《The System's Harvester》 Chapter 1: A Deceptive Opportunity - - : POV character''s thoughts are between dashes - Name ~ : Change in POV ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Late Evening - ???? : The Forgotten Altar, Dracoria ----- Hi. My name is Evren Lestir, and I am a normal human... At least I used to be. On Earth, I would have been viewed as a regular girl, standing about 175cm tall, with black hair and silver pupils. But to most, I probably looked like some thug. I always wore black clothes and listened to loud music through outdated, wired earbuds so no one would bother me. If I ever needed to leave the house, I just tossed on some clothes to cover up and went to do whatever I needed to. No matter what, I made sure to keep to myself and not stand out. But it wasn''t always like that. Through school and university, I was a bright and cheery student working to become a game developer with my family and friends always being there and supporting me. But then ''that day'' came. The morning of my 22nd birthday, just a few months after I graduated from university, the regular phone call to my parents was interrupted by another call; one from the authorities. It was the call that informed me of my parents unfortunate passing.. and the culprit was carbon monoxide poisoning. To say it was devastating wouldn''t do it justice. My whole world fell apart. It didn''t take long for my friends to become distant as well. Although I didn''t mean to, I unknowingly pushed them away... Before I even realized, I was locked in my apartment, watching anime, reading manga, playing games, and eating cheap, microwavable food. Having at least been knowledgeable enough to invest my parents'' inheritance, I managed to accumulate enough wealth to retire by 25 and had more than enough money to do whatever I wanted, but I had no motivation to even use it. My life and motivations had simply been consumed by the void. But, no matter how much I wanted to dwell on it, memories of those times had long-since faded. "Uwaah..." Letting out a yawn, I looked up at the bright orange sky with a blank expression. -I wonder what Earth is like now...- The grass I was lying in felt like blades of metal, and the orange sky smelled like a mix of iron and sulfur. *Ding!-Ding!-Ding!-Ding!-Ding!-Ding!* Countless noises met my ears as thousands of small windows appeared in front of me. -There they are.-
You have killed a Level -1 ''????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????''
Received:
-14,756,421,826 Gold 3 Items: 2 Upgrades:
It was what showed up every time I killed something. -I guess the drones found the last colony...- *fwip* With a wave of my hand, the panels disappeared and stopped reappearing. "Haah..." Currently, I was in a world completely different from Earth. One that was so similar to a videogame that I had to constantly question if this was simply the afterlife. If this was hell. But it''s not like where I was or what the mission the system gave me was mattered anymore. *THUMP-SPLASH* *THUMP-SPLASH* *THUMP-SPLASH*-Hm?- Looking up a bit, I saw a colossal, nearly 200-meter-tall lizard charging at me with enough drool leaking from its mouth that it could fill a pond. -One snuck past the drones, huh...- Not bothering to sit up, I grabbed a pebble off the ground next to me and casually tossed it up at the lizard. *vwoop-pop-BAAAAANNG* Its entire head vanished instantaneously, along with a massive section of the dense orange atmosphere behind it, exposing the dark, starry sky. In the past, seeing the night sky would make my eyes sparkle; It would make me question if Earth was out there somewhere, and if I would ever return there. But that curiosity and yearning to leave this hell vanished about 500 years ago. *WHAAAM-SPPLAASH* As the huge body of the lizard limply fell into the water beneath the ledge I was on, I looked back up at the sky to watch the foggy orange atmosphere fill in the hole I created. "Haah..." -I wonder if the clock has glitched yet...- "System Open." *Ding!* The main system panel immediately appeared in front of me, showing dozens of tabs and icons around the edges, with the central text displaying:
World: "Dracoria" Mission Type: Planetary Extinction Rank: ERROR
Population: Error Code C.725
Total Gold: -???4????|??????,????1?????~????,??????|???-??????9??????8?????,?????4?????-??????5???? Inventory and Gear Upgrades Stats
The number of coins was constantly fluctuating between positive and negative, causing the numbers to blur together and make it impossible to read even if you could stop time. -I''m surprised it hasn''t triggered a calculation error like the population count...- But that wasn''t what I was there to look at. *Boop* Tapping the ''Elapsed'' tab at the top, the text updated. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Time Elapsed: 554 Years - 187 Days - 20 Hours - 14 Minutes - 48 Seconds Time Remaining: Awaiting Mission Completion
Estimated Time Remaining: Unknown
For a very long time, I figured that the ''Time Remaining'' statistic was a sign that this hell would end at some point, but absolutely nothing happened at 100, 1,000, 10,000, or even 100,000 missions completed. Eventually, I just stopped caring. -Well, I guess it''s not like its that bad...- Finally sitting up, I glanced back toward the ocean to see an endless field of colossal bodies floating lifelessly in their own blood. -Some of the worlds were quite pretty... Having to destroy them was a bit of a shame...- *Ding!* Another panel appeared in front of my face as I looked out toward the setting sun.
All Hostile Life Exterminated
4,291 Upgrades Collected: 428,917 Items Auto-Scrapped: Stat Adjustments:
It was the panel that would appear whenever I finished a mission. -4,291, huh... That''s pretty low for a ''Planetary Extinction'' mission... Was this world just small?- In short, the panel told me all the items I, or the drones I sent out, collected and sent to my inventory, as well as the upgrades I got from killing monsters. In the past, I would spend hours looking through it just to see if there was any better gear, or improved strategies and synergies I could make use of. But now, I had so many upgrades that my stats were all errors, I could destroy entire planets on a whim, and had an inventory so massive that even the automatic systems in place couldn''t regulate it. -I can''t even see how many upgrades I have anymore... A few of the rarest ones seem to cap at 999, but I think that''s just a visual bug...- Just to check if there was any change, I tapped the ''Upgrades'' tab and selected the first upgrade. *Boop* But as expected, there wasn''t.
Draft Gun Number Possessed: ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
This Upgrade causes projectiles (with the intent of harm) to have an additive 5% increase to their maximum initial velocity.
Current Bonus: ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Active: ON
-Why do I even bother checking...- Quickly swiping my hand, I closed the menu and got ready to start my next mission, but just as I went to stand up, another panel appeared.
Critical Error
No Further Missions Available
|- New System Feature Unlocked! -|
-Huh?- It was a panel I had never seen before. Thinking it was just another bug, I tapped on it without expecting much. *tap* However, it was most definitely real.
Return Available!
|- You can now return to worlds you have previously visited as long as they have not been destroyed. -|
I could only stare wide-eyed at the panel as the frigid, toxic air blew past me. -W..what?- It was the one thing I had wanted since the beginning. The End. But for some reason, I felt conflicted about it... -Return to any world I have previously visited? Does that mean I can return to Earth?- "System Open." *Boop* Immediately opening the new tab, I was presented with a list of exactly 184,214 names, all of which being worlds I had previously visited, with the return status of the planet next to it. *Boop-Boop-Boop-Boop* I typed Earth into the search immediately. And as if it was waiting for me, it appeared.
World Number World Name World Type Return Availability Mission History
World #0 Earth Home World Return Available None
-It''s really here...- *tap*
Are you sure you would like to return to ''Earth''? You will be notified, and summoned when a new mission is available.
Yes No
Still unsure whether to believe it, I hesitated, but as the planet''s star finally dipped below the horizon and a brutal frost started to spread across the planet''s surface, I decided it was worth a shot. -Worst case scenario, I die... But is that really a bad thing?- I looked up at the glowing sky again before letting out a deep breath. "Hooh..." -Well, here goes nothing...- *Boop*
|- Beginning Teleportation. . . -|
Chapter 2: Home Late Morning - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- - Professor Jackson ~ "Good morning, class. Did you all have a good weekend?" """Yes!""" The young students all responded in unison. "Haha, that''s good to hear. Do you all remember what I said on Friday? We will be doing your mana sensitivity tests today! You all should be excited!" I couldn''t help but smile seeing the group of children, ranging from 9 to 12, excited to take their first steps into the world of magic. -They are all quite talented this year as well...- "Alright, everyone, please gather your things and follow me! We will be moving to the testing facility in the building over." Quickly picking up all their belongings, they formed a line and followed me into the hallway. -I wonder if any will unlock their system today...- The year was 2579. Just over 554 years after the event that flipped the course of humanity on its head. Starting in 2020, countless anomalies seemed to appear out of nowhere, ranging from fires and natural disasters to plagues, mass disappearances, and even stars in the night sky suddenly disappearing. Many people even said it was a sign of the end, but no one listened. However, just a few days after celebrating the New Year in 2025, the sky over the Atlantic Ocean split apart, and the body of a snake, almost a hundred meters in diameter, slipped out of it. It was a creature far too large for science to explain how it could live, let alone move, and while the United States government attempted to hide its existence, the following months and years would come to alert everyone on Earth that something was wrong. All around the world, monsters never seen on Earth were simply appearing out of nowhere, without any reason or care for location. -Entire populations of people were wiped out when some of the larger monsters happened to drop through a crack onto the center of a city.- It was nothing short of an apocalypse for nearly 30 years. While modern munitions could still kill them, there was a limit to everything. Just as a 9mm pistol would struggle to kill a bear, a 50 cal would struggle to kill a creature bigger than a building with hide tougher than Kevlar. The first 10 years of that hell were called the Rapture at the time but were later referred to as The Great Split. Humanity''s population dropped to 25% of its peak, and people had no choice but to walk on eggshells no matter what they did or where they were. After all, if they were unlucky, a monster the size of the Statue of Liberty could just fall onto their head. But as humans do, they prevailed. Around 10 years after the first Crack, a young, pointy-eared man was found fighting monsters several times his size with a simple sword. It was the first appearance of a System Mercenary on Earth. A group of sentient beings said to travel between worlds to kill monsters and get stronger. At the time, no one knew how that came and went or what their real purpose was, but over the following years, people among those who disappeared just before The Great Split started to return as System Mercenaries themselves, and along with them came the rebound of humanity, with the main contributor being the discovery of a new energy. Mana. It was an energy The Split brought with it, but it wasn''t until the lucky few to become Mercenaries returned that it was even discovered. It was an energy you could not feel without having experienced it, but nonetheless, it made humans look like cavemen who hadn''t discovered fire. -It makes me wonder how humanity even survived as long as it did...- *Click* Opening the door to the testing facility, we quickly winded our way through the halls and eventually made it to a large room with dozens of seats and a row of 6 tubes at the front. "Everyone, have a seat. We will be testing in order by name, so numbers 1 through 6, please come up to the front." At the front of the white tile room were two armored men and a young woman in a medical gown. The young woman was quick to get started. "As I''m sure you all have heard, you will begin your mana sensitivity test today. Before you step into the testing tubes, you will be provided a mask and headphones; once they are securely on, we will close up the tube and force mana to flow through your body. When you feel it, give us a thumbs up, and we will slow the flow to give you a chance to control it." She paused as she looked over the students with a smile. "While I don''t think we will have any issues, the test doesn''t end until there is resistance on the flow, so while lying will do you no good, be proactive when you feel it, okay?" The students immediately nodded, half excited and half starting to get nervous. But, of course, there was nothing to worry about. The testing went extremely smoothly, with a majority of students having above-average sensitivity and one half-elf who was especially sensitive, going as far as setting a new record for this facility and awakening her system. -But we only have a few left... It''s a shame that only one of them unlocked their systems, but they are all quite talented, so I have no reason to worry.- I wore a smile looking over the students happily talking about what it felt like in the mana chamber. But my expression quickly shifted when I noticed the half-elf girl, Siv, wearing a look of worry. -Hm?- I quickly set down my things and walked over to talk to her to avoid drawing attention. "T-teacher?" She sounded extremely on edge. -It doesn''t seem like she''s having any aftereffects from the mana...- I quickly kneeled next to her. "What is it, Siv? Are you alright?" She nervously glanced to the side. "I-is the system supposed to be like this?" -Huh?- I wasn''t following. "What do you mean?" "It''s.. super distorted.. with a big red word in the middle." Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. -A big red word?- Wanting to see if I could figure out what was happening, I also opened up my system. -System Open.- But I was immediately presented with an extremely distorted and glitching system window, with a new panel in its center.
W?????4???????????R??????????N????????????1????????N?????????6??????????!????
-Huh?- A knot of anxiety formed in my chest the moment I saw it. After all, the system we believed to be perfect was glitching in such an extreme fashion while displaying a barely readable warning. Simply calling it a bad omen didn''t do it justice. "Siv, please close your system for now, okay? Just wave your hand through the panel." Seeing her nod and wave her hand, I hopped up and darted into the control room. "Turn off the testing machines!" The group of scientists in the room all gave me weird looks. "Professor, everything looks fine on our-" "I will take responsibility for everything. JUST TURN IT OFF! NOW!" But I was too late. *VWOOOOOM* Before we could do anything, a mana wave so large it made me lose my senses blasted through us, instantly ripping every ounce of mana out of our bodies and sending everyone to the ground in pain. "AGH! Huek!" The next thing I knew, I was throwing up blood with vision so blurred I could only see a flickering red from the flashing lights reflecting off the blood-covered ground. -Shit... I need.. to check on.. the students...- In a panic, I tried to crawl back to the door of the room. But there was only so much that pure adrenaline and willpower could do. *thump* *Beep* "U???s?????3???r??? ????h?????4?????s???? ????f???4????l????1???e???n??? ???u?????n????c????0????n?????s?????c????i????o????u???s????.?????" ----- - Evren (Evren Lestir) ~
Teleporting. . . Returning to World #0 | ''Earth''
-W..what?- My mind was put into a fog the moment the System teleported me, but they slowly started to heighten as time passed. Typically, I was never teleporting for more than a fraction of a second, but this one felt like an eternity. -Just how far was I from Earth...- *Ding* *Ding* The pinging of panels steadily became more frequent the longer I was being teleported, but I couldn''t read any of them. After a moment, I thought about muting it, but I quickly changed my mind after considering the situation. -I should probably listen to them in case something happened...- "S-ystem Read Panels..." My voice was a tad strained because my body felt like it was being held in place by an unfathomable force, but regardless, the System updated. *Beep-Beep* "Setting Changed. Attempting Connection to Server 141-A81-B5, ''Earth''..." -Earth? Did Earth become a server world?- Servers worlds were things I actually knew about, although my memory was a bit distant since I hadn''t seen one since my 1,000th world when all my missions switched from continental to planetary scale. Typically being planets with advanced intelligent life, server worlds were hubs for the System. They were worlds where all sentient life had access to a system similar to mine, except sometimes using levels instead of upgrades. However, contrary to what most would think, even with the System, those societies were in shambles, bathing in the glory of what they used to be. Entire kingdoms and cities that stretched to the horizon were all abandoned and left to rot. Long-since decayed skeletons of families, royalty and peasants alike, filled the streets; the commonality between all of them? They were ripped apart by monsters. -If Earth followed a similar fate.. then the ability to return is just to bring back the torment... It would mean this truly is.. hell...- But as my mind slowly started to numb itself once again, the voice of the System met my ears. *Beep* "Connection Impossible. System Versions Incompatible" *Beep* "Attempting Connection to Main Server..." *Beep* "Ping out of reach. Attempting Connection Via Relay... Connected" *Beep* "Attempting Synchronization." The sequence of pings only brought confusion. -W..what? What is it doing?- *BEEP* A deafening beep cut my thoughts short. "Outdated System detected. Beginning system Update and Verification..." *BEEP* "SYSTEM CORRUPTION DETECTED! Update Impossible. Attempting to REPAIR." I could hardly follow what was happening, but I was made acutely aware just a moment later. *BEEP-BEEP* "CRITICAL ERROR OCCURRED. Attempting System Wipe..." -S-SYSTEM WIPE?!- "S-SHIT! SYSTEM CANCEL!" In a flurry of panic, I tried to get the System to stop. But it didn''t care. "Attempting to Force Wipe Inventory, Gear, and Upgrades... Reallocating System Resources. Halting Unnecessary Systems." After 500 years of destroying everything from monsters the size of cities to entire civilizations and planets, I had become nothing short of a monster. But having been detached from any source of humanity for so long, it had become a source of pride. "I DESTROYED WORLDS FOR THAT SHIT! LIKE HELL, I WILL LET YOU TAKE IT AWAY!" I immediately tried to force my way out of the impossibly heavy space I was in, but I hardly managed to do anything before the System spoke again. *Beep* "49,729,125,437 items removed from Gear and Inventory... Proceeding to Upgrades. . ." Hearing that it was already happening, my mind went blank. I was forced to bend to the will of the System. Even if I broke out of the teleportation, the chance that I could do anything to stop the System was essentially 0. At least, that was the case back then. *Beep* "Releasing User''s Mana reserved for Upgrades... Restrictions Undone." *VWOOOOOOM* An unfathomable amount of energy exploded out from my body instantaneously, causing an unbelievably detailed image to appear in my mind. One not only of myself but also of the inside of the sphere I was trapped in and everything in the air around me, down to the microscopic microbes. *BEEP* "CRITICAL WARNING."
Critical Warning Teleportation Gate Unstable Attempting to Find Non-Obstructed Space to Release User
Location Found. Releasing User. . .
*CRACK-VWOOOOM* A deafening crack met my ears as the black sphere around me started to break apart, and a thin but fresh air caressed my face. The feeling of the cool, humid breeze was a sensation I had long since forgotten about, and when combined with a view from the top of a mountain ridge, looking over an endless green forest, I was quickly distracted from what the System was saying. The immense energy continuing to pour out of my body caused my senses to heighten to an insane degree, letting me count the feathers on a bird several kilometers away, hear every noise within hundreds of meters, and feel the tremors of a squirrel burying an acorn a dozen meters behind me. Had I not experienced such insanely sensitive senses when activating specific upgrades in the past, I most certainly would have lost my mind. But my mind was calm as a morning lake, even while processing and filtering through the tremendous amount of information. Before I knew it, I was on the verge of tears. Memories of a time I believed I had forgotten came flooding back. Memories of standing on a mountain ridge just like this, looking out toward the horizon while holding my father''s hand. -I''m really.. home...- Chapter 3: Reintroduction Late Morning - Early Summer : Andrews Airforce Base | Washington D.C. ----- - Corporal, Diana Hale ~ *EEEeeeooooeeeeoOOOEEE* The several century-old emergency sirens sounded all throughout the base that morning, but not a single person didn''t know why. Barely even 5 minutes ago, everyone had their instincts shoot through the roof because of a mana wave that disabled nearly every mana-operated device in the base like an emp, including our personal Systems, which were the most panic-inducing. -System Open.- *Beep* A distorted and glitching panel with a warning at the center appeared immediately. -Shit...- It was a terrible omen, but the only thing I could do was look at the ancient-looking radio in my hands and wait for the Sergeant Major to give my squad a sudden ''debriefing''. *Tchh* "Alright, does everyone copy?" *Tchh* His voice was one I had never heard before. Being a corporal, I never had the pleasure of meeting him. However, for this mission, my squad was the only group fit. *bing-bing-bing-bing* Exactly 4 pings sounded over the radio as we all worked to get ready. *Tchh* "Good. You all need to be off the ground in two minutes. You will be leaving ahead of the fighter squadron and working as recon; we can''t put any satellites on the area currently, so you will be our eyes and ears today." *Tchh* There was a short pause as I finished putting on my boots and darted out of the door, quickly coming out onto the runway full of aircraft and equipment. -It should be in Hangar 4, right?- Quickly pulling out an ancient-looking key fob, I pressed a button and spoke into it. -To think I was just joking about never needing one of these things yesterday...- *Beep* "Cardinal 7, launch from the hangar and activate all functioning systems." *Tchh* The Sergeant was quick to come back over the radio. "Corporal Hale, you will be in the air first among your squad, Cardinal 8, as well as Hawk 3 and 4 still need to be rearmed after the incident yesterday." There was a short moment of mumbling before he came back to the microphone. "You have full runway and airspace clearance. Take off the moment you can." *Tchh* *Tchh* "Roger that. 45 seconds on launch." *Tchh* Finally rounding the corner of my hangar, I saw my ''Cardinal'', a sleek white supersonic jet made for long-range reconnaissance, hit-and-runs, and fast delivery of small-scale nuclear ordnance. [1] It was the US military''s top dog for an extremely long time. But around 65 years ago, most of them were decommissioned in favor of the newer Blue Jays, which incorporated the countless, still experimental, mana systems that had made great strides in development over the years. However, according to someone in the barracks, even the Blue Jays flight systems were knocked out of commission by the mana wave, leaving my squad as the only operable reconnaissance and rescue squad, being composed of two Cardinals and two Hawks, which were supersonic VTOLs meant for ranged reconnaissance, heavy nuclear armaments, and long-distance personnel missions. [2] In the modern day, they were mostly outdated, but I had a feeling they would make a comeback after that. -If I survive this, I''m gonna ask for a damn promotion.- *tsssss* Finally making it to the hissing engine of my Cardinal, I hopped in and hooked up all my gear before finally slipping on my helmet. *click* "Systems Booted. Welcome, Corporal Hale." A hud quickly appeared in the helmet before the top closed, and the walls of the jet disappeared around me. "Hooh..." -How long has it been since I''ve flown alone.- *Beep* The Cardinal''s system quickly spoke to me. "Connected to Andrews Airforce Base Command, Sergeant Major Samuel Moreno." The Sergeant''s face appeared in the corner of the hud immediately. "Corporal, your area of interest is Apple Orchard Mountain." *ping* A holographic map promptly appeared in front of me, showing the mountain as he spoke. "The lab has also notified us that this was the largest mana wave ever recorded within the US, so be extremely careful. You have been granted permission to use all available armaments, including the nuclear warheads on board." I immediately tensed up. -Largest ever in the US, huh...- I was honestly doing everything I could to stay calm, but it wasn''t working. "Your flight camera will also be streamed to command, so make sure you''re on your A game." As I slowly pushed on the throttle, I felt myself shaking slightly. "R-Roger that... May I also request permission to use the afterburner on takeoff?" There was no hesitation in his voice at all. "Permission granted." *click-click-cl-click* I flipped several switches instantly before pulling out onto the runway and taking a deep breath. "Hooh..." -Well, there''s no reason to hesitate now...- *tsss* *crackle* *BANG-FWOOOOSH* The moment the main thrusters were engaged, my whole body was thrown into the seat, and the runway started to shorten. "Pffffewww..." Forcing out a strained breath, I pulled off the runway and almost immediately broke the sound barrier. It took a moment for the acceleration to ease enough for me to speak. "Corporal Hale to Command.. ETA of 70 seconds." *FWOOOOSH* The ground quickly started shrinking beneath me as I wasted no time pushing high into the upper atmosphere to accelerate to the limits of the aircraft. But no matter how fast I was going, 250 kilometers was no short distance. The next 45 seconds of the flight were absolutely brutal. It felt as if death was breathing down my neck the entire way, but once about 20 seconds out from the target, the Sergeant came back into the comm. "Corporal Hale, the satellites don''t see anything large. There was no visible crack during the event either. As such, the higher-ups have requested you to do a ground scan." -A GROUND SCAN?! ARE THEY INSANE?!- A ground scan required me to fly at about 5.5 kilometers, an altitude easily within the kill zone of stronger monsters. But I had no choice but to obey. -Damn bastards...- As I slowed down and lowered my altitude, I started the scan and kept my eyes peeled for monsters while white-knuckling the throttle. But instead of seeing a giant monster jump out at me, I saw something else that may have been even more horrifying. -Is that.. supposed to be a drake?- On the ridge of the mountain that the mana wave originated, there was a massive crater with what looked like a rock drake at its center, measuring about 50 meters from head to tail. It was a massive drake, something generally on the high end of the food chain, but this drake, in particular, wasn''t just hunted or killed; it had been obliterated. -W..what the hell?- I quickly zoomed in the cameras below me to get a better view of it, but the more detail I saw, the less I understood. After a few seconds though, Command came back into the comms. "Corporal Hale, Command is asking you to do a low pass over the ridgeline. The scan picked up what could either be a civilian or a System Mercenary." Looking at the ping on the scan, I zoomed in and saw what they were talking about, but to call it a person was a stretch. -Are they sure that isn''t just an odd rock formation?- Having already done a pass, I lowered my altitude more comfortably and focused the scanner on the spot of interest while also using the exterior cameras to zoom in as well. Being so far away, the light was quite warped, but once the scan overlayed with the cameras, I saw her. "What the..." -It really is.. a person...- Although it was impossible to make out many features, it looked like a fairly tall woman with black hair lying on a small outcrop. But after looking at her momentarily, I could suddenly feel a gaze that made my mind go blank and forced my instincts to take control. *FWOOOOOSH* I pulled away instantly, throwing my body into the seat and engaging max afterburners to hastily climb back to 16 kilometers. By the time I regained my senses, I was shaking so much I couldn''t stop myself. -W..what the hell...- I opened up the comm without hesitation. "Command, there is indeed a person laying on that outcrop, but I felt the gaze of something ridiculous before I could get close." My slight panic was followed by a short moment of silence. "Roger that. Stay in the area and keep your eyes out for now. Your squad is leaving base now; I will move to their channel to give them an updated briefing. In the meantime, please keep monitoring the situation." "Roger that." Looking back down toward the ledge, I couldn''t help but feel like I was still being watched, even though I was far out of sight and behind clouds. -Was that really.. a person?- ----- - Evren ~ "Haah..." The noise of tweeting birds and leaves rustling in the breeze met my ears like the melody of the perfect song; after all, it was a song I hadn''t heard outside of dreams in centuries. For that moment, I wanted nothing more than to lay down and enjoy the music of nature that I had so dearly missed, but I was promptly interrupted. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. *Ding!* "System Wipe Completed. Unable to adjust User''s statistics... forcing system update through Central Server." At that moment, the system''s voice was the most irritating thing I could have heard. -Of course, you had to go and remind me...- As if it didn''t want me to relax, it was only a few seconds before it pinged me again. *Ding!* "System has successfully updated!" *vwoooom* An all-too-familiar system panel immediately appeared in front of me, this time with several minor changes.
World: "Earth" Planet Rank: Rank 6 Mission Type: N/A Local Server: Unable to Connect - Connected to Central Server
Population: ~1,895,413,000
Total Gold: 0 Inventory and Gear Upgrades and Stats
Quickly accessing my inventory, I was presented with a completely empty menu. Everything I used to own, with the exception of what I was currently wearing, was gone. It truly pained my heart the longer I stared at it, but I had to be grateful I wasn''t totally naked. The armor set I was wearing was far from the best of what I used to have and likely wouldn''t have even helped if I ever got hit in my missions, but when my armor''s defense didn''t matter, and I was the only one to ever see it, all I cared about was how comfortable it was. -I can''t deny that it looks good though...- [3] (Generally how it looks) It was a blessing to still have it; however, it was the only equipped gear that remained. My artifacts, weapons, elixirs, and the like were all gone. My Upgrades window was in a similar state, except this time, absolutely everything was gone, without exception. It made me nervous to flip the panel to look at my stats, but I ended up doing it anyways.
[User Statistics] Name: Evren Lestir Race: Ascended Human
[Titles]
Class N/A
Strength Invalid Calculation
Dexterity Invalid Calculation
Vitality Invalid Calculation
Mana Invalid Calculation
Agility Invalid Calculation
Effective Health Unable To Calculate
Other than mana, it was the exact same as it was before the system wipe. But the fact my mana did change meant that I couldn''t be sure my other stats were truly the same. -I need to test it...- Looking down at my palm, I formed a fist and got ready to punch the tree next to me but was promptly stopped by the ground shaking slightly. *crumble-thump* *thump* The noise of crumbling rocks filled the air as I felt the presence of a monster approaching from just over the ridgeline. -Good timing...- Although I had no idea what it was, based on its footsteps, it was a weakling. -To think a punching bag would bring itself straight to me...- *crackle-FWOOOOSH* Shattering the ground where I stood, I hurled myself through the forest before suddenly appearing on the ridgeline with a huge blast of wind ripping past me the moment I stopped. *FWOOSH* "Haah..." My sigh was heavy. -I feel slow... Were my base stats really this low?- Finally shaking off the idea after a bit of thought, I looked across the clearing on the ridgeline and immediately spotted a drake, only about 50 meters long and 12-ish meters tall. -What a refreshing sight...- His eyes, which were oozing hostility, were locked on me like a lion ready to pounce, but in my eyes, he wasn''t even a garden lizard. -It''s a shame that it''s only one, but this should be fine...- *crackle-CRACK* Instantly kicking up a huge amount of rock behind me, I appeared next to its head and watched its eyes to see how it would follow me. But I was leagues faster than it. -Geez.. is this guy really the same species as those bastards who gave me so much trouble all those years ago?- Finally reacting to me after what felt like an eternity, he swung around his colossal tail coated in bedrock and slammed it into me. I didn''t bother even bracing myself. *CRUNCH* The bedrock shattered the moment it hit me before launching me through the air. It made my eyes go wide for a moment, but the surprise didn''t last. -Ah, right... I don''t have upgrades...- *fwip-scraaaape* Quickly flipping over in the air and stopping myself before I was thrown off the ridge, I got ready to lunge back at the drake before having my attention grabbed by the immense energy that was still leaking from my body. Although I wasn''t sure what caused it, I had a realization. -When the upgrades were wiped, the system said it released my mana that was ''reserved for Upgrades''... Does that mean this energy is mana?- Throughout my time with the system, I never had much experience with mana; after all, I had no idea how to increase it, unlike my other stats. -But to think mana was the energy that fueled the upgrades... It makes me wonder if increasing the mana stat was how you strengthened some of those upgrades...- Looking at the drake again, I contemplated trying to use mana on it. Having used countless upgrades over the years, I knew how using the energy felt like the back of my hand, but there was one major issue. I simply couldn''t control it. Simply trying to keep it from emitting from my body so aggressively was a struggle on its own, let alone using it like an upgrade would. -I feel like I''m trying to stop a tsunami with a beaver dam...- Getting a little frustrated at myself for being unable to control it, I looked down at my hands and tried to visualize it. But as I did that, the drake lunged at me and closed its jaws on my torso. *Crunch* The noise of bone breaking echoed through the air instantly. But it wasn''t my bones breaking. "Oi, your breath smells terrible." Gripping into its top and bottom jaw as pieces of its teeth fell out, I pried it off me before promptly ripping it off entirely. *CRACKLE* Blood immediately spewed out of where its jaw connected to its head before it jolted back in pain. -Well, I guess that''s enough for now...- *crackle* Instantly disappearing from where I was, I appeared on the drake''s back and casually bent over, pointing my fingers to the thickest part of its armor, right over the spine between the shoulders. "No hard feelings, little guy." *fwip-CRACK* The drakes armor exploded and back caved in instantly, even though I stopped my fist just short of it. The shockwave alone was enough to obliterate everything it touched, plowing straight through the drake and caving in the ground like a small meteor impact. *Ding!*
You have killed a Level 97 Rock Drake
Received:
0 Gold 2 Items: Unable to receive Upgrade: Converting To Mana
-Unable to receive the upgrade, huh... I wonder if that''s because it can''t calculate my mana anymore...- "Haah..." It was incredibly disappointing, but like anything else with the system, there was nothing I could do. Finally tapping on the to see what items I got, I was presented with a trashy rusted sword and an armor vest I barely recognized. -Is this a bulletproof vest?- It was something absolutely useless, as even my bare skin could stop bullets, but part of me was shocked that I even recognized it. -I guess this guy ate someone wearing one...- Finally brushing away the panel, I looked up to the sky. I was still struggling to believe I was really back. -To think the wish I gave up on all those years ago would actually be granted...- Hopping off the drake''s mutilated body after watching the clouds for a moment, I walked back to the ledge I first landed on and finally sat down. For the first time in well over a hundred years, I actually felt like I could fall asleep. The peaceful sounds of nature, which initially sounded like a melody, had slowly become a lullaby. *clack* Laying out on the rock while staring at the sky, I slowly closed my eyes and was quickly reminded what actual relaxation was. The sun''s warmth, combined with the cool breeze, was indescribably comfortable compared to the hellish worlds I had grown accustomed to. Although I still couldn''t quite fall asleep, it felt as if I ascended to heaven. However, after only about 10 minutes, I suddenly felt like I was being watched, and looked toward the horizon to see a sleek white.. thing. -Is that.. a jet?- I felt like I was playing trivia trying to identify it. -For one to still be able to fly... That must mean humans aren''t doing too badly...- But no matter whether it was human or monster, the way it felt like it was watching me was more than a little uncomfortable. -Should I give them a little warning?- The moment I went to sit up though, the jet suddenly pulled up, and the flame from its engines doubled in length. It looked like a creature fleeing from fear. -Huh?- They were so far away that I didn''t expect any reaction at all, no matter what I did. -But to flee... Unless it was a coincidence, those are some freakishly sensitive instincts...- ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] - You can look up the VAA ARS-60 ''Dianthus'' for reference on the Cardinal. There are slight differences, but it was used as inspiration. [2] - Hawks look like a cross between an F35 and a Pelican from Halo. [3] - Evren''s Armor looks similar to this, except without the helmet, and with minor details altered which will be described next chapter. https://imgur.com/a/Bky9ySt Chapter 4: A Local System Mid Morning - Early Summer : Apple Orchard Mountain | Virginia ----- - Corporal, Diana Hale ~ *Beep* *Beep* "Cardinal 8, Hawk 3, and Hawk 4 have entered communications." Typically, the Cardinal''s monotone voice would be nothing but annoying when it interrupted the silence, but right then it was a blessing. "Welcome guys. What''s the ETA?" "40 seconds." The one to respond was Jack, the pilot of Cardinal 8. "What''s the plan? Command just told me to keep an eye on things." "The running theory is that the mana wave was caused from a deep sub-surface crack, which is why we couldn''t see anything, so we are going to do a rescue operation on the person you spotted." -A rescue operation?- I quickly zoomed in the Cardinal''s cameras on the person and immediately had a chill pass down my spine. "I''m not sure that person is someone that needs rescuing..." -Especially if they were the ones to do that to that drake...- But of course no one besides me, who felt that chilling gaze would believe that. "Command says there are no System Mercenaries in the area, and there was no beacon indicating one appeared. Their guess is that its a civilian." -There''s no way that''s a civilian...- I felt a bead of sweat drip off my forehead as I looked back toward the ledge one more time. Every fiber in my body was telling me to stay away from it. "What are the odds that they''re an undocumented System Mercenary?" "Extremely low, especially with how they are just sitting there.. but we will find out soon enough..." A knot of anxiety turned in my stomach the longer I thought about it, but as a soldier, I didn''t have the ability to reject the plan. "Alright... Eli, what''s your ETA?" Eli, Hawk 3s pilot responded instantly. "About 30 seconds. Keep your eye on the target as I start to approach." *Beep* Almost immediately, a panel appeared on my hud that let me cycle through the dozen outside cameras on Hawk 3. But there wasn''t a single moment of silence before Jack spoke again. "Uh, Diana... Is your proximity sensor going off as well?" -Huh?- "No?" Quickly looking in his direction, about 40 kilometers southwest, I saw the small white speck of his jet with nothing around it. -Did the mana wave knock out one of his systems?- "Hawk 3 beginning approach. 15 seconds out." Quickly turning back to the target, I looked around but didn''t see anything that stood out. "You look clear. Let''s try and make this quick." There was total silence over the comms as Eli finally started getting close, letting us all have a better look at who the person was. She was fairly tall with a more muscular build, and long black hair, but before we could even see what her face looked like, our eyes were dragged to what she was wearing. It was white and gold armor, with tattered white cloth hanging from the waist, but not only did the armor look incredibly complex, it looked heavy. We all thought the same thing. -That is NOT a civilian...- Thankfully though, she didn''t look hostile. -So why am I so anxious...- "Uh guys?" Eli was the first to say anything. "I can''t get a system panel on her..." -What?- "It''s probably because the system is glitching. We just need to get her and get out, we can figure out the rest later. I''ll notify Command." Eli had a moment of hesitation before he finally slowed down and turned the back of the Hawk toward the woman. "If she kills me, you guys know what to do." "She doesn''t seem hostile, Eli. If she shows any sign of aggression though, hit the gas." Looking through his camera again, I finally got a good look of the woman''s face. She looked 30 years old at most, and was simply stunning, but something about her eyes threw me off. The only way to describe her gaze was curious, but also inhuman. She looked at Eli''s Hawk like it was a toy. -But she doesn''t seem hostile...- "I pinged command, they should join any momen-" *Beep* "Andrews Airforce Base Command, Sergeant Maj-" The voice was immediately cut short. "Everyone get out of that area now!" The Sergeants voice made every single one of us tense up before two beeps echoed through the comms. *Beep-Beep* "Connection to Cardinal 8 and Hawk 4 lost." The Sergeant was the only one who could even speak. "A CRACK THE SIZE OF NEW YORK CITY OPENED UP OVER YOU GUYS, GET FUCKING MOVING!" It was a crack countless times larger than the largest crack I had ever seen in person. However, as a dark shadow was cast over my pale body by the endless, undefined void that consumed the sky, I was forced to accept that what I saw was truly reality. -W..what...- *Beep* "Connection to Hawk 3 lost." ----- - Evren ~ (Less than a minute prior) *rrrrrumble* The distant rumble of a jet engine could be heard slowly approaching as I finally sat up. -Hoh? Are they coming to give me a ride?- It had only been a few minutes since I first started watching the white jet circling around in the upper-atmosphere, and while I started to question what they were doing after a while, eventually another jet, along with what looked like a personnel carrier flew overhead as well. At that point it was just a matter of time. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. *Rumble* As the rumbling finally started getting close, a large, hovering jet rounded the edge of the trees, finally exposing itself to me. Had I lost all my memories, or not known what machines were, I likely would have attacked it thinking it was a monster. -But to think there is no cockpit window...- I wanted to see what the pilot looked like, but the area where I assumed the cockpit would be was covered with the same metal the aircraft was made of. -Is it a drone?- I could feel several gazes at me from the aircraft, but while it made me a bit uncomfortable, I didn''t show even the slightest hostility. -I''d rather not have to find where humans have settled on foot...- However, as the aircraft started to approach, turned its back to me, and started opening the ramp door, a deep black shadow washed over everything. -Huh?- Looking up to the sky, my eyes were met with a wide expanse of space that could only be described as the void; a void that could only be mimicked by a starless night sky. -What.. is that?- But before I could even think, the jet that was slowing backing up toward me started blasting its engines and closing the door. *crackle-RUMBLE* "Oi!" Without thinking, I bolted off the rock outcrop and dug my fingers into the jets closing door. -I don''t know what that is either, so don''t just leave me with it...- As we finally started to pick up speed, I looked back toward the mountain, but almost immediately had a few panels appear in front of me. *BEEP*
WARNING: A Local System is Attempting to Purge You
|- Access has been Denied -|
*BEEP*
WARNING: A Local System has Initiated a Mission Targeting the User
Generating Counter Mission. . .
*Ding!*
New Mission Available.
Objective: Kill ''The Warden''
This Mission is Unskippable
The panels sent my mind through a loop. -Kill.. The Warden? Is that referring to that weird void, or...- I looked back toward the mountain, now several kilometers away, with a confused look before a black figure dropped out of the void. It looked like a skinny dog with a stretched neck and pointy head resembling a lizard. But it was nearly 500 meters tall. -Ah...- I felt myself tense up as it landed and locked on me with its massive glowing blue eyes. -This may be a problem...- Seeing it open its mouth, I let go of the jet and threw myself to the ground. *BRRRRRRMMMMM* An instant later, a blazing beam dozens of times the size of the jet blasted past me, turning the jet into plasma and setting the forest below us ablaze. *SHATTER* The ground exploded as I landed, launching dozens of burning trees and a plume of ash into the air, but my eyes were locked on the expressionless beast staring at me from over the horizon. -To destroy my ride... How rude...- Before it could even move though, a thin vapor trail traced itself across the sky before approaching the creature''s head. *FLASH* The entire horizon instantly lit up as if a second sun was created. -But that monster isn''t gonna give a damn about something like that...- Quickly bracing myself, I looked around everywhere before having it suddenly appear right next to me. *VWOOP* -So, it can use Blink...- *FWOOOSH* Hastily darting to the side, the monster''s nearly 40-meter-wide paw slammed down where I stood, crushing the hill like a wrinkle in a blanket before whipping its paw back out of the ground to try and crush me again. *CR-CR-CR-CRACK* Its flurry of swats was like a cat trying to squash a bug. But after dodging several swings, it got cocky and switched to its other paw, leaving the other in the open, right next to me. Not bothering to hold back, I darted over to it and slammed my fist into the ankle. *CRACKLE-WHAMM* It instantly exploded as if it was made of ice, sending a spray of blue blood with colossal chunks of flesh and bone raining onto the forest below. But it didn''t seem to care. Using its shattered leg like a bat, it swatted me out of the air. *FWIP-CRACK* *WHAM-CRUNCH-Crackle* Hurling me through countless trees, I quickly tried to slow down but looked up to see dozens of massive icicles floating over me. -Shit...- *CRACKLE* *WHAM-CRACKLE* Narrowly dodging the first flurry of ice, I managed to regain control and bounce around the rest. *FWOOOSH* But I was in a bad spot. -If only I had a way to reach its vitals...- But after narrowly ducking under a nearly 20-meter-wide icicle, I had an idea come to mind. -For the ice to not shatter on impact.. it must be pretty strong...- Before the spike could lodge itself deep in the ground, I slammed my fingers into it, stopping it instantly and sending cracks all throughout the spike. My smile turned slightly crazed as I looked back up at the beast. *Vwoom* "Have you ever been hit by your own magic?" *CRRRRACK* The sound barrier ripped apart as the spike disappeared from my hands and reappeared on the opposite side of the monster''s throat. *SHIK* I just barely missed its spine, but with a wide hole being blown through its neck, the monster''s seemingly calm demeanor finally morphed. I had finally gotten it mad. *CRACKLE* The air quickly cooled as countless icicles formed around me, and the ground shattered as if there was an earthquake, making me lose my footing. *ZIP* *CLACK* Using my armor to parry the first icicle, it ripped past me and embedded itself deep in the ground, giving me a firm place to stand. But the monster didn''t let me get to it. *FW-FW-FW-FWIP-CRACKLE* Keeping its distance and circling me like a hyena looking for an opening, it threw everything it could at me, from raining down icicles like a storm of arrows to using the water vapor in the air to freeze me in place. But after several moments, it started to get antsy and pushed in to use its speed to forcefully create an opening. *FWOOSH-FW-FWOOSH* Its first swings were fast and strong, dragging enough wind through the forest that it eroded the ground and only left crumbling icicles for me to stand on. But that was when it opened its mouth again. *FLASH* With a blinding flash, my vision turned white, and my surroundings went silent. That was when an image appeared in my mind, the image of my surroundings, except this time, I found myself in the closing jaws of the monster. However, it was exactly what I was waiting for. *SHATTER* Shattering the ice beneath my feet, I launched myself into the monster''s throat and pulled back my fist before driving it into the underside of its skull with a wave of mana following it. *Vwoom-WHAMM* The hit instantaneously liquified the monster''s brain and turned its skull into powder before sending a shockwave into the sky large enough to clear away the clouds. *Ding!*
Mission Completed
You have killed a Level 1251 System Mercenary
Received:
195,321 Gold 18 Items: Unable to receive Upgrades: Converting To Mana
As my vision quickly readjusted to the brightness of the morning sky, I read the panel with an odd expression. -A ''System Mercenary''? What a weird name...- Chapter 5: A Land of Glass Mid Morning - Early Summer : Northeast of Apple Orchard Mountain | Virginia -----
Scrapping
You have selected 17 items to Scrap
Are you sure you wish to Continue?
Cancel Continue
*Beep!*
Scrapping
17 Items have been Scrapped 11 Raw Materials Received
Low Grade Mythril 4.7 Kilograms
High Grade Leather 4.1 Kilograms
Pure Gold 1.3 Kilograms
Pure Silver 0.7 Kilograms
-Not bad...- Quickly navigating to my inventory, I created several folders to help organize everything, and finally selected the one item I didn''t scrap. *Beep*
Equipment Ring
This item allows Users to Equip, or Unequip a single piece of equipment at any time.
Durability: 5,321 Speed: 351 No Item Equipped
Warning: Set equipment can be equipped even if physical space is not available. Depending on your surroundings, the equipment may break
Scrap Exit Equip
"If I didn''t use one of these things before, I may have been able to save Draco from the wipe..." It was an item that stored equipment in a different space rather than the inventory to allow you to equip it without interacting with the system; however, during the wipe, the ring I had lost its connection to that space and became a simple, sturdy ring. *click-click-click-click* Opening up the armor around my hand, I looked down at the old Dark Mythril [1] Equipment Ring on my finger and felt my heart ache. It was the Equipment Ring that stored my axe, Kl¨ªmaka Dr¨¢kou [2], which I called Draco for short. It was the axe that I had ''used'' for nearly 200 years, and while many items were better than it at times, it was something called an Evolving Item, something that grew stronger the more it was involved with killing monsters. But calling them rare was an understatement. Over the 500 years I was bouncing through worlds, I only ever found seven. -But they were so strong that I can understand why...- Every single one of them was absolutely insane, with more power or utility than almost anything you''d be able to find for hundreds, if not thousands, of worlds. -But they would always fall off...- However, although Draco''s growth was slower than a snail''s, it never stopped. Once the quality of gear dropping off monsters started to taper off, I put more effort into crafting my own items, and while they were all far above even the best of what I was finding, Draco made them look like trash. -But even if it was practically indestructible, all the system had to do was wipe it...- Turning the ring around my finger, I tried to activate it one last time before finally taking it off and replacing it with a basic sky-blue mythril ring that looked like it would shatter if I sneezed near it. "Haah..." -To think I would actually take this ring off...- My heart ached a bit as I looked at it, but eventually, I opened up my inventory and dropped it inside. *vwoom* -I should probably just scrap and remake it... At least then, I would be able to use it...- I tapped the ring icon the moment it popped up, but instead of saying my goodbye and scrapping it for the Dark Mythril, I froze. *Beep*
*LOCKED* Equipment Ring
This item allows Users to Equip, or Unequip a single piece of equipment at any time.
Durability: 949,721,882 Speed: 71,257,981 Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Unknown Item Equipped ACCESS DENIED
Warning: Set equipment can be equipped even if physical space is not available. Depending on your surroundings, the equipment may break
Scrap Exit
A part of me struggled to believe what I was looking at. -It still has Draco in it?!- Quickly tapping around the panel, I tried to find a way to open the ring, or even just a clue on how to gain access to it, but to no avail. However, that didn''t mean all hope was lost. -Is the system thinking I''m a different User and locking me out of it?- *vwoom* I instantly pulled it out of my inventory and slipped it onto my finger. -Like hell I''m going to give the system a chance to wipe it!- When I had it on my finger, the system didn''t even seem to recognize it as an item, and after it was meant to wipe my entire inventory, I was sketched out by letting it interact with the system in any way. -Thank goodness it didn''t wipe it right away...- Although I wasn''t sure what level of gear would be available on Earth, I was absolutely certain that I wouldn''t find anything capable of replacing Draco. -Even if I cleared another hundred thousand missions, I can''t be sure I''d find anything even comparable... But in the meantime, I should either find or craft a placeholder. I just need some materials...- *click-click-click-click* Finally closing up the armor around my hand, I closed the system windows and looked to the horizon, where I found a colossal mushroom cloud stretching well into the upper atmosphere. -I guess if humanity can still make those, they should have a market where I can buy something...- Having left a cloud that stretched into space and a hellish heat that lingered over the ground like a low fog, the scene was more than just recognizable. It was the aftermath of humanity''s trump card. Nuclear fusion. It was the absolute pinnacle of advanced technology during my time on Earth, a creation that could easily bring entire nations with millions or even billions of people to their knees. But those weapons, as powerful as they were, took immense amounts of infrastructure to create. -The fact they still have a functioning one, at worst, means they have the capabilities of maintaining them...- Just like with the aircraft, it was an incredibly good sign. -But it''s a shame there aren''t any more...- Looking up at the empty sky, I looked for another jet that could give me a ride, but there weren''t even birds. -Maybe that''s a sign telling me to look around by myself...- Before the jet I was clinging to got atomized, I did manage to spot a clearing that looked like it could be a road off in the distance, but at the very least, it was extremely overgrown. -It should still be worth checking out though...- Finally standing up, I brushed off my armor and glanced down at the mutilated head of the Warden. It was a little too weak for me to bother harvesting much from, but after a bit of contemplation, I ripped out a few of its teeth and tossed them into my inventory. -If humanity is really doing alright, then I''ll need some money... Maybe I can sell or trade these...- Quickly sorting them into a folder, I hopped back out of its mouth and finally started making my way northeast. From the air, the strip-like clearing I saw stretched from horizon to horizon and was very thin, likely only about 50 meters, but I was still quite skeptical about whether it was a road or not. -There''s only one way to know...- Not bothering to hold back more than I had to to avoid plowing through a tree, I quickly arrived at the clearing. -That must be it.- *tap-crack-FWOOOSH* A huge blast of air ripped past me as I stopped on the edge of the clearing, immediately knocking over several trees and laying them onto the bed of roots that covered the ground. However, even with the ground being so overgrown that it was hard to tell what it was made of, at the very center of the clearing, there were four metal rails laying half embedded in moss-covered concrete. -What are those for?- Unlike their surroundings, the rails were pristine, still maintaining a bright metallic shine. -Could this be a railway of some kind?- Overtaken by curiosity, I moved up to tap it, but when I got close, a huge arc of electricity jumped from the rail to my hand. *crackle-ZAP* Although far from enough to do much more than startle me, it made me jump a bit. "Geez..." -How much electricity built up in that rail?- Quickly continuing up to it, I touched it with the tip of my fingers and instantly felt a huge amount of electricity coursing through them. It made my eyes widen, and put a smile on my face instantly. -It''s live!- Looking down the rail, a gleam appeared in my eyes. -That must mean this leads to a town!- Finally getting excited, I looked at the sun looming over the glistening rails and vanished. *crackle-CRRRRACK* The concrete instantly shattered, and the sound barrier ripped apart, but I was long gone before the debris could even leave the ground. *FWWWOSH* Following the rails, I threw myself to the horizon and finally let my mind imagine what society will look like. But my thoughts were almost immediately interrupted as I zipped past a large sign with its base covered in roots. It was thick and mostly made of a white, almost bone-like material, with large text reading: ''I-65 - -- - Charlottesville, 13 Kilometers - -- - Richmond, 124 Kilometers'' Having been away from Earth for so long, the names didn''t even ring a bell, but all I needed to know was that they were the names of towns. -13 Kilometers to a town?- With my adrenaline finally starting to pump, I sped up even more and traversed that 13-kilometer stretch in just less than 10 seconds. However, the sight to behold me wasn''t quite what I expected. -Huh?- As the town should have started coming into view, the horizon simply turned white, as if the sun had been laid at the end of the tracks. -What in the world?- Unsure of what it was, I started to slow down, but as the gap between the final trees widened, the light only grew brighter. Until eventually, I passed through those trees and was presented with a sight I would never forget. "W..what the..." It was a field of glass that stretched to every horizon, glistened in every color imaginable, and combined to create an ocean of light. -But why are they so shiny? The forest was all dirt and clay...- Finally slowing down to a stop about a kilometer into the field, I walked over to the edge of the cement road supporting the rails and reached down to pick up one of the countless pebbles within my shadow. They were all incredibly smooth, with many of them being as reflective as a mirror and others showing visible layers of heavy metals, obsidian, or glass in them. However, the oddest thing was their shine. -Are they covered in oil?- But before I could actually grab one to see, I sensed something and stood back up. -Wow.. that''s pretty smart...- Looking out into the blinding sea of light, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the energy escaping my body like I had done before. Almost immediately, an image was being painted in my head, and sure enough, about 10 meters in front of me was something about 4 meters wide sticking just out of the ground. Although I couldn''t see it with my eyes, it was easily recognizable. It was a snake. -Wow.. to think a monster would not learn to use the blinding light to hunt prey...- With its eyes just above the ground, it had an unobstructed view of its surroundings, while anything standing would be essentially blind. -It''s a shame it ran into me...- *crunch* Stepping off the concrete road, I crushed several pebbles beneath my feet, and as if it was the signal, the snake sprung out of the ground. *FWOOSH* A wall of darkness instantly appeared out of the sea of light as its jaws closed in on me, but just before its fang hit my side, I caught it and held its mouth open. *pat* -So this guy is why the pebbles were so glossy...- Oozing out of its mouth was a thick oily substance that glossed it and its surroundings like polish and made the ground so slick it felt like walking on firm quicksand. -How fascinating...- *CRUNCH-CRACKLE* It immediately started squirming after I caught it, kicking up a plume of dust, blocking out most of the light, and revealing its glossy silver scales and diamond-shaped head. -So it''s a burrower...- It was honestly quite a beautiful creature, especially when compared to the Warden or the creatures I was fighting before returning to Earth. But it wasn''t anything more than that. -I wonder if the venom is any good...- Firmly holding its fang while it squirmed, I saw a small droplet of liquid form at the tip and lifted it up to drop it in my mouth. *drip* A nice tingly sensation spread through my mouth as soon as it hit my tongue, but it was followed by a terrible bitterness. "Blegh..." I quickly tried to spit it out, but the taste lingered. -What a horrific taste...- Having to live off monsters for nearly 200 years before I lost the need to eat, I used everything at my disposal to make the meat taste better, and venom was easily the most versatile. Depending on its properties, it could taste like almost anything, from soy sauce to sour candy. -I was hoping for something I could sip on now that my Southern Serpent venom is gone though... I already miss that taste...- *CRACK* Snapping off the fang, I flipped it in my hand and threw it into the snake''s throat, immediately blowing a hole straight through it and sending it squirming around in pain before finally realizing I had let it go and burrowing itself back into the ground. *CRUNCH-CRACKLE* As I watched it squirm away under the grace of the clay dust in the air, I finally let out a deep breath and turned around. "Haah..." -Well.. I guess it was too much to expect such low-grade venom to taste good... It does make me wonder what human food will taste like though...- My smile returned to my face as I hopped back onto the road and looked back at the horizon. -I guess I can only wait and find out.- *CRACK-FWOOSH* ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] - Mythril has several grades that will slowly be revealed over time, but the darker the color, the higher the grade. Dark Mythril is a dark purple color. [2] - The name with proper characters is ¦ª¦Ë?¦Ì¦Á¦Ê¦Á ¦¤¦Ñ?¦Ê¦Ï¦Ô for those who want it. Chapter 6: The Enticement of the Devil Mid Morning - Early Summer : Central Virginia ----- - Corporal, Diana Hale ~ -Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck...- Curses rang through my mind as I held down WEP [1] and zipped through the sky, but little did my adrenaline-logged brain know, I had long since run out of fuel. Ever since I saw ''it'', it was as if I couldn''t function properly; everything other than my instincts had practically shut down, and all my instincts told me to do was run. ''That thing'' was a monster the likes of humans were never meant to face, a monster that could only be dealt with using orbital weapons, just like the Great Wyvern of Japan. -But even that ridiculous monster couldn''t simply ignore nukes...- Just a few minutes prior, I was ordered to use a Grade 3 nuclear missile with a 50-megaton explosive yield and 40-kilometer kill radius to try and land a hit on the back of the monster''s head. And just as instructed, I landed it perfectly, a detonation just a few meters off the creature''s skin, but the high I felt from pulling it off and hearing the cheers of the people in the command room only made me fall harder. The moment the monster simply dashed out of the smoke after a few seconds, completely unscathed, my mind went blank, and the voices of command simply turned to static. Since then, all I could do was hold the throttle with a death grip and pray it didn''t look in my direction like it did Eli. However, after a few minutes that felt like an unbearable eternity, my instinct finally eased enough for me to shakily look over my shoulder. -Is it.. leaving me alone?- Being nearly 25 kilometers in the air, and with most of the clouds cleared out by the blast, I had an incredible view of ground zero, left as a field of ash and fire; however, no matter where I looked, I couldn''t see anything moving, even though a massive creature should have stood out like a sore thumb. Starting to break into a panic, I looked straight to the ground below to see if it was following me, but the more I looked, and the less I found, the more my fear grew. -W..where is it?!- Before I knew it, my mind was starting to erode itself, crumbling under stress and fear. But before my mind finally collapsed under the chaos, a transparent blue panel appeared in front of my face. *Beep*
Excessive Stress Detected
Activating Passive Skill: Level Headed
My tense body instantaneously relaxed and heightened nerves started to ease before my mind finally began to calm. "Hooh..." In a single breath, an immense amount of weight was lifted off me. -The System is finally back online...- With the adrenaline still pumping, my senses were heightened to an insane degree, but with my consciousness stabilizing, I could finally make sense of it. *Beep* "No Fuel Remaining. Please find a place to land." *Beep* "No Fuel Remaining. Please find a place to land." Finally hearing my Cardinal''s emergency protocol, I let out another quick breath and looked over the ground in a much calmer manner. "Hooh... Okay..." It only took me a moment to find enough landmarks to learn where I was. -That must be Richmond...- "System, connect me to Richmond ATC." -I should have the altitude to make it there...- "Attempting connection to Locale: Richmond Air Traffic Control." *Beep* "System Communications Artifact not functioning properly: Recalibrating. . ." There was a short moment of silence before the System made a sequence of beeps and continued. "Calibration Complete: Connection established." *Beep* I spoke up instantly. "Richmond ATC, this is Corporal Diana Hale. I am out of fuel just south of Petersburg and need to have a runway cleared ASAP." But I heard nothing but a loud crackling and hum. *Crackle-Vmmmm* -What the...- It was a sound I had never heard before. "Hello, this is Corporal Diana Hale. Is anyone th-" *Beep* The System promptly cut me off. "System Artifact at locale has been damaged. Please stand by." There was a quick moment of silence after the System stopped speaking before the hum disappeared. *Crackle* "Y-yes, this is Richmond ATC! Is this the military?" Hearing his panic, I spoke with a bit of hesitancy. "This is Corporal Diana Hale. I am out of fuel just south of Petersburg and need a clear runway." An immediate silence filled the comms. -Shit, I don''t have time for this...- "We are aware of the situation, but nearly all our jets are disabled. It will take some time for help to arrive. For now, I need a runway cleared!" There was another pause before the young man finally spoke. "W-what vehicle are you in?" "A Cardinal. I need a mid-size runway or larger." As I slowly banked to the side, I used my cameras to zoom in on where the runways were and immediately saw two things the size of buildings. -Shit...- "Th-that will be difficult! Our larger runways are occupied by airships. One from Europe just landed. It will take at least twenty minutes to clear-" "Make it five. I''m out of fuel; I can''t stay airborne that long." "T-that will be diffi-" *BEEP* The young man was immediately cut off by a deafening beep from the System as a blood-red panel appeared in my face.
Regional Quest Created
An Unknown Entity has entered the Region Entity Ranking: Unknown Estimated Ranking: Leviathan Class
Objective: Kill the Entity
Reward: 1 [Divine Wish] | +300 Levels
-Huh? Red?- It was a panel color I had never seen before, but that confusion turned to shock the moment I saw the reward. -W..what?- I couldn''t even believe my eyes. However, everything has a price. Just seeing the reward, I was excited... Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. But the moment I read the rest of it, that excitement vanished... -W..what kind of bullshit is this...- ----- - Bentley Horne ~ A quick flight from the Western Union to Charlotte, North Carolina, on a commission to clear an overdeveloped dungeon. That''s all that trip was supposed to be. -So, what the hell is this...- *muffled alarm* Just a few minutes ago, we crossed the eastern coast of the United States, but rather than continuing south, we were forced to make an emergency landing in Richmond, Virginia. According to the staff, all communications had been completely cut off, and as per international protocol, we needed to land. Everyone on board found it extremely odd at first, as losing contact with the ground was believed to be impossible ever since communications devices started utilizing ''System Artifacts'', but not long after that, we all finally noticed the state of our own Systems, and the panic started to set in. But things didn''t improve when we landed. The chaos within the city was nothing short of apocalyptic. Looking out the window, we could see locals spitting blood on the edge of the runway and countless others struggling to stand up or even walk. Out of fear that there could have been a monster that used poison in the area, I ordered my guildmates to stay put while the staff and less cautious mercenaries went to check out the situation. But before a single one of them could return, we were all presented with a dark crimson panel, leaving us staring into the air with wide eyes. The first to break the silence was one of my guildmates. "Uh.. is anyone else seeing this?" It was a regional quest with completely unfathomable rewards. -An item believed to be a myth or legend, or enough levels to instantly make a normal System Mercenary a ranker...- The enticement was like the devil''s whisper, but no matter how enticing of a reward it was, nothing could have made us ignore the objective. "L..Leviathan class..." One of my guildmates spoke up with a shaky voice. "I thought that class was reserved for gates..." -Y..yeah...- "S..so did I..." It was the highest classification the System had ever been known to give, believed to be reserved for gates that were the size of small countries, and were only known to open in deep space or on other planets. But now, we were suddenly confronted with reality. -We can''t stay here...- Immediately hopping up, I darted out of the Hall and pushed past the airship''s attendants to get to the control room. *tap-Clank-CREAAAK* Swinging open the heavy metal door, I came into the cockpit and noticed the captains staring into the air in front of them with pale faces. They were clearly looking at System panels. -But now isn''t the time to be in a daze!- *pat* "WE NEED TO GET OFF THE GROUND, NOW!" Finally snapping out of it, they jolted back to their senses and immediately started tapping through panels before tapping the large blue artifact between them. It was the communications to all the passengers via our Systems. "Everyone, please return to the airship!" He sounded as if he was speaking right into my ear. "If you do not return in five minutes, we will leave without you!" The moment he closed the transmission, he moved to a transparent panel in front of him and promptly restarted the engines. *hmmMMM* The deep hum of the reactors instantly started to ramp up. -Five minutes... We just need five minutes...- With my heart racing, I returned to the main Hall and gathered my guildmates to form a plan in case things went south. But after just a few minutes, we felt the airship start moving. -What?! It''s too early!- Not even a quarter of the people who went outside were back yet. Darting back to the control room, I went to see what was going on, but only found the captains with their hands off the controls. -H..huh?- The youngest of the captains spoke up the moment I came inside. "The ATC is pulling us off the runway." He spoke as if he had lost hope. "A military jet needs to make an emergency landing... We won''t be able to take off for at least twenty minutes..." I simply froze. "Isn''t there the other runway?" He shook his head immediately. "That airship''s systems are down. There was apparently a mana wave that destroyed most of their devices, including the reactors, and made them unable to disengage the emergency break.. even during landing..." -You''re fucking kidding...- *WHAM* Slamming my fist into the thick metal door, I hung my head and let the thoughts and ideas flow like a river. -Come on... I have to think of something!- But, little did we know time was never on our side. *BEEP*
Immense Presence Detected
Activating Passive Skill: Sensory Overload -| User''s Senses have been Dulled |-
Source: Unable to Determine Entity out of range
----- - Evren ~ *tap-tap-tap-tap-tap* *Ding!* "Hm?" Hearing the system ping, I glanced over at the panel.
Update and Repair Complete
Your System has Updated successfully. All remaining restrictions have been removed.
Redistributing System Resources. . .
-Ah.. it was still updating?- Reading that it removed more restrictions, I clenched my fist to see if anything changed, but there wasn''t anything of note. -Hm... Maybe it was related to my mana...- While I didn''t feel any difference in my mana either, I didn''t exactly know what to look out for. -But.. it''s probably fine...- Looking back up at the horizon, I shifted my focus back to running but quickly noticed that the surrounding trees and foliage had started to thin out along the tracks before completely stopping on the horizon. The only thing it could have been was a clearing. -Is that the edge of the city? I should be getting pretty close...- Speeding up considerably, the opening in the trees started to widen, and the short green grass on the ground started coming into view. But while it was out of place, after a few more seconds, the top of a colossal grey structure with all sorts of things mounted on it started to crest the horizon. -That must be it!- Speeding up even more, the structure quickly began to stretch higher and higher over the horizon, revealing more and more weapon installments coating its exterior. But as the faint sound of alarms started filling the air, the bottom of the structure finally came into view, leaving me to look upon it in awe. -Woaah...- It was a wall stretching almost 250 meters into the air and absolutely layered in weaponry with only a single small metal area around where the rails met the wall. -That must be the gate...- Finally entering the clearing of short grass, I could finally see that the colossal wall was circular, but the area it encompassed was so massive that a majority of it was still hidden behind the horizons to my left and right. Even with my insanely warped sense of scale from fighting monsters multiple kilometers tall, it was nothing short of awe-inspiring. -Wow... Humanity really did adapt...- However, humanity wasn''t only known for its adaptability. My expression of awe vanished instantaneously. -Huh?- *ZIP-CRRRRACK-BAANG* Barely managing to react in time, I narrowly dodged what looked like a dart from one of the weapon installments right above the gate. -Holy shit, what was that?!- Instantly focusing on where it came from, I found what could only be described as four complex metal beams sticking out of the wall aiming right at me. -What is that thing?- But before even a second passed, it began to glow again, forcing me to brace myself before instantly reacting to another dart. *ZIP-CRRRRACK-BAANG* Another huge plume of concrete was blown into the air behind me the moment I ducked under it, but with that, I had the weapon dialed in. With a bit of bloodlust beginning to flow, I focused on the glowing gun with dilated pupils before finally... *ZIP-PAT* Instantly snatching it out of the air, the dart started to glow red hot, but before it could start melting, I planted my foot on the ground and returned it to whence it came. *ZIP-CRRRACK* As the shockwave met my ears, the dart blasted straight through the metal exterior of the installment, violently caving in and splintering the metal before continuing deeper into the wall But by the time the shockwave of the impact or its wave of heat would have reached me, I was in the air. *FWOOOSH* With a single massive leap, I darted straight to the top of the wall, clipping and destroying the edge of it to slow down before finally coming to a stop. However, although the wall was dozens of meters thick, preventing me from seeing the ground all the way to the horizon, it didn''t matter. -W..woah...- Stretching far above the inside edge of the wall was a cannon resembling what I destroyed, but with only two rails and upscaled to the point that each rail was nearly a kilometer long, and with large text on the side of it. It read, "FX-8620 Tomahawk -|- Eversor Company Orbital Railgun" ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Please feel free to check out the new discord server for my community! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v All are welcome! Chapter 7: Curiosity. Late Morning - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- -W..woah...- My jaw slowly fell open as I looked over the far edge of the wall to see an unfathomably massive structure. -Humans really did.. advance quite a bit, huh...- It was a cannon larger than the tallest of skyscrapers from my era, and it made for a view I simply couldn''t have imagined before that moment. Such a monument of technology was on a scale you simply couldn''t fathom without seeing it in person. -I thought I prepared myself for a sight like this, but actually seeing it is a little.. different...- Slowly walking over to the inner edge of the wall, a powerful jet of air blasting up the wall tried to sweep me off my feet, but while it didn''t make me budge, the sight swept me away. Inside the towering walls of the city laid a dense landscape of concrete and metal that grew in magnitude as it approached the massive railgun, seemingly at its center, until the structures were nothing short of towering glass monuments. But while a part of me said most of the place felt like a lifeless concrete compound, from atop the wall, it had a unique beauty I had never experienced before, a sight foreign to me after seeing nothing but nature-laden abandoned ruins and kingdoms for hundreds of years. But there was one unusual thing that I didn''t even find odd until after the awe from the view settled. -Where are the people?- The streets, shops, and buildings below looked empty, as if the whole place had been abandoned, but on the contrary, there were countless alarms blaring, innumerable lights brightly lighting alleyways and the insides of buildings, and hardly any natural buildup on anything. -Did everyone just suddenly vanish? What''s going on?- Not giving it much more thought, I finally hopped off the wall, easily piercing through the dense wash of air before slamming into the concrete road that supported the metal rails *fwooOOOSH-CRACK* Before I knew it, a cloud of concrete blew up in my face, but by the time I could wave it away, the strong winds blowing down the street took the dust up the wall. -Geez.. the winds are just as strong down here... Are the alarms from the weather?- The wind was so strong someone could open an umbrella and fly away like Mary Poppins. *crumble* But after deciding not to give it much thought, I stepped out of the shattered concrete surrounding my feet and slowly started making my way down the street, looking into the closed shops and through the windows of well-lit buildings in hopes of finding someone. But there was no one at all. The city felt simply abandoned. Shops were full of food and products, and some buildings had freshly cooked food visible on tables through the glass, but not only could I not see anyone, I couldn''t sense a single presence for as far as my senses could extend. -Just where did everyone go?- Continuing up the wind-tunnel-like street with nothing but curiosity, I got ready to pick up the pace before noticing a building that stood out. Surrounded by several small but well-maintained gardens and a couple small trees, the building was mostly made of white marble and covered in detailed engravings, with beautiful colored glass filling each window and impeccably carved statues on display wherever they could fit. But while I wondered what the place was for, as I looked upward, I saw a symbol that I could somehow still recognize. It was some rendition of a cross. -Ah, is this place a church? Looks like religion is still prevalent, huh...- I had honestly forgotten that things like religion existed. -How long has it been since I''ve seen a place of prayer?- Lowering my gaze toward the building''s large open entrance, I was beckoned by the sight of warm light emanating from behind the doorway, and without giving it much thought, started down the central concrete path through the church''s courtyard. *FWOOOooosh-tap* *Ding* "You are entering a protected area." *tap* *tap* The moment I entered, the noise of the wind and blaring sirens almost entirely faded away, and I was greeted by the voice of the system before the incredible scent of flowers, fruit, and fresh vegetables flooded my nostrils. -Woah...- It was like I had stepped into another world, and before I knew it, the sensation of nostalgia found its way into my mind. But there were no memories to accompany it. Unfortunately, those had long since faded into nothingness. *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* Continuing inside without breaking stride, I looked around curiously without a care. -So Earth''s system has protected areas too... I wonder what they''re growing...- Looking over the small gardens, I closely inspected the plants to try and recognize them, but it was like playing trivia with blurry memories. -It all looks edible though...- Pausing for a moment, I squatted down next to one of the more disorderly gardens before, out of the blue, a high-pitched voice made me jump out of my skin. "That''s my garden! Do you like it?" -WHAT THE?!- Bloodlust instantly exploded from me. Nothing had been able to sneak up on me in centuries, yet that being had no presence at all. But when I looked over, I was only to be met with the gaze of a cheerful young girl, who was seven or eight years old at most, with bright blond hair and vibrant, forest-green eyes. And while I had my doubts, when she finally noticed my gaze on her, she froze in her tracks and her cheeriness vanished. -Huh?- She was really nothing more than a child with a presence so weak I couldn''t feel it, but while my nerves took their time to ease, there was something about her that caught my attention... -She has pointy ears?- She wasn''t a human. -She''s an elf...- But while her ears were long and pointy, her skin was warm and pink like a human''s. -Just what are you...- The moment I asked that to myself though, a discolored blue panel appeared over her head.
