?¡±


    I bit my lower lip and kept walking. How ironic is it for her to draw for fun and give me those smartass sentences when we talk about Snoopsi.


    Luckily for me, Sophia didn¡¯t bother following me and the rest of the day concluded with that.


    The next day came around and she waited for us at the sand fields again, I started feeling myself slipping back into my old habits as I tried to make Sophia hate me. It sort of worked, the next day she didn¡¯t wait for me at the entrance.


    The week went on as I tried to figure things out, last time I had trouble getting closer to people, talking with Sophia and having a little breakdown helped me see things a bit better.


    This time Sophia is the one I¡¯m avoiding, I don¡¯t know what to do¡­ Should I talk to Leo about it? Am I really that much of a dramatic asshole?


    It was the first evening of the weekend and I wanted to see some of the city square. I might even meet Dawn and Liliya, right?


    The students all intermingled and went through the various attractions at the square, a big tavern seemed to be the main one.


    I tried to stay as hidden as possible as I walked through the crowd. Arriving at a small restaurant, I heard voices arguing back and forth.


    ¡°... Would kill this murderer already! He¡¯s so creepy and gross!¡± One girl said.


    ¡°Yeah yeah! I don¡¯t get why the prince even brought him here, he¡¯s just scary and weird.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Don¡¯t worry girls if this loser ever acts up, I¡¯ll put him in his place.¡± The guy said.


    The group shared a laugh before one familiar voice chimed in ¡°H-he¡¯s not as bad as you¡¯re making him out to be¡­ He¡¯s just another student, you know?¡±


    ¡°Sophi don¡¯t even start! We all know you hate him ¡®cause he was an asshole to you!¡± The first girl retorted.


    ¡°Right, even towards someone as awesome as Soph, this freak should just die.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ That¡¯s -¡±


    ¡°Oh save it Sophia, he¡¯s not worth it.¡± The second girl added.


    I felt like I was about to throw up, do I deserve it? Kiyoko¡¯s words echoed in my head ¡®know the other perspective, understand their disposition.¡¯


    From her point of view, I was accepting her as a friend and then just shut her off.


    But I have a good reason, right? Is it really my fault? It¡¯s her fault for being so nosy! I also said multiple times that I don¡¯t want to be her friend!


    Maybe actions really do speak louder than words though?


    So confusing¡­  It can¡¯t be my fault, can it?

 40. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 40

    Walking towards the same secluded area I found a week ago, I couldn¡¯t help but think about Sophia.


    Maybe I got a little too used to Leo¡¯s incessant attempts to befriend me even when I tried my best to act like a piece of shit. Maybe Sophia¡¯s reaction is a reasonable one¡­?


    ¡°Ahhh, why has everything become so dramatic lately¡­¡± I whispered to myself.


    The air was cold and my breath came out like smoke, it was dark but I could see it dissipating.


    The wooden bench was somewhat cold and still a little wet from last night¡¯s rain.


    I haven¡¯t been to this place since my run in with Thompson, speaking of which, whatever happened to that guy?


    Haven¡¯t really heard from him¡­ Curious.


    I let my head drop backwards as I listened to the darkness around me.


    There was something unnerving about it but it was also strangely¡­ peaceful.


    It felt as if I could just fall asleep at any moment, everything felt like a drag at this moment and just thinking was a tiresome activity¡­


    How do I fix this problem with Sophia? Do I even fix it? Does it matter at all¡­?


    My eyelids grew heavier with each sound the crickets around made until the darkness consumed my vision.


    Everything felt like such a waste of time, yet what am I even in a rush to? Here I thought things were getting better but lately I don¡¯t even want to participate in my own life anymore.


    How exhausting¡­


    ¡°Life¡¯s coming at you hard as well huh¡­?¡± A familiar female voice said.


    ¡°Who- Oh it''s you¡­ What would a rich brat even know about ¡®hard¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Br-Hey! I have a name you know, I told you to remember it last time we met! And I¡¯ll have you know my life is very difficult. What would a nasty guy like you even know about the struggles of a woman?¡± She retorted.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, my bad¡­ Can you quiet down a little bit? I¡¯m not in the mood for all of that bullshit.¡± I said as I closed my eyes again.


    ¡°W-whatever¡­¡± She sat down on the bench and sighed deeply.


    We both sat in silence for a few minutes before blondie whispered something I couldn¡¯t hear.


    I ignored it. I could feel her shuffling in place as she was probably about to say something again.


    ¡°S-say¡­¡± She whispered again.


    ¡°Huh?! What the fuck do you want? Can you please just be quiet?¡±


    ¡°Tch! Do you really have to be so nasty?! I just wanted to ask you something about pr-prince Leonardo!¡±


    Ahh this guy¡­ Throughout last week the dreams have been haunting me more and more because of him.


    ¡°What is it about Le-red hair?¡±


    I looked at her face as it went very ironically, red, she was obviously embarrassed by whatever it was. ¡°D-do you know if he has a girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°What in the name of Rachel the Second are you asking me¡­ How the fuck would I know?¡±


    ¡°Rachel¡­ Rachel! That¡¯s a good idea you nasty guy!¡± She announced.


    ¡°Huh? Wha-¡±


    She looked at me with sparkling pink eyes and her face got closer as she started talking again.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Do you know if there¡¯s a statue of Rachel in Mil-Ansk? Ahh I guess you wouldn¡¯t know, you commoner freak.


    If I could only find a statue and pray for the prince¡¯s lov-¡±


    ¡°Can you just shut the fuck up already?! Why is it that every time I meet you my head just hurts and I want to pluck my own ears or just kill you?!¡±


    ¡°Eeeek!¡± She jumped up from the bench and started running away.


    ¡°Sorry, thanks, bye¡­!¡± When she got a bit further away blondie turned around and yelled ¡°Freak!¡±


    God this fucking girl is annoying¡­ What was her name again? cl, clora? Whatever¡­


    I guess I should also head back, it¡¯s getting late and tomorrow we have a trip to Guardian.


    ***


    The prince didn¡¯t even try to talk to me when I returned, fortunately, the dreams followed his example.


    When I woke up I just grabbed a piece of bread and some cheese and left the empty dorm.


    I guess it really is hard to appreciate something before it¡¯s gone.


    ***


    ¡°I will now go through the list of names to make sure everyone is here, please respond swiftly so we can embark¡­ today hiyahiya.¡± The black-haired fat lady with a pointy hat who stood in front of us said.


    ¡°Jameson¡± - ¡°Here!¡±


    ¡°Laprunica¡­¡± - ¡°Here!¡±


    ¡°...Skyler¡± - ¡°Here!¡±


    ¡°Great! seeing as everyone is here and the sun hasn¡¯t come down yet, I¡¯ll leave you guys in the care of someone you should be familiar with.¡± The teacher said.


    She motioned to her left and I realized there was someone I haven¡¯t seen in a bit there.


    ¡°Much appreciated lady Liante. Before I introduce myself to some of the faces I haven¡¯t met before, do you guys have any questions for your teacher, Miss Liante?¡± He asked.


    A few students raised their hands before the fat lady said ¡°No questions it seems! Great. Then I¡¯ll finally rest a little bit.¡±


    ¡°Keh hem¡±


    ¡°Hiya hiya, just joking Zicky darling, let¡¯s start with Stephanie.¡± Liante said.


    ¡°Teach, when are you going on a diat?¡± The student said and everyone started giggling.


    ¡°Right after you learn how to fly dear.


    Please practice diligently! If you wish I can introduce you to a decent cliff with spikes at the bottom, the incentive to succeed is even better! I¡¯ll even give you a small push to help out.¡± The fat teacher smiled warmly.


    A group of students including Stephanie erupted into laughter ¡°Pahahahaha! Lia is always the funniest! I¡¯ll miss you, teach!¡±


    ¡°Right then, next question please, Karakov.¡±


    ¡°How long will it take to reach Guardian? Isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Oh my, aren¡¯t you a brave one¡­ The trip will take 4 hours at most. By the time you get there however, I do hope your balls finally drop.¡±


    The guy didn¡¯t even seem angry, his expression was just¡­ natural. Either way, this woman is hilarious haha.


    ¡°Well, seeing as none of you have any more interesting things to ask me anymore, I¡¯ll swiftly take my leave and go to rethink my life choices, alone, in my room. Hiya hiya, have a good trip, dears.¡± She smiled again and waved the students goodbye.


    Liante was escorted away by the praise and cheers.