Mercenary Name: N/A Status: Non-Hostile Race: Half-Elf Age:
Level 0 (Unawakened)
Class - Non-Combatant -
This being is protected by local authorities Alert: Abnormal Status will notify authorities
This being is in a protected area. Alert: Killing this entity will result in a penalty
But I didn''t have time to read it before the system''s horrendously annoying voice filled my head. *Beep* "Inferior System Hierarchy Detected. Do you wish to overwrite it? The Local System will not be alerted." -Inferior System Hierarchy?- Quickly skimming the panel, I tilted my head before speaking softly. "Sure?" *Ding!* The panel updated in an instant.
System Name: N/A Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.Name: Anais Equella Status: Anxious Race: Human/Elf (35/65) Age: 8 years
[Titles] [Inheritances]
Level 0 (Unawakened)
Class Apprentice Nun
Gold 0
Sponsors
This being is protected by local authorities Alert: Death of entity will notify authorities
This being is in an area protected by a Local System Admin Killing this entity will alert the Overseeing Administrator
Inventory and Stats Privatized by Local System WARNING: Viewing without Entity''s consent will trigger Local System''s Security Measures
-Wow...- I was honestly at a loss of words for a moment. -Is this a ''local system panel''?- Although the memory was a bit foggy, back when I still fought in worlds with sentient native inhabitants, there was something commonly referred to as a ''local system panel''. These panels were generally known to be simple info boxes that everyone connected to a server had, but could only be viewed by people whose System Origin was the server they were connected with. In other words, it was reserved for the natives of the world to view, allowing them to see the basic information of anyone and anything connected to that specified server, whether it was a plant, monster, or foreigner with an assigned mission in their world. However, it was technically possible for outsiders to acquire them by migrating from their original system to the new worlds with the help of a god, known as an administrator. -If I remember right.. I think there was a way to wipe your system and do the migration yourself at the cost of everything you had as well, but I can''t remember...- Regardless, seeing one myself made for quite an odd experience. -Good lord, this would have been so helpful back in the day...- A vibrant memory instantly surfaced in my mind as I thought about it. Back when I was a rookie, I got lost in a forest without any food, and without anyone with me, I had no idea what was and wasn''t safe to eat. Needless to say, I ate some very.. very bad things on that mission, but above them all were some candy-smelling mushrooms. -Blegh...- They were so bad I felt like I could still taste them 500 years later. -But anyway.. I thought these panels were supposed to only display the most basic of information...- Looking over the panel again, I could essentially see everything, down to the percentages of each race in a mixed blood. -If I remember right, what it displayed was typically pretty vague too... Does each server have different display information on them?- But before I could give that question much thought, I was dragged out of my thoughts by the young girl taking a cautious step back. *tap* -Hmm...- "Little Miss, where is everyone?" She almost immediately stopped in her tracks before averting her eyes. "Th-They were summoned to the upper district!" -The upper district?- I promptly tilted my head slightly. "Is that the name of a world?" -It doesn''t ring a bell...- "Huh?" Her anxious expression instantly washed with confusion. "What do you..." -Is it the name of a place in this city, then?- "How would I get to the upper district?" She paused before speaking with some reluctance. "Y-You would take that rail behind you..." Looking back at the rail in the middle of the road, I glanced toward the railgun. -So the upper district must be where I saw all those tall buildings...- "Alright." -So they were evacuated... Was it because of The Warden?- Deciding to investigate it, I quickly stood up and turned toward the road. But as I got ready to leave, I felt another gaze land on me and glanced back to see a shy beastfolk child with droopy rabbit ears curiously peeking at me through the doorway. -Looks like Earth is still naive when it comes to protected areas, huh...- Hearing the whispers and shuffling of several other kids inside as the young rabbit boy shied away, I wanted to snicker. -Or maybe it''s just that they trust their walls that much...- Idly glancing up the side of the towering wall looming over us, the image of countless creatures big enough to make the entire city look like a sand castle surfaced in my mind before I simply turned away. -But I guess naivety can be a good thing too...- *woosh* With a gentle wave over my shoulder, I finally started making my way out of the courtyard before speaking just loud enough for the kids inside to hear. "I''m not sure what kind of world this is now," -Especially considering I saw an elf and beastfolk before a human...- "But you should be more careful approaching things you don''t recognize. Just because something looks friendly doesn''t mean it is..." -That was a lesson your race taught me the hard way...- *FWOOOM* Eventually stepping back out into the road, the winds relentlessly blasted over me, leaving me to look up the road toward the massive railgun peeking over the horizon, blotting out the bright morning sun. -I still can''t tell if I''m over or underestimating humanity... Maybe they''re used to things like The Warden.- But while I wanted to believe that, as the image of them fruitlessly reducing a forest to ash surfaced in my mind.. so did my doubts. "Haah..." Massaging the back of my neck, I tried to let out some stress with a sigh, but it didn''t help. *Vwoom* Opening up the system, I looked at Earth''s stats with a troubled expression.
World: "Earth" Planet Rank: Rank 6 Mission Type: N/A Local Server: Unable to Connect - Connected to Central Server
Population: ~1,895,474,500
Total Gold: 195,321 Inventory and Gear Upgrades and Stats
-Rank 6...- It was a rank I remembered almost nothing about, but it was a level considerably below where I would have ranked The Warden. -I''d probably put The Warden around Rank 1 or 2... But if it was that high rank.. why was it here?- Typically, monsters in a world were restricted by the planet''s rank, however, the more monsters there were, the higher that rank would get, exponentially increasing the number and strength of monsters over time. It was what led the countless worlds I saw throughout my missions to their ruined states. -But nothing should allow for a monster over four whole ranks above the planet to appear...- As I thought back to when it appeared, the warnings my system gave me came to mind: the warnings that said the Local System was trying to purge me. But the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. "Haah..." -Whatever... Trying to think about it now won''t do me any good anyway...- But while I quickly turned up the road and got moving in an attempt to clear my head, the questions never left my mind. At long last, I was back on Earth. It was the moment I had dreamed of for eons, but while I never wanted anything more than to rest, enjoying the gentle breeze, the melody of nature, and the warmth of the sun from the top of a mountain, the longer I let the questions weigh on my mind, the more my confusion created sparks, until eventually, a tiny, barely noticeable flame was lit in my chest. Isolated in my mind, it was as if I was standing in a raging river, fighting to stay in place, but as that tiny flame was lit, my attention was dragged toward it, the oh-so-faint glow at the end of the river. And while I still cannot explain why, at that moment, I questioned myself, ''Why was I fighting the current?''. Upstream, in the direction I was fighting to stay near, was my past, my memories, logged onto the river banks over countless years like a catalog of my past, laid in remembrance of the series of successes and failures that led me to where I was. But at some point, they stopped, and the memories that were easily visible along the river had become distant, so distant I could barely see them. But while I wanted to ask myself why.. I already knew the answer. At some point, I stopped floating down the river. At some point, I stopped and fought the current. Without a desire.. or a light to keep me facing forward, I unknowingly turned around to face the desires of my past. Without realizing it, I had started craving the times I had dreams, questions, and motivations, but I saw them nowhere ahead of me, so I turned around. However, at that moment, the faint flicker of candlelight was finally visible downstream, and while it didn''t immediately make me stop fighting the current, for the first time in centuries, I began to drift, guided toward the flickering flame that had once died out. The very same flame that would only continue to grow as I unknowingly tossed it fuel. The flame of curiosity. ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork (when it is made) on My Patreon! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v All are welcome! Chapter 8: Flavors from Heaven Late Morning - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- - Corporal, Diana Hale ~ "Hooh..." -Alright... Time to bring her in...- I let out a deep breath as I hastily disabled several automated systems so the autopilot wouldn''t try to take control as I descended just meters above the tops of buildings. "Richmond ATC, this is Cardinal 7 on final approach. What''s the status on the airstrip?" "I-It''s cleared!" His voice crackled with a hint of panic. "However, there is still quite a bit of debris, so if you can, please land on the left half of the airstrip!" -That''s less than ideal...- But it wasn''t like I had a choice. "Got it..." Carefully correcting my approach, I flipped several more switches, enabling and disabling systems as I needed them to try and preserve power. *cl-cl-cl-click* -When they taught us how to fly and land these things without any of our electronics, I thought they were crazy.. but I seriously owe them an apology...- *Beep* Finally engaging the emergency battery, my helmet''s HUD lit up, and I jumped into my Cardinal''s comm (communications) channel. *Beep* "Connection Est-" "Spin up the engine and turn on the debris shield." Manually adjusting the trim, I leaned back and pitched up the nose, finally starting to bring her down, just barely missing the edge of a rooftop. -Holy shit, that was close...- But I didn''t have time to dwell on the mistake. "Turn on the cameras and extend the airbrake." *hhhuuuUUUMMM* As the hum of the debris shield finally picked up, the view of the inside of my cockpit vanished, leaving just a clear view of my landing gear and the rapidly approaching tarmac beneath me. "Alright..." -Let''s bring her down nice.. and.. gentle...- *Thump* *Cr-r-r-rackle* "Hooh..." I let out a tense breath as the sound of relatively small concrete chunks being crushed under my tires filled the cockpit. -Holy shit, this runway is a mess... Thank god for the debris shield...- Without it, several of the electronics on the belly of my cardinal would have been undoubtedly ruined, consequently grounding my jet. -And I can''t afford to be grounded here...- I felt a chill pass down my spine as the mere thought of staying here crossed my mind. -But what the hell happened for the runway to look like this in the first place?- Thoughts began racing through my mind immediately, but the moment I looked up and glanced toward the neighboring tarmac, they stopped entirely. Running the length of the runway, there were several thick trails of rubber and destroyed concrete that led up to an absolutely colossal airship sitting lopsided in the middle of the runway. -W..what the hell?- Its tires had been completely melted away, and its massive landing gear had carved up a huge strip of the runway, spewing tiny pieces of concrete everywhere, even hundreds of meters down the neighboring runway. "Hah..." I couldn''t help but let out a nervous chuckle as I stared at it. -At least it''s a Western Union airship... Maybe there are some strong guilds on board...- But as the awe of the sight and adrenaline from my emergency landing started wearing off, the reality of the situation started setting in again. "Urk..." Before I knew it, it tied my stomach in a knot, bringing with it a wave of nausea that was nothing short of debilitating, but as I switched my comms back to the ATC, I tried to reassure myself. -I only need to be here long enough to refuel...- *Beep* "Hooh..." -I''ll be alright...- *Beep* "Connection established." I did my best to gather what remained of my composure as I heard it finally connect. "M..my apologies, I had to use voice controls for a moment..." "A-Ah, there you are! We were nervous something happened to you!" The man''s voice was brimming with relief. "There is a tow on standby that will hook up to you when you come to a stop and bring you to Hangar 3. Unfortunately, there isn''t much else we can do for you at the moment..." -Huh?- My expression instantly warped with a mix of confusion and anxiety. "What do you mean, ''not much else''? I only need you to bring a refueler to me. I need JP36-" "Miss..." But he only cut me off. "We don''t have reserved military fuel grades on hand..." The next thing I knew, my surroundings suddenly went dark, and the color drained from my face. "W..what?" He reluctantly continued as his tone softened with sympathy. "The best we can do is call a refueler from the military installation across the city, but when we tried to speak with them a moment ago, they-" *Crackle-static* -Huh?- His voice was cut short by the sound of static as my helmet''s HUD suddenly updated, and the cardinal''s voice greeted my ears. *Beep* "Connected to Andrews Airforce Base Command, Sergeant Major Samuel Moreno." My mind and body, frozen by fear and despair, were instantly flooded with an intoxicating amount of adrenaline. -They managed to connect?!- Although I had been trying, no matter what I did, I couldn''t get a stable connection. "Sergeant Major!" *crrackle* There was still a faint static in the connection, but his voice met my ears like the voice of an angel. "Corporal! Corporal, can you hear me?!" "Y-Yes, sir!" There was a short pause before he continued. "Thank goodness. There appears to be some delay, but we can only expect so much from an ancient landline and barely functioning radio tower; it''s all we have right now, though, so we''ll have to deal with it..." He paused for a moment as the sound of clicking echoed over the comm. "Where are you, currently? We can''t get a ping on your cardinal, even through radio." "I was forced to land at Richmond''s international airfield. I had run out of fuel, so I needed an extra long runway." "I see... Perfect..." He silently mumbled under his breath for a moment before speaking up again. "Okay, I have a researcher here in the comm with us. Please follow his instructions while I will try and get some fuel to you... What Hangar are you in?" A monstrous wave of relief flooded my body in an instant. "Hangar 3." "Alright, I''ll see what I can do. In the mean time, please consider the doctor''s instructions the same as my orders, and remember that everything discussed here is classified." -The same as orders from the Sergeant Major?- I felt an odd sense of foreboding as I looked over at the user list to try and find the researcher''s name. But before I could navigate the menus, a soft male voice filled the comm. "Miss Hale, this is Doctor Pete Forna, one of the Eastern Magic tower''s lead researchers on the studies of The System and mana." The name didn''t ring a bell, but I could tell he was a big shot. "Currently, I am working with the military to try and assess the situation, but since you are the only military operative we can contact in Richmond, I will need you to help me in a moment. You also being the only person to survive the main incident, If you have any questions or wish to inform us of anything you saw or that happened, please do so. Even small details can help immensely." -So he''s a researcher being let in on the situation...- Quickly thinking of where to start, I tried to collect myself before speaking. "Then, if I may... Are you aware of the details of the Regional Quest that was created?" *Vwoop* Opening up my system, my face was immediately lit up red by the ominous crimson panel. -They''re usually only available to those within a small radius of the source... If he''s in Arlington, then he may be outside the radius...- But his response, rather than a simple yes or no, was more than a little worrying: "Of course, the entire east half of North America received the same quest. We''re even receiving reports about it from as far as St. Louis, but based on its radius, the ''Entity'' of the quest is in Virginia, likely within a few hundred kilometers of Richmond." -H..huh?!- I immediately started panicking. "W-What do you mean? The ''Entity'' is the monster I hit with a G3 near Apple Orchard Mountain! It survived the blast! The missile didn''t even scratch-" "That monster is already dead, Miss. Please calm down..." He paused as a hint of worry crept into his voice. "That.. thing.. wasn''t the entity of the quest." -W..What...- My brain instantly went silent as if it had short-circuited. "I..It''s not..? It.. died..?" -Did the shockwave from the G3 give it internal injuries?- "I watched it run out from under the blast, though..." But as my thoughts spiraled toward insanity, the doctor spoke with a heavy tone. "Something else killed it..." He paused for a moment as I heard a series of clicks. "We have a satellite currently looking at it, and by the looks of it.. it got into a fight with something and quite brutally lost..." -T..that''s impossible...- My mind was completely washed with fear at that point; the color had completely drained from my face, and I was sweating profusely, but after a moment, a thought that could only stem from insanity crossed my mind. "W..what direction was its corpse in?" This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "North northeast." -That''s the direction Eli flew in... Could it have been...- "There was a woman my partner, Eli, went to pick up with his hawk before that monster dropped on us. If I remember right, he-" "They are both dead." He spoke bluntly. "That woman was clinging to the back of that man''s hawk when he was flying away, so we assumed she was a returning system mercenary whose return beacon was simply disrupted by the ridiculous mana wave we felt before the crack formed; however, right as our feed was cut, we watched as the monster incinerated them both... We confirmed it not long after.. not even the hawk''s black box survived..." He paused as sorrow intruded his tone. "I''m truly sorry for your loss." -A..ah...- As he mentioned it, I suddenly started shaking and felt tears begin to well in my eyes. Being reminded of the horrors I just experienced simply snapped my little remaining composure like a twig. "However, if we cannot pinpoint the location of the monster, even more may die, so please bear with me." My chest instantly tightened as if it were suddenly being crushed in a clamp. "Based on what I''m looking at, it appears that our LMMF, or localized mana monitoring facility, is still pulling power through the electrical grid, so it may still be operable. If you can get to it and relay some information to me, we may be able to pinpoint where it is based on the facility''s sensor readings..." That was it, the order Seargent Major was referring to before he left. The sensation of it being a choice was nothing more than an illusion. -But...- "How sure are you that, if the monster does enter the city, it won''t be attracted to the facility''s mana signature?" "Absolutely certain." He spoke firmly. "It is purely a monitoring facility, so it would appear no different from an empty house to a monster." -Is that so...- *flip* *puff* Quickly flipping up my visor, I leaned back into the seat and looked up at the sky through the clear glass, doing all I could to ease my mind. "Hooh..." With a reluctant breath, I spoke quietly. "Okay..." But understanding that my refusal wasn''t an option in the first place, he responded immediately. "Good. Now, if you could relay me to the ATC, I would like to get you a vehicle. We need to be as quick as possible." "O..Okay..." Momentarily lowering my visor, I moved his channel before taking a moment of silence for myself. *Beep* *Silence* *pat* As reality started to set in once again, I covered my eyes with my palms to hold back tears and bit my lip so hard it started to bleed. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in the safety of my cardinal. But as I gave myself a moment to think with reason, I started realizing that if I didn''t comply, I wouldn''t only endanger the city, but myself. Without refueling, I was stranded, and the more information I could gather on the ''Entity'', the more precautions I could personally take from it, and the more likely I was to be evacuated if shit hit the fan. "Hooh..." Easing my nerves with a heavy breath, I lowered my hands down in front of my mouth, holding them as if to pray before opening my eyes, revealing a determined gaze. *Beep* Rejoining my comm, the scientist spoke quickly. "There will be a car waiting at the hangar when you get there. It''s a bit old, but it will do." Somewhat curious, I lowered my gaze back to the wide airfield in front of me as my cardinal was dragged by a tiny tow truck before I noticed an ancient-looking white pickup truck moving toward the same hangar we were without a driver. It was an emergency tow for heavy aircraft, and it looked like it had just been used, covered in dust and debris. But that wasn''t what I cared about. -Fuck...- It was slow. My odds of outrunning anything above level 50 or 60 were slim to none, let alone whatever level the Entity was. -Just.. please, god, whatever happens, at least keep the monster from seeing me in that thing...- Considering I would be the biggest moving object for quite a distance, if I happened to get spotted, I was dead. Or at least.. that''s what I thought. ----- - Evren Lestir ~ *tap-tap-tap-tap* Slowly running down the road, my hair was forcefully slicked back by the strong winds while I took my time to look around, attempting to search for anything that stood out until I caught a whiff of something incredible. -O..Oh my...- My seemingly dark mood, caused by the countless questions racing through my mind, instantly lightened as I looked up the street to find what it was before seeing a warmly lit building with large glass walls and a picture of a white mug filled with brown liquid on it. -Is that.. what was it called.. a coffee shop?- Quickly running up to it, I stepped out of the insane winds of the street and into the building, where my nose was flashbanged by scents I had forgotten existed. *Ring* -W..WOAH!- Before I even realized it, my mouth was watering, and an incredible hunger overtook me. The inside of the building was quite simple: a warmly lit cafe with red and white checkered tile floors, white walls, and a beautiful wooden bar with dozens of pastries on display behind a pane of clear glass. Beyond that, there wasn''t much I recognized. Behind the bar was a wall of unrecognizable equipment and a large display of drinks behind another, thicker glass wall, but while I was stunned, still struggling to get used to the smell and suddenly raging hunger, a sliding double door behind the bar opened with a hiss, letting what looked like a dog balancing a tray of doughnut-looking things on its head through. *Tsssss* It was quite cute and almost indistinguishable from how I remembered dogs on Earth, but it wasn''t alive. *tap-tap* Hopping its front legs up onto the back of the bar behind the glass display of pastries, several somewhat spindly mechanical arms extended from behind its ears and began sorting the steaming.. heavenly-smelling treats behind the glass marked: ''Bagels''. -So these are.. ''bagels''...- *pat* Quickly snatching one from the robot as he was about to sort it, I took a small marble of mythril out of my inventory and set it on his tray. -That amount of mythril should compensate for taking a bagel, right?- Assuming it would, I wasted no time turning back to the warm, soft treat in my hands, making my eyes glow like a child''s. I wanted to devour it on the spot, but deciding to start small, I took a small pinch out of it, and set it on my tongue. "Oh... Oh my..." I almost wanted to cry. Although I had somewhat regularly fixed what I called ''seed bread'', compared to this delectable piece that simply melted on my tongue, it didn''t even deserve to be called bread. -It''s so good...- Taking a proper bite, my mouth was instantly flooded with flavors I didn''t even know existed, and a wash of nostalgia and blurry memories overtook my mind. I ended up savoring that bagel for longer than I wish to admit before finally, the cafe''s doggy helper came back out with another batch I wasted no time raiding. *Ring* By the time I left, I had a stack of four bagels I slid into my inventory while I nibbled on another. But as I walked out of the cafe with lifted spirits, a white, wheeled object rolled past me at about 25 meters per second. (90 kmph) It was going a little slower than I had been running since I entered the city, a pace I viewed similar to a very slow jog. -Hm.. I wonder what that person is doing...- Feeling a faint presence from the vehicle, I quickly caught up to it before getting in front and stopping. *SCREEEEECH* It screamed as it seemed to be pulled into the ground and skidded to a halt. *nibble* Standing in front of it, I calmly nibbled my bagel before tilting my head toward the pale woman inside. *Ding*
System Name: N/A (Native) Name: Diana Hale Status: Fearful Race: Human Age: 24 years
[Titles] One Who Exceeded Sound , Native [Inheritances] <None> </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 49.8265%">Level</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">16</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Class</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Undefined</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Gold</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">21</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Sponsors</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3"><None></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">This being is protected by local authorities Alert: Death of entity will notify authorities</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">Inventory and Stats Privatized by Local System <Open> WARNING: Viewing without Entity''s consent will trigger Local System''s Security Measures</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> "Oh, a human," I spoke bluntly. -What a refreshing sight...- ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork (when it is made) on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 9: A Step Forward Late Morning - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States (Back a few minutes) ----- - Corporal, Diana Hale ~ *Tssss* *click-click* The loud hissing of hydraulics and the stiff clicks of the cockpit''s locks were usually sounds I more than welcomed. Typically, it meant that in the next half hour or so, I would be comfortable in the shower, bed, or dining hall. -But not today.- *Click* *Woosh* As the glass canopy lifted and slid back, the pressurized air in the cabin exploded outward, and the g-suit my Cardinal had wrapped around me opened up to let me out, revealing my very tightly fitting black attire covering everything from the chin down. For pilots of Cardinals, Blue Jays, and just about every other fighter I could think of, it was the customary uniform, fitting tightly and covering every inch of you so that the g-suit''s immense pressures would be distributed evenly and comfortably when necessary. Some, like mine and most others distributed to pilots in the US, even had cooling capabilities. However, for the first time since I became a pilot, it didn''t prevent me from getting soaked with sweat. -A..At least the system is online again...- Shakily opening the compartment beneath my seat, I moved my spare clothes and boots into my inventory before promptly equipping my normal camouflage over my tightsuit, which had been inaccessible since The System went down. *Beep* "Helmet disconnect permitted." *Click* Finally disconnecting several cables from the helmet, I stepped up out of the cockpit with it and walked down a few small steps on the fuselage before hopping down to the ground and making my way outside of the hangar. *EEEeeeoouuu* As I approached the gate, the deafening screams of sirens began filling the air, not helping my nerves at all, before I eventually arrived in front of the dust-covered, ancient-looking white truck and held my Cardinal''s key fob up to it. *Click* It undid its locks instantly before popping open the door to let me inside. "Haah..." -Fuck...- There was no going back now. Trying my best not to think that the truck could end up as my coffin, I reluctantly stepped up into it, quickly pressing several buttons on the car''s dash in a sequence as per Doctor Forna''s instructions. -I hope this works...- *Beep-crackle* The moment I pressed the last button, the sound of static from my helmet filled the cabin through the car''s speakers before my helmet''s AI spoke. "Holographic system''s offline. Would you-" "Select low bandwidth audio only, and enable external control relay." *Beep* "Adjusting settings... Complete. Attempting to reconnect to Communications channel." There was a short pause as I closed the door and got myself situated before the massive screen on the dash lit up with information I would typically only see in my helmet''s hud. -Holy shit... It worked...- Thankfully, the car''s systems that predated my grandparents were still working. But I wasn''t sure whether to call it lucky or unlucky. *Beep* "Communication Established with-" "Miss Hale, can you hear me?" The voice of Doctor Forna, the researcher from the Magic Tower who had been instructing me since my landing, immediately filled the cabin. "Yes, thankfully." His voice was like an angel''s to my stress-ravaged mind. But there was no time to relax. Almost immediately, he began instructing the AI in my helmet, disabling all kinds of security measures on the car before releasing the pedals and opening the dash to reveal a steering wheel. Like nearly every other car made in the last few hundred years, it wasn''t meant to be driven, but thankfully.. or unfortunately.. that car was made back when manual controls were still mandated, even if they were locked from public use. -To still have a steering wheel and pedals.. this car really is ancient...- I felt like I was sitting in an old relic. But rather than viewing it as an old hunk of junk, the doctor sounded very satisfied with it. "We were incredibly lucky the airfield still had one of these in service." He spoke somewhat distractedly while I heard the clatter of keys in the background. "It''s got some really old equipment on board I can use to spoof the facility''s security; that way, I don''t have to risk sneaking you in... The only issue is it will come at the cost of communications, so we won''t be able to talk until you hook your helmet up to the facility''s main console. But don''t worry, I''ll explain all the details you need before I disconnect." *Ding!* As the steering wheel finally lowered into position, the dash updated with an old map and GPS. "Miss Hale, can you see the map on the dash?" "I-I can." Swiping across the panel, I tried to get an idea of where the facility was in relation to me before letting out a breath of relief. -It''s secluded...- It was right on the boundary of the lower and middle districts, about ten kilometers from the airport, and about a kilometer from a main road, meaning I would be far away from people or traffic if the monster were to break in. "Unfortunately, it looks like you will have to navigate the city the old-fashioned way. Just like everything else communicating from outside Richmond to inside, the GPS isn''t working..." He lowered his tone with agitation before mumbling to himself. "Could the mana density have really changed that much..?" But after a moment, he continued as if he never asked the question. "In any case, the Sergeant Major and I trust you can both drive and navigate there without a GPS, correct?" I felt the weight on my shoulders increase in an instant. "O-Of course!" -It can''t be any harder than driving my jet on the runway, right...- Thankfully though, while I was nervous, compared to flying a jet, driving a car was nothing. Finally getting on the move, I swiftly made my way out of the airport, navigating through colossal crowds of people who appeared to have been evacuated there, before making my way down the completely empty main roads while the doctor attempted to guide me through everything I was about to have to do on my own. It wasn''t too bad, but it was a lot to remember. However, when the time for him to disconnect finally came, and the comms went silent, my mind was slowly overtaken by fog. The longer I sat in silence, the more time my mind had to pick apart the details of what I had seen. Finally taking note of the panicked expressions of people as they carried their loved ones coughing up blood toward the airport, I couldn''t shake the idea that I was walking straight into the maw of a monster. But trying to ignore that awful sensation, I drove for several minutes, eventually making it to roads that were completely desolate and clear of everyone, even thieves. But while my senses continued screaming at me to turn around, when I was finally nearing my turn off the main road, I caught a glimpse of something that looked like a person in front of a store. "H-Huh?!" I hadn''t seen anyone for several kilometers at that point. -I knew it was odd for not even thieves to stay behind...- But as I hastily looked back at the store, I saw nothing. -Huh? Where did they...- *CLANG* "Emergency brake engaging." Getting thrown into the steering wheel as the entire car was pulled toward the ground by a massive magnet, my body stiffened in a panic. However, while I thought I had crashed, when I could finally look ahead of myself again, I found myself perfectly centered in the road with ''a person'' casually standing in front of me. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It was ''her''... The person we were tasked with rescuing before shit hit the fan. -B..but that wasn''t even that long ago...- It was way too far for a human to travel so quickly, even if she somehow managed to survive. Yet there she was, casually eating a bagel while looking me in the eyes through the dark, heavily tinted glass without a single injury on her. I didn''t know what to even think, but as I instinctually tried to ping her with a system panel, to no avail, just as Eli had, I started questioning if I was looking at a ghost. However, as I had time to look at her armor from so close, another possible explanation crossed my mind... ----- - Evren Lestir ~ *Ding!* <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 37.2892%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> System Name: N/A (Native) Name: Diana Hale Status: Fearful Race: Human Age: 24 years </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> [Titles] One Who Exceeded Sound , Native <Title Benefits> [Inheritances] <None> </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 49.8265%">Level</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">16</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Class</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Undefined</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Gold</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">21</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Sponsors</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3"><None></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">This being is protected by local authorities Alert: Death of entity will notify authorities</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">Inventory and Stats Privatized by Local System <Open> WARNING: Viewing without Entity''s consent will trigger Local System''s Security Measures</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> "Oh, a human." -What a refreshing sight.- I quickly skimmed the system panel before looking into the eyes of the pale woman inside the car. -She doesn''t have a system name, but she''s awakened... How does that work?- System Names, as I knew them, were aliases you were required to permanently set after you completed your first mission. They would replace your name within the system and, consequently, on Local System Panels as well as any other display that uses the system. These had all kinds of uses, from hiding your identity in competitions to letting locals easily spread rumors about you as you traveled. As far as I knew though, when you awakened, you were automatically teleported to another world for that first mission with no ability to refuse, give up, or surrender. You either completed it or died trying. -And if my memory is right, you get locked out of the System until you set the name.. so I doubt she''d be delaying it...- But after tilting my head for a moment, I shrugged it off. -Maybe it has something to do with Earth being a server world...- Finally walking around to the side of the vehicle she was sitting on, I gently reached up and went to tap the window, but... *rattle-SHATTER* The glass simply rattled and exploded before I could touch it, layering the woman''s lap with glass as the sound of static filled the air. "What the..." But the woman didn''t seem to care about the glass shards layering her lap in the slightest. Rather.. she was focused on nothing other than me. "Y..You... Are you a paladin sent by the church to help us..?" -H..huh?!- It was an outlandish guess. -Did she seriously just.. call me a paladin?- A part of me was genuinely insulted. However, after seeing the glow on her face, my expression turned serious. -Do paladins have special authority here?- Although I couldn''t be certain, the way she looked at me was as if I were her savior. -If that''s the case... I could make use of it...- Seeing as she somehow couldn''t see my local system panel to verify it, I decided to play along. "I only just got here. I need you to fill me in. I thought everyone was summoned to the Upper District." She quickly tensed but seemed less anxious after I didn''t deny her assumption. "Ah.. I''m not too sure what the situation in the city is, myself. I''m with the military. I just happened to land here after observing everything that happened in the mountains..." She slowly turned awkward as her gaze crept up toward my face. "We were told no one was in the area, so we thought you were civilian and moved to rescue you. I apologize if we interrupted your mission..." As she lowered her head, my eyes wandered into the car, taking note of her attire and the intricate helmet sitting in the passenger seat before things finally clicked. -Ah.. That''s why her presence felt a bit familiar...- She was the pilot of the first jet that came to check me out on the mountain. -But for her to be here, driving the opposite direction of the evacuation...- "Are you here on a mission?" She nodded before looking up at me more comfortably. "Yes. I am on my way to a mana monitoring facility nearby. A researcher from the Magic Tower in Arlington tasked me with relaying data from the mana monitoring facility to them to find out where the ''Entity'' of the regional quest is." -Huh? Regional Quest?- Opening my system window with a wave, I tried to see if I had one, but there was nothing. -Could it be...- My expression darkened instantly. "Supposedly, it isn''t that monster that dropped out of the crack over the mountain... According to the military, it was killed by some other monster they suspect is the ''Entity'' of the quest." She spoke somewhat nervously before finally looking up and noticing my expression, instantly causing her to clam up and break into a cold sweat. But I didn''t notice, nor care. -To be targeted by an administrator the moment I return home... Is this the welcome I get after 500 years?- Had the admin appeared in front of me at that moment, I would have kicked them through the planet. But after a moment, I just pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a long, deep breath. "Hooooh..." -No... I can''t be too hasty... Even with all my upgrades, I never found a way to kill an Administrator...- And while I hated to admit it, pissing one off as things were would only bring me trouble. -I need to lay low for the time being...- But that didn''t mean I was going to be lazy. "Sorry.. you said you were headed to a mana monitoring facility?" As my gaze returned to her, she spoke in a bit of a panic. "Y-Yes! I-It''s only about a kilometer away!" "Would you mind if I went with you? There are some things I''d like to look at..." Her face instantly lit up. "O-Of course! Please! It''d be my pleasure to assist a paladin of the church!" Although I needed to lay low, there was something I needed to dedicate every opportunity I had to understand and learn. Mana. -I''m not a mage.. nor will I ever be.. but if those upgrades I had were truly just mana techniques programmed into The System.. then wouldn''t that mean I could learn them myself?- Although I was still only just beginning to think about it, taking note that my system had previously reserved all of my mana for the upgrades I didn''t use as well, the idea that I could better allocate my mana than the system was a thought that did cross my mind. However.. I was very.. very far from that level. -For now.. I just need to reform my foundation...- I needed to study mana as if I had never touched it before, and build a completely new understanding of it. -The oversimplifications I know of will only trip me up...- And the first step to rebuilding that foundation was to find a place that had a huge amount of information on it. Conveniently though, an opportunity had literally fallen into my lap. -I''ll have to make the most of this...- ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork (when it is made) on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 10: Aura Early Afternoon - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- *crackle* The crackling of rubber grinding against concrete echoed through the car as we carefully turned down a road so thin it could be classified as an alleyway. "Huh..?" *tap-tap-tap* Pulling up the map on the dash, Diana zoomed in to double-check if we were on the right road before looking up with a confused expression. "This.. is it?" In front of us was a long path, just barely wide enough to fit the car, leading to a dead-end: a solid wall of dark, aged concrete. Or at least, that''s what it looked like at first glance. Looking more closely, I saw that the whole wall was covered with tiny ripple-like distortions, a typical giveaway of light magic. "It''s an illusion." -Although I must say it''s more convincing than the camouflage of a lot of monsters I''ve fought...- "A-Ah.. right... I think the doctor did mention that..." Continuing to roll up to it, Diana hastily pressed a few buttons on the dash before the faint static coming from the car''s speakers vanished, and an artificial silence surrounded us. -Huh..?- It didn''t rely on magic as far as I could tell. -How did she just...- But before I could give it much thought, our surroundings were engulfed in darkness, leaving just the bright menu on the car''s dash to illuminate us. *Vwoom* It gave me a sensation similar to being teleported, but... *Vwoom* As a small wave of energy passed through the car, a smooth, matte white metal structure appeared in the darkness just ahead of us, with its walls plastered with warnings. -Looks like this is the place...- Quickly continuing into the structure, we passed through several other complex arrays of machinery and magic before finally coming into a sizable room of black metal, where blue lights embedded in the ground outlined what looked like parking spots. *tst-click* As we finally pulled into one, the eerie silence surrounding us disappeared, and the doors unlocked and pitched open. "Phew..." Diana''s breath of relief was heavy. "We''re in... Sorry if I didn''t explain enough beforehand... The silence from that ''entrance static'' was.. pretty uncomfortable..." -So that''s what that was...- Gently picking up her helmet, she hastily tapped through the dimly lit menu on the car to disconnect it before the car''s screen flashed static and went dark. "Let''s try and make this quick..." Hastily hopping out of the car, I followed her lead through the empty garage, eventually passing through a few more doors that appeared to be additional security checks Diana tricked with her helmet before we finally came into a reasonably sized dark room, lit only by glowing gauges, screens, meters, and the largest of all, what could only be described as a 3D image floating over the center of a table. -Is that a hologram?- At the center of the room was a huge round table, loaded with devices and buttons I couldn''t even begin to guess the use of, with a spanning, dozen-meter wide, colored map seemingly floating in the air. From what I could tell, it was a map of the city, a colossal circular labyrinth of buildings wrapped in towering walls with exactly three massive railguns perched around its center, which appeared to be a massive dome. -This city is gigantic...- But also on the map were hundreds of tiny pulsating dots, equidistant to one another, forming sets of rings stretching out from the heart of the city to about fifty kilometers beyond the outer walls. -What are these...- The nodes were all different colors, from a dark crimson to a very pale green that appeared to be near where we were. -Interesting...- "Are these dots the mana sensors?" Jolting slightly as I broke the silence, Diana nervously looked up from her helmet, holding a thick cable leading to an adjacent table in her hands. "Y..yes, the dots are the sensors and the color corresponds to the mana level... The doctor said if you tap on them, they will show the data to calculate the color, but I don''t expect to be able to read it..." Finally turning back to her helmet, she resumed what she was doing. "All I was told to do was relay the numbers on those panels to command." Is that so? Reaching up and gently tapping the palest dot, the map suddenly shifted so that north was the direction I was facing, and a massive panel appeared directly in front of me. It was almost identical to a system panel, but instead of being filled with familiar figures, there were many things I had to guess the meaning of, from ''Ring Function'', to ''System Status'', each with an additional column with expandable details. The issue was, even after clicking through them, there wasn''t an obvious option to view how the color was calculated like Diana said.. leaving one last tab: ''Raw Data'' -I guess I misunderstood, thinking it would be simplified...- *tap-Beep* Casually tapping the details button, a panel taller than me instantaneously appeared, filled to the brim with so many words, numbers, symbols, and constantly changing formulas I didn''t recognize that I felt like I was looking at something made by aliens. -W..what the hell?- Out of the thousands of values, there was almost nothing I recognized, and even for the few I could infer the meaning of, I had no clue what was and wasn''t considered normal, meaning there was nothing I could learn from it all. However, that was only for the time being. -When that girl gets her helmet hooked up and starts giving that researcher data, I should be able to pick details out of their conversation...- Although I didn''t expect much, eavesdropping costs nothing, so anything would be a huge gain. -But in the meantime.. I have an idea...- *Woop* Gently waving my hand, the panel closed, and I turned my attention back up to the map. Ever since I returned to Earth, I had an immense amount of energy flowing out of my body at all times. Of course, I had already suspected it was mana, but as things were, I had absolutely no clue how to control it, and worst of all, I had no way to verify if the feeling of me moving it even did anything. -But if I use these sensors I should be able to see if I''m controlling it at all, right?- Although I had no experience handling mana on its own, with it being the fuel for upgrades, I was more than a little familiar with the sensation of using it. The issue was simply how much energy there was. Previously, I would have had a small water well that the system would drop a small bucket into to then go and fuel an upgrade, however, now, simply trying to mimic that sensation made me feel like I was trying to use that same bucket to pull water out of a stormy ocean. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It wasn''t that I couldn''t fill the bucket, but rather that I couldn''t tell that it was filled, and if I simply told myself it was and moved it elsewhere, all I was doing was splashing the bucked back into the ocean some place else. What I needed to do was either redirect the energy away from one location, or use a bucket big enough for me to feel it move. But both methods were substantially easier said than done. *Cl-Cl-Clink* Retracting my gloves, I turned over my worn hand and stared into my palm, where it felt like an immense flow of water was erupting from, before looking between my fingers to see the light rippling as if there was a plume of heat around my hand, and falling into thought. But it didn''t take long for me to remember something. "Ah..." -Right.. maybe I can try that...- With a short breath, I closed my eyes to recall the sensation of an upgrade called ''The Blanket''. The upgrade was said to reduce the presence of the user, but when it was activated, all I would feel was as if a non-existent part of my abdomen was tensing, so I never thought it did anything. -Could this mana emitting from my body be my presence?- Trying to partially mimic it, I slowly began tensing half of the imaginary part of my body, but almost instantly, it felt like my head was splitting, like I was trying to use a beaver dam to redirect a river. "Tch..." But with a click of my tongue, I gritted my teeth and pushed through the pain before finally opening my eyes and looking at the array of sensors again. -Come on...- Not seeing any difference, I reached up and gripped my head before expanding the area of the ''imaginary abdomen'' I was tensing. "Ack..." It was a pain unlike anything I had ever experienced, a completely unique pain I would consider worse than losing an arm. But when I finally opened my eyes again, I noticed that some of the sensor''s colors in the direction I was tensing had become more vibrant, no longer looking so pale and shifting from a light green to deep orange. -Ah, it.. worked..?- Finally relaxing it, a loud ripple-like noise echoed through the room. *VWOOM* And the exact instant I heard it, the sensors returned to their old, pale colors. It was the opposite of what I expected. *Rub* *Rub* Gently rubbing my head with an eye closed, I tried to alleviate the pain that still lingered while simultaneously trying to organize my thoughts. -Okay.. so.. this energy is mana.. that mana is my presence.. and I can control it by controlling that.. thing...- Although I couldn''t really describe it, it was like my body had another group of muscles I could instinctually control, if only slightly. -But if it''s mana.. why did the sensors get more vibrant when I redirected my mana away from it? Shouldn''t they get paler when less mana is on it?- I quickly sank into thought, contemplating if I was misunderstanding the sensor''s colors as I held myself up on the table and gripped my head. "Are you.. alright?" Hearing Diana''s worried voice, I lethargically looked over to see her standing in front of dozens of massive, brightly lit screens covered in menus, images, and diagrams before waving her off. "Y..Yes, sorry..." -Looks like she''s about to start...- "Don''t mind me." Her expression quickly turned awkward. "O..Okay... I''m going to try and connect to the tower now... If there is anyone you need to speak with outside of Richmond, I''m sure the tower can relay you to-" "No." I immediately shook my head. "Don''t even tell them I''m here..." -I can''t risk them clearing the misunderstanding right now...- Tensing slightly, she gave me an odd look before slowly turning back to her helmet and finally connecting to a ''communications channel'' through the facility''s equipment. That was when I first heard the researcher''s voice, filling the facility as he instructed Diana to do various things on the supersized computer before finally turning her attention to the map of sensors. From there, the explanations began, starting with how to read the map itself. As it turned out, I was actually reading it somewhat correctly: the colors themselves ranged from white to dark red, with the vibrant red indicating a potentially poisonous amount of mana for humans, while white meant none at all. The opacity, or paleness, however, was actually something totally independent. "The pale readings are the ones we need to worry about right now." His voice was firm, but he spoke with haste. "The opacity of the sensor''s color generally coincides with the amount of aura that is messing with the sensor. It has to do with how the runes the sensors use to detect mana cannot use or detect aura.. it basically just clouds the sensor''s readings and, in extreme cases, can even displace the mana around the sensor and mess with the color itself. In any case, now knowing that, I need you to start by describing the patterns in opacity between the sensors, if there is any pattern at all. After that, we will look at the raw data to get specifics." "U..Uh..." Diana''s voice shook slightly. "Where should I start..." *crackle* "Well, auras exude in a circle around creatures, so try and look for anything like the edge of a circle in the sensors. Like where-" "I-It''s not that..." She paused before pressing on the map and rotating it so she could look straight down at it from above. "I see.. a full circle..." The comm instantly fell silent, leaving just the faint sound of static. "There''s a full circle inside the city... The center node''s colors are distorted like you mentioned too... They''re green while the outer ones are red..." There was a long silence before the researcher continued with a quiver in his voice. "H..How many nodes are affected?" "H..Hundreds? Maybe more..." She sounded like she wanted to break down and cry. "From edge to edge, it''s.. almost the width of the city... And the center is right next to where I am..." "That means it''s.. beneath the city..." The sound of frantic clicking and writing instantly leaked through the comm as the researcher began to panic. "O-Okay," He eventually continued in a frenzy. "I need you to download the current raw data to your helmet; since it''s already connected, you should be able to go to the center console, open the command prompt, and put in, ''-adm_download_snapshot -pd Diana -pass 18erf''. It should download the current map, nodes, and their data. We need that data urgently." Diana, slowly beginning to panic as well, instantly ran back to the computer before frantically typing. "Once it''s downloaded, break communication and head to the airport! I''ll contact the ATC through the facility and issue an evacuation using the still air-worthy European airship, but you need to get there ASAP! Getting that helmet out of Richmond needs to be your top priority!" *cl-cl-click* "W-What about my cardinal?! Can you not get fuel to it?!" "The Sergeant spoke with the local military base, but they can''t move their refueling trucks at all. The mana wave was so strong in Richmond that it killed several people and even damaged some mechanical equipment... For now, just focus on getting the hell out of there. Now that I''m connected to the facility, I don''t need to relay through your helmet anymore, so go the moment the download finishes." "R-Roger!" *Beep* The static from the researcher''s communications channel instantly vanished as Diana frantically worked to unplug the helmet and get moving. It was finally time for us to leave, but while I didn''t get all the information I wanted relating to the raw data, I was more than satisfied with everything else. -Now, the issue is my presence...- *Cl-Cl-Clink* Closing the armor back around my hand, I idly spoke with Diana while we quickly made our way back to the car, but my thoughts were elsewhere. -If the humans find out I''m the target of the regional quest before I can ''settle'' things with an admin, I''ll be caught in a tight spot...- Unfortunately though, even simply contacting an administrator was going to be a struggle. Or at least..that''s how my past experiences had been. *Crackle-humm* As the hum of the car''s electric motors filled the cabin and we turned back onto the main road, getting ready to return to the airport, a gate suddenly appeared in front of us, only maybe 3 meters wide, and a white line was instantaneously drawn through the middle of the car. *CREAAK* Before Diana could even register the existence of the gate, the car was cleanly split in half, as if done so by a laser, and the gate dissipated to reveal a man donning bright white and silver armor with an ethereal cloud-like aura around him and a golden halo over his head, pointing a black straight-bladed katana at me. -Well...- As my head tilted and laid my cheek on my knuckles, I stared straight into his eyes. -This.. might be a problem...- ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork (when it is made) on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 11: Proxy Mid Afternoon - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- *Crackle-humm* The subtle hum of electric motors and the sounds of rubber grinding against concrete filled the cabin of the car as we finally turned onto the main road. But as we slowly began to speed up, a perfectly spherical void appeared in front of us before promptly dissipating to reveal a tall, blond man donning bright white and silver armor with a cloud-like fog emanating from his body and a bright golden halo over his head. As the gate finished dissipating, he stood tall, firmly pointing his straight-bladed sword at me while looking me in the eyes. But by then, he had already swung his sword. *tink-crackle-CREEAAAKK* The car almost instantly split in half as if done so by a laser before my side was brought to a halt. "H-Huh?!" Continuing forward without my half of the car, Diana let out a started yell. "W-What the f-" "Miss, please leave this place immediately." The man spoke firmly, refusing to pull his eyes off me. "H-huh? W..who are you?" But she was quickly cut off by a wave of the man''s hand, hurling her half of the car down the road trailing a plume of smoke and sparks. *WOOSH* Watching her slowly getting farther and farther away, I could only sigh. "Haah... She was pretty useful, you know." Casually stepping out from under the sliced, still partially molten edge of the car''s roof, my eyes wandered. "Could you not have waited-" "You need to leave." He immediately cut me off with a hint of anger in his voice. "Beings of your class are not permitted in this world. If you are the System Cluster manager''s avatar, I can permit your entry to our system, but you must do so through official channels. This planet is off limits..." He gripped his sword tightly as he spoke. But I just rolled my eyes. -To think I''d get mistaken as an avatar by an administrator...- To put it simply, avatars were very similar to apostles in that they were people chosen to serve a god with their lives, unable to refuse their orders even if it was to sacrifice themselves. However, even beyond that, avatars were what was known as a ''proxy'': a person a god could possess and use the body of however and whenever it wished, to temporarily descend into the world of mortals. Of course, on the surface, there were many benefits, granting the possessed body unparalleled strength, longevity, and power. -But in turn, you are reduced to a tool with no free will...- "Unfortunately, you''re mistaken." I paused as I gave the boy a look of pity. "Unlike your little toy, I''d rather be a slave of the System than the slave of a being who can''t even squash an ant without the help of supposedly inferior beings." *Beep* Opening the avatar''s local system panel as his expression turned sour, I quickly skimmed it. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 37.2892%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> (Possessed) System Name: Eve of Dawn Name: Jack Ricora Status: Tense Race: Human Age: 64 years </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> [Titles] Heaven''s Representative, Age Regression, <Expand> [Inheritances] Generational <Details> </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 49.8265%">Level</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">612</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Class</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Angel''s Avatar</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Gold</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">2,781,218</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Sponsors</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">"Guide to the Beyond"</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">This being is protected by local authorities Alert: Death of entity will notify authorities</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">Inventory and Stats Privatized by Local System <Open> WARNING: Viewing without Entity''s consent will trigger Local System''s Security Measures</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> "Hm..." -A sponsor and a class I''ve never heard of... Are they unique to Earth?- Noticing I was looking at the panel, seemingly without alerting him, his expression darkened, and his stance lowered. "Are you perhaps.. a destroyer?" A quiver quickly intruded his voice. "Destroyer?" Not fully understanding what he meant, I made a blind assumption. "If you mean the title, I got that many years ago." -Speaking of which, I haven''t checked if my titles got wiped too...- But that was when I had a realization and froze. -Wait a second... Why is he asking who I am in the first place..?- As an administrator, he was supposed to be able to view every detail of whoever was connected to the local server he was the admin of, even showing specific data and details hidden from the users themselves, but for whatever reason, he was having to guess who or what I was. Earlier, I had noticed Diana failing to tag me with a local system panel in a similar fashion, leading to her misunderstanding about my identity, but I simply chalked it up to a difference in level, as some systems set restrictions on the visibility of system panels based on strength. -No admin would put that restriction on themselves though...- But that was the moment it suddenly clicked. *Vwoom* Instantly opening my system panel with a wave, my eyes focused on a single line. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 40.5318%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.8072%" colspan="4" scope="row"> Local Server: Unable to Connect - Connected to Central Server </th> </tr> </thead> </table> I wasn''t connected to their server at all. -Then...- It meant that, from the eyes of the local server, after I arrived and my system stopped trying to connect to it, I didn''t exist. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Without realizing it, my lips started to curl. -That means not only can the administrators not identify me, they can''t set system restrictions on me, and...- "The server''s security measures can''t target me..." My biggest worries vanished in the blink of an eye. But as a smile spread across my face and my gaze shifted up toward the administrator, his expression warped with horror, and he gripped his sword so hard the handle creaked, and his knuckles turned white. "So," It was that expression of fear that made me feel like a lion standing before a fawn. "Mister administrator.. now would be the time to set down your-" But he didn''t let me talk. *FWOOSH* Instantly closing the distance between us, the tip of his sword slammed into my chest, and the ground turned blurry. *CLINK-WHOOOM* The next thing I knew, I slammed into the city''s outer wall with a bang. *WHAM-CRRRACKLEE* Cracks instantly ripped through the wall as it shattered, bending outward to try and catch me while a mix of metal and concrete was ejected into the forest on the other side, and I was surrounded by dust. *crRUNCH* Casually ripping myself out of the mix of metal and rock composing the wall, I gently massaged my neck before looking up toward the presence I felt hovering in the air. -So that''s how it''s gonna be...- *Fwip* Instantly ducking, a glowing line was drawn through the wall straight through where my neck was before the surrounding area melted and exploded. *CRRRUMBLE* "You know, for an administrator, you''re really bad at gauging people." Bending my knees slightly, I instantly vanished before the wall shattered, finally giving way, and I reappeared in front of the man. -Let''s see if I can use a bit of mana...- *VWOOM* A slight pressure instantly appeared in my abdomen before racing through my body and gathering in my fist. Throwing every drop of my momentum into the punch, I instantly blew through the thick armor plating on his stomach as if it wasn''t there before stopping my fist a hair''s width from his skin. But it wasn''t because I cared about his life. *CR-RRACK* As the armor over his abdomen was literally turned to dust, the impact continued into his body, reducing his organs to a uniform mush and his spine to a conglomeration of dust before he simply disappeared, ripping through the sound barrier several times over as he was launched over the city. As I slowly began to fall, I gently shook my hand back and forth to shake the tingling sensation while keeping my eyes on his limp body zipping through the sky before he plowed through a series of towering glass buildings and disappeared into a cloud of debris at the base of the railgun. -Hmm... That was quite a bit weaker than it would have been with the upgrades, yet my hand tingles more...- Looking down at my hand as I fell back to the ground, several ideas passed through my mind, but at the end of it, I chalked it up to me not knowing what I was doing. -At least I stopped my hand before it got coated with blood...- *Thum-Crackkle* Eventually landing on the roof of a concrete building not far from the wall, cracks quickly spread beneath my feet. But the owner of that building was quite lucky. *woooOOOSH-CRUNCHHHH* As a sudden gust of wind was blown past me, the buildings between the wall and me were ruthlessly smashed beneath the massive upper section of the wall. -That wall is far more sturdy than I thought it''d be...- Even after the beating it took, only a relatively small section collapsed, and it still stood over a hundred meters tall at its lowest point. -It''s a shame walls don''t mean anything to creatures beyond a certain level, but I have to commend whoever made it...- Idly staring up the wall, my eyes eventually drifted toward the blinding sun directly overhead before I finally shifted gears. -In any case, I should try and head to the airport...- Although I was almost certain I couldn''t make use of Diana anymore after she seemed to recognize the avatar and could see our exchange from the street, my priority had shifted to simply blending in until I could figure out how to tame my aura. -Depending on where the evacuation is to, I might be able to go to the Tower where that researcher was... Even if they won''t tell me any specifics, I''m sure they''ll at least tell me the basics...- But while those scenarios idly floated through my mind, I had to get moving, hopping off the rooftop before making my way up the road, using my memories of Diana''s GPS to guide me toward it. -She said she came from the airport, so all I have to do is backtrack the GPS...- It was surprisingly simple, the only risk was that she lied about where she picked up the car from. But she thankfully wasn''t. Coming up on a field of vehicles, orderly lined up into several lanes, I stood on a rooftop and overlooked hundreds, if not thousands of people. However, they weren''t humans. -Oh my...- Among the crowd, only a small percentage were actually human, with the rest being at least partially dwarven, elven, demihuman, or even part druid. -Humans and druids can breed?- It would have been an understatement to say it was just eye-opening, but instead of being intimidated by the mountain of things I would have to learn about, I was oddly excited. -Earth really is a whole different world now...- Looking over the conglomeration of countless races I had never known to live on the same continent as one another, like elves and dwarves, I couldn''t help but wonder what kind of unbelievable advancements Earth had made. With the conjoining of so many races and the advanced sciences of Earth, not even the sky was the limit. But, the way than the perfect combination of technology and ingenuity came to bear its fruit was.. sometimes a little odd. Eventually passing over the crowd and continuing toward the airport, I came up to a series of unbelievably massive buildings nearly eight stories tall and lined with glass, and hopped onto the roof to look over a massive series of paved runways. However, at the base of one of the longest runways I could see, my eyes settled on it... The monstrosity that I truly had to question the reasoning for. It was a silver ship at least two hundred and fifty meters long with a massive, elongated center fuselage and two larger width sections off-shooting from either side near the back that thinned out all the way to an array of comparably tiny thrusters. It was clearly a ship meant for speed, with four wings: two small but wide ones near the front and two much larger ones that were slightly raised and ran the length of the rear compartments in the back. But it didn''t seem to be lacking in comfort either, with the dozens of entrances and exits that were open exposing a warm yellow light inside with a partially carpeted interior. -I guess it''s some kind of luxury ship... I bet it was mostly designed by humans too.- Not that I was complaining. -I wonder what the inside is like.- *tap-Wooosh* Jumping off the rooftop, I fell all the way to the tarmac before landing with a crack. *Crunch* It instantly pulled the attention of everyone around, but my eyes were glued to one man in front of me. A tall brown-haired human with slightly green eyes like that of an elf. "Are you in charge of leading the evacuation effort?" He immediately froze before looking me up and down. "W..What are you-" *Riiing* A high pitch ring instantly echoed through the airport over a series of intercoms. "Attention everyone. We have received orders from the United States Military to begin preparing for evacuations. The first evacuation will take place in twenty minutes using a K5 Continental Airship and will first be used to evacuate high-priority personnel, such as international mercenaries, priority military personnel, and graded researchers. ID will be required and verified with the System in order to get on board. Everyone else, please rest easy; the military is already on their way, and there is currently no apparent threat.." The moment he paused, a raring chatter erupted from the crowd inside the building. "Unfortunately, communication in and out of the city is still troublesome, even through the system, so I will be relaying orders from Washington D.C. as the evacuation unfolds. Those who are to board the first airship, please go to International Dock A3. Please remember, you will be ID''d. The more you give us trouble, the longer it will take to get you all evacuated." *Click* Silence instantly fell over the tarmac as the people hastily bringing things in and out of the airship paused their work with confused expressions. But after a moment, a glow illuminated their faces and they all simultaneously looked down at their systems. Including the man in front of me. But as he looked up at me with a look of skepticism, I confidently gave him a carefree smile. One would be surprised how far confidence could get you, especially when it was genuine. "C..Could you.. provide me with ID?" I swiftly shook my head before looking him in the eyes. "If you want my identification, you may ask the Church for it." He immediately tensed before lowering his gaze away from me. "I.. apologize. I don''t know why I even asked." -Perfect...- My smile slowly widened. -That girl''s misunderstanding is really coming in handy...- "Please head into the airship, I''ll add you to the clearance list... What name would you like me to use?" "Please use Lestir." Although it had been a while, I tried to speak in a slightly posh manner like a noble would. It felt horrendously unnatural, especially considering it was the first time I had to put on an act in a few hundred years. But thankfully, the skills acquired and refined over hundreds of years of integrating into the societies of countless worlds didn''t just disappear because you stopped for a while. After the man nodded and eventually let me easily walk past, I looked up into the sky, reminiscing about the old days of having to sneak into different cities and kingdoms with the mission of destroying them. -How long has it been since I needed to sneak into something..?- Taking a deep breath of the cool fresh air, I finally lowered my gaze to the airship and what appeared to be the entrance. -It''s oddly refreshing...- ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork (when it is made) on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 12: Compromise Mid Afternoon - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- - Bentley Horne ~ *Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap* -Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...- Curses rang through my mind as I sprinted across the tarmac with several guildmates. "Everyone split up and find the people that need to get on the airship, and help them get on board! We need to get off the ground ASAP!" """Roger!""" *Woosh* They all simultaneously disappeared as they darted off in different directions before I continued up to the airship, racing inside and dashing straight to the captain''s cabin. "Hey!" *WOOSH* A blast of air from my wake blew through the cabin the moment I stopped. "What''s the situation? We need to start moving!" Slightly panicked, the co-pilot immediately turned to me. "W-We''re trying! We are good on fuel, the engines are still warm, and the vital systems are all functional again." "SO WHY AREN''T WE MOVING?!" The head pilot was quick to respond without taking his eyes off the panel in front of him. "We don''t have a tow. The mana wave ruptured the remote control artifacts, and the ATC lost contact with one of the only alternative super-heavy tow units, so we are trying to reach the military base a few kilometers southeast to see if they can bring a truck." "Tch..." It was the last thing I wanted to hear. "You can turn the front wheel, right!? Kick on those thrusters and get us-" "You want me to spray molten glass over everyone inside the airport?!" He instantly cut me off with a glare. "These engines aren''t the same as the dinky ones you''re probably familiar with in Europe. These would melt that glass wall in a heartbeat and cook everyone inside." *Creaaaak* "FUCK!"Leaving several deep gashes in the door from my hand, I jolted around, grabbing my head as thoughts blasted through it. -We can''t wait on the military...- But the next thing I knew, I was breaking into a sweat and shivering. However, it wasn''t because I was cold. It was fear. Just moments prior, I was standing atop the roof of the airport, overlooking the countless people who had crowded there during the chaos while trying to calm the torrent of anxiety in my own chest. But that was when it happened. Out of the corner of my eye, a streak of light zipped over the city so fast I didn''t even have a chance to react before it passed over the horizon behind me. It was so fast that whatever it was couldn''t have been living. To simply remain intact at that speed and be at such a low altitude, the object had to be sturdier than a hunk of mythril. However, while I felt uneasy after fruitlessly trying to track the object through the sky, even though I was confident in my speed, it didn''t turn to fear until I looked back at where the beam originated, and I watched a section of the wall fall behind the horizon. I knew first hand how strong the material the United States used for their walls was. It was the same thing my guild used to construct our high-level arena, a place known to contain the fights of level 300s with ease. -But that wall... It had to be at least thirty or fourty meters thick...- Unlike our arenas that were meant to contain players, the wall I saw collapse was meant to stop monsters well in excess of level 500. -''No apparent threat'', my ass... Whatever the Entity is, it''s already in the city...- Biting my nails as I tried to use my stomach-churning anxiety to fuel ideas, thoughts began burning through my mind faster than I could keep track of them, before suddenly, it felt like a fire was lit through my body. "FUCK IT!" Turning around before either pilot could say anything, I funneled my fear into anger, preparing to turn that anger into fuel. "You just turn the wheel in the direction you need to go, and I''ll pull this giant hunk of metal myself!" Both pilots immediately gave me a look like I was insane, but before he could say anything, I disappeared, darting out of the airship and zipping around the tarmac, looking for anything I could use to extend my reach before finding a rope the width of a watermelon. -That''ll work...- Bolting back to the front of the airship, I hopped up onto the massive tire, several times the size of me, and ran the rope through some old emergency tow hooks before jumping to the ground, wrapping my arms around each end of the rope and clamping them to my body. -It''s time for me to pull this shit like my life depends on it...- Digging my fingers into the rope, I quickly lowered my stance before trying to convert every emotion rampaging through my mind to energy and activating over a dozen skills simultaneously. *Blip* *CRUNCH* The tarmac shattered beneath my feet as my muscles multiplied in size, my aura exploded, and it looked like my body was engulfed in flames. -Alright you fat fucking airship...- *CRUNCH* Stepping forward with every speck of strength I could muster, I felt the pressure of the rope on my shoulders ease slightly. -Let''s get the hell out of here...- ----- - Evren Lestir ~ "Hyup! HAH!" *Vwoom-Crunch* Hearing a man yell before a wave of mana blew over me, I glanced over to see a moderately tall man digging his feet into the ground, clamping onto a massive rope connected to the front wheel of the airship. -Is he really trying to pull this thing?- Looking up the side of the airship, all it took was a glance at his presence for me to want to laugh, but... *Crrrrrreaaak* Almost immediately, the wheels started creaking, and sure enough, the massive ship slowly began to move, one hair at a time. -Wow...- Quickly opening his system panel, I curiously glossed over it to see that he was a level 278 Berserker. -But even if he has the strength to move it, how is the ground not just crumbling?- *Crrrrrunch* With each of his slow steps, the tarmac was mercilessly crushed to less than dust, but once getting about ankle deep into the ground, his footing firmed. Out of curiousity, I gently tapped my toe into the ground, piercing through the dark grey ground before feeling something bend out of the way. -Huh?- It was a metal plate at least several centimeters thick. -Is the whole airfield built on this?- But as I was about to ask why, a grey-haired old man covered in wrinkles, donning an intricate white robe, walked up from behind me. "It''s a giant electromagnet, and it runs beneath the entire city wherever vehicles pass over." His voice was smooth and calm. -To be hiding your presence so blatantly...- I didn''t even have to look back at him to know he was moderately strong, at least on par with the berserker. "What''s the point of it?" "It works as a supersized emergency brake. It can even bring these giant airships to a halt on small runways like these." -Small?- I quickly turned to look down what I thought was a gargantuan runway. -This is small?- "The issue is when there is a mechanical failure, like with the other airship, the magnet pulls the airship into the ground." He gently motioned toward the neighboring runway that looked absolutely destroyed before finally walking up to me. "In any case, my name is Ashford, Ashford Kraw, a priest of the Church of Michael." He gently pulled his hand from behind his back before reaching for a handshake. "I happened to overhear that you were from the Church as well, I''m surprised I don''t recognize you." Dulling my gaze, I looked up at his predatory smile before extending my hand as well. "That isn''t too surprising." *pat* The moment our hands touched, I felt his aura try to flood into my hand, but it was like a ripple trying to push back a tsunami. *WOOM* His face instantly went pale as his eyes shot open, and he gritted his teeth. "HUEK-!" Releasing my hand, he immediately turned to the side and vomited on the ground. "To throw up when shaking someone''s hand. That''s quite upsetting..." Looking at his system panel as he threw up and started sweating profusely, I quickly found that he wasn''t actually lying about who he was, be it his name or about being a priest. -He must have thrown up because of my aura...- If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Although it had been a long time, I was well aware of how it felt for your body to be flooded by an aura magnitudes larger than your own. It blurred your senses and made your anxiety explode as if everything inside your body was tied in a knot. -Considering I could change the data on mana sensors dozens of kilometers from me, that reaction should be expected...- The thing that baffled me was that the reaction didn''t happen until he touched me. -Considering how big my aura is, everyone even remotely near me should feel pressure from it...- Yet no one showed any reaction. "Haah..." -But I guess my confusion just means I have a lot to learn...- However, as I let out a sigh and turned away from the priest to continue toward the airship, he stood up, shaking. "You... What are you..." Fear filled his eyes as his stance remained lowered like a dog with its tail tucked. But as I glanced back at him, I took a moment to think before a smile crept across my face. "Why don''t you ask those mighty gods of yours?" His face was nearly instantly lit up red by countless system panels appearing in front of him. "And while you''re at it, why don''t you tell them to fuck off." Looking in the air behind him, my eyes fell on a cloudy, vaguely human-shaped figure before snickering. -He really left his avatar to die, huh...- Finally turning back to the airship, I pulled a bagel out of my inventory before snacking on it with an irritated expression. "The more they try and fight me, the more they will lose." But even though I said that specifically for the figure floating in the air, I knew they wouldn''t listen. -If they''re smart, they will leave me be... If they''re dumb, they will lose everything they have control over.- It was a gamble, one banking on them realizing fighting me was a fruitless effort. But unfortunately, administrators were not beings I knew to be smart... -I will be surprised if I don''t have to kill a few more avatars before they realize...- As I continued toward the airship though, I felt the faint presence of the floating figure behind me vanish, and looked back to see its cloudy figure scatter like a puff of fog. It was a sight that made my eyes go wide. -Did he just.. die?- Not feeling another presence nearby, I immediately tensed up. But that was when ''he'' appeared. *Woom* Appearing in front of me instantaneously as the flow of time around me began to warp, I turned toward the presence to meet the gaze of a tall man with perfect white hair, grey eyes akin to a blind man, who was wearing a beautiful, ethereally white robe with a bright, blinding halo over his head, incomparable to the likes of the avatar. He was an administrator on a completely different level from the one I had just seen. One that was strong enough to put me on edge. -This administrator.. might be troublesome...- But instead of finding myself several kilometers away, zipping through the sky from a punch, he gently pulled one of his hands out from behind his back and elegantly bowed, exposing a series of pure white feathered wings sprouting from his back. "~For a being of your stature to be curious in Earth. I''m honored.~" His voice seemed to travel through a medium other the air, and while he gave off a great amount of light, the environment hadn''t lit up at all. "I could say the same about you." My voice was filled with skepticism. "What is an administrator like you doing in such a low rank world..." He slowly looked up at me as if trying to gauge me before smiling. "~You say that like my strength is troublesome to you.~" He paused as he straightened his posture while darkening the expression on his face. "~Am I perhaps an obstacle for you?~" "Only if you make yourself one." He paused again as he took a moment to look me up and down. "~Forgive me for being blunt, but what is your purpose for being here..? It appears my subordinate mistook you for a Destroyer.. a being who revisits old worlds they have been to with the system to destroy their societies... But if you were a destroyer, the planet itself would have been the thing to fall.~" His gaze slowly turned judgemental as he spoke. "Earth is my home world, but I only now got the opportunity to return... It''s been over 500 years. How could I not come visit." "~500 years...~" His eyes widened. "~You must have been a part of one of the first groups summoned by The System when it was initially connected.~" Not following what he was saying, I just tilted my head. "~But while I do wish I could oblige and give you time to enjoy your return, it does not change the fact that you cannot be here.~" His tone firmed in an instant. "~You are no longer a being this world is capable of containing... If you remain here, this world will collapse.~" "Hm.. that''s a shame." I spoke without a hint of remorse. "Since my system was wiped when I returned here, I lost the ability to go to any other worlds willingly." I shrugged before looking up into his eyes. "~Then I will forcefully transport you to a nearby system. I hope you will cooperate.~" He quickly reached out his hand and before what seemed like a system gate appeared around me. *Vwoop* But by the time it closed, I was already behind him. He noticed it as well. "~You cannot stay here. You do not have a choice.~" He likely thought I was playing, and to an extent, I was. "I do, actually. You know just as well as I that the only thing that would suffer damage with our fight would be our surroundings." Anger slowly began creeping into his expression. "~The longer you are here, the more your presence will raise Earth''s rank within the system.~" His expression darkened in an instant. "~Even if I must forcibly relocate you, I will not permit your stay in this world.~" He was serious. -Is that so...- "Then how about this." Not wanting to deal with such a troublesome administrator, I decided to compromise. "If you permit my stay, I will let you give me quests." My smile slowly turned greedy. "If you permit my stay, I will kill whatever you need me to, regardless of whether it is something humanity can handle, or not... Of course, with apt payment." His expression warped as if he was cringing. "But don''t worry, I''ll cut you a deal. I don''t want items or gold. All I want for payment is help, whether I need information, or guidance with the system." Gently setting my hand on his shoulder, I pulled it down slightly. "Touche?" He paused as he fell into thought, turning his gaze away from me, and looking to the west, toward where I killed The Warden. "~Tch...~" The click of his tongue was loud. He was finally reasoning what it would take to get me off the world without my compliance. Long story short, it was far more trouble than it was worth. "~Okay...~" He agreed with reluctance. "~What server are you using, and what is your System ID...~" My smile quickly widened. "Evren Lestir. Central Server." He immediately tensed as his eyes went wide, quickly locking onto me. "~As in.. ''The'' Central Server?~" I nodded. And almost immediately I felt like I could see a bead of sweat form on his forehead. "~You will.. receive a ''Data Link'' request in a moment... It will let me give you quests and let you interact with the local system as much or as little as you wish...~" His voice shook slightly. "Is that so? That sounds quite convenient." A hint of joy began creeping into my voice as I watched the man endlessly continue to sink into thought. "If that''s all, I will take my leave." Finally letting go of his shoulder, I continued toward the airship, and time around me seemed to resume. "I look forward to doing business with you, Michael." Idly glancing down at my system while I walked, my smile only grew wider. -For administrators to have system panels too...- I simply couldn''t contain myself. -How wonderful...- <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 37.2892%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> System Name: Saint Michael Name: Michael Status: Stressed Race: Archangel (Bodyless) Age: 22,721 years </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> [Titles] <Expand> [Inheritances] <Expand> </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 49.8265%">Level</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">2,827</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Class</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Upper Administrator</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Gold</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">47,927,791,436,243</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Sponsors</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3"><Expand></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">Inventory and Stats Privatized by Local System <Open> WARNING: Viewing without Entity''s consent will trigger Local System''s Security Measures</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork (when it is made) on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 13: Easing the Mind Mid Afternoon - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- *Pat* *Pat* *Pat* *Puff* Stepping up onto a lowered staircase covered in plush red carpet, I walked up into the airship without much delay, skimming Michael''s system panel while nibbling on a bagel. I was deep in thought, trying my best to come up with ideas on how to take advantage of my deal with Michael. -I should have asked him for compensation for killing The Warden, actually...- But even if it did, it wouldn''t arrive until I received the ''Data Link'' request from Michael. -Speaking of which, it should notify me when that comes, right?- *Woop* Lowering Michael''s Panel, I finally closed my system before looking up and immediately finding a young man dressed in a suit, bowing to me just inside the airship. "Welcome aboard, Miss!" He seemed oddly cheery, especially considering the situation outside. "Would you like me to guide you to your room?" -Guide me to my room?- "I wasn''t aware I had one." He immediately straightened his posture as he confidently looked me in the eyes. "You are Miss Lestir, correct?" -Oh...- All it took was him saying my name for everything to click. -Michael must have given him a quest...- "I am, my apologies. Please lead the way." Motioning him forward, he immediately whipped around and began guiding me down the hall with a pep in his step. He was only nineteen according to his system panel, and while level 0 was marked as awakened, meaning he literally awakened just then. -Michael must have awakened him just to give him a quest.- But it''s not like I minded. As we continued down the short hallway, we eventually came into a huge ballroom, half filled with tables, and half filled with large, clean areas floored with tile, unlike the rest of the carpeted room. -Are those supposed to be places to dance?- "What''s this area for?" The young man hastily turned around with a hop. "This room is the guild dining and meeting area. Currently, it''s reserved by the Sparrows Guild, and is typically where they would spend most of their time during the flight. Since the entire room is a skyroom, when we are in the air, the walls will actually disappear and make it look like you aren''t even in the ship. It''s really cool." He paused as he looked up at the towering ceiling with a breath of awe. "I''d recommend you to come in and check it out when we get in the air, but with the evacuations, it will likely be quite crowded." -Hm...- Looking at the wall next to the entrance ahead of us, it was indeed clear it wasn''t a normal wall, it was almost like there was something layered over it, but compared to the illusion magic I saw at the mana monitoring facility, it seemed digital. -How fascinating... Are the walls covered in holograms?- I tilted my head slightly as I looked up toward the ceiling as well. -I wonder what he means by the walls disappearing though...- "As for the other side, these tile areas are actually small arenas. Usually, it''s surrounded by so many barriers that it''s hard to see in, but it lets people practice magic or techniques while they fly. If you wish to use it before others board, you are more than welcome to." "Hoho," I let out a little chuckle as I lowered my gaze back to him and we finally reached the other side of the room, entering another large hallway. "I appreciate the offer, but I''m afraid I''d blow a hole through the side of the ship if I used it for its intended purpose." Quickly realizing I wasn''t joking, he tensed up before straightening his posture. "I-I see... In any case, if there are any additional accommodations you would like, please just ask. You are our most valuable guest." Gently nodding, we quickly continued down the hall, idly speaking as if I was receiving a tour before passing through several other gargantuan rooms, from a theater to a tavern, and going up a few flights of stairs to come up to a large, polished wood double door, lined with a marble doorframe, and labeled with a gold plate: ''Suite 1A'' -How gaudy...- "This will be your room. It''s a first-class VIP suite, I hope it is sufficient." The young man bowed deeply, with his head falling below his waist. "Please treat yourself during the flight. If you need help with anything inside, please speak to one of the robots, or call a maid. They will be on standby." -Maids on standby during an evacuation where they need all hands on deck, huh...- "I see. Thank you." -I guess since there''s no real threat, it doesn''t really matter...- Finally continuing up to the door as the butler left down the hall, I gently nudged it open, expecting to get flashed with the blinding light of gold, jewels, and gems, only to have a wave of unexpectedly cool air blast over me *Woosh* It was fresh, reminiscent of the air in the mountains, without the scent of stone and gold I had associated with wealth for centuries. -Woah...- It made my expression lighten in an instant, and as I continued inside, the gleam in my eyes only grew. -Wow, this room is.. quite nice actually...- Just inside the doors was a small area with walls of old, cleanly polished wooden bookshelves, and just past it, through an open rectangular doorway, was the view of a beautiful lounge, with intricately carved stone statues, and a large, puffy leather sofa in front of a fireplace that exuded the faint smell of trees as if I were standing in a forest. Although originally, I had planned to just focus on trying to find ways to control my aura during the flight, in a matter of seconds, that had begun changing. -Maybe.. I should actually take some time to relax like I wanted to on the mountain...- And as if that wasn''t enough, as I walked into the lounge to look around the rest of the suite, the warm yellow ceiling lights brightened before the ceiling and wall straight ahead of me vanished behind a wave of pixels revealing the airfield, clouds, and sun as if it had suddenly become one huge window. "Woah..." It was an array of screens, seemingly using no magic at all to nearly perfectly display the sky outside as if I wasn''t encased in a huge metal ship at all. -How fascinating... Is it playing the feed from cameras outside?- But it was far from that simple. As I continued deeper into the room, toward the ''window'', the view shifted seamlessly to play the illusion that I was truly standing on a balcony. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Haah..." My sigh was heavy, releasing a bundle of worries that had done nothing but build since I returned to Earth. -It still doesn''t feel real... To think I''m actually back...- However, while I stood in front of the window, looking over the adjacent runways, a female voice filled the room. "It is quite a beautiful day out, isn''t it?" Although it sounded truly human, there was a hint of digital noise to it, causing me to slowly turn around, expecting to see a cleaning robot. But my gaze only landed on a large black panther sat on the edge of a smaller doorway. -W..What..?- Seeing my expression, it quickly lowered its head. "I apologize for the late greeting. My name is Bella, the main caretaker of this suite. It is my pleasure to serve you on this flight." Upon pausing, its gaze shifted back up to me. "If there is anything you would like to customize about me, or the room, you may specify at any time." It was a robot, just like with the dog robot I saw in the cafe, but somehow, this one felt.. sentient. "What do you mean by customize?" It quickly looked upward before the view of the clouds flickered away to a view of the underside of a rainforest''s canopy. "You can change the theme of the room, view through the window, scents, or even arrangement of furniture with just a word." The panther never once pulled its eyes off the ground as it spoke. "If you wish, you can even change my form as well. If you wish for me to look human, elven, or some other creature, all you must do is-" "Everything was fine as it was." Quickly cutting her off, the lighting and window returned to how it was, and I felt like my brain had short-circuited. -Did I get intoxicated by my mana or something?- I honestly felt like I was in some weird dream. But.. it certainly wasn''t a dream. "As you wish." Finally lifting itself from its bow, it stood up. "Is there anything you would like? Perhaps I could prepare a drink or a warm bath?" -Ah.. I guess I could use a bath...- Slowly trying to ease my nerves and learn to take in the new experiences without overanalyzing every detail, my tone and posture relaxed. "Prepare a bath as hot as possible, with fix whatever the most popular drink is..." It looked at me with its cold, mechanical eyes for a moment before opening its mouth. "You wish for the water to be boiling?" "Yeah, that''s fine." Gently waving her off, she turned away with a gentle, weightless sway in her tail. "As you wish. It will be prepared immediately." Watching her disappear through the small doorway, my gaze shifted down to my gloves. -I guess.. I should go ahead and take my armor off...- Starting with just a single glove to make sure the system wouldn''t erase all my armor the moment I unequipped everything, I made my way into the hallway Bella went down before finding my way to a colossal bathroom with a huge bath steaming so much I couldn''t see the wall behind it. "Your bath and drink are prepared, Miss." She paused as she walked up and handed me a glass of blue and green liquid with a single ice cube in it. "Is there a name or title you wish for me to refer to you as?" I gently shook my head as I held the glass up to the light. "Miss Lestir is fine..." Lowering the glass, I quickly opened my system and checked if my glove was still there before promptly unequipping the rest of my armor, revealing my toned, but limitlessly scarred body, recounting each and every injury that likely should have killed me. "If I may ask, what is this drink." Sniffing it as I walked toward the bath, it smelled somewhat fruity with a hint of sour and bitterness. "Uh..." But Bella seemed to stutter, with her expression showing a mix of shock and concern. "I-It''s called a mythril cocktail, infused and iced with mana." -Infused, huh?- It sounded like an elixir or potion. But without giving it much thought, I took a sip. -Oh...- It was sour like a lemon, with a hint of bitterness similar to weak poisons, and a sweetness akin to fruit. -It makes the tongue tingle a bit...- Putting my finger on the top of the single large ice cube, I threw back the drink before swishing it around and promptly swallowing it. "That was good, but bring me a few other assorted drinks. I''d like to try some new things." "Y-Yes.. of course..." But instead of immediately leaving to get them, Bella hesitated, watching me climb into the bath as if the boiling water were lukewarm. "A-Are you.. okay?" -Hm?- Sinking my shoulders beneath the water, I nonchalantly glanced over at her, noticing her expression. "Why wouldn''t I be?" Although I thought her expression was because of how I drank the drink at the time, that wasn''t actually the case. "I-I just.. have never-" *Buzz* With a crackle the light behind her eyes flickered before her demeanor shifted back to the way it was before. "I apologize. I have been rude..." Bowing again, she quickly got moving. "I will retrieve your drinks now." -Huh...- Her sudden change in demeanor reminded me of a wild dog that was disciplined. But I wasn''t given much time to think about it. As seconds turned into minutes, I eventually learned I could change the scenery in the bathroom as well before picking a mountain with the air and forest ambiance to accompany it. For the first time in at least a century, I actually managed to relax, shutting off my mind without having to worry about a country-sized monster that could jump up out of the planet''s crust to eat me at any moment. For the first time since I was kidnapped by the system, it felt as if my mind was given a chance to heal. Before I knew it, my cautious thoughts calmed, and my curiosity was lit like a flame. -I.. could get used to this...- My smile widened as I pressed a thin glass against my lips and took a sip of a spicy but sweet drink, unlike anything I had ever tasted as the sound of wind blowing up a mountainside resonated through my mind. -How.. nice...- ----- - Saint Michael ~ Hovering over the wide airfield with my hands clenched behind my back, I looked down through the walls of a massive airship with a tense expression. -Just where did a monster like her come from...- Looking at her body, coated in scars so large they should have sliced her in half, I felt a chill pass down my spine. Even if I hit her as hard as I could, using my divinity to slow time and compound the force of the hit as much as possible, I wasn''t confident I could even leave a bruise. She was a monster far beyond the limit of flesh, exuding an aura equivalent to a lower-rank planet, and touting a body many times stronger than black mythril. I honestly had to wonder... -Just where did the system send her that forced her to grow to this extent...- I felt my chest tighten just thinking about it. -We''re lucky I was able to make a deal after that dumbass tried to use his avatar to fight her...- Looking down at a thin puff of smoke, the remnants of an angel''s scattered soul, my expression darkened. But just a moment later, my system dinged. *Beep* "Request Accepted. Message received." It was the response to my Data Link request to the Central Server. -It was accepted, but.. there''s a message attached?- By the looks of things, it was from an administrator of the Central Server. Not sure what to expect, I opened it. But it read: "The request has been sent to them, but don''t expect a traditional data link. Because I cannot access their information without errors, they will be able to freely manipulate their displayed data within your server. You will be able to freely send things to them, however, be careful, if you try to access their raw server details without a request, your server will crash." -H..huh?- My face warped with horror as I read it. -An admin of the Central Server.. can''t access her information..?- As my gaze shifted down to the woman below me, I felt the air around me turn cold. -I need to count my lucky stars tonight...- In an instant, I had to reconsider the strength difference between us. -If I took the wrong course of action a moment ago.. Earth might have really been destroyed...- And there would have been nothing I could have done to stop her. Even though it was my initial assumption, the being in front of me wasn''t of the same class as what we called destroyers, because she wasn''t a being who destroyed societies... She was a being who destroyed worlds. ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork (when it is made) on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 14: Takeoff Late Afternoon - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- *Bl-Bl-Blub* *Ding!* -Hm?- Hearing my system ping, I used my hand to motion the panel up in front of my face before quickly skimming it. -Ah, it''s the data link...- <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 34.1278%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> Data Link Requested </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> Requester: "Saint Michael" Server: 141-A81-B5 Colloquial World Name: Earth </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 49.9283%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Disclaimers</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3"><Expand></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.9283%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Administrator''s Note</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3"><Expand></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.9283%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Accept</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Deny</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">WARNING: This server is of a significantly lower rank than the host''s residential server. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> -Disclaimers?- Quickly tapping on ''Expand'', my panel updated with a wall of warnings, as well as explaining some basic concepts of what exactly data links were, who could view what, and how they could be used maliciously. In short, data links were the tethering of a user''s main system profile and a mirror of that profile permanently planted into another server''s database. This meant the user would inherit access to the tethered server and all its functions regardless of their connection to it, so even if they were in another world, connected to a different server, they could access and communicate with the tethered server and anyone on it, as well as receive quests and transfer items. According to the warnings, this interaction was typically reserved for administrators or their closest underlings to let them still communicate with their world while they were away, but it still held many benefits for normal users. However, as expected, being constantly connected to a world''s server also meant that that server''s administrators would have access and jurisdiction over the user''s profile, being able to not only issue quests with penalties, but even directly manipulate their inventory and upgrades. It was essentially a link that signed away your freedom, hence the endless mass of warnings in the disclaimers tab. However, in my case, I wasn''t too worried about it. Even though Michael would technically have some authority over me, I was confident he knew his orders would, at best, reach my ears as suggestions. -He can''t afford to upset me either, so I doubt he''ll try anything stupid like touching my shit or giving me quest penalties...- However, while I cringed just thinking about the possibility, that would be the last time it crossed my mind. *Woop* Swiping away the panel, I went back to the request and opened up the Administrator''s note, expecting to see a note from Michael. However, it seemed to be a note from a very different administrator, reading as follows, "This is not a normal data link, but that isn''t because it''s what the requester asked for. Essentially because of some errors in your profile, it cannot be formally accessed, meaning you will have to manually input data for the linked server to see. This also means the local administrators will not be able to view or directly edit your actual profile, so many system-based utilities that require that functionality, like ''quest rewards'' and ''command penalties'', are essentially rendered useless. Rewards and penalties must be transferred to you physically, with the exception of gold. If you decide to accept, you will unlock a new tab in your system that will let you freely tweak your visible data, but be forewarned, it will likely notify the system when changes are made. Also please keep in mind that the administrators will still be able to edit that visible profile, as well as restrict server access from it like normal." As my eyes reached the end of the message, the rest of my body remained completely still with an expression of disbelief on my face. But it only took a moment for it to morph into a wide, predatory smile. -Oh my...- Although to any normal user, the penalty of not being able to receive anything that couldn''t be transferred through physical means like stats or upgrades was brutal, for me it meant nothing. -It seems I was worried for no reason!- Happily accepting the request as I comfortably rested my cheek on my fist, I returned to my main System panel and promptly tapped on the new tab labeled ''Data Link''. *Woop* Almost instantly, a new panel lined with tabs appeared in front of my face with an extensive forum that looked like a more detailed version of my local system panel, listing everything from name and titles to stats, an inventory, and ''skills'' which I momentarily assumed were the same as upgrades. However, unlike my actual stat panel, all its values were blank with the exception of my name. -Holy shit...- Tapping the blank space next to ''Strength'' on the forum, a number pad immediately popped up. "Hahaha!" I couldn''t help but let out a laugh. -How terrifyingly convenient...- It was quite literally a universal key that released nearly every restriction on me currently. -Looks like I won''t need to worry about lying until I''m caught anymore...- Quickly filling out the information, I set my display level to just over 600 with pretty balanced stats, set my race to normal ''Human'', and selectively left several things like my class as ''Unselected''. -Now all that''s left is to get a proper ID for Earth and I can get comfortable...- *Woop* -Assuming I can get a handle on my aura, at least...- Confirming my inputs, I was immediately sent back to my main system panel, and went to close it, but before I could wave it away, a large red warning appeared. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 37.2892%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4"> WARNING Unauthorized System Data Tampering Detected Contact an administrator immediately... </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> -Huh? Unauthorized?- I immediately tilted my head. -Ah, is this what the note meant by notifying the system?- Assuming it was nothing to worry about, I swiftly swiped it away, not paying it any further mind. *Woop* -Anyway...- *Bl-Bl-Blub* Leaning back and relaxing once more, I looked over at Bella, wanting to ask something, but was only interrupted by another tiny system panel appearing as a voice met my ears. "Thirty seconds till takeoff, please ensure you are properly seated or in an inertia controller." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. -Huh?- It was a voice being relayed through the system. "Takeoff in thirty seconds? Was that the captain speaking?" Bella immediately nodded with a slightly confused expression. "It was, but don''t worry. This entire suite has a supersized inertia controller on it, so it will only feel like gravity has momentarily increased. If you need it, I can prepare the cushions and-" "No no, it''s fine." I quickly waved her off. -I was more curious about how they used the system to make a local announcement like that...- But her statement did make me curious. "What exactly is an inertia controller though?" She immediately smiled as a hologram appeared over me. "Typically they are used on the beds in higher-end rooms and suites, but they are also purchasable individually in other parts of the airship. Essentially, they will rotate during the takeoff so, with the help of the cushion, it just feels like gravity increases for a moment, letting most people comfortably sleep through takeoff. This room has the same concept, except the entire suite will rotate." -Interesting...- "In that case, go ahead and switch the skyroom to the outside while we take off." -I wonder if the view outside will shift with the room...- Finally lifting myself out of the tub, Bella handed me a towel with her mouth and the screens all flickered to once again reveal the sky outside. "Please beware that this skyroom being active during takeoff can cause nausea. Is there anything else you would like me to prepare?" Her tail curled slightly as she sat down not far away. "Not now, but I do have a question." I looked over at her while I dried off. "How does identification work on Earth? Is it all done through Local System Panels, or do you have your own methods?" She gently tilted her head before giving a quick response. "Earth still uses traditional identification methods. Unfortunately, the only things that can be openly verified with a system panel are age, name, race, and level, so we use traditional IDs to track everything else. If you do not have one, I would advise visiting just about any guild, or the International Security Organization to get one. Typically the government registers users when they initially return to Earth, but if you didn''t get logged, please do so when we land." Her tone was quite serious. "Knowingly unregistered users are considered criminals, and can land you in a troublesome situation regardless of your strength." "Is that so?" -I guess I should grab one before I do anything else after landing...- Thankfully though, now that I had a local system panel, I didn''t need to stress about it. *Cl-Cl-Cl-Clink* *Pat-Snap* Finally standing up, I started making my way back into the lounge while equipping my armor, just in time to feel the pressure on my feet grow, and see the horizon become the sky. -How fascinating...- The entire room truly rotated almost ninety degrees while the ship zipped down the runway and took to the air. "Ah, I actually have one other question." Glancing over my shoulder as I equipped my gloves, I watched Bella walk into the lounge with her attention aimed at me. "Where would be the best place to go to learn about mana after we land?" Her head immediately tilted. "Are you familiar with the ''System Forums''?" ----- - Bently Horne ~ "Hooh..." Letting out a tense, anxious breath, I firmly gripped the frame of the doorway leading into our guild hall while the airship began taking off. -Thank god we''re finally getting off the ground...- The guild hall was absolutely packed with people, leaving barely any room to move, with people using anything firmly connected to the ground as a backrest during takeoff. But even with so many people, besides a few groans of pain as we started accelerating, there was barely a peep. As the boarding began, the news about the wall having collapsed, and even a rumor that some figure of the Church had been killed were beginning to spread like wildfire. While we were trying to get important figures on the airship, it turned the airport into a mess, but regardless of how many people we managed to stuff in the airship, there were still tens of thousands of people fearing for their lives that we had to leave behind. It left a terribly bitter taste in my mouth, but it was simply the reality of the world... Not everyone was equal, and not everyone could always be saved. But of course that didn''t keep humanity from trekking forward. As we lifted off the runway, we received word from our captain that he could confirm military transport airships were on the horizon, and it wouldn''t be long before they arrived to help those still stuck at the airfield. The issue was.. I didn''t think they realized the jaws of the creature they were running right into... "Fuck..." However, as I hung my head, someone loudly spoke up. "Uh.. guys? The Regional Quest was completed..." Jolting slightly, I instantly opened my system panel. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 27.3096%; background-color: rgba(116, 0, 23, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9554%" colspan="4" scope="row"> Regional Quest *Completed* </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9554%" colspan="4" scope="row"> An Unknown Entity has entered the Region Entity Ranking: Unknown Estimated Ranking: Leviathan Class </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9554%" colspan="4">Objective: Kill the Entity</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9554%" colspan="4">Reward: 1 [Divine Wish] | +300 Levels </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4"><Contribution and Reward Distribution></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Quickly looking into the contribution tab to see who completed it, the panel updated to show a huge leaderboard. But it was.. empty. -What the...- "It was completed.. but there''s no one on the contribution list?" No one knew what to think of it. "Could.. an administrator have dealt with it?" It was a plausible theory, but there was one thing I couldn''t ignore no matter how hard I tried. -My Sensory Overload skill is still active...- It had activated earlier in the day when I first felt the presence of what I assumed was the ''Entity'' of the regional quest. -But if the quest is done, and the entity was dealt with.. why is it still active...- "Perhaps the system just bugged and marked the quest as completed?" The crowd quickly began coming up with theories. "After everything that''s happened, it wouldn''t surprise me..." But I wasn''t buying it, and after a moment of thinking, slowly getting more and more anxious, one of my guildmates came up to me with a worried expression and explained they noticed the same thing I did. "Do you think the presence is from the administrator, or maybe an apostle?" Diane whispered to me while the crowd grew chatty in the guild hall. "That''s possible, but I don''t know..." My gut told me the presence I felt was coming from a being different than a god. "It feels too much like the presence of a monster..." Looking at her, I noticed her worried gaze. "I know you''ve noticed that as well..." She anxiously nodded before looking away. "But is there any point in thinking about it?" Leaning up against the wall behind me, she squatted down to the floor and pulled her knees into her chest. "We have to trust the administrators in times like these. If the quest being marked completed was a bug, we will know soon..." Watching her hands quiver slightly, I felt my stomach churn. But there was nothing we could do besides pray and wait. At least that''s what I thought. *Pat-Pat-Pat-Pat* Hearing someone running down the hall behind me, I looked up to see a young woman in some unusual attire running down the hall with a military helmet in her hands. -She must have been the last to board... Who is she?- But instead of running past me and continuing into the guild hall like I expected, she ran straight up to me and stopped. "You are Bently Horne, the Sparrows Guild guildmaster, right?" Her face was pale with an expression of both fear and exhaustion. "I am." I tried to respond formally, but her appearance did nothing but put me on edge. "I need you to help me hide." Her eyes darted around the guild hall as she spoke softly. "My name is Diana Hale, a US pilot stationed in Arlington. I have been granted permission by the Sergeant Major of the US military to use whatever methods necessary to bring this helmet to him, but there is a monster on board this airship that could compromise it..." She seemed quite genuine but spoke like someone on the brink of insanity. "Huh?" "S-S-She looks human, l-like a paladin of the church, b-but isn''t... I can''t explain here, so please take me to some place isolated..." Tightly clenching the helmet, she seemed to be praying. "If ''she'' finds me.. I''m certain I will die..." But while Diane and I simply raised our eyebrows at each other, after just a moment, my mind froze solid. Opening my system panel and jumping through menus, I quickly landed on my ''Sensory Overload'' skill''s info page and looked for the information on the source of the presence. It read: "Target is nearby." -But.. we are at least a few thousand meters in the air now...- Slowly looking back at the tense woman, I felt my heart sink. "L-Let''s continue our talk elsewhere..." ----- Art of Evren, as well as a new cover for TSH are on the way! Patron''s are getting updates in the discord! <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 15: Steps into Society Late Afternoon - Early Summer : Virginia | East Coast United States ----- "''The System Forums'', huh?" Sinking into the couch''s plush cushions, I sipped on alcohol and nibbled on a bagel while scrolling through countless messages in my system with a disappointed expression. "So, to summarize, it''s a database of chatrooms sorted by subject, where people can ask and answer questions?" "Generally, yes." Bella gently nodded as she started refilling my glass. "It was originally made for researchers, to give them a faster, more universally accessible method of sharing research around the world and between the lunar colonies, but because things like moderation and user restrictions cannot be realistically added, the public having unrestricted access has made it difficult to formally use." "Ah, so it''s a ''system extension'' made purely by humans..." -That explains a lot...- "Essentially, yes." In short, system extensions were any kind of additional feature externally added to the system, whether formally by administrators, or informally by users. "Although not much has been released about how it works, it''s a common understanding that it relies on using system artifacts for purposes they aren''t meant for, so adding things like rules and restrictions is difficult." -Of course, without the help of administrators, they have to rely purely on exploits to give it any functionality...- It was the whole reason why the extension was so janky, being embedded directly into the ''Settings and Customization'' tab of my data link, and simply using recursively embedded folders to narrow down the subject of the chatrooms. -It doesn''t even have a search bar...- But at the same time, I couldn''t help but commend its creators. Compared to system extensions I had seen in other worlds, similarly made without the help of administrators, it was quite usable. -What a clever combination of features...- Making use of just a handful of features present in other areas of the System, they managed to create an entire forum where anyone could ask anything. -But I''m surprised it''s been left untouched for so long...- "Have any administrators spoken about it at all?" Considering it used exploits, which highlighted system vulnerabilities that urgently needed to be patched, it felt odd that they didn''t at least properly implement it into the system. At least that way they could fix the exploits the extension relied on. But Bella didn''t seem to know. "I''m.. not sure? The gods of Earth rarely communicate outside of divine oracles." "Is that so..." -That means Michael, and likely the other admins are mostly hands-off...- Meaning they left humanity to its own devices, not helping or restricting them in any way to act more like a guide than a leader. -Considering Earth''s huge population and communication technologies, it''s actually not a bad way to manage things.- In cases like Earth, letting users grow unrestricted while making them rely on themselves instead of leaning on the administrators was a great thing. -But to be hands-off to the point you don''t even fix system vulnerabilities...- "Haah..." It said a lot about the gods themselves. -I''ll have to talk to Michael about it when I get the chance...- But I could already tell it was going to lead to a troublesome conversation. *Puff* Finally leaning back into the couch as I looked up at the clouds zipping by overhead, I swiped away my System. *Fwip* "In any case, the forums aren''t what I''m looking for right now." -I need a huge amount of general knowledge, not nitpicks of details...- But after weighing my options, I also wasn''t sure a simple library would be enough. "Does the ''Magic Tower'' have anything that could help me?" "Of course." *th-thump* A faint sound bounced through the lounge as the airship touched down on the runway. "The Magic Tower is the head of United States mana science and system research. Although I can''t guarantee they will assist you directly, they do have an archive accessible to registered mercenaries." -Perfect... Seems like that''s where I''m headed after I grab an ID then...- Taking my final moments in the airship to relax, I watched the sky appear to rotate before I finally stood up with a stretch. "Alright, well.. it seems like this is where we part ways." Glancing over at Bella, I gave a respectful farewell. "I hope you treat yourself well. I enjoyed your company." Bowing down the floor, her tail curled with joy. "It was truly an honor. If you ever require an assistant or maid, please let the airline know. With my word, they will give you a discount." "A discount? On what, a robot similar to you?" -Having one could be pretty handy, especially if I can register them in the system...- But while I gave it some idle thought, she just laughed. "Haha, no. I mean on me, specifically, Madam." Slowly getting up from her bow, she looked at me with a smile. -Hoh?- "Is that so?" I actually wasn''t totally against the idea. "But unfortunately, I don''t have any money since I just returned to Earth." "I believe you can make a transfer with gold, if you have some to spare. Normally it''s eight thousand, but with my approval, it would be f-" "Whatever works best for you." I quickly cut her off. -Only eight thousand...- I honestly didn''t know whether to think she was cheap or if gold was simply worth that much on Earth. -In some of those worlds I visited, I couldn''t even buy bread for that much...- But I wasn''t complaining. -With some upgrades, she''ll be quite useful...- Plus, I didn''t mind the company. Quickly asking about how the transaction would work, she gave me a short rundown before signaling the captains. In short, I was to directly speak to and pay ''The Trainer'', the manager of all the robots on board. However, because of the chaos, I would have to go and pay him in the Guild Hall while Bella stayed behind to have her ''restrictions'' removed. Not really minding, I was then promptly guided back to the hall by the same young man who guided me in and met with the Trainer, but that was when I found out things weren''t as cut and dry as I would have liked. After some back and forth, it turned out that the restrictions he was removing from Bella were only the airship-specific ones, and while I wanted all the restrictions gone, he stated many of them were legally required to prevent things like rebellion and uprising. It was something to be expected, but at the same time, it was a shame. -Even when I said I''d pay a few times full price he didn''t budge... If he''d do it for me, it''d save me some time...- But there was unfortunately nothing other than money I could offer, so after getting an earful of warnings about why not to remove restrictions, I inevitably paid him a little over five thousand gold, and agreed to pick her up from the ''pet pickup'' area of the airport later in the day. -I''ll have to ask around to figure out where it is though...- "Is that all?" "Y-Yes, ma''am." He quickly bowed as he held out a slip of paper. "If you ever need anything else related to trained robots, please contact me." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Gently taking the slip from him, I looked down at it to read: ''Eternity Robotics - Graduate Trainer Mikill Atall'' With a list of contact methods I didn''t recognize. -What were these called again? Business cards?- Not caring for it, I quickly threw it into my inventory before turning and making my way outside, following the flow of the crowd. But as I walked down a wide ramp amidst the crowd, idly thinking about my plans going forward, my casual demeanor flipped on its head, and my eyes went wide. -Woah...- Looking out over the airfield, I saw so many runways, each loaded with countless grounded aircraft, that it made Richmond look like some backwater town. -Holy shit...- Continuing out onto the tarmac, my gaze did nothing but wander, taking note of the huge airships that completely dwarfed the one I was in, a huge, familiar railgun looming over the horizon, and countless towering spires that didn''t fall behind it in size or grandeur. Compared to Richmond, it was on a completely different scale. -Holy shit...- Eventually looking ahead again, I noticed that everyone being evacuated was being forced to go through a series of security and medical assistance checkpoints, and split off from the group, hopping to the top of the airfield''s terminal to avoid anything so troublesome. Almost immediately I found myself standing in front of a huge sign that read... "Welcome to Arlington." Hearing a voice read it as I looked at it, I glanced over to see a well-equipped man in a formal black uniform. -He must be a security guard...- Not even opening his system panel, I spoke bluntly. "Would you happen to know where the International Security Organization is?" Tilting his head with confusion, he seemed to tag me with a system panel before jolting. "Ah, uh..." His tense, confident demeanor instantly crumbled as he stepped to the side and pointed at a huge, glimmering blue spire. "Y..you mean that?" It honestly looked like it was made of mythril, and with it being at least half a kilometer taller than anything in the surrounding sea of skyscrapers, it certainly stood out. "I guess so." -It''s a bit farther than I was hoping.. I''ll have to go slow so I don''t risk destroying anything...- But it was still about a dozen kilometers away. "Alright, thanks." *Vwoop-CRACK* Instantly disappearing, I blew past the man, zipping over a huge jungle of tangled roads packed with vehicles before landing on and continuing across the rooftops of smaller buildings, hopping over streets and city blocks with each stride. But while I wasn''t looking forward to spending more than a few seconds running, it didn''t take long for me to find that I didn''t mind it. -Woah...- Compared to Richmond, Arlington was overflowing with life. With streets filled with vehicles and markets filled with people, it felt like I had traveled back in time a few hundred years and was exploring a new world. -How nostalgic...- No matter where I looked, there was something I had never seen before, filling my mind with questions that fueled the flame of curiosity in my chest like kerosene. Before I knew it, I found myself gleefully exploring as I used to do whenever I first visited a new city, checking the markets to see what the city''s diversity of resources was like, the residential areas to check on the living conditions of the people, and even a small visit to the industrial region to see where the focuses in development were. But compared to worlds I had visited in the past, a simple glance around was far from enough. Even compared to Richmond, it felt like a whole different world, rich with culture and bustling with life. -It makes me wonder what the upper district will be like...- Looking up at the towering skyscrapers as I neared them, a gleam appeared in my eyes. -For everything to be so organized... I wonder how they manage everything...- ----- - Alrek Ocorro ~ "WHY?!" *WHAM* Slamming my hands on my desk as I jumped up and launched my chair out from under me, I looked at the huge black orb at the center of the room with a furious expression. -Ever since that damn mana wave, I can''t catch a break.- It was our mana gauge, an orb that would turn mana into light, which we then measured to acquire the mana level of a mercenary. By then combining that stat with their system level, class, and general demeanor, we could more accurately estimate their stats and combat power to give them a fitting rank. Essentially, it was our way of determining the strength of System Users since their system level didn''t always match how strong they were, acting more like a general estimate than a reliable value. But ever since the mana wave blasted through, I couldn''t get it to calibrate. -Just what the fuck is wrong with it...- Quickly flipping a few switches and turning a dial, I walked out from behind the thick wall of tinted glass and set my hand on the gauge. *Pat* *Woom* It instantly purred to life, vibrating ever so gently as a faintly glowing swirl of yellow and orange light, like the flame of a candle lit up inside it. -It''s a bit dimmer than normal.. but it should still give me a number close to my estimate...- Holding my hand on it for a moment, I continually injected my mana and waited for the machine to beep at me so I could go check the results, but even after several seconds of steady input, it didn''t beep. -Is it an issue with the software?- Typically, it was meant to stop after receiving a stable reading for a moment. But as I looked back at the orb, I noticed the candle-like flame my mana had made was actually dimming, slowly, but steadily. -What the hell? Did the mana wave really break it?- *Knock-Knock* Hearing a knock, I quickly looked over at the door and saw my coworker nervously peeking in. "Is everything alright? I thought I told you I was busy." She seemed quite anxious, but I didn''t think much of it since she was fairly new and normally a bit skittish. "Uh.. I''m fine, but..." As a bead of sweat formed on her forehead, she looked me in the eyes. "An unregistered mercenary arrived and asked for us to register her.. but.. I don''t think we can process her." "Huh..." -Can''t process her?- Looking back at the mana gauge, I saw that the small flicker of light I created wasn''t even visible anymore. -Ah.. great...- I could see the paperwork piling up already. -How am I going to report this to management...- But at least for now, I didn''t need to think about it. "Haah, alright. I''ll check it out..." Finally pulling my hand off the orb, I walked back behind the glass and turned everything off. "I''ll probably have to give her a temporary ID for now." "Oh.. did the mana wave break the gauge?" Finally easing some of her anxiety, she stood up and opened the door for me to walk through. "I think so. They''ll probably have to call over the guys from the Tower to fix it." "Sounds like it''ll be a hassle..." My expression instantly darkened as I reached over and grabbed my cup of steaming coffee from the table next to the door. "Yeah, I''m really not looking forward to telling an unregistered mercenary to come back at a later time either..." -They''re always difficult...- In my ten years of working with the ISO, unregistered mercenaries, or users from other worlds, who were unfamiliar with Earth''s customs were the hardest to deal with out of anyone. -I''d rather deal with gangsters...- But as I walked out into the crowded reception hall, I immediately noticed how abnormally quiet it was. -What the...- Even though the room had well over a hundred people in it, with many being the typical, arrogant system users, there wasn''t a single peep. -What the hell?- Following their gazes, I found that they were all looking at the area in front of the reception desk and didn''t know what to expect. But as I finally rounded a wide pillar to see what had caught everyone''s attention, I was presented with the sight of a black-haired woman, likely in her late twenties or early thirties, wearing incredibly heavy-looking white and gold plated armor that had to of been worth a fortune. It wasn''t just for show either, covered in scratches, with a tattered white cloth hanging from her waist, it was instantly made clear that she was an experienced fighter of some kind. -But that isn''t enough to make these people so quiet...- She was quite pretty, to the point I would have expected catcalling of some sort, yet there was nothing. However, my confusion instantaneously vanished when I finally pinged her with a local system panel. "PFFFT-" Spitting out my coffee as my eyes shot open, I averted my gaze and instantly felt my chest tighten and my heart begin pounding. -LEVEL 600?!- ----- Art of Evren, as well as a new cover for TSH are on the way! Patron''s are getting updates in the discord! <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Art: The Harvester Hey everyone! Usually, I like to wait a bit longer to post art and keep it Patreon-Exclusive, but here it is! The first piece of artwork for TSH! With more art on its way, join the Patreon to see all the WIP''s and get early access to it! If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Discord: discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> Patreon: patreon.com/TDOD</a> <hr> Now Behold! The Harvester <hr> Chapter 16: A City of Golden Glass Early Evening - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- "Wow..." -The upper district is more different than I thought...- Having run out of roof space to run across after entering the upper district, I had slowed down and moved to the road, taking the extra time I had to admire my surroundings. -Such giant, defenseless buildings of glass... It''s like monsters aren''t even a risk here...- Compared to the lower districts where everything was sturdy and made of thick reinforced concrete, the buildings in the upper district were made of fragile, but appealing materials like glass and crystal, while using stronger materials purely for structural support. In other words, while beautiful, the buildings were a flick away from being piles of rubble. -But I''m not sure whether to commend them for being able to build up that kind of confidence.. or call it arrogance...- On one side of the coin, at any moment, a monster could swoop in and take the whole district down, but on another, it showed their confidence in their safety. -All I can do is hope it hasn''t made them too comfortable...- *WOOOOSH* As a vehicle gliding on electric rails over the center of the road blew past me, I casually hopped up and clung to it, hitching a ride to the International Security Organization still several kilometers down the road. -What good timing...- Ignoring the innumerable gazes of those on the roads below as I zipped by, I quickly continued looking around, peeking into glass shops to see what they were selling or what services they provided as I sat on the sloped rear of the bus-like maglev. But while at the beginning I was just looking around to find places of note, the more of them I passed, the more my brain tripped over itself. -What on earth...- At the base of a vast majority of buildings, the windows were filled with displays of swords, armor, and artifacts, reminiscent of what I''d see from large merchant guilds and smithies, with the upper floors being covered by digital projections of logos, names, and video advertisements of items or people. It was very clearly a district meant for system users, mainly lined with shops, guilds, and even huge stadiums and arenas, but the scale of it was something I almost couldn''t wrap my head around. -How many people come through here for it to be this dense...- It was a concentration of wealth on a completely different level from anything I had ever seen, even in the most high traffic of ''hub worlds'' where people of all levels were constantly brought for quests. -How is this kind of thing even possible in such a low-level world? There wouldn''t be so many shops if they didn''t all have business, but.. where are the customers coming from..?- Giving it some thought as we began entering a more spacious area of the district, where each building had a park-sized courtyard around it, the maglev started coming to a stop and eventually let everyone off onto a raised platform. -This must be like a bus stop...- *Pat* *Pat* Gently brushing down my armor as those getting off whispered to one another and gave me weird glances, I looked up the side of the glimmering spire looming over us, brightly lit by the glow of the setting sun, and had a smile spread across my face. It was far from the largest building I had ever seen, and even farther from the most beautiful, but as it glimmered in the setting sun, I couldn''t help but be entranced by the careful carvings decorating it, depicting battles and hardship, where multiple races had to join hands, and unlikely allies were forced to become friends. To most, the carvings likely meant nothing, acting as simple decoration, but to me, they reminded me of old times, surfacing memories I had nearly forgotten about from hundreds of years ago, and bringing forth a feeling of comfort and nostalgia that was simply unrivaled. -That carving even looks like me...- Looking at a carving of someone joining the hands of elves and dwarves, I was reminded of the time I had to force two neighboring nations to work together and kill an Island Devourer, a mountain-sized worm that lived in the ocean. -I almost forgot about those guys.. what was the queen''s name again..? Altera? I wonder if she''s still alive...- Tilting my head as I idly gave it thought, my gaze slowly drifted over more and more carvings that brought back nostalgia before turning down toward the ground where I found a huge concrete plaza wrapping around the spire. At first glance, it was absolutely littered with huge statues, memoirs, and memorials from not just Earth, but other worlds as well, paying homage to the countless cultures that had come to blend on Earth. However, while they were certainly grand, what really caught my eye was the people around them. All throughout the plaza, people were gathered around the bards singing tales of other worlds, and merchants, selling a mix of equipment and clothing originating from other systems, some of which I could name off the top of my head. -To think people of those worlds would be on Earth...- It honestly created an atmosphere that made me feel more at home, and less out of place while standing between the towering glass skyscrapers. "How lively!" Finally walking down the stairs from the bus stop with an energetic pep in my step, I started making my way through the concrete courtyard, taking my time to enjoy the atmosphere, admire the statues, and listen to the songs of bards before arriving at the wall of doors leading into the spire. -What a wonderful blend of cultures...- *tap-Woosh* Swiftly opening the door and walking inside, a gust of cool air blew over me, and I found myself in a room with a ceiling nearly fifty meters high, filled with the chatter of countless different languages. -What a refreshing sound...- Turning my attention to the small reception desk next to a massive central pillar toward the center of the room, I quickly walked past the rows of tables filled with people before arriving in front of a well-dressed, cat-demihuman boy who looked like he couldn''t have been older than twenty. "Welcome to the ISO, miss. How can I help you today?" He was quite cheery, speaking with a happy curl in his tail. Opening his system panel, my eyes widened with curiosity. -A non-native working a desk job... How interesting...- "I''m here to get an ID and register myself as a System User." The heads of those seated nearby quickly turned to look at me as the young boy cheerfully continued. "Hoho~, I would say congratulations, but it seems like your awakening wasn''t something that happened recently." Lowering his gaze from my armor to the series of holographic panels in front of him, he quickly continued with a more serious tone. "Just to clarify, are you a System User or a System Mercenary?" He asked as if it were something I should have known the answer to. "System Mercenary?" -Wait.. isn''t that what the System called ''The Warden''?- Tilting my head, I spoke quizzically. "What is a System Mercenary?" His expression instantly lit up with excitement. "A System Mercenary is someone captured by the system to complete tasks and quests in other worlds! System Users are similar, but they are not forced to travel between worlds." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. "I.. see..." -So, System Mercenaries are slaves of the system like me... Fated to work until we''re killed...- My expression darkened as the image of the ''confirmed kill panel'' I got after killing The Warden came to mind. "I am a System Mercenary." "Is that so? Are you returning or on a quest?" "Returning." He instantly tensed as the sway in his tail froze. "Typically the military will handle and intercept returning mercenaries.. but I guess they were preoccupied today..." Quickly tapping through his hologram, he made a small black pad reveal itself from within the counter. "Please set your hand on that so we can get your fingerprints." *Pat* Immediately setting my hand on it, I felt the tingle of electricity beneath my fingers. "Huh? That''s.. odd..." As his expression warped with confusion, his tail lowered. "You don''t seem to be in our database... May I have permission to look at your System details?" He scooted forward a small orb-shaped artifact connected to a mound of electronics as he spoke. "I may be able to find you with your system ID, since you would have had to register yourself on the server at some point." I gently nodded as I touched the artifact. But as his focus narrowed on the tiny panel displayed on the opposite side of the artifact, his whole body froze like ice. "Uh.. miss... One moment, please..." Quickly tapping on a button next to a keyboard embedded in the desk, he made haste around the pillar and called over a shy-looking woman. However, she had the same reaction. "U..Uh.. I''m sorry miss, but.. I''m not sure if we can process you right now..." I immediately tilted my head. "Why is that?" "W-Well, for one, it says you were registered in the System here less than an hour ago. B-But we aren''t saying you''re lying about being a returner." She seemed to panic slightly thinking I may take her words the wrong way. "I actually think it could have to do with the system errors we dealt with earlier in the day.. because someone of your level shouldn''t be getting quests in this world..." She nervously inspected the panel one last time before straightening up. "If you could, please wait a moment, I''d like to fetch my supervisor." I quickly nodded before pulling my hand off the artifact. "Do whatever you need." Silence quickly overtook the room as her footsteps echoed over the tile floors, but it didn''t take long for her to return with another man. -A level 254 inspector, huh...- It was a class focused entirely on seeing what the eyes couldn''t, be it finding hidden traps, gauging the strength of opponents, or even reading their intentions. -Usually they''re known for their absurdly sharp senses, but...- That man didn''t react to me until he looked me in the eyes. "PFFFT-" Spitting out his coffee, his eyes shot open, and lowered to my local system panel. "It''s quite rude to spit your drink out at the sight of someone, you know." I spoke somewhat coldly, as he seemed to break into a panic and dart up to the desk. "I-I''m very sorry, madam!" He immediately threw himself into a bow. "We just don''t get the opportunity to handle users of your stature.. ever... I-In any case, what is the issue you are having?" Looking back at the woman who brought him out, she gave a quick explanation. "I see." Turning back to me, a small light flickered in the System Details artifact. "Well, it seems like we unfortunately can''t properly process you right now. As a returner, we are meant to replace your old ID and update its details, but because you aren''t in the database, we will have to go through a different registration process that will take some time to figure out." "Hm... How long will it take?" "Hopefully only a week. But for now, I''d like to at least give you a temporary ID. It''s meant for users only here on quests, but it should be fine, if you have any problems, you can refer them to me." Sliding me what looked like his business card, reading Alrek Ocorro, he gently flipped a switch on the back of the artifact, switching my system details with my local system panel''s information, and raced to type stuff onto the computer. -They seem quite thorough...- So far, I was actually quite pleasantly surprised at how well things were managed. -To think they even have artifacts to see when people were registered into the server... That''s good for catching liars...- "Alright." Finally handing me a silver plaque with some of my basic system information on it, the man motioned to its underside. "This is called a ''ticket'', it will be your ID for the time being. If you turn it over and press your thumb into that bit of black glass, you can verify your identity with people, and if you hold the button, you can use some basic communication channels connected to us here at the ISO. If you ever need help, in an emergency or not, please communicate with us through that." *Beep-Beep* Holding the button, a small green hologram immediately popped up, and after taking a moment to skim through everything, I tapped on the ''Direct Message'' tab. "Is this how you will reach out to me about my registration?" He quickly nodded. "And in case you are unfamiliar, you can also use it to communicate to any other user registered in the ISO as long as you know their ID number, however, please understand that it doesn''t use the System, so in many places outside of cities there may not be any connection." "Alright." It was essentially like an old telephone, but only with the ability to text, and reach out for emergency services. -Simple enough...- "Is there anything else I need to know about?" "Not currently. I will communicate with you through your ticket, however, if there is anything you need, such as a guide, or perhaps wish to visit one of our training facilities-" "I need to go to the Magic Tower, but I don''t want a guide. If you could just point me in the right direction that would be appreciated." "O-of course!" Quickly leading me outside, he made one last offer to have a guide drive me there before giving up and giving me directions but... It was very far away, being on the other end of the city, some hundred and twenty kilometers away. -That''s troublesome...- I really couldn''t be burning any more time. Although I wanted to take my time and enjoy being back on Earth, -Until I get my aura under control, I need to be careful...- Even without the regional quest being active, things would only get more troublesome the longer I left my aura as it was. Without controlling it, I was basically a walking beacon screaming that I was a monster. -So I need another way...- But as I sank into thought, trying to find an alternative, Alrek spoke up. "I-If I may, could I ask why you need to go to the Magic Tower?" "I need to learn about aura and figure out a way to control it, but I''m on a time crunch." "Hm... Controlling your aura isn''t something most people can grasp quickly, but..." He paused for a moment before looking over at the maglev arriving at the station up ahead. "Do you know about the Blue Creek guild?" I immediately shook my head. "They are a guild of mages that work on developing magic-related skills and producing new grimoires, I would imagine they would be more of what you''re looking for." -Making grimoires?- Grabbing my attention, I quickly looked over at him. "Are they closer than the Magic Tower?" He nodded as he pointed down the road. "They are just down the road here to the left, but if you could give me a moment, I''ll speak to one of their managers and make sure they don''t simply reject you." -How convenient...- "Alright, I assume that won''t take long?" Seeing him shake his head I looked back out into the plaza. "Then in the meantime, I''ll be out here listening to the bard." His expression, while anxious, quickly became determined. "Please leave it to me." Watching him quickly return to the spire, I finally turned back toward the plaza, but there was one thing I couldn''t shake off my mind. -To think Earth can create new skill books...- Although known as grimoires when the skill was related to magic, they were literal books that allowed you ''learn'' a skill by simply touching them, implementing the information directly into the system, and letting you then improve and buff the skill over time by using it, or getting upgrades. It was something that took an immense amount of knowledge, skill, and mana to create, and as such, they were not only exceedingly rare, but powerful. -If I can get my hands on one and get a skill, maybe then, I can start collecting upgrades for it...- It wasn''t how the system worked when I originally used it, but it was a system I had heard other worlds using. -Maybe my System was just outdated...- But somehow, while there was a sudden flicker of hope in my chest, as I walked out into the plaza, tuning in to the melodious melody of the bard, a cloud of doubt filled my mind, and my expression started darkening. -But I guess.. no matter what happens, I won''t regain what I lost...- ----- Art of Evren, as well as a new cover for TSH are on the way! Patron''s are getting updates in the discord! <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 17: The Ticking of a Clock Early Evening - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- "Huh? Alrek? What are you doing here so late?" *Woosh* Air rushed into the room as Alrek walked inside. "I have a special client I need you guys to work with." "Hoh? For you to say that, I''m curious who-" Hearing her suddenly go quiet as I walked in, I looked up to see a young, well-dressed elven woman just behind a wide desk with her feet perched up on it. -She must be the receptionist.- Walking up to the desk, I was quick to reach out my hand. "The name''s Evren." As if dazed, she blankly stared at my hand for a moment before jumping up, fixing her posture, and grabbing my hand with both of hers. "I-I''m Lori!" She was a bit panicked at first. "I-It''s a pleasure to meet you, Madam." But it was only a moment before it turned into excitement. "So, how can I be of service?" Alrek quickly took over as he walked up next to me. "Miss Lestir here is a returning mercenary looking to learn the basics of mana and aura. I''ve already contacted Crow, but he said he would be a while." "Is that so?" Curiously turning to me, Lori tilted her head in confusion. "What is your class? Are you perhaps a barbarian?" She asked since barbarians didn''t innately have access to magic or magic-related skills within the system. -But...- "No, I don''t have any class, so I have no restrictions on skills, but for reasons I can''t explain, I don''t have any skills at all anymore. Now I need to relearn how to suppress or redirect my aura." "I-Is that so..?" Taken aback she paused to think for a moment. "So you''re looking for a grimoire for aura control?" I nodded. "But I have some doubts about whether it will work for me, so it''s more likely I''ll need someone to teach me." "That would be quite odd, but..." Looking down at a holographic screen, she hastily tapped through a few panels. "We''ll see what happens. I''ve requested for a grimoire we can try to use. It''s a basic skill called ''Presence Suppression''. It''s pretty common, even among civilians, since it can help them hide if they ever encounter a monster." -A skill for civilians? Are these grimoires that easily accessible here?- She quickly continued as I tilted my head with curiosity. "As for having someone to teach you, it''s a bit late, our instructors have all gone home, so you can either ask Crow when he gets here, or I can set you up with someone in the morning." -Ah, the morning is too long...- I was quick to wave her off. "I don''t care who teaches it, instructor or not, as long as they can explain the most basic of basics." "Alright, well we''ll see what we can do. There may be some legal issues if someone unqualified tries to teach you." Wrapping up what she was doing on the computer, she quickly hopped up and made her way to a set of doors leading into a long, well-decorated hallway. "For now, if you''ll come with me, I''ll bring you to one of our training rooms and bring you that grimoire." She quickly motioned me along, leaving Alrek alone to wait in the lobby. "I apologize in advance. Usually, we would have someone more fitting walk you to a room, but most people have gone home at this hour." "I don''t mind." We idly spoke as we began walking. "Thank you for obliging, regardless." Turning back to me, she quickly flashed her bright smile. "It''s my pleasure!" Eventually finding our way to the large room with the floor, walls, and ceiling lined with pure white tiles, I promptly found my way to a small glass compartment in the wall lined with devices similar to what I saw in the mana monitoring facility. -These look familiar...- Deciding to tinker with it while I waited for Lori, I eventually got it turned on before suddenly being presented with a 3D hologram of the room completely surrounded by dots of varying sizes and colors similar to the holographic map I saw previously. They were all sensors, seemingly reading and correlating to different information, using opacity to let you read it all at a glance. -''Temperature'', ''Ambient mana'', ''Aura''... They have everything on here...- There were even sensors for things like moisture, wind, and weight. If there was something you needed to measure, you could do it here. -The aura one has me curious though...- Although I heard from the researchers in the facility in Richmond that aura clouded runes, the aura sensors, seemingly meant to monitor it, picked up nothing. -I wonder if it has something to do with why people can''t seem to sense my aura...- Giving it some idle thought as I checked out the other sensors and their data, Lori eventually returned, this time with a thin, leather-cover book in her hands. "Sorry for keeping you waiting!" Quickly coming into the side room I was in, she was simply gleaming. "Here is the grimoire." As she handed me the book, she also gave me a small black marble. "So, in case you aren''t familiar with these types of grimoires, before you put it in your inventory and let your System read it, you have to actually set this little artifact in that divot on the cover, and inject a bit of mana through it." She gently opened it to show me the intricately carved, circular rune on the inside of the cover. "Huh.. to think there would be a type of grimoire I''ve never seen..." She immediately puffed up her chest with pride. "It''s because they''re only made here on Earth! When people first started commercially selling grimoires, there was a problem with stealing, so we had to create unique little marbles like this to act as keys. If you don''t use the key, the grimoire is empty." Quickly picking it up, she fanned the pages to show they were all blank with additional runes carved into each page. "If you use the wrong key, the runes won''t print the text properly, and it will just trash the book." -Wow...- "So the key is like a cipher to the rune, and the cipher is wrong, it will just destroy the grimoire? How do you make a unique key for each rune then? Wouldn''t every grimoire have to have the same rune?" She quickly shook her head. "The first rune here in the cover is purely to act as an encryptor, and the key is its cypher. Although the encryptor doesn''t have infinite possibilities, if we also angle and tilt the rune itself, we can squeeze out a few hundred thousand unique copies." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. -R..Really?- It was surprisingly clever. -If they know that much about runes, maybe they''ll really be able to help me...- Finally following her instruction, I laid down the book and set my finger on the key. "Hooh..." -Okay.. let''s see if I can inject it with some mana...- Trying to mimic the sensation of an old mana injection skill I had, I reached into the lump of energy in my abdomen and grabbed a handful of it. But, I didn''t feel a thing. Now that I had access to more mana than I could fathom, the mana I used my old skills as a reference to move was of such a tiny volume that I couldn''t even feel it. But, in the end, I managed to get it to work. *Glow* After several attempts to move a clump of energy out of my finger, the key started glowing before suddenly crumbling to dust. "Hooh..." I quickly let out a breath of relief as I picked it up and saw the clean, clear text and diagrams on all the pages. -Well.. here goes nothing...- Following Lori''s instructions, I casually tossed it into my inventory and went into the ''Item Information'' tab to have the system read it. *Beep* But while it beeped at me, confirming it was read.. nothing happened. There was no message, and there was no skill. "So?" Lori''s eyes gleamed with expectation, but... "It didn''t work..." Agitatedly leaning back onto a desk, I pulled the book back out of my inventory and tossed it on the desk. "You try it." A little nervous, she did as I asked and put it in her inventory, but her expression suddenly turning curious told me all I needed to know. "It.. worked fine for me... Are you sure you-" "Yeah, I''ve used plenty of grimoires before." Gripping my forehead, annoyance instantly drenched my expression. -I knew it was a possibility.. I just didn''t want to believe it...- But I didn''t have time to dwell on it. "Haah... Okay..." As thoughts raced through my mind, I finally looked up at the young elf in front of me. "How much do you know about mana and aura, Lori?" Immediately tensing up, she responded awkwardly. "I-I know the basics, but I''m a notoriously bad teacher-" "I don''t care." Cutting her off, my cold gaze found its way into her eyes. "The basics are all I need for now." Understanding what I meant, her demeanor turned nervous. "O..okay... I will try my best..." "Haah..." -My gut is telling me I need to hurry up...- "I''ll give you a bunch of gold if you do well." Finally walking out into the center of the tile room, I sat down and crossed my legs. "Hooh..." With another breath to try and alleviate my stress, my focus moved down to the immense, swirling sphere of energy in my abdomen. -I should have some time...- Thinking that the military would be occupied with the evacuation efforts in Richmond for some time, I figured even if the researchers spotted me with their sensors, they wouldn''t be able to do anything until the evacuation was finished. -Worst case scenario I probably have a few days...- Considering I believed I had already controlled a substantial amount of my aura without any instruction in the mana monitoring facility, I was confident even a day would be enough. -But I shouldn''t test my luck...- The issue was there was something I failed to take into account... During my flight to Arlington, I sank knee-deep into an ant hill, and I disturbed the nest. But the nest wasn''t humanity.. nor was it the city. *Beep* -Tch...- Clicking my tongue as my System broke my focus, I opened my eyes with annoyance and looked at the panel that appeared. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 37.2892%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4"> WARNING Unauthorized System Data Tampering Detected Contact an administrator immediately... </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> ----- - Bently Horne ~ *wwwOOOOSHH* Zipping through a concrete tunnel in an underground, military-exclusive maglev, I looked at my reflection in the opposing window with a face drowned with worry and stress. "Haah..." -What the hell am I getting involved in...- Anxiously clenching my hands together, I turned my gaze to the woman next to me, only to see her gripping her helmet like her life depended on it. As things were, we were about half a kilometer underground, zipping through a concrete tube at several times the speed of sound, heading straight for the colossal military base on the north end of the city called ''The Final Bastion''. Meant to stand as humanity''s last defense if it came to it, It was the largest and most secure military base in the world, and the same military installation that kept the United States from collapsing due to a surge of monsters three hundred years ago. Of everywhere I could be going, it was by far the safest place. But somehow, the longer we sat in silence, the more my gut yelled at me. From what Miss Hale had told me, the streak of light I saw cross the sky back in Richmond was actually the apostle Jack Ricora, a man known to be one of the fastest system users in the world, after getting hit by a monster. Even taking into account his level, I couldn''t imagine a reality where he was alive, or at the very least wasn''t crippled given the speed he crossed the sky. -At that speed, I''m sure his armor melted...- But what was more horrifying than anything was the monster behind it all. -A creature wearing the skin of a human...- It was a monster that looked human, sounded human, and could even act human, but was both outside the bounds of the system and the reach of administrators. No matter how I twisted it, it sounded like something entirely out of our league and was something we needed to handle extremely carefully. -What if it isn''t just a bit stronger than an apostle? What if we just piss it off?- But, I had no say in the matter. Because I was an international hunter, I was required by law to escort Miss Hale until she delivered her helmet to the higher-ups, and that was it. No matter how much I wished to speak up, I couldn''t. -But there may be a chance I can get interrogated... Maybe then I can get my words through...- As a long-term system mercenary, I trusted my instincts more than anything, and no matter how I thought about it, the situation I was being wrapped in would be one that my life would depend on. -But if there''s anything to be thankful for.. the military base should be the safest place in Arlington...- And it was, however, I would soon come to realize that what made it safe wasn''t its power or security, but rather its distance from where everything would go down. The moment we arrived at the underground headquarters several minutes later, we found everyone in a complete panic, with people donning white lab coats sprinting around with stacks of paper, and even military generals so famous I could immediately recognize them dashing around with expressions of worry, anxiety, or determination. It made my mind short-circuit for a moment. -Something bad happened... Something really, really bad...- Eventually being greeted by another general, we were quickly rushed to another section of the facility where we came face to face with several globally known figures, from revered generals, to leading scientists and famous mercenaries. But none of them turned around as we walked inside. Instead, they were all silently staring at a large, bright screen on the opposite side of the room... A screen that displayed a news broadcast... One that showed a sea of collapsed buildings near a spire I could recognize. -Thats.. the International Security Organization...- It was the heart of the International Security District.. but now it was a sea of rubble... ----- Art of Evren, as well as a new cover for TSH are on the way! Patron''s are getting updates in the discord! <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 18: A Warm Welcome Mid Evening - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- "Okay, so I want you to close your eyes and focus." Speaking softly from the area behind the glass, Lori pressed several buttons before the faint hum filling the room vanished and everything around me went silent. "To start, you need to find your reserve, where your body stores all its mana. To do that, you just need to hum. You should feel a sphere in your head, chest, or stomach faintly resonating." -So they call it a reserve here...- Also known as a mana core, it was something every being with mana had, a physical, hollow sphere of crystallized mana used to store mana like a huge battery. -But I don¡¯t need to hum to feel mine...- Feeling a faint, constant vibration in my abdomen, I respond quickly. "Alright. What next?" "T..That was fast¡­ Uh¡­ Now try to focus on it.¡± She responded as if flustered. ¡°After some time, you should feel something vaguely similar to a muscle or sphere you can manipulate around it." She paused to give me a moment to focus. -So that''s what I was controlling back at the mana facility...- "Does it have a name?" "K..Kind of?" She hesitantly continued. "It doesn''t really have a common name, but mages call it the mana layer. It''s generally what''s responsible for how much mana is naturally emitted from your reserve as aura, and is partially responsible for how easy your mana is to pull out." "And I assume you control it by flexing it?" I tilted my head slightly and spoke without certainty. "Yes! It seems like you''re already a bit familiar, but just to continue with formality, its effectiveness depends greatly on several factors, like the actual thickness of the reserve''s shell, how much mana you have, and because you aren''t relying on the System, your mental capacity. So, don''t be discouraged if your control of it is bad for now." -Huh?- "What do you mean by, ¡¯my mental capacity because I''m not using the System¡¯?" "Although this theory isn¡¯t too publicly known, when skills are activated through the System, they mostly use the System''s computational power, meaning, since you aren''t using a skill, all the computation needed for it will have to come from your brain..." -Is that so?- Considering I had already controlled it when I was at the mana monitoring facility, I was more than confident when I let out a deep breath. -It hurt before but it should be manageable...- "Hooh..." -All I need to do is flex it really hard...- Anticipating what I was doing, Lori went silent and focused on the display of sensors. -Then.. here goes nothing...- *Vwoom* Almost instantly, I could feel the intensity of my aura surging through my body lessen. "Wow..." Even Lori sounded surprised. But at the same time, my stomach twisted, and I felt like my mind was thrown into a blender. "ACK-!" *PAT* Gripping my forehead as an excruciating pain surged through my skull, I grit my teeth. -Holy SHIT!- It was indescribably worse than what I felt at the mana facility. "PLEASE BE CAREFUL!" Running out of the room in a panic, Lori pulled out a damp cloth and froze it with magic before hastily pressing it against my head. "DO NOT push yourself like that! That pain is from your brain literally destroying itself! If you push it too far you can develop a type of dementia, Alzheimers, or go completely brain dead." -Ah...- I got more than a little overzealous. -Was I depending on the system that much before?- "Ugh..." With a groan, I pressed the cold rag into my forehead and looked up at Lori. "What was the effect on the scanners?" -If it was decent, then maybe...- ¡°The sensors showed you suppressed nearly forty percent of your aura. That''s impressive for your first attempt, but please, don''t push yourself that much again.¡± Her voice was woven with a mix of panic and anxiety. "Forty percent, huh..." -That''s nowhere near enough even if I could sustain it...- Leaning back and looking up at the ceiling as the rag melted and dripped to the floor, I felt an unfamiliar, conflicting mix of emotions well in my chest. -Based on how that went.. something tells me I won''t be able to direct my aura upwards with my mana layer either...- But, I didn''t really have an option... "How would I go about controlling my aura after it''s left my reserve?" As my eyes locked on Lori, my gaze stiffened. Although it had been a few hundred years, an old mage friend I knew showed me some cool things he could do with it, so I knew it was possible. But Lori seemed pessimistic. "It''s.. quite difficult..." Lowering my head, I pulled the damp rag off my head and handed it back to her. "How so?" Not sure how to respond, she hesitated. "Uh.. well... Using the mana layer uses your subconscious.. everything basically happens behind the scenes. But controlling your aura is the complete opposite." "So you mean it takes conscious thought." Seeing her nod, I finally pulled my eyes off her. "Do you have any tips or techniques?" "N..no..." She responded immediately. "Controlling your aura is something reserved for extremely high-level mages... People like me don''t have enough aura to control." "Is that so..." Finally straightening my posture, I let out a heavy breath. "Hooh..." -Then that means I''m on my own...- But for some reason, instead of being nervous, I was oddly excited. Quickly closing my eyes, I let out several more long breaths, trying to isolate myself from my physical senses before sinking into the depths of thought. I needed to focus.. to feel the energy surging out of my body and filling the air around me like a dense fog in an attempt to grasp at it. But, in that moment, when I expected to feel my own energy that filled the room, I found myself staring at an image in my head. It was the area around me, showing Lori kneeling on the hard tile next to me while, farther in the darkness, I could feel countless other presences. -Those must be the people outside...- It was as if a 3D space had been constructed in my mind, where I could see everything within a few meters of me in unbelievable detail, and farther away as a more blurry ''mental estimation'' that got blurrier the farther away it was. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. But it was more than enough to generally feel the bounds of my aura. -Two hundred? Maybe two hundred and fifty kilometers?- It was indescribably colossal, completely incomparable to even the strongest monsters I had ever faced. -Holy shit... No wonder I couldn''t suppress it...- I was essentially trying to trap a tsunami in a snow globe, only to feel downtrodden when it exploded. -But if pressure is the problem.. if I controlled it away from my body.. then maybe...- Slowly beginning to feel the endless sea of mana in the air around me, feeling the countless currents and flows, my thoughts sped up and more details started populating the space constructed in my mind Be it motes of dust, bacteria, or even individual particles of air, I could feel every tiny thing around me. "Hooh..." -Okay.. let''s try again...- Letting how a heavy breath, I attempted to grab at my own aura about fifteen meters off my body, just before it reached the wall of the room, and imagined myself cupping my hands around it, stiffening a part of my aura to create a bowl shape. *Vwoom* Almost instantly, a heavy ripple of mana sounded and gravity seemed to increase severalfold. But it actually felt alright. "Hooh..." With another heavy breath, I continued to fall deeper and deeper into focus, figuring out just how exactly I was controlling the wall of aura before slowly refining it, and focusing more and more of my aura upwards. -This.. could be worse...- It took every speck of focus I had, but even in the short moments I did it, I could feel myself improving and couldn''t help but smile as I finally opened my eyes again. -I almost forgot what making progress felt like¡­- Quickly turning toward the glass wall as I released my aura, I got ready to excitedly ask Lori what the change on the sensors was. But.. she was gone... -Huh?- And it wasn¡¯t just her. No one but me was even in the building. -What the... How much time passed?- *Vwoop* Opening my System with a confused wave, I went to check the clock, but before I could even open the tab, the ground beneath me lit up, and an unfathomable heat blew through the room, atomizing everything. *Flash-BRRRRMMM* It was a beam of energy that instantly engulfed the entire building, atomizing everything from the ground to the sky. But all it did to me was take the ground out from under my feet. *Vwoom* As my expression turned sour, I found myself staring at three presences just outside the beam. -Is Michael already backstabbing me?