    Zick clapped his hands twice and drew everyone¡¯s attention ¡°Alright alright, it has been a little over a week since we have met so I will reintroduce myself now.¡±


    He turned his head to his right and up at the sky, with his left hand, he put 2 fingers over his left breast pocket and with his right hand, just above it, over the left shoulder, he made a sign resembling a circle.


    ¡°My name is Zick Brown, I am a proud soldier of the kingdom of Rintiya and I serve as a training instructor in Mil-Ansk military academy upon request from your headmaster Rick.


    As a former captain of guard in the city of Guardian I will guide you all in your trip to the guarding wall of our beloved kingdom, the fortress city, Guardian.


    Any questions before we go into briefing for the journey?¡± This guy sure loves to talk, but I have to say, his presence feels astounding.


    ¡°Alright, great.


    We will soon embark on a march towards Guardian, the event has been settled and arranged with the military and Rintiya¡¯s special enforcement branch.¡± He said.


    ¡°A march? With all of this equipment? isn¡¯t it a bit much, even for us?¡± Some students whispered to each other.


    ¡°The march shall serve as a form of training to all the students, you are all fated to grow into great soldiers and heroes that will protect the kingdom in times of great peril.


    We may have had a period of relative peace but tomorrow is never a promise, it is but another achievement to be earned, it is to be defended.¡±


    Zick closed his fists tightly and his expression hardened ¡°Even right now, we have the looming threat in the north, Lingyle¡¯s army is not to be taken lightly!


    The devils in the southern wilderness too. They established a relationship with the demi-human tribes, we have to be prepared!


    As you all know already, in Rintiya¡¯s proud military forces we¡­¡± He lifted his fist in the air and everyone shouted in unison ¡°Strive For More!¡±.

 41. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 41

    We walked through the orange landscape in a straight line, 2 hours since we set out and people are already complaining about the cold¡­


    Those guys wouldn¡¯t last a second against the Winter Congregation.


    The students in front of me started whispering quietly ¡°Why did the teacher call the hadohians devils? Isn¡¯t the king trying to get rid of the prejudice against them?¡±


    I glanced back and red-hair, he seemed to be deep in thought.


    I wonder what he thinks about his father¡¯s new policy.


    A squeaky sound next to me drew my attention. Lucky jumped onto my shoulder and made me lose balance for a quick second.


    ¡°I forgot about you buddy¡­ My bad.¡± I whispered to him as I patted his head.


    Unsurprisingly, my black furred companion drew in everyone¡¯s eyes when it made a sound, I guess nobody noticed it walking with us before?


    ¡°W-where did the killer find a cat?¡± One of the girls behind me said.


    ¡°Is that a cat? I¡¯ve never seen one before!¡± Her friend responded ¡°It is! I saw one when I went to ¡®Marketplace¡¯ with my family.¡±


    ¡°SO CUTE!¡± They both said together.


    I picked Lucky up from my shoulder and held him in my arms. Annoying, snotty, rich ¡®upper¡¯ brats.


    ¡°Gehh¡­ did you just feel that cool sensation on your skin, Marina?¡±


    ¡°Giiiii, yes! That was scary, let¡¯s get away from this freak.¡±


    The boys around also took some interest in the cat after noticing the attention Lucky received but it seemed to be more¡­ Opportunistic in a way.


    I also noticed the gaze of 2 people I haven¡¯t really run into that much in school.


    Thompson and that fucking bald¡­ I guess now that I look at him, Roger kind of resembles a Smidgeball, if he didn¡¯t have a human body. Just give him sharp teeth and a horn and he¡¯s a stone eating ball.


    I guess those 2 guys are friends? Things kind of make sense now, it was probably this Smidgeball¡¯s job, making Thompson come at me and it was probably due to a scolding from red-hair that the guy left me alone.


    It¡¯s probably safe to assume Sophia told red-hair about the whole thing.


    The cold increased as we arrived at the walls of Guardian, there was a unique smell of rotten fruit and burnt oil in the air, the brick road was covered in black spots.


    ¡°Are those celentra figs? I guess the winter is almost here, huh¡­?¡± A guy with a jacket tied to his waist and a chain tied to his wrist mumbled from ahead of me.


    Celentra figs? Is he talking about the black spots on the ground? I guess they do resemble rotten, stepped on fruit¡­ I wonder what they taste like, hopefully better than the smell.


    ¡°Woah the gates here are made of marble? And the walls are so big!¡± A voice from the front of the row said.


    ¡°If you look closely, you might notice the black shine on the gate as well.


    The reason for that is that the gates are covered in burnt Frolcish oil, when a Frolcish dies, it secretes a type of oil that, when burnt, becomes a strong attraction for wild animals. It works as a reproduction system for wild Frolcishes as the oil combines with animal poop to create a new egg!¡± Zick said, sounding very proud, what a surprising development for his character...


    Frolcish? I wonder if Lucky would want to eat one¡­


    ¡°Aren¡¯t Frolcishes very small though? How many would it take for the entire gate?¡± One girl asked.


    ¡°Well, those little rabbit-frogs may be small but each one of them contains quite a lot of oil. About a 100 or so is what it takes from what I recall.¡± Zick responded.


    ¡°As for what the gate is made of, it is made of a type of stone that is used exclusively by the military of Rintiya. White flextone, it resembles marble but the white flextone is a very flexible yet very sturdy type of stone, it is used in many military facilities and contraptions.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    The students excitedly whispered about the incredible sophistication of the architecture on display.


    The wall had short branches and green leaves sprouting all over ¡°Why does the wall seem like it¡¯s made out of wood though¡­? Ohhh is that sweaty wood?¡± I mumbled to myself.


    It seems I spoke a bit too loudly as everyone including Zick turned to me with surprised expressions.


    ¡°Well well, if it isn¡¯t the infamous Lifes. Right you are, care to explain how you reached that conclusion? It seems the rest of your classmates are a little confused¡± Zick asked me. Clearly he¡¯s taking his vengeance with this request¡­


    ¡°Can I refuse¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not really.¡± He responded.


    I wonder what he means by that, what would even happen if I refuse? Whatever I might as well just cooperate.


    ¡°W-well, I¡¯m assuming everyone knows about this type of wood that¡¯s called sweaty wood, right? it secretes this substance that¡¯s similar to sweat when the temperature around it rises¡­¡± Everyone nodded around me, apparently too curious to realize they wouldn¡¯t normally listen to me.


    ¡°I just happened to run into this phenomenon once when I was on a hunt, me and my friend brought some sweaty wood from one of the dead trees around us and when we tried to light it on fire¡± Zick let out a whistle ¡°Big mistake¡­¡± He added.


    ¡°Right, a big explosion went up into the air and our fire went out immediately after.¡±


    They all started whispering about the information, one was asking why would you want explosive wood on your walls.


    ¡°My friend later found out that the explosion does not harm the tree itself, the vaporized sweat only explodes outwards and only when it comes into contact with flames.


    That¡¯s about everything I know¡­¡± I concluded.


    ¡°Right, as Lifes here said, sweaty wood explodes when it is set on fire. It is worth mentioning that the wood has to be somewhat fresh for this to happen.¡±


    Zick stopped and turned to us again with his hands on his hips.


    ¡°The walls are made like that, obviously, as an offensive-defensive system but, with what I said earlier in mind, can someone tell me the biggest flaw of this system?¡±


    The prince raised his hand and received permission to speak. ¡°Might it be that the wall is dysfunctional after the first activation?¡±


    ¡°Spot on! Like the young Hyland said, this wall is basically just a vulnerable wooden wall after the sweat explodes once, meaning, if the enemy tries to burn the wall once, the entire thing needs to be replaced with fresh sweaty wood.


    In theory that is.


    You see, inside Guardian, we have a special artifact with a Seal that rejuvenates natural substances, we also use a special watering technique with rejuvenation stone powder and the sweaty wood is completely functional again!¡±


    The proud instructor had a wide smile on his face as he turned and walked into the now open, white flextone gates.


    One of the guys next to me glanced in my direction and averted his eyes right away before approaching Zick ¡°I-I know he just gave us an interesting explanation and all that but, should you really reveal all of those secrets when¡­ ¡®he¡¯s¡¯ here, instructor?¡±


    I was wondering if someone would bring this point up¡­


    The other students realized they were acting amicably towards me and started backing away and whispering about their mistake.


    One of the girls requested the other students'' attention while looking at Zick who nodded in response ¡°I know all of us have heard about the fall of Slayer, it was a group of brainwashed children who had been convinced they were doing the right thing!¡± What?! How did they get this information? And who are you to imply that we weren¡¯t doing the right thing?!