- *Splash* Landing in the pool of molten metal as the beam died down, my gaze stiffened before one presence vanished, only to instantly reappear behind me. *Fwip-CRAAACKKK* Jolting my head to the side, a beam of energy thousands of times hotter than what just incinerated the building grazed my ear before I spun around, grabbing the red-hot arm cannon of a humanoid robot, pulled it past me, and sunk my fingers into its head. *Crunch-Crackle* Staring into its glowing blue face, my face washed with anger. "What the fuck are enforcers doing here?" *Vrrmm-Tap* Attempting to fight back, it swung its legs up to grapple me, but besides pushing my head up with its knee and wrapping itself around my arm, all it did was piss me off. *Crackle* Crushing its metal skull with one hand, I released its arm and grabbed its spine, crushing the mana core in it before ruthlessly ripping it out, spraying blue coolant everywhere, and crushing its skull, finally dissipating the cyan glow coursing through its body. *CRUNCH* It was a System enforcer, a type of robot the System used to enforce system rules outside the responsibility of administrators, such as ¡®cleaning system errors'', typically being people who abused certain exploits that popped up from time to time, or deliberately disobeyed ¡®system quests¡¯. Typically, they were of a much higher level than their target, and used as assassins to surgically remove troublesome ''system errors'' from worlds they didn''t belong. -But these aren''t that high level...- *Splash* Prying its dismantled body off me, I threw it down into the magma at my feet. They were both human-sized and human-shaped, being made out of extremely strong mythril and being inorganically nimble. But while they used to be quite troublesome, that was far from the case now. *FWOOSH* Darting up out of the plume of smoke, I instantly planted a foot in the ground before kicking in the chest of another enforcer, sending it zipping through the side of a building before peppering everything else with its metal shrapnel. But it created an opening that the other enforcer wasn''t going to pass up. *WOOSH* Appearing over me, it drove a fist into my face expecting me to catch it as it stuck the cannon embedded in its other arm to the top of my head. But it far overestimated itself. *WHAAAMM-CRRACK* Destroying its punch with my elbow, I grabbed its other arm and turned it upward, rupturing its hydraulics and aiming it at its own head. *Crackle-FLASH* The moment it fired, its beam blew through its head, and I took the chance to pull it off its feet, and drive a fist through the mana core contained in a mythril sphere at the base of its spine. *WHAAAAMMM-VWOOM* The entire city shook from the impact, shattering the ground around me and spreading cracks through the city¡¯s foundation. But I was still mad. "Tch..." Reaching up and massaging my neck as I threw what was left of the half-melted robot to the ground, I clicked my tongue. *Clank* -Now where is the last one... It''s been too long since I''ve fought something human-sized...- Enforcers always traveled in groups of four, yet the only things around me were people running away or people frozen from shock, awe, or horror. -Is he hiding in the crowd?- But as I scanned everything around me... *Glow* The ground beneath my foot melted and a blazing beam slammed into my jaw before scattering and slicing off the tops of nearby buildings. *BRRRRRRMMM* "Oh you lousy fucker..." Simply ignoring the unpleasant heat, I lifted my foot and stomped the ground. *CRRRRAAACKKKK* The ground instantly melted, crushing the enforcer buried underground like a tin can at the bottom of the ocean. But he seemed to want to take me with him. "Self-destructing." As its deep, crackly robotic voice met my ears, everything within a few hundred meters was instantly washed with light, the sides of skyscrapers were melted, and the nearby System users threw up barriers in a panic. *WOOM* The blast was hotter than the center of a star, simply erasing everything within a few meters of it and causing my armor to glow red hot. But that was it... As the heat passed, I was left standing in a pool of waist-deep molten rock, surrounded by a field of debris and fire as towering skyscrapers creaked, trying not to collapse. *Creaaaak* -You have to be fucking kidding me...- Looking up toward the edge of the molten crater, I found dozens of system users, all of which around level four or five hundred, wearing hostile expressions with armor equipped and weapons drawn. "Don''t throw away your lives. Put your weapons away..." I spoke irritatedly. *Tsss-Blub* But as the sound of boiling water and bubbling rock filled the air, there were a few who either couldn''t hear me or simply didn''t listen. "HYAH!" Darting at me with everything he had, a level four hundred barbarian dashed across the pool of magma with a heavy hammer in hand before attempting to drive it into my head. -Dumbass...- *Pat* Catching the head of the hammer, I instantly jerked it down under the magma, pulling the man with it before suddenly throwing it back up, impaling him with its handle, and launching him out of the crater. *Zip-BAAANGG* It caused the expressions of everyone nearby to instantly changed. Casually wiping away a bit of molten metal that splashed on my face, I looked back up at the other System users with a cold gaze. ¡°Anyone else?¡± ----- More art for TSH are on the way! Patrons are getting updates in the discord! <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 19: Misunderstanding? Mid Evening - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- ¡°Anyone else?¡± My irritated voice echoed over the crowd as I wiped some molten rock off my cheek. -How much bad karma did I rack up over the years for my luck to be this terrible...- All I had to do was lay low until I got a hold of my aura, but there I was, surrounded by almost three dozen system users while waist-deep in a pool of liquid rock. -Tch... How the fuck am I going to get out of this...- Having killed a system user and had System Enforcers after me, I was going to be called a monster or a System Exploiter the moment I tried to leave. -Especially if they recognized the enforcers...- But at the same time, the longer I thought about it, the more my expression darkened. -Maybe I just shouldn''t care...- *Vwoop* Deciding to play the dice, I straightened my posture before pulling one of the Warden''s massive teeth out of my inventory and slamming it into the ground. *Splash-CrUnCh* -This should do...- Finding it sturdy enough, I quickly hopped up on it and sat down, hanging my legs out over the lava before leaning back and nonchalantly pulling out a bagel to snack on. -If they attack me, I''ll kill them, but if they remain still, someone in power will eventually show up...- Looking out over the crowd, most of them seemed dumbfounded, be it from the tooth, or my demeanor. *Crunch* But as I bit into the bagel baking in the heat and looked out over the crowd to check everyone''s local system panels, I suddenly felt a few more distant presences racing toward me. Ones well above the level of the crowd. "Hoh?" Looking over my shoulder, I immediately spotted a group of three, all kitted with gear. -A level 590, 580, and 578...- Aside from the apostle, they were the strongest users I had seen on Earth by quite a margin. -Looking at their classes, they must be a squad as well...- The first to arrive was a demihuman woman with the ears of a tiger, a ''Evening Assassin'' class specializing in speed and light magic, followed by a huge man, well over two meters tall, donning incredibly heavy black and orange armor with a set of flaming horns coming from his helmet. -A ''Hells Barbarian''...- It was a rare class that mixed the effects of the barbarian and berserker classes. -He''s the strongest of the bunch...- When they arrived, they immediately darted around the crater, shouting orders and clearing everyone out of the area while being careful to never take their eyes off me. But of everyone, the last to arrive had me the most curious. Donning futuristic-looking beige armor lit with an orange glow, and using a heavy cloth to hide his face and arms, he looked like a fighter of some sort, but as he reached out, instead of a sword appearing in his hand, it was a huge staff with a glowing blue orb at the end of it. -A mage, huh...- Before I knew it, a smile crossed my face. His name was ''Daniel Crow'', an ''Eclipse Mage'': someone entirely specialized in light magic similar to the girl. However, he was also the man who was meant to teach me about mana in Lori''s place. -But it may be a bit late for that now.- *Crackleeee-WOOSH* Quickly sliding to a stop on the gravel at the edge of the crater, trailing a gust of wind, he pointed his staff at me before innumerable runes, reminiscent of intricate circuitry, lit up in front of him. *Crackle-FWOOOSH* A huge burst of wind instantly ripped through the air as a dense, frigid fog was blown over the lava, immediately solidifying it. -Awe...- It even froze my bagel. *Fwip-Puff* As I went to toss it to the side, it simply disintegrated, crumbling to dust before it could reach the ground. -Magic really is a fascinating thing... I wonder how he did that...- Slowly standing up, I purposefully showed countless openings before focusing on the mage, only to find the orange glow of eyes under his hood locked on me. He was tense and cautious, thinking about what to do. -Is he the leader of the group?- Finding my eyes on him, he tightened the grip on his staff. "Who are you?" His slightly robotic voice was firm but anxious. "Someone you should reconsider making an enemy." I responded with nonchalance. "Is that so?" Hearing a cheery woman''s voice, I glanced over to see the thin demihuman girl squatting at the rim of the crater holding two daggers, and staring at me like a predator would stare at prey. "I don''t think you have much room to speak though." -So she''s the type words won''t work with...- *Tap-Crack* Chipping a piece of the Warden''s tooth with my toe, I casually kicked it over at her. *Fwip-CRRRRACKKK* Instantly ripping through the sound barrier, it blew just past her head before she could react, erasing a chunk of her ear as if it never existed. By the time her eyes could fill with fear, crimson blood had started flowing down the side of her head before dripping onto her shoulder. *drip* -Hopefully that will send the message...- Looking at the huge man, opposite of the demihuman woman, I spoke firmly. "Now, why don''t you lay your weapons down. There''s no point in throwing your lives away here. I''m not your enemy yet." *tap* Casually hopping off the tooth, I tossed it in my inventory before making my way across the hardened lava rock, toward the mage. But he stood his ground. "You aren''t our enemy yet?" *Woom* Readying his staff, the air seemed to almost stiffen. "I hope you''re willing to elaborate." Hearing his hostility, I wanted to scoff, but instead, I simply closed the remaining distance between us before he could react, and pressed my finger into the tip of his staff. "I meant if you don''t make me an enemy, I won''t be one." Looking into his eyes through the robotic mask covering his face, the confidence instantly drained from his body. "But if you aren''t an enemy, then who are you?" Hearing the incredibly deep voice behind me, I looked over to see the tank of a man walking over to us, comfortably resting his humongous greatsword on his shoulder. "What are you doing here?" He spoke with a mix of skepticism and curiosity. -Looks like I might be able to get out of this...- "I''m just a returning mercenary." Turning back to Crow, I spoke more comfortably. "You should have heard about me from a clerk in the ISO. His name was Alrek." He immediately tensed up before pressing a button on the side of his head, retracting his face shield. *Tap-Cl-Cl-Clink* He was an old elf, looking similar to a seventy-year-old human, with an expression riddled with caution. "Y..you''re the mercenary that wanted to learn about mana and aura?!" "S-She is!" Hearing a distant yell, we all turned to look at who it was, only to find Alrek running toward us, angrily waving his hands. "I screened her already! If you fight, the cost of the damages are on you!" He was sweating profusely. "H-Huh?!" Getting caught off guard, Crow instantly turned to me with a confused look. "Then what caused all the damage?! There weren''t any signs of a gate or monster appearing!" Alrek responded with haste. "It was system enforcers!" You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Twitching my hand as killing intent instantly appeared in my eyes, the demihuman woman appeared next to me, trying to drive her dagger into my neck only for me to catch her wrist. *Pat* "STOP!" Alrek yelled in a panic seeing the assassin try to kill me. "Her System is bugged! I''m certain they weren''t called on purpose!" Having detected my killing intent, she tried to kill me, but after hearing the rest of Alrek''s words, I let her go, expecting her to do the same. However, the moment I did, she tried to drive her other dagger into my back. *Clink-Beep* Hearing my system beep as her dagger bent on my armor and the tips of my fingers touched her stomach, I paused. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 27.3096%; background-color: rgba(116, 0, 23, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9554%" colspan="4" scope="row"> Urgent Temporary Quest Created </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9554%" colspan="4"> Objective: Don''t Kill Anyone! Duration: 1 minute </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9554%" colspan="4">Reward: <None Selected> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> "Tch..." -You want me to listen to you after you called enforcers on me?- Looking up in the air, I immediately set my eyes on the cloudy figure of an administrator nearly fifty kilometers off the ground. But it wasn''t Michael, rather, it was someone named ''The Shadow''s Eye'', the exact same name displayed under the demihuman woman''s ''sponsors''. "If you want me to spare her, make an announcement." *fwip-pat* Quickly grabbing the assassin''s neck, I didn''t take my eyes off the administrator. "Ack-!" Immediately trying to drive her daggers into my arm, she started flailing, kicking me in the face with the blades in her boots. But they didn''t even leave a scratch, and before Crow or the huge barbarian could even process what I said, another panel appeared. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 27.3096%; background-color: rgba(116, 0, 23, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9554%" colspan="4" scope="row"> Local Quest Created </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 99.9554%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4"> Objective: Don''t Fight Her! </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9554%" colspan="4">Reward: <None Specified for User> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4"> Failure to Follow the Objective will result in System User Termination </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> It was a quest not intended for me, but was one that made everyone nearby go silent. *Thump* Releasing the demihuman woman, she immediately slumped to the ground before gasping for air and gripping her neck with a primal fear in her eyes. "Y..you..." Speaking with a shaky voice, Crow slowly turned back to me. "What are you..." Finally lowering my irritated gaze, I looked him in the eyes. "I''ve already told you." "EVERYONE STOP!" *Crrrackle* Sliding over the debris, Alrek quickly jumped between us. "Miss Lestir, please forgive me! Hah.. hah..." He was breathing quite heavily and spoke with haste. "I was teleported away by the system enforcers, and tried to run here as fast as I could when I realized what happened." -''Realized what happened''?...- Thinking to go along with whatever he was thinking, I spoke with a hint of relief. "You''re alright, just help me clean up this mess before it gets too out of hand..." "Y-Yes, of course!" Hastily turning to face Crow, he spoke in a hurry, trying to explain that my system had been wiped when I returned to Earth, and that the system enforcers were likely alerted because of the bug, which I helped explain by adding detail to. He essentially did everything he could to make it clear that I was actually a human, even using the fact that I was still present, and hadn''t been expelled by the administrators as evidence that it was because of an error. -I wonder why he didn''t mention that quest just now though...- "The System broke earlier today, and it lines up with the time Miss Lestir returned to Earth, so please stand down for now." Holding his hands up, he tried to motion Crow back. "I have already contacted the regional manager for the ISO, and he will be here tomorrow. For the time being, I will be in charge, and to start, I will have you three handle the situation here with the civilians and nearby users, while I handle the situation with Miss Lestir, got it?" Barely following his words, Crow and Jack, the huge barbarian, both nodded while the demihuman girl remained slumped and dazed. "Now, Miss Lestir, I need you to come with me quickly." Waving me along, he quickly sped up to a jog. "The military will be here soon, but I cannot risk there being another misunderstanding, so I need you to come to my office. We will sort things out there." He spoke with diction. -How perfect...- I felt a weight lift off my shoulders as I followed him back to the ISO''s spire. -If I can divert my aura from the sensors now.. maybe I can shake the researchers off my tail...- Falling to focus while we ran, I tried to recreate the stiffened ''bowl'' of aura around me, visualizing it as if it was connected to my body instead of a point in space so that it would follow me. And to my surprise, it worked. But as we ran through the spire''s empty reception area and made it to an elevator, I could feel a headache beginning to set in. -Shit...- With every passing instant, it grew in strength, causing a mental fog to descend in my mind that made maintaining the ''bowl'' of aura more and more difficult. *Beep-Humm* "Hoooh..." Letting out a long breath as we started riding up in the elevator, I experimented with changing the size and shape of the ''bowl'', trying to use a cone, a cylinder, and a pyramid to ease the strain on my mind but to no avail. Increasing the size of it didn''t help either.. it actually just made it worse. However... *Vwoom* When I tried making it smaller, the strain on my mind suddenly eased, even if it was at the cost of more aura escaping. -Woah...- As it turned out, the closer the aura was to me, the easier it was to control, but the ''stiffer'' the bowl had to be in order to keep my aura from escaping. -But if I just make the bowl thicker.. then maybe...- *Wo-Wo-Wo-Wooom* Hearing the surrounding mana endlessly ripple as my aura blew through it, I felt the strain on my mind slowly ease, and the headache begin to dissipate. "Hooh..." With another heavy breath, it felt like the air around me suddenly became more breathable. -I don''t know how much aura is still escaping, but...- If the image in my head was anything to go by, it was lessened considerably. -I can only ''see'' about a kilometer off my body now...- And assuming what I could ''see'' was within the bounds of my aura, it seemed good enough for the time being. -It''ll just.. take some time to get used to...- Slowly reopening my eyes, struggling not to break focus, I looked up to see the floor numbers on the elevator racing upward, passing 80, 90, and 100 in a breeze. But after a moment, Alrek spoke up. "Do you hear that?" He was looking around with a confused expression. "It sounds like a mana wave, but.. it''s happening constantly..." It seemed to make him worried. Perhaps he thought that there was a fight going on nearby. -But...- "It''s just my aura... I can''t really control it that well yet..." -But it seems like this may be enough for now...- "Hooh..." As I let out one last breath to alleviate the lingering strain on my mind, I glanced over toward Alrek, only to find him staring at me with a dumbfounded expression. The moment he spoke, he spoke through a wall of confusion. "Uh.. what.. did you just say?" ----- More art for TSH are on the way! Patrons currently have access to it in the discord and on Patreon! <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Art: The Destroyer of Worlds Hey everyone! New Art is out! Not too much to say here, but one thing is that there will be some REALLY cool news coming soon that may or may not be related to a webtoon ;) Join the discord if you want to hear some details ahead of time! Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Discord: discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> Patreon: patreon.com/TDOD</a> <hr> Now Behold! The Destroyer of Worlds <hr> Chapter 20: This.. isn’t good… Late Evening - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- "I am very, very sorry for being unable to get to you sooner..." *Woosh* Opening the door to his office, Alrek motioned me inside. "System Enforcers are only ever sent out under the most extreme circumstances, so it''s unfortunately not unlikely people have already begun calling you a monster.. especially considering how many people saw that you were the enforcer''s target." Casually walking inside, I looked over at him. "Are human-looking monsters common here?" He immediately nodded as he followed me into the office. "They''re extremely troublesome beings, but they generally fall into one of a few categories." Walking past me, he motioned me toward a couch sat next to a short table at the center of the room. "Go ahead and have a seat while we talk." It appeared to be a meeting area, with three couches centered around a large, but short table at the center of the room in front of his rather grand wooden desk. But while quite aesthetic, it was completely covered in paper, with several stacks at least a dozen centimeters tall being silhouetted by the glow of city lights passing through the massive window spanning the entire wall behind them. From the 187th floor, it made for quite an incredible vista. But my mind was already preoccupied. *Puff* Quickly sitting down, I leaned into the couch and watched Alrek walk up to his desk and begin sifting through papers. "The general classifications are ''Destroyers'', ''Mimics'', and ''Shells'', with destroyers being actual ''humans'', and Mimics and Shells being traditional monsters." -They''re familiar with destroyers?- Tilting my head, I felt a wave of doubt wash over me. "What are the differences between each?" Finally getting together several papers, he walked back over to the couches before sitting on the one adjacent to mine. "Mimics are the most simple, I''m sure you''re already fairly familiar with the monster, but this classification is for any monster that transforms or uses illusion magic to look like a human. Typically they don''t have much consciousness, can''t speak, move unnaturally, don''t have local system panels, and so on, so they''re very easy to detect and catch. Shells are one step up from that, being monsters that have physically possessed the body of a deceased system user. In most cases, their speech is very limited and their movement is sluggish, but they still keep the local system panels of their host, so they aren''t nearly as easy to catch." They were types of monsters I was only vaguely familiar with. -It''s been a really long time since I''ve seen one... I forgot about them...- "And what about destroyers?" He quickly continued. "They are what we call system users who abuse their strength, deliberately spread chaos, or ''view society as an obstacle''. Interpret that last notion as you wish..." *Fwip-Fwip* Sorting papers on the table, he spoke while falling into focus. "For a long time, they were known as ''villains'', but after an apostle spoke about a divination a hundred years ago, we began using the term destroyer... It was more appropriate." -Ah, so it''s the same term as what the admins use, it''s just on a much broader scale...- Essentially, they were classifying any criminal that was a system user as a destroyer, while the admins reserved the term for.. much more troublesome beings... -I think, anyway...- "And you think people will assume I''m a destroyer?" He immediately nodded. "Considering the rather extreme response of system enforcers being issued, and the fact you survived without a scratch.. people have probably already started accusing you of being a destroyer ''beyond the class of Earth''." He spoke as if quoting off a paper. "Huh? What does that mean?" Genuine confusion immediately washed over my face. "System Mercenaries aren''t allowed to return to worlds that they personally exceed the rank of, so, for example, if you were doing missions in Rank 3 worlds and your strength was average for that class of system mercenary, the lowest rank of world you could visit would maybe be Rank 5." -O..Oh...- "Do exceptions to that rule ever happen?" "We believe yes, however apostles have said that administrators expel them from Earth before they can do anything..." Quickly sliding me a piece of paper, he continued with a mix of pain and discomfort. "The biggest exception that was left to roam was this man." Picking up the sheet, I looked down to see the portrait of a middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes, a regular-looking half-elf mage with nothing particularly special about his appearance besides a small scar at the base of his neck. -How painfully average...- It was almost like the portrait was of someone using magic to blend into a crowd. "He returned about 40 years ago and was level 845. When the local Turkish military went to intercept him, he crushed them and sank the country in a matter of days. At the time, he was the strongest person on Earth, and his ability to blend in was completely unmatched..." His expression darkened as bad memories seemed to surface. "At the end of it all, it took ten years to catch him, and he racked up a kill count in the millions. Ever since, anomalies like this have not been taken lightly..." "By anomalies, you mean-" "The System Enforcers being called." Finally finishing his sorting, he pushed a stack of papers to the opposite side of the table, where no one sat, and turned to me. "Which is why we need to approach this very carefully... You aren''t someone this city can afford to upset, however, I would highly recommend your cooperation." His expression quickly stiffened with caution. "Even elephants can be killed by a swarm of ants." -How firm.- Finally straightening my posture and leaning back, my gaze dulled and nonchalance faded. "Alright... What do you need to know?" "Hooh..." He let out a long breath as if to calm his nerves before looking me in the eyes. "I need to know the details of what happened to you when you returned to Earth. The more I know, the better the ISO can protect you from misunderstanding." -Perfect.- "Then I will tell you all I know." -With a few twists, of course...- Covering my mouth with my hand, I felt a hint of relief surface in my mind. -I can''t get too comfortable yet, but.. this is looking good...- Although the situation was absolutely terrible, the recovery from it actually seemed alright. -The question is whether Michael will help...- When the system enforcers first appeared, I immediately questioned whether Michael was the one to call them, but the more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed. -If he was related to it, he would be kissing my ass with apologies to make sure I didn''t accuse him of it, yet he isn''t here...- It meant he was either extremely confident he could dispel my worries or he wasn''t yet aware of what happened. Whichever the answer, only time could tell. Continuing my conversation with Alrek, we spoke about ''everything'' related to my return before I eventually brought up killing The Warden, and damaging Richmond''s wall when the railgun shot at me, only leaving out my fight with the apostle in an attempt to give him details he could use as leverage when inevitably speaking with the military. -The issue is that pilot...- Diana was a bomb I wasn''t sure how to handle. -If she exposes that I killed the apostle.. it''ll get troublesome even with the ISO''s help...- But the situation was like a maze... I needed to focus on taking things one turn at a time. After wrapping up my talk with Alrek, he had another employee guide me to a higher floor where there was a visitor''s suite for me to stay in until Alrek''s boss returned. According to him, I just needed to stay put and let him handle everything for the time being. And I wasn''t going to complain. *Puff* But after stretching out on the bed in the suite, I felt restless. There was an unease that I couldn''t quite shake no matter what I did. -But.. it''s unfamiliar...- Quickly sitting up, I looked down into my palm as it faintly shook. "Haah..." It was unlike me. It felt like anxiety or nervousness. -But why...- *Puff* Falling back onto the bed, I looked up at the night sky displayed on the ceiling with a soft gaze. -What am I even doing...- Having returned to Earth and gained access to a nigh-endless volume of mana, I was excited. For the first time in what felt like eons, I was actually curious about something, and there was nothing stopping me from fulfilling that curiosity to my hearts content. On Earth, I was literally unstoppable. If I wanted to rule the world, all I had to do was reach out my hand. -So why am I just laying here.. worried that I''ll be targetted by a single country...- Sure, at the end of it all, it would be annoying, but after a while, they would eventually realize fighting me was a fruitless effort. And to me, a couple years was nothing. -It''d pass in a flash.- Yet I still felt.. off... "Is it that I''m.. overwhelmed?" Turning my head to look out the huge window, I looked out over an endless sea of buildings, peering through the lit windows of nearby skyscrapers to see businessmen working hard deep into the night regardless of the chaos that had filled the city. But while everything I looked at was a new sight.. at the same time none of it was. Being constantly tossed into new worlds was something I was all too familiar with. The sensation of something being ''new'' or ''unfamiliar'' were simply things I had become numb to with time. The same went for the feelings of loneliness and isolation. I had grown used to them all. The only thing that defied that, was mana. Instead of being a feeling, it was like I had suddenly grown another arm, sprouted wings, or opened a third eye. *Pat* But even as I sat their, laying my hand on my stomach, I didn''t do anything about it. I was curious, but not enough to move. I had no motive. No reason to grow. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. For eons, my motive was survival. If I didn''t constantly grow, I would eventually fall behind and it would bring about my death. At every waking moment, I had to dedicate myself to growing stronger or else I would get killed. But on Earth, I was so far ahead of the curve it didn''t matter. Even if I didn''t advance my knowledge of mana at all, it would take hundreds, if not thousands of years for Earth to reach a rank where there could be a threat to me. "Haah..." -So what do I do...- Staring listlessly into the pixelated sky above me, I felt time slowly slip from my grasp. -How do I motivate myself with curiosity alone...- *Crackle* But as I laid there, the sound of static suddenly filled the room, and a presence appeared behind me. "~What is it you desire?~" The voice was deep and filled with arrogance. "A motive." I replied bluntly. "~Hoh?~" The voice sounded surprised. "~What an odd response...~" I had to snicker. "What did you expect? Even you administrators, the so-called gods of this world can''t lay a scratch on me." Looking up, my eyes fell on the figure of a black-haired and red-eyed man standing over me. But instead of looking stressed like Michael, or afraid like the administrator he killed, this man wore a smile. "~Haha, normally I would execute someone for such a statement... But it doesn''t leave your mouth as arrogance, does it?~" Looking back up at the sky, I continued. "You want to find out yourself?" "~It was meant to be a rhetorical question. My apologies if it pushed the wrong button.~" Taking a few steps back, he spoke with coercion. "~I may be able to help you though... You see, I was in a similar position to you at one point. I traveled between worlds as a slave of the system for so long that I forgot what it was like to slow down... When I died and found myself here on Earth, reborn as a god, I was bored.. unbelievably so... Earth didn''t even have mana at the time.~" Sitting up, I looked over and matched his gaze. "So, what did you do?" I expected an answer, but he simply shrugged. "~I found joy in helping advance the progress of humanity, using natural disasters and wars to accelerate their growth.~" He paused as his smile slowly faded. "~But I know that''s not the answer you were looking for, so I would like to extend an offer... I have a method to expose you to the system again.~" -Expose me to the system?- My gaze narrowed with skepticism. "What do you mean?" *Snap* Snapping his fingers, a panel instantly appeared in front of me. "~Well, you see, since your profile was completely wiped, you aren''t marked as a mercenary.~" His smile slowly widened as he stared into my eyes. "~If you''d like, I can mark your data link as a mercenary, and you will be able to visit other low-level worlds as you wish until you find what you''re looking for.~" It was actually a pretty enticing offer. -But there''s something he isn''t telling me...- *Vwoop* Opening his local system panel, my gaze turned skeptical. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 37.2892%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> System Name: Satan (Overwritten) Name: Lucifer (Overwritten) Status: N/A Race: Archangel (Bodyless) Age: Unknown </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> [Titles] None [Inheritances] None </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 49.8265%">Level</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">12,485</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Class</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Unknown</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Gold</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Unknown</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Sponsors</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">None</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> -He definitely isn''t who his panel says he is...- Looking him in the eyes, I dulled my gaze. "So, will I be able to return to Earth once I find something to motivate me?" He nodded without hesitation. "Of course! I guarantee you on the integrity of the System." -The integrity of the system, my ass...- I wanted to just brush it off and send him on his way, but as I closed his local system panel and looked back at the panel he made appear before me, I found myself being indecisive. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 34.3734%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row">Would you like to Attempt to Recover Lost System Data? </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50.2277%" colspan="3">No</td> <td style="text-align: center; width: 64.8139%; vertical-align: middle">Yes</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> It was oh-so-obviously a trap, but the longer I stared at it, the more I wanted to fall for it. -I wonder what will happen...- But after a moment, I waved it away. "I''ll pass." The man immediately tilted his head with a confused look. "~Is that so? I guess I can''t force you to do anything...~" His demeanor changed in an instant. "~What a shame. I thought I was pretty convincing.~" My unamused gaze quickly shifted up to him. "~I was hoping you wouldn''t make this difficult.~" As his voice suddenly turned cold, his gaze became lifeless. "~I really don''t like forcing people to do things, but unfortunately, if you remain here things will only get more difficult for me...~" *Vwoop* As a gate started forming around me, I instantly darted out of it, escaping in the nick of time. -Holy shit...- It was a way faster gate than anything I had ever seen. "~Don''t make this more difficult than it needs to be.~" *Vwoom* As the gate compressed and disappeared, removing a section of the bed, floor, and ceiling in a flash, I found a different man standing in front of me. His eyes were white and faded like that of a blind man, with a pure white robe and two long, curled horns sticking out of his head. *BeEeEpP* The sound of the System distorted as I opened his system panel. But it only fed me errors, flickering with different names and levels as if none of it mattered. *CRACKLE* "~Don''t make this more difficult than it needs to be Evren...~" As he pointed his palm at me, I felt my instincts scream for the first time in centuries. "~You are still a mortal.~" *Fwip* But the moment I darted back, he curled his fingers, everything went dark and silent, and it felt like I was suddenly standing in the center of a black hole, unable to move while being crushed into nothingness. There was no longer any ground beneath my feet, nor a ceiling over my head. Even as I released my mana, there was nothing around me. The only thing I could see was the man''s glowing figure, floating in a field of nothingness just out of reach, looking down upon me with a look of pity. "~You are a harvester for the System, don''t get ahead of yourself.~" His voice carried a hint of bitterness as his gaze matched mine. "~You do not own your fate. Even if you try to run or hide, your owner will find you.~" *VWOOM* Seeing me slowly managing to move, he tightened his grip to a fist, and the pressure on me multiplied in magnitude by thousands of times. "ACK-" It was an unfathomable force coming from every angle, all at once, making my ears bleed, and body ache. But there was nothing I hated more than the pity that filled his eyes. "Owner?" Forcing my head up through the pressure, I looked at him with a fiery glow in my eyes. "I''m a stray cat no one knew existed until I broke your stupid fucking system. Do you know how long I had gone without receiving anything from it?! Do you know of all the errors that nearly got me killed?!" He fell silent as he looked deep into my eyes as if looking at my soul. *CrRrRrAcKLE* Forcing myself through the immense force, bloodlust flooded into the space between us and a craze found its way into my eyes. ¡°To have the audacity to say I wasn''t abandoned.. you better pray I don¡¯t get my hands on you one day¡­¡± Staring into his eyes with dilated pupils, I spoke with a hint of insanity. ¡°The moment I touch you, I¡¯m going to wring your neck like a fucking chicken.¡± But he didn¡¯t react at all. ¡°~Is that so?~¡± Speaking without emotion, he lifted his hand. ¡°~I don''t have a reason to pray though.~¡± *Vwoop* With a gentle wave, he disappeared, and I found myself back in the visitor''s suite. But before I could even orient myself, my feet lifted off the ground. -What the?!- *WOOOOOSH-WHAAAM* Falling into a thick bed of massive leaves, the room rotated sending me sliding down the floor like a slide before slamming into the window. *THUD-CRACK* Thankfully, the glass caught me, but as I looked down to see the cracks that filled the window, instead of seeing anything I would expect from Earth, I found the suite hanging from the canopy of a massive tree, looming over a huge river, filled with raging rapids and colossal fish. -You have to be fucking kidding me¡­- I could tell by the air alone that it wasn¡¯t Earth, but as I anxiously opened my main system panel, my heart sank. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 47.8275%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> World: "Leviathan" Planet Rank: ERROR Mission Type: Target Elimination Local Server: Unable to Connect - Connected to Central Server </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">Population: ~101,973,234</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 30.607%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Total Gold: 190,195</td> <td style="width: 37.9372%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Inventory and Gear</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="2">Upgrades and Stats</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> -You.. can''t be serious...- The world''s rank was an error. The same rank as the last dozen worlds I destroyed before my system was wiped, and the highest planet rank I had ever seen. Except now, I didn''t have any upgrades. "Fuck..." -This.. might be a problem...- ----- Very, Very Important Announcement coming soon ;) <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 21: Risks Late Evening - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | East Coast United States ----- - Alrek Ocorro ~ *Click-Click-Click-Click* Anxiously clicking my pen while I looked out the window of my office, scanning over the massive crater where several buildings once stood tall, I watched huge vehicles come from the air and ground, surrounding it in a heartbeat before people in glowing suits of armor flooded the place. It was the United States military. Or at least a part of it. -Just how am I going to resolve this...- Although it was a situation I would have done anything to not be involved in, the main subject of the situation was someone whom I could not ignore. -If I can get Miss Lestir on the side of the ISO, I might be able to gain some ground to the west...- Being a level 600, she was comfortably in the top fifty users worldwide with level alone. -Seeing how she stood in front of ''those three'', she''s probably far stronger than a normal level 600 as well...- She was essentially a polished diamond that simply hadn''t been claimed. -And if I can resolve this for her, I can gain her favor...- But while I didn''t want to say it, that was a big ''if''. *Knock-Knock* Hearing a knock on the door, I instantly stopped clicking my pen, and let out a deep breath, purging all nervousness from my mind. "Hooh..." -Alright...- Turning around and gently setting down the pen, I spoke firmly, "Come in." *Fwip-Woosh* The door immediately swung open, revealing one of the ISO''s employees holding the door for two other gentlemen. Two gentlemen I recognized. "Sergeant Major Samuel Moreno, Doctor Evan Faraday," I spoke formally, but stood my ground without a bow. "It''s a pleasure to see you two. Please have a seat." Motioning toward the couches, I picked up a small stack of paper and looked the Sergeant in the eyes. "We have much to discuss." But while the doctor quickly, and calmly sat down, the sergeant held his head high and kept his skeptical looked aimed at me. "You better have a damn good explanation for this... You should already be aware of the blade''s edge you''re walking by protecting a destroyer." Walking up to the table, I handed Doctor Faraday several papers. "Sergeant, if she wished, she could have completely destroyed this city. I can''t be certain ''The Eclipsed'' would have been able to stop her, and I am certain you wouldn''t have been able to either." ''The Eclipsed'' was the name of the squad she had run into a group of three guild masters known for their insane strength against creatures that relied too much on their eyesight. -And yet she made Taka,- The tiger demihuman, -look like a house cat...- Although the results of a teamfight could never be decided so early, Miss Lestir''s demeanor in that situation was enough to give me chills. But of course, those who weren''t there wouldn''t understand. "I sure hope you understand the weight of your words, Director." Speaking with a bit of bitterness, the Sergeant finally walked up and sat on the opposite side of the table as the doctor. "Don''t worry, I am more than aware." Standing at the end of the table, I slid him a stack of paper. "Her name is Evren Lestir, a level 619 with no set class, no items, and no skills." The doctor''s gaze instantly thinned with skepticism. "No class, items, or skills? That''s not possible for her level." He was the lead researcher of the Magic Tower here in Arlington. But while an unrivaled genius in his field, this was something he had never seen. "Please check the official documentation of her screening if you don''t believe me." Pausing to let them both find the page and read it, I watched the doctor''s eyes go wide. "She returned to Earth the moment the System began glitching, and I have more than one reason to believe her system was somehow wiped in the event." Covering his mouth with his hand, thoughts raced behind his eyes. But the Sergeant''s eyes were on another page. "She.. claimed she killed the monster that appeared near Richmond..." He seemed like he couldn''t believe his own words. -So he did recognize that...- Although Evren had told be about the monster, it was something I hadn''t heard of and had no details on, -So I was nervous to include it.. but it may help...- Based on their reactions, it actually seemed to help her case. -Things are going well...- "In any case, it''s best we quickly resolve the misunderstanding. Don''t you two agree?" Expecting my proposition to land, I smiled. But neither the Sergeant nor the Doctor seemed to agree. "Unfortunately, I don''t think it will be that simple..." As his gaze relaxed, he finally set his papers down and looked me in the eyes. -Uh oh...- He was about to say something Miss Lestir hadn''t let me in on. Something that would only make things more difficult. "Just an hour ago, we received a report." Lifting his hand, he motioned to the employee by the door, and had them open it to reveal a young human woman, half-dressed in military attire. "This is a pilot we had on the scene in Richmond. She had a close encounter with this so-called ''Evren Lestir'', and-" *VWOOM-CRACKLE* Cutting him off, the well-lit hallway behind the young woman instantly went dark as if it was absorbed before, out of nowhere, it all vanished to reveal the glow of city lights, and the clear, unrestricted view of the sky. -H..huh?- It was a sight that made my brain short-circuit. A perfect sphere, about a hundred meters wide was instantaneously removed, and a huge vacuum ripped the air out of the room. *WOOSH* Reaching up and covering my ears, I barely kept my eardrums from rupturing as the glass wall behind my desk exploded. *SHATTER-CRACKLEEE* But even though Doctor Forna put up a barrier to protect us from the glass, and caught the young lady before she could be thrown out of the room, we were all completely disoriented, and gasping for air after the oxygen was ripped from our lungs. "HAH, HAH, HAH..." My breaths were heavy, as if all gasps, but I still couldn''t catch my breath... With everything that had tied my senses in a knot, a coherent thought couldn''t even form. My body was simply focused on survival. However, even if I had the ability to think, nothing would have changed. There wouldn''t have been a single thought that could form through such a mix of fear and confusion. I could only ask myself what happened as the crisp, thin air blew into the room. -W..What just.. happened...- ----- Late Afternoon - Unknown Season : Leviathan | Class: ERROR - Evren Lestir ~ *Creeeaaaak* The sound of stressed metal filled the air as the canopy swayed in the wind, slowly rocking the huge, circular chunk of the spire back and forth over the river as if the spire was a bit of bait on the end of a fishing line. Looking down at the raging rapids and the several-hundred-meter-long fish casually lurking in it, I let out a long breath to try and ease my nerves. "Hooh..." But it could only help so much. -Just my fucking luck...- Gently leaning against what used to be the floor while standing on the cracked glass, I stayed completely still, and opened my system to get more details on the quest. -I might be really fucked if this quest is bad...- The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Thinking about things rationally, I actually felt alright, if a bit anxious. -Considering the system said I completed all the available missions when it let me return to Earth.. maybe that meant there just weren''t any harder missions...- Implying that the ability to return to Earth in the first place was merely a fail-safe the system used to resolve an error that was seemingly never meant to happen. -But that makes me wonder if I can do it again...- As I navigated the system, I sank into thought. -If I clear the hardest missions the system has available again, can I return like I did before?- But, I was getting a little ahead of myself... The god that came to Earth to ''retrieve'' me, clearly didn''t want to leave me alive. -If he did, he would have put me in a lower rank world.- That way I would have been trapped and forced to return to being a slave of the system. However, wanting me dead also implied something else. -If he''s smart, this will be the hardest mission the system has available...- Considering it hadn''t even been a day since I returned to Earth, I was actually pretty confident that the quest I was assigned wouldn''t be as hard as what I was doing before my return. -But that means nothing without my upgrades...- Even a much easier mission than what I was used to would force me to stick my neck out. *tap-tap-tap* It all came down to what the quest was... And as I finally navigated to the ''Questing'' panel and let out a nervous breath, it was presented to me. *Vwoop* <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 28.048%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.7203%" colspan="4" scope="row"> Quest: Single Target Elimination Description: <Expand> Mission Rank: -0 Target Location: 4,215 km Target Classification: Wyverian Demigod Estimated Class: Upper Demigod </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.7203%" colspan="4"> Reward for Completion: N/A Failure is triggered by: Death </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Seeing it was a single-target elimination quest, with a mission rank of -0, my eyes gleamed. Compared to the ''Rank: ERROR'' planetary extermination quests I was used to, it was a literal walk in the park. However, the moment I looked at what I was going to have to kill, I felt the enthusiasm drain from my face. -You have to be kidding...- It was nearly the worst possible matchup for me. -A fucking wyvern...- Without my upgrades to buff thrown projectiles, the bow I used from time to time, or even my axe, I was in trouble. However, it was still something far easier than what I was used to. "Hooh..." -It''s not unmanageable...- Even though the world''s rank was ridiculously high, and the matchup was awful, the quest itself was comparably easy. -It''ll test me.. but it should be doable...- Letting out several long, slow breaths to ease my nerves, the mix of emotions forming a cesspool of distractions in my mind drained, and my senses heightened, bringing the detailed image from my aura into the forefront of my mind. I was in the middle of an absolutely gigantic rainforest, packed with trees that stood well over a kilometer tall, and populated with monsters and insects that matched their scale. -But around the river.. it''s pretty empty...- Besides the fish in the water, there wasn''t much nearby. -This must be some monster''s territory, but he''s not around... Lucky me.- Having gotten my bearings, I swiftly popped my back off the wall, and tapped the tip of my metal boots into the thick glass under my feet, shattering it instantly before falling and grabbing a shard of glass still connected to the structure, and swinging myself toward shore. *SHATTER-WOOSH* The air was dense, and thick with the stench of wildlife and humidity, but as I plummeted several hundred meters and caught myself on a huge leaf, the air became so thick with moisture that it felt like I was trying to breathe underwater. "Ugh..." The stench of fish from the river didn''t help either. -How unpleasant...- But I didn''t have the time to dwell on it. "Hyup!" *WOOSH* Zipping up into the air again, I firmly planted my foot in the side of a massive tree before darting off it, bolting through the forest as if ricocheting between tree trunks. *Thunk-Thunk-Thunk-WOOOOOSH* But my eyes never left the quest panel still open in front of me. -4214, 4212, 4213, 4218...- I was watching how my distance from the target was changing in order to find out where it was. It was a method I had used more than a few times. -There you are...- *FWOOOSH* Finally getting my line, I started zipping straight toward it, causing the distance number to start plummeting. But I wasn''t actually going to fight him, at least not yet. -I need to make a weapon first...- Pausing on one of the larger trees, I slammed my arm through the bark before ripping out a splintered chunk of dark chocolate-colored wood and throwing it into my inventory. -That should do...- *Beep* "1725 Kilograms of Dark Acra Collected." The monotone voice of my system immediately pierced the deafening noise of wind as I darted through the forest. But I was ready for it. "Open ''Smithing Table'', and go to ''Design''." *Vwoop* As the panels updated, a holographic box appeared in front of me with a small sphere at its center. "Enable linked molding, and hand controls." *Beep* "It is not recommended to use hand controls to mold as it can lead to imbalances, inconsistency, and errors-" "Do it anyway." *Beep* Sticking my hand into the hologram the sphere instantly began morphing, becoming a staff before splitting into several other pieces, with one becoming the core of the staff, several becoming connecting pegs, and another becoming an axe head. They were all different pieces of the axe that I would have the system create and assemble using materials I had collected. But while I planned to have the shaft out of wood, and many other parts like the core and pegs out of mythril, I needed a special material for the axe head. -I need something durable enough to keep an edge even at high temperatures...- Because of the wind resistance when I swung, I needed a material that wouldn''t melt, become brittle, or malleable. And while I would have used black mythril if I had any, because it was lost to the system, I had to get creative. *Splash* "HHHmmmm." Hearing a loud, deep grunt, so heavy it made the ground shake, I looked up to see myself closing in on another large river before bursting out of the tree line and spotting a huge island amid the rapids. But, it wasn''t really an island. *Thunk* The moment I landed on it, a hollow thump rang out, and after making sure I wasn''t going to slip off the thick wet moss covering it, the whole thing vibrated so violently it calmed the surface of the river. "HHHmmmm" It was a massive turtle that seemed to be sleeping, with each deep hum sounding with a rhythm as if it were the sound of snoring. But I wasn''t there to wake it up or kill it. -I hope you don''t mind me taking a little bit of your shell, buddy...- Quickly making my way to the water''s edge where the edge of the thickest, top portion of the shell ended, I squatted down, scraped away some of the grass-like moss and tapped it. *Ting-Ting* With it hitting the knuckle of my glove, it sounded somewhat metallic, only muffled by the blanket of moss covering it. But that meant it was the type of material I was looking for. Something I came to name, -Organic metal...- It was essentially formed in the scales or shells of creatures that had lived and evolved in mana-dense environments and been exposed to immense amounts of mana throughout its life, be it from the environment or the creature itself. These materials, while not technically metal, were strengthened by mana to the point that they could rival mythril in durability and strength, while even exceeding it in things like temperature resistance and chipping. Depending on the creature it could even have other, more interesting effects. -As long as the weapon has a decent supply of mana, it can even heal any damage it receives.- My main weapon, Draco, was also made out of organic material, it was what gave it the ability to grow stronger with time. -But I still can''t even begin to fathom the creature it came from...- Even at my peak, before the system wiped my upgrades, that axe took some effort to wield. The more time that passed the heavier it became, to the point that it was becoming a bit much. It was as if there wasn''t a limit to how much mana could strengthen it. -But I won''t have to worry about that here...- Quickly reaching down toward the rounded edge of the shell, near the water, I dug my fingers into the shell before ripping up a chunk about a meter thick. *CRACKLE* For me it was a huge chunk, more than I would realistically need, but... "Hhhhmmmmm..." The turtle, being nearly two kilometers long, would never notice such a tiny chip in its shell. *Vwoop* Tossing the six ton chunk of shell into my inventory, I wrapped up my design of the axe head and set the materials, selecting the sections of my materials to use in order to optimize the strength of everything with the grain, before finally assembling it. *WOOM* As I selected ''Begin Assembly'', a loud ripple sounded and several materials appeared out of my inventory before being engulfed in a single spherical, void-like gate. To be honest, I had no idea how it worked, from cutting up pieces to assembling everything, and I never really questioned it. However, as I reached out and caught the dark wooden handle of the axe as it fell out of the gate, looking up at the light blue mythril pegs, gold detailing, and ivory-like white head, I couldn''t help but ask. -I wonder how it does that...- ----- Trust the process :) <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 22: A Problem Mid Evening - Unknown Season : Leviathan | Class: ERROR ----- *TH-TH-TH-TH-THUMP* *WOOOOOSH* Bouncing between trees, I raced out of the forest as fast as I could, chipping bark from every tree I leapt off. But even though I was moving far past the speed of sound, I was being trailed... And I wasn''t outrunning them... *ruuuustle-VWOOM* Feeling a shockwave in the ambient mana around me, I glanced back to see one of the massive, six-hundred-meter tall trees I just jumped off get completely obliterated, showering the surrounding forest in splinters of chocolate wood before the talons and beak of a colossal bird ripped through the cloud of dust. -He''s gaining...- Realizing it missed me, it immediately flapped its wings to return to the sky above the canopy. *WOOOOSH* But the flap was so strong it turned the cloud of splinters into pellets of a detonating claymore. *CR-R-R-RACKLE* -UH OH!- *FWIP-CRACK* Throwing my head back as a hypersonic shard of wood zipped just under my chin, I flipped backward and lost my footing, forcing me to dart to the ground. *Thump-PUFF* Kicking up a cloud of dirt and rock as the ground shattered, I tightened the grip on my axe and focused on the image my aura painted in my mind. -What a pain...- I couldn''t run anymore. -But this might be an opportunity...- *WHAAAAMMM* As the ground shook, and the tree I stood beneath was effortlessly eviscerated, I found a path through the cloud of massive splinters and leapt into the air with everything I had. *CRACK* The sound barrier ripped with a snap as I pierced through the cloud of debris, bouncing off several huge chunks of wood before coming up to a wall of feathers and raring back my axe with some pent-up anger. -PERSISTENT BASTARD!- "HYAH!" Swinging with every ounce of strength I had, my axe seemed to disappear in the falcon''s neck, with the handle smashing through its metallic feathers while the blade ripped through its flesh. But as my axe, glazed with the orange blood of the bird, came out the other side of its neck, a brutal shear appeared in its flesh, nearly completely separating its head from its body. *CrAcKLLE* The sound of its neck breaking instantly filled the air. But as the echoes of shattering bones dissipated, the forest fell silent. *Pitter-Patter* *Thump* Hearing the gentle patter of rainfall as I landed, I looked up to see rust-colored droplets of blood showering the area like rain before my eyes drifted to the huge, blue and silver bird hanging by its foot, caught in the splintered tree trunk, still faintly twitching. "I told you not to follow me, and now look at you." I spoke bitterly. Nearly half an hour prior, I had dashed past and thumped a tree that contained its nest. -Because it had eggs, it was all protective.. but to chase me for over a thousand kilometers is ridiculous...- "You acted like I stole one of your eggs to make an omelet, but now that you chased me this far, I''m tempted to go back and do exactly that." I spoke with a mix of annoyance and anger before my system finally sounded. *Ding!* Finally looking down at the panel, I let out a disappointed breath and tossed my axe in my inventory. *Vwoop* <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 57.2123%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="width: 96.7648%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">You have killed a Level 7842 Sky King </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; width: 96.7648%; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Received:</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 32.8879%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">241,315,712 Gold</td> <td style="width: 31.5288%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">7 Items: <Expand></td> <td style="width: 32.3481%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Unable to receive Upgrades: Converting To Mana</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Quickly tapping expand on the items, I hastily skimmed through them, not expecting much. -A damaged sword, some half-digested monster parts, and.. ''Madam''s threads''?- I tilted my head as I read it, before pulling a tiny portion of what I got out of my inventory. *plop* -Ew...- It was moist and plopped down in my hand like slime, still completely coated in the falcon''s stomach acid. -Ah...- I recognized it instantly. -How many spiders did this big ass bird eat to accumulate nearly forty tons of silk?- It was woven spider silk, likely from something not normally in its diet. -Considering the silk isn''t getting digested, it must be fairly strong...- Gently pulling out a single thread from the clump, I wrapped it around my fingers before pulling on it. *Snap* As expected it broke almost instantly, but it put up more of a fight than I expected. "Hoh?" -That''s actually.. not bad...- Staring at it while my thoughts raced, I glanced up at my inventory, looking at the handful of other materials I had gathered before having a grin creep across my face. -Yeah.. that might work...- *Vwoop* Tossing it back in my inventory, I skimmed through the rest of my materials before opening the smithing table, and working my way back up to speed. As things were, it had been about five hours since I arrived in the world, and while I could have easily made it to the wyvern in that time, I was still about five hundred kilometers away, trying to come up with a course of action, gather resources, and refine my understanding and control of my aura. But to be frank, I hadn''t made much progress in the latter. All four hours of practice did was show me the endless mountainside I was going to have to climb. -But I have at least gotten a little better at reading it...- To my understanding, the image being ''projected'' in my head was the image of everything the mana I emitted, my aura, touched, something akin to a displacement map, where I could essentially feel everywhere my aura wasn''t, as long as it was within scope. This meant I could see things behind cover, whether I was looking that way or not, sometimes with excruciating detail. -It made running from that ''sky king'' really easy...- However, the level of detail would get worse the farther things were from me, and while I could ''feel'' things that were well over two hundred kilometers away from me, and could naturally feel my aura''s scope, the limit of what I could view with any detail was about twenty or thirty kilometers. But at the end of it all, that was still extremely far. -It''s like I opened another set of eyes...- It was something the word ''blessing'' could not describe, being so potent that it could have been considered a weapon in and of itself, to the point I had to question my past self. -I wonder if all those monsters that would react and follow me from far beyond the horizon had this...- Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like I was handicapped in the past. But it''s not like I wasn''t going to abuse the shit out of it now that I had it. -I need to grasp at every thread of hope I have at this point...- For the most part, the monsters I was running into were still manageable, but everything I had let myself fight were considered the lower-rung at best. -Even the wyvern will only be one step up...- Compared to what lurked in that world, I was hunting the equivalent of a rabbit, with the bird I just slaughtered being barely middle-of-the-road compared to rodents. But it''s not like I wasn''t used to this situation. In the hundreds of years I bounced between worlds, clearing missions like a slave, I had been abruptly sent to on many missions well over my pay grade, yet managed to survive every single one. And that was because of a single, very important skill. Sneaking. After eons of having to avoid the eyes of monsters that could kill me on a whim, I got pretty good at it. -And now that I can see everything from miles away, it''s just that much easier...- But, unfortunately, the wyvern was something I couldn''t beat with something like stealth. -A part of me is a little anxious about it, but...- Sensing the edge of the forest followed by the jagged texture of a rocky mountainside, I smiled. -When was the last time I had a challenge?- *WOOOSH* Picking up my pace, I covered hundreds of kilometers in a matter of minutes before ramping up the side of the rocky, grey mountain, keeping my eye out for any useful minerals like iron, tungsten, and more specifically, mythril. -Given how much tungsten there is here, I might be able to get some really good tungsten-based mythril around here...- With mythril being regular metals that were heavily mana-infused, the stronger the base metal, the stronger the mythril regardless of grade. But my luck wasn''t great. While I did get a decent amount of iron and tungsten ore, there wasn''t much of any mythril. -But the small amount I still have leftover should be plenty...- Eventually making it to the mountaintop, I looked out over the dark, shadowed land only lit by the dim glow of distant stars before setting my eyes on a glowing speck in the sky about two hundred kilometers away, right on the edge of my aura. -He''s a big boy...- Although he was so far away it was a little hard to see, my opponent was a giant sand-colored wyvern that was almost three hundred meters long from head to tail. -He must be at least a dozen millennia old... But he''s smaller than I expected...- Looking closer to an amphiptere, he was extremely skinny, with his body coated in thorns and a feral, hunger-driven twitchiness in his movements. -It looks like he''s starving to death...- Although most creatures of this class were like me, and were able to live without rest, food, or water, it seemed like the wyvern was fighting a battle with itself just to stay alive. -The way he''s flying too...- It was almost like it had lost its mind.. reminiscent of a dog with rabies. -But that should work in my favor...- Looking down over the valley, I tried to survey the terrain for anywhere with favorable features before finding a deep, dried-up water basin filled with sand not far from where the wyvern was. -Hm...- It was the only place I could guarantee a stable footing. -But sand isn''t great for what I want to try...- With wyverns being air-dominant creatures, they would never bring a fight to the ground, and maintain their air advantage no matter the situation. However, that was only if I gave them that choice... Reaching out my hand, a dark gate quickly sucked in several materials from my inventory before suddenly dropping out a white and chocolate-colored lance at least four times my height, with a handle nearly half a meter in diameter. It looked like something made for giants. However, while it was technically a lance, I was going to treat it as something closer to a harpoon. *tink-tink* Fiddling with the large, expanding metal barbs on the back of the lance, I gave it a momentary strength test before tossing it in my inventory and starting another craft. *Vwoop* This time, it was a rope made from the silk I had gotten from the bird. It was about four kilometers long, and about as thick as my arm, while still remaining somewhat elastic. -Four kilometers should be alright.. but...- Looking up at the wyvern, almost eight kilometers off the ground, I smirked. -I might have to draw him in some first though...- *Vwoop* Tossing the rope into my inventory, I gave the valley one last look over before making my way down to the basin, carefully staying out of the wyvern''s sight while directing my aura away from it before hopping down into the deep pit, and preparing everything. As things were, the basin was about a dozen kilometers from the wyvern, but with the altitude he was flying, I was essentially right under him. "Hooh..." -Alright...- *Creak* Tightly tying the rope to the lance, I stood up and walked out from under the cliff of the basin to get another look at the wyvern. Thankfully he still hadn''t noticed me. -But.. how am I going to get him down...- Being so high off the ground posed its own challenge. I was out of range for him, and he was out of range for me. -But given his size, his range is still probably farther than mine...- I didn''t have too many options in all honesty. -Hm... What if I aim my aura at him...- Considering I couldn''t feel his aura or presence at all, even though I was essentially right under him, and given his starved look, he was likely extremely low on mana. -I wonder if he''ll come after me...- *VWOOOM* Releasing my aura, the mana in the air almost seemed to yelp before the image in my mind expanded, engulfing the wyvern and revealing its tiny, barely half kilometer wide bubble of aura in an instant. -He really is low on mana...- And just as I thought, the moment it felt my aura, its feral gaze locked on me, and it''s frantic movements stiffened. But it didn''t mindlessly charge at me like I expected.. rather.. it seemed cautious, and hesitant... Even in its feral state, it felt fear. But at the time, I couldn''t understand why... -What is it doing?- Quickly coming up with a plan B, a black sphere appeared next to me to craft another lance, but almost immediately, the wyvern darted to the ground and ran, gliding just over the ground where I couldn''t see him. -OH YOU LITTLE FUCKER!- Hastily throwing everything in my inventory and pulling out my axe, I hopped up out of the hole and darted after the wyvern with everything I had, following him with my aura while navigating through the rocky valley. However, after just a moment, I abruptly stopped, skidding to a halt as my eyes shot open. *RRRRRRUMBLEEE* The ground shook violently as if there was an earthquake before the wyvern I was following was suddenly completely engulfed in something. -W..what the fuck...- Looking up at the horizon, I immediately found myself staring into a colossal plume of magma at least eighty kilometers tall. The wyvern I was following died in an instant... But the quest didn''t end... -Uh oh...- Feeling the rumbling in the ground grow stronger and stronger, my senses heightened and I bolted backward. But it wasn''t fast enough to avoid the huge plume of molten rock that would instantly engulf me, and hurl me into the atmosphere. *WOOM* The thick, viscous liquid rock was like a cage, but as I quickly clapped my arms together and threw myself out of it, nearly fifty kilometers off the ground, my gaze landed on the violent series of explosions tracing its way up through the plume of molten rock before suddenly stopping where I was and blasting out into the air. It was a wyvern many times the size of the one I was previously chasing, with dark crimson scales reminiscent of a proper dragon, and a mouth full of magma aimed straight at me. -Oh you have to be fucking,- *CRACK* My thoughts were immediately cut short as the magma in its mouth shot out and expanded, breaking my line of sight like a smoke screen. But my aura still saw everything. I was about to be eaten. And being fifty kilometers off the ground, there was nothing I could do to dodge... Or.. was there... *Vwoop* Pulling out the spare lance I made in the nick of time, I rared it back and hurled it up into the air as hard as I could. "HYAH!" *CRRRRACK* The recoil launched me through the sound barrier instantly, but it was only barely fast enough to dodge the massive maw that blew through the wall of magma and closed on the space I just occupied. -And here I thought I was getting off easy with this mission...- My emotions drained as I continued toward the ground and watched the wyvern slowly tilt its head to look down at me with its thin, vibrant crimson pupils. -This is gonna be a real pain in the ass...- ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 23: The Spark Mid Evening - Unknown Season : Leviathan | Class: ERROR ----- *CHOMP* The deafening thump of the wyvern''s maw snapping shut echoed through the air as it slowly turned its head to look down at me with the eerily human glow in its gaze. Calculative and curious. -This is gonna be a real pain in the ass...- Feeling it wrap its aura around me, my pupils dilated, and I instinctually stuck up my arms to brace myself. But instead of launching a spell, or pulling me back toward it with telekinesis, I only found the underside of my arms lit by an orange glow. -W..What?!- In an instant, the entire valley beneath me had been liquified, and the colossal wyvern blotting out the sun hurled itself toward me. *FWOOOSH* It wasn''t going to let me reach the ground no matter what. "Tch..." *Vwoop* Hastily pulling out my tied-off lance, and storing my axe, I tightly gripped the rope and waited. But in the fraction of a second I gave him, the wyvern completely closed the distance between us, and opened its mouth once more. -NOW!- *CRACK* Hurling the lance into the gums between its teeth, I threw myself just out of its jaws before gripping the taut part of the rope and getting slammed into the wyvern''s cheek. *THUMP* The lance was holding, but that wasn''t going to be for long. *Vwoop* Pulling back out my axe, I slammed it into the wyvern''s horrifically thick scales, instantly getting the axe head stuck. But it was what I wanted. *CHOMP* As the wyvern chomped down, crushing the lance and cleanly slicing through the rope, I let it go before adjusting my grip on my axe and pulling my fist back with everything I had. Being right at the base of its jaw, I was going to simply obliterate it. -Let''s make this quick.- *SNAP-WHHHAAAAMMM* *CRRRRACKLE* The scales on the side of its face instantaneously shattered, with the area right around my fist liquefying entirely. But... -My hand.. hurts?- Although I hadn''t felt the sensation of pain in so long I had nearly forgotten about it, as the sharp, jabbing pain followed by an unbelievable burn ripped through my hand, my mind went blank. My hand broke. And the worst part... "RRRRAAAAHHH!!" With a deafening roar, the wyvern seemed to grip me with its aura before hurling me into the mountainside dozens of kilometers away. A distance I covered in a matter of seconds. *CRACKLE-WHAAAAMMM* But as the mountain liquified and exploded trying to catch me, my eyes stayed on the wyvern''s jaw. It was clearly damaged, with its scales completely scattered and it writhing in pain as bright red blood seeped from the corner of its mouth. But.. it''s jaw was still there... It wasn''t even slack... -W..what...- Had I still had my upgrades, that kind of punch would''ve removed a section of the atmosphere with it... -Yet not only is the wyvern in one piece.. that punch broke my hand...- As I laid there, watching the wyvern''s rage-filled gaze snap to me, I could only feel disbelief. -Did I really.. rely on upgrades that much?- Ever since my system was wiped I knew I was weaker. -But for my body to become this fragile...- I almost couldn''t believe it. But as I watched the massive wyvern in the distance let out a furious roar, I felt a fire light in my chest while the sensation of adrenaline flooding my body hit my mind like a drug I didn''t know I needed. *Tap* Gripping my axe as the wyvern hastily closed the distance between us, the fire in my chest spread to my eyes, and a smile spread across my face. -To think I forgot what it felt like...- "TO FEEL AWAKE!" *WOOM-CRRAACKK* Ripping my axe from the quickly hardening wall of molten rock, I bolted out of the cave so fast the walls ruptured before stopping and staring into the wyvern''s maw with a look of excitement. -To think all this time, I thought telekinesis was some complex skill...- Thinking back to how the wyvern threw me with its aura, I visualized a long rope forming within my aura, looping around the wyvern''s maw several times before pushing the ends of the rope away from each other. *VWOOM-CHOMP* Watching its jaws be forcefully snapped shut, my smile turned greedy. -I see.. so that''s how it is!- Aura couldn''t create force out of nowhere, it was more like a cloud of mist that could be crystallized into strings or objects, while needing something with mass to push or pull on to exert force. It was just like any other object, except devoid of mass, so even at a glance it was tricky to use. -But what if I used it to spread out the weight of an impact?- Pulling back my axe with both hands, I instantly drove it into the wyvern''s chin, bracing it across my back before spreading the weight of the impact out with a series of massive columns of aura. *CRACKLEE* *PUMF* The entire area I distributed the impact was instantaneously flattened before being sunk into the ground several meters. But it was working. *CREAK* Bending my axe across my back, I stood up, forcing the wyvern''s momentum into the ground next to me while keeping its face aimed at me. -Alright you oversized bastard...- Wincing slightly as my brain felt like it was tearing itself apart, I looked up at the rest of the wyvern''s body hurtling toward me, and stiffened my aura underground in hopes of strengthening it. -Let''s see if your neck can handle this!- *WOOOOM* Watching his neck begin folding and bending over itself, my greedy smile widened, waiting for the satisfying snap of bone. But the snap that met my ears wasn''t from the wyvern''s neck. *Clank* Feeling the unfathomable weight pressing down on me suddenly vanish, I froze. -W..what...- My axe snapped, unable to continue holding the wyvern''s head in place. *CRUNCH-WHAAAAMM* Immediately correcting its head by carving it through the ground, my pupils dilated and snapped to it. If I let it correct itself from the position it was in, I was going to either die, or have to run away. Without a weapon or proper resources, I had no way to win. But instead of taking advantage of its disorientation to run away, in the fraction of a second I watched the wyvern begin correcting the position of its head, I bolted at it, pulling back my non-broken fist as I approached its crown, the back of its skull, while using my aura to slow it down as much as possible. -I have to put everything in this...- Zoning out, my expression turned cold before my fist teleported into the wyvern''s scales. *CRRRRACK-WHAAAMMMM* Its scales shattered instantly in an attempt to absorb the impact, but as cracks ripped through its nearby horns, its body went limp. *WooooOOOSH-CRACCKLEE* Smashing apart the flattened rocky mountainside as it limply fell only its back, I stared at it somewhat blankly while gripping my arm for a moment. But as my nerves finally eased, a slightly crazed smile washed over my face. "WHAT A RUSH!" A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. My left arm was completely broken, with my hand and forearm completely shattered, and my shoulder thrown out of socket. But I was used to much worse. *Pop* Casually popping my shoulder back in place with my other broken hand, I pulled my glove off to see just how bad it was, only to find my hand already purple, and somewhat swollen. -But there aren''t any bones sticking from it... How lucky!- *Cl-l-link* Quickly closing it back up, I honestly mostly ignored it. -Hopefully, my body''s ability to heal won''t be hindered by my lack of upgrades too...- Normally, such an injury would take about a day to heal. -But without mana I can''t even guess how long it will take...- "Hooh..." -For now...- Looking up at the massive wyvern, laying unconscious as if sleeping, I used my aura to open its mouth before quickly hopping up into it, and kicking the top of one of its fangs as hard as I could. *CRACK* It immediately bent inward, sticking the root out of its gums before I used my aura to push it out and move it into my inventory. *Vwoop* -Let''s finish you off, shall we?- Quickly making my way around its tongue, and toward the back of its throat, I hopped down into a chamber that connected the throat to its sinuses with a splat, instantly sinking ankle-deep into a pool of saliva so corrosive, it burned my lungs just breathing near it. *Vwoop* But as I crafted what was essentially a massive nail from its enamel, and stabbed the tip into the roof of its sinuses, I hopped up onto the blunt head and gave my farewell. "It was a very pleasurable fight, Mister Wyvern. Thanks for waking me up." Lifting my foot, I used my aura to keep me held down before stomping. *CRACKLE* It drove the bone nail straight into its skull, and pierced its brain. *Ding!* <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 57.2123%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr> <th style="width: 96.7648%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">Mission Completed</th> </tr> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">You have killed "The Volcanic Tyrant" Level 9218 Rank: Upper -0</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; width: 96.7648%; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Received:</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 32.8879%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">12,819,115,220 Gold</td> <td style="width: 31.5288%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">321 Items: <Expand></td> <td style="width: 32.3481%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Unable to receive Upgrades: Converting To Mana</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> *Ding!* <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 32.1012%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr> <th style="width: 99.745%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">Critical Error</th> </tr> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.745%" colspan="3" scope="row">No Further Missions Currently Available</td> </tr> </thead> </table> -It''s the same...- It was almost identical to the panel I saw the first time I returned to Earth. -But there''s no ''feature unlocked'' note...- Anxiously reaching out, I tapped the panel anyway. *Beep* <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 57.2123%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr> <th style="width: 96.7648%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">Return Available</th> </tr> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">You can now return to worlds you have previously visited as long as they have not been destroyed.</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; width: 96.7648%; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Available Worlds: 1 <View></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> A wave of relief instantly washed over me as I read the panel. -Oh my.. thank the heavens...- But the relief only accelerated the dopamine dump that followed the fight. "Hooh..." -Okay...- Quickly trying to ease my nerves with a heavy breath, I popped the bone nail out of the wyvern''s skull with my boot before tossing it in my inventory. Before I was going to return to Earth, I wanted to harvest some of the wyvern. -But I shouldn''t lollygag in case another mission pops up...- As things were, I absolutely could not complete another mission. Best case scenario it''d be of equal difficulty to what I just completed, and I simply wasn''t in the state to do something like that. -I need to learn about mana.. and soon...- Had I not learned the little bit about aura I had in the half day I was on Earth, I would have been in serious trouble, and very likely would have had to retreat to come up with an entirely different plan of approach. -Of course, it would have been easier if I knew what I was fighting from the beginning.- But I also wasn''t sure that would''ve even made a difference considering where I mentally set my own limits. "Haah..." -It''s done, regardless...- Rustling my own hair as I hopped up and walked back out of the wyvern''s mouth, my mind started racing. -Let''s just focus on harvesting what I can, and getting back to Earth...- Eventually prying open its jaw and walking out, I looked up at the dark night sky, dimly lit by the glow of distant galaxies, nebulas, and stars in an effort to calm down. But my mind never slowed down, and the glow in my eyes never dimmed. "I guess this is the way the universe is telling me I got too comfortable, huh..." I was a bit stressed and anxious, but at the same time, I felt good. I felt excited. -I can only pray that this isn¡¯t the beginning of the end¡­- ----- Mid Afternoon - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | East Coast United States - Alrek Occoro ~ "This just in. The culprit of the attack in the heart of Arlington has been confirmed as a recently returned System Mercenary named Evren Lestir. Currently, the ISO and United States Military is investigating the matter more deeply, however, the ISO appears to stand by the fact that she was not a destroyer. We have attempted to reach out to Sir Occoro personally in order to confirm this rumor, but have not received a response. For now, there is an interview taking place with the receptionist who interacted with her personally at the ISO, so I will pass you all there. Let us watch it together." *Click* The screen of the wide TV at the front of my office instantly switched to the interview of our young receptionist taking place at the bottom of the spire. It was the global news broadcast, actively reporting on the incident that happened here in Arlington several hours prior. -But we can''t release anything on it yet...- After speaking with the military and almost losing our lives to a gate that suddenly appeared in the middle of the spire, we were at a complete loss at what to do. -If we mark her as a destroyer like the military wants, the public will be satisfied with something to blame, and the chaos will calm down after news breaks that she isn''t around.- We could even play it as if we dealt with her. -But if she returns, she might really turn into a destroyer...- There was just no good way out of the situation we were in. For the time being, since the US military and I couldn''t come to an agreement, we called upon the Church to see if they knew anything while waiting for my boss to return. -For now, our receptionist should help calm the negative sentiment toward her...- But while I watched the interview, it was clear the broadcast was trying to twist the story. *tap-tap-tap-tap* Tapping on my desk, I glanced toward the door, considering going down and doing the interview myself. -But if the Church confirms she was a destroyer after I dismiss it, the ISO''s image will be damaged...- What I needed was the church to come out with an oracle to clear the air about it, or even Evren herself to reappear somewhere, perhaps after being transported somewhere by an administrator, but I expected nothing. -If the gate was from an administrator though, the Church should know something about it...- But even though we sent the message several hours ago, there was still no response. "Haah..." *Beep* Hearing the TV beep, I quickly looked back up at it to see the emergency broadcast on. "This just in. It has now been confirmed that Jack Ricora, a relatively new apostle of the Church of Michael, has been confirmed dead in Richmond. The cause of death is unknown, but people on site are saying it was caused by a blunt impact to the stomach. We will report on it as we get more information. Now returning to the interview in the Arlington ISO..." *Click* It was not the news I was looking forward to. -Shit...- It was the person the military stated Evren fought when she first returned to the city according to the military. -The fact she didn''t say anything about it is a bad sign...- It meant she was hiding something... -Maybe the gate and enforcers were because she was really a destroyer...