    ¡°Maybe we should give Lifes a second chance? He even said he had a friend who figured out how sweaty wood works, isn¡¯t that really incredible?¡±


    ¡°What is she talking about? Those murderers should all be executed and forgotten¡­¡± One guy said.


    ¡°That friend was probably a hug-¡± I couldn¡¯t bear to listen any longer.


    This piece of trash who was about to shit talk Snoopsi, my eyes were focused solely on this waste of air. The voices around me grew vague and distant and I slowly walked towards the guy who drew out his sword and backed away.


    His forgettable facial features turned into a vague, dark, circle with 2 slanted lines in the middle and an upside down half crescent at the bottom.


    The vague figure in front of me fell to the ground and started crawling backwards.


    Someone put a hand on my shoulder and I was about to break his fingers but before I could even reach his hand my entire body got pulled down by some force, my face hit the bricks and I realized there were now 4 guards with their spears aimed at me as Zick held me down with his Seal.


    The sounds of coughing around caught my attention as some students around me fell down, holding their chests while struggling to breathe.


    ¡°Calm yourself. Right now!¡± Zick said.


    I took a deep breath and my body slowly cooled down, the pangs of pain in my chest became clear and agonizing.


    Everyone walked into the city and left me laying down on the bricks, panting.


    I looked up at their terrified faces and the one that stood out the most was the prince¡¯s. It was more so the lack of expression that stood out, he took an uninterested glance at me and turned away.


    Zick used his status as a former captain of guard to calm the guards down. He looked at me as I was getting up on my feet and sighed deeply.


    In a swift motion, the instructor climbed over a small stage inside the fortress and turned towards the rattled students.


    ¡°Welcome to the circle of defense, the fortress city of Guardian!¡± Zick announced.

 42. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 42

    My head felt like it was spinning from the pain in my chest and my chest felt tighter as I watched the backs of the other students walking in front of me, there were 2 guards following close by just to make sure¡­


    Just to make sure the bloodthirsty murderer doesn¡¯t go on a rampage.


    Who cares, I never considered those fucking idiots to be anything more then arrogant, rich, spoiled children who can¡¯t even wipe their own asses.


    To listen to one of those pieces of shit talking about Snoopsi as if he knows anything about him, who the fuck do you think you are?


    I swear I¡¯ll kill you if you ever mention anyone from Slayer again!


    ¡°Hey! Slave! Calm down right this moment!¡± The guard to my right commended as he put a hand on my shoulder.


    I looked into his eyes and felt the blood flowing into my head as the rage kept building up ¡°Huh?¡±.


    The 2 guards took a step back and pulled out a spear and a sword, aiming both at me.


    I took a deep breath and put my hands up ¡°My bad I got caught up in my thoughts¡­¡±


    ¡°C-control yourself from now on!¡± The same guard on the right said.


    I really do need to control myself a little bit more, it isn¡¯t like me to just snap like that, I thought I was getting better at listening to those retards speak badly about my past but it almost feels like, well 2 steps backwards for every step forward wouldn¡¯t make sense I guess, It¡¯s still not even clear to me in what direction I¡¯m even walking.


    We stopped abruptly as Zick went ahead of the group to speak to one of the soldiers.


    He returned to us with an arm over the older guy¡¯s shoulder ¡°Cadets, this is Mikah, he¡¯s the captain of the scouting brigade!¡±


    The small man who looked almost like a child next to Zick parsed his scarred lips ¡°I am delighted ya lads, ¡®tis of utmost importance that ya lot will grow to be the finest of fighters so make sure you give it your all strive far more aye? Bahehe.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ You guys might be wondering what the scouts brigade is supposed to be. Honestly, the name is a little bit misleading, the scouts are considered the strongest brigade in Guardian, on par with some of the lower ranking royal knights!¡±


    Mikah took a sip from his leather jug and sat down on the ground as he looked at the students.


    ¡°Ro-Royal knights?! Why would a scouting unit be composed of such strong fighters!?¡± One girl asked, to which a few other students agreed.


    ¡°Haha, good question there, you see, the scouts mainly move around in small units of 3 members at the time so that they could maintain flexibility and swiftness.


    As a result of that however, the risk goes up too.¡±


    Zick shot a glance to the scout sitting next to him.


    ¡°Hic, fine fine, yar such a tighty one aye? Bahaha, ya see lads and lasses, most of the missions we got here at the fort got us goin¡¯ real close with some of the munchers and hosties around¡­¡± He flipped his jug and shook it a bit making a few drops fall out on the ground.


    ¡°Hmm, excuse me sir, what¡¯s munchers and hosties?¡± To my surprise it was Roger that asked it.


    ¡°Baha! Hic, Zicko d¡¯ya not teach the lads about the dangers of tha world?¡± He looked at Zick who returned an exasperated sigh and started explaining.


    It seems that the soldiers in Guardian give to creatures that aren¡¯t human or demi-human and are carnivorous the name ¡®Munchers¡¯.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡®Hosties¡¯ is just another way of saying hostiles, those being demi-humans or humans who pose a threat to Rintiya.


    ¡°Are there really such strong m-munchers out there that you need a low ranking royal knight to defeat them?¡± Some four-eyed guy asked.


    Mikah¡¯s brows furrowed and his flushed cheeks lower and lost some of their color ¡°Lad with the glasses there, ya listen close here.


    That kinds of thunkin¡¯ getcha killed, ya do best to remembir this.


    Ya fight on equal grounds and the grounds get dug up from under ya foot.¡± He lifted the jug and tried to take another sip before his gaze sank to the ground and his eyes slowly closed ¡°Ya best remembir¡­¡± His voice trailed off.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ Mister Mikah?¡± The student stepped closer to the scout.


    Mikah pulled out a knife and struck at the student¡¯s heel. The student squealed and fell to the ground but his leg was unharmed, Zick stopped the captain¡¯s hand and woke him up.


    ¡°Hic! Bahahi, ya can¡¯t sleep on the job aye? D¡¯ya lads learned about the orange dust 30 years back?¡± He got up to his feet and shook off the dust from his clothes.


    The air suddenly stood still and the dust from the man¡¯s clothes filled the area. I could barely see anything in front of me but I could hear the wind.


    Is this a Seal? It¡¯s still cold and windy but the air is still, everything looks different but feels the same.


    ¡°Whacha seein¡¯ right now is the fockin¡¯ dust from all those years back, we saw lotsa lads like you lot, white on the nose and wet behind them ears. Like I could talk¡­ I was one of them lads.


    Don¡¯t ya wish you could take part in a battle? Well ya shouldn¡¯t. Take it from this old dog.¡± malevolent pressure hit me all of a sudden, I put a hand on the back of my belt but of course I didn¡¯t have a knife¡­


    The orange dust vanished from my sight and the captain¡¯s eyes slowly lost their momentary glow.


    He raised his right hand and pointed at himself with a thumb that was apparently missing ¡°This one here was proud and that¡¯s why that one there¡± He pointed at a nearby area with a fence around it ¡°Is in the ground aye? Bahaha!¡±


    ¡°I-I underst-¡±


    ¡°Nah ya don''t¡¯ ya skinny lad, ya don¡¯t understand and ya won¡¯t¡­ until ya do that is. Seen ¡®nough of ya lot to know that now. ¡®Heps Simon the First¡¯s gon¡¯ help ya aye?¡±


    He flipped his jug once more and turned to Zick ¡°Zicko, I take it we done with the introductions then, aye? I¡¯ll go get a refill bahehe.¡± Mikah sloppily put his hand to his forehead and gestured towards us before walking past us, he looked at me for a moment as he passed by.


    ¡°Well at least one of ya understands I take it bahahahaha!¡± And with that remark he walked away.


    The other students looked in my direction, some clicked their tongues and some just stared poisonously. I guess we¡¯re back to this now, not that it surprises me.


    One stare still had a bit of an impact though. I looked at red-hair and there was a strange, painful sting in my chest.


    He looked at me for a moment, his eyes glazed over and his brows slightly furrowed. It was an expression I¡¯ve grown familiar with over the last week, I haven¡¯t seen it before so it was new to me but now I understand.


    People need validation from those around them, I get it now, I get what it means, or at least I think I do.


    It was probably better this way though¡­


    ***


    We spent the rest of the day learning about Guardian¡¯s history, the battle of the orange dust and the reasons behind the decisions regarding the outer and inner wall.


    We were also introduced to the rest of the scouts and were assigned a scout unit leader for every 2 students.


    Mikah chose me, saying he wants to keep an eye on the ¡®muncher in hosti clothing¡¯ as he so kindly put it. Since I had to stay with the prince, we ended up grouped together.


    Of crouse, even a person who only just met me treats me like a fucking beast, everyone around me is just a part of this pile of shit. If only I could just kill them all.


    Who am I even lying to? I can barely handle killing bandits who directly threaten my life¡­ I guess I¡¯m the biggest shit in the pile.


    Night fell on the fortress and we were given free time to roam around. Of course for me it was more like an order to go and have a 1 on 1 talk with Mikah.


    I arrived at a decently big tent made of grey cloth, it looked pretty thick and clumsy, not what I¡¯d expect of a scout¡¯s tent¡­


    ¡°Stop yar examining and let¡¯s go far a walk lad.¡± Mikah said as he stood behind me.


    ¡°So much for a 1 on 1, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Bahaha, spicy one aincha? Well that¡¯s all dandy. Follow close.¡±


    He started towards an unlit area next to the wall. I''ve read about this type of scenario in books before. Is this the part where I get killed¡­? Pfft, yeah right.

 43. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 43

    The suffocating musky smell slowly grew into a more fresh, earthy one as the winds picked up accompanied by an increasingly pouring rain.


    Mikah stopped under a stone arch, it was entirely dark and the rain was very loud around us.


    His face lit up for a quick moment as lightning flashed in the background.


    ¡°Say lad, have ya ever met a man who made a deal with a banished master?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re asking that but, I¡¯ve never been to the mines or the sea before, so no.¡±


    ¡°Bahaha! Well ya have 2 legs to stand on and ya came out of a human aye?¡±


    ¡°S-sure¡­¡±


    He closed one eye and made a square with his fingers, although one corner was missing due to the missing thumb¡­¡°Ya ever took a look in the mirror then?¡±


    I looked into his eyes ¡°Are you implying I¡¯m some evil maniac¡­ Sir?¡±


    ¡°Bahaha, quite the spicy one indeed aye lad? Relax that blood pumper of yars, ya might piss yar pants baha!¡± He walked past me and put a hand on my chest.


    I felt the sweat drops from my forehead trickle down as I took a deep breath.


    ¡°Ya seem to know yar place at least.¡± He said as he stood to watch the rain.


    This old man is fucking insane, what¡¯s he even on about?


    ¡°D¡¯ya know lad, I once met a contractor of this banished master. The lad was heads in the cloud, heart under the ground and hands covered in thick blood.¡± He took out the same jug and started drinking.


    I didn¡¯t really have anything to say, I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s talking about but I didn¡¯t want to walk in the rain, so I guess I¡¯m stuck here listening to a crazy person.


    ¡°Have ya ever tried looking at a single drop of rain lad?¡± He asked.


    ¡°That sounds impossibly pointless¡­¡±


    ¡°Bahaha! Right ya are. So why do ya seem like the typa lad to do that? Even with a head in the clouds, the rain is all the same.


    I¡¯ll give ya this one word of advice aye? If ya try to look at a single drop of rain from the clouds, ya might crash face first into the hard ground.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°R-right¡­¡±


    ¡°Hic! Bahahahahaha, ya¡¯re a funny lad aincha? Well the rain isn¡¯ stopping anytime soon so we might as well just get a little wet.¡± Mikah went into the rain and slowly disappeared into the darkness before the lightning made him appear again for a quick moment.


    As the decrepit scout¡¯s dawdling figure got swallowed by the darkness, I just sat down under the stone arch and listened to the rain.


    My body felt heavy and my head was hurting, it was a familiar sensation at this point but an unpleasant one nonetheless¡­


    I don¡¯t understand half of what this guy said, I guess he wanted to see if I was a threat¡­? Either way, I don¡¯t know what to think of this conversation, why do people keep giving me those riddles disguised as advice?


    Fuck I hate it when people don¡¯t just say what they mean.


    I guess I also don¡¯t always say what I mean huh? Why is it so hard to do sometimes¡­ Ego? Not in this case though, this guy doesn¡¯t need my validation, I guess it¡¯s more like what Dawn said, I need to figure it out on my own¡­ Maybe.


    Fuck. I hate people.


    It wasn¡¯t too long before the rain calmed down and I went to the main tent. It''s called a city but for some reason we sleep in tents, isn¡¯t that a bit absurd?Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°...Souvenirs! The stores here are all about military equipment or very basic food, this city sucks!¡± I heard a voice coming out of the girls¡¯ tent as I arrived at our campsite. Ironic.


    I pulled up the wet sheet to enter the boys¡¯ tent and the strangely pleasant scent of fresh rain mixed with burnt oil was soon replaced with the very unpleasant, musky smell of old socks.


    As soon as I entered, 2 of the guys closest to the entrance looked at me and immediately averted their gaze. The rest of the students didn¡¯t seem to pay attention to my presence, except for 2 other people who were talking to each other in the middle of the tent.


    I tried to read their lips but the fucking smidgeball put a hand over his mouth as he spoke¡­


    I can¡¯t imagine those 2 will give me any trouble any time soon, the prince has a surprising amount of influence over people, I just dislike being badmouthed all the time.


    The prince was quietly reading a book as he lay on the bed at the edge of the tent. I remember reading this book once, ¡®The Friend is a Friend¡¯.


    Why would he read something so naive and boring?


    He lowered his book to meet my eyes as if telling me to mind my own business and then went back to reading.


    The rain was still quite loud outside and served as a soothing distraction from the constant thoughts of people staring at me as I tried to sleep.


    Ironically enough, it was focusing on a drop of rain that might just help me sleep tonight.


    When I opened my eyes again, I could only see a small village from the top of a hill nearby through eyes that were clearly higher than mine.


    ¡°Yo, how¡¯s it going man?¡± Someone said from behind me in a clear voice.


    ¡°You know¡­ Same as usual.¡± I responded, my voice was a bit more quiet and uninterested.


    The casual conversation between the 2 people revealed that ¡®we¡¯ haven¡¯t met in 4 years but it didn¡¯t seem to make much of a difference.


    What a nonsensical, naive dream.


    When I woke up, there was a strange sense of yearning in my chest, my heart was fluttering as I opened my eyes and sat up.


    I don¡¯t even know why. It felt as if I had a dream about something important but I couldn¡¯t remember the details.


    I just knew that it was about 2 people. What were they doing? Why do I feel so strange about it?


    ***


    All of the students joined the different units they were assigned to after waking up early in the morning.


    Zick and Mikah explained the schedule for today, breakfast, routine patrols which from hearing the explanation, sounded more like a reconnaissance mission, equipment maintenance, lunch break.


    After lunch the units will come together to form 2 platoons with 10 units each, the platoons are led by a commanding officer, as a special exception this time, Zick will lead the 2nd platoon while Mikah will lead the 1st.


    The platoon¡¯s missions are going to be exclusive information for the platoons so we can only learn them when the commanding officer explains the details.


    After the missions are completed, assuming no unexpected events come up, there will be a review meeting between the platoons and then a review for each unit, after the review is finished, the unit leaders are supposed to report the findings to Mikah, the captain of the scout¡¯s brigade.


    We already had breakfast today though, so I guess I just need to group up with Mikah and the prince for now¡­


    ***


    The 3 of us exited the city from the northern gate. It took about an hour on horse to reach our destination, a small town at the edge of the forest of the lords.


    ¡°Ya lot eva¡¯ heard of Land Lords?¡± Mikah spoke up.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve neve-¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re humanoid creatures that have an umbilical cord connecting them to the ground¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°R-right, thanks.¡± Red-hair responded.


    ¡°Well aren¡¯t ya 2 good friends aye? Bahaha! Aye, cowardly boy is correct.¡± He smirked at me before continuing. ¡°I¡¯ll say it now so ya don¡¯t get too surprised, we consider Land Lords to be munchers.


    Those sons of bitches might look human from afar, make no mistake however, there¡¯s no human thing ¡®bout them.¡± Mikah¡¯s casual demeanor vanished as he finished his small pep talk.


    ¡°Right then, this town be called Edgetown, we go into town and ask the citizens about unusual events around the area.


    If ya hear something regarding children disappearing, munchers grouping too much or anything that seems suspicious, write it all down in yar journals ya received at the camp.¡± He pulled out a small flipbook and a pencil to show us.


    ¡°I believe in my soldiers operating their own thunking boxes so ya have to use that thing to make your own judgements with the information ya learn.


    If ya think something¡¯s too urgent to pushback, ya come back to find me. Ya make yar own judgement but ya never act on yar own, is that clear lads?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes s-¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± The prince yelled.


    ¡°Well then, we rendezvous when the sun reaches the middle of the sky. I¡¯ll meet ya lads at the town square next to the bakery. Be safe, be smart, stay alive. Dismissed.¡± His serious face slowly softened as he finished giving out orders and started slowly making his way into town.