- Turning around and looking out the window behind my desk as I fell into thought, my expression darkened. The odds were slowly turning against me, but the more I thought about it, the more my position firmed. -If she''s confirmed to be a destroyer by the church, I will most certainly catch punishment for not catching it, whether I stand by her being a destroyer or not... And if I call her a destroyer when she isn''t.. and she returns, I''ll most certainly lose everything I have worked my ass off to gain...- No matter which side I chose, it would be a gamble. But there was one direction that gave me better results if I won. Glancing over my shoulder, toward the interview, my dark expression finally firmed. -It may be selfish... But if I don''t take this gamble, I''m just postponing the inevitable...- "Haah..." Letting out a sigh as I reached for the lanyard with my ID on it, I looked up toward the ceiling and spoke softly. "My lord, if I am wrong.. please grant me forgiveness..." It was time to take the gamble that would change the course of my life as I knew it... For better... Or for worse... ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 24: Greetings Late Evening - Unknown Season : Leviathan | Class: ERROR ----- *Crackle-Shick* Cutting through thick muscle with a thin sword made out of the wyvern''s scales, I slowly but surely carved my way into its chest. There was one last thing I wanted to grab after storing several scales, some teeth, and some bone fragments in my inventory before I was going to return to Earth. And while I stood in the pit of flesh I had dug into the wyvern''s chest, I could feel it. Just below my feet, there was an intense, constant flow of mana that could only be emitted from one thing. -A big ass mana core...- It was essentially a monster''s mana storage, the same as a reserve, but typically far larger because of the size of their bodies. Depending on the monster, they could range anywhere from the size of my fist, to well over a dozen meters wide, and vary in color from a bright blue, to a dark navy with hints of green that made it look black depending on the density of the liquid mana it contained. For the most part, their uses were fairly niche, but without access to the thousands I had accumulated over the years, I was in need of a few, even if their quality wasn''t great. -The issue is this black shit...- *Tink-Tink* Tapping my sword on an impossibly strong black string woven into the wyvern''s flesh, I gave it a distasteful look before leaning down and biting it. *Snap* It was something I called ''eternity string'', since nothing I knew of could get rid of it. -I used to at least be able to cut through it with Draco.. but even if I hit it as hard as I can with something else...- *Tink-Tink* -It won''t budge...- But it had nothing to do with sharpness or material quality. "Ugh..." Leaning down and biting through the other end of the string, I slipped my blade under it and cut it out with another huge slab of meat. "I just wish I could figure out what it is that cuts it..." -Should I just pull one of my teeth for it?- Looking back down at another string as I carved away more muscle though, a theory came to mind. -Is it maybe a material that can only be cut by itself?- Being present in nearly every creature around or above the class of the wyvern, it was something I was more than a little familiar with, essentially being a nearly indestructible fiber only able to be cut or broken by a very select few items. Even in my prime, if I hit something as hard as I could without a specific upgrade active, while the creature''s flesh would get completely eviscerated, the black threads would remain. -What was that upgrade again? ''Time Distortion''?- It was essentially an active ability that let me slow time down. But the more I tried to use the upgrade as a hint, the more lost I became... "Haah..." -But I guess I''m just getting a bit overzealous... It''s probably related to mana so I should just focus on the basics for now...- Eventually leaving my thoughts to simmer, I got back to digging through the wyvern''s chest, thankfully not running into too many more threads, before peeling away a section of flesh to reveal an unbelievably dark mana core about the size of my abdomen. "Oh my..." It was such a high grade it made my eyes glow, but unfortunately, it was surrounded by a web of eternity strings, that typically indicated that it was fragile. -I just hope this one won''t explode when I pull it out of my inventory...- Gently reaching out, carefully placing my fingertips in the openings between strings, I sent it into my inventory. *Vwoop* It was a surgical removal, but sometimes, the eternity strings around the core were needed to keep it from exploding. -But unless I painstakingly cut all those strings, I can only hope this isn''t a fragile core...- Quickly standing back up, I opened my system and skimmed through the materials I had gathered, making sure I had a decent amount of most things before finally navigating to my ''Return Screen''. "Hooh.. alright..." *Vwoop* Pulling out my new axe, made from the orange scales and pearly white enamel of the wyvern, I anxiously hit ''Return''. *Vwoop* As the gate engulfed me, I could only lean my head back and pray. -Please don''t wipe this time...- I was quite pessimistic, even pulling out my axe in advance to make sure I wouldn''t lose it. But while I didn''t have much currently, if my system was going to wipe every time I returned to Earth... I was in trouble... *BEEP* Eventually hearing the deafening beep of my system, I felt my chest tighten. "CRITICAL WARNING. Teleportation Gate is Unstable." -Oh.. no...- It was the same error I received before I lost everything. But, as a somewhat demoralized feeling started creeping in from the back of my mind, my system spoke again. "Approximating ''pickup location'' coordinates." It was.. different. -Huh? ''Pickup location''?- *Vwoop* Jolting my eyes open as the gate began dissipating, the bright glow of the afternoon sun graced my eyes, a wave of air blew over me, and the sensation of falling overtook my body. *WooooOOOOSH* I was back. But even as I fell out of the gate, I didn''t stop falling. *FLASH* As my eyes struggled to adjust to the blinding light, I found myself hundreds of meters over a sea of concrete and people, surrounded by countless colossal pillars of glass that seemed to pierce the sky. But as my aura rushed to fill the space around me and an image came to mind, I knew exactly where I was. "Hah!" But what had me more excited was that my system was completely silent. *Vwoop* Opening it as fast as I could, I looked down at my gold and read, ''14,060,621,127'' with an ever-growing glow in my eyes. My system didn''t get wiped. "HAHA!" The feeling of hope that sight gave me was indescribable, adding fuel to the flame growing in my chest. -It looks like I''m not fated to die just yet you arrogant fucker!- *WOOOOSH* Looking down at the plaza beneath me, my smile widened before I used countless pillars of aura to spread out the impact of my landing. *WHAAAM-CRACCKLLEE* But the field of concrete stairs still shattered instantaneously, spreading cracks through several nearby statues and throwing fragments of rock up between the people in the crowd. *Tap* If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. *Inhale* "Haaaah..." Taking a deep breath, I took a moment to enjoy the smell of the city before tossing my axe into my inventory. *Vwoop* -My, oh my~ does it feel good to be back.- I felt revitalized, refreshed, and excited. The people in the plaza around me didn''t feel the same though. "AAAHHH!" Immediately bursting into screams, several people started running away in panic, while others remained frozen from fear. But they weren''t the ones who had my attention. Looking up into the sky, I could feel a distant presence approaching so fast it couldn''t be a living creature before suddenly, the movements and sounds of everyone nearby slowed, as if time stopped, and a cloudy figure descended in front of me. It was Michael, but instead of looking angry or annoyed at the fact I returned, he was incredibly panicked. "Evren! Where the hell did you go?! What happened to you?!" He was.. worried? "You aren''t related to that administrator?" My ecstatic expression instantly washed with confusion. "AS IF! He almost destroyed Earth''s server just to search for you!" -What the hell...- He was being genuine. "It''s all because of that stupid data link! First, it sent enforcers, then that monster!" But it''s not like he was happy to see me either, quickly facing me with an angry glow in his eyes. "Look here, you walking disaster, I need you to turn off your data link. You need to disappear from the eyes of the system before that freak shows up again!" -A..Alright...- Still somewhat flabbergasted, I did as he asked and disconnected the data link without a second thought. And as it seemed to notify Michael, a wave of relief washed over him. "Hoooh..." *tap-tap-tap* Letting out a long, stress-filled breath, he tapped through several system windows before finally easing somewhat. "I cannot describe my hate for you with words, I hope you understand that." Pausing, I looked him up and down somewhat judgementally before speaking. "I''m more surprised you''re trying to hide me..." -If he wanted to get rid of me, he could just wait for that freakish administrator to return...- "That''s only because you''ve already raised Earth''s rank! If you disappear now, all the progress humanity has made over the last five hundred years will be reset!" Angrily pinching the bridge of his nose after yelling at me, he calmed his nerves before giving me a stern look. "Just, whatever you do, don''t touch your data link. I''ll have someone deliver you an artifact that will give you access to things like the server forums and give you a fake local system panel, but your displayed name will be different." "While you''re at it, can you send me a good mage? I need someone to teach me about mana ASAP." Pausing as he was turning away, he gave me a sour look before opening his system panel. "She''ll see you tomorrow morning. Now go start cleaning up the mess you made." *Vwoop* Instantly disappearing without giving me a chance to say anything, the sounds around me crackled before the panic of the crowd resumed. *Crackle* "-AAAHHH!" -So, in the morning, huh...- Glancing up at the sun, directly overhead, I felt unsure. -I just hope I have a little more time before I get abducted by the system this go around...- Lowering my gaze to the crowd, I slowly started looking around to see if I could find Alrek anywhere before turning toward the spire. -Maybe he''s inside.- But as I approached the doors, a young elven girl, most certainly still in her teens, holding a black stick nervously ran up to me. "M-Miss!" She was incredibly anxious and spoke with a stutter. -Who is this..?- She was clearly a regular citizen, fearing me just like everyone else, yet she ran up to me and held out this weird, perforated stick. "I-I apologize if this is rude, b-but could I ask a quick question? I am a reporter with Eve Family News." Looking past her, I quickly spotted someone who looked like her younger brother, shaking slightly while holding something I assumed was a camera. "Go ahead." Her anxious expression quickly eased slightly as she fidgeted before speaking. "I-It would seem that the public believes you are a destroyer, someone who is here to harm humanity. D-Do you have anything to say about that?" Although she had a stutter, she spoke fairly confidently. -What a cute kid...- "Before that, do you believe I am a destroyer?" She very hastily shook her head no. "I-If the reports that you are level six hundred is true, I believe you would have made it clear if you were one." -What a good response...- *Pat* Gently setting my hand on her head, I gave it a little rub. "You''re quite smart." Looking up at the camera with a somewhat threatening smile, I spoke firmly. "For everyone else, whether you think I''m a destroyer or not, I couldn''t care less. If I wanted to destroy this world, no one could stop me." Quickly turning back to the girl, my expression eased and I spoke more genuinely. "But this world is also the place I consider home.. even if it''s a bit.. unfamiliar..." A gleam instantly appeared in the girl''s eyes as I pulled my hand off her head. But it seemed to flicker as a deep, booming voice filled the air. "You think no one could stop you?" Looking over, I found Jack, the giant Hell''s Berserker I ran into before I got kidnapped. "That''s quite an arrogant thought." "Is it?" Tilting my head slightly, I playfully leaned down to speak to the reporter girl. "His system name is The Jackal, right? Is he strong here on Earth?" She instantly nodded. "I believe he is ranked forty-two in the world." -Hoh?- It was lower than I expected. "Well, what if I could make him kneel without touching him?" Excitement washed over her face in the blink of an eye. Looking back up at the towering barbarian, I pointed at him. "You want to make things easy for yourself and kneel?" His expression instantaneously turned sour and darkened. "You might be the most arrogant bitch I''ve ever-" His voice was cut short the moment I turned my finger toward the ground, using a contraption of aura I made to slam the weight of the plaza onto his shoulders. *VWOOM-CRRRUNCHH* His face was instantly, irresistibly slammed into the ground before he even had the chance to react. -Oh my~... That was easier than I thought it''d be...- Compared to when I controlled my aura before, I didn''t feel even the slightest strain on my mind. -Am I getting better.. or is my mind just getting used to it?- Pausing as a genuine smile came across my face, I looked back at the girl. "Well, it''s not exactly kneeling, but it''s close enough... Anyway, I need to go meet up with some people in the ISO. If you ever have a question for me, I''ll always answer." Giving her local system panel a quick glance as I turned to leave, I read her name, ''Grace Eve'', and set my hand on her head to transfer her some gold, thankfully without the need of the data link. As she got the notification for it, she froze and went wide-eyed, but by the time she went to look up at me, I was already gone. I had made my way inside. But oddly enough, after passing through the doors at the base of the ISO, I wasn''t greeted by Alrek, nor a swarm of panicking people. "Greetings, Madam Lestir." It was an old dwarf, speaking smoothly and formally while holding a deep bow. "My name is Kazzaer Aldinn, the regional manager of the ISO for the Eastern United States." -Level 618...- He was quite strong for a dwarf, and reminded me of someone I used to know, with a long orange beard, no tattoos, and formal way of speaking. -How nostalgic...- "So, you must be Alrek''s boss. I''m Evren Lestir." Reaching out for a handshake, he gave me an odd look before gripping my hand quite hard, only for me to grip slightly harder. It was the way I knew dwarves greeted their own people. "Hoho~," Looking me in the eyes as if to see if I was doing it out of pride, his smile grew wide. "To think I''d meet a human would give a proper dwarven greeting." Pulling back his hand, he gently caressed his braided beard, before motioning me along. "It seems I was too hasty in casting judgment." "Haha," An honest laugh slipped out as old memories started gaining some clarity. "I can''t blame you considering my appearance. Who would trust a crazy woman covered in wyvern blood?" "Hahaha!" His laugh was deep and hardy, coming from the chest. "I''m not sure where you found a wyvern, but if you have any more of its blood, I''ll pay quite a hefty sum for it." Looking back at me, he rubbed his fingers together with a greedy smile. "I''m not sure you want this blood though, it''s a little too iron-tasting for alcohol." His smile quickly widened. "Hoho~, you really know dwarves too well." Quickly straightening up his posture, he put his hands behind his back and held his chest out. "But in today''s day and age, removing something like iron won''t be an issue... So," Giving me one last look, I waved him aside. "I didn''t collect any, but I do have a bit of meat if you''re interested in that." "Oh, of course." His mouth immediately started watering. "Just name a price!" "As if I could take payment for a ''token of greeting''." Not expecting him to know what it was, I simply continued to follow him into the ISO. But almost immediately, he paused before turning back to me with a look of shock on his face. "To think I''d run into a human that knows my home world''s tradition..." ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 25: Freedom Early Evening - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | United States ----- *Blub-Blub-Blub* Standing waist-deep in a bathtub that could probably be classified as a pool, I dunked my armor into a water jet, washing it one piece at a time, while thinking back on the meeting I had just gotten out of. By then, it had been several hours since I had returned to Earth, and while the sun had already begun setting, in my eyes, I still hadn''t gotten the chance to do anything worthwhile. From the moment I walked back into the spire, I was dragged into a meeting with Alrek, his boss Kazzaer, and a handful of third-party investigators to essentially gather information about what I had done with my time since I returned to Earth, where I was, what I was doing, and what my intentions in that place were. In short, I was interrogated for evidence of whether I was or wasn''t a threat to Earth. But it felt more like a ''guilty until proven innocent'' case than anything. As it turned out, while I was gone, Diana, the young pilot I met in Richmond, had exposed everything I wanted to keep hush about to both the ISO and the military, sparking an investigation that quickly turned up empty as they discovered that I didn''t have any citizenship records on Earth. Combined with the appearance of system enforcers in Arlington and the scene I caused, it led the general sentiment of both the elite and the public to shift toward the fact that I was a destroyer using an artifact to falsify my local system panel. According to Alrek, they even sent several countries into lockdown to look for me after I disappeared, and set what he considered a high bounty of four hundred thousand gold for anyone who could report anything about me prior to my appearance in Arlington. To me, it sounded like quite a bit of an overreaction, but to Kazzaer it was an understatement. Whether the world had the strength to fight me or not, it simply didn''t matter. They were going to use everything they had to stop me if I turned out to be a destroyer, whether it was a hopeless struggle or not. And just as he suspected, less than twenty minutes after my return, the ISO was surrounded by more military equipment than I could wrap my head around, and the entire district of the city was evacuated. But the response wasn''t completely based in caution. According to Alrek, one of the heads of the magic tower in Arlington was actually quite adamant about keeping the military from getting involved in the matter out of worry it would upset me. But the military wasn''t just being aggressive out of caution. They were afraid of the people, just as much as they were me. In Kazzaer''s words, ''The whole situation is a double-edged sword to government officials and the military.'' If I turned out to be a destroyer, whether they decided to side with me or not, the blame would fall on them and them alone. As a national military power, they were the ones in charge of intercepting newly returned mercenaries and dealing with them however is appropriate. The fact I got not only inside Richmond, but Arlington was essentially a checkmate on their image if things went south, with the public pinning the blame on the nation''s incompetence, and the guilds using it as an excuse to pull them from power. Even if it turned out I wasn''t a destroyer, if their response was lacking, the public would completely gut them for it. After countless disasters that could have been prevented with more aggressive responses, people had become quite sensitive to such matters. As such, even if the warning I gave during my interview outside the ISO would inevitably ward off anyone troublesome, calming public sentiment was a much bigger issue that would take time. And the worst part was, after all the interrogations, my case seemed iffy at best. "Haah..." According to Alrek, while the ISO would back me completely, on a global scale, if I did nothing, the flood would only get harder to stop. -So in their words, I have to go out and do something that can heal my image...- The first thing that came to mind was clearing a dungeon, or waiting for Michael to give me a quest on some inhuman-level threat. But while I stood in the near-boiling water, cleaning off my chest plate, I had a better idea. -Let''s go pick up Bella...- While it would most certainly cause the military to shit bricks, if they did attack me, I could turn it into a decent publicity stunt. "Haha," Letting out a chuckle as I pulled my armor out of the water, some old, fond memories of a time I started a coup d''etat surfaced in my mind. -To think I''d need to do something like this again...- But unlike back then, this time, I had the most powerful weapon I could use in the situation. Overwhelming power and confidence. *Cl-l-l-l-link* As I dried and reequiped my armor, I quickly hopped up out of the bath and made my way out into the hall, passing an employee who was on her way to my suite before taking the elevator down to the bottom floor. As the floors began passing faster and faster though, a voice came over the intercom. "Miss Lestir," It was Kazzaer. "If I could be so rude to ask what you''re doing?" Looking up at the camera embedded in the corner of the elevator, I smiled. "You said the ISO alone can''t fix my image, so I''m going to start the process myself." There was a long pause before he spoke again, this time leaning away from the microphone. "Alright..." He sounded a little hesitant. "I''ll trust that neither you, nor the military are dumb enough to spark a fight." Grabbing my neck as the elevator slowed down, and the doors opened, I spoke with an endless confidence. "Oh, I wouldn''t trust them that much." Looking at the series of vehicles lining the streets and filling the skies, along with a number of mercenaries standing around the spire with gear equipped and weapons in hand, I walked toward the front doors of the spire and walked through them without the slightest hesitation. *Woosh* The air outside was still and stale, filled with the gazes of people, all tense and focused on me. -I''ve got more than last time...- With several cameras fitted to helicopters up over the tops of skyscrapers, I had the attention of the whole world at that moment. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. But as I walked out with my hands behind my back and my head held high, instead of feeling any sort of pressure, I looked over the anxious mercenaries with a smile. "I''m surprised I didn''t get lit up the moment I walked out here." Looking toward an old, hunched elven martial artist, I wove pity into my tone. "Some of you seem pretty eager for a fight." "Tch..." The old man instantly clicked his tongue. "Unfortunately though, I have places I need to be." Continuing toward the massive blockade in the road, I never broke stride. "I have to fetch someone from the airport, so please excuse me." *VWOOM* Using my aura to scoot aside the assorted vehicles and people blocking my way, I planned to simply walk through them. But the moment I did that, several massive railgun darts from the tanks scattered about the area converged on my head. Yet not one of them reached me. *Vwoom* Catching them with my aura, I looked over at one of the mercenaries to my side. "Look at that, if I had dodged, you would have killed your own people. That''s a shame, I thought you guys would have more discipline than that." *Clang-Clank* As I dropped the metal darts, several mercenaries went pale. "Plus, I believe I made it clear earlier." Emitting a bit of bloodlust, I looked up at one of the helicopters with a camera and grabbed it with my aura. "If I were a destroyer, none of you would be alive right now." *Vwoom* Releasing it, it seemed to wobble in the air before backing off behind a building like a frightened animal. -Looks like most of them have common sense...- Eventually continuing forward, I walked between the mercenaries without anyone nearby moving. Most people seemed to have caught the memo. At least those who weren''t blinded by pride. *Fwip-FWOOSH* Darting between the tanks and stopping in the middle of the path I made though, the old elven man straightened his posture, leaving his cane where he previously stood. "It''s quite rare to see such an arrogant young woman nowadays..." "Young?" I almost burst out laughing as he laced his words with poison. "I''ve got a few hundred years on you, but I''ll take the compliment." "A few hundred years?" His expression turned smug as he seemed to think I was joking. "If you''re going to lie, tell me something more believable..." Opening his system panel, I glanced up at his age with an incredibly unsurprised look. -Seems like the elves are as arrogant as ever...- He was 176, quite old for an elf, and level 609. "Like I said before, whether you believe me or not, it doesn''t matter. If you want to keep your eyes on me, do whatever makes you comfortable. Just move aside." As his gaze stiffened, so did his body. "I don''t believe you understand the situation you are in." *pitter-patter* Keeping my eyes on my aura, I watched as almost a dozen people came up behind me, closing me into the path I made through the crowd. "This isn''t a situation you can simply run from." -Oh, I''m not running, don''t worry.- Glancing over my shoulder at the other mercenaries, I checked their levels before finding that the oldie in front of me was the highest level of the bunch. "Alright then," *Vwoop* Unequiping my upper-body armor plates, leaving just the thin black gambeson, I spread out my arms as if to give him an invitation. "Come on, if you really think you have the strength to keep me here, hit me as hard as you can. It doesn''t matter where." The old man immediately paused. "You want me to cripple you?" He sounded somewhat confused. He was serious. -This dumbass old man...- "You aren''t remotely that strong, but if you cripple me, the whole situation will be solved, right? So come on, hit me-" *Fwip* Cutting me off, he instantly closed the distance between us before driving his fist into my stomach, throwing everything he had into it. But to his misfortune, this time I used my aura to keep myself from getting thrown back. *CrAcKLE* As if hitting an immovable wall, his knuckles instantly crumbled, and the bones in his hand splintered. Looking down as the bones piercing through the top of his hand started to draw blood, I gave him a look of pity before tapping my hand on his shoulder. "See, what did I tell you." *pat* But the moment my hand touched him, his pupils dilated and he darted a few hundred meters away, completely pale and shaking slightly. "Unless one of you is stronger than Earth''s administrators, just stay back and watch me from afar. I could care less as long as you don''t get in my way." *Cl-l-l-l-link* Finally reequiping my armor, I casually continued down the lane of equipment, this time not being stopped before walking out into the empty road, and making my way to the airport at a very casual pace, making sure the helicopters and jets could keep up with me. It was a bit time-consuming, but I needed their eyes on everything in order to shake off suspicions. -If I''m lucky, there will still be some normal people at the airport as well...- And sure enough, even well before I reached the airport, the streets were filled with people, all standing around watching the news broadcast on massive screens meant for advertisements. But while every screen showed a different news station, they all displayed the same video stream, coming straight from the helicopter following me with essentially no delay. -Would you look at that...- At that point though, I had already done my stunt for the most part. I had made my presence known, and made it clear that I wasn''t a threat. All that was left was to put the citizens at ease. But that was the easiest part. Eventually making it to the Airport, I made my way inside, catching the gazes of everyone before finding and making my way to the ''pet pickup'' area a couple terminals over. For the most part, after the first few minutes of my arrival, the place was empty. It seemed like people weren''t taking any chances in getting too close to me. However, as I made it to the pet pickup area, where I expected to be greeted by a robot, similar to most of the other places I had passed in the airport, I found a young wolf-demihuman boy standing there with a tiny puppy in his arms. -Hm?- He clearly knew about what was happening, yet he didn''t run like everyone else had. -He''s only level 86...- "Hello," Greeting me with a smile, he spoke without the slightest waver. "You must be Miss Lestir, correct?" It was quite a refreshing greeting. "I am. I''m here to pick up Bella." His smile slowly turned warm as he caressed the head of the puppy sleeping in his arms. "I see. She''s been waiting." Without him moving at all, Bella poked her head through the door leading into the back as if on cue. The moment she set her large panther eyes on me, her face lit up. "Master!" She seemed quite excited to see me. -She really doesn''t act like a robot...- Watching her hop the desk without any issue, she quickly walked up to me and sat down to bow her head. "It is my pleasure to continue to be of service to you, master!" With a happy, gentle curl in her tail, she lifted her head before matching my gaze. It only took a moment for the young man to interject. "You know, of all the people I''ve met, you''re the first I''ve seen to look at a servant robot like it was an animal." His voice was smooth, reminiscent of how an administrator would talk, but with a warmth I didn''t expect. "Are you just from a world without much technology, or is it perhaps something else..." His curiosity was genuine, but as I looked up, I hesitated with a response. "What do you think separates something living from a robot? Is it living flesh, organic material?" "A fate." He responded without a hint of hesitation. -Hm...- It was a response that made my mind suddenly stop.. and think... "What do you think it is?" Looking down at Bella, I stared at the glow in her eyes before looking back up at the young man. "Freedom." His expression instantly morphed as he fell into thought. "Freedom.. huh..." However, after just a moment, his expression warmed again, not aimed at me, but at the small, long-eared puppy in his arms. "I like that response..." ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 26: Beyond Ones Self Early Morning - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | United States ----- - Sergeant Major Samuel Moreno ~ "Are you seriously going to just let her walk free..?" Glancing up from my desk at the wall of monitors, showing dozens of different angles of the same woman, I looked at the young First Sergeant acting as my assistant with a somewhat judgemental gaze. "You call this walking free?" We had at least twenty different angles on her, with several satellites tracking her, and aiming lasers at her head. "Sure, but most people will only be watching streams, they won''t see all the armaments we have aimed at her." -That''s true...- But unfortunately, even if they could, it would only arouse more panic. Leaning back into my chair, I turned back to the monitors with a mix of worry and anxiety. -Revealing that we have nukes aimed at the heart of Arlington wouldn''t help our situation at all...- We, just like those at the ISO, wanted to be hopeful that she wasn''t a destroyer, and at while others didn''t believe me, I wanted to agree with them, but at the same time, we didn''t have the luxury of being able to take that risk. -She didn''t even budge when Hakon hit her... If she is a destroyer we need to end her here...- Watching the woman dart across rooftops, heading toward the airport, the image of her breaking Hakon''s arm outside the ISO continuously repeated in my mind. -That arrogant bastard finally got a taste of his own medicine...- But while I wanted to laugh, I was too scared to do so. Hakon was an old friend of mine, a true elf who came to Earth from Aldr Atall, the home of a vast majority of elven and dwarven System Mercenaries on Earth, and the place that is considered the paradise of magic because of the immense amount of ambient mana. Being a Rank 2 world, those who matured on that world always ended up powerful, with some of the most influential figures in the world like the Queen of the Elves, the Dwarven King, and the King of the Alps, a white-furred bear demihuman, all coming from there. Hakon wasn''t far behind them either, being a martial artist widely considered among Earth''s top powerhouses, his combat strength was enough to beat most monsters, and even mercenaries with close to fifty more levels than him, placing him as the lowest level mercenary in the top 20 leaderboard. -But even though the ISO said that woman was around level 600.. she didn''t even flinch when he punched her with everything he had...- My assistant, staring at the monitors didn''t seem to realize just how insane of a feat that was though. "I just.. don''t think the public will respond well if we don''t more openly tail her..." Leaning forward and interlocking my fingers, I looked over at the Sergeant. "I''d much rather deal with the public than that monster... If she turns out to not be a destroyer, the public will settle down." As things were, we had been put to complete shame by her, but at the same time, her ''warning'' helped send the message to the public that she wasn''t here to cause issues. -If she wanted to kill everyone we sent to catch her.. she could''ve...- The issue was, we still didn''t know enough about her. "Has anyone been able to get a system panel on her? Where''s the ''Eye of Odin''?" "Similar to Miss Hale''s report, people can''t seem to get a panel on her. It''s most likely an artifact..." Pausing, his expression darkened and he glanced toward me. "About the Eye of Odin.. uh..." He hesitated as if unsure how to respond before looking toward the door to make sure no one was coming. "We managed to get most of our communication systems back online, but by the time we asked the ''Archive'' to retrieve it.. it was gone..." I felt my heart skip a beat as my expression was washed with disbelief and skepticism. "What do you mean it was gone?" "Someone has stolen it..." He responded so bluntly that I felt my train of thought simply collapse in on itself. -N..No...- "That''s not possible. The Archive isn''t a place someone can simply steal from." But his expression didn''t change. "Well, it is if it was stolen by someone with the proper clearance..." -That narrows it down to only three or four people.- "So who stole it?" "We have yet to receive replies from most of the suspects.. however, the Archive seems pretty confident they know who it was..." Motioning my hand to get him to continue, he lowered his gaze to the floor. "They suspect that it was the Queen of the Elves..." My expression instantly turned dumbfounded as my mind screeched to a halt. -W..what?- "That recluse not only left her kingdom, but entered The Archive herself and stole something?" Without saying a word, he nodded. -You cannot be serious...- "Where is she now?" *Tap-Tap-Click* Changing the view on one of the monitors, we both looked up to see a white spec speeding over trees that were nothing but a blur, traveling so fast that the view from the satellite tracking her was visibly rotating with the curvature of the Earth. -W..what the fuck...- "She is still in the outskirts of her kingdom to the north, but based on the path she''s been taking.. if she doesn''t turn, she''ll be here in the morning..." -You have to be kidding...- Looking over at the other monitors, I saw the woman named Evren casually walking through the airport, without knowing what to think. All I knew is that things were about to get either very serious.. or very troublesome... And neither option was good for me. -But if she''s making such haste, she must have gotten a quest...- Which was an even worse sign.. because that implied Evren was the target. "Begin evacuations for the surrounding hundred kilometers... Move everyone to the coast and do it fast..." Watching the white spec continue over her kingdom''s border without breaking stride, I felt my chest tighten and lowered my head in prayer. -Please, Lord... Please...- ----- (An hour later) - Evren Lestir ~ *Tsss-Fwoop* As the automatic door opened to my suite at the top of the ISO opened with a his, Bella happily trotted in before using a metal arm extending from behind her ear to connect with a panel of some sort. *Beep* She was quite happy. "Can you scan your key here to give me security permissions?" Quickly walking over, I tapped the thin card Kassaer gave me against a sensor before another beep rang out, and Bella''s eyes seemed to go blank. But it only lasted a moment. *Tink* Retracting the arm, she seemed to return to herself. "Perfect! Now, is there anything you would like? A drink or bath, perhaps?" -Hm.. that must have been the restrictions kicking in for a moment...- "Not now. We have something else to do." "Hm?" Tilting her head, her curled tail relaxed and she curiously followed me to the area I assumed was the kitchen. *Cl-l-l-l-link* Taking off all the armor above my waist, I motioned her up onto the stone island at the center of the room while taking off my gloves. "Hop up here for me." Doing as I asked, she hopped up without a sound before stopping at the sight of my discolored hands. "Huh? You''re hurt? Allow me to look at-" Cutting her off, I motioned her down. "They''ll heal on their own in a few days, just lay down here on your side for me." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Pausing to give me an odd look, the light in her eyes seemed to flicker before she calmly laid down. -Yeah, let''s go ahead and get those restrictions removed...- Looking beneath her fur and inside her body with my aura, I quickly found what seemed to be the maintenance panel in the side of her chest before quickly undoing the lock and peeling it back as if it were nothing more than a patch of skin and fur. The metal that composed her shell was very thin, and was made of tiny pieces that all linked together like chainmail. -These little things must be what lets her change her form...- The pieces individually weren''t amorphous but they were so small that it let them change everything down to the texture of the surface they created. -It''s actually pretty good at mimicking fur and skin...- It was easily up there with some of the most advanced robotics I had ever seen. But contrarily, the inside of her body, under the web of animatronic small arms forming bones and muscles, the pieces that did all her computing were much simpler than most of what I had worked with. -Looks like I don''t have to guess this time...- "Please do not do anything while my AI is still active." Bella spoke with a mix of worry, but it quickly turned monotone. "Would you like for me to enter maintenance mode?" "No." I spoke bluntly before grabbing a towel off the counter behind me and tossing it over her eyes. "Just lay there and don''t move. Don''t turn off no matter what." Slowly reaching my hand into her chest cavity, I overlayed the view from my eyes with the image from my aura, gently moving small panels of circuits and blocks of electronics out of the way before grabbing an unbelievably dense, and warm block that almost looked like a battery from the outside. -This must be the central computing unit...- Having worked extensively with robots in my time as a System Mercenary, I generally knew the basics of how things worked, but doing something like removing hard-coded behaviors and limitations was far outside my ability. But thankfully, I didn''t have to do it myself. -Alright...- *Pop* Popping the cover off the control unit, I reached in and touched it, feeling a current of electricity run through my finger before Bella''s body tensed up as if she were going to seize. But at the same time, a panel appeared in front of my eyes. *Beep* <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 34.7763%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">Claimable Robotics Detected</th> </tr> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">Would you like to claim this robotic entity?</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">These robotics do not have a registered Owner, however, that does not mean it is not owned.</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Claiming this entity can result in consequences, and will require a large amount of mana Proceed with Caution</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.3743%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">No</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="2">Yes</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> "Yes." Resorting to voice controls since my hands were tied, the panel instantly updated with another, asking what mana source to use, my own, or a mana core from my inventory. -I''m not sure it can access my mana anymore since it can''t give me upgrades, so...- "Use artifact in slot 68." *Beep* "Confirmed." *Vwoop-VWOOM* Without any hesitation, the wyvern''s huge mana core was pulled out of my inventory, sending out a massive blast of mana before funneling it toward the central control module. *Crackle* "Please disconnect your hand from the unclaimed robotics." -Thank goodness the core didn''t explode...- Pulling my hand out of her side, the towel on her head lit up with a blinding glow as her eyes lit up and her body seemed to deform and morph. If she were a living creature, every bone in her body would have been completely splintered, and every muscle would have been torn. -But...- After stepping back and letting the system do its thing for a moment, the glow in her eyes and sprawled-out robotics seemed to relax before another panel appeared before me. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 40.5318%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">Robotics Claimed</th> </tr> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">Would you like to preserve original behaviors? (This can be changed later)</td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50.7562%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">No</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="2">Yes</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> *Beep* Hitting ''yes'', I gave it another moment to translate everything into the system before tapping on the ''Companions and Robotics'' tab and finding a single item with a string of numbers as its name. -Looks like this part of my system was updated quite a bit...- Compared to what I was used to, everything so far seemed way more streamlined. But as I tapped on the string of numbers and was met with the ''Robotic''s Details'', I had to question that assertion. On that panel, everything was listed, from masses of data the system couldn''t parse, to an endless list of the limitations and permissions of her computing. Thanks to the System though, it was far less of a headache to sort than one would think. -Alright.. but I don''t see the button I was looking for...- In my old system, there was a button that allowed me to reset all default permissions using presets like ''machine'', ''robot'', ''slave'', ''Artificial Intelligence'', and so on, giving the robot or creature that was claimed a specific set of rules or permissions to abide by that followed the gist of the set presets. -But that''s nowhere on here...- Thinking I would have to go in and manually change everything myself, I explored the other relevant tabs before eventually stumbling across a tab labeled ''Mana-Mechanics''. -This is new...- Quickly opening it, I was presented with a large panel quite a lot of text and a warning. It read: ''It appears this robot has surpassed the threshold of computational power in order to use mana-mechanics. To summarize, mana-mechanics is a new System Feature available to claimed robotics, giving them access to an extension of the host''s system, allowing for personal inventory access, the use of robotically-cast magic, upgrades, and skills. Inventory items, upgrades and skills can be transferred between the host and claimed robotics at will, however, if the mana cost of the upgrades or skills is not fulfilled with the robots own reserve, they cannot be used. If you would like to proceed with mana-mechanics implementation, please bring a mana core of appropriate volume into contact with the Central Computing Unit of the robot. WARNING: Please take note that this System Feature is extremely experimental, and that succeeding in implementation is far from guaranteed, being about a 60% chance at best, and 0% at worst depending on the size of the mana core you attempt to implant.'' -What the...- A mix of curiosity and fascination instantly washed over my face. In the past, claimed robotics and creatures marked as ''companions'' by the system that met a specified ''Mana-Level Requirement'' were essentially just extensions of yourself. Items and upgrades they gathered would be transported to your inventory whenever they were collected, and when you did a ''recall'', calling all the robots to you, they would physically transfer the items into your inventory so that they could properly be accessed. -But this is saying they will have their own inventory, and will let them essentially become their own little System Users...- From what I read, it essentially gave robotics the ability to do things only slaves or System ''companions'' could do previously. But while indescribably convenient, the success rate warning hung me up. -I guess it''s because the System has to implant a mana core for Bella...- But something told me it wasn''t limited to just her. "But, it''s not like I have an appropriate mana core for her on hand anyway..." Looking over at the wyvern''s mana core floating in the air, I reached out and put it back in my inventory. -I wish Michael would give me a quest to kill something, but.. maybe it''s good that a crisis hasn''t fallen on Earth yet...- That didn''t mean I wanted to just wait until one did to get Bella a suitable mana core though. -For now, let''s just fix her permissions though...- *Beep* Going back to the previous panel with her permissions and capabilities, I started slowly scrolling through, making sure to read every word before turning things on and off, and adding details as I deemed fit. But with thousands of individual permissions, it took time, and as seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours, I found it slipping from me. So much so that the next time I lifted my head from that panel, the light of the morning sun had illuminated the lounge on the other side of the kitchen counter. It was the first sunrise I was around to see on Earth in nearly five and a half centuries. But at the same time, it would also be the first sunrise Bella would be able to appreciate, as the glow of life returned to her eyes, *Flicker* this time not clouded by the haze of artificial limitations. "H..Huh..?" As she appeared to wake up, her pupils widened and fell on the view of the golden glow filling the room. "What.. happened..." Slowly sitting up, she couldn''t pull her eyes off the stunning view of the city out her window. "Why is it.. beautiful..." ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 27: Altera Double Quotation means the voices are coming from the TV or an adjacent scene depending on the scenario and context <hr> Early Morning - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | United States ----- - Alrek Occoro ~ "Good morning, wonderful citizens of Earth. More information about the destroyer suspect that appeared in Arlington yesterday has been revealed by the ISO, and more videos have surfaced of the perpetrator, named Evren Lestir." Looking over at the screen as I laid at the end of my bed trying to rest after a sleepless night, I watched the morning news run through everything that had happened before replaying Evren''s announcements, and showing replays of her stopping Hakon in his tracks. Thankfully, people didn''t seem to be too panicked, even the news anchors seemed to be approaching the situation fairly calmly. At least with the exception of one of the younger members they had speaking on the panel. ""This woman is certainly dangerous, and until the situation is confirmed, we must treat it like worst-case scenario. This is how disasters happen is it not? Why isn''t the whole city being evacuated?"" ""Because if it''s true that she was the one to kill the monster that appeared in the Appalachian west of Richmond, it could easily be assumed that she is here with good intentions. After watching the countless videos of her sent in, I find it hard to believe someone like that could be a destroyer."" ""But it''s not like destroyers can''t act. If she turns out to be a destroyer, how is the US going to stop her?"" "Ugh..." -I know they''re just blabbering but geez...- Letting out a groan, I looked back up at the ceiling with heavy eyelids, idly listening to the news while trying my best to get some shut-eye. However, I couldn''t keep them shut. ""Ah, it seemed we actually have some breaking news! The Queen of the Elves has just been spotted crossing into Virginia, and appears to be headed straight for Arlington."" "WHAT?!" Springing up from my bed, I looked toward the screen with a look of fear. ""So the great Queen is going to be the one to deal with the destroyer? She must have been given a quest!"" ""Yes, yes, yes! It seems we have nothing to worry about, after all!"" "NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT?!" Bolting up from my bed, I threw on clothes as fast as I could before swiping my ID off the desk next to me and calling someone in a secured channel. Ring It was a call to someone the ISO had stationed in Leyfa Askr, the elven kingdom to the North, encompassing all of Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, directly sharing a border with the continental United States. Ring Because the ISO was unable to get permission to build or spread influence there, we had a few elven spies sent there in order to try and coerce the queen. One of them was even a maid in the Queen''s palace. Beep "Alrek?" Finally answering, the voice of an older woman met my ears. "Ava, why did the queen leave?! Why haven''t you reported anything?!" "W-What?" Sounding flabbergasted, she continued somewhat hesitantly. "I-I don''t know what you mean by leave. There has been nothing out of the norm. If she even left her room people would lose their minds around here." Hastily tying my shoes, my panic started to ease. "Then why did the news just announce that she was spotted in Virginia?!" There was an immediate, long silence that overtook the call. "Shit..." Quickly putting myself together, I cleaned up my appearance before making my way out of my suite and into the elevator. "If anything happens, report directly to me, got it?" "G-Got it!" Beep Hanging up, my expression washed with stress. "Hooh..." Letting out a long breath to try and ease my nerves, I looked up to watch the floor number hastily decrease until it slowed and stopped at 1. Ding Woosh Quickly walking out into a hallway, I made my way into the incredibly desolate lobby of the tower, before pushing open the front door and being greeted by the flashes of more cameras than I could count. -Geez.. isn''t this district on mandatory evacuation? How are there so many reporters...- Blocking the light with my hand as I tried to look around, I noticed several reporters speaking to people on a call in a panic before they all looked into the air, so I did the same. But instead of seeing something specific, all I saw was a white blur drop from the sky straight in front of me. tap-WOOOOOSHHH Nearly blowing me off my feet, an indescribably massive burst of air ripped past me before I opened my eyes to see the figure of a stunningly beautiful elf with white hair and skin of porcelain standing before me. With bright green eyes, long pointed ears characteristic of a high-elf, and a crown of leaves and feathers, her appearance was nothing short of enchanting. But.. while she was also known as the ''Ice Queen'' because of her lack of emotion.. the woman standing in front of me, staring up the spire wore a look that belonged to a child on Christmas. "You," Her voice, overwhelmed with a mix of anxiety and joy, was like that of an angel. "Do you know where the woman claiming to be Evren is?" Lowering her gaze to me, her eyes glimmered like the canopy of a forest. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. I didn''t even know how to respond. "U-Uh, yes!" -Fuck, what am I doing?!- In a complete panic, I spoke as fast as I could. "She is in the suite at the top of the spire, p-please allow me to bring you-" "No need. I found her." WOOOOOSH Instantaneously disappearing, a colossal gust of wind nearly threw me into the air before I found my gaze aimed up toward the sky. In the blink of an eye, she had leapt all the way to the top of the spire. -H..How...- She did it so casually that it was honestly scary. But as her ascent slowed, and she pulled a golden orb out of her inventory, aiming it into one of the windows, the ground was lit by a golden glow, and it felt like time stopped. The artifact she had was called The Eye of Odin, an artifact from a Rank 0 world that reads the details of the user it''s aimed at, regardless of system security, exposing everything from birth name to inventory, stats, personality traits, and even habits. It was one of the most powerful artifacts on Earth, rumored to even read the system details of gods, angels, and demons. But as she used it, and a series of runes lit up around it, flooding the city with golden light, everything suddenly went dark, and the artifact exploded. -H..Huh?- It was a sight that made my brain short-circuit. -W..What just happened...- ----- - Evren Lestir ~ VWOOM-FLASH -Hm?- As a presence from the base of the spire suddenly launched itself up next to my room, and the lobby was filled with golden light, I glanced over my shoulder to find a young-looking white-haired elf floating just outside my window. -I guess it was too quiet for too long...- Vwoop Thinking it was trouble, I put Bella into my inventory and wove my aura into the window before shattering it completely, letting the forceful winds climbing the side of the spire into the room, and letting our voices reach each other. But, as I turned to face her, tears welled in her eyes. "E..Evren?" -What?- They weren''t tears from fear or panic. They were tears of joy and relief. "Auntie Evren is that really you?!" WOOSH Bolting up to me, she threw her arms around my waist before pressing her long ear into my stomach. -Wait a second...- It was a motion that brought back old memories. "EVE?!" Looking down at her, her unique mana-lit forest green eyes locked on me, and I felt my own eyes go wide. She was the daughter of a queen I was exceptionally good friends with, a kind and benevolent woman named Bree Altera, the crowned Queen of The Oak, the place believed to be the birthplace and paradise of all elves. But regardless of her position, her daughter was as reckless and rambunctious as could be, and while I was in that world to complete a few missions given by the system, I had developed a sort of.. guardian-esque relationship with her. In other words, I had become her aunt. "Mom said we would never see each other again! It''s been almost three hundred years, how are you still alive?!" "Hah," Feeling a wave of relief and nostalgia blow over me, I smiled. "You think time can kill me?" "What about the system? I know you aren''t the kind to linger in worlds after you finish the mission..." A bit of worry seeped into her voice as she continued. "If I''m right, shouldn''t you have been a mercenary for a bit over five hundred years now?" Gently nodding, I smiled somewhat warmly. "I kept going until the system had no more missions to give me..." Pat Setting my hand on her head out of habit, I opened my system. "When the system had no harder missions to give me, it let me return to wherever I wanted, so I chose Earth.. my old home..." Seeing my expression darken, worry crept onto Eve''s face. "Wait, it only let you return after you completed everything it could throw at you? I thought.. it was supposed to let you return after you ascend..." -Hm?- "What do you mean? Like achieve that metamorphosis where you stop needing to eat, and stop aging?" "Yes," Loosening her grip on my waist, she slowly pulled herself away. "It happens when your body starts to live off mana, as time passes your body will slowly improve itself until you essentially become a demigod, a god with mortal flesh... When that happens, you''re supposed to get a message from the system saying something like ''Requirements Met'', and have it open a panel that lets you travel back to live in a few specific worlds." -Interesting...- "Yeah, that never happened for me. When I ascended, the only thing that changed was my system profile... If anything, the missions got harder after that." "And you.. just kept going?" Horror instantly crept into her expression. "For hundreds of years?" Nodding, I gently pushed her back. "184,214 missions, and 554 years. To top it all off, when I did finally return here, my System wiped itself. I lost all my items, my robotics, skills, and upgrades." "Huh?" Her expression instantly washed with anger as she floated up to her feet. "After all that they wiped your system?!" "Yeah, and as if it wasn''t bad enough, after less than a day of being back here, an administrator appeared and dragged me back into the System, trying to kill me..." -I''m really lucky there wasn''t a harder mission available...- But the fact one would eventually appear was inevitable. "It''ll probably happen again, so before then, I need to learn about mana and magic. The mission they sent me on this time was the hardest the system had to offer again, and.. it tested my limits a bit." "W-Wait, so what''s your level now? Did it not get reset to 1?" Quickly shaking my head, I motioned her to not worry. "My stats are all the same, but because all my upgrades are gone, I lost a lot of strength... The mission I just got back from was single target assassination and.. I struggled a bit. The saving grace is that me losing all my upgrades gave me access to the mana the system kept reserved for them, so I have more mana than I know what to do with, hence why I asked one of Earth''s administrators to find a teacher for me." "Ah!" Her expression instantly lit up with determination. "What about me, then?" Her eyes gleamed just like they did when she was young. "I''m the strongest mage in this world!" Puffing up her chest like a child, I wanted to laugh. Her joy made me feel a warmth I thought I had forgotten. "Haha, alright." -Student becomes the teacher, huh...- Taking a step back and leaning up against the bar at the edge of the kitchen, I spoke smoothly. "Do you have a guild or something?" "Haha!" Letting out a hardy laugh, she held her head up with confidence. "I am the daughter of the Monarch of the Oak! You think I would settle for a guild?" Smiling wide, she spoke incredibly pridefully. "We have a ways to run before we cross the border, but my kingdom is the largest in this world!" -So that little princess really did follow in her Mother''s footsteps...- Smiling warmly, I felt proud seeing how she turned out. -She really does remind me Bree.. even if she is a bit.. eccentric...- Looking her in the eyes as I got ready to let Bella out of my System to introduce them, I smiled. -I wonder if Bree acted like this when she was young too...- ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 28: Desire Mid Morning - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | United States ----- - Eve Altera ~ "So you wish to bring Evren back to your kingdom with you?" "I''m not asking." Standing firmly, just inside the office of a man named Alrek Occoro, I spoke coldly. "Y..Yes, I''m aware.. however, we did get a message that you stole the Eye of Odin..." Anxiously keeping his gaze below mine with a cold sweat, Alrek spoke with caution. "I have no right to sit in on this.. however, it''s quite likely the US will seek compensation for destroying such a precious artifact..." "Since when did the US own the Archive?" Tilting my head, I wove anger into my tone. "If the Dwarven King wishes for compensation for me breaking his artifact, he will contact me himself." *Vwoom* Using a bit of my aura to lift up his chin, I made him look me in the eyes. "If the ISO wishes for me to repay damages to the spire, I will. However, the US won''t be getting a penny from me. If your country''s politicians have gotten that greedy you should leave before they bring doom upon themselves." Grimacing slightly, his gaze stopped wavering. "The ISO is required for international stability. We must exist in order to keep countries out of conflict like this..." Waving away my aura, his expression stiffened with a fake smile. "We will do our best to prevent the US from doing anything, even if we must pay for their satisfaction. Is that enough, your majesty?" -No wonder Kassaer took a liking to him.. he''s like a fox...- Nodding, I turned to the door. "But before I leave, allow me to say this." Glancing back, the temperature of the room plummeted to the point that frost formed around me. "If you appease their greed, you will only delay the inevitable." His expression quickly darkened before true honesty finally found its way into his voice. "We are aware." Pausing to look into his eyes for another moment, I felt like I was talking to an upper manager of the ISO. -He won''t be bad to get on good terms with...- Gently waving over my shoulder, I opened the door with my aura and walked out. "I greatly appreciate how you treated Evren, so if you ever need a reasonable favor, reach out to me through that little spy of yours." Watching him jolt as the doors finally closed, and I walked down the hall with a pleased look. -If they need help preventing the government''s collapse, I certainly wouldn''t be against it.- All helping would mean is that I would get a piece of the pie. -I wonder if they''ll finally give me that valley in the Rockies...- Getting a bit ahead of myself, a wide smile spread across my face. But while I was hopeful to get a piece of the pie that would follow the chaos, my smile was also fueled by something else. *Ding!* As I reached the top of the elevator, my system updated with a quest. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 32.9929%; background-color: rgba(0, 4, 255, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.8034%" colspan="4" scope="rowgroup"> Personal Quest Created </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.8034%" colspan="4" scope="rowgroup"> A Foreign Being Seeks Knowledge of Magic Entity Name: Evren Lestir </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.8034%" colspan="4">Objective: Teach The Entity Magic</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.8034%" colspan="4">Reward: +20 Levels or a Divine Artifact of Your Choosing </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4"> Penalty for Failure of Entity''s satisfaction or Rejection of the quest will result in: The termination of all foregoing administrative favor, and a decrease of System Reputation to the minimum value of -9999 </td> </tr> </thead> </table> "Holy shit..." -What is that penalty?!- It was the most severe penalty I had ever seen. -That might be worse than death...- And while the objective was simple, being something I was already going to do.. the completion condition had me worried. -''Failure of Entity''s satisfaction''...- It meant even if I did everything I could, if Evren wasn''t satisfied, I would get hit with the penalty anyway. -It seems like the gods are anxious too...- But while it made me a bit anxious, the completion condition also sparked an old sense of determination I hadn''t felt in quite a long time. I was a mage that was completely unrivaled in both knowledge and talent on Earth. If there were to be anyone able to complete this quest it would be me. -Auntie Evren is a more traditional fighter too...- Although it''d be a challenge, I was confident I''d be able to satisfy whatever she could throw at me, be it no talent, or an ocean of it. However, that confidence quickly disappeared once I found how far that sea continued over the horizon. "Wait, so.. how long have you been trying to learn how to control your aura..?" Staring at her with wide eyes as she grabbed her things and equipped her armor, she turned to me and spoke bluntly. "A little over a day." Staring into the massive volume of blue and green mana pouring out of the window as she directed it away from me, I suddenly felt a mountain lay itself on my shoulders. -I thought she was just using an artifact to conceal her aura...- It was a sight that even I, the child of the person most people believed to be the strongest in the system, struggled to wrap my head around. When I first entered the outskirts of Arlington, I noticed a distinct change in the air, the mana felt oddly stale, but I thought it was just because I entered the city. -Was that feeling from.. her aura..?- Feeling a bead of sweat form on my forehead, my heart started thumping harder than it ever had before. -I.. might need to rethink how I''m going to teach her...- ----- - Evren Lestir ~ "Hooh.. okay then..." Letting out an anxious breath, Eve averted her eyes for a moment. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. "Is something the matter?" Calling over Bella as I kept my eyes on Eve, I grabbed the towels and higher quality cloth I told her to retrieve before tossing it all in my inventory. "N-No, I apologize, I just.. had to rethink something for a moment..." Giving Bella a quick glance, Eve continued into the room with a somewhat forced smile. "In any case, shall we get going? We have quite a ways to run." "Yeah." -I''d rather not waste any more time loitering around here...- Looking back toward Bella, I reached out and had her press her head into my palm, instantly moving her into the robotics section of my inventory. *Vwoop* "So, how long will we be traveling?" "As short as a few hours if we really haul it." Turning toward the window, while Fiddling with her system, she started speaking more freely. "I can''t say I''m certain we will be able to make that pace though..." "Haha," She was worried I wouldn''t be able to keep up. -She''s just as confident as her mother...- "If you think you can outrun me, why don''t you try it? You used to love racing me around the Oak." -Even if you were but a child back then...- Pausing, her anxiety seemed to vanish and she turned back to me with a slightly competitive gleam in her eye. "A-Alright then! Just don''t get mad when I beat you now!" But unfortunately, that never happened. After taking a moment to humble her, we began our rather long trek to the northwest, enjoying the incredible vistas while blasting past monsters so fast we killed them. *D-D-D-Ding!* Looking at the slough of ''kill-confirmed'' panels that popped up after we passed over a village of orcs, I slowed down slightly to let Eve connect us with a static tube of air so we could speak to one another. *Vwoom* "Using your aura to run like that is pretty clever." At the time, I was using my aura to run just over the trees, connecting my feet to the ground from just above the canopy so I wouldn''t have to worry about obstacles. "But you can also use your aura like a spring and throw yourself if you have something sturdy to connect your aura to." -Huh?- "What? Really?" I instantly turned to her with a curious look. But it turned out to be far more difficult than it sounded. The thing was, whenever I stiffened my aura, it had no elasticity so it couldn''t throw anything the traditional way, and could only really act like a medium for me to apply force through. And while this was mainly because of a lack of control and knowledge with my aura, Eve actually had an alternative solution... Essentially, if I created a bunch of pillars connecting to the ground, as if I was spreading out the impact of my step, or spread out my weight, I could quickly scrunch up the pillars, and launch myself forward or into the air as long as the ground was sturdy enough. However, Eve forgot to mention that it wasn''t just the ground that needed to be sturdy. *CRRRACKK* *PUFF* The first time I tried it, it was like a black hole had been created beneath me. The trees were reduced to dust and the top layer of dirt, grass, rocks, and roots were compacted into the area right beneath my foot before suddenly exploding, as if the entire area was forced to implode. But boy did it work. *WOOOOOSH* In the same instant that the fifty-meter-wide section of forest beneath me was reduced to a blend of dust, I found myself engulfed in the dense mist of a cloud. "Holy shit..." Inevitably falling back to the ground, I quickly caught myself before trying again and again to try and get the hang of it. But the repetition was good for more than just practice. While doing it over and over again was fairly mentally taxing, the more I did it, the less of a headache things like reading my aura gave me.. even if the change was so slight I almost didn''t notice. -Is the pain I feel not from mental strain like that mage thought? Why does it feel like I''m getting better?- Even after pushing myself to the absolute limit when fighting the wyvern, and bringing that unbelievable splitting pain upon myself, rather than feeling like my brain was getting slower and more sluggish, my thoughts somehow felt clearer and faster than ever. But I couldn''t know without testing, so for the rest of our journey, I ran with my eyes closed, guiding myself over the forest solely with my aura, reading it out as far as I could for as long as I could in order to try and replicate the pain I felt after using my aura to fight the wyvern. And sure enough.. it really hurt. By the time we crossed the heavily forested border that used to connect to Canada, barely an hour after we started running, I felt loopy to the point I was struggling a bit with my balance, and had an incredibly uncomfortable pulsating sensation moving through my head. "Ugh..." -On second thought.. maybe that wasn''t a great idea...- "Why are you pushing yourself that hard?" Panicking slightly after having watched my condition worsen for the last hour, Eve quickly closed the distance between us before hastily looking around and changing directions. "Here, just follow me!" Not really questioning it, I followed after her, but it didn''t take long for the endless, uniform forest we had been passing over to start growing. In a matter of moments, the trees went from twenty meters to well over a hundred, donning wide canopies and massive overhanging branches that suspended entire buildings and structures connected to one another with wide rope bridges. It was literally a suspended city. -Woah...- But while it was sincerely quite beautiful, I genuinely had no clue why we were here. -This definitely isn''t the capital... So, why are we here?- But as we began slowing down and eventually came to a stop before a stunning wooden building built into the canopy of one of the larger trees, things made a bit more sense. *Tap-Tap* "Wait here." *Woosh* Quickly darting inside, Eve only took a moment to come back out with two massive bottles of red liquid with a blue mist floating inside it. "Here, drink this." -Ah, I see...- We were taking a break. *Pat* Taking one of the bottles from her though, I hesitated before taking a sip. "What is this?" It reminded me of potions that were exceedingly common in the early system worlds, but they had almost no affect after a certain point, usually around level 50 or 60. But it was a bit different. "This is called a mana elixir. It''s just a common healing potion embued with a ton of mana. They''re meant for people around level two hundred, but since we as ascended live off mana, it will help us too. It should help alleviate your headache at the very least." "Wait..." I immediately tilted my head. "How did you know it was a headache?" -Did she guess?- Quickly shaking her head, she popped off the glass bottle''s cork and threw her head back to take a big Gulp of it. *Blub* "Haaah..." With a satisfied breath, she was quick to continue. "Considering it came after you were practicing with your aura for a while, I figured it was it was something ascended call ''mana strain''. It''s basically when some part of your body, usually your brain, gets deprived of mana kind of like mortals do with oxygen if they dont breathe enough. It feels like a burning or searing sensation, right?" But I had to quickly shake my head with a slightly confused look. "It feels like something is tearing..." Although my head did feel incredibly hot, it wasn''t like she described. -But maybe this will still help...- However, as I stared at it, thoughts and theories blew through my mind before I inevitably just tossed it in my inventory. *Vwoop* "Huh?" It made Eve a bit confused though. "You aren''t even going to try it?" Shaking my head, a smile found its way onto my face. "I just want to test a theory I have. Drinking it will just undo everything I just tried to replicate." -It might skew the results...- Giving me a look as if wanting me to tell her what the experiment was, she stared at me for a moment before her posture finally eased. "Haah, alright then... Regardless, let''s use it as an excuse for a break. You said you were in a rush to learn about mana anyway, right?" Seeing me nod, she quickly continued. "We are in one of my kingdoms satellite cities, cities near the border." Motioning me along with her, we walked up to a railing that overlooked all the surrounding, suspended structures absolutely packed with people trying to get a look at us. "It''s not a city known for mana research or anything, but it is the location of something that''ll definitely help you." Tilting my head, I looked through my aura, but didn''t see anything special nearby. "What is it?" Smiling somewhat smugly, she puffed up her chest. "A mana well! The perfect place for a new mage to train and learn about mana! The one I wanted to bring you to is in the capital, but it might be better to use something a little less extreme to start." "I-Is that so?" Mana wells were essentially accumulations of mana in the ground that have yet to turn into dungeons. In some of the worlds I had been to, they contained entire lakes of mana where I could even go for a swim. -They''re the perfect place to learn about mana and all the time I spent in them was to just relax...- I felt a bit guilty hearing it from her. But considering Earth''s low mana level, I didn''t expect much. After following Eve across town, we made it to a large marble structure built on the ground and made our way inside. *Vwoom* It was like stepping into another world. The mana level inside was completely incomparable to everything outside, being thick enough to feel a bit intoxicating, but as we travelled down a long spiral staircase, it only got thicker and thicker, to the point that it was visible, filling the air with a beautiful blue and green glow. -Geez...- Staring at the beautiful flows of mana in the air with wide eyes, my expectations completely fell apart. "This is a much bigger well than I expected..." Eventually making it to the bottom, I overlooked the nearly hundred square meter pond of mana with a look of shock. -Earth doesn''t have that much mana as it is though.. how did a well this big even form...- I honestly didn''t know what to even think. But I wasn''t given a single moment to even question it. Before anything more than a question could rip through my head, every waking moment was consumed by lessons on mana and magic to the extent that I didn''t even have the free thought to ask questions anymore. When I had something I wanted to ask, Eve already had the answer, almost like she was reading my mind. But while the progress felt kind of slow, it only sped up more and more the longer she talked, combining verbal lessons with visual examples, using the visible flow of mana in the air the show me exactly how I needed to do things. The thing was.. I just had way more to learn than I thought... By the time evening rolled around, I felt like I had barely even scratched the surface, and that feeling sparked a desire I didn''t even know I had. A desire that lit my curiosity aflame like a gas can being tossed into a campfire. The desire to learn. ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 29: The World of Mana Sorry for the big blocks of text, loooots of info this chapter <hr> Early Evening - Early Summer : The Terra Mana Well | Leyfa Askr ----- *Vwoom* What is mana, and what is magic? They were simple questions, ones I expected to have similarly simple answers. However, while the answers themselves weren''t too crazy, the moment you ask ''how'', the floodgates open. "Mana is something that strengthens the foundation of the world." Speaking with a palpable joy, Eve walked out in front of me, reaching her hand out and creating beautiful swirls in the visible mana filling the air. "It is a medium we as intelligent life can use to manipulate that foundation, or as people of this world say, manipulate physics." Clenching her hand and dissipating the swirling mana, she smiled. "That manipulation is what we call magic!" Already lost in my own thoughts, I gently sat down before looking up into the thick mana that filled the space around us. "But unfortunately, mana on its own isn''t too helpful with things like creating a fireball." *Fwoosh* Igniting a ball of fire in her hand, she quickly spun it around herself before letting it dissipate. "Without any attribute, mana isn''t much different from an atom. As I''m sure you''ve noticed, your aura lacks an attribute, and as you''ve seen, you can only really make it act like an object to transfer force through; something to spread out the weight of an impact or as you may have seen me do, use telekinesis." *Vwoom* Picking up a small rock several meters away, it appeared to hover toward me before dropping to the ground just in front of me. "So where do the other attributes come from?" "They come from things called runes. You can think of them like a circuit, but they are just something that forces the mana to change states." Holding her hand out, a circular, extremely intricate web of lines appeared, creating the appearance of a maze. "If I put normal, unattributed mana into this, I can feel it flow through the circuitry before flowing out as fire-attributed mana. Then, if I want to create a flame with it, I just spin it really fast." *WOOSH* A flame the size of her instantly erupted from her palm. "And if I wanted to do the opposite, I can." *Crackle* In the blink of an eye, the massive flame vanished and a fog of frost filled the area around her hand. -Woah...- "So what are the attributes then? Are fire and frost mana different?" Wanting to laugh at my naivety, she was quick to answer. "Fire and frost mana are the same mana, sorry if the name confused you. The attributes of mana are divided into different sections of the laws of reality, with Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Lightning, Light, and one that only exists in theory called space mana, and each of them is best at controlling something about the world. To try and keep it simple for now, fire mana is best at dealing with temperatures, earth mana is best at dealing with extremely rigid and dense things, water mana is best at controlling and manipulating liquids, wind mana is the same with gasses, and lightning is the same with plasma. Light, however, is a little more complicated, while we are still developing our knowledge about it, we believe it is best at controlling things called photons, little strings that can act like either a particle or a wave." -How.. fascinating...- As a gleam of curiosity appeared in my eyes, I found myself falling into a trance-like focus. "And what about space?" Quickly getting a bit flustered, she stuttered before speaking honestly. "I-I don''t really know. We just assume it''s what the system uses to work since we don''t know of any magic that can do anything like store items in.. nothingness." *Vwoop* Tossing a small pebble in her inventory, she somewhat disappointedly pulled it out and tossed it. "But regardless, let''s keep things simple. Besides mechanical methods like runes, nature also has ways to convert mana between attributes, and the most widely known one is attribute nodes. You can think of them like an artifact that converts mana to specific attributes with almost perfect efficiency. They''re also much easier and much quicker to use than traditional runes, so having a node is like having a special affinity with that element." -Interesting...- Tilting my head slightly as she walked up to me, I asked, "Are attribute nodes essentially just artifacts that form naturally then?" Gently nodding, she sat right down in front of me. "Yes, but they only work for the owner of the reserve they are connected to, and their efficiency is determined by how close they are to that reserve. So, to start with some more hands-on lessons, we''ll figure out where yours are so we can figure out what your best attribute is!" She seemed rather eager to get started, but I was a little hesitant. And after we started the technique to find where they are, I realized why. "Now, it''s pretty simple. To feel the presence of an attribute node you can either try and feel for it with your aura, or read the aura in your body directly. You should feel a sphere somewhere in your body where your aura can''t reach, that is an attribute node." -Really?- Quickly reading the aura in my own body, the awful image of my insides filled my mind.. but I didn''t find anything so out of the ordinary. "I.. don''t see any..." Speaking with my eyes closed, I spoke with uncertainty. "Huh?" Even Eve seemed to be taken aback. "Wait, no no no, that can''t be right. All ascended should have at least one, if not most nodes. Maybe check closer to your reserve?" If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But I just shook my head. "I don''t see anything spherical at all, let alone something my aura can''t enter." Her expression quickly morphed with a mix of curiosity and confusion. "O..okay then... For the practical stuff, we will start with just unattributed mana..." Noticing her getting anxious, I tilted my head. "Is something wrong with not having any attribute nodes? Can I not just use runes?" "Yes, but runes are very complicated. They take time to learn, and time isn''t our friend right now so let''s start with what is easiest for you to use in actual combat..." Looking troubled, she took a quick breath before firming her expression with determination. "Hooh... It''s okay, maybe this is for the better anyway..." But while we quickly got started, expecting me to get summoned back to another world in a matter of hours, a few days passed in the blink of an eye. Completely absorbed in the lessons, I didn''t even realize it either. With the wonderful dense mana, the sensation of being tired or hungry never came, leaving me to focus entirely on learning the functions of my aura, how to make better use of it, and how to control it more efficiently before moving to regular mana itself. But while getting better at using my aura would take time, everything with it made sense, even if the technique was something complicated like telekinesis, I was quick on the uptake because once I learned its properties and got used to them, the ability to make use of it was easy. It still wasn''t easy though. Even though I had enough aura to rip a drake in half according to Eve, I had nowhere near enough mental capacity for it. My issue wasn''t the speed of my thoughts, but rather how much I could visualize at once, and the precision of those visualizations. In Eve''s words: ''With aura, the easiest way to create objects is through visualization, but if you do it that way, the moment you stop visualizing something, the object will dissipate. If you create something like a series of columns connecting the impact of your punch to something ten meters away, you must visualize every column at once in a precise, uniform manner, or else it will be unstable and you might end up breaking your hand or wrist instead of your target. Think of your aura like a building, and your visualization like a blueprint. Once you get decent at that, we will add in the less beginner-friendly techniques.'' And when I asked what was considered ''decent'', she said when I could jump off a skyscraper and land without making a sound. Which most certainly wasn''t going to happen without some proper practice, so, to make better use of time, we moved on to my reserve, focusing on the pure mass of mana inside it. But while I expected it to be the same as my aura, since they were both unattributed mana, Eve was quick to correct me. "While they are indeed both unattributed mana, they have different properties. You can think of aura like a decayed version of what is swirling around your reserve. You can''t use it in things like runes, or spells unless you want to call something you do with your aura, like telekinesis, a spell. The mana in your reserve doesn''t have those limits though." "So my mana and my aura are fundamentally different things?" She was quick to nod. "Their properties are mostly the same, and while you can do the same things with both, normal unattributed mana is more effective than aura in one place." Pointing to her chest, she looked into my eyes with an unwavering gaze. "Inside your body." In short, proper mana was better at doing the things aura did, but in your body, sometimes in a permanent fashion. "When your control gets a bit better, you''ll be able to do things like mana-strengthening, which uses mana to strengthen the bonds between the atoms that make up your body. After doing it enough, you''ll find your movements getting lighter and faster. If you do hit something hard, it will also help spread the impact out throughout your body instead of focusing it on a joint so you can exert more strength." -Oh, that''ll be nice...- Glancing down at my hand for a moment, I looked back up at her with a bit of eagerness. "Could we focus on striving for that then? I need to learn that ASAP..." Immediately clamming up, she gave me an odd look. "Why the urgency..? Are you not already strong enough?" A bead of cold sweat quickly formed on her forehead. *Cl-l-l-link* Pulling back the armor on my hand, I took off my glove and showed her my hand. -Looks like it''s mostly healed now...- Aside from a little bruising, it looked normal. "In my last mission, I broke my hands punching a wyvern... It was full strength, sure, but uh.. if I could use full strength for more than one exchange that would be very.. very helpful..." Her expression instantly darkened as her heart seemed to sink. "W..what level wyvern needs you to hit it with your full power..?" Looking over her head, I gave it a moment of thought before speaking somewhat bluntly. "9200-ish." Looking to the side, I waved my hand and pulled out a fragment of its scale. *Vwoop-THUNK* It weighed about half a ton. "His scales were pretty sturdy-" "NINE THOUSAND?!" Tensing up, my gaze slowly settled on her. "He was incredibly weak compared to my old self, but without my upgrades, I had to push myself a bit-" "A bit?!" Eve continued with a slight quiver in her voice. "I know you''ve been in the system for a long time, but.. how is that possible..." Her eyes, washed with a mix of fear and worry, instantly locked with mine. "How can monsters like that exist..? Even Mother could only handle monsters up into level four thousand or so..." Leaning back, she looked up at the ceiling. "How horrifying is level nine thousand? What if a monster like that finds its way to Earth?" "It won''t." Although fear was woven deep into her voice, I spoke somewhat bluntly. "The system has too many measures in place to keep monsters like that from coming here." "But.." She quickly looked me back in the eyes. "If that''s the case how did you get here..?" -I guess it''s to be expected that I''m more of a monster than a human in her eyes, just as anyone else...- I was quick to continue calmly. "My system got wiped, Eve. The system did literally everything it could to try and purge or kill me." Pausing, I relaxed my posture. "Plus, look. When I got here, even the administrators wanted me gone, but we made a deal that I would intervene should a monster this world isn''t capable of handling appear, so stop worrying." -If something I can''t handle appears, we have much bigger issues...