    Well, I have about 5 hours to explore the western side of this town, hopefully it¡¯s not too boring.

 44. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 44

    Much like the roads at Guardian, bricks seem to be the most prominent material used here, those fucking bricks tripped me twice now¡­ Why would you have bricks everywhere when this area gets so much rain?


    This town is surprisingly big to be honest, I¡¯ve been walking through the different alleys for 2 hours now and I still haven¡¯t covered the entire western area.


    It seems to be a residential part of the town but I haven¡¯t seen a lot of people around, is it just an unfortunate timing? I guess I never realized that shops need someone to operate them¡­


    Finally after over 2 hours of walking around the -mostly- empty streets I ran into 2 kids ¡°Hey there, how are you guys doing? Can I ask you a few questions?¡± I asked.


    ¡°How are you doing! How are you doing! Hahaha! You talk funny mist-¡±


    The older girl slapped the back of her snotty sibling¡¯s head and apologized to me ¡°Simon mom said not to be rude to old people!¡± She said.


    I-isn¡¯t that quite rude though¡­?


    ¡°It¡¯s alright don¡¯t worry about it. Anyway, I¡¯m a scout from Guardian, we are trying to make sure everyo-¡±


    ¡°WAW! Nana, you think he is so strong!!? Scout strong, right Nana?¡± The younger child started yelling.


    ¡°Y-Yes! Thank you for keeping us safe, mister scout!¡± Nana said and smiled shyly.


    ¡°Su-sure¡­ Can you guys tell me if you saw anything interesting happening lately? Maybe someone that is doing something weird? Maybe big big beasts trying to come close to the city?¡±


    The children looked at each other and thought for a few seconds before shaking their heads.


    ¡°Alright, thanks for your ti-... I guess it doesn¡¯t matter, anyway, thanks and let me give you a word of advice as an ¡®old¡¯ person, don¡¯t talk too much to people you don¡¯t know, alright?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Funny mister! You sound like old man Volger! He always gives us candy! But his eyes are scary!¡± The brother said.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have candy but I can show you a cool trick instead.¡±


    I looked at the shadow behind them and took a step back into the shadow of a nearby staircase.


    I lowered my head next to the confused children who tried to find me in front of them and yelled ¡°Puff!¡± in their ears.


    ¡°Kyaaa!!!¡± ¡°Ahh!¡± They both yelled


    and fell on their butts.


    They looked at each other and for a moment I thought I might have overdone it and the kids were going to cry but instead ¡°Hahahaha! So cool! Mister scout is so cool! Teach me how!¡±


    ¡°Mister scout, is that your Seal? I learned in school that Seals are very useful abilities that we will all learn! Can I have a Seal just like yours?!¡± Nana asked.


    ¡°Smart girl! Yes, that is the power of a Seal, but I can¡¯t teach it to you nor will you be able to get this exact power¡­ You see, Seals are very special and every Seal is unique. I¡¯m sure your powers will be really cool though!¡±


    ¡°R-real-¡±


    ¡°Yay! Yay! My power is so cool, more cool then mister scout!¡±


    ¡°Haha, when you get it, make sure to show me alright? Well I have to go now, if you guys see anything weird, please tell the scouts ok? Also, did you say that old man¡¯s name is Volger?¡±


    ¡°Aww you have to go now mister scout? Can¡¯t we play together?¡± Nana asked.


    ¡°Hmm, do you guys live here? Maybe we can meet again tomorrow and play?¡±


    ¡°Yay! Mister scout, I like you!¡± The boy said.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    My chest felt tingly, kids in the slums were usually quite scared of me¡­ I wonder why they are so friendly and carefree.


    ¡°Alright, bye guys, stay out of trouble!¡±


    A figure showed up in my peripheral vision for a quick moment inside of the shadows. My heart beat hastened before I took a deep breath and organized my thoughts.


    I shouldn¡¯t be using my Seal like that too much¡­


    The rest of my patrol went on very much uneventfully.


    At the bakery, Mikah and the prince were already waiting. When red-hair saw me approaching, he quickly walked in my direction and, without much of a warning, tried to slap me, I caught his hand and felt the anger starting to build up before a hand rubbed my chest.


    ¡°Yar blood pumper might explode someday¡­¡± Mikah said.


    ¡°Lifes! Why did you activate your Seal! Tell me, right now!¡± The prince grabbed the color of my shirt and brought his face closer to mine.


    I grabbed his wrist and said ¡°Let go of my shirt, or you might find it harder to wipe your ass later.¡±


    How did he even kno- oh yeah, the artifact probably.


    Mikah grabbed both of our hands and squeezed tightly, so tightly that I thought he might break my wrist, his carefree demeanor was nowhere to be seen.


    His eyes were cold and there was a pressure that made me want to run away. I almost started activating my Seal but there were no dark areas to dive into.


    The captain let go of our wrists and smiled softly ¡°Now now, lads, calm down and talk like friends, aye?¡±


    I took a deep breath and nodded, the prince just clicked his tongue and looked to the side.


    ¡°I just showed some kids a cool trick, that¡¯s all. I guess you wouldn¡¯t really think a piece of shit, selfish, murderer would use his power for someone else, huh? Hahaha, my bad there!¡± I said.


    Red hair bit his lower lip and closed his fists so tightly that his knuckles went white.


    He looked at the ground and mumbled ¡°S-sorry¡­ You made me lose my cool.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I guess you spoiled richoles don¡¯t even learn how to apolo-¡±


    ¡°Lad, let¡¯s stop here, aye?¡±


    ¡°Pfft, whatever¡­ ¡®I¡¯ll be your friend no matter what¡¯ my ass, get lost, loser.¡±


    The prince kept his head down and walked back to the bakery.


    Mikah looked at him before turning to me ¡°Well, ya got somethin¡¯ to report? Was a whole lotta nothin¡¯ on our end.¡±


    ¡°Tch¡­ Not really, there was just this one guy who sounded suspicious, supposedly an old man named Volger.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, the dust collector aye? What''s suspicious there?¡±


    ¡°Dust collec-? You know him? Some kids told me he gives them candy but his eyes are really scary¡­ Whatever that means.¡±


    ¡°Aye, the man is famous around here, the people who live here like him a lot ya know?¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ Why would the kids say his eyes are scary then?¡±


    ¡°Bahaha! The old man is not taking care of himself, his eyes are red, like he doesn¡¯t sleep. Just children being children, nothing to worry ¡®bout aye?¡± He said as he started walking towards the bakery.


    I just realized that we had a bit of a noisy argument here but the people around seem completely unbothered.


    Even more, they seem quite happy¡­ A finger touching my shoulder drew my attention to an elderly, short lady who wore a soothing smile on her face.


    ¡°A young boy like you is so skinny¡­ Is captain Mikah not feeding you properly? Here¡± The gentle lady handed me a brown beg with a sweet smell and a warm trail of steam coming out of it.


    ¡°Wha-? I don¡¯t know if I can receive¡­¡± I looked at Mikah who smiled and lifted a cup of some hot beverage. I guess it¡¯s fine¡­


    ¡°T-thank you.¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh no! Thank you!¡± She responded with a big, warm smile plastered on her face.


    My heart fluttered again and I felt a lump in my throat, I get it, I guess¡­ Why people help others.


    I lowered my eyes and looked at the steam. The lady rubbed my back gently and went on with her business ¡°I didn¡¯t earn this¡­¡± I mumbled to myself. I felt a bit of a sting in my chest, there was a bitter taste in my mouth.


    I joined the other 2 at the bakery.


    The prince was eating a piece of bread with some green sauce on top of it, it smelled a lot like garlic. Mikah was drinking just plain, black coffee.


    I looked at the prince eating, his expression was not as ambivalent as it usually seemed, more like he was still pissed off, what¡¯s with this guy and his fucking mood swings.


    With a deep sigh, I leaned back on the chair and closed my eyes.


    ¡°Got something to say, Lifes?¡± Red-hair asked.


    ¡°Just focus on your food¡­ Make sure you chew at least 38 times so your royal stomach can handle it.¡±


    ¡°Bahaha, yar spicy side is always funny ya know, lad?But still, ya lot should¡­¡± His voice trailed off, I opened my eyes out of curiosity, Mikah looked at me and rubbed his chin, then looked at the prince who slowed down his chewing. When we looked at him his face turned a little red.


    ¡°Forget it, ya¡¯re fine, finish yar food and let¡¯s head back to the fort.¡± Mikah concluded.

 45. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 45

    ¡°The mission for our platoon is to escort a merchants and provisions caravan that¡¯s arriving from the east, yar unit leaders will relay my orders and ya lot are expected to perform yar best.


    We will meet the caravan at Blackeye Deville.


    Departure at sunrise. Dismissed.¡±


    After finishing the briefing, we grouped into our units and Mikah explained our role in the mission.


    Since he¡¯s the platoon leader and has to give out orders, he has to stay at the center of the formation¡­


    ¡°Other units will clear our way and scout the area around us, ya lot will stay with me and relay my orders. Ya¡¯ll carry a weapon, some water and yar clothes, keep it light so the horse don¡¯t get tired aye?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    ¡°Y-yes sir¡­¡±


    Why is this fucking prince so excited about everything, I was told I was a sheltered child when I was growing up but I guess those guys at the slums never met a royal¡­


    Cold winter nights in a barely functional tent aren¡¯t very fun, I¡¯m too skinny for that and my body gets too cold, too quickly¡­


    I laid in my sleeping bag and listened to the whispers of the other students, some were talking about the girls, some were talking about their patrols and some were talking about¡­ me.


    ¡°...ast night, it¡¯s so annoying that he¡¯s here! I can¡¯t even close my eyes.¡±


    ¡°I know, right? He¡¯s making me so nervous¡­¡±


    I guess I figured that might happen, but it¡¯s still annoying, who even cares about you people, shut up already and go to sleep¡­


    ¡°Tch¡±


    ¡°D-do you think he heard us?¡±


    Ops, I didn¡¯t mean to actually make a sound¡­


    I tried to make a loud snoring noise so they think that I¡¯m asleep already.


    ¡°Phew¡­ It sounds like he¡¯s sleeping.¡±


    I peeked at the bed across from me and saw red-hair staring at me from over the cover of his book. Our eyes met and he quickly pulled up his book. How is he even reading in this darkness anyway?


    What a weirdo¡­


    You¡¯d think a 23 years old man would just have the balls to say what he has to.


    Morning came as soon as my eyes closed.


    I splashed some water on my face and thought my fingers might just fall off, my face felt tingly as the faint morning breeze blew by. If I wasn¡¯t fully awake until that point, I couldn¡¯t go back to bed now.


    As commanded, everyone was ready to depart right on time, some students complained about their body feeling ¡®weak and wobbly¡¯ but the scouts just laughed and said that fighting while sick is the best for growth.


    Our group rode for 3 hours towards the bridge to cross the Black Vein river.


    ¡°Halt!¡± Mikah yelled as we approached the bridge.


    ¡°We will cross 2 at a time, ay-¡±


    ¡°Captain, a report from platoon 1 group 2 arrived.¡± One of the scouts said as he pointed at a student riding towards us.


    The student informed Mikah that the 2nd group has arrived at Edgetown and are awaiting further orders.


    ¡°Dandy, good work lad, take 5 minutes to rest and ride back, report back to yar commander.


    Group 2 will clear the path from Edgetown to Blackeye Deville, group 1 will meet with the caravan after crossing the bridge.¡± He drank some water before crossing together with the prince.


    ¡°We will link with group 2 on our way back to Edgetown, from here we need to pick up the pace ya slowpokes. We depart from Blackeye¡¯s town as soon as we meet with the marchants!¡± He concluded.


    It was another 3 hours of riding towards the town, clouds covered the sky at this point but the sun would be almost in the middle of it right now.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The noise of children playing next to the watermill drew my attention. There weren¡¯t this many children back at the slums, people would make a lot of babies but none of them survived.


    It was somehow pleasant to see the carefree kids playing around.


    This area was mostly inhabited by commoners, I felt a strange sense of pride as I looked at the peaceful scene.


    What a strange feeling¡­ Is it because I got rid of these corrupt nobles? I guess I can take the credit here, right? Haha.


    I specifically had a mission once to take out a network of nobles who developed black market for child slavery.


    It wasn¡¯t my biggest mission but it was the one I remember the most.


    My deluded sense of pride was slowly revealing its poisonous, black color as I recalled what happened to the children who were liberated from captivity, they all became Slayers¡­


    ¡°Ridiculous¡­¡± I mumbled and looked at the ground.


    It has nothing to do with me, It¡¯s not my fault! Those kids are playing without a worry thanks to me and the other kids became Slayers only because of this fucking bitch, Kiyoko.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t even think about harming those children!¡± Some guy said from behind me.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I turned to meet his gaze, his lips were trembling and behind him were 2 girls.


    ¡°Tch¡­¡± I turned towards the town and ignored him.


    I heard the guy bragging to the girls as I walked closer to Mikah.


    ¡°Not so popular are ya? What d¡¯ya think, are they being unfair? Bahaha¡± He asked, not bothering to look in my direction.


    ¡°Wha-? Where is this coming from? Fuc- tch.¡± I got off my horse and walked away from him.


    ¡°Bahahahaha! What a spicy lad.¡± He said loudly.


    ¡®D¡¯ya think they¡¯re being unfair?¡± I quietly repeated his words in a mocking tone.


    ¡°I hate old people.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°My my, we can¡¯t be all that bad, right? Hihihi.¡± An elderly woman asked from next to me.


    ¡°Tch. Ah¡­ S-sorry.¡± I responded.


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t joke around boy, you shouldn¡¯t apologize when you don¡¯t really feel regret.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ I really hate old people.¡± I said and walked away again, I¡¯m starting to run out of places to walk away to.


    ¡°Hihihi, what an honest young man.¡± She said.


    ¡°Right then, listen up lads, the marchants are prepared to depart, get on yar horses and we ride west-north, move!¡± Mikah announced.


    After a few hours of riding, the grey clouds slowly became a fog that made it difficult to see even a few meters ahead.


    ¡°Torches!¡± Mikah yelled.


    ¡°Torches!¡± The scouts around us repeated.


    ¡°Unit leaders, count yar flames!¡±


    ¡°Counting flames!¡± They all repeated again.


    ¡°Unit 2, 3 flames. All heads present!¡±


    ¡°Unit 5, 3 flames. All heads present!¡±


    ¡°Unit 4, 2 flames. 1 head missing. Patrolling within proximity!¡±


    ¡°Unit 7, 1 flame. 2 heads missing. Rearguard.¡±


    ¡°Unit 1, 3 flames. All heads present!¡± Mikah concluded.


    ¡°We keep moving at this pace, my lads will relay commands, keep yar sound holes open and follow yar leader¡¯s orders!¡± He added.


    After a few more minutes of riding in the fog Mikah ordered us to slow down our pace and close in the formation.


    ¡°Lad, pick up yar pace and meet with the 2nd group, I need a report of the road by the munchers¡¯ area, there¡¯s a suspicious stench.¡± He said, looking at me.


    ¡°Y-yes sir¡­¡± I said. This is annoying, I hate this game that we need to play.


    I picked up the pace and just 30 minutes later I saw torches. I waved my torch to signal my affiliation and met with the captain of group 2.


    ¡°We ran into a few strange incidents on the road, I need to report it directly to the captain, we¡¯ll investigate a little farther before we link.¡± He recommended that we proceed slowly until the 2 groups link and sent me back.


    It took another hour for us to link up.


    Mikah was talking to the leader of group 2 and I overheard some of the conversation ¡±Land Lords¡­? Out of the forest? Quite unusual, aye.¡±


    ¡°Hyland, spicy lad, orders for all units.


    All units are to stay within a torch visibility and stick close to the caravan. 100-Legged centipede formation.¡±


    ¡°Ye-¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± red-hair yelled over me.


    What an exhausting day¡­


    After 4 more hours of riding, we finally made it to Edgetown and took a short break.


    ¡°... Captain, all heads are present and able bodied!¡±


    ¡°Dandy, all units are dismissed for a 20 minute break before we move out once again. Unit leaders stay here for a briefing.¡± Mikah said.


    I couldn¡¯t really go into town since I was only familiar with the western side of it so I just sat on one of the caravan¡¯s carriages.


    ¡°Hihihi, how¡¯s it going for you, regretful boy? Having fun?¡± The old lady approached me again.


    Apparently she was a merchant in this caravan ¡°I really can¡¯t catch a break today, can I¡­?¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be so harsh, you know, my son would be about your age.¡± Her voice trembled slightly as she said it.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡±


    ¡°Hihi, what a heartless little brat you are.¡±


    I sighed heavily and placed my elbow on my knee to lean on my hand.


    ¡°you don¡¯t say¡­¡± I responded.


    ¡°You¡¯re quite clever aren-¡±


    ¡°Kyaaaa!¡± A girl screamed nearby.