- As the image of the administrator that threw me back into the system appeared in the back of my mind, my expression visibly darkened, but I tried to hide it. "Haah..." -I have a long ways to go if I ever want to kill a god...- "In any case, let''s just get back to the lessons, we have a lot to cover, right?" "R-Right..." Somewhat awkwardly, she continued with a much softer tone. "Sorry about that..." ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! BIG Announcement!! (And Art Collage) Hey Everyone! Hope you''re all doing well! So, I know a few of you in the discord have been wondering when this announcement would be made since it''s something I''ve been sitting on for a while, but I thought that since it was my birthday I''d help spread a bit of excitement around. Now, after 3 long years, The Dragon of Dreams AND The System''s Harvester will be getting Webtoons! For a bit of extra detail, we are planning to release the 4-5 chapters for each novel on the 30th, and although the chapters are rather short for the time being, I promise that will change as time passes, I''m just on a very tight budget currently. Expecting that they both do fairly well, or I manage to grow my Patreon, we are aiming for weekly 40 panel chapters (what is generally standard), but are currently doing biweekly 20 panel chapters until more funding is acquired, which, according to the manager shouldn''t take too too long. Also, all chapters will be free. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I would also like to add that I have a hand in every step of the process with these webtoons, so you can expect them to be good adaptations. The TDOD adaptation is based on the rewrites that will be posted whenever the webtoons go live, and I would highly recommend reading them when they are posted, I''ll make another announcement about that when the time comes. But for now, I''ll leave things there and, to help commemorate this moment, I will collage all the art done for the for novel! I can only hope you all are as excited as I am! Enjoy the art! <hr> Chapter 30: Baby Steps Early Afternoon - Mid Summer : Off the coast of Portugal ----- - Kazzaer Aldinn ~ *Crackle* "Haah..." Puffing a metal cigar loaded with drugs to keep me awake, I scrolled through the system forums. It had almost been a week since ''she'' appeared, and nothing had been the same since. Every waking moment felt like I was on crisis control, and while after meeting her I felt like I could finally rest, the rest of the world wasn''t so keen. At the time, I was on a flight to Portugal, where the main headquarters of the ISO was, in order to meet with the Upper Council, a group of people that represented many of the few remaining countries in the world, with a handful of exceptions like China, Australia, and Leyfa Askr. For the most part, they were the ones to make the decisions on matters that would affect things internationally, such as powerful monsters that required the hands of many to face. But in my eyes, they were a bunch of old folk who had grown too used to the world''s progress. "Recently the Council has made some questionable decisions... Is it the Euro group again?" Hearing the gentle voice, I looked over to see my wife, Kara, a short but stout demihuman woman with cute little white bear ears. "It is. This time they''re discussing how to handle the issue with Evren." "It was bound to happen. She''s caused quite a fuss." Nodding, I looked back at the news and puffed my cigar. "I''m just not sure how much I''ll be able to lay my foot down to keep them from doing something stupid." -I''m only one vote, after all...- Walking up behind my chair, Kara gently laid her arms over my shoulders. "The Queen of the Elves already took her, she even used the eye of Odin. What is there to discuss?" My expression quickly darkened just thinking about it. "That''s what I''m worried about." The council had never been on good terms with her or her kingdom, and in recent years, after she acquired a large swath of land that used to be owned by northern Russia and long-since-fallen western European Nations, they had been especially hostile. Their issue was that she could not be negotiated with under any circumstance unless it involved a clear profit for her. -But it''s done more than pay off for her...- After about eighty years, she had established one of the most powerful nations in the world, one even the titans of Earth had to pay mind. But politicians and adventurers were not the same. "With her being in the Queen''s custody, I expect most of them to back off. She isn''t a figure they can beckon." -She even broke the Eye of Odin and didn''t seem to care in the slightest...- Over the last few days, I had been in contact with the Sergeant Major, and after hearing what happened at the Archive, I could only scoff. -People don''t realize how much of a monster the Queen is...- Thinking back to the day we first ever met, a day I was meant to discuss her future cooperation with the ISO, I felt a chill pass down my spine. She was a being Earth was not meant to contain; a being meant to travel the stars forever. "I just don''t know who''s scarier..." Speaking with a slightly pale face, I leaned back in my chair and looked up at Kara''s beautiful face. "Was she really that oppressive?" Wincing slightly, I closed my eyes and tried to get my hands to stop shaking. "She gave me a dwarven greeting, but when she gripped my hand back, even though I could tell she was trying to be as gentle as possible, it broke my hand..." Pausing, I looked down at the red line across the center of my hand. "I think the current estimate of level one thousand is too conservative..." Her level was one I couldn''t put a number on. It was something simply outside the realm of what my mind could comprehend. The moment our hands touched, I felt like I was standing on the surface of an endless ocean of mana, but instead of standing on a small island, it felt like I was standing on a mountain of corpses... One that reached far beyond the sky. *Rub* Quickly trying to ease my nerves, Kara pulled me into her. "If its not pleasant to think about, just don''t. You''ve met her, so trust your gut." Smiling warmly, she gently motioned my head up. "If she''s that strong, it wouldn''t hurt to make her an ally, right?" Snapping out of my thoughts, I closed my eyes before firming my gaze. "Haah... Right..." Looking up at the screen displaying the news, I felt my chest tighten. -Regardless of how this meeting goes, I need to ensure she is my ally...- Because as things were, the safest place in the world was wherever she happened to be. -And right now, I can''t risk Kara being put in danger...- Opening my system with a wave, I stared at a message panel with a cold gaze. It was a message from a foreign administrator... A god not from this world... <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 38.4644%; background-color: rgba(0, 4, 255, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Foreign System Message:</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 100%"> My Child, Earth''s Rank has risen rapidly. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.A disaster on a scale you cannot fathom is coming, and you must begin preparing for it. If you wish to return home, do not Dally </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 100%"> If this request is completed, you will be granted: 1 [Divine Wish] Or 1 [Transportation Ticket] </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> ----- Early Afternoon - Mid Summer : Terra (The City) | Leyfa Askr - Evren Lestir ~ *Tap-CRRRACK* Parrying a huge spike of ice hurtling toward my chest, I shattered it before looking through the cloud of snow to find an arrow made of fire zipping toward my face. -It definitely feels slower than last time...- Catching it with the back of my hand, I used my aura to blow it apart before creating a thin vacuum to direct the blast into the ground. *BANG-FWOOSH* -But this next one is going to be the challenge...- Heightening my senses, the detail of the image painted by my aura grew by many magnitudes before a thin needle-like object closed in on the back of my head faster than I''d be able to normally react to. -Got you!- *Crackle-VWOOM* Catching the thin metal dart with my aura, I directed the blazing plasma following it around me, encompassing myself in the massive plume of light before whipping around and catching a fist as it pierced the cone of light. *POP-CRRRRACK* *WOOSH* Dissipating the plasma, I looked into Eve''s thinned, focused pupils before using countless columns of aura to push up against the atmosphere, gluing my feet to the ground while trapping Eve mid-stride. "PHO-" The stop was so abrupt it knocked her breath out. But it was all a part of training. *Vwoom* Quickly letting her go after the flame in her eyes dissipated, she nearly collapsed to the ground. "Oh my lord... Hah... Your aura.. is ridiculous..." She could barely speak through her heavy breaths. "Is your head seriously.. not hurting from ''mana strain'' anymore..? Just what kind of monster are you?" At the time, I was in the middle of sparring with Eve in an effort to get better with my aura. "After pushing through the pain, it seemed to go away. Is that not normal?" Helping her keep her balance, I felt a bit of guilt loom over my head. "No, Auntie... It''s not..." Nearly falling to the ground, she grabbed my shoulder with her bruised wrist before looking up at the bright full moon overhead and letting out a heavy breath. "Haah, I''ve never even heard of someone pushing past mana strain before... I have to wonder if it''s because of that insane healing of yours..." "Yeah.. I''m not sure..." -Whatever it is.. I''m thankful for it...- It had been about four days since we left the mana well to do some hands-on training at that point, and while I was hoping the sparring would push me hard enough for the pain Eve called ''mana strain'' to kick in, after the first few hours, the pain seemed to go away. "I also expected to be dragged to another world by now, so I kept pushing to try and reach a point where I could learn that reinforcement magic you were talking about." -But it looks like she''s reaching her limit...- "I told you already..." Slowly lowering her gaze to me as she pushed me away, she seemed both taken aback and annoyed. "Given how insensitive to mana you are, it will take time before you reach that point... Unless you have the control for it, you won''t be able to even feel the affects of the technique even if you do it right. Right now you have a literal ocean of mana in your reserve, but you can only pull mana out a coffee cup at a time." "Okay, so how do I go about fixing that?" Pausing, she pulled herself away from me before fixing her hair. "Typically it''s done with mana chambers, it''s why I brought you to the mana well..." Pausing to think, she started slowly pacing around, filling the air with the sound of crunching ash. "But I''m thinking that, because you have so much mana, we should focus on getting you to feel your own mana." Looking back at me, I could see the countless thoughts ripping through her mind. But I found myself getting lost in thought before she could speak. The thing was, she was exactly right. While I could certainly feel my mana, if I tried to actually pull any out to use, using my old upgrades and skills as a guide, I couldn''t even tell if it worked. It was like trying to track a grain of sand in an ocean current. But after some time to think, Eve spoke up again. "Evren, come sit here, I want to try a different approach to this." *Fwip-THWACK* Cutting a massive tree trunk at its base, she quickly kicked the top off to reveal a wide, clean tree stump before motioning me to sit. -What''s she up to now..?- Curiously walking up, I hopped up onto the stump and sat down, following her instructions to sit criss-cross, straighten my back, and close my eyes. "Okay, I want you to limit all of your senses now, especially your aura. I want you to completely ignore everything but my voice." "Alr-" "Don''t speak either. Just focus." "Hooh..." -Okay then...- Letting out a controlled breath, I did what I could to hide the image my aura painted in my mind, and silence most of my inner thoughts. "Now, your reserve, I want you to feel it, and relay an image of it to your mind. As if you were reading the mana in it like your aura." -A..Alright...- Not exactly sure how to do that, I moved my focus down into my abdomen where I could feel a large, tight spherical area, and did what I could to ignore the powerful energy rushing from it like water flowing out of a spring. But no matter how much I tried to visualize it, I couldn''t. I didn''t know how. But Eve''s softly spoken voice found its way into my mind anyway. "Your reserve is a star. A mass of energy constantly radiating a small amount of itself while absorbing more energy from its surroundings." Almost immediately, the view of a bright orange star appeared in my mind. "The energy this star radiates is the same it contains, however, the energy inside it is chaotic." Watching the surface of the star in my mind lose it''s uniformity, I found myself slowly getting entranced. "The energy has no uniformity, and is still with the exception of the currents that flow beneath its surface... But now, I want you to spin it." *VWOOM* The air instantly turned heavy as my aura thickened and the chaotic surface of the star in my mind smeared and swirled. "What direction is it spinning?" -Left...- "Now.. imagine cupping your hand, and sticking it into the fastest moving part of the star''s surface." *Crackle* Almost immediately, energy scraped off the surface of the star funneled up my hand and flowed into the air. Speaking through a smile, Eve continued so softly I almost couldn''t hear her over my own thoughts. "Now increase the size of that hand, and stick it deeper into the star." *Vwoom* The plume of energy being pulled out of the star instantly grew by countless magnitudes before eventually, a chill passed down my spine, and a cold but also warm area appeared in my abdomen. -Is that.. my mana..?- Grabbing hold of it like I would my aura, I opened my eyes and brought it out in front of me. *Vwoom* It was beautiful, a cloud of blue and green so dense that almost seemed to glimmer in the moonlight as I swirled it around my hand like a snake coiling around a tree. But compared to the mana in my reserve it was like I had just taken a bucketful out of an ocean. -It''s still an improvement though...- It was simply the first step of many I would need to take in order to properly utilize my mana. However, while it would certainly take a while for me to learn to run, before long, I felt like I could walk... Albeit like a baby who just learned. *Tap* Pressing the tip of my fingers against a tree, I drew out a thick cloud of mana, funneling it into my arm before pulling back a finger, visualizing the mana I drew out clinging to the muscle fibers in my hand and causing a tenseness to spread through my arm. Then... *Flick-CRRRRACKKK* Flicking the tree trunk, it was almost instantaneously eviscerated, sending a shower of wooden shards through the forest, ripping the bark of other trees before the canopy above me came crashing down. *WooOOSH-THUMP* -Woah...- As the upper half of the tree finally fell to the ground, I couldn''t help but look on with a smile. "Hooh..." With a quick breath to ease my nerves, the tenseness in my arm disappeared, and a tingling feeling replaced it. "That felt.. really good actually..." Even if I still had a long way to go, I felt a sense of passion and pride I thought I had lost. And with it, the flame of curiosity grew. ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 31: The Queens Will Early Evening - Mid Summer : Montijo | Portugal ----- - Oliver Canmore ~ "Tea, please." Quickly nodding, the young maid scurried out of the mostly empty meeting hall to retrieve my drink. -Looks like they got new staff...- Crossing my legs and interlocking my fingers, I turned my attention toward the series of folk sitting around the table. -I hope the tea is the same...- As silence overtook the room, the younger man sitting across the table from me broke the ice. "Where is everyone?" His name was Ahaan, India''s representative in the ISO. "The meeting was rather last minute, ignoring that it wasn''t mandatory for most people, I doubt many besides Kazzaer will come." Ahaan immediately snickered. "A destroyer appears and the global mana levels skyrocket, yet people think they can stand by and watch?" "The meeting on the mana levels is tomorrow." Turning our heads toward the voice, we found our gazes on Akila Bastet, an older Egyptian woman. "Today we are discussing the matters around the destroyer and the Queen of the Elves. Nothing more." Waving Ahaan away with a smoking pipe between her fingers, she motioned over a maid. "But since Kazzaer still isn''t here, bring me some karkade." -She''s antsy today... I wonder why...- Tossing a cube of sugar into my tea as a maid set it down in front of me, I glanced toward the door. -He is running a bit late though...- *Clink-Clink-Clink* But just as I looked away to stir my tea, the air in the room changed. *Vwoom* Everyone instantly turned to the door. -Speak of the devil...- *Click-Woosh* Throwing open the door, Kazzaer walked in without breaking stride, with Brazil, France, and Sweden''s representatives following closely behind him, and the greatest shock to us at the table, Ptitsa Tsvetok coming in behind them all. She was a snow owl avian, and was Russia''s representative. -What is she doing here... Behind Kazzaer, no less...- Going wide-eyed, I felt the air in the room suddenly turn cold. "Apologies for the delay, everyone," Speaking firmly Kazzaer walked up to his seat and slammed down a massive stack of papers. *Thud* "But I believe everyone is here now." Giving everyone a chance to find their seats, he began handing out thick packets of paper, but I couldn''t move my eyes away from Miss Tsvetok. -What the...- For the first time in my career at the ISO, she sat down and ordered a drink without saying a word to anyone but a maid. "Did you hit your head on your flight?" Akila gave her an awkward look as she spoke only half joking. But Miss Tsvetok''s response made everyone freeze. "This is an important meeting." Sitting down and crossing her legs, she looked out over the table with an uncharacteristically cold gaze. "Today''s topic will require everyone''s attention. It''s not a time for jokes." Feeling like the air had suddenly become heavy, I looked back toward Kazzaer, but he seemed anxious more than shocked like the rest of us. -Did they talk before the meeting?- Everyone else was thinking the same thing, but as silence filled the room, her usual firey personality peeked out for a moment. "If we could get this moving though, that''d be great." "R-Right." Somewhat flustered, Kazzaer walked up to the front of the room, dimmed the lights, and turned on the screen behind him. "Today we are discussing the matters involving the woman named Evren Lestir, ''the destroyer'' according to many of the largemouths in the media." Speaking with some ferocity, he shed his anxious look. "To start, I have handed out papers detailing the situation. If you could all read the first few pages, I will walk you through her situation." Finally looking down at the paper, I began reading, listening to Kazzaer as he walked us through it. But I could only read so much before I had to ask for him to slow down. -W..What is all this...- The first few pages of the packet alone had so much information that the public hadn''t heard a peep about that I felt almost shell-shocked. -She killed a monster estimated to be over level 1000, killed an apostle, and was the target of the regional bounty until she left the city...- I honestly didn''t even know where to start. Ahaan was quick to pick apart the story though. "Before we continue, do you have the study reports of the monster''s remains? I don''t believe that such a monster would appear without a global quest being made." In his mind, the odds of something that high level appearing without the administrators creating a global quest related to it were slim to none. -Plus, when her system panel was read it said she was around level 600...- A far cry from being able to single-handedly kill a level 1000. But Kazzaer simply waved his hand and had a section of bone fall out of his inventory and onto the table. *Crunch* "The monster was of unknown origin, ignored a direct hit from a nuclear warhead, and has a bone density twice that of lead." Pausing as he looked at the piece of bone embedded in the table, he spoke somewhat coldly. "Level 1000 is conservative." Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Going wide-eyed, everyone''s eyes bounced back and forth between Kazzaer and the bone. But Miss Tsvetok was quick to break the silence. "If she killed that, then she is clearly above level 600, as this paper states... If that is true, why should we trust anything you''re telling us?" "Because I believe she has administrators defending her. It is a discrepancy that cannot be overlooked, as you will see me mention if you turn the page." Quickly turning the page as he instructed, I read through the piece detailing how the bounty on her suddenly disappeared when she was seen inside Richmond''s airport, and how the ISO''s identification artifacts showed her at level 600 while clearly displaying strength beyond that. His reasoning was that if she really was a destroyer, the bounty never would have gone away, and her system panel would''ve appeared more accurate "So you believe the bounty was a panicked response by the gods, and that her level is being hidden by them?" Ahaan spoke with haste. "Precisely. And the appearance of the Queen of the Elves with the Eye of Odin only proves that." -Huh?!- Jolting along with everyone else in the room, I flipped through pages in a panic before finding a classified section detailing Kazzaer''s discussions with both the US military and those at the Archive. "You mean to tell me, that hermit broke into the Archive, stole one of the most powerful artifacts Earth possesses, broke it.. and no one said a word about it?!" Simply using such an artifact without any permission or agreement was terms for war, let alone breaking it. And everyone knew that, but while the atmosphere quickly became tense, Kazzaer was quick to settle it. "She was given the authority to take things from the Archive a long time ago. Saying she stole it is.. inaccurate." Continuing to read through the paper, it detailed the reactions the Queen had after using the artifact, going in-depth with studying her expressions and behaviors after it happened to deduce what she saw. "The use of the artifact is evidence that things were hidden from us by the administrators, and her reaction is evidence that Miss Lestir is, at the very least, not a threat." It was an almost perfect case. -The fact she ran from the capital to Richmond so abruptly is also a sign that she was likely given a quest of some kind...- "But how do we know the Queen isn''t following her own whim?" Miss Tsvetok quickly interjected. "I''m not buying that her reaction was genuine." *Fwip* Closing the stack of papers, she tossed it up on the table. Being the only person in the room to have met the Queen personally, her words carried weight. "But I think that is quite a rash conclusion..." -If her reaction is indeed genuine, then we might be misunderstanding something about this ''destroyer''s'' identity...- As my eyes drifted down to the analysis of her expressions, an image of the Queen''s ecstatic smile made my stomach churn with unease. -Her reaction is like that of a child reuniting with their mother...- It was an expression that made me question if they hadn''t met before. But while Miss Tsvetok''s expression slowly turned calculative, an unfamiliar aura swept through the office, and everyone''s gaze snapped to the door. *DIIING* Sending out a loud bell-like ring, the metal door caved in, shearing the deadbolts, and letting the door swing open to reveal a single elven maid in a traditional maid outfit standing with her head held high. "I apologize for my rather rude entrance," Gently brushing off her chest, she continued with a condescending tone. "The door was sturdier than expected." -What the...- I didn''t recognize her at all. -But she''s too strong to be some unknown person...- Compared to the people in the room, only Miss Tsvetok could potentially rival her. Yet she appeared to be nothing but a maid. "My master has sent me to clear misunderstandings with regards to the woman named Evren Lestir." "Master..." Ahaan spoke cautiously, "Is your master perhaps the Queen of the Elves?" And the air only became heavier when she nodded. "She has advised you all to cease your discussions about Lady Lestir immediately." -Lady?- *Vwoop* Watching her pull out a gold plaque and set it on the table, I felt my breathing stop. It was the Queen''s royal token. "Lady Lestir is to be revered in the same light as her majesty, if not greater. She is more than a guest of the Queen, and as such, action against the Lady will be considered action against not just the Queen, but the entire elven race." Specifically looking at Miss Tsvetok and Sten, Sweden''s representative, the air turned cold. "She has wished to add that should the ISO as a whole make a move against the Lady, she will accept it as a betrayal of the agreement made in 2570." Sten and Miss Tsvetok''s expressions darkened instantly. "Are her majesty''s words understood?" Looking around at everyone, she continued coldly. "Good. Then I will take my leave." *Clack* Swiping the Golden Plaque off the table, she quickly turned to the door. "Ah, but one last thing, not from the Queen, but from me..." *VWOOM* Gravity seemed to multiply as she looked over her shoulder with a heavy bloodlust seeping from her eyes. "If anyone disturbs the Queen''s happiness, I will personally ensure that their bloodline ceases. If you have a concern, bring it up with me." With a wave of her hand, a System Panel popped up in front of us all. *Ding!* <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 31.939%; background-color: rgba(0, 4, 255, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center"> Contact Information added to Directory: -------------------------------------------------------------- Eir Igna (High-Elf) Age: 196 Years System Directory Number: 235... </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> And by the time we could look up from it, she was gone, leaving us to sit in silence as her System Contacts floated in front of us. "Uh..." Eventually breaking the silence, Ahaan spoke with a slight quiver in his voice. "Let''s end the meeting there, shall we?" Reluctantly nodding, I looked toward Akila to make sure she didn''t have any dumb ideas. But she was just as taken aback as the rest of us. "Y..Yes... I believe this matter is settled..." As we all stood up with an anxiety so deep it made it hard to walk though, Tvestok remained seated, hastily typing into her system. "Is.. something the matter?" Even Akila was anxious. But as her typing stopped and she got up from her seat, she spoke without the slightest waver. "We will have this meeting again in two weeks... I trust that everyone will attend?" Quickly looking around, she nodded to herself and left. But not long after, Akila and Sten simultaneously looked down at their systems as if they received a message. -Why.. do I have a bad feeling about this...- ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 32: Evening the Balance Mid Evening - Mid Summer : In the Sky over Central Arlington ----- - Archangel Michael ~ -I can''t stop it...- Biting my nail as I looked at my system displaying several colored bars, labeled ''Population Rank'', ''Mana Rank'', and ''Monster Rank'' respectively, I felt my soul churn with anxiety. A mere week ago, the ranks were all at the lowest end of 6, however, with every day that passes with that dreaded woman on Earth, the mana rank crept higher and higher. -It''s about to cross over to five...- And while the monster rank had increased quite significantly due to the appearance of The Warden and System Enforcers she dragged along, the mana rank was about to surpass it. And that was bad... Really bad... The way the system worked was fairly simple. Each world was given 3 ranks, one for the population, one for the mana density, and one for the monsters. These three ranks would be averaged out to determine the overall rank of the world, however, it was exceedingly rare that there were outliers in these ranks because of one not-so-simple thing called ''balancing''. In simple terms, rank balancing was a system to keep the three separate ranks in the same ballpark as one another. If the mana rank rose above the monster rank by an unspecified threshold, the system would implant monsters into the world through gates to increase it, and if the population rank fell below the mana rank, it would let us administrators create ''system quests'' that would call in system mercenaries from other worlds. It was all for the intent of keeping worlds balanced with their mana rank. However, Earth as it was currently, was a very special case. Ever since Evren had arrived, the mana rank had begun to skyrocket, and the monster rank even more-so. Thankfully, whenever monsters were summoned through gates, they would permanently raise the planets rank, regardless of whether they died or not, so Evren killing The Warden, and the System Enforcers gave Earth a grace period. But that grace period was about to come to an end, and there was nothing I could do about it. -If there is one saving grace though.. it''s that she doesn''t increase the population rank...- Thankfully, since Evren wasn''t actually connected to Earth''s system, the only thing that increased her rank was her datalink, which, as it was now, was set at default values of 0, casting no effect on the population rank. It was the only thing keeping me from panicking. -With the population rank so much lower than the mana and monster ranks, we should be able to start calling in foreign System Mercenaries again before the monster rank balancing gets invoked...- But, unfortunately, that didn''t mean anything more than there was a chance we could survive. "Hoooh..." Letting out a long, stress-filled breath, I looked up at the dark night sky looming overhead. -It''s a gamble I already placed a bet on.. so I can''t regret it now...- If I played my cards right, Earth had a chance to evolve to a rank I couldn''t have dreamt of before, but at the same time, one misstep could lead to this world''s doom. -I can only trust in Father''s guidance...- Looking at the distant stars littering the sky, I felt the weight on my shoulders grow. -I can only trust that I will find his light again before it''s too late...- ----- Early Morning - Mid Summer : Betsey Lake | Leyfa Askr (Previously Northern Michigan) - Evren Lestir ~ -What a pretty sunrise...- Looking to my right, I watched as the sun was lifted over the seemingly endless forest drawn across the horizon, bathing the sky in a warm orange light before looking ahead to see Eve flying just ahead of me. "So, where did you say we were going?" "To a place called Betsey Lake." Glancing at me over her shoulder, she motioned toward the horizon ahead of us. "It''s where an old monster that lives in Spirit Lake comes to nest in the summer. It''s somewhere around level 600, so we''ve been leaving it alone besides occasionally directing it away from ships, but I think it''d be a good experimental subject for you." -I see...- It had been a bit over a week since Eve started teaching me about mana at that point, and honestly, things had gone swimmingly. Over the past several days, I had expanded my knowledge of the world of mana immensely, learning what exactly it is, and the utmost basics of how to utilize it. But the more my understanding of it grew, the harder it became to actually use it. It was almost like I was overthinking it, and overcomplicating the visualizations and calculations I was doing, even for simple things. So, in order to help my mind shift gears and learn to shed the extra weight, we had moved to more practical teaching methods, bringing me to several different areas where I would be forced to use only aura, or only mana to do certain tasks, like flatten a village of orcs, or, to focus on my precision, try to hover in the air without using the ground.. something that was far more challenging than I anticipated. And that day wasn''t any different. As things were, we were headed to a lake about a hundred kilometers north of Terra, across a stretch of water so vast I thought it was an ocean, only to be corrected and told that it was Spirit Lake, a freshwater sea that used to be the Great Lakes. From the air, the lake seemed pretty normal, like any other huge lake, but the moment you peeked your aura beneath its surface, a whole new world was revealed. Scattered around the lake were colossal monsters called ''living islands'', colossal four-legged serpents that looked like something between an arapaima and a crocodile, floating beneath the water just enough to let their flat backs, covered in thick grass-like moss and small shrubs making it appear no different from a small island. Typically they were quite docile, housing entire habitats and environments on their backs just like miniature islands would, feeding on whatever happened to float by in the water, whether it was a school of small fish, a human, or even boats. For Earth, they were some of the biggest native monsters in the world outside of the ocean, sitting at just over level 400, and growing up over half a kilometer long at times. But the thing we were looking for treated them like floating snacks.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "We call her Betsey because of where she nests, but she''s something called a chameleon eel. With her camouflaging abilities plus a bit of light magic, she is completely invisible when in the water, and even if you catch her crossing a stretch of land, if you don''t know the area like the back of your hand, you won''t be able to see her... At least that''d be the case if you were a normal person." -Hm?- "Unless she''s really deep underwater, you''ll be able to feel her presence the moment we get close, but the same can be said about you." Finally beginning to slow down, she held her arm out to make me stop as well. "Because you can only read so much of your aura for now, she''ll feel your presence and run or hide before you can get to her. Knowing that, I want you to find and kill her without direct contact, that includes through aura." She essentially meant I couldn¡¯t just punch it from a distance, using my aura to transfer the force. "So you want me to kill it with only magic or my aura?" She was quick to nod. -Simple enough...- But as I turned away, about to run off and start the search, she held me up with a smile. "One last thing, you can''t go underwater. Ah, and you have twenty minutes." Pausing, I gave her an odd look. -Twenty minutes is fine, but...- Not being able to go underwater wasn''t great... -How am I supposed to scan the bottom of the lake if I can''t get in the water?- To keep it short, aura, just like a gas, prefers to flow through lower-density mediums over higher ones, so, even if I focused the entirety of my aura into the water, it would barely penetrate it before being forced back to the surface like a fog machine pointed at the surface of water. Until that point, my solution had been to dunk or bury myself in the object I wanted to force my aura through, that way the aura leaving my body would force itself into the medium, and while it''d still feel like moving a ball through molasses, it made it far less straining to control. But on top of that, going into the medium got me closer to whatever I needed to reach, so I didn''t have to worry about my measly four-hundred-meter range limit when controlling my aura. However, I now had to find out another way. -In twenty minutes, no less...- And that was far easier said than done. "Alright. Betsey Lake is straight ahead of us, right?" Not wanting to waste more time than I already had, the instant Eve nodded, I darted to the horizon, reading as much of my aura as I could while sifting through the countless presences I felt in search of the monster. But, even after finding the massive lake and scanning the surrounding area, I was empty-handed. -But if it''s isolated to this lake, I have a chance...- Standing on my aura about twenty meters over the water, let out a long breath. "Hoooh..." The lake was only about eight kilometers wide at its widest point, and almost half of it was a thin, relatively shallow canal, limiting my search area immensely. -If I wanted, I might be able to just send a big enough shockwave into the water with my aura that the eel comes up to the surface to fight or tries to run through the canal...- But that would defeat the whole purpose of the assignment. -So let''s start simple.- With a little over fifteen minutes left to find the eel, I started running through ideas to more naturally inject my mana into the water so that I wouldn''t have to precisely control it, trying everything from just forcing it into the water at the surface, thinking it would then push what was beneath it deeper into the water, to creating different shapes with my aura and shooting them into the water. But nothing seemed to work right. -Creating shapes worked the best, but it''s still not great...- Trying spheres, disks, and even bullet shapes, I found that I needed something that would maintain its direction, unlike the disk which would flop over seemingly at random, and something that would provide as little resistance against the water as possible. -Since Eve told me mana particles can comfortably fit inside atoms.. what if I just stacked mana to make needles?- In theory, it would work well, but similar to a teardrop shape I tried, it would take more control and I had to create in bulk. However, it was the best option I had, so I looked more into it, very quickly burning away the remaining time Eve gave me to complete the assignment. But even after a couple of hours, Eve never walked up to stop me, never pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts. -If it puts too much strain on my mind to create them individually, I need to create it in bulk.. or do it without thinking...- And on top of that, I had to figure out how to shoot it into the water. But after a lot of thinking, I had an idea. -What if I covered my reserve in a bunch of funnels to focus my aura into thin beams?- Of course, it was an idea that sounded much easier than it was, but after trying it, creating a rough funnel out of stiffened aura and placing it against my reserve, a thin beam of aura zipped out of my abdomen. -Oh?- And while quite a bit of aura still leaked through the ''shell'' I made with stiffened aura, the beam was actually quite substantial. -Now.. I just need to shrink it.. and create a bunch of them...- Pain instantly ripped through my head as I did it, but after forcing myself through it, I managed to make a section of perforated ''shell'' that covered a small section of my reserve and turned that section into a series of tiny beams. "Hooh..." Thankfully, once it was made, it was pretty easy to maintain, and even more so to move around. -Now.. let''s see how it works...- Turning it down to the water, the image my aura painted in my mind suddenly started growing, with a deep cloud forming in the water as the beams pushed deeper and deeper. Of course, the beams were far from strong enough to reach the bottom, just like spraying a pressure washer into a deep pool, the beams made it about halfway to the bottom before coming to a stop and spreading into the surrounding space. But that was more than enough to catch a whiff of the monster lurking below. -There you are...- Smiling like a cheetah that found a wounded gazelle, I casually walked over the surface of the water until I was centered over the presence I felt, when, out of the blue, the massive, several-hundred-meter-long eel darted toward the surface, spreading its jaws just before it could close them around me. But, unfortunately for it, it never had the chance to get above the water. -To charge into such dense aura... How ballsy.- Stiffening a colossal plate of aura just inside the surface of the water, the moment the eel was about to blow through the surface, its nose was crushed while I, along with a few hundred meters of the lake''s surface was launched into the air. "Surface tension is a wild thing, ain''t it?" Smiling with a bit of a craze as its bloodied face came out of the water, I looked down at it like I was looking at a rabbit caught in a trap. *Vwoom* As the eel continued out of the water, trailing blood into the sky, I gripped it with my aura before letting the massive plate of water I held with my aura to start falling, and, just before reaching the water, transferring the impact into a corkscrew motion. *Splat-SPLASH* Instantaneously shearing off the eel''s head, its body began spasming, crashing through the surface of the water while its lifeless head sank into the depths once more. *Ding!* But the panel only caused the joy of success to fade for a moment. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 57.2123%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">You have killed a Level 614 System Mercenary </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; width: 96.7648%; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Received:</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 32.8879%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">14,321 Gold</td> <td style="width: 31.5288%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">26 Items: <Expand></td> <td style="width: 32.3481%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Unable to receive Upgrades: Converting To Mana</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> -It says ''System Mercenary'' again...- Looking over at its body haphazardly splashing around on the surface of the water, my expression darkened. -I wonder if it had a local system panel...- ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 33: Resilience Early Afternoon - Mid Summer : Betsey Lake | Leyfa Askr (Previously Northern Michigan) ----- "So you''ve never heard of a monster being called a System Mercenary on the kill confirmed panel?" Quickly nodding, Eve walked across the blood-filled water without making more than a tiny ripple on its surface. "System mercenaries don''t grant kill confirmed panels." -What?- "That''s not right. Are you misunderstanding something?" My expression morphed with confusion as she tilted her head at me. "System users absolutely grant kill confirmed panels." If anyone knew, it would be me. "They used to, but because of some lunatics killing them for upgrades and items, the system did away with it." -Huh?- Thinking back to when I found the system enforcers in Richmond, the image of me spearing a man with his own weapon surfaced in my mind. -Wait...- There was no chance he survived. -Yet I never got a kill-confirmed panel.. same with the system enforcers...- "Kill-confirmed panels on people haven''t been a thing for quite a long time." Looking over at the eel as its squirming started to slow, she shrugged. "Considering all the stuff that''s happened to your system, it wouldn''t surprise me if it''s just a display bug." -I mean.. that''s certainly a possibility...- Considering an administrator of the Central Server said he couldn''t even access my profile, it wouldn''t be surprising if there were some bugs exclusive to me that simply couldn''t be fixed. "I don''t know... But I guess it doesn''t do me any good to think about it now." Quickly nodding, Eve''s demeanor lightened. "Exactly! Why dwell on the unknown when it doesn''t benefit you?" "Haah," -Right...- In the past, I wouldn''t have given it even the slightest moment of thought. -But I can''t deny I''m curious...- "For now, didn''t you say you wanted to find a fresh mana core?" Turning toward the eel as it finally stopped squirming, she used some water magic to push the body toward the surface. "Betsy here should have a suitable one." "Ah, right." Although I hadn''t spoken to her about the specifics yet, while we traveled, she had asked a bit about Bella, wondering if she was some special robot to garner my attention, and after some time, we spoke about the fact that I was looking for a smaller mana core for her that was at least the size of a fist or so. "This should be perfect, actually." Giving me a curious look as I ran toward the eel across the lake''s surface, she spoke while promptly following after me. "If it''s not rude to ask, what does a robot need such a core for, anyway?" Using my aura to try and find the core, I pulled out a long, sword-like fillet blade and started carving into the monster''s side. "How familiar are you with mana mechanics?" "Huh?" Confusion instantly clouded her curiosity. "I''ll take that as not much." Think of how to explain, I used my aura to hold the eel at the water''s surface. "To keep it short, you can think of mana-mechanics as the combination of mana and robotics. It gives them a bunch of pretty cool permissions but the success rate is low." *Tink* -There it is...- Feeling my blade tap against the core, I tossed it in my inventory before using my hands to carve away the rest of the eel''s flesh and pop the core out of it. *Tap-Vwoom* The core was about the size of a small melon; a little on the big side. -But that might be better for this...- Hopping up out of the pit I dug into the eels side, I continued my explanation. "You can think of it like turning a robot into an autonomous monster that the system recognizes as a robot, so there''s far less limits on them." But she wasn''t following at all. "H-Huh? That''s possible?!" Hurriedly coming over to me, she rather eagerly looked at the mana core. "I know robotics can be recognized in the system as companions, but they''re never used beyond a certain level because they''re weak... Are you telling me that''s not actually the case?" I was quick to nod. "I had a whole fleet of them before my system was wiped. Even up in Error rank worlds, they could clear the entire planet without my help." A twitch quickly found its way into Eve''s dumbfounded look. "But I''m not sure how the infusion itself will go... I''ve never done it..." Even with all my time in the system, I had only ever found mana-infused robotics. -This''ll be the first time I actually try to evolve one...- Prior to finding my systems mana-mechanics tab, I didn''t actually think it was possible to do artificially, and summed it up to being a phenomenon where a dungeon core possessed a robot of some sort. -I wonder how it''ll do it.. even with the system''s help...- Quickly opening and swiping through my system, I called out Bella with some haste. *Vwoop* "Oh, that was fast-" *Splat* "Oh..." Falling down onto the wet, bloody side of the eel, she lifted her bloody paw and gave it an awkward look. "Haha, sorry to dirty your paws, but could you lay down for me?" "Hm? Oh, o-of course!" Without the slightest hesitation, she threw herself onto her side. "Do you want me to enter-" "Nope. Just stay like that and don''t move." As she gently laid her head down, I made my way up to her side, opened her maintenance panel, and opened the mana mechanics tab in my system, finally being presented with a familiar warning. -Now, it says I just need to bring the core into contact with her computing module...- Using my hand to gently move aside some of the mechanical arms and circuit boards hidden in Bella''s body, I exposed the dense central computing module and gently pulled it toward the opening in her side, just enough to let the mana core touch it. -Nice.. and.. gentle...- *Tink*This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. *Beep* A panel instantly popped up in front of my face reading, ''Robotic contact with suitable mana core detected. Do you wish to proceed?'' -Of course...- *Beep* Tapping ''Yes'', I looked down at Bella with a smile. "This might be a bit confusing for you, but just try to go with the flow, okay?" "Hm?" Looking up at me, she seemed confused. "I''m not sure what you mean, m- *Crackle*" Her voice instantly descended into static as her body seized up and the lenses in her eyes lost their focus. -She should be alright...- Watching the mana core leaning against her computing module slowly lose its rigidity and turn into an almost slime-like blob, it ever-so-slowly began sinking into her body, absorbing the central computing module with several other electrical boards before beginning to solidify once more. *Beep* "It is now required that the hosts injects their mana." -Alright...- Hearing the system speak to me directly, I quickly held out my hand and started guiding my mana toward the mana core. But while to me, the amount of mana couldn''t even be called droplets, to Bella, it was like a tsunami. *VWOOOM* *Beep* "Forming temporary tether to host. You may feel a slight discomfort." -Hm? A tether? What is...- "-Oh..." Feeling an immediate discomfort in my abdomen as a nerve-wracking anxiety washed over me, my gaze sharpened. But before a single thought could flow, an almost manipulative feeling filled the back of my mind, and a set of unfamiliar, blurry memories seemed to start playing like a vision. But it didn''t last long. -Stop that...- Following my instincts, I instantly rejected the foreign mix of emotions and memories that tried to force themselves into my mind, and after just a moment, they began fading and dissipating... Until eventually, they vanished entirely. -What the hell was that?- Finally escaping my own mind, I quickly leaned back from Bella with hostility written all across my face. -Were those.. memories from the eel?- Releasing a bit of bloodlust, I found myself wanting to punch the core as it solidified, but thankfully, my nerves slowly started easing before my instincts snapped. "Hooh..." Letting out a heavy breath, I closed my eyes and tried to meditate for a moment to make sure it was all gone, before finally opening my eyes and finding a bright panel in front of my face. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 40.5318%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row">Success</th> </tr> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3" scope="row"> Mana-Mechanics implementation was a success! All expected margins have been surpassed, however, features may be limited. <Expand> </td> </tr> </thead> </table> -Hm?- Tilting my head as I read it, I quickly hit ''Expand'', only to be presented with a column of errors and a message saying: ''Because of the following errors, some system features may not work correctly. If issues persist, please contact an administrator.'' -Please tell me those errors didn''t ping the administrators already...- My expression quickly darkened as I glanced around a bit. But thankfully, there was nothing to find. "Haah..." Finally standing up, I quickly read through and closed the rest of the system panels before swiping them away and moving Bella to my inventory again. -Looks like it will take some time for her to wake up... I guess I''ll go back to practice in the meantime.- However, as I dipped my hands in the lake to clean off the blood, I noticed that Eve was completely absorbed in something. -Hm?- She was looking at something in her system. "Is something the matter?" Finally stepping off the eel and walking across the water, I found her rather anxiously biting her nail. -Uh oh...- But while I was a bit uneasy seeing the stress and worry on her face, it wasn''t exactly what I expected. "Yeah..." Swiping her hand across her system panel, it instantly turned to face me. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 31.1284%; background-color: rgba(116, 0, 23, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.4659%" colspan="4" scope="row"> Server Warning </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.4659%" colspan="4" scope="row"> It has been determined that this world''s rank is too low. Rank correction will begin imminently. Old Rank: 6 New Rank: 5 </td> </tr> </thead> </table> -Ah, so it''s finally happening.- "Earth''s rank just went up, so..." Waving away the panel, she looked up at the bright blue sky overhead with an awkward smile. "It looks like Earth''s days of peace are over." -Good.- Although I didn''t say it out loud, Eve could clearly tell what I was thinking. "Do you think peace is a bad thing?" Glancing over at me, she asked her question like it was genuine. But even though I wasn''t sure if she was joking, I spoke my mind. "Yes." Looking back up at the sky, her tone softened. "Why..?" Looking up at the fluffy clouds as well, my tone firmed. "Peace doesn''t make you strong." "Hah..." She immediately let out a bit of a chuckle. But I continued without hesitation. "It''s why worlds with technology never last, Eve. The moment a civilization gets rid of the threat, and peace spreads, people get used to it, take it for granted, and inevitably tear themselves apart... Civilizations are a lot like people in that sense..." As a memory of my time with Bree, Eve''s Mother, played in the back of my mind, I smiled. "It took me a long time to realize it, but it''s why your Mother is such a good monarch. She treated her nation like she would herself..." Eve''s expression slowly lost its vibrance as she fell into thought. "Is that.. so..." Giving her a moment to think, I looked back up into the sky as well. It was a hard concept for someone to wrap their heads around, but as Bree''s daughter, I was sure she would come to understand.. even if it took some time... -Unlike me.. she won''t need to see tens of thousands of worlds collapse before her eyes to understand...- Thinking back on old memories as the bright blue sky filled my eyes, I almost felt my posture ease a bit. "Just don''t overthink it. Earth won''t fall with me here, but don''t expect me to be some benevolent protector." -Even without me, Earth would find a way to survive...- Even if the path they would need to take would bring upon loss like they had never seen. After all, sentience wasn''t something that could be gotten rid of so easily... "Haah..." Letting out a sigh to try and shake off the dark memories that suddenly surfaced, my expression darkened and my gaze fell to the ground. "You won''t understand right away, but.. I promise you will with time..." Hearing my somber tone, she was quick to turn to me with a worried look. But I wasn''t planning on letting my mind recall any other dark memories. "Just trust the process, okay? I don''t plan on letting this world fall apart like the rest... Even if it''s what the gods eventually desire..." ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 34: Rent Early Evening - Mid Summer : Montijo | Portugal ----- - Kazzaer Aldinn ~ An indescribably deafening silence filled the meeting room that evening. It was the first time in about eight years that the ISO had gotten everyone together for a meeting, but regardless of it having been several minutes since the meeting began, no one was able to say a word. We all just stared at the system panel that suddenly appeared before us in silence, letting our thoughts race in hopes of coming up with some sort of plan. "This.. is a problem..." Speaking through a mask of stress, Miss Tsvetok anxiously knawed on the base of a feather she plucked off her head. -Shit...- It was a reaction that was the opposite of reassuring. But we all understood why. A few days prior to this meeting, we had all been informed of the rapidly rising mana levels on Earth, and how Earth''s projected ''rank-up'' was moved from twenty years out, to two years, requiring an already aggressive shift in plans. However, just as we got together to talk about what our plan going forward was, our systems notified us that our already terrifying two-year estimate was reduced to a handful of days at most. It was almost like a gate had appeared over someone''s capital, but instead of being frozen from fear or panic, we were all in disbelief... Speechless... "Has anyone confirmed whether the public was given the same message..?" Attempting to remain calm, I tried to take the lead. But... "They have..." Oliver was quick to jump in. "Does anyone object to streaming this meeting to the public?" In theory, it would help reduce mass panic by greatly suppressing misinformation, but.. we weren''t in a great state either. Thankfully, we had measures in place for that. *Flicker* Changing the lights, the table was instantly lit up while the lights on each of us disappeared, hiding our faces behind a veil of darkness while exposing everyone from the chest down. And so, after some quick tests, the meeting started once more and the brainstorming to come up with emergency countermeasures began. "For starters, let''s begin full-scale evacuations of low-rank cities. Cities below Class B cannot safely remain populated by regular civilians." Pulling a tablet out of my inventory in a rush, I quickly started messaging major guild leaders, military generals, and people of influence before the others in the room followed suit. "The United States will leave the evacuations as non-mandatory, however, until further notice, we cannot ensure the city''s safety." Several other representatives then quickly followed with similar plans before it eventually got back to me. "Now, to those who don''t have the space or ability to consolidate citizens in such a large scale manner, please begin evacuations to other countries. Are there any objections to that?" Elisio, Bazil''s representative was quick to raise his hand. "If there is anyone who needs space, please send people to Brazil. We have plenty of high-rank cities that need to be filled." Unlike the US or Russia, Brazil had fought hard to grow over recent years, only to be hit with a brain drain of system mercenary talent. -He wants to use this as an opportunity to grow Brazil...- It was pretty smart, even if it was a risky choice for other countries. -But they may not have a choice...- Others were quick to jump on board as well. "Sweden is the same." "Turkey as well." -Good start...- Deciding to take advantage of things as well, I stepped in after several other countries voiced their interest in receiving migrants. "If anyone needs materials, the US is able to assist." Ahaan had a similar idea as well. "And if anyone needs mercenary equipment or weaponry, we are in a position to supply those in need." Being the home of a majority of Earth''s dwarves, India had a massive supply of mercenary equipment that could be crafted on a moment''s notice. -This will be good for them...- After dedicating an entire decade to strengthening their grip on the mercenary gear manufacturing industry, they had become one of the most well-equipped nations for a sudden disaster. But while many of us were attempting to take advantage of the situation, many people didn''t have that luxury, and so, for the rest of the meeting, we attempted to form a web-like plan where everyone could have their shortcomings covered as best as they could. However, deep down, we all knew that, even with a perfect plan, many people in the room would lose their countries in this storm just as in past ''rank ups''. Death and loss were unfortunately just inevitable, all we could do was attempt to minimize it, and pray the storm wouldn''t be as bad as we were expecting. But the odds of that were next to zero, and while many of those in the room knew that, and were planning for it, the public could never see the panic and anxiety on everyone''s faces. *Tap* Picking my tablet up off the table again, I scrolled through my conversation with the Sergeant Major before beginning to type: ''Consolidate everyone into Rank A cities. Give priority to mercenaries, alchemists, scholars, and those involved in manufacturing.'' It was inevitable that the world would try to lean on us when things turned south, but we had to put ourselves first. Continuing to type, I started messaging many of the top guilds and even high-ranking members of parliament. ''If we can''t profit from assisting others, we just need to focus on our own safety.'' It was probably quite a jarring message for many of them, but after sending it, not a single person responded with objection. "Haah..." Letting out a sigh, I set my tablet back down with a dark look while everyone else continued their discussion about plans. -I just hope and pray that we don''t have to turn to Leyfa Askr to stay afloat this time...-The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Thinking back to the disaster that struck about eighty years ago, my gaze turned cold. -Now that the Queen has ''her'', they''ll be even better off than before...- But while Miss Lestir was most certainly not going to come back to the US, it was true that the ISO had left a rather favorable impression on her. -Thanks to Alrek.. it may not be arrogant to request a favor from her if things go south...- Considering she was most certainly somewhere in the top five strongest people on Earth, a single favor had the ability to dig us out of a hole like a hidden trump card. However, just as I started thinking of how I would have to ask for such a favor, I received a message from an unknown number. -Huh?- Quickly viewing the message, I read: ''An airship will land in Montijo in twelve hours. Please gather your things and board it. The Queen wishes to discuss a deal with the United States and Russia.'' Pausing, I quickly looked up only to find Miss Tsvetok staring at me. She had gotten the same message. -W..why.. would the Queen message us first...- It honestly made it feel like some kind of trap. But at the same time, if it was real, there was a chance we could receive the deal of a lifetime; her initiation implied that there was something she wanted from us, meaning we would have the high ground when it came time to dictate the conditions for a deal. However, I was still nervous about it... Something about the message made me uneasy... But at the same time, it wasn''t an opportunity I could risk missing, and Miss Tzvetok seemed to agree. So, after the meeting ended, we went to the airport and boarded an unbelievably lavish airship filled with greenery and almost exclusively run by elves before beginning the long flight to the capital of Leyfa Askr. But nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to experience. ----- Late Evening - Mid Summer : Central Leyfa Askr - Evren Lestir ~ *wwwwoooOOOOOSH* Blasting over a stretch of forest so quickly that the trees creaked as if groaning in pain, I trailed Eve as closely as I could. It had only been a few hours since we were at Betsy Lake discussing what was to come next after the system notified us of Earth''s impending rank-up, but we hadn''t wasted a single second of that time. Shortly after our talk, Eve took a moment to contact several people before saying she needed to get back to the capital as soon as possible and darting away at several times the speed of sound. "How long do you think it will be before the rank-up starts?" Looking back at me, she spoke to me with wind magic. But I could only shrug. At any moment, the rank-up could start, it simply depended on too many factors to accurately account for. However.. wanting to give a conservative estimate I held up four fingers. Eve instantly exploded with panic. "Four days?!" Unable to speak because of how fast we were going, I quickly shook my head. "Th-Then four weeks?" Shaking my head again, I gently motioned downward. And in that instant, her face paled. "So.. hours..." Forgetting to relay her voice through her magic, I only saw her mouth open. But her expression told me all I needed to know. -Unless the administrators find a way to delay it, Earth only has a few hours at most...- However, with the way rank-ups worked, we likely had a few days before it started really ramping up. -At first, it''ll just drop a few lower-rank monsters on the planet, but as more time passes, their level and quantity will grow...- Only ever slowing down when the system thinks the world has found balance... Whether the world was still in one piece or not. *Ding* -Huh?- Hearing my system ping me, I quickly looked over to find a system panel I had never seen before. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 34.2899%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.84%" colspan="3" scope="row">Rank-Up has begun</th> </tr> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.84%" colspan="3" scope="row"> Monsters have been released at the following coordinates <Expand> </td> </tr> </thead> </table> -What the...- It looked like something intended for administrators. And that was probably because it was. *Vwoop* Cutting off my thoughts, a familiar presence neared, the wind slowed, and the rustling tree canopies froze beneath my feet. -Ah...- Finally looking over toward the presence as time slowed to a halt, I saw Michael''s figure approaching before suddenly coming to a stop right in front of me. "~Evren,~" He spoke somewhat coldly as he looked down at me. "~Your first rent payment is due.~" *Snap* Snapping his fingers, he instantly disappeared, and the star-covered night sky was consumed by darkness. "Oh..." The entire sky had been covered in a series of massive, circular gates in an instant. -So his way of giving humanity some time is to drop all the monsters on my head...- Not a single monster was coming from a crack, meaning Michael was deliberately moving them all to me. But as time slowly returned to normal and Eve looked up toward the sky, she exploded into panic. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" As all the gates dissipated, almost a dozen monsters revealed themselves before plummeting toward the ground. *VWOOM* Slamming on the brakes, Eve came screeching to a halt without taking her eyes off the sky for an instant. "Uh, Auntie?! What the hell is this?!" Slowing down next to her, I shrugged before setting my hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. "Don''t worry about it. If I want to stay on Earth, I have to at least pull my weight, you know?" Looking up at all the monsters, I gave them another moment to fall before connecting their heads to me with several columns of aura. -These should all be around level 600... Let''s try it...- *Vwoom* Promptly accumulating mana in my arm, visualizing the mana clinging to and strengthening the muscle fibers, I made a fist and punched the pillars of aura collected next to my shoulder. *Ping* And then, with a faint metallic ping, the heads of the falling monsters all simultaneously turned into clouds of red mist, and my face was lit up by the glow of a dozen kill-confirmed panels. -To think it''d work that well...- Watching as ripples spread through the clouds above the monsters, satisfaction spread across my face. "Aura really is convenient, huh..." Still pale, Eve stared up at the lifelessly falling monsters with a look of disbelief. "Y..yeah... I guess it is..." "Anyway, shall we get moving?" *TH-TH-TH-THUMP-CRACK* As the monsters finally hit the ground, being impaled by trees as they were stripped of their branches, I motioned Eve along. "If you want the resources from them, feel free. With the rank-up coming, you might need it." Unable to break out of her stun, she stumbled on her feet, nearly falling out of the air before nodding. "R-Right... Uh... Let me share our coordinates with someone then..." "Haha, take your time." Giving her a wide smile, I looked down at my fist and clenched it a few times. -I really forgot how good progress feels...- ----- Additional notes: The schedules of both TDOD and TSH will be changing over the course of the coming weeks. Although this isn''t set in stone, I''m thinking of having TSH release more consistently on Fridays at 1:30 EST <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 35: Reason Late Evening - Mid Summer : Central Leyfa Askr (Nearing the Captial) ----- "Geez, how long has Earth had treants?" -There are so many...- Running across the canopy of a forest nearly three hundred meters off the ground, I looked around at the endless sea of treants unsure whether to question what I was seeing or to simply enjoy the view. "Hm?" Dragging herself out of thought, Eve gave me an odd look before quickly elaborating. "Oh, we''ve found ways to artificially create them about thirty years ago, so, outside of the handful that have grown in the capital, they''re all quite young." -Huh?- "Wait. ''Artificially create treants''?" -That''s possible?- Slowly easing her nerves as she nodded, her stiff, stressed tone slowly started to ease. "It''s pretty easy, you just force a ''living core'' into one of a few types of trees, and if you''re lucky, the core will possess the tree and become a treant... Although.. it''s not exactly that simple." -What the hell?- Seeing how casually she spoke, I couldn''t help but let bewilderment wash across my face. "And by ''living core'' you mean dungeon core?" Essentially it was a mana core that had some level of intelligence, akin to a monster, giving it the ability to manipulate whatever its environment was as if it were its own body, be it the rock of a cave or the wood of a tree. "Yeah, dungeon cores definitely have the highest success rate, but living cores aren''t limited to just dungeons." Looking at the horizon, her face stiffened with seriousness. "In any case, we should be getting close. Do you remember many of Mother''s rules around The Oak?" Gently shaking my head, she was quick to continue. "Alright then, for starters, the capital of Leyfa Askr is Moriai, the paradise of elves and birthplace of spirits on Earth." -Wait a minute... Birthplace of spirits?- My eyes instantly lit up as an old memory surfaced. "Does that mean you have a World Tree here?" They were a type of treant that would grow so large it stretched out of the atmosphere, using its leaves to guide huge volumes of interplanetary mana to the planet''s surface. It was essentially an oversized mana generator. But Eve seemed to only think of it as a symbol of prosperity, continuing after a prideful nod. "Mother gave me a seed of The Oak before I became a system mercenary so that while I was traveling through worlds with the help of the system, I could look for a suitable place to plant it, and eventually, I made it here." Fondly looking up into the dark night sky, she seemed to almost get lost in old memories. "Here, we call it the Olive..." But that was only because she wasn''t looking at me. -WHAT?!- I honestly couldn''t even believe my own ears. -Michael was worried about my presence even though he has a WORLD TREE GROWING HERE?!- The thing was, while high mana level areas were typically sought after as it could advance people''s levels with just guided meditation, something called cultivation, on a large scale, rising mana levels would lead to the system advancing the levels of monsters scattered around the rest of the world and possibly even lead to seemingly unexpected rank ups. This was something that almost always lead to the destruction of all but the society based around the World Tree, with Eve''s homeworld being one of a handful of exceptions. -And yet Michael was worried about me?!- I almost couldn''t believe it. Considering he was an administrator, there was no way he didn''t know what a world tree was. "Uh, Eve. If I may ask, how tall is the Olive..?" Snapping out of her thoughts for a moment, she gave the horizon an odd look before her expression washed with pride. "Well, why don''t you look for yourself!" -Hm?- Finally looking ahead, I lost my tongue, watching as a tree nearly eight kilometers tall endlessly climbed over the horizon. -Well.. I guess it''s still young, after all...- Compared to the Oak, it was nothing more than a sapling. -But give it a few more years and it''ll be a bigger problem than I am...- Eventually reaching the end of the treants, we came to a stop and were presented with a breathtaking view of the colossal lake that surrounded the Olive, reflecting the night sky so perfectly you couldn''t tell where the horizon was, and with water so clear that the fish appeared to swim amongst the stars. It made for a view more beautiful than almost anything I had ever seen, to the extent that I was honestly taken aback. "Wow..." -To think a place like this exists on Earth...- As my gaze drifted over the water, tracing the countless glowing lines where the water was illuminated by mana oozing from the tree''s roots, I couldn''t help but be reminded of some of the worlds I had seen in the past. But, even those old vistas lacked what this one had. Life. Anywhere the forest bordered the water, the glow of torches and lanterns filled the canopy, and on the balconies of buildings built around the branches of the treants were people, some rushing around in a panic while others simply enjoying the view, just as I was. But while I could have easily spent the night simply enjoying the view, fate had other plans. Gently raising her hand, Eve used light magic to flash a signal across the lake before promptly receiving a sequence of flashes in response. -To think they still use that kind of signaling even with the technology they have...- "Alright," Turning back to me after sending signals back and forth with someone quite a distance away, she spoke through a mask of stress. "Auntie, I need to go meet with some people to discuss how we are going to handle the rank-up. If you would like to come, please do.. I wouldn''t mind you pitching in your two cents, but if not, I can bring you to the palace, or if you''d like, you can roam around and check out the city, just don''t go to the ground, or touch the water." "I may as well come along." -It can''t hurt to try and make some connections...- "But," As we got moving, I spoke up. "Why is it you can''t go to the ground or water? Is there a poison or something?" Shaking her head as she enthusiastically led the way, she motioned down toward the water. "The rule with the water only pertains to the lake since it is sacred. We believe this lake is where the souls of the dead are guided for reincarnation." She held her head high as she spoke. "As for the ground, it''s because it''s dangerous. If outsiders went down without knowing what to do it can cause some major problems for the citizens."A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Is that so?" Using my aura to search for the presences of monsters beneath the canopy, it only took a moment to find several of them scattered about. But none of them were particularly strong. -Why are they so wary of the ground then?- "We elves worship nature," Likely knowing what I was thinking, Eve was quick to elaborate. "If an outsider were to venture down and get into a fight with the monsters, assuming they survive the first ambush, it could not just physically damage the environment but completely destroy the balance of the ecosystem." Pausing and looking down under the canopy as we hopped over a small cove, we spotted a reasonably large deer-like monster drinking from the lake. "Of course, we still hunt and kill many monsters, but they are typically limited to those who excessively disturb the ecosystem." -I see...- She was essentially saying that, as long as a monster could blend in with the ecosystem, they were left to roam free. "So what do you do during something like a dungeon break?" "We pick out the monsters that could pose problems, kill them, and let the rest find their place in the forest." Looking up at the sky, she let out a sigh. "Haah... I''m just hoping we can get away with that during the rank-up..." -That would be nice, huh...- Considering the elven cities were all suspended off the ground, it significantly limited what monsters actually posed a threat to the population. -The native monsters will want to defend their territories as well, so they can essentially work as your soldiers.- Compared to a traditional city like Arlington that needed walls, it made for a far safer city when it came to defending from other monsters. -The issue is the level of the monsters...- Compared to the level of what the system would be dropping on Earth during the rank-up, they would almost certainly be decimated. But Eve already knew that, so, to get ahead of the curve, she set up a meeting with the executives of several countries, namely The United States, Russia, Greenland, and a tribe of demihumans to the north called The Frostwalkers. The issue was, while I knew that Russia and the United States were Earth''s strongest nations, the one Eve chose to warn me about wasn''t them. "The representative of the Frostwalkers is a snow fox demihuman," As we slowed down and started descending through the canopy of a treant, she spoke coldly. "Be careful around him..." -For her to say that...- Looking at her back as we hopped down the tree branches and eventually landed in the grassy courtyard of a massive stone building, my curiosity grew. -He can''t be that strong, so why is she warning me?- But that question was answered the moment we entered the massive, lavish lobby of the building, and I set my eyes on him. "Hoh?" Watching his ears snap to me, his whole body tense, and his slitted reptilian pupils thin, I couldn''t help but smile. -So he has dragon blood.- <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 37.2892%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> System Name: 3-Tailed Fox Name: Melrakki Ormr Status: Vigilant Race: Snow Fox/Human/Dragon (52/40/8) Age: 119 years </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> [Titles] <Expand> [Inheritances] <Expand> </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 49.8265%">Level</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">685</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Class</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">Brawler</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Gold</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3">63,336,573</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 49.8265%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Sponsors</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3"><Expand></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">Inventory and Stats Privatized by Local System <Open> WARNING: Viewing without Entity''s consent will trigger Local System''s Security Measures</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> He was on the shorter side, but considerably well built with bright white fur, three fluffy white tails, and deep blue draconic pupils. To most people on Earth, he was probably quite intimidating. -He probably has a bunch of dragon-specific skills as well.- But his strength wasn''t why Eve warned me. "Oi," Turning my tone cold as I looked him in the eyes, I dulled my expression. "Don''t be stupid." *Vwoom* Gathering my aura around him as a warning, he jolted before uncrossing his arms, showing me his palms, and turning his head to the side to expose his neck. But it only left a bitter taste in my mouth. That man wasn''t a human, but a monster, not metaphorically, but literally. Being a demihuman with more monster blood than human, it was easy to assume he was extremely instinctual, impulsive, and unpredictable. -That probably makes him a wonderful leader up in the Arctic where split-second decisions are necessary to stay alive, but a risky ally...- Because the moment they no longer need you and you do something to get in their way, even indirectly, they will turn you into an enemy. However, if he was suppressed by raw strength, there was a chance that risk would disappear. Looking over at Eve, I honestly couldn''t tell if she had planned for me to come along to tame his instinctual tendencies toward her by showing she had someone backing her who was far stronger than he was, or if she was just hoping that, with a disaster acting as a common enemy, they could form a temporary alliance. But while that was my assumption, and I wasn''t exactly incorrect, the real reason Eve warned me was something else entirely. *Vwoom* Feeling an aura slam into the edge of mine, I stopped in my tracks and looked toward it, through the wall of the building we were in. -What is a monster doing here...- It was strong, considerably stronger than even Eve, who was the strongest humanoid I had met on Earth by a margin, to the point that when it got close enough to probe us with its aura, Eve tensed and clammed up. And contrarily, the fox man''s eyes lit up like a child. "Auntie..." Using wind magic, Eve was quick to whisper to me through magic. "That monster probing us with its aura is the leader of the Frostwalkers..." -Is that so...- Watching the detailed form of the huge three-tailed fox appear in my mind as it descended through the canopy, I watched as it landed in the courtyard before suddenly freezing and locking its gaze on me, through the wall. It clearly felt threatened, but even as it raised its tails in vigilance, the curiosity in my gaze never faded. -Earth really is full of surprises...- It was a monster in control of its instincts; a monster with reason. ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 36: The Silenced Quake Late Evening - Mid Summer : Moriai | Leyfa Askr ----- - Persephone Ormr (The 3-Tailed Fox) ~ *Flash* *CRRRRACK* Ripping past treants so fast it showered the city under the canopy with leaves, I darted over the seemingly endless forest as fast as I could. Quickly focusing on the thin, invisible string stretching out from my chest, my stomach churned with a mix of fear and uncertainty. It was a tether¡ªa connection between souls, whether between a god and a chosen mortal or a mother and child. Just focusing on the connection would let me peek into the mind of my child and feel what they felt, even from some distance, whether they felt love and comfort, or fear and horror. But just moments prior, for the first time ever, a gut-wrenching fear blew through the tether while I wasn''t watching it: a sickening discomfort that couldn''t be described. Without taking a single moment to even think, I Ieft my perch, some two hundred kilometers away, and closed in on where my tether told me my son was. But as I got close, the sensations passing through the tether blurred, my instincts roared, and I grew tense. By the time I reached the treant he was at and descended through the canopy, I felt like I was running straight into the maw of a monster, being watched by a force I couldn''t see or feel. *tap-tap-tap-tap* *Thump* But the moment I landed in the ''grand hall''s'' courtyard, it all made sense. -W..What.. is.. that...- Staring at the door with wide eyes, the hair on the back of my neck stood up, my ears laid back, and my claws dug into the ground. Even through the door, I could see the outline of a human, silhouetted by a white cloud so immense it took me a moment to recognize. They were fragments of souls, clumped up into a single mass as they clung to their killer. -That thing.. is dangerous...- *Click-Fwoosh* Unable to pull a drop of focus off it, as the doors swung open, it felt like a wave of pins and needles washed over me before I found myself caught in the void-like, lifeless eyes of a monster shaped like a human. Staring into that thing''s eyes, my heart raced faster and faster. I wanted to speak, but couldn''t think straight enough to use the magic. Until finally, it spoke with a warmth unbefitting its gaze. "What an interesting thing you are..." Her words sent a chill down my spine, but her voice managed to break my mind out of its stun lock. "Y-You..." But even though I had to speak through wind magic, my voice was shaky. "What.. are you..." The focus in her eyes quickly shifted as if she tried to hit me with a local system panel. "My name is Evren Lestir, a human." Eventually moving her focus back to my eyes, her unwavering gaze felt like it could pierce my soul. -Human?!- I wanted to assume it was a joke but couldn''t. *Vwoom* "M-My name is Persephone... Persephone Ormr..." Cautiously looking up at the towering mass of souls clinging to her, my mind raced to come up with some sort of plan. But being unable to control my gaze, I caught her attention. "Is something the matter?" Innocently tilting her head, my gaze snapped back to her. And almost instantly, my mind fell into a hallucination, envisioning an endless ocean of blood surrounding us, filled with the bodies of monsters and humans alike. It was a sight that sent my mind into chaos, but as I backed away, the gentle touch of my son snapped me out of it. *tap* "...-Mother?!" Being barely the size of my paw, he had hopped up it and set his hand on my leg, looking up at me with a mix of worry and confusion written across his face. "What are you doing?!" Throwing him off my paw without an ounce of hesitation, I jumped over him and squatted down to hide him before speaking in a hurry. "M-Madam, I hope you will be forgiving of my son''s ignorance." Watching her eyes immediately turn to him, I lowered my stance even more. She was completely unreadable, but as I looked deeper and deeper into the vast empty void within her eyes, I saw a glimmer of something, like the glow of a campfire in the middle of the Arctic. It was a speckle of interest and curiosity. But while I couldn''t tell if it was just another facade, I decided to try and throw fuel at it. "I am an Alopex, a monster not native to Earth." Pausing, I tried to gauge her expression before continuing. "We Alopex are known for our connection to the realm of the dead and the cycle of reincarnation.. or in other words, are very sensitive to souls. However.. I can''t say I''ve ever seen so many souls clinging to a person..." Looking back up at the massive cloud clinging to her, I felt a bit lightheaded. "Just.. what kind of life did you live for you to have been bathed in so much blood..?" -----Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. - Evren Lestir ~ I was quick to shrug. "I just did everything the system told me to." But as I watched her ears fall back with horror, confirming that she most certainly wasn''t a system mercenary, I continued bluntly. "System mercenaries are simply the disposable tools of the system. When we get assigned a mission, we must complete it or else we will die. I just happened to survive until the system had nothing left for me to do." Brushing off her remark, I idly thought back to what the thing she said regarding souls. At first, I thought she said it figuratively, perhaps seeing my nature through my eyes like an old teller would. But the longer I thought about it the more I started to wonder. Untill eventually, Eve cut in between us. "Madam Ormr, I apologize for intruding, but we must move on to the scheduled meaning with haste. If you could send your son inside, you may continue your conversation, but-" "No," She immediately cut her off before standing up with haste. "I will see through this meeting myself. Melrakki, I''ll take this matter from here." Momentarily shooting him a glare, she walked out toward Eve and I before suddenly, a burst of light flooded the area. -What the..?- It was so bright I had to block it with my hand, and so hot it felt like I was texting next to a massive fire. But when the light and heat eventually faded, and rather than seeing the towering fox still standing before us, we caught the gaze of an extremely tall, older demihuman-looking woman. -Hoh?- It was transformation magic, something I believed only true dragons could use. -Maybe her son''s dragon blood isn''t from something as simple as an elixir...- "I apologize if I blinded you all for a moment." Gently bowing, her head barely lowered under my chest. "But before we continue.. if I may... Who is this woman to you, Queen Altera?" Somewhat smugly smiling, she took a step to the side as if to show me off. "She is my Mother''s closest fr-" But I never got to hear her finish that statement. *Vwoop* Being engulfed in a gate, the smile on my face faded, and an almost sickening agitation filled my mind. -You have to be kidding...- Without warning, the system had caught me. -The fucking second I let my guard down...- Being grateful that I at least got the fox on more friendly terms with Eve, I tried to ease my nerves a bit. At the very least, I was confident they could hold out on their own until I could finish the mission and return, regardless of what it was. But unfortunately, there was a bit of a complication with that. *Vwoop* As I was released from the gate, and landed in a vast, open plain, the yell of an all too familiar voice ripped out. "-riend!- WHAT THE HELL?!" *Thump-Rustle* Looking over at the noise, my eyes went wide, and my chest tightened. Sitting in the tall prairie grass next to me, I found Eve looking up at me with wide, confused eyes. The same as mine. ----- Late Evening - Mid Summer : Moriai | Leyfa Askr - Persephone Ormr (The 3-Tailed Fox) ~ "She is my Mother''s closest fr-" *Vwoop* Instantly cutting off her voice, an odd sound rippled out, and my eyes went wide. In the blink of an eye, both Queen Altera and the ''woman'' named Evren disappeared into nothingness. -W..What..?