    ¡°Woah! C-captain! Someone get the captain!¡± One guy yelled.

 46. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 46

    There was a familiar, unpleasant stench in the air.


    ¡°Aye, I believe so. My unit will investigate the nearby wild zone¡¯s woods, just ta make sure aye? The rest of ya lot will follow Ricko¡¯s command until ya reach the fort.


    Report back to Zicko and send a message to the main investigation unit at the capital.¡±


    Mikah squatted down and furrowed his brows as he looked at the severed arm.


    He touched the puddle of blood and sighed deeply.


    ¡°We might need a royal knight here.¡±


    ¡°R-royal knight? Aren¡¯t the scouts supposed to be really strong? why suddenly?¡± One girl asked.


    ¡°Ya lads might not be aware aye? The south-easterns might be here.¡±


    ¡°South-eas- You mean pirates?!¡± The girl yelled.


    Mikah nodded, got up and in one swift motion pointed towards Guardian ¡°Everyone move out, unit 1 will investigate further, the culprits are most likely inside of the wild zone¡¯s forest, the visibility there is currently incredibly low so we haf to move slowly.¡±


    Rick, the temporary leader got up on his horse and yelled ¡°As soon as the merchants are ready, we depart!


    Captain, the rest of us will link with the second platoon and depart towards the pirate¡¯s autonomous zone!¡±


    ¡°Aye! No fighting until the matter is clear, aye? We don¡¯t have authority beyond the bridge of Black Vein.¡± Mikah responded.


    Everyone else set out towards Guardian. We put the horses at a stable inside Edgetown and procured some equipment for a longer expedition.


    We walked into the thick fog that covered the forest at the wild zone, it was quiet. Only the sound of leaves rustling in the wind.


    There was a clear smell of dirt mixed with dried leaves and rotten fruit.


    The tree trunks were thick and moist from the rain, the ground was somewhat slippery.


    We walked deeper into the forest until we heard what sounded like laughter. The voice screamed loudly and in a very high-pitched, trembling voice, it laughed more before saying, almost singing ¡°My a-rum! My a-rum!!¡±


    The voice kept getting closer and stronger, the sound of something big hitting the ground over and over also started repeating.


    ¡°Reduce yar figure, that¡¯s a Copape, we don¡¯t have time for the beast right now.¡± Mikah pointed forward. I squinted my eyes but I couldn¡¯t see anything except for the 2 large tree trunks.


    We lowered our bodies and maintained a ¡®small figure¡¯. I''ve never seen a Copape but I heard they aren¡¯t interested in smaller creatures that don¡¯t threaten them.


    As we passed by the tree trunks I saw earlier, the voices and sounds were now directly above us. Copapes have 4 limbs and they live in forests. Is it just a monkey?


    ¡°Wah-y!!?¡± The voice said quizzically from above.


    I looked at Mikah and his face was pale, his eyes were wide open, I¡¯ve seen this expression before, fear. ¡°Wha-¡±


    He put his hand on my mouth and a finger on his own to shush me. He signaled to us to drop to the ground.


    We all immediately lay down on our stomachs, Mikah¡¯s eyes glowed as he took a deep breath and blew out a smoke that resembled the fog around us, the smoke slowly wrapped around all 3 of us.


    He grabbed a handful of leaves and mud and threw them into the air as well.


    Mikah and the prince suddenly turned into dried leaves and dirt.


    It felt exactly the same as the time at guardian with the orange dust, this strange feeling of mismatch between what I know is there and what I¡¯m seeing. It was unnerving.


    The ground shook wildly in front of us, I looked up and my body went cold, I wanted to scream. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I held my breath tightly. Will Mikah¡¯s Seal deceive it?! What is this ¡®it¡¯ anyway!?


    In front of me was an enormous forehead, I had to strain my neck upwards just to see the creature¡¯s eyes. Eyes? Where are his eyes? There were 2 gigantic dark holes above its forehead, I could barely see it up above but I¡¯m pretty sure the corners of its mouth are widely stretched, is it smiling?


    The round holes I assumed are his eyes didn¡¯t really change shape to fit what a smile would normally look like on any living creature I¡¯ve seen before.


    There was some red liquid slowly flowing from the corners of its lips. Blood?


    There was moss on its forehead, there were vines hanging down from the cracked piece of wood that looked like a nose.


    I could see the mouth move from the upper corner of my eyes ¡°My a-rum!! My a-rum!¡± I could feel my body vibrating violently. What is going on?! Is this really a Copape!?


    Its forehead lifted off and instead it basically headbutted the ground with its cheek, I could now see, mostly, the entire face, I wish I wouldn¡¯t¡­


    There were at least 4 rows of teeth that looked almost like gigantic human teeth made of boulders, each one slightly bigger than a large horse.


    Some of the teeth were clearly covered with the same red liquid.


    The red liquid splashed out from the creature¡¯s mouth as its cheek hit the ground.


    It kept swapping expressions, its eyes curved to the center slightly and its mouth curved into a pseudo frown.


    Wait, is this thing copying our expressions? I tried to close 1 eye and bite my lower lip, the creature squinted 1 eye and bit the fur on its lower lip.


    It can see us¡­ Why is it just staring and copying us? ¡°No no! No no!!¡± It yelled out with the same trembling voice, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on but it sounded¡­ Scared?


    I looked to my right where Mikah and the prince were and it looked like the air was warping around Mikah¡¯s location, it almost looked like something I read about in Jake¡¯s notebook. A phenomenon that happened to the trailblazers when they tried to explore the south for the first time, they called it ¡®mirage¡¯, more specifically it looks like ¡®superior mirage¡¯.


    Either way, the Copape wrinkled its wooden nose. The moss on its forehead that now looked somewhat like eyebrows shook a little bit and furrowed towards the center.


    It started gritting its teeth.


    The creaky noise from the rows of boulders in the creature¡¯s mouth scraping against each other made me think my ear drums will blow up soon.


    The red liquid seemed to flow out more now, it was also a slightly brighter color.


    ¡°No no! My a-rum! No my a-rum!¡± It slowly lifted its head and started making the sound from earlier which I now realized was just the Copape clapping its hands.


    From above us dropped an object that looked like a bloodied helmet.


    The 2 tree trunks next to us started lifting off the ground as the creature slowly walked away, making the ground shake with each step.


    Mikah¡¯s Seal slowly deactivated revealing our sweating, panting captain.


    Red-hair¡¯s face was pale.


    ¡°C-capt-¡±


    ¡°Just a Copape lad, those beasts are cowardly and are also afraid of the heat, they are quite playful and most of them aren¡¯t very aggressive, no need to worry.


    Ya aren¡¯t a royal prince here, just anotha¡¯ soldier, soldiers embrace death, aye?¡± Mikah said as he got up to his feet and cleaned his clothes from all the mud and dry leaves.


    Red-hair looked at the severed head in front of him with a pained expression.


    ¡°Y-yes sir¡­¡± The prince answered, still struggling to get up on his feet.


    ¡°This helmet, I¡¯ve seen it before, captain, is this a guard fr-¡±


    ¡°Aye lad, the guard from Edgetown.¡± Mikah finished my thought.


    As we walked a little deeper into the woods, I could smell smoke, it was clearly due to a campfire, there was also a more disgusting smell in the air though.


    ¡°We¡¯re closin¡¯ on them lads, if they try ta flee I¡¯ll follow them while ya lot will cover me, aye?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± We both whispered.


    As we got a little closer, we could see 5 men, they had a strange mix of fancy and ragged clothing, one of the men had a missing arm, the wound seemed somewhat fresh, it looks like they made the campfire in order to burn the flesh and stop the bleeding.


    It seems the captain was right, the guard cut one of the pirate¡¯s arms and chased after them into the forest. He must¡¯ve run into the Copape by chance. Unfortunate.


    The unpleasant smell of burnt human flesh made me feel sick.


    We kept observing from a nearby brush and I finally noticed it, it was the missing piece of the puzzle. Why would the pirates from all the way in the Pirate Bay go into Edgetown in the first place? Why would the guard attack them?


    Behind them was a large leather bag, big enough to fit a human inside. Kidnapping.


    I heard pirates kidnapped -mostly- females with desirable Seals and fornicated with them. The rumor is that pirates believe that you can inherit a Seal through genes somehow.


    ¡°Lifes lad, ya¡¯re the key to this operation.¡± Mikah pulled out a large piece of cloth and poured all of our water on it.


    ¡°Ya know what ya do, aye?¡± He asked.


    I nodded and took out my bow, I just needed a valid target for my Seal.