- It was so sudden that it made my mind stutter. But I couldn''t stay still for long. After just a moment, several presences that were scattered around the canopy came down and surrounded me, dissipating the light magic that hid them to reveal a dozen elven knights donning all matte black armor with a familiar gold crest on their chest. -Shit...- They were Altera''s personal knight order, a group of guards and assassins that was strong enough to eliminate nearly anyone, whether they were thought to be invisible or invincible. "Okay, let''s calm down here..." Not moving a muscle, I spoke calmly. But before I could do that, a woman in a simple, traditional maids outfit walked up in front of me. "Madam Ormr," She spoke so condescendingly it was almost upsetting. "If you did something to the queen, it would be in your best interest to say so now." Reaching her hand out to the side, she quickly equipped several items, one of which being a gauntlet while politely holding her other hand behind her back. -You have to be kidding me...- "I had nothing to do with this, Igna." She was the closest aide to the queen, and advisor and guard sent by her Mother. "I have no reason to break our treaty and start a war... Especially right now..." Even I, a monster capable of trading blows with the queen would have a hard time dealing with her. With the rest of her private knight order here, I was really in trouble. But thankfully, after taking a few steps closer, she stopped and looked me in the eyes. "Hm... Order, pat her down." Almost immediately, the knights began thoroughly patting me down before asking for me to take off all the artifacts I was wearing, whether it was jewelry or enchanted items like my shoes so they could put them in their inventory and verify their affects. By the time they finished, I had essentially been stripped of everything but my clothes, and that was only because a majority of my clothes were simply an illusion of light magic. "Is that enough?" Looking over the group of knights for a moment, Igna reluctantly nodded, and the knights all gave my things back to me. *Cl-l-link* -Irritating bastards...- Eventually putting everything back on, I watched as Igna unequipped her items before motioning the knight order to scatter and turning to walk into the hall with her hands held behind her back. But just as she walked inside, she spoke bluntly. "When you are done, please come inside. The meeting must proceed without delay." Instantly tensing up, I looked up at her with a confused look, watching her nonchalantly walking inside with furled brows. Given the situation, it made sense for her to take over, and it made sense for the meeting to still be held. But while she walked inside, a deep unease settled in my stomach. -She... She''s too calm...- Her queen vanished from before her eyes, and after patting only one person down, she returned to her normal duty. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw my son still standing there, dumbfounded. -They didn''t even check him...- Turning back to Igna, my gaze sharpened. -If it''s going to be like that then...- Finally getting all my jewelry back on, I stood up straight and started after her with a smile creeping across my face. -Maybe it''s not such a bad time...- ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 37: Zero to One Late Evening - Mid Summer : Moriai | Leyfa Askr ----- - Eve Altera ~ "But before we continue.. if I may... Who is this woman to you, Queen Altera?" Smiling wide as I recognized what Evren was doing, I pridefully stepped to the side before motioning toward her. "She is my Mother''s closest fr-" But before I could finish my sentence, an indescribable sound met my ears, the sensation of falling flooded my body, and... *Vwoop* "-iend!" In an instant so short that a neuron couldn''t even fire, the dark, lantern-lit canopy of the treant we stood in was swapped with an endless field of yellow grass, and a vast, bright cyan sky. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Completely caught off guard, I didn''t even have a chance to react. *Thump-Rustle* I simply fell on my ass, unable to even give the prickling pain covering my legs, and palms any thought before I looked over at a figure casting a shadow on me with wide, confused eyes. It was Evren, but while she was typically a bastion of confidence, at that moment, her gaze was the same as mine. -W..what...- *Beep* "Error detected." Hearing my system ping and speak to me, I quickly looked over, only to find an ominous red panel floating in front of the wall of grass next to me. "Connecting to Local Server to begin debugging." But it didn''t stay there for long. *Beep* <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 35.749%; background-color: rgba(0, 4, 255, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center"> Transportation from this world is temporarily unavailable. Please SURVIVE until a server manager can address the error or complete the following quest in order to access the transportation network. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center"> -: Quest :- Assassination Mission Rank: ERROR Target Location: Unknown Target Classification: Unknown Target Description: <Expand> Estimated Class: Upper Demigod </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center"> Rewards for Completion: CALCULATION ERROR </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> -W..what.. the...- When it first popped up, my mind was in such chaos that I only managed to register one out of every few words I read. However, the farther my eyes passed down the panel, the more my mind pictured the figure of a black-cloaked spirit standing behind it... The more it felt like death was breathing down my neck... Without warning, I had been transported to a world where I did not belong.. instantly descending from the peak of the food chain to the absolute bottom... *Rustle* Picking my hand up off the grass as a deceptively gentle breeze blew by, I shakily turned it over to see the countless cuts in my palm and along my fingers, allowing a bright crimson liquid to flow out. In that world, I couldn''t even call myself the bottom rung... I was weaker than grass... But as I aimlessly stared at the blood dripping off my palm, I was pulled back into reality. *VWOOM* In an instant, the surrounding grass, almost a meter tall, was flattened to reveal that were at the center of a herd of creatures grazing on the grass. "Eve?! Are you alright?!" Grabbing my bloody hand without a hint of hesitation, she forced me up to my feet and gripped my face to look into my eyes finally ripping my mind out of its daze. "H-Huh?!" Instantly erupting into panic, my eyes started darting around while my senses heightened and my body was flooded with an addicting amount of adrenaline. But Evren wasn''t giving me a chance to sort any thoughts. "Hey, idiot! Use magic to make the air more breathable!" Grabbing my wrist so hard I thought it''d break, she yanked me off my feet and threw me into her back, tightly gripping me with so much aura I felt like I was getting crushed before yelling. "And hold on tight!" "W-what? PFO-" Before I could even process what she said, we blew through the sound barrier several times over, ripping the air from my lungs before, in a moment of lightheadedness, I threw up countless barriers to give myself a chance to breathe and get the plasma-inducing wind resistance off me. *VWOOM* The barriers took so much mana it was almost sickening, but as I went to take another breath, feeling an almost acid-like burn rip through my lungs, such worries became meaningless. -The air.. isn''t breathable!- Slapping Evren''s back to try and get her attention, to no avail, I was quick to focus on my mana, attempting to maintain the countless barriers in front of us before using wind magic to vibrate the air directly in her ear. "Slow down! I can''t cast a spell I need to breathe when moving this fast!" But just as I said that, a massive shadow was cast over us. And as I looked back over my shoulder to see what it was, I found an absolutely mountainous creature blotting out the early morning sun; a drake completely covered in spines like a porcupine with two colossal horns the size of buildings standing right where we just were, staring at us.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "NEVERMIND, RUN!" Slapping Evren''s back to get her to go faster, I lowered my head behind hers to shield myself from the wind before dissipating the barriers I put up. -I can figure something out! I''m a pioneer of magic! I just need to think!- Dedicating every ounce of conscious thought to digging through magic theories, I began piecing together pieces of seemingly unrelated puzzles before throwing my hand up next to my head. To make the air breathable, I needed to first figure out what the air was made of, so in a moment of adrenaline-fueled panic, I stuck my hand up in the air next to me, using several layers of glowing runes to split the atoms in the air before turning them into plasma, and dissecting the air via colors. At first, it was like a rainbow, a huge mess of color, with everything from red and orange to purple and blue. But as I split the beams of plasma, I found a dim pale blue streak. It was the glow of oxygen. -Then...- Tracing its path back through the runes like solving a maze, I figured out the sequence I needed to isolate it. -Channel 1, 4, 7, 6...- However, that was a sequence that relied completely on the energy states of the air entering the first rune, so as I felt Evren being to slow down, I slapped her back. "Don''t slow down!" But that was the moment she threw me off her back, rapidly slowing me down with her aura before stopping on a dime and turning around with her axe in hand. Having been so focused on my magic that I didn''t know what was happening around me, I looked up at her back with a mix of confusion and irritation. If she didn''t slow down, I could''ve gotten some air. But before I could even pull my focus off her, a black wall ripped over the horizon and before I could blink, the wall of quills blew past us with a deafening bang. *CRRRRACKKK* It was like the air was screaming, completely unable to get out of the way as the quills ripped past us faster than my eyes could follow. *WOOSH* And the blast of wind that followed was so intense it felt like my whole body was punched at once, pounding me into the immovable wall of Evren''s aura behind me. But while it hurt, feeling how solid it was gave me faith that Evren was fine, letting me hastily throw up my hand with several runes, find the new sequence, and holding the cone of glowing runes up to my mouth. "HAH.. HAH.. HAH..." Immediately gasping for a breath, I flooded my lungs with enough oxygen to dilute the unbreathable air still lingering in them, taking several breaths before the sensation of suffocation left my brain. But even as Evren set her hand on my shoulder, yelling something at me, I couldn''t hear over the deafening ring. "I-I''m.. okay!" At the time, I thought I spoke normally, but I was completely dazed, slurring my words as I barely managed to maintain the flow of oxygen to my lungs. Between suffocating, accelerating so fast it was sickening, and slowing on a dime, my brain was at its limit, but by some miracle, I managed to keep myself awake. More gently picking me up, Evren was quick to get moving again, this time accelerating less aggressively before, after less than a minute, we made our way into a dense forest with a canopy well over a kilometer over our heads, and up a tree bordering the plains. *Pat* Gently setting me down at the base of a massive branch, looking out over the seemingly endless plain rustling in the breeze, she opened her system and tapped around before suddenly, Bella fell out of the air next to her, letting them speak for a moment before Bella ran up to me. -H..huh.. what is she...- But rather than looking at me, Bella walked up and started inspecting the series of runes in front of my mouth. -Is she.. wanting to replicate them?- It was an impossible task, but feeling my consciousness starting to slip, I brightened the bit of light magic in them to better see the circuit''s intricacies. But it wasn''t for her. Regardless of her having a mana core, controlling mana wasn''t something so simple, especially to form things as intricate as runes using nothing but mana. "Evren..." Speaking somewhat lethargically as an irresistible exhaustion blew through me, I mustered every bit of energy I had to stay awake. I wanted to try and tell her to copy the runes into layers of something thin, whether sheets of metal or layers of wood, effectively creating an artifact that could supply me with oxygen as long mana was moving through it. But as I opened my mouth, my vision started to blur, and after moving my lips, unsure whether I even said anything, everything finally went dark, and my consciousness went silent. ----- - Evren Lestir ~ "Eve!" *Pat* Lunging over and catching her unconscious head as it slumped to the side, my mind raced. She was still breathing, and her heart was pumping, but her brain was swelling more with every second, and the runes hovering in front of her mouth were rapidly losing their clarity. I was on the clock to save her life. -FUCK!- "Bella, how can I reduce the swelling in her brain?!" If it kept swelling at the rate it was, it would kill her before she would have the chance to suffocate. "Without special equipment, there is no way to reduce it!" Turning to me in a rush, Bella spoke with a slight coldness, losing herself in thought. "If it doesn''t kill her, it will go down on its own after some time. For now, we need to focus on finding a way to get her oxygen!" But as I fell into thought, Bella''s advice went in one ear and out the other. -Her brain is swelling too much.. if it keeps growing, it''ll crush itself against the inside of her skull...- If that happened, she would either go braindead or die. But there was only one solution I had in mind for it... *Pat* Quickly straightening her head, I set my palm on the top of her head, and flooded her skull with as much aura as I could manage. "Hooh..." Letting out a cold breath, my gaze sharpened, focusing entirely on the image my aura painted in my mind before... *CrACkLe* Jolting my hand up, just off her head, a series of cracks ripped out, and Bella turned to me in a panic. "W-What did you just do?!" "I shattered her skull." Speaking somewhat emotionlessly, I kept a close eye on her skull to make sure her brain could take advantage of the extra space to relieve the pressure without cutting itself on the jagged edges of bone. And it worked flawlessly. Almost instantly, the controlled cracks I created with my aura started widening, and the intense pressure on her brain was eased, letting it swell as much as it needed to. -But I can''t relax yet...- Lowering my gaze to her chest, rushing breaths as her supply of oxygen thinned, I set my palm on her stomach, quickly finding exactly where her reserve was. "Hooh.. okay..." I had an idea, but I wasn''t sure if it would work. The issue was that there was no alternative. "Alright, Eve..." *Vwoop* Pulling the colossal wyvern mana core out of my inventory, I set it behind me and looked at Eve''s strained, hyperventilating face before closing my eyes. "I''m sorry, but.. this is really going to hurt..." *Vwoom* Using some aura to try and strengthen the base of her spine, I pulled back my hand and slammed it into her stomach. *WHAAAMMM* In an instant, her reserve ruptured and exploded, shredding and dissolving the surrounding organs, muscle, and tissue. But it was all to raise her chance of survival. Even if it was just from zero to one. ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 38: Sentience Late Evening - Mid Summer : Moriai | Leyfa Askr ----- - Kazzaer Aldinn ~ "Sir, would you like some tea?" "No thank you." Quickly waving off the cold, elven butler, I gave Miss Tsvetok a stressed glance before turning back to a few handwritten notes she gave me after the flight from Portugal. "Haah..." -What a ridiculous idea...- To summarize, the stack of paper detailed everything Russia wanted out of a negotiation with the Queen, some things more insane that others, before telling me to not cave in to a good offer if it meant it would throw her under the bus. With Russia not exactly being a political ally of the United States, it was a demand that would seem outrageous to most. However, if I chose to work with her, she detailed how she would force the Russian parliament to send the United States a request for a formal alliance. Considering the disaster that was on the horizon, it was an offer I couldn''t pass up. But the more I sat on it, the more unsure I became. -ISO members don''t usually have the ability to guarantee such actions...- Rather than being governing bodies, we were simply representatives that could be overruled if the government wished. Sure, our words carried a lot of weight and were rarely objected to, during our meeting in Portugal, we even instated rules and policies without so much as looking at what our respective governments had to say, but that was because of one simple fact. We discussed everything in front of the world. As long as the plan we made pleased the people, the government wasn''t given a choice but to follow it, at least generally. However, this meeting was different, not only would it not be broadcasted to the world, but while global tensions appeared to settle some after the announcement of the rank-up arrived, an alliance wasn''t something that could form so haphazardly. The thing was she had no reason to lie. -With disaster breathing down our necks, neither of us can afford sparking a war...- And we both would greatly benefit from an alliance. So, I trusted her. That was at least until the air in the meeting hall changed. Out of nowhere, the maids started panicking, rushing about, and whispering to one another about something regarding the Queen. At first, I thought it was simply them getting ready for her to come inside, after all, there was a very noticeable shift in the flow of the ambient mana around us right as they started panicking. But I couldn''t have been more wrong. *Tap-Woosh* As the door swung open, my gaze fell on a familiar, older elven maid. -Eir Igna...- "I apologize for making you all wait." Speaking so emotionlessly it made me uncomfortable, she confidently walked in with a towering demihuman following behind her. "The Queen can, unfortunately, not make it to this meeting, so for the time being, I will act in her place." -What?!- Miss Tsvetok and I instantly jolted. "This here is Madam Ormr, the leader of the Frost Walkers. She will be joining us in place of her son, so I hope you can be understanding." Not giving us anything more than a glance, she walked up to the end of the table and, without hesitation, pushed aside the huge chair intended for the Queen. "Now, to avoid any further delays," Straightening her posture and holding her head as high as royalty, confidence crept into her voice, "Allow us to begin." ----- Early Afternoon - Early Fall : The Forest of Giants | Temnota - Evren Lestir ~ *Wowowowooom* *Tap* "Hoooh..." Finally taking a step back with a long, stressed breath as a storm of mana rampaged around me, I used my aura to move the massive wyvern mana core behind me, over Eve''s bloody, unmoving body, and letting the blue fog of mana it exuded flow into her abdomen. -To think I''m still able to feel this kind of anxiety...- Momentarily lowering my gaze down to my shaky, blood-covered hand, loosely holding a scalpel-like blade, I finally gave my nerves a chance to unwind before tossing it in my inventory and squatting back down next to her. It had been several hours since I began my emergency procedure at that point, but even though things had been progressing extremely well, I could never shake the unending anxiety that tied my stomach in a knot. But that was all because Eve''s fate, after holding her life in a delicate balance for several hours, would ultimately come down to the final step. Looking over at an unrecognizable pile of flesh and blood next to me, I had already removed essentially all of the organs that were unrecognizably shredded the first time I ruptured her reserve, forcing her body to completely rely on mana rather than attempting to heal, and thankfully, while it took some time, her body found a new equilibrium. There was one major issue though. If I were to pull away the massive wyvern core hovering above her, she''d die in a matter of minutes. The tiny, grape-sized mana core that had reformed in her now-empty abdomen simply didn''t contain enough mana to keep her alive, and if I left her with it, she would most definitely die. -So I have to try and reform it...- Meaning I had to rupture it again. But even though it was a procedure I had done on myself in the past, I was abnormally nervous. "Hooh..." -I just can''t overthink it... Compared to what I did to myself, this is nothing...- Finally raising the wyvern''s mana core up over me, I reached out over her abdomen, folding my finger back and flicking her grape-sized reserve, crushing it against her spine. *Crackle* Almost instantly, a mana vortex appeared where the core once was, and knowing it would only last an instant, I hastily lowered the wyvern''s mana core before flicking it as well, sending cracks spreading through it before a huge wash of mana flowed out of it and funneled into the vortex like a cracked egg. -Perfect...-Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Lowering the wyvern core more, till it was almost laying on her stomach, I stood up, pacing around it while carefully controlling the flow of mana from the core, flicking it to steadily increase the flow of mana proportionally to how large the vortex grew. Until eventually, the vortex grew to a point where, at its center, a jelly-like formation of liquid mana gathered around a faint white cloud, dissolving the skin and muscle around it before slowly beginning to spin and circulate. -There we go...- Quickly pulling the wyvern''s core away to lessen the amount of mana the vortex could pull from it, the vortex finally started dying down, and a shell started to form on the core. *Vwoop* Not wasting any more time, I quickly pulled back out my scalpel before carving away patches of blue flesh that had solidified into mythril from the insane ambient mana. And almost instantly, the hole in her abdomen started to rapidly heal, and her condition stabilized. In a matter of seconds, color returned to her skin, and while she wasn''t breathing, her heartbeat was firm, and her nervous system was active. -Thank goodness...- She had survived... *Puff* Finally catching a break, I fell back and sat down, only keeping an eye on how much mana she was still absorbing to make sure her newly formed core wasn''t going to gorge itself. But thankfully, there was nothing to worry about there. As minutes turned into hours, I slowly moved the wyvern''s core farther and farther away before eventually putting it back in my inventory and starting to clean up. Not wanting to draw the attention of any critters, I was quick to put the mess of flesh I had carved out of Eve into my inventory, before pulling out a towel to clean up the blood. But just as I went to do that, Bella, who had been sitting behind me the whole time, watching the procedure, walked up and took it out of my hands. "Please don''t worry about cleaning up anything... You''ve already done enough..." Her voice was riddled with worry. "I''ll take care of it, so please take a moment to rest." Unfortunately though, while it was a kind gesture, she didn''t quite realize the situation we were in. *Vwoop* Immediately pulling another towel out of my inventory, I got to wiping without so much as a stutter. "It''s alright, this isn''t the time nor place for rest." Suddenly stopping in her tracks, the gentle sway in her tail stopped. "What do you mean? You look exhausted." -I am...- But unfortunately, the moment I lowered my guard, Eve would die. "You do know this isn''t Earth, right?" Seeing her tilt her head, everything suddenly clicked. "Eve was suffocating. I ruptured her reserve to force her body to start living off of mana completely." Although according to her she had already ''ascended'', after everything that had happened, she had only taken the first step before now. And even now, she had only made it to step two. But ascension is an arduous journey that couldn''t be rushed. -At least not more than necessary...- Having a momentary flashback to a time when I performed the procedure I just did on Eve on myself, my expression turned cold before quickly forcing myself to switch gears. "Anyway, according to my system, you should have system panels and such now. Have you tried it at all?" "Huh?" Her gaze instantly snapped to me. "N..no... I wasn''t aware I had anything like that..." -Interesting...- "Trying saying ''System Open''." Giving me a weird look for a moment, she hesitantly turned away. "System open?" *Vwoop* Almost instantly her face was lit up with a purple hue I only knew to belong to my system. "What the... It looks.. kind of buggy though..." -Uh oh...- My interest instantly turned to worry. "How so..." But as she turned her panel to me, a wave of relief washed over me. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 47.8275%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4" scope="row"> World: "Temnota" Planet Rank: ERROR Mission Type: Low-Intel Assassination Local Server: Unable to Connect - Connected to Central Server </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="4">Population: ~234,000,071</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 30.607%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Total Gold: 0</td> <td style="width: 37.9372%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Inventory and Gear</td> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="2">Upgrades and Stats</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> "The planet rank says error, and.. that population can''t be right..." -It looks exactly like mine.- "It''s right. The planet ranks increase up to 0, then it goes to negative 0, and then it errors out." Tensing up, her ears folded back. "So.. you mean to say that Rank 0 isn''t the top of the mountain..?" Nodding with a smile, I found her naivety a bit amusing before a tilt found its way into my head. -Huh?- Watching her tail slowly tuck between her legs, my curiosity quickly turned into fascination. "Are you.. afraid?" Finally noticing, she stopped in her tracks. "N..no, that''s not possible." Without realizing, she got flustered. "I''m a robot, I don''t have an emotion like fear programmed into me..." "But I changed the rules that bound you with the system. Perhaps one of the limits I removed gave you the ability to learn fear." -The only other thing I could think of would be the mana mechanics infusion...- But giving her a mana core didn''t necessarily necessitate sentience either, especially since I knew firsthand that having mana didn''t make a being sentient, with treants being a prime example. However, Bella was undoubtedly feeling something. Something that would make her mind wander for endless hours, causing time to slip by while we waited for Eve to wake up. But of course, I wasn''t too fond of wasting time like that, so, to pass the time, I decided to try and teach Bella how to use and control mana. It was essentially just me relaying what Eve taught me to her, however, the more I spoke, the more my mind ran wild with ideas, and the more mistakes I found in my own practice. Before I knew it, with some help brainstorming from Bella, my abilities were advancing even faster than when Eve was teaching me, and after a week, I had a much better foundation of knowledge and skill when it came to working with my aura and controlling my mana. Of course, it wasn''t all sunshine and rainbows because the actual volume of mana I was able to pull out of my reserve continued to be severely limited, but there was some minor progress there as well. It eventually came to an end though. -Hoh?- Feeling a presence approaching from the grass field, I turned around to see the spine-covered drake from when we first arrived walking towards us while dragging the bloody corpse of some lizard-like creature. -By the looks of things, it''s not coming for us...- Rather it looked like it was just bringing food to its den. However, over the last few days, Bella and I had brainstormed on how I could get more mana out of my reserve at once, and while most methods worked, there was one way we thought would really work. Live practice. -How perfect...- But as I stood up and started stretching, Bella''s worry exploded. "A-Are you sure you can fight that?! That has to be at least level two thousand!" Hearing her guess, I wanted to laugh. "Try eight or nine thousand." Watching it walk across the plain, my guess was just one step below the demigod wyvern I killed. -But it''s on the ground, and...- *Vwoop* Pulling out my axe, I swung it over my shoulder. -This time I''m a little better equipped.- ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 39: Stepping into a New World Mid Afternoon - Early Fall : The Forest of Giants | Temnota ----- *Fwiwiwip* *Tap* Flipping my axe up onto my shoulder, keeping my eyes on the spiney drake dragging its prey through the field, Bella gave me a worried look. "Y..you can''t be serious..." Gently shrugging, I looked down the drake and started idly coming up with a plan. "I shouldn''t have any problems as long as he doesn''t target you two. Worst case scenario, I''ll lure it away from here." -I just need to stay close enough for my aura to feel presences around Eve... Actually, before that...- Turning around, I quickly opened my system and tapped through it. "Huh?" Almost immediately, Bella''s face was lit by a panel as well. With just a few button presses, I had transferred her a few million gold. "If anything about Eve changes, transfer me some gold." Unlike most things, gold could be transferred between us instantly, without regard for distance. "If you send me gold, I''ll come back as fast as I can." Staring at the panel in a daze, she sat down and raised her paw, navigating through the panels before mumbling. "Like.. this..?" *Beep* My system sounded out instantly. "Successfully transferred 4,216 gold from companion robotic ''Bella''." Swiping through the panel to close it, I nodded. "Exactly like that, alright?" Seeing her somewhat hesitantly nod, I finally turned back to the horizon where the massive, spiny drake continued across the plain, and started walking down the long tree branch to get a better view. It was completely alone, dragging its still-wiggling prey through the grass with its spines relaxed, laying like armor on its back while its heavy horns caused its head to gently sway back and forth just off the ground. Unlike the wyvern, it was completely focused on defense, with its lack of speed and attack power being compensated for solely by its spines. However, while its spines indeed made it a tough nut to crack, it relying too much on them was also a weakness when it came to fighting an intelligent foe. -If I can close the distance before it can shoot any spines, I should be fine.- Considering its belly was layered with armored scales rather than spines, I was pretty confident that I could get through it. The matter was just getting there. -As soon as I head in its direction, it''ll spot me.- Even as I stood on the edge of a tree branch some eighty kilometers away, well outside the range of its aura, its eyes were aimed in my direction. It knew I was nearby, and that was going to make getting close to it without it noticing me next to impossible. However, after everything I had learned from trying to teach Bella how to control her mana, I had some ideas, so while there was still quite some distance between me and the drake, I ran through them. No matter how stupid the idea was, I tried it, modified it, and tried again. Until eventually, I managed to create a blindspot in my aura even at extreme ranges. The thing was, the farther from me my aura was, the less control I had over it, so at long ranges I didn''t really think I had any control at all, but as it turned out, even at close to two hundred kilometers, I could control my aura. However, that control was like sticking a massive, dozen-kilometer-wide fan down into a cloud. It was terrible. However, it was also just enough for me to keep my aura completely out of contact with the drake''s aura up until I got within a few kilometers. -The question will be if I can close that distance before it peppers me with spines...- But, with plenty of space to accelerate, I was pretty confident. -Alright, let''s see what I can do.- *Tap-WoooOOOOSH* Finally hopping off the branch, I rushed to gather mana in my legs, plummeting down over the very edge of the plain before using my aura to catch myself, flattening a swath of metallic, blade-like grass and springing forward. *FWOOSH* Doing everything I could to accelerate, I kept myself low to the ground while remaining focused on the horizon that now hid the drake from sight. But while I couldn''t see him, he couldn''t see me either. *WOOOSH* Finally getting up to speed, the drake eventually peeked the horizon exactly where I expected, and I popped my axe off my shoulder. While there was still easily a dozen kilometers between us, that was a distance I would cover in just a few seconds. "Hooh..." Letting out a heavy breath that instantly turned into a steamy fog when it touched the trail of plasma I created, I stiffened my legs and tightened the grip on my axe before finally, my aura met the drakes.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. *VWOOM* But while I expected a fast reaction, its eyes instantly snapped to me and its quills stood up. Before I could even get within two kilometers, a wall of spines was already headed for me. -But they''re slow...- At least that was compared to what it shot after me when I was carrying Eve. *TING-TING-TING* Quickly parrying a few of them with the side of my axe, I closed the remaining distance between us before gathering mana in my arms, sliding under its side as it lowered itself to the ground and swinging up into its gut with everything I had. But the thick ivory-like armor plates layering its stomach just absorbed the impact like it was nothing. *THUNK* But I wasn''t one to let go of my weapon so easily. Coming to a halt on a dime, I swung my axe around, planting my feet on its stomach before accumulating mana in my shoulders and back. -So your armor is malleable, huh? How troublesome...- Feeling the drake falling, attempting to crush me against the ground, I forcefully straightened the axe up so the hilt faced the ground before creating a massive structure of aura that focused the creature''s weight onto it. *Crackle* With such an immense force, the axe had no problem digging through the malleable layer of armor, but right as it hit something hard, the creature noticed and caught itself, rolling onto its side as it went to grab me with its oversized claws. -Well, since you won''t do it for me...- Ignoring the claws, I rapidly increased the amount of mana in my shoulder before pulling back a fist and driving it into the hilt. *WHAAAM-CRAACK* The harder, but more brittle layer of armor instantly exploded, sending my axe deep into the monster''s chest cavity with a shotgun blast of bone before barely managing to catch the axe''s staff and ripping it back out. *SPLAT* "Oooh, that felt good..." Feeling a rush of adrenaline as crimson blood glistened in the sunlight, my pupils thinned before snapping to the drake''s paw, approaching like an immovable wall. *VWOOM* But without realizing it, I strengthened nearly half my body with mana at once. And that led to a punch completely incomparable to anything I had thrown since the system wipe. *WHOOM* Warping the light around my fist, the impact melted the drakes scales on contact before sending a shockwave through its arm that splintered its metal-like bones, and blew the spines coating its arm out into the air. *CRRRAAACKKK* Still failing to strengthen my bones enough, cracks instantly spread through my hand and forearm. But there was so much adrenaline pumping through my veins that I didn''t even notice it. Bolting to the ground, I darted toward its head. With it laying on its side, the underside of its neck was an easy target. Or so I thought. As I jumped over its leg laying flat against the ground, one of its massive horns slammed down in front of me, trapping me in before its bulky tail curled under itself, whipping a dozen barbed spines at me so fast I didn''t have time to dodge. But even though my body was too slow to react, there was one thing that didn''t deteriorate after my system was wiped. My mind. *VWOOM* Instantly taking control of my aura, I meticulously pushed around the barbed ends of the spines, each far bigger than me, guiding them around me before forcing the tail to aim up in the air. *TH-TH-TH-TH-TH-THUD* Finally panicking, the monster raised its quills, and its front legs started to close on the cage of spines I had made around myself. I didn''t let it get that far though. Before it had a chance to react, I slipped out of the cage and darted up under its arm, and onto its enormous horn. "Geez..." It was so oversized I honestly struggled to believe it. -Its skull might be a challenge...- With such a huge mass of bone coming from it, the skull was bound to be built like the wall of a fortress. But the skull wasn''t the only place I could hit. *WOOSH* Darting up to its neck, right at the base of its skull, I used my aura to push up on the atmosphere, turning my comparably light body into a hundred-thousand-ton monster before stomping my foot right on the edge of one of its vertebrae. *CRACK-Pop* A dull pop instantly sounded, as if I only managed to give the creature a readjustment. But in the same moment, its body relaxed, its quills laid down, and its tail limply fell out of the air. *WHAM* *Beep* It was only a few seconds later that the kill-confirmed panel appeared in front of me. -Level 8,600, huh...- "That felt pretty good..." Shaking the tingling feeling out of my fractured hand, I let out a breath to try and ease my nerves. -It''s a shame it died so fast...- Idly looking up at the tree branch Eve and Bella were on, I felt a bit disappointed. My original plan to to just paralyze it, knock it out, or get it on the brink of death, and give the kill to Bella to see if she could level up, collect items, and collect upgrades, -But maybe this would''ve been too much for her anyway...- Tempted to find something a bit more tame to have Bella kill, I made my way back to the forest after tossing some of the drake''s materials in my inventory to try and find anything, even if it was a small bird or rodent. Nothing ever caught my gaze though. -No wonder this world''s population was so low...- Even though it was a world considerably larger than Earth, it had nothing but megafauna, compensating for the lack of creatures keeping the ecosystem in check with size and appetite. In other words, it was a world of predators. One where the drake I had just killed was only halfway up the totem pole. -Of all the worlds for me to drag Eve to...- But thankfully, the hardest part was behind us. With her body moving to live off mana, it would inevitably get stronger with time, and things like finding food to eat, water to drink, or even air to breathe were irrelevant. -We just need to be careful until I can run with her on my shoulders without nearly putting her in a coma...- That was a challenge that was going to be far harder than I could have ever imagined though... I just had yet to realize it. *Beep* Hearing my system sound out of nowhere, I looked over to see a transfer of one gold from Bella. -Is she waking up?- Considering it was just a single coin, it likely wasn''t anything serious. -But I shouldn''t lollygag...- So, kicking it into high gear, I made my way back to the tree she was resting on as fast as I could while starting to think about how I would explain what happened to her without sounding insane. And well, it went about as I expected... "YOU DID WHAT?!" ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 40: Joy Apologies for the delay last week! Please also give me your thoughts on TSH in the comments, I''m looking for some feedback, whether its on flow, direction, pace, or anything else. Just be aware that the next 5 chaps are already written so the changes caused by the feedback will take some time to be noticed. <hr> Mid Evening - Early Fall : The Forest of Giants | Temnota ----- - Eve Altera ~ "Nnnghh..." Waking up with a groan as a lingering heat-like pain flooded my body, I lethargically opened my eyes to see the blurry figure of a black creature looming over me. But rather than panicking, I just blankly stared at it... Mindlessly laying there, feeling the impression of dull tree bark pressing into my back, a blend of blurry, unsorted memories slowly started resurfacing, playing moments of my childhood, my mother, and the days I spent with my dad like an endless record before I was met with my inevitable demise. But as the movie progressed, I eventually made it to a memory of someone, and felt everything freeze. It was the moment I first met Evren, reaching her blood-covered hand out to me as she held up the head of a huge dead monster. It was a moment I remembered like it was yesterday. However, this time, the moment I reached out my childish hand and touched hers, the rest of my memories rushed back like an uncontrollable tsunami, flooding my body with adrenaline and jolting me awake. "aaAAAHH!" Springing up to my feet, I instinctually lunged back from the black creature before my vision finally sharpened and my panic mixed with confusion. -H..huh..?- Even as memories of the creature finally came back to me, I felt a distinct, unfamiliar presence from it. "B..Bella..?" Her face instantly washed with worry. "Lady Eve! Be careful moving so much!" -What the hell..?- Watching her run up to me in a panic, my face warped with confusion. -Why does she have.. an aura..?- But as if I opened the floodgates, the moment I started asking questions, my mind was overtaken by them. Until eventually, everything settled on one. -How.. am I alive...- Unable to forget the endless anabolic burn that filled my lungs before I lost consciousness, my instincts screamed at me to get a breath of oxygen, only for me to realize that the urge to breathe had vanished entirely. -W..what the hell...- Looking down at Bella as she tried to force me to sit down, I followed her guidance before progressively noticing more and more anomalies about my own body. Using aura to look at my internal condition, I found that all the organs that previously filled my abdomen were missing, now replaced by a massive mana core, while the rest of my body, from stomach to heart all looked completely unfamiliar. It was unlike anything I could wrap my head around. "Bella, what... What happened to me..?" Based on everything I knew, I should have died... But there I sat, alive and well as if the memories I had didn''t belong to the body I possessed. "M-Master saved you..." Still a bit unsure herself, she spoke rather reluctantly. "By Earth''s standards, she crippled you, but somehow, your reserve exploding saved you..." -W..what...- Attempting to break down what she said, it felt like I was trying to translate it between languages. "She.. shattered my reserve?" -But that can''t be right...- Setting my hand on my stomach, I could clearly feel the mana surging from it. But sometimes reality defied logic. "I just used it as a catalyst to help you get to the next stage of ascension and reformed it." Hearing Evren''s voice, I jolted, only to look over and see her walking around the tree trunk. "YOU DID WHAT?!" "It was pretty risky, but it wasn''t something I had never done before." Finally reaching me, she squatted down and set her hand on my shoulder, closely inspecting me before staring into my eyes. Subconsciously matching her gaze, I stared back into her void-like pupils only to get lost in them as if I were hypnotized. But the moment she blinked, snapping me out of it, a glimpse of light flickered in the void. -Huh..?- "Thank goodness... It seems like you''re making a full recovery..." Ignoring my confused look, she leaned back with a warm smile while her voice was flooded with relief. "How are your memories? Are your thoughts still cloudy at all?" Still a bit unsure what to say, as if caught in a daze, I spoke softly. "They''re still.. a little fuzzy..." Giving me a pleased nod, Evren finally sat down just in front of me. "If you can recognize that they''re fuzzy, then that means they''re not gone. They should come back with time..." Feeling a sense of understanding coming from her voice, I subconsciously found ease, giving my nerves a moment to breathe without me even realizing it. "Phew..." But Evren didn''t let my mind have the privilege of comfort. "So, as you may have noticed already, but your body has changed quite a bit." Snapping out of my own thoughts, I nodded. "Yeah.. I actually wanted to ask about that..." Already understanding that, she continued without hesitation. "Your body now lives completely off mana," -Completely..?- "Unlike before, you cannot sustain yourself with food or water alone, and if you run out of mana, your body will literally begin dying. I call it mana suffocation." Noticing me cringe, her smile widened with understanding. "You can supplement your body''s mana consumption with a bit of food and liquid, especially if it''s mana-infused, but you still need some mana at the base of everything, so don''t go firing off spells if it empties your reserve." Unsure how to feel, I sat in silence with a conflicted look on my face. "Haha, it''s not all bad though. Now that you live entirely off mana, you can no longer die from things like lack of oxygen, food, or water, and are extremely resistant to things like blood loss, most poisons, disease, and to an extent, old age. However, you need to remember that you aren''t immortal. Just because you heal super fast doesn''t mean you should tank hits you can dodge." Reaching her hand out without much thought, she swiftly pulled a shiny chunk of metal out of her inventory before slamming it down in front of me so I could see my reflection. *Thunk* But, still trying to comprehend everything she was explaining, I wasn''t ready for it. -W..what...- "WHAT THE HELL?!" It did more than catch me off guard.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. In the metal plate in front of me, I found the reflection of an elf that looked no different from a younger version of Mother, something so unlike what I was used to that I didn''t believe it was my reflection. She was nothing short of the pinnacle of elven beauty and youthfulness, with long white hair that descended well below her waist, extra long, sharp ears, and skin of porcelain that I only knew my Mother to have. But, unlike Mother, the reflection before me was young, like a human woman in her twenties. -Is that really.. me..?- It was like I had regressed fifty years. Now, I actually looked younger than Evren... "Unfamiliar, huh?" Smiling as if reminiscing, she tilted her head to bathe in the nostalgia. "When I forced my body to ascend like I did yours, I had to question if I regressed. It looked like I went from my fifties to being a youngin'' again." -So this is what real ascension is...- Feeling like a frog finally seeing the sky after sitting in a well, I wanted to scoff at my previous ignorance. -But...- "What do you mean by forcing yourself to ascend?" Not quite understanding, she gave me an odd look. "Well, I did exactly what I did to you, just to myself." -Wait, what...- "What does that mean..?" Not sure whether I wanted to know the details, I looked at Bella. But she fervently shook her head at me, knowing what it was that Evren meant. Perhaps that was my warning... But it was too late. As she went on to explain how she ruptured her own reserve and carved out her own organs, I felt so sick I wanted to vomit. But even still, she spoke of the moment as if it were some fond memory, and while I wasn''t sure why.. I immediately regretted questioning it when I asked about it. "Well, after that moment, I didn''t have to worry about my guts spilling out whenever my stomach got slashed. Plus, after a while, the extra space in my abdomen was filled with muscle, and that came with its own benefits." Feeling the color progressively drain from my face as I watched her so casually speak about horrors I couldn''t fathom, my image of how she lived while adventuring in the System darkened to a point of unrecognizability. Much like a child realizing her hero wasn''t as invincible as her tales foretold, it made me feel an almost unending powerlessness, uncertainty, and doubt. -Just.. what kind of life did she have to live to speak about nearly getting cut in half like a minor inconvenience...- However, after continuing to talk about it, it only became more and more clear that it wasn''t anything I would ever be able to wrap my head around... And while the version of her I idolized as a child was indeed far from invincible, I really had to question if her current self wasn''t. Walking up to the side of a grotesque, spine-covered drake with hide so thick my strongest spells wouldn''t even tickle it, I watched Evren casually sink her fingers into one of its massive teeth before ripping it out and tossing it to me. *Pat* It was a material I wouldn''t have believed existed if I hadn''t seen it, a bone many times stronger than all but the strongest mythrils I knew of. But while I stared at it with a look of disbelief, I couldn''t even begin to imagine how much I would come to question the idea of impossibility. And how my view of reality would warp because of it... ----- - Bella ~ "Hey Bella," Hearing Master''s voice come from inside the drake''s massive mouth, I immediately stopped what I was doing and looked up. "Go give Eve a hand real quick." Nodding without a moment of hesitation, I let go of the short, white blade in my mouth before setting my paw on it and carefully moving it into my inventory. *Vwoop* Watching a clump of metal-like grass disappear with it, I felt a chill pass down my spine. -Geez, that feels so sketchy...- Finally turning my attention away from it, I made my way around the drake''s ridiculously oversized horn before hopping up into a huge gash in its stomach, propped open by a series of orange poles, and making my way into its abdomen. About twenty minutes ago, Evren had asked Eve to go into the drake''s abdominal cavity to retrieve its more nutrient-dense organs, such as the liver and heart without really saying why, likely just trying to get Eve''s mind out of the whirlwind it was caught in. But while she went into it with a smile, that turned out to not be as easy of a task as anticipated. *Splash-Splash* "Ah, Bella..." Turning around completely drenched in blood while holding an orb of light magic, Eve gave me a forced smile. "Did Evren send you in?" Noticing her unease, I spoke a bit more softly. "I wasn''t being any help to Master, so I thought I''d see if you could use a hand." "Ah..." Letting out a heavy breath, her gaze fell to the floor. "I actually could, but I don''t know if it''s something you can really help with..." -What could that be?- Finding a curious sway in my step, I continued up to her side in the cave-like space. "What''s up?" "Well..." Looking around the seemingly empty space, she brightened up her light magic. "Typically, the way you find the nutrient-dense organs is by which are darker, but..." Unlike what she was used to, it wasn''t just the nutrient-dense organs that were dark. Inside the drake, everything was black. "I also tried to use analysis magic on some things, but.. they''ve all given me readings I can''t understand..." -Is that so...- Quickly shifting to night vision, I took a moment to look around before digging my claws into the wall of flesh next to us, and climbing up to an exposed organ. -It looks like these are the intestines so this could be something...- Pulling my head away from the wall for a moment, I pulled my knife from my inventory before catching it in my mouth and slashing the organ. *Vwoop-Tink* *Fwip-Splat* As my face was showered with blood, my mind raced to analyze the texture of the meat. -A lot of blood... That''s a good sign...- Slashing it a few more times, carving out the piece of flesh entirely, I caught it with my paw before immediately putting it in my inventory. But rather than being labeled as an organ, like I was hoping, it was just labeled as ''Miscellaneous Flesh''. -Well.. I guess Eve would have figured it out already if it was that easy...- However, as I tapped expand on the description, I was presented with a breakdown of the various things inside the piece of flesh by percent. Vitamins, abundant elements, and even compounds. To the eyes of a normal being, it was likely information that meant nothing, but quite a number of the elements and compounds in the list were things I knew of, and through them, I could infer what the organ was used for. Subconsciously smiling, I looked back down at Eve. "I think this is something similar to the liver!" Releasing my grip on the wall, I fell down to the blood-coated ground with a splash. "At the very least, it has a ton of good stuff in it so it''s worth grabbing. I''ll check some other things while you grab it." Joyfully trotting over to the other side of the space, I slipped between several organs I didn''t recognize with an almost dog-like wag in my tail and got to work. To most, it was likely quite grueling work, but after essentially dissecting the creature from the inside for a while, I felt a rush I had never felt before. It was joy. An endless, pure excitement. By the time Eve and I finished and made our way outside, it had simply consumed me. "Master! Master!" Running out of the drake''s abdomen with a happy trot, I made my way up to Evren''s side before pressing myself into her leg. "Is this the kind of stuff you were looking for?" *Beep* Transfering her a few pieces of flesh from my inventory, she immediately pulled them out before reducing them to mush in her hand. "Oh? Did these really come out of the drake?" Inspecting them a bit more closely for a moment, she turned to me with a smile before reaching down and rubbing my head. "Good job!" -Hehe...- As a robot, something like joy wasn''t something I was supposed to be able to fathom. But at that moment, I felt euphoria, unlike anything a computer could replicate. Unfortunately, that was just me though. "Now, Eve, come grab your dinner." *Vwoop* Pulling out a much larger chunk of meat I had given her, Master dangled it in front of her with an oddly smug smile. And Eve, well.. her expression was grim. So much so, I wanted to laugh. "Haha," *Pat* Aggressively patting me, Master let out a playful chuckle. "Don''t think you''re getting away scot-free either." -Huh?- "What do you-" *Splat* Before I could even finish, a clump of flesh suddenly appeared in my mouth, instantly reducing to mush before sinking into the sea of metal pieces composing my throat. -E..Ew...- What a truly unpleasant moment that was... ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 41: Visualizing Fate Early Morning - Early Fall : The Forest of Giants | Temnota ----- - Eve Altera ~ "Now, Eve, come grab your dinner." *Vwoop* Watching Evren pull out a large chunk of black flesh before dangling it in front of me, my expression morphed with disgust. -D..Dinner..?- Looking at the piece of meat ooze a slimy black liquid, my stomach churned. As I turned to Bella for solace though, I only found a smug look written across her black-furred face. One I wanted to snuff. But Evren addressed it long before I could. "Haha," *Pat* Aggressively patting Bella''s head, Evren let out a playful chuckle that instantly struck fear into me. "Don''t think you''re getting away scot-free either." -Huh?- "What do you-" *Splat* Before Bella could even finish speaking, a clump of viscous black flesh splattered on the inside of her mouth before promptly oozing into her body. Watching the flesh sink into a series of metal arms and hydraulics in her throat, I was honestly at a loss for words.. just like Bella... But after a moment, the shock settled and turned into panic. -AH!- "EVREN!" Rushing up to Bella, I set my hand on her side. "Bella, open your maintenance hatch! That nasty stuff will definitely mess with your electronics!" However, as I felt around where the edge of the door should have been, and used my aura to look around, I found nothing. -Shit, is this the wrong side?- But before I could check her other side, she somewhat awkwardly stepped back. "A-About that..." Giving me an odd look, she spoke hesitantly. "That isn''t something I can do anymore... Not only have I completely lost the system directories that should have been for maintenance mode and the lock on the hatch, but I seem to have also lost the ability to freely change my form, or even just adjust traits about myself like the color of my fur or eyes..." "What?" My face instantly warped with confusion. "How does that work?" Looking up at Evren, I squinted my eyes a bit. "Can you block stuff like that in your system?" She immediately nodded. "But this isn''t that." Quickly opening up her system, likely to check, she appeared to scroll through something before her expression turned troubled. "Well.. I at least could before..." Getting anxious at the sight of her uncertainty, anxiety found its way onto my face. "W..what do you mean?" ----- - Evren Lestir ~ "Well, it actually seems like a lot of the programming and behavior-related settings are gone now." Scrolling through the mana mechanics tab, viewing all the available permissions that were bound to Bella, I found a list of only about a hundred exceedingly generic rules I recognized in a heartbeat. -So even the system finds her odd...- They were the permissions I only ever knew to be set on companion animals. Compared to companion robotics, companion animals couldn''t be bound to nearly as specific of a degree. To give an example, a single robotic companion could have up to four hundred million permissions, letting the user set whatever they wanted on it, but living companions were limited to ninety-six which were statically set by the system. The reason for this was the idea of free will. Even mana robotics were still robots, machines that could be programmed however the owner wished. -Yet somehow Bella is different...- And while it made me wonder if perhaps the system update changed what I knew of mana robotics, even the system didn''t seem to know how to classify her, saying she was a ''mana-robotic'' in the main companion tab while giving her the permissions of a companion animal. It was truly odd. -But this only reinforces what I already thought...- Looking down at Bella, I gave her a slightly judgemental look before relaxing my gaze and speaking more normally. "Bella, open your mouth again." Quickly turning away from Eve, she sat down and opened wide. And just like before, I dropped a mushy piece of flesh into her mouth. *Splat* It clearly made both her and Eve uncomfortable, but it was all part of an experiment. One that I was eager to see the results of... -I can''t rush things though...- Turning to Eve, my more entertaining prey, my smile finally returned. "Anyway, Eve." *Vwoop* Pulling out a much more solid piece of meat that smelled like clotted blood and oozed black slime, I playfully dangled it in front of her. "Put a bit of this on your tongue and see if it''s too poisonous for you." Her face instantly scrunched with disgust. But disgust was a feeling she needed to learn to suppress. *SNAP* Flicking the side of the meat, a tiny piece of slimy flesh zipped through a small opening in her mouth before slamming into the back of her throat. "HUEK-" Instantly gagging, she bent over to throw it up. But I was quick to squat down in front of her with what likely appeared as a threatening look. "It''s not actually poisonous, so swallow it. If you throw it up, I''m just going to give you more." Her cheeks instantly expanded, but instead of letting it all out, she held her hand over her mouth, grimaced, and swallowed it back down with a grimace.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Good." Straightening up, I tossed the rest of the meat back into my inventory. "From now on, this will be your daily snack." Smiling, I innocently tilted my head. "Just because you don''t need to eat in order to survive doesn''t mean you don''t need nutrients to grow." Giving me a stressed, dark stare for a moment, she painfully closed her eyes and lowered her head. -Perfect.- She wasn''t happy about it, but in the future, she would thank me for it. -It''s just a matter of time before she realizes how good it is for her...- And so, over the next few days, we found a new routine, spending our time exploring the forest through the canopy while snacking on some smelly drake meat and training with my mana. At first, Eve''s body reacted quite poorly to the meat, so we didn''t manage to cover much ground, but as time went on, her condition rapidly improved. After about a week, we managed to cover a couple thousand kilometers, crossing over several thin creeks and sneaking around a few large lakes while keeping our distance from more troublesome monsters. But after exploring for a while, we eventually bumped into something that caught Eve''s eye. "Huh? What is that?" It was an old stone wall, only a few hundred meters tall, that had been completely overtaken by the vegetation beneath us. To me, it was nothing special, but to Eve.. that wasn''t so much the case. "People used to live in this world?" Clearly wanting to go down and get a closer look, she used a spell composed of a series of runes to bend the light coming toward her like the lens of a huge magnifying glass. *Vwoom* And it wasn''t like it was a bad idea. -I highly doubt any clues on the assassination target will be in such ancient ruins, but maybe...- "You want to go check it out?" Her ears immediately twitched as she turned to me, the same as Bella. "Haha," -I''ll take that as a yes.- "It shouldn''t take long. These ruins are pretty old." Walking over and picking up Bella under my arm, I walked to the edge of the branch before hopping off without wasting a breath, using my aura to soften my landing as I reached the top of the wall. *WooOOSH* *Vwoom-Tap-Tap* -Oh, it''s sturdier than I imagined...- Setting down Bella as we landed atop the ivy-covered, dilapidated wall, I glanced up at Eve to make sure she was coming before looking back at the city inside the wall. It was in complete ruin, filled with so much vegetation that the only man-made things you could see were the spires of old cathedrals or what looked like light towers, huge spires meant to spread light over the surrounding city. But unlike in the past, I didn''t just have just one set of eyes. As my aura permeated the foliage on the ground, an incredible image of a city lost to time filled my mind, and my eyes went wide. -Woah...- The city was covered in scratches, broken weapons, shredded armor, and so many skeletons of humans and monsters alike that it looked more like a mass grave than a city. But the sight itself wasn''t what took me aback. It was the fact that with just a single look at my aura, I could uncover things that would have traditionally taken days in order to find. -In the past, I would''ve had to burn the foliage away in cities like this.. but with my aura...- It was even simpler than looking around with my eyes. I could see everything I could ever want to.. all at once. It wasn''t long before Eve got down and used her aura to look around as well though. And, suffice to say, she didn''t react as calmly as I did. *Vwoom-Tap-Tap* The moment she landed, she simply froze, staring at her own feet while her eyes grew wider and wider. "What.. happened to this place..." Finally looking up, her gaze fell on the foliage-covered city. But in her mind, she saw something else. In her mind, countless scenes played out. In one area, she could see a man fighting to fend off a monster in the entrance of his home, wishing only to protect his children before his sternum was crushed, and in another, she could see a place where a noble knight, wishing only to protect his brothers fended off hundreds of monsters on his own, only for the city to fall behind him. They were scenes from the day the city fell, painted out with dismembered and destroyed skeletons, laying with their weapon in hand, or embracing a loved one. To me, such scenes were meaningless. But to Eve, she saw Earth''s future in them. "I thought you said this world wouldn''t have any people..." Shrugging, I leaned out through one of the wall''s many crenels. "It doesn''t. The odds of a single human being alive here are zero." Pausing while I looked out over the city, I finally turned around to face her. "Finding destroyed civilizations is as easy as finding monsters on most of the worlds I go to. Only a handful of worlds that get up to this level have never had any humanoid species, and even then, most of those just had non-humanoid sentient civilizations." Breaking into a cold sweat, she walked up to the crenel next to me before hopping up onto it. "So.. outside of what you would consider low-level worlds.. how many actually had sentient life that survived..?" -Hm...- Giving it a moment of thought, I stared off into the distance. "Depends what you consider low level, but I''d say probably.. fifty?" "Fifty percent?" Shaking my head, I looked back up at her. "Of the all worlds I visited, I only found around fifty worlds with active civilizations that were stronger than your home world." In terms of percent, it was something closer to 0.02%. -But if I exclude the thousand worlds I went to after Eve''s, that number plummets even more...- To the extent that I could count the remaining worlds on one hand, and after taking away another thousand, it dropped to one, and then none. But I wasn''t going to tell Eve that. After all, in her mind, these worlds were the future of Earth. Telling her the survival rate of civilizations in worlds at this level was statistically zero would be like reminding her of the inevitability of death, something she likely believed she could escape. Fate wasn''t something I believed in though. "Don''t let it get to you. I don''t plan on letting Earth fall like the rest have." That statement though, while I said it to try and be reassuring, fell on deaf ears. Turning around with a fear-ridden expression, Eve spoke anxiously. "But what if you get summoned to a world like this..? What if you can''t make it back in time..?" Scoffing, I quickly lowered my gaze. "You want to lean on me that bad?" Speaking somewhat sarcastically, I turned to look back up into the towering tree canopy. "I would''ve thought that Michael''s hands-off method of raising Earth would make you all more independent." Not understanding what I was saying, her expression instantly morphed with a mix of confusion and anger. But she needed to learn the lesson I was trying to teach eventually. "Eve, if you think the world can survive as it is with just my help, you are sorely mistaken. Earth has some hardships coming, and while I do plan on helping all that I can, if people lean on me too much, I will not be able to stop the collapse." So, to combat humanity''s inevitable laziness upon being granted a protector, I planned to make it clear that they couldn''t lean on me. Even if that meant letting millions die that I could have otherwise saved. "If Earth''s people become spoiled, they will die." Because even if I had my old system, my old robotics, items, and upgrades, Earth''s civilizations would inevitably fall. Not from the monsters... But from System Mercenaries. Even if I could get rid of every monster that would come to Earth as it rose through the ranks, similar to the monsters, more and more mercenaries would appear as well, and upon realizing the colossal gap in strength between them and humanity, damages I couldn''t preemptively prevent would inevitably happen, and over time, would accumulate. "I believe Earth has the potential to grow into one of the strongest worlds in the System, especially with my help, but to make that happen, I need the cooperation of the administrators and the people." Watching Eve sink into thought as her expression darkened, I took a deep breath of the damp, thick air and decided to pull out another seed. "Earth''s civilization needs to adapt and grow with the planet, and to do that, the civilization has to act as one." It was a simple phrase I set in her mind like the seed of an oak, expecting it to take its time to sprout and grow. But little did I know, that seed sprouted leaves as soon as it was laid in the soil. Like her Mother, Eve wasn''t going to let her own worldview blind her from what needed to be done. She wasn''t one to be blinded by confidence or arrogance. At the time though, I couldn''t have imagined the havoc that seed would wreak. Even if it was necessary. ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Short Break, and Apologies for Delays Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well. I''d like to start off by saying I apologize for all the delays recently, I have been incredibly mentally drained lately and have found it really hard to write. However, I want to correct this, so starting now, I will take a week-long break from both my novels to attempt to fix this mental health issue. When I get back with a TSH chapter this time next week, I will hopefully be able to resume a more regular release schedule as I have had in the past, without the semi-regular one day delays. In any case, I once again apologize for the recent delays and am hoping I can resume normal working order next week! Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ------ In other news, the TSH comic has been halted for the time being. After some hard thinking, I decided to end my work with the current artist in favor of the one currently doing the comic for my other novel, TDOD, however, this will come at the cost of the comic releasing a bit later than TDOD. Currently, we don''t have a date, because the studio is still working to get their website in working order for the public. The production of my other novels comic has not stopped. In any case, feel free to join the community discord and ask about whatever you want, or even just to chat! I''ll be in there chatting even on my time off. Hope you all have a good week!! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> Chapter 42: Crunch Late Evening - Late Summer : Over the Leyfa Askr/United States Border | Earth ----- - Kazzaer Aldinn ~ *Swish-Swish* Swirling my drink as I looked out the window of a large suite, overlooking the endless forest between the United States and Leyfa Askr, the gentle hum of the airship''s reactor greeted my ears and the scent of delicious food filled my sinuses. But even in such a relaxing environment, my nerves could never find ease. At the time, I was on my way back from my meeting in Leyfa Askr after a number of days of debate, returning to Arlington where I would have another meeting with Congress and the heads of major guilds to decide how we, the United States, would go forward with the details of the deal the ''Queen''s Representative'' proposed to us. In general, the deal itself was in our favor, but no matter how much I thought about it, so many aspects of it just didn''t sit right with me. "She''s going to be a problem..." Nodding as Miss Tsvetok''s voice met my ears, I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see her throw back a shot of liquor. "I agree..." Turning back to the window, I looked down into my glass of iced bourbon with a troubled expression. "Things went better than expected, but something about her doesn''t sit right with me..." Pausing, Miss Tsvetok''s expression darkened before anxiously plucking one of her feathers and fidgeting with it. She was currently coming back to Arlington with me in order to propose a formal treaty between the United States and Russia to Congress, and discuss the specifics of the relationship as per our deal before the meeting. But while such a treaty was indeed something that would take the world by storm, neither of us could even think about it. Even after well over eight hours had passed since the meeting concluded, we couldn''t get our minds off the meeting, dissecting the actions and thoughts of the ''Queen''s Representative'' Eir Igna, and comparing her to the Queen. As a representative, one would expect that she would share many of the Queen''s ideals, thought processes, and desires, whether it was instructed by the queen herself, or simply the traits of a close servant. However, what we saw in the meeting showed no such relation, almost as if we were talking with a poser, a scammer, even though she and Madam Ormr were most certainly who they said they were. To try and keep it simple, the deal would grant both the United States and Russia a huge amount of military support to our major cities, something we desperately wanted, in exchange for a series of changes uncharacteristic of the Queen, and a 10% discount on an order of mana stones under the pretense that they bought in bulk. On the surface, it was an exceedingly good deal, something we couldn''t have even wished for prior to the meeting. -Even at a discount, she is giving us a shit ton of money, and providing military support.- But while the number of cores she actually wanted was more than a little concerning, being essentially the entire stockpiles of both the United States and Russia, the impending monster waves from the rank-up would more than supplement it. In other words, it was like we had the chance to sell a stock at its peak knowing its price would fall. But even with such a good deal at our fingertips, neither Miss Tsvetok nor I could be happy about it, and that was all thanks to ''the fine print''. Tied into the larger deal was an incredibly long list of seemingly out-of-character changes like reverting a series of trade and travel deals made in the past that would make the already limited travel into the country next to nonexistent, while simultaneously projecting a huge amount of emigration from the country. -Before.. while it was slow, the Queen did seem to be slowly integrating Leyfa Askr into the global market.. but now it''s like she did a complete 180...- It just felt odd, and with the purchase of five times the world''s global supply of mana cores, it was clear there was some kind of change in plan that occurred behind the scenes. We just couldn''t see what it was just yet... "What could she possibly need all those things for..?" It was millions of tons of mana cores, unimaginably more than the US could even fathom using in their current state. "If I knew, I wouldn''t be so anxious..." Shaking her head, Miss Tsvetok threw back another shot of alcohol before grimacing. "This whole situation reminds me of when Argentina bought a bunch of atomic synthesis supplies and glassed half of South America with Californium bombs..." *Clang* Slamming the glass back on the table, she looked up at the widescreen over the fake fireplace, showing the news reporting a series of towns that had gone up in flames, and stiffened her expression. "I just can''t wrap my head around a reason why for any of the decisions she made..." Turning to me, a slightly drunken suspicion flooded her voice. "Do you not find it odd..?" Tightening my grip on my glass, cracks spreading beneath my fingertips before I quickly caught myself. *Tink* -Shit... I''m getting too worked up...- Looking back out over the Great Lakes, I let out a heavy breath to try to ease my nerves. "I do, but I can''t refuse this deal because of suspicions like that." Reaching over and setting down my glass on a nearby counter, I finally turned around. "After all, who''s to say that the Queen acquiring a new powerhouse didn''t make her change." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "You can''t be serious." Shooting me a glare, the feathers on her head flared out. "That frosty bitch would never go back on deals she''s made. She would know we would take this deal even if she didn''t backtrack past agreements. Many of the deals were in her favor, yet she still terminated them." From engaging in the trade of potions, large amounts of technology, and mercenary equipment, Leyfa Askr got more than a little bit of support from previous deals. -But regardless of that, they were all terminated...- And to add the cherry on top, she offered us military aid, something that was never even a negotiable option before. "It does feel odd.. I''m not denying that... However..." Thinking back to the situation with Evren, my unease settled slightly. "I don''t think we should ignore a bone when it''s tossed to us." -Perhaps Evren just wanted to repay us...- After all, many of the old deals being terminated helped us rather significantly, especially with a storm on the horizon. But Miss Tsvetok wasn''t so keen, sharpening her gaze as she looked at my reflection. "Even if every hint we''ve been given says that the bone is laced with poison?" Stiffening my expression, I locked eyes with her. "Sometimes poison is needed to fight poison." Turning around and looking at the news, my gaze turned stiff. "We have a disaster at our doorstep. One so great it will threaten all life on this planet... Even if it''s poison, I think we need to take it." "Tch..." Following my gaze to the screen, she clicked her tongue and leaned back, watching as the camera panned to a pack of lizard-like monsters, the culprits of the destroyed towns. "I just hope you know that if you''re wrong.. it''s not just you that''s fucked..." ----- Mid Afternoon - Early Fall : The Forest of Giants | Temnota - Evren Lestir ~ -Alright...- *woooOOOOSH* Zipping through the forest at several times the speed of sound, my mind raced to scan my aura for the presence of a monster, any monster. I was trying to find a monster I could have Bella or Eve kill in order to try and level them up and get them some upgrades, but the forest was completely desolate. Or at least that was the way it seemed. As it turned out, all but the world''s top predators like the drake I had killed earlier ran after feeling my presence, so in order to find anything, I had to catch up to the monsters running from me, and that happened to be much faster than Eve could handle, even after taking a step toward immortality. As such, I had left them behind to essentially run in circles around her and Bella to try and find some ''food'' for them, which didn''t take very long.. but.. the first thing I ran into, a massive dinosaur-like omnivore, unfortunately, didn''t survive the blow I landed to try and knock it out. -That thing''s head popped like a balloon...- Even though I only used mana in my bones, my punch was many magnitudes heavier than anything I threw on Earth. -It makes me wonder...- Looking down at my hand, I clenched it a few times before gathering my mana in it, dissipating it, and clenching it some more. -Ever since my system got wiped, my body has been getting stronger... Slowly.. but surely...- Looking back up as I finally started approaching my target, a large lizard clinging to the side of a tree came into sight, and I pulled my hand back. -I wonder what''s causing it...- *Flash-WHOOOOM* Hitting the lizard right between its hind legs, its spine snapped like a brittle twig before following the shockwave through its body and digging into the tree trunk beneath it, brutally blowing the lizard''s body in half before the shockwave blew through the back of the tree and showered the surrounding forest with a mix of green blood, fragments of bone, and wooden shards. That was far from enough to kill the lizard though. Rushing to close its wound, its abdomen contracted around its spine while it started racing up to the canopy in hopes of escaping, ignoring that it just lost the lower half of its body, only for its front legs to abruptly snap as well, and for my aura to completely lock it in place like the grip of a giant''s hand. "Sorry in advance little guy, your death won''t be quick..." Looking back at where I could faintly feel Eve''s aura, some hundred and eighty kilometers away, I plucked the oversized lizard off the tree and rushed back toward them, keeping a fairly close watch on its condition to make sure I wasn''t accelerating too fast. But even though there was a hundred and eighty kilometers between us, at just under Mach 9, it barely took a minute. *WHIP-CRACK* Coming to a near-instantaneous stop on the branch next to Eve and Bella, my heels dug into the wood and forcefully dug trenches into it before stopping and turning toward them. "Sorry that took a bit longer than expected." Grabbing my neck to try and ease my anxiety about being so far from them, I let out a breath to relax before noticing their gazes locked on the behemoth behind me. Granted, compared to the drake it was fairly small, however, being almost a hundred meters long, or rather closer to fifty now, it was still huge. And both Bella and Eve knew that even without a lower body, it was still far stronger than anything they''d ever matched gazes with. -There''s nothing to worry about though...- "I have him restrained, don''t worry." Watching as their hesitancy and unease grew, my smile widened. *Thump-Rustle* Slamming the big lizard down on the branch, I quickly walked over to him before hopping up on his lip and rather casually opening his mouth before it slammed its tongue into my back, slinging slimy saliva all over everything. After all, while Eve could maybe deal a killing blow with a big enough spell, it was much easier if I gave her a shortcut to its brain. That shortcut just happened to be through its mouth. "You.. can''t be serious..." Eve was certainly not too keen about it. Bella, however, wasted no time. As soon as Eve voiced her unwillingness, she ran up to the lizard and perched her front paws up on it, *Splat-Splat* getting showered with slime in the process. "I-I''ll go first." -Oh.. that''s surprising...- Looking out at Eve, my smile faded for a moment. -I thought she would be more eager to get stronger after our talk...- Looking over my shoulder as the lizard''s tongue repeatedly slammed into my back, I shrugged before gripping it with my aura, tying it all to my arm, and ripping it out. *CRACKLE-SPLAT* Blood instantly started flooding its mouth. But Bella didn''t waste any time hopping into it with a splash. "S-So, how am I going to kill this thing?" She was clearly still a bit uneasy about it, but as she looked up at me, she looked oddly determined. -I like it...- "Just follow me." Glancing over my shoulder, I gave Eve one last glance before stepping into the lizard''s mouth and letting go of its mouth. "We''ll be back in a moment, Eve." *SNAP* ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 43: Foundations Mid Afternoon - Early Fall : The Forest of Giants | Temnota ----- "We''ll be back in a moment, Eve." *SNAP* Letting go of the lizard''s mouth as I hopped into the pool of blood with Bella, its jaws snapped shut, and in an instant, Bella and I were shrouded in complete darkness. *Splash* "Alright, Bella. Just follow me." *Snap* Snapping my fingers, a bright flash of light filled the lizard''s mouth, illuminating Bella''s slightly anxious expression. *Snap* But by the second, rhythmic snap, her gaze was overtaken with fascination, and by the third, she was closely following behind me. -Good...- Swiftly continuing through the pool of blood, we made it all the way to the back of the lizard''s tensing throat before stopping and looking up at the slime-covered ceiling. *Snap* "Okay, you still have the blade I gave you, right?" *Snap* "Y-Yes!" *Vwoop* Popping it out of her inventory with a momentary, dim flash, she reached up and caught the blade in her mouth. *Tink* "W..what should I-" *Snap* Illuminating myself with a flash, I cut her off to point at the ceiling. "Climb up there, dig through the muscle, and cut its spinal cord." Almost immediately, her expression turned serious and stiff, looking up at the ceiling with a far more predatory gaze than I had ever seen on her. Although this wasn''t a test, she seemed to interpret it as one. So, without a moment of hesitation, she trotted over to the side of the lizard''s throat before slashing it, somewhat shallowly with her blade, and hooking her claws into the wound. Since her claws were far from sharp enough to dig through the tissue on their own, she had to essentially create a ladder in its flesh. -How clever...- Unfortunately though, after a few slices, the lizard started feeling it. *blub-SPLASH* Jolting, the blood in its mouth sloshed around, and the sphincter-like entrance of its throat started violently contracting. -Ah, didn''t think about that...- Looking into the darkness deeper in its throat, I quickly threw up my hand and created a stiff wall with my aura before suddenly... *SPLASH* An immense wave of acid, mixed with the half-digested remains of some creature slammed into the back side of it. -Hm... Looks like he was eating the remains of something pretty substantial...- The flesh was old, but made of incredibly lean, dense muscle fiber, but while I wanted to try and figure out what other kind of creatures were in the area, it didn''t tell me much. At least that was until I forced my aura into the wall of bile. -Feathers and eggshell...- The lizard had just recently feasted on a young, unhatched bird, likely within minutes of me catching him. -If he was able to snatch it, the mom couldn''t have been around, but...- Squinting as I looked toward its mouth, I quickly propped it open to let my aura out, extending its range out closer to what it normally was. -I should keep an eye on Eve just in case...- But thankfully, my worries weren''t so readily realized. After a few minutes passed, Bella had carved a fairly long tunnel through the Lizard''s muscle, and had actually reached the spine, her first road block. Instead of asking what to do though, she started experimenting, using the back of her paw to fruitlessly try and crack it before cutting to the side to find where two vertebrae met, and sticking the blade into the joint. *mush* Rolling onto her back in the tunnel she carved along the create''s spine, she carefully moved the knife into a cartilage-filled crevice before setting her paws on it and pressing as hard as she could. "Nnnggh-" But while the blade was slowly pushed into the cartilage as if stabbing into stiff jello, as the blade reached the rather thick spinal cord, it was just guided to the side, unable to cut through it as easily as it did the cartilage. -Ah.. one of those black threads must be in it...- And, unfortunately, that wasn''t something she would be able to cut through. -Shit.. I didn''t think about that...- Not knowing that though, she didn''t give up. Trying to push the underside of the blade''s handle to leverage the blade through the cord, she put her entire body into it, using the cartilage pressing into the dull backside of the blade to hold it still and rotate the whole thing like a big lever until... *Vwoop* My face was lit up by a kill-confirmed panel. The lizard finally bled out. However, the panel was something new to me. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 57.2123%; background-color: rgba(51, 0, 171, 1); border-color: rgba(194, 224, 244, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 99.9485%" colspan="3" scope="row"> You have killed a Level 6358 Voknoz Kuuxl How would you like to distribute the rewards? </td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center; width: 99.9485%; vertical-align: middle" colspan="3"> Use Slider to determine the percent reward you distribute between contributing companions Or Allow Automated distribution by contribution (Suggested) (The amount allocated to companions will be distributed to them by contribution) 0% |-----------------------------o| 100% </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 39.3716%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Enable Automated Reward Distributions</td> <td style="width: 33.9903%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Items and Upgrades: <Expand></td> <td style="width: 26.5866%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle">Confirm</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> It was a panel asking me how much of the experience, items, and upgrades I wanted to give to Bella. -Hoh?- Even though she didn''t kill it, the system counted her as a kill contributor. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. And that was absolutely perfect for me. Maxxing the slider in a heartbeat, I hit confirm before promptly being presented with another panel displaying a warning about my decision: ''As the companion cannot receive all the allotted experience, the remainder will be transferred to you, unless directed otherwise.'' It was a message I expected. Even I, a proper System User, could never exceed the daily or weekly experience limits. However this time, I was provided an option other than ''Close'' at the bottom: ''(Experimental) Force experience limit multiplier. (This will allow the companion to absorb several times their experience limit, but can result in the permanent physical damage or death of the creature) (Not Recommended)'' -Hm...- Thinking it would give me more detail in the form of a warning if I pressed it, I tapped it without thinking. After all, typically, such ''gamble'' options typically came with warnings. But this time that wasn''t the case. *Beep* The panel closed instantly before my system''s automated voice graced my ears. "Data gathered from ''Experimental'' modes will be used for the betterment of future System operations. Thank you." -What?!- *VWOOM-CRACK* Jolting as the air instantly screamed from an explosion of mana above me, a shower of liquid mana rained out from the tunnel Bella bored, and I felt my skin crawl. Before I could even think, a rush of mana ripped past me and Bella''s mana core exploded. -W..what just...- Looking up, I flooded the area with the densest aura I could, only to find that the liquid mana had liquified much of her body and the surrounding flesh... But she wasn''t dead... After watching the liquid mana return to its typical, gaseous form, at the point where her core once resided, a massive, swirling vortex appeared and pulled it all back in, hastily reforming a flowing sphere of liquid like a growing star before solidifying into a larger, stronger, and denser form. Until finally. *Beep* "Multiplied limit reached. Remaining experience directed to host." Hearing my system calmly beep, I watched the remaining, massive currents of mana being directed into Bella suddenly turn toward me. -H..huh?- Feeling my reserve start to swirl and blend on its own, the intense wash of mana that surrounded Bella flowed into me like water falling into an endless reservoir before suddenly ceasing. -What the...- For an instant, my system had taken control of my reserve in its entirety. -Has my system.. always done that..?- I still can''t understand how I never noticed. Perhaps it was the adrenaline or pain that blinded my senses after my few, appropriately leveled fights after I learned how to actually sense my own mana. However, after noticing it the first time, I would never fail to notice it again. -How.. unsettling...- My stomach quickly churned as my mind wandered, questioning if my reserve was really the only part of my body the System had control over. But before I could fall completely into that rabbit hole, Bella popped her head out of the hole above me with a look of concern. "U-Uh..." Her voice was crisp, as if coming from a person rather than some device. "W-What just.. happened to me..." Looking up the hole, illuminated by the dim light sneaking through the lizards mouth, I found Bella''s whiskered face peeking down at me, with a bright white patch of fur covering a section of her head and one of her rounded panther ears. "I gave you max contribution for the kill." -I wonder if she knows her mana core reformed...- "Did you notice anything special?" Quickly crawling down the hole and dropping down next to me, she nodded.. but her response wasn''t what I expected. "I.. felt something... And I don''t mean technically with my sensors..." Looking down at her half-white paw, her eyes filled with skepticism. "I feel.. confused..." -Huh..?- Quickly checking my system, she was still classified as a robot, however, as I squatted down and forced her to look into my eyes, I no longer saw the mechanical array of light receptors at the back of her retina. -How fascinating...- "Well, I wouldn''t let yourself get caught up on it for now... Did you get any items or upgrades?" Somewhat reluctantly nodding her head, she tried to shake off her confusion before opening her system as well. "I got a bunch of ''old artifacts'', and.. twenty upgrades..?" -So she can view them herself... She really does have her own system...- As she looked up at me again though, her gaze was washed with confusion again. "Uh.. what are those?" -Huh?- Not knowing what she was asking, I tilted my head. "What do you mean?" "Uh.. at least to my knowledge.. on Earth we have things called skill enhancements which are similar.. but this is different..." -Ah...- She was talking about Upgrades. -I remember Eve mentioning something about them actually...- "They''re the same as skill enhancements, but instead of only being able to strengthen system-registered skills, they could relate to anything, whether useful to you or not." "Isn''t that bad then?" I was quick to shake my head. "Upgrades are more like passive ability enhancements, like improving how fast you can run, reducing muscle strain, or how fast you can throw something, whereas skill enhancements are only ever active when you use a skill, so I personally think upgrades are far stronger. However, upgrades seem to permanently allocate a bit of your mana to them whereas skills will just consume more mana when used." Generally, it made things easier for newer users. Rather than needing to figure out how to make use of new, random upgrades that were possibly outside of their comfort zone, they would just learn a new skill and enhance it over time, with the main downside just being you can only enhance skills after obtaining them. "Both have their tradeoffs, but at this level, I doubt skill enhancements will scale half as comfortably." -Even if you lose the convenience of mana and aura as a cost of it...- Turning back toward the lizard''s mouth, I was quick to motion Bella along. "Anyway, take a minute to read through all the upgrades you got, and test ''em out when you get the chance." *Vwoop* Opening up her panel in my system, I quickly glossed over her level before turning somewhat troubled. -Only level eighty, huh...- Even after nearly killing her, she only went up sixty levels. -But.. that''s to be expected given she was only level 20...- In an instant, she went from an above average human''s level to a low-ish level monster on Earth, with upgrades that would let her fight into the low 100s. A substantial jump... Even if quite underwhelming given the creature she got credit for killing. As she would get higher level though, her experience limits would also increase proportionally, and while it would take a while, it was just a matter of time before she could stand more on her own without me watching her like a hawk. -I do wonder though...- Continuing to idly scroll through her stats, I found several other familiar oddities, from her mana stat not budging because of upgrade cost allocation, to the periodic warnings saying to assign a class. But just as I did with myself, I just closed them. -If she is to ever handle herself in my worlds, she needs to build a strong foundation.. much stronger than Eve...- But I didn''t think that would be too difficult, it would just take time. However, finally making it through the lake of blood in the lizard''s mouth, I threw its mouth open before letting Bella out and finding my gaze on Eve. Compared to many, she was already strong, so much so she was hailed as a humanoid close to immortality, but in a universe where there were monsters could kill her with a glance, I was worried such praise would be her downfall... Her foundation had already solidified.. so I wasn''t sure if the seed I was planting could sprout through it. If it did, it would destroy the existing foundation to form a new, much stronger one... And if it couldn''t.. she would be fated to fall... Just as her father did... ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 44: Fears Guidance Mid Evening - Early Fall : The Forest of Giants | Temnota ----- "SCREEEE-" *VWOOM* Plugging the lizard''s throat with my aura as it screamed, I looked down at Eve from atop its snout and casually crossed my legs. "Alrighty, you''re up Eve." It had been a few hours since Bella had gotten her kill at that point, and while it took a while to find a suitable target, it was time for Eve to have a turn. "I-I see..." Just like with Bella, her target was a Kuuxl, a tree lizard so big I could sit in its nostril, and while it was a touch bigger than the one Bella killed, it was right around the same level. Over five thousand levels higher than Eve. But even still, for this world, it was the easiest target you could find. -I don''t think she''ll be able to get through its skin though...- "Do you want to give it a go on your own? Or do you want to use one of my knives-" "No." As if noticing the pessimism in my gaze, she responded firmly. "I can handle a mere lizard..." Looking back at the drooling monster with a slight hesitancy, her thoughts seemed to race before finally steeling herself and pulling her staff out of an equipment ring. *Vwoop* *Tap* Immediately gripping it, the woven vines making up the staff''s body wrapped themselves around her wrist before she set the beautiful, deep blue gem at its end in her hand, and dragged it along her forearm. "Hooooh..." *WOOM* Letting out a heavy breath, she pulled so much mana out of her reserve that her aura dimmed noticeably, before raising her shoulders and pulling her staff down her arm and across her chest as if drawing a bowstring. -Hoh?- Feeling the mana accumulating in her hand, I watched as intently as a young child staring at their teacher. As much as I was trying to teach her a lesson, for that moment I became the student. Standing right in front of the lizard''s mouth, she slowly raised her extended hand as if to point a bow at the brain of the creature before finally, her eyes snapped open, and a series of runes extending from the tip of the staff lit up. "HYUP!" *FLASH-WOOM* Releasing her mana into them, a blinding flash instantly flooded the air before a thick, meter-wide beam zipped into the lizard''s mouth. It was a beam of liquid water mixed with plasma at such a high pressure that it was on the cusp of solidifying into ice. A jet that could cut through diamonds with ease. At least that was the case on Earth. *WOWOWOWOWOOOM* Watching as the beam was effortlessly deflected off the roof of the lizard''s mouth, anger snuck into Eve''s eyes before she grit her teeth and curled her fingers with everything she had. *VWOOM* Gripping her aura encapsulating the beam and twisting her wrist, the beam tightened more and more with every passing instant. Until eventually, it''s diameter thinned to less than a centimeter and the splattering spray in the lizard''s mouth ceased. *Swip* At long last, the beam got through its skin, and ripped a hole through its flesh. But she didn''t stop there. *WOOM* Thinning it more and more, she got the diameter of the beam down to just a few millimeters before finally... *Vwoom* "HAH-" Gasping for breath, she fell to her knees and grabbed her head, barely mustering enough energy to look up and check if the lizard was dead. But unfortunately.. it still squirmed. *R-R-R-RUMBLE* While the beam managed to pierce the lizard''s flesh, the moment it reached the base of its skull, it simply deflected once more, carving away the surrounding flesh without leaving so much as a scratch on the bone. "What a fucking monster..." Watching the mix of blood and water pour out of the thin hole she made, she slowly leaned back and looked up into the canopy before taking a few long, steady breaths to ease her nerves. "Talk about being bit by naivety... That was the strongest penetrative spell I could muster and it barely got through its exposed flesh..." Smiling with a scoff as she laid her staff across her lap, her gaze drifted with a mix of uncertainty and contemplation. But while she was overthinking her own inadequacy, I could only stare at her with wide eyes. -If she just swung it around when it was tightened.. it could''ve sliced through enough arteries that it would have bled to death...- Given the level gap, I didn''t expect her to even scratch its flesh, let alone bore through nearly a meter of it. -It''s one thing to draw blood with a weapon I give her.. but to do it on her own...- Even if it was the ultimate version of a spell that would never see use in an actual fight, overcoming a level gap of several thousand was the equivalent of making a god bleed. Even if she didn''t realize it. "Hooh..." Letting out a heavy breath, her gaze sharpened and fell back on the hole she made before she forced herself onto her feet and raised her hands to try again.. and again.. and again, firing off a different spell each time in hopes of getting through the bone. But while the hole widened, and the damage spread, the bone never caught a scratch. Even after hours of spell.. after spell.. after spell. Until eventually... *Vwoop* Hearing a panel pop up, I looked over to see Eve''s face lit by a familiar blue light before releasing my aura restraining the monster. -Looks like it finally bled out...- *WooOOOSH-SLAM* Pulling out my aura propping up its mouth, gravity promptly slammed it shut before letting me hop off and give Bella a few gentle pats. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Knowing that Eve''s understanding of the world and her position in it was crumbling, a part of me wanted to go over and say something. However, it was for her own good that her world crumbled. -If she is to grow beyond the limits of her biology, she needs to understand that she is and will always be weak compared to other beings...- To truly grow beyond ones limits, you needed to come to terms with your own weakness, no matter how painful or unchangeable those weaknesses may be. But while I was worried how Eve would weather the impending storm, after sitting with an exhausted, dark expression for a while, mindlessly reading through the kill-confirmed panel countless times, her gaze did eventually steady, and before long, she looked back at me. "What is an ''experience cap''?" It was a simple question, but seeing the clarity in her eyes brought a smile to my face. -Maybe I don''t need to worry about her so much...- "It''s the maximum amount of experience you can absorb in a set period of time." -If I remember right, my old system actually let me select the timeframe...- "What is the timeframe of the cap?" "Uh.. it looks like I choose that, there is burst, daily, and weekly... And by the looks of things, the daily and weekly will take time to absorb." -Sounds like my old system...- "Then choose burst, it will give you the maximum amount you can absorb right now, but in a few hours, that cap will reset." Compared to the other modes, it had by far the lowest cap and would in-turn waste the most experience, however, because the caps grew exponentially with level, if you maxed the cap every time it reset, it was easily the fastest growth mode. "If this were an ''opportunity kill'' that you would only get once every few years, you would choose a higher cap in order to make the most of this kill specifically, however, in a world where any kill would max your cap, burst is best." "I see..." Looking back down at the panel, her expression stiffened. "Then..." *tap* Selecting her mode and confirming her choice, she immediately gripped her stomach and grimaced while her face was lit with the light of countless panels. Similar to me and Bella, the System had taken control of her reserve to absorb mana at the fastest rate possible, a truly sickening sensation, but just as she looked like she was about to vomit from it, I managed to overhear her system reading out one of the panels. "Distributing remaining experience to weapon." -Huh?- Instantly snapping my gaze to her staff, still wrapped around her wrist, I darted over to her in a panic. "Hey, let go of your staff!" -This is an evolving weapon, if it changes form while she holds onto it, it might crush her hand!- But even as Eve''s grip on it opened, the vines wrapped around her wrist never let go. "Unequip it!" But, still in a daze, she couldn''t do that in time. *VWOOM* Before she could even react to my words, a mountainous mass of mana flooded into the gem in the staff, and its vine-like body turned into tendrils, growing and winding around Eve''s arm before suddenly, without warning, digging into her forearm. "AAAHHH-!" Unable to hold it in, Eve let out a gut-wrenching scream before trying to grab her arm in a panic, only to stop herself and grit her teeth through a rush of tears. -Fuck!- "I''m gonna rip it off, just bare with me for a sec-" "NO!" Looking at me with a fiery glare, she gripped her bicep while doing everything she could to bear with the pain of the wooden tendrils digging through her forearm. "You can''t.. break it..." *CrAcK* "-AGH!" Hearing her scream after the staff crushed the bones in her arm, I winced before coming up to her side. -Fuck...- "Then you need to bear with it. If you flood your arm with mana, it will numb the area." *VWOOM* Almost immediately, a waterfall of mana flowed into her arm but it was too much for her. Without a single extra second, her pale, exhausted expression mixed with sickness and she leaned over to vomit a blend of bile and thick black goo. "BLEGH-" No matter how much I wanted to help, there was nothing I could do. After all, she seemed to have some sort of special attachment to the weapon, and if I ripped it out, it would either break the weapon or rip her arm off... So.. over the course of the next hour, I just let it happen.. trying to give guidance wherever I could while the staff dug into her. Until eventually, it stopped. "Hah... Hah... Hah..." Letting out endless, foggy breaths, Eve was pale as a ghost and so exhausted she was simply delirious. However, as the pain finally stopped, and she finally looked down at the gem embedded in her palm, the wood covering the back of her hand, and vines encapsulating her forearm like armor, there was a faint joy in her eyes. At least that was for the moment before she lost consciousness. *thump* Quickly catching her, I laid her back to give her mind, overloaded by stress, pain, and fatigue a chance to rest. "Is she.. gonna be alright..?" Looking at her arm with nothing but worry in her eyes, Bella stood next to me. "That doesn''t look.. safe... It looks like a parasite..." Sitting down, I was quick to nod. "I got the same impression, but..." Looking at Eve sleeping rather soundly while bathed in sweat, I could only sigh. "She clearly has some sort of attachment to it, so we''ll have to ask about it when she wakes up... For now, we just need to make sure it doesn''t spread into her body..." Gently setting my hand on it, I could more than easily feel a pulsing flow of mana as if feeling a heartbeat bouncing back and forth between her reserve and the gem embedded in her palm as if the staff was asking to spread its roots toward it. -What a freaky artifact...- It was unlike anything I had ever seen... However, after giving it some thought, perhaps that was just because the only evolving weapon I gave more than a bit of experience to was Draco, a weapon that never truly evolved. "Haah..." Looking down at my palm after taking off my glove, I looked at the black mythril ring for a moment before pressing my thumb into it, and guiding mana through it. But as soon as my mana met the ring, it felt as if a maze lit up inside of it, filled with endless layers, turns, and intersections like some kind of circuitry¡ªa puzzle of sorts. But that didn''t change that it was something I couldn''t begin to wrap my head around. -I have too much to learn still...- I needed to pick up the pace. As I knelt down next to Eve though, I really had to question if what I was doing was the right thing. -Even without my guidance, I''m sure she would be able to manage with Earth...- Even if it was undeniable that she would eventually hit a limit. Closing my eyes, the scene of Bree formally introducing me to Eve filled my mind. The day she asked me to protect her daughter from the horrors of the world. -But look at me now...- Slowly but surely, I was corrupting the child I swore to protect with the desire for power and bestowing her the curse of strength, things that gave me purpose for many years, but brought havoc and regret to the minds of most. -Just like Bree...- I could only hope that she took her own path, cultivating those around her or cultivating Earth rather than endlessly pursuing strength because of the fear of death. Even if that fear was something that I had already unknowingly instilled in her... ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 45: Playing the Dice Early Afternoon - Early Fall : The Grand Mountains | Temnota ----- *Wooooosh* Standing atop a towering mountain ridge, the thin, frigid air crystallized ice all over my armor while I looked out toward the horizon. But while I thought it felt great, Eve wasn''t so fond of the cold. "S-So, what exactly are we d-doing all the way up here?" Glancing over my shoulder, I found her shivering, looking into the wind with rosy cheeks and glossy eyes before pulling out a small cup with some wyvern blood in it. -Geez, she''s worse with the cold than her mom...- As she reluctantly took a sip, she grimaced before the ice on her body started melting into steam, and her shivering eased. "We''re looking for ruins, specifically, for anything with religious ties like a church." After making sure there wyvern blood was warming her up, I rather quickly turned back to the horizon. "Yeah I get that, but.. why, exactly..?" Slowly getting used to the blazing heat surging through her body, she started relaxing. "It''s because of the mission." "The ''Low-Intel Assassination''?" Nodding, I turned to look in another direction. "Typically, the reason they are ''low-intel'' is because there is a lack of administrators in the world, so there isn''t much information on the target, the system just recognizes them as a threat that needs to be removed." Squatting down, I looked down the mountainside into the forested valley below, my eyes darted around. "From my experience, the best places to find information on them are in religious centers since the ''threat'' usually played a role in the world''s demise." -And although that''s not always the case, it''s a good place to start.- The issue was just that, with how old the ruins in this world were expected to be, they were so overgrown that a birdseye view could only do so much. -The only ruins we''ve found so far, we had to be essentially standing on top of to notice...- But we didn''t stop looking. Just like we had over the last few days, we trekked forward, finding monsters to max Eve and Bella''s experience caps whenever they reset while looking for any sort of man made features. However, while I knew finding more ruins was just a matter of time, after wandering the continent for nearly two weeks without finding anything more than the collapsed chimney of a settler''s home, I started questioning if we should have just turned around and looked closer to the original city we found. At least that was until Eve noticed something. "Uh.. Evren?" "Hm?" "Do you think that could be old terracing over there?" Quickly looking toward where she was pointing, I found the grassy base of a distant mountain with the familiar pattern of rows of stone on it, mostly evenly spaced climbing up the mountainside. -But.. it''s not perfect...- Although the rows of stone in a single column were fairly even spaced, as terracing would be, looking at other parts of the mountain showed that the spacing varied greatly, and rarely matched other rows. -It might just be weathered though...- So, after glancing around some other areas, we decided to go check it out. In my experience, terracing was something that would remain as a remnant of civilizations for an incredibly long time, however, after weathering, landslides, or simply the rock in the mountain settling, over time, the distinct look of terracing would fade and it would be harder to recognize versus something like sedimentary layers being exposed by erosion at a distance. But while I was quite pessimistic about it, as we got closer and could notice more details about it, the more conflicted my thoughts became. By the looks of things, the ''terracing'' was sectioned off steps of with solid, uniform rock rather than man-laid rocks as you would expect from a man-made structure, but at the same time, outside of the weathering on the edge of the rock steps making them look like grass waterfalls, it was actually quite close to what I would expect from terracing. -Interesting... They almost look.. carved...- Finally making it up onto the mountainside, I wasted no time trying to force my aura into the dirt to check its depth on each step, and sure enough, it was almost identical every time. -How fascinating...- "It really is terracing," But rather than being formed on top of the mountainside, it was carved into it. "But..." Looking up the mountain and down over the surrounding plains, I saw nothing else. "Where is the city?" To carve an entire mountainside like this would take not just a lot of manpower, but a lot of demand. -And with everything around here being plains, it makes no sense for them to terrace in the first place unless the city was on the mountain.- But no matter how hard I looked, there was nothing nearby. -Hm... That makes me wonder...- Closing my eyes, I slowly shifted my focus to my aura, doing everything I could to flesh out the image being painted in my mind before eventually, I found a series of sizable, unusually round cave entrances scattered around the surface, all leading into a large space inside the mountain. -Bingo.- Opening my eyes again, I wasted no time calling over Eve and running into one of the entrances, rather quickly shaking Eve''s skepticism as we found incredibly rusted metal torch holders still embedded in the wall. "Oh my... Is this.. a dwarven city?" Considering Eve came from a world with dwarves, the concept of a city in a mountain wasn''t such an odd concept. -But...- "In worlds like this, it''s not always dwarves." Continuing while reminiscing for a moment, Eve started using light magic to light our path before I continued. "When the survival of your world hinders on your city, hiding it in a mountain is an incredibly powerful survival tactic. Unless the monsters you''re fighting can cave in a mountain or are small enough to fit through cave entrances, there isn''t really a limit to how long you can survive, at least theoretically. The issue is you still must be able to cultivate crops and harvest wildlife for food, and if the monsters take all the food you and your people eat, the civilization will starve." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Interesting..." Mumbling under her breath, she quickly sank into thought. "Is that what you think happened here? Do you think they starved?" "I''m not sure yet," I simply shrugged. "But I can at least say that the lack of small fauna in this world isn''t exactly favoring a different outcome." Continuing deeper into the mountain, the cave slowly tapered down before eventually, we reached the cavern my aura had been showing me since we were outside. Having slowly gotten used to layering my aura over my vision, I no longer needed light to see rough shapes, even in complete darkness. But Eve wasn''t quite like that. *hmmmMMMM* Increasing the intensity of her light magic as she raised it over her head, light filled the cavern and exposed a massive city carved from stone, and forged from iron, littered with the mummified corpses of countless. "Looks like I was right." "Huek..." Finally recognizing what the thick, earthy smell was coming from, Eve''s expression darkened with a gag. But disgust was something she would just have to learn to cope with. "Since there aren''t any monsters in here, we''ll split up. Take special note of things like libraries, bars, and churches, anywhere recorded text could be found, and meet up with me if you find anything interesting or need help with something." -With how isolated this place is, we might be lucky and find some readable paper...- "A-Alright..." But we weren''t so lucky. After sending Eve off, and taking the time to scout for points of interest, I decided to start with the central palace, a structure built around a huge stalagmite connecting the floor and ceiling, but despite it being isolated from the elements for countless years, and being far better preserved than anything exposed to the elements, time had taken its toll on the place. From living rooms full of tarnished furniture and mummified bodies, to the vast libraries being reduced to endless seas of dust, there wasn''t much left. That was at least with the exception of the carvings, statues, and gold-embroidered scriptures. By the looks of things, the kingdom was one of the final bastions of the ''humanoid races'' in this world, protected by a god known as ''the Grand Turtle'' from a being known as ''the cataclysm''. From my experience, I expected it to be a dragon, especially considering it was described many times as being capable of wearing ''the skin of a human'', but as I read more that slowly seemed less and less likely. -Why.. is he never described fighting..?- Throughout the scriptures, ''the cataclysm'' was constantly depicted as a humanoid commanding an army of monsters rather than being a monster itself, and was painted more as a figurative, god-like figure than something that actually existed, but at the same time, seemed to act almost like an administrator. -I wonder...- Questioning if the figure could have been an administrator who took wiping the world clean into his own hands, I had to reconsider what the assassination target of my mission really was. -It couldn''t be an administrator.. right..?- It was a possibility I had never even considered, not in this world, or any other... -Even in my hardest missions, nothing ever got close to that extreme...- And with only a small portion of my peak strength, if my target was indeed an administrator, it wasn''t just me that was fucked... Looking over toward Eve''s aura, a few kilometers away, emotion drained from my face, and my mind exploded with thought, racing to come up with a way to make sure she survived if the worst-case scenario came to fruition. But there was nothing. If the target was an administrator, while I could keep myself alive, I wouldn''t be able to do anything if it targeted Eve. I just had no way to kill it, or even slow it down. However, there was one piece of evidence that gave me hope. The estimated class of the assassination target was listed as ''upper-demigod'', not a god or administrator. -If it were an administrator.. the system would classify it as such.. right..?- So, simply praying that upper-demigod just wasn''t just the highest possible class that every enemy above a certain level got thrown into.. weeks passed inside the city, Eve and I brainstormed how we would continue forward, and I didn''t waste a single second of practice with my aura.. even if it didn''t get me even near the level I needed. After a while, we had eventually found some carvings depicting a place that was the home of the cataclysm, a large volcanic mountain range some eight thousand kilometers north, and set our sights on it. Or at least.. I did... "We still don''t know for sure that it''s an administrator, right? What if it''s just one of the monsters randomly roaming the world?" Noticing my pessimism, Eve tried her best to stay optimistic. But optimism wasn''t what kept me alive for half a millennia. "No, you need to stay here. I can''t protect you if shit hits the fan, and if the target does end up being an administrator you will die before the fight even starts..." Planning on leaving Bella with her to alert me if anything happens, my plan was to travel north to the ''home of the cataclysm'' on my own, in hopes of completing the mission without Eve being put at risk. My thoughts were that, if the target was an administrator, I could at least stay alive until I could either figure something out, and if it wasn''t, I could either gain more information on it, or straight up kill it without needing to worry about my surroundings. -Because at the very least, it will be a step up from the wyvern...- But Eve was adamant. "What if something invades the mountain-" "Nothing has for thousands of years, why would something now?" "W-Well-" "Eve." Sharpening my gaze, I shot a glare into her eyes.. into her soul. "Coming with me will almost certainly get you killed. Do you want that to happen? Do you want to experience the pain of your body being blown apart? Do you want all those who care about you to mourn after realizing you didn''t return from the mission?" She instantly shriveled up. "Your life is the most valuable asset you have, so why are you trying to give it up so badly? To ''help''?!" Noticing her shying away, I pulled myself back and pinched the bridge of my nose, letting out a deep sigh. "Haah... Look, Eve, I''m not abandoning you here, if your instincts tell you something is wrong, you can contact me through Bella, but I''m far too weak to fight with you next to me Eve. I''m not in my prime, I can''t just swat a demigod into a thousand pieces on a whim, and even if I could, administrators are on a completely different level. If you come with me, one wrong step and you''ll die without recognizing what even killed you, so.. just sit tight for me.. please..." Taking a step back, her gaze fell and her expression darkened. She was afraid... She knew the moment I left, she was the equivalent of a newborn lamb in the eyes of the monsters of this world. Even if she was hiding away, she was fighting against the odds. But those odds were better than if she came with me... So.. she stayed. I took out Bella gave her some stuff in case Eve needed it, and left the city, heading north, unsure whether I was going to be slammed face-first into the ground by an administrator, or wring the neck of a chicken... It was all up to chance.. up to fate... ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 46: A First Impression Early Afternoon - Late Summer : Arlington, Virginia | United States ----- - Kazzaer Aldinn ~ ""Breaking news! As global tensions rise, the rumored treaty between the United States and Russia has been officially confirmed." Setting a neat stack of papers on the desk, the news reporter''s exhausted gaze fell on the camera. "Although the details of the agreement are still unknown, it appears that Congress will be holding a public stream tonight to discuss the details. The only thing we currently know is that it involves a deal between them and Leyfa Askr to purchase vast volumes of mana cores." Flipping the screen to the view of a young elven boy standing with his back to the runway of an airport, he was quick to continue. "Starting about a week ago, there has been a complete exodus of mana cores from both the United States and Russia respectively. Totaling about eight hundred thousand tons, it appears that both the United States and Russia are emptying their stockpiles, sending nearly everything they had in reserves to Leyfa Askr. Many have suspected this would affect the market, however, as of now, the only abnormal movement in prices is from speculation." Flipping back to the exhausted man at the desk, he gently motioned to the screen behind him. "In other news, yet another major city has fallen. This time, B+ Rank City, Omaha, Nebraska. As of this morning at 09:12, all communication with the city has ceased, and by the looks of things from the air..." Looking back at the screen, showing a massive, slender creature walking along the wall of the burning city, his expression further stiffened. "Thankfully, the civilian population had already been evacuated to Kansas City prior to the attack, but the losses cannot be properly gauged yet. Mercenaries have been dispatched to investigate further, and we will keep everyone updated when we get more information. Now to Theron who is on-site in Brazil for international news." Swapping one more time to an older, more grizzled demihuman man sitting in a forest with a sword laid over his legs, the camera shook slightly, as if hand-held. "Thanks." Speaking through lethargy, the man continued with a rasp. "For international news, it''s.. not any better than yesterday... Overnight, two more countries have fallen, this time Paraguay and Rajasthan. Although not as bad as the collapse of Sudan the other day, both countries have officially dissolved and become part of their neighbors. This now makes the total collapsed nations five in the last two weeks..." Falling silent for a moment, you could hear murmurs behind the camera before the grizzled man eventually continued. "In any case, the rank-up seems to only be getting worse, and just like the past several days, there was not a single foreign system mercenary reported to appear on Earth today. We currently don''t know why. The church has been rather quiet over recent weeks, but as of the appearance of the infamous ''destroyer'' that appeared in Arlington, there hasn''t been a single documented foreign system mercenary to arrive here. As of now, experts believe it has to do with a system error..." Looking down at his still-bloody blade, he grimaced. "Regardless, the reason no longer matters. Until it''s shown otherwise no one is going to save us." Looking up at the camera as he stabbed his sword in the ground next to him, his eyes sharpened with a blaze. "So it''s time we save ourselves for once."" *Flicker* Turning off the television with a motion of my hand, I looked over the meeting room, filled with the gloomy faces of congressmen and guild leaders before pressing a button on the top of the table. -Looks like everyone is here...- *Woop* Almost immediately, a holographic globe appeared before everyone, color-coded with a spectrum from green to red. But at first glance, it didn''t even look like Earth. It was a risk map of the world, and while it was something people in our positions would look at commonly.. the sea of red shades that greeted us was something we weren''t used to... "We have much to discuss, so let us begin." Bringing everyone''s attention back to me, I spoke as firmly as my sleepless mind would let me. "Over the last week, global casualties have pushed over eight million, and nearly thirty percent of our developable land has been occupied by monsters exceeding a level at which we can handle with just the military. As such, I have received an ultimatum from the military. Starting today, we will designate overly dangerous areas as ''lost land'' and give them up until further notice. From now on, we will turtle up in our cities and focus completely on the growth of infrastructure and the defense of important POIs. Are there any objections?" Raising her hand, a brown-feathered avian woman scooted forward and laid her elbows on the table. "What about dungeon raiding?" She was the guild master of a rather fast-growing guild called ''The Hawks'', a group of elites that would raid and clear dungeons at record speeds. "We can discuss it today, however, I expect dungeon raiding to cease from today onwards. If accessible, they can be used, but ''hunting'' will likely become the dominant form of harvesting monsters during the rank-up. Any other questions?" Watching her lean back I looked over the others in silence before eventually turning to move on. But just as I turned away from the table, I heard the clank of armor moving. "What about the Elven Kingdom? Is the manpower they are supplying us too little to prevent the loss of land? As far as I''m aware, they have sent enough to-" The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "Arthur," my gaze turned heavy in an instant. "If you wish to send yourself or your guildmates to fight to protect uninhabited land, then be my guest, but if not, then why should we send them over? Just because they are soldiers of another nation doesn''t mean we should treat them like meat shields..." -For all we know, the Queen doesn''t want them back... They very well might become citizens here eventually...- "But you aren''t wrong in that you should all know how Leyfa Askr''s users are being utilized, so allow me to move on to that." Finally hushing him, I waved my hand to update the screen with an extensive list of names, numbers, and locations. Up until that point, we had received just shy of two hundred thousand users from Leyfa Askr, all exceeding the level of general military members, and with them, our usable military force in many cities was directly multiplied. However, even with them, protecting anything beyond the walls was a fruitless effort. So, we used their skills and strengths elsewhere. "Currently, around 85% of the foreign forces have been dedicated to civil development or construction efforts, with the remaining 15% stationed in more dangerous cities to assist with evacuation efforts. Since the United States is investing billions of gold into the defense industry, massive construction projects have been started all around the country, and as such, while the monster wave is still ramping up, we need all hands on deck to ensure the new weapons being developed are installed before things get bad, any questions there?" Watching the room fall silent for a moment, I changed the screen again, this time displaying a name of thirty high-profile individuals, all of which around level 600. "Now, for our agreements with Russia. Three days ago, they sent two elite squadrons here to help us with the dirty work, they are called ''The Snake'' and ''The Lion'', with the Snake squad specializing in dungeons, assassinations, or killing fast targets, while the Lion squadron specializes in more heavy-footed monsters." Seeing their unease, I was quick to continue. "I know our relations with Russia haven''t been the greatest over recent years, but it is time we set petty disputes behind us. For the survival of our world, we have to work together. I hope you all can understand that." Quickly raising his hand, a young, robed elven boy was quick to interject. "For them to send over two of their top three squadrons.. we must have paid quite a price." Nodding, I updated their screens with images of a contract. "That is correct. The Eversor Company, as well as many other top defense companies will be expanding to Russia." Almost immediately, several congressmen flinched. "Before you get ahead of yourself, Lockheed and Aerojet Rocketdyne refused the deal, and will be remaining US-exclusive." ""Phew..."" Several people instantly let out breaths of relief. But I understood why. While the current minister of Russia was quite well-liked by people globally, their previous one was akin to Rubichev, a minister who, during the early days of the Great Split, killed tens of millions of his own people, and fired several nuclear armaments at the US before being assassinated by a ''third-party''. But we no longer had a choice but to associate with powerful allies. And so, without objection, the meeting continued. Overviewing the many specifics of the Russian alliance, we discussed our plans moving forward, the use of the new, nigh-endless defense budget, the initiation of new projects such as public academies aimed at ensuring everyone who can awaken, does, and the proposal of a draft for non-combat military positions. All-in-all, things were looking pretty good. But one thing we needed to keep in mind was that time wasn''t our friend. With the rank-up only getting worse with each and every day, and no mercenaries coming to Earth through the system, we were gambling against the house. One day, the dice wouldn''t roll in our favor, and we would lose the high ground... One day we would be forced to go into hiding.. and our world would regress to the days of old... It was just a matter of time. But as I walked out of the meeting room that evening with a dark, thought-drowned expression, my mind was frozen on the image of dozens of monsters getting misted in the upper atmosphere barely a second after they dropped out of their gates. It was a display of power that took the voice of those who saw it away as if they saw the hand of god descend. A hand that I shook... Thinking back on it, my stomach twisted. When I first met her, I was certain she was simply a strong mercenary, after all she knew the tradition of dwarves, and acted the part... But the moment we touched hands, that view changed entirely. "Hooh..." Letting out a nervous breath, I looked down at my shaky, sweaty palm before closing my eyes and clenching a fist. The moment I shook hands with her, I felt as if I had teleported. As if revealing her true self to me, the moment we touched hands, space bent around us, all light ceased, and the crushing weight of infinity squeezed on me. Back then, it almost felt inspiring. Being able to greet such an unfathomably powerful being was the pleasure of all dwarves, throughout our history, our greatest power was connections to the powerful, whether through crafting them armor or weapons, or brewing them alcohol. But as time passed, that interaction sat heavier and heavier on my mind.. brewing a mix of anxiety and doubt that I did something wrong. Even though there was nothing I could do but hope that my impression was enough. ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 47: A Hunter Falling on a Bear Trap Early Afternoon - Early Fall : The Grand Mountains | Temnota ----- *Woooosh* *FWIP-CRACK* Blasting across an endless plain, a massive wash of air tore up the ground in my wake, turning the tall, metallic blades of grass into flechette-like nails that peppered the surroundings. In order to cover eight thousand kilometers as fast as I could, I put all my strength into every stride, shoving as much mana into my legs as I could muster in order to cover countless kilometers with every step. But even though I was just a streak of light to the lingering monsters I passed¡ªmoving at nearly twenty times the speed of sound¡ªI still wasn¡¯t sure it was fast enough. -Twenty minutes...- That¡¯s how long it would take to get back to Eve if something happened. -Far too long...- In the time we looked through the abandoned city, it was more than abundantly clear that nothing had gone inside there in countless years, with the most recent ''monster sign'' I found being some dust-covered paw prints that could date anywhere between one and ten thousand years ago. Nothing was there, and nothing was going to be there. -I cleared out the surrounding area and killed the monster whose territory the city was in...- But as I ran, my stomach never settled. At least that was until I no longer had a choice but to move my mind elsewhere. *WOOOSH* Cavitating the thick ice of a wide, frozen bay as I passed over it, my eyes settled on a string of towering, steep and pointy, snow-covered mountains. -This must be it...- Fixing my gaze on the tallest, rightmost peak, I searched the thick black plume of smoke rising from its summit, looking for any unusual flows or currents indicative of a powerful, volcano-dwelling creature, but didn''t find anything worth investigating before turning my attention to the older, now-dormant peaks. -From the carvings in the city, they seemed to depict one of the smaller peaks as the home of the Cataclysm...- Specifically, it was the smallest of the peaks, a mountain covered in snow so thick that cave entrances were only visible as indents in the mountainside. At least that was for every cave entrance but one. The biggest on the mountainside. Stretching about a kilometer across, there was a massive hole bored into the base of the mountain, inexplicably round and clean, with a series of old, now-frozen hot springs just outside of its entrance, and a long trail of short, dead grass leading into the darkness. -Looks like that''s where I''m starting...- Finally crossing the wide frozen bay, I started slowing down, kicking up a tsunami of snow as I gripped the ground with my aura before continuing into the cave at a more controlled pace, fully expecting to slow to a walk as it thinned and curved deeper into the mountain. But that never happened. Having flashbacks to the times I investigated a dragon''s den, I rather quickly found myself slowing down more. The cave never thinned, nor turned, and even as daylight from the cave entrance faded behind me, the flow of air through the countless termite-like tunnels bored into the walls never ceased. Hearing the familiar, gentle hum of the tunnels as air blew over their entrances, a reminiscent chill passed down my spine. The place was clearly abandoned, without so much as a paw print in the soft dirt that coated the ground, but at the same time, I couldn''t help but imagine a wall of flames hurtling toward me from deeper in the cave. Dragons were highly intelligent creatures, so much so that they could command armies even without hive-mind skills or magic I initially assumed ''the Cataclysm'' would have. -And considering it was mentioned that ''it'' could wear the skin of a human, a dragon would fit the bill...- However, while I continued deeper and deeper into the tunnel while trying to iron out the details, my aura entered a large, final chamber I expected to be the roost of a dragon. But that assumption couldn''t have been more off. Rather than finding myself in a nest of bones, gems, and riches, I found myself before a grand palace rivaling the most lavish I had ever seen¡ªcomplete with paved gardens, grassy expanses, and beautifully carved fountains, statues, and monuments It was a grand structure seemingly intended for a human.. or perhaps a dragon that wished to live as one... With a breeze still flowing steadily through the massive tunnel with its countless vents, the statues and carvings were considerably weathered, but still more than easily recognizable as monsters, with more than a few statues depicting them with a horned humanoid. But the farther I walked, and the closer I got to the estate, the more I failed to recognize things, and the less abandoned the weathered statues seemed to appear. Even though the statue''s bases were covered with moss-like growth and coated with ivy, the statues were.. clean... "To think the first being who''d dare invade my home is a human..." Hearing a voice without a presence, I instantly jolted before looking over and finding one of the statues staring at me. "I wasn''t aware there were any humans left." "I thought I had killed them all." Looking at the other voice, I found another statue staring at me as if it turned its head. "It makes me wonder if you''re a slave of that wretched system, sent to kill me after I finally escaped its clutches." A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. -Interesting... To think they''re still communicable...- Turning yet again to another statue they were communicating through, my tense posture relaxed. "There is no escaping the system. Even if it forgets, it will eventually remember..." "I see..." *Rumble* Hearing heavy stone shift, I found the largest statue in the courtyard turning toward me. "You must not be a cleaner then... You speak from.. experience..." -A cleaner, huh...- Unsure what the term stood for, I looked up at the weathered statue and spoke with some bitterness. "Even after suffering under the hand of the system for endless years, as soon as I thought I escaped, I got roped back in." "Hoh..? Then we are birds of a feather... I apologize for my rudeness... However, I must ask what brings you to this world. What is your mission." "Low-Intel Assassination." "Hoho~," A cheery laugh quickly filled the air. "That must mean I have shaken off the System''s prying eyes... How joyous..." "The mission could have only just recently been made, so you must have caught its attention somehow." "Of course..." The voice quickly took on a creepy tone as if speaking through a smile. "How would the system not find it odd that one of the users it marked as dead used their facilities." Squinting, a blend of curiosity and skepticism flooded my face. "How did you manage that?" "I was reborn, of course." A tilt quickly found its way to my head. "You reincarnated?" "I was reborn... Turned into a being that can manipulate the system." My eyes instantly shot open. "I finally became a god." Feeling a different kind of presence suddenly approaching from behind me, I went to turn around... But it was far faster than even my mind could move. *Vwoop* Appearing behind me, I found the figure of a tall, horned man in a long martial garb smiling at me with pointed teeth. "I became a god." Without moving a hair, he continued to speak through the statues. "After countless millennia, I found the answers I so desperately sought after, and found the freedom I had always wished for." -Upper-Demigod my ass...- Just looking at his crazed smile, I felt my stomach churn. He wasn''t a being I could beat. But at the same time, he didn''t seem hostile, despite me telling him my mission was to kill him. So, I decided to play the dice. "How did you manage it?" Remaining calm, I stayed relaxed while vigilant. But as he floated toward me, that steadily became a more challenging ask. "I finally died. I reached a point where I no longer needed organic flesh to survive, so I rid myself of it." Speaking with a crazed smile, he shoved his face into mine before abruptly pulling away. "As it turns out, as soon as your organic mind goes quiet, the system marks you as dead, yet somehow, you can still use it.. even if it takes an external mana source." *Vwoom* With a mana core instantly appearing in his hand, he crushed it between his fingers before the liquid mana pouring out seemed to seep into his body like countless slithering snakes. "Oddly enough though, it actually made many things even faster than before... You should really give it a try." Seeing his lifeless eyes snap to me, lit ablaze with excitement, I felt a chill pass down my spine. "I-I''m quite alright, actually." Acting flustered, I raised my guard in a rush. "I''d rather not risk getting trapped in this world." "Hoh?" Pulling away, his craze seemed to settle for a moment. "But you wouldn''t be trapped here." "What do you mean..." "Well, after being reborn, I can manipulate the strings of the system... With just a snap of my fingers, I can make the system think you''ve killed me, and send you on to the next world." Glancing at me with a somewhat predatory look, his cheeks curled again. "You are clearly strong, far stronger than even me in my prime..." Reaching out his hand, he pointed at my forehead. "If you destroy your mind, you won''t ''die''." The glow in his eyes instantly grew by magnitudes. "You may be able to keep your body... You could keep your mana!" "But if I die, the mission fails." Feeling my senses suddenly scream at me, I jolted my head to the side. *VWO-CRRRACK* Curling his fingers into a fist, he struck the air where my head had been, carving up the ground behind me and shattering the tunnel behind him. It was a punch that far exceeded the speed of something I could react to. "How do you know it doesn''t just say that to make sure you stay trapped." *WOOM-WOOSH* Punching again, this time stopping just short of my face, an immense blast of wind ripped past me, collapsing part of the palace behind me. "I know you''re too strong to die in a world like this even if you tried. You think the system doesn''t know that?!" *Pat* Grabbing my collar, he pulled me off the ground with ease. "You physically can''t fail missions where death is the only failure condition!" My eyes instantly shot open. "If you don''t complete the mission fast enough, the system will call in other mercenaries until one person completes it, then, while you won''t get rewards, you will be transported to the next mission." He was completely right, missions with death as the failure condition were indeed impossible to fail. As long as you lived until someone completed the mission, you''d advance to the next world. But while it would make sense that ''Death'' was just a formality the system used, I couldn''t afford to take that chance. "I can''t risk it. Not here..." Staring at me in silence for a moment, his eyes drifted over my body before eventually, his smile returned, this time less crazed and more calculated. "Then do it in your next world." *Snap* Snapping his fingers, the glow of a panel instantly lit my face. -H..Huh..?- It was the mission completion panel. "You can go." Squinting my eyes, countless alarm bells rang off in my head. It felt as if the panel before my eyes was a lie.. an illusion he created in order to get me to fall into his trap... But little did I know, I was already in it... All thanks to the system''s countless imperfections... So even though I knew something was up.. as I teleported back to Earth with Eve and Bella, I could never figure out what was wrong... I could never figure out what that lone god did while I was in his claws... At least.. that was until I finally returned... *Vwoop-BEEP* The moment I was released from a gate in the courtyard I was initially snatched from several weeks prior, the faces of everyone in the vicinity lit up red with warning panels. Someone had appeared on Earth that violated the terms of system usage... Someone who did more than exploit the system''s flaws... *Beep* "Warning: Unauthorized being detected on Server 141-A81-B5. Unable to automatically resolve. Please remain vigilant while-" *Crackle* But the system couldn''t even finish speaking before a heavy impact landed on my cheek, my jaw cracked, and my surroundings blurred. *WHAAAMM-WOOOSH* ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 48: Death Late Morning - Late Summer : Moriai | Leyfa Askr ----- What is the reason behind humanity''s survival? What is the evolutionary advantage that lets them proliferate through countless worlds, reigning as the apex species until monsters with mythril bones appear? Is it the mind? Their creativity? Or perhaps their reproduction rate and numbers? It''s a question I''ve asked countless times. With all the sentient species in the universe, how is it that every world with substantial sentient life is dominated by humanoids or those with human blood? Did the system specifically select those worlds for me because I was a human, or is that just the direction of the universe''s invisible hand? After a while, when I started getting sent to long-dead worlds, I stopped asking. So why is it that the moment I teleported back to Earth.. that question popped into my head..? *Vwoop-BEEP* Getting snapped out of my thoughts by a deafening beep the moment I was released from the gate, my anxious eyes went wide, staring deep into a dark crimson-colored panel. In that instant, my eyes darted over it to try and read it: ''Warning: Unauthorized being detected on Server 141-A81-B5. Unable to automatically resolve. Please remain vigilant while-'' But my eyes weren''t fast enough to finish. *Crackle* Before my eyes could reach the end, my surroundings blurred, the voice of the system distorted, and my jaw shattered. *WHAAAMM-* Zipping out of the courtyard, I almost instantly smashed through the trunk of a nearby treant before slamming into the ground with so much force that the earth felt like it was made of water. *WOOOSH-SPLASH* Finally reacting as the liquid rock embracing me slowed me down and turned more viscous, my eyes went wide and I lifted my hands to protect my face. Looking between my fingers, down the long molten hole, and through the cloud of splinters from the treant, I did everything I could to try and get an eye on who hit me. But by the time my eyes could adjust their focus, a fist that appeared to bend the light around it, composed of countless interwoven black strings, appeared in front of my face. *Crack-WHAAAM* Feeling a crack rip through my skull with a shock of heat, my unfocused vision sharpened with a burst of adrenaline, only to find the palm of the black, fibrous hand reaching for my face. -FUCK!- *VWOOM* Instinctually flooding my body with mana, my hands jumped up to grab the arm, and my leg shot out to kick the assailant. However, my foot only connected with vacuous space in my wake, and even though I got my hands on their arm, it felt as if I had grabbed the concept of infinity, an unbreakable object that, even after trying to stop it with all my strength, didn''t slow a hair. *Pat* Feeling fingers clamp around my neck, my entire body was jerked up, ripped through hundreds of meters of rock and thrown up through the base of another treant, leaving its canopy to collapse to the ground as I was launched into the air. But rather than being thrown, I had been dragged. Finally giving my eyes a moment to focus, I found the cloudy figure of the horned, human-skinned dragon from Temnota, staring into my eyes with a wide, psycotic smile while gripping my neck with a fibrous black arm. He had followed me through the system''s gate, just as Eve had. But unlike her, he did it on purpose. *POP-CRACK* Feeling my neck crumble under his fingers as his grip tightened, I grit my teeth, using every drop of mana and adrenaline I had to break the arm gripping my neck. But it never budged. "~There is no point in making this harder than it needs to be.~" Smiling from cheek to cheek, his grip steadily grew tighter and tighter. "~Divinity isn''t something that can be broken with mortal strength, so why are you resisting so much? Are you really afraid of death?~" "As.. if..." Struggling against the impossible force closing on my throat, my mind raced to come up with some sort of way out. But.. it truly was as if my strength was meaningless to him. "~So why? Is it your care for this world? Or is it that you still have surviving family?~" "You punched me in the face before I could even react you dense bitch-" *CRACK* Finally snapping my spinal cord as if it were nothing, I felt all sensation below my neck vanish before taking control of the mana in my body in an attempt to not go limp. But such a struggle meant nothing. "~Now, now... There is no reason to be so rude, you know.~" His gaze turned condescending in an instant. "~I''m doing this for your own good.~" *Splat* Digging his fingers into my neck, all emotion started draining from him. "~Don''t you feel weak? Unable to even resist as a being weaker than you takes your life..? Even in my prime, I wouldn''t have been able to trade blows with you, yet here I am, holding your life in my hands, and you can''t even resist.~" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Watching as my blood flowed down his arm, I used the mana in my body to push air out of my lungs in an attempt to speak. "You.. aren''t weaker than me.. if you can do this..." His eyes instantly lit ablaze again as his ethereal tail flicked with joy. "~But I am! You have a vast ocean of divinity in you.. many many times of what I have... But it''s just like your mana.~" Gently tapping my stomach with a clawed finger, he looked me in the eyes. "~You don''t know how to use it.~" Feeling my skin suddenly crawl, I reinforced my stomach with as much mana as I could muster. But it may as well have been trying to stop a bullet with tin foil. *CRRRUNCH-WOOOSH* "KAH-" Spitting up blood as my armor caved in, and my lungs and stomach ruptured, I zipped across the sky as a streak of light, moving so fast that the ground seemed to grow farther away with every instant. However, he didn''t stop after one blow. Every time his blurry figure vanished from sight, it would reappear before me, only to land a blow somewhere else on my body with a force that could only be rivalled by meteor impacts. With every movement, the air around him ignited, and with every blow, my bones were shattered, my armor was reduced to tatters, and my mind was completely blanketed in fog so thick I could barely call myself conscious. At that point, my subconscious was only active enough to try and keep me alive, moving mana around my body to absorb some of the impact while using my aura to try spread it out. But it was just a matter of time. After countless hits, the time for his final blow, aimed at my head, came. He was going to kill me. As I watched him pull his fist back with my little-remaining energy, space seemed to warp and time seemed to slow. For the first time, I''d be able to see his attack coming.. even if I couldn''t move my body to react to it. However, just before that fist could reach me, a blinding light appeared behind him, and before the nerves in my eyes could alert my brain to it, my senses blurred into static. In an instant, my body, which had withstood nearly everything I could throw at it.. was reduced to nothing. Just like a frog in a well, the moment I climbed enough to see more of the sky, a power beyond my comprehension swooped down and dug its claws into me. And without the ability to even fight back... I died... ----- Early Afternoon - Late Summer : Northern Siberia | In Leyfa Askr & Russian ''Grey Area'' (Back a few seconds) - ??? ~ -Hm...- Looking down over a massive, endless expanse of snow from the edge of space, I watched as two creatures fought in the upper atmosphere of a world that couldn''t contain either of them with a troubled look. -So.. which is my target...- Looking over at my system, I watched as a red dot passed under me, perfectly following the pair of creatures brawling beneath me before trying to open their system panels to see if I could figure out which one was my target. But.. neither of them seemed to have a panel. -How annoying...- Being a god given the responsibility of handling serious errors the system could not handle itself, it wasn''t uncommon for me to see things I could have never imagined. However.. at that moment, I was truly at a loss for words. Beneath me was a young god, who appeared to be a dragon that just ascended, and a human girl who couldn''t have been more than a few hundred years old. Yet despite that.. her aura was unlike anything I had ever seen, and her body was filled with such a mind-boggling web of divinity that it held its shape despite being in millions of different pieces. She was a monster unlike anything I had ever seen within the bounds of the system, a powerhouse that couldn''t be rivaled within the bounds of mortality. So... -Why is she in a world like this...- Looking out to the horizon, I could feel the presences of thousands of different gods, all fairly weak, with a few above the rest. -Is this one of the Creators'' worlds?- With so many gods in one place, that seemed to be the case, but that only made the human girl''s presence more puzzling. -Well, I guess it''s outside my job requirement to understand creators anyway...- Looking back down at the girl and the god, I watched as he pulled back his fist to land another torturous blow before finally raising my hand and watching as countless panels appeared around me. -All I need to do is clean up what the system asks me to, and it''ll handle the rest.- Giving my bug alert panel one more time, I read the description of ''a being that unfairly intruded another world without system permission'', before shrugging and waving my hand down. *fwip* Almost instantly, a column of light engulfed the two creatures, continuing all the way down to the planet''s surface where the vast expanse of snow and ice was atomized before crystallizing into a lightly-colored mythril. *Ding* Almost immediately, a kill-confirmed panel appeared in front of my face. But.. it was only one. -What the..?- *Beep* The system almost instantly alerted me again, this time saying the bug had been dealt with.. only to look down and see the massive column of mana I used to kill the group beginning to spread out and swirl. To say my mind warped with horror was an unbelievable understatement. But it was no longer my problem. Following system protocol, I confirmed that the bug had been dealt with and left that world as fast as I could, never wanting to return again. Little did I know, the monster I had awoken at that moment was one I would come to be quite familiar with... A regular.. of sorts¡­ ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 49: The Crackling of Collapse Early Afternoon - Early Fall : The Grand Mountains | Temnota (Back Several Minutes) ----- - Eve Altera ~ *Ding* -Huh?- Hearing my system ping, I quickly sat up on the dusty stone rooftop, only for my face to be lit with the glow of a familiar ''mission complete'' panel. -That was fast... Didn''t she say she needed to travel like eight thousand kilometers?- Finally reading further and noticing a second, more unfamiliar panel, my head tilted slightly. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-color: rgba(0, 140, 255, 1); border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 72.2276%" border="1"> <thead> <tr style="text-align: center"> <th style="width: 99.904%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle" colspan="2" scope="row"> Return Available! </th> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 99.904%" colspan="2" scope="row"> |- You can now return to worlds you have previously visited as long as they have not been destroyed. -| </td> </tr> </thead> </table> But while it was odd, I wasn''t anything but thankful. "Phew..." Even though nothing had happened, the longer we stayed, the more we rolled the dice. -But...- "How exactly do we leave?" -Is it this?- Turning to Bella, I found her staring deep into a panel of her own, reading, before abruptly turning to me. "Y-You have an option in your system, right?!" Quickly hopping up next to me, she darted over and pressed herself into my chest without hesitation. "We need to leave, now! Hurry!" Taken by surprise, my mind momentarily stuttered. "COME ON EVE! NOW!" "U-Uh-" -OKAY!- Finally catching a gear in a bit of a panic, my mind accelerated like I didn''t even know possible, and I tapped the return panel, only to be presented of a list of worlds I had previously been to. -U..Uh... Where.. is.. it...- "GOT IT!" *Beep-Vwoop* Almost instantly we were both engulfed in darkness. But it ended as soon as it began, barely lasting as long as a blink. *Vwoop* Being released from the gate, I found myself exactly where I was when I first got roped in with Evren, standing myself up and catching Bella as we were released onto the Grand Hall''s grassy courtyard. As I looked around though, I couldn''t find Evren anywhere. -Did she get returned somewhere else?- Not quite understanding why Bella was in such a rush for us to leave, I took a few cautious steps back, trying to heighten my senses in case I needed to react to anything. But plainly nothing happened. Looking down at Bella, wanting to ask about what happened, I let her go, only for her to stumble on three legs. "H-Huh?" Noticing her missing a paw, my expression morphed with concern. "Bella, did we get attacked by-" But as I reached out to ask about it, the darkness of a gate devoured everything to my left, and in the next instant, a streak of light zipped past me, taking everything above Bella''s shoulders with it. *CRRRRRACK* Getting deafened by a sonic boom so intense it caused the air to glow and sparkle, my vision warped, my skin burned, and my mind instinctually jolted, coating my body with a thin layer of ice to protect myself from the blast of heat, only for it to endlessly vaporize. *BOOOOOM* Getting concussed and thrown by the aftershock, I threw my hands up in front of my face before digging my fingers into the ground to keep myself from hurtling off the treant. *pitter-Cruunch* "HAAAH-" But as I finally came to a screeching halt and let out a panicked, heavy breath, my vision, warped from the liquid on my eyes boiling sharpened, and my ice-covered, steaming body was flooded with adrenaline. -W..WHAT WAS THAT?!- Looking up, I immediately found Bella no longer moving, laid right on top of a line of destruction that split the courtyard in half, causing the branches on my half to sag, nearly splitting all the way down the trunk. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. But such destruction was only from the shockwave. *CRRRRUNCH* Hearing some unbelievably loud and distorted crackling, I looked over to see one of the Ancient Treants collapsing to the ground before another, similar sound erupted from much farther away. It was such an insane sequence of events that just seeing it all made my mind go silent. -Was that.. Evren..?- Not feeling her all-encapsulating presence as I somewhat shakily stood up, I stumbled forward a bit before making my way over to Bella. But thankfully, as I got close, I found her aura flowing as it normally did, gently caressing mine as if trying to get a look at me before the gentle clinks of metal from inside her body filled the air. She was alive. "Phew..." Or at least as alive as a robot could be. -Thank goodness her computing module wasn''t in her head...- Picking her up in a rush, I wasted no time trying to get away from the cracks as the branches sagged more and more before setting her back down and turning toward the fallen treant with haste. Certain that people got caught up in the destruction, I darted out of the courtyard and flew over the collapsed canopy, using my aura to try and find people before diving down and saving who I could. But.. something about them seemed off. While initially fearful or panicked, as I pulled them out of the rubble, they all gave me a wide-eyed look as if they were seeing a ghost. Thinking it was just from shock or something the like, I didn''t think much of it, after all, everything happened so fast that even I was still trying to process what it was. But as I was administering aid to an unlucky man who lost his leg in the fall, one of the younger boys I saved yelled up at me from the ground. "Y-Your Majesty!" Hearing his voice, I quickly looked down toward him, questioning if there was something more urgent. But.. his words weren''t what I expected at all. "I-I apologize if this is rude, but.. how are you here..?" He seemed somewhat fearful, as if not sure whether to trust me. "Was the ritual conducted early..?" -Huh?- "Ritual?" My brows furled in an instant. "What ritual..?" The boy immediately turned confused. "U-Uh, the one to retrieve you from the other world..?" -What?- "Elaborate for me." *Crackle* Cauterizing another elf''s wound with ice magic, I quickly turned around and flew to the ground to give the boy my full attention. "U-U-Uhm..." But it just made him stutter more, forcing his gaze to the ground he quickly spoke through his nervousness with haste. "A-A few months ago, it was announced that you were missing, and in order to get you back, they needed to have a ritual to bring you back... I-It was scheduled for tomorrow..." "What sort of nonsense is that..?" Taken aback, I looked up at the other elves to verify. But they all just nodded. "Haah..." -You have to be kidding me...- Looking over at the massive, molten hole in the ground, not far away, I quickly weighed my odds on assuming Evren was the one to burst out of the gate, and trusting that she would handle whatever it was before turning back to the boy. "Where is this ''ritual'' supposed to take place?" Almost immediately, he pointed to the side, out over the water. -At The Olive..?- Looking out toward the World Tree and noticing dozens of helicopters airlifting massive containers to the canopy, an intense, almost instinctual discomfort churned my gut, and anger flooded my eyes. -What the hell did they do while I was gone...- Walking out toward the beach to look higher into The Olive''s canopy, I quickly found indescribable masses of mana stones littered across its branches before looking down at the long spiral of mana cores embedded in the trunk with a look of disgust rapidly overtaking my face. The mana cores were set up for a summoning spell, using the World Tree''s consciousness and system overloads to cast a spell that reached through space to ''summon a hero'', within or outside of the bounds of the system. However, after several disastrous attempts in the past, the ritual was not only outlawed but was beyond culturally taboo. Even terrorist organizations didn''t attempt it. After all, it was suicidal. At least that was until I was a child. While my mother was taking a short break from leading to raise me, an unknown organization did the ritual in the heart of the capital and triggered a disaster that nearly killed my father, then again not long later, leading to my Father''s death, and the arrival of Evren as if she was the System''s panic button. -But even those disasters didn''t have nearly that many mana cores...- Looking up into the canopy, a chill passed down my spine. -Just what are they trying to summon..?- Not feeling good about it, I rather quickly finished helping those who needed it before making my way back up to the Grand Hall to grab Bella and head out over the water. I couldn''t let that kind of disaster fall on my head again, especially while Evren was nowhere to be seen. But.. perhaps thinking I could stop it by simply showing my face was wishful thinking... ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome! Chapter 50: Interference Late Morning - Late Summer : Over the Sahara ----- (Back a moment) - Archangel Michael ~ -Hm...- Looking down over the vast, endless sea of sand called the Sahara, I watched the dunes flow like a liquid with a mix of displeasure, worry, and fascination. They were sandworms, behemoths nearly a kilometer long that moved through the desert like a snake swims through water, heading straight for a large wyvern that was just dropped out of a gate. "~Haah...~" -What a disaster this has become...- Over recent months, the rank-up had been advancing rapidly, and despite my perceived ability to send out System Mercenary requests when the rank-up began, not a single mercenary had actually arrived. And that was thanks to Earth''s ranks being fucked, once again, by Evren. This time it had to do with her accidentally getting the Queen of the Elves caught up in her gate. Supposedly, because of her sudden disappearance and the prompt dropping of population rank, I had lost the ability to call in system mercenaries. By the looks of things, it was all thanks to a failsafe set by the system to prevent administrators from sending out a powerful mercenary, lowering their population rank, calling in new ones, and then bringing their original mercenary back to boost the population rank over the others, and while I reported this issue to the System in hopes of getting it fixed, all I got in response was a message saying they were working to bring her back as quickly as possible. Every moment she was gone, Earth''s mana rank and monster rank had been accelerating, and without new Mercenaries, Earth was seriously struggling. Every week, a new city or country would fall, and the global population would plummet by millions. Even with the growing mana rank, Earth''s population could only grow stronger so fast... To the eyes of many, it was an indescribable disaster, a cataclysm that had a chance of ending the world. But it wasn''t like all hope was lost in their eyes. Even as news spread of yet another country falling, there was hope. Around the world, people were gathering in groups to hunt the monsters of the rank-up, level up, and return to sell their resources. Globally, these groups were referred to as hunting parties, viewed as the front like of Earth''s defense, and the focus of all research and resources. And generally, they did well. With relatively decent survival rates, humanity was leveling up rapidly, getting stronger not just technologically, but physically. However, little did the public know.. they were completely lost behind the curve... Watching as the group of sandworms finally reached the wyvern, jumping out of the sand before coiling around it and carving away its flesh with its porous, sandpaper-like skin, I questioned if what I was doing was really the right thing. Throughout the rank-up, I had treated the more isolated spots of the world like a trash dump, land to give to stronger monsters in order to keep them satisfied, and attempted to make them fight one another over territory. After all, if they all killed each other, humanity would survive until the wave was over, and could more slowly grow up to par with the monsters while exploring to retake lost land. But it didn''t take long for me to run out of land... Eventually.. I just had to find a garbage disposal, a blade I could toss monsters humanity wasn''t ready to handle. The issue was, without Evren, the resources from the monsters would never reach humanity.. and it''d only make them lag further.. and further behind... "RAAAH-!!" Watching the wyvern scream and squirm as it was essentially ground into unrecognizable chunks of flesh, I grimaced. -At least it''s not all going to waste...- Looking over my shoulder, I found a satellite orbiting right over us, watching the ruthless brawl with its artificial eye as specialists in India planned out exactly what they would attempt to retrieve after the worms were done. -Thankfully, India has been pretty successful with their harvests...- With a nearly sixty percent success rate, I was truly hoping other countries would jump on the bandwagon. Without Evren, they seriously needed to take everything they could get their hands on. But I couldn''t be sure. -At any moment, something too strong for even these monsters could appear...- And if it wasn''t satisfied with some land, it would only be a matter of time before it turned toward humanity. -It''s just a matter of time...- Little did I know though, that ticking clock had already ticked far past where I believed. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. *WOOM* *BEEP* Feeling a crushing presence blow over me as my system screamed, I looked up to see so many warning panels that I couldn''t see through them before accelerating my divinity, slowing time in an attempt to read everything. -W..WHAT?!- ''Unauthorized users have entered your local system. Automated purge initiated.'' | ''Automated purge failed.'' | ''Raising security level.'' | ''Unauthorized damage to local life detected.'' | ''Unstable server status.'' | ''Server Overload. Attempting to reroute system resources.'' | ''Multiple purge attempts failed. Sending Manual Cleaner.'' Knowing the presence I felt couldn''t have been from Evren, I immediately turned toward it before darting through the Earth as fast as I could. But the system operated on a completely different timescale. *Beep* Before I could get even halfway through the Earth, the presence was violently shredded and scattered before a green panel appeared before me. ''Manual cleaning successful. Excessive server strain still detected, permanently raising Server Class from A to C.'' But I didn''t slow down for an instant. Eventually zipping through the opposite side of the mantle, exiting the crust, and coming to a stop in the upper atmosphere over Siberia, I looked down over an unfathomable vortex of mana like a hurricane on a scale Earth had never known, causing the skies over Russia and East Asia to glow like the northern lights. "~W..what.. am I looking at...~" It was more mana than Earth had in its entirety, allocated into a single area so densely it turned the snowy forest below into a land of mythril. -Where did all this even come from...- Looking toward the center of the vortex, I tried to find the source of it all, only to find that the mana was simply too thick to see through... Even with the eyes of a god. -Don''t tell me...- Opening up the world levels again, worried Earth''s mana rank skyrocketed because of whatever the system purge did, I quickly found that the dial hadn''t actually moved at all... None of them had. It was simply a burst of mana that came at no cost... A blessing that came at the perfect time. -It will be a while before anyone can harvest the mythril in this forest, but.. maybe things just made a turn for the better... Now I just need to set out quests to bring in new mercenaries...- That was at least what I thought until I felt the presence of a lower-ranked angel dart up behind me. "~S-Sir!~" She was young and flustered, but despite the unfathomable scene playing out beneath us, she paid it no mind. "~Lucifer has appeared!~" In an instant, I felt like I froze solid. "~What?!~" She instantly bowed in a bit of a panic. "~The Queen of the Elves finally returned with that terrifying woman you made a deal with, and he has begun to move, we just aren''t sure what for yet.~" My eyes immediately widened as my senses heightened. But I couldn''t feel his presence anywhere. "~Where is he-~" At least that was until I questioned it. Feeling it suddenly appear over Leyfa Askr, my gaze snapped to it before my divinity accelerated. -Don''t tell me...- But I was too slow. By the time I arrived at the Oak, a column of light starting in the upper atmosphere had already pierced the lake and engulfed the two, lone presences on its surface. Presences I recognized in an instant. -NO!- Darting toward the water, my gaze snapped to the man at the top of the column of light, an archangel, similar to me, but with black-feathered wings instead of white, smiling wide as I raced toward the water rather than him. He knew he had me beat. Raising his hand once more, a series of massive runes appeared, stretching several meters above him before suddenly, the surrounding area dimmed, and the sunlight focused into an unbelievably powerful, laser-like beam. I wasn''t going to make it to the person before the beam landed, but I needed them to live until I got there, so, in a blink, I opened my system, adjusted the rewards I was going to give them for a quest, and marked it as complete. -JUST HOLD ON FOR A MOMENT! PLEASE!- ----- Late Morning - Late Summer : Moriai | Leyfa Askr (A Second Prior) - Eve Altera ~ *Pat* *Pat* *Pat* *Pat* Dashing out over the surface of the water, sending ripples across the glistening lake with every step, I did what I could to hold Bella''s unmoving body as gently as possible without ever pulling my eyes off the canopy of The Oak. Looming over the horizon, its canopy, lit by streaks of sunlight reaching through its leaves, glistened with the sparkle of mana cores while the ambient mana grew thick. That morning, the air was especially hot and humid, with the mana almost making it feel viscous. Had I never been pulled to the other world with Evren, I would have considered it miserably uncomfortable, but at that moment, it felt oddly.. refreshing... *WOOOOSH* Unknowingly picking up speed as the mana grew thicker, the water beneath me blurred more and more, until eventually, the seemingly distant tree looming over the horizon began closing in.. drawing closer.. and closer... Until finally, I drew close enough to see someone standing atop the highest roof of the palace, looking in my direction. -Is that.. Eir..?- Squinting, I turned my hand toward the palace before spreading my fingers, a motion that I had trained the system to recognize in order to cast a magnification spell. But while the system immediately took hold of my mana to cast it, it never got that far. *Vwoop-BRRRRMMMM* Before I could even react, everything around me was engulfed in light, Bella''s mechanical body was incinerated in my arms, and my skin melted before I was slammed into a wall of water so hard it broke my skull. *SPLAAASH* But somehow, even as my head jolted back, and the water forced its way through my eyes, nose, and mouth, my mind seemed to grow sharper rather than fall into a daze. *VWOOM* Gripping the surrounding water with my aura, I instantly started slowing down, trying to read my aura in order to make up for the blindness that followed my impact with the water. That switch never mattered though. Even though I could react faster with my aura, in the next instant, the system took hold of my mana again, and another burst of heat ripped over my body, rapidly vaporizing the surrounding water before trying to incinerate me as it did Bella. But in that same instant, an oddly intangible presence appeared in front of me. It was a mass of energy with no physical body or mana, yet somehow, I could clearly feel its presence.. its gaze.. aimed not at my body, but at my soul. -Is that.. a god..?- The moment I asked that question, everything slowed down, my system exploded with notifications, and the familiar sound of a gate met my ears before the blazing heat melting my skin eased with a cool, comfortable sensation taking the place of pain. In the moment, I couldn''t tell if it was just my body''s panicked response to the burst of pain, swamping my mind with illusions since I didn''t have the physical senses in place to correct it, or if it was because of the interference of the being I felt next to me, but the moment I watched my body start to heal, it no longer mattered. I was alive.. and while my body had just been screaming in pain, in that instant I felt so full of energy it was almost intoxicating. Even if the rush didn''t last long. ----- <hr> Read up to 5 weeks ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon</a>! (In case Embedded Link doesn''t work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD</a> ) ------------- Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TSH releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v</a> All are welcome!