    I shot an arrow blindly into the darkness above the group of pirates and it hit a tree.


    ¡°I can see it now, just give me the go sign, captain.¡±


    He handed me the soaked cloth and lifted his hand to count to 3.

 47. A Lifes Journey - Chapter 47

    With the help of the arrow''s brighter color I locked onto the tree that was just over the heads of our enemies.


    As soon as Mikah¡¯s 3rd finger went down, I dove into the darkness around us and came out next to my arrow.


    It was easy to see my target from this angle. I held the wet cloth over their fire and as I was about to let go, I could feel a chill going down my spine. I looked to my left to see or rather felt like I saw a dark face with 2 hollow, gaping black holes instead of eyes.


    The eyes looked at me and blood started gushing out. The figure tilted its head and got closer to me. I reflexively tried to back off a little, but I lost my balance and started falling towards the ground next to the group of pirates.


    It all went by too quickly but I somehow managed to throw the cloth at the fire and dive into a shadow that was cast by the remnants of the fire


    ¡°Wh¡­ ho ¡­.. th..e¡± The vague voices I assumed to belong to the pirates said.


    I lay on the ground as my head was spinning and my ears felt as if they were clogged by something. It felt like my stomach was about to eject itself.


    The voices around me started to become a little clearer and in my blurry vision, the same imaginary figure appeared to be peering down on me from above.


    I got lost in the endless nothingness of its eyes before Mikah¡¯s voice pulled me back ¡°Lad, wake up, ya need ta catch the runaway!¡± He yelled. I waved my hand at the figure¡¯s face and got up to my feet.


    It was incredibly dark but I could see someone holding a brown leather bag on his shoulder, running towards me.


    I was about to stand up when there was an explosion of flames behind the man. I pulled out a knife from the chest holster that we received with the scout¡¯s outfit, it was clear that the pirate was in too much of a rush to notice me.


    I waited on the ground and slashed at his left heel as he passed by me and the man and the bag both dropped to the floor.


    ¡°Agh!¡± ¡°Mmph!¡± They both groaned.


    I got up to my feet and walked towards the pirate.


    The man flipped to his back and put his hands in front of him ¡°W-wait! I was just hired by those guys! I¡¯m a mercenary from the south, please just let me go!¡±


    I don¡¯t really want to kill him anyway¡­ I¡¯m sure Mikah would want to interrogate this guy.


    I walked past him and started undoing the knot on the leather bag.


    ¡°Lifes! Watch out!¡± The prince suddenly yelled and pushed me to the side.


    I threw my knife at the pirate¡¯s throat and used the momentum of falling backwards to kick his hand as he was about to stab the prince through the chest.


    I managed to kick his hand away but forcing that kick made me fall on my back and my head forcefully hit the ground which hurt a lot.


    I got up to my feet too quickly and my aching head was now spinning as well.


    The stupid prince just blankly stared into space as I grabbed the collar of his scout hood.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?! Why would you try to get stabbed?¡±


    ¡°N-no but I-¡±


    ¡°You what? You thought I needed your help? That the infamous assassin would turn his back on some retarted pirate who pretends to have a moral epiphany?¡±


    ¡°Wait but¡­ I just wanted to help you¡­¡± Red-hair said.


    ¡°Help¡­? The royal prince?! To his slave?! Aren¡¯t you the most virtuous sinner in the world¡­ Fucking ridiculous.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Red-hair lowered his head and grit his teeth ¡°I guess he¡¯s dead because of me¡­¡± He added.


    My head was hurting and I felt an uncomfortable sensation in my chest. It gave me this sense of urgency that couldn¡¯t be satiated, I couldn¡¯t help wanting to scream. How could he blame me for the guy¡¯s death? ¡°Would you stop calling me a murderer already?!¡± I mumbled quietly.


    ¡°Lifes! I didn-¡±


    ¡°Right then lads, cease the fighting aye? We have 2 prisoners, 2 escapees and 1 dead. We¡¯re heading back to the fort.¡±


    After Mikah finished talking, a sense of dread started creeping up to my chest. I stared at the lifeless body of the man. He had long brown hair and some of it was braided on the side, his lifeless, green eyes were still open, there was something enticing about his current state.


    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get rid of these useless thoughts.


    We helped the young lady return to Edgetown and started riding back to Guardian with the prisoners on the back of mine and Mikah¡¯s horses.


    As we arrived at the gate, I remembered  something I was curious about earlier ¡°Mik- Captain, how did you know the arm belonged to a pirate?¡±


    He looked back at me with a puzzled expression ¡°Hm? Ahh ya talking about Edgetown aye? Well lad, I told ya lot before I was a proud little shite aye?¡±


    ¡°You mean during the orange dust attack?¡±


    ¡°Aye. Well ya see lad, I wasn¡¯t exactly a soldier at the time. I was actually a part of a crew called the Loitering Spheres¡­¡± His gaze turned a little somber as his voice trailed off.


    ¡°By Loitering Spheres you mean-¡±


    ¡°Aye, seems like the young prince has heard of the bastards.¡±


    ¡°How could I n-¡± He looked at me and I raised a brow in response.


    ¡°Wait, Lifes, you seriously don¡¯t know who they are?¡±


    ¡°Why would I know about some random pirates, I only know about things I care about¡­ The sea is more scary than interesting.¡±


    ¡°Random?!¡± He sighed and squeezed his nose bridge with 2 fingers.


    ¡°Bahahaha! That¡¯s some statement to say in front of a former pirate aye?¡±


    Mikah got off his horse and handed the reins to the stable boy who approached as we entered the fortress city.


    One of the guards also took the prisoners and walked off towards the tower west of the scout¡¯s main camp.


    ¡°Regardless of the coward lad¡¯s knowledge, them Loiters were infamous enough to found an autonomous zone in the south east.


    Back then, I was captured next to Guardian, ah it was actually still a small town named Florence at the time, aye? I was held here until that accursed day came.¡± He ground his teeth and closed his eyes as he sat down on a wet, wooden bench that was close to the scout¡¯s camp.


    Both me and the prince stood and looked at him in anticipation.


    ¡°If there¡¯s one thung I¡¯d like ta forget about that day, it is this feeling. I tell ya this, ya might be the strongest ant in the colony, but even a child could squish an ant, aye?¡±


    His clenched fists were shaking.


    ¡°When ya fear something so deeply that yar body is just a doll ta be played with. That¡¯s when ya understand just how small ya are.¡±


    He sighed heavily and let his head fall backwards, I could feel my heart beating faster and faster as the story continued and I remembered our first meeting with the captain. Was that his memory of the orange dust?


    ¡°The knight in charge of Florence¡¯s guard did not expect the attack, can ya blame him? The man was an honorable knight, but he lost his life to save a snotty little bastard who was too scared ta move.¡±


    He closed his eyes and kept going ¡°The snotty brat then becomes a dishonorable scout, ain¡¯t that ironic, aye? Bahaha¡­ Whata joke this life is, aye? The sinner gets ta live a fulfilling, happy life and the saint dies a miserable death at the hands of a dastardly bastard.¡±


    I could feel the air get sucked out of my lungs, as if I got punched in the gut.


    ¡°Lifes are you alright? You seem pale¡­¡± The prince said.


    ¡°Why how perceptive of you¡­ Can I head to the tent now, captain?¡±


    ¡°Ya lot will have the rest of the day for yarselves, the scouts will go ta deal with those bastads at the south-east once the royal knight arrives.¡± He said.


    I quickly started walking away before a hand on my shoulder stopped me.


    ¡°Li-¡± The prince was about to say something but when he looked at my face his expression reverted back to the one he had on for the past week or so.


    I pushed my shoulder forward to free it from his hand and kept walking.


    My head was hurting and I felt like shit, it was a miserable experience every single time. Unfortunately Mikah¡¯s story hit a little too close to home for me.


    I lay in bed and tried to forget about this conversation and today¡¯s unfortunate events at the forest.


    Thankfully this day was exhausting enough¡­ My mind that was constantly fighting itself started drifting off as my eyes felt heavy.


    It was still very early in the day to sleep but I guess here¡¯s to a dreamless night, I swallowed the lump in my throat.

 Indefinite break...

    Hello everyone, I''ll be taking a break as I''m slowly getting better at drawing and I want to have more time to create a manga or a webcomic.


    I don''t know if I''ll even continue making this story and tbh idk how much it matters as this was always just a project to practice writing while I''m learning to draw.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Ofc if there''s any demand for the rest of the story, I have  a lot of the major plot points figured out already so I can definitely put in the effort to complete the novel (the whole thing would probably end up being around 130-150 chapters)