ã€ŠThe Legendary Thiefã€‹


 Prologue

    On a cold Toronto winter day, after a long day at work, Hannah was walking back home. Despite living in Canada all her life, she hated the cold and was moving as fast as she could to get indoors. She moved to Toronto for university and stayed here to find a stable job and settle down. For a twenty-two years old woman, Hannah was doing pretty well, though her job was a boring accounting one for a local company.

    After making it to her building, the young woman rushed inside and exhaled a sigh of relief as she felt the warm air surround her. She took off her coat and called the elevator, hoping it wouldn¡¯t take long to come.

    Hannah heard the building¡¯s entranceway open and cursed under her breath. She lived on the top floor and didn¡¯t like to ride the elevator with other people. Waiting for everyone to get to their own floor felt like a waste of time. Yet, a woman around the same age as Hannah just walked in. She had seen that woman before, they always got home about the same time, but it wasn¡¯t strange for them to miss each other. She didn¡¯t know her name or anything else about her. Still, they exchanged a greeting of necessity.

    ¡°Hello.¡±

    ¡°Oh... yeah, hi.¡±

    It was just a simple greeting of politeness, or more like a necessary annoyance. The elevator came, and Hannah pressed on her floor, the other passenger did the same. With a small sigh, she closed her eyes and imagined the relaxing hot bath, which was just a few minutes away.

    Out of nowhere, she heard the other woman scream.

    Hannah opened her eyes and found herself in a forest.

    ----------------

    Malcolm was walking towards his class while watching the falling snow behind the windows. He was a high school student in senior year, and he had just transferred to this school a week ago. Unfortunately, he was struggling to make friends. Malcolm sighed and opened the door of the classroom, wishing for this day to go by quickly so he could go back home and play League of Legends. He was close to diamond rank and wanted to get it tonight. His teacher, Ms. Sarah greeted him.

    "Good morning Malcolm!"

    "Good morning, miss."

    She was a cheerful woman in her late thirties who still behaved as if she had never left her teenagehood. The rest of the class mostly ignored Malcolm. He wasn''t bullied, but finding his own place among his classmates was something he had yet to achieve.

    Malcolm missed his friends in the old school. His family had to move after his dad got a job offer in Illinois, one that paid double compared to what he had earned before. Malcolm had tried to argue and stay, but his dad had said no, and that was that.

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    Once at his desk, he put his head down, acting like he was asleep. It was like a defense mechanism. If people saw him as a loner, then at least he would make it look like it was his own choice. He preferred it that way.

    The bell was going to ring any minute now, and Malcolm was preparing to go to the next class. Nearby, a girl called Sarah giggled with her friends, and he instantly thought they were laughing at him. But after giving it a second thought, he sighed quietly.

    Out of nowhere, the entire class erupted in screams and confusion.

    He fell on a cold, marbled floor and groaned in pain as his head hit the floor.

    "Ow, what the..."

    Malcolm opened his eyes, his entire class was with him, the homeroom teacher included. He looked around and saw that they were surrounded by old men in robes, but most of them were either breathing heavily or collapsed on the ground. An old man in robes yelled at a man in armor.

    "The summoning was a success! Quickly, go tell his Majesty! Quickly!"

    "Yes, Grand [Mage]."

    The armored man ran and left. The old man called Grand Magus looked at the summoned group of people, judging each of the twenty-three students and their teacher. He found them a little young but decided they would do.

    "Welcome, heroes! You must be terribly confused, but don¡¯t worry. All will be explained as soon as his Majesty arrives. Fear not, you are in no danger here."

    The students all looked at him in fear, one of them quickly asked:

    "Where are we?! Is this some kind of joke?!"

    "Don¡¯t worry, you will all know shortly. I promise you we have no ill intentions."

    A few minutes passed, most students were shaking in fear, confused, or talking to Ms. Sarah. Some of them wanted to call the cops, but all their phones were out of range.

    The door to the chamber swung open, and a tall man in his late forties walked in. He had short, neatly kept blonde hair and radiated confidence.

    "My heroes, I am [Emperor] Vitelius, and I welcome you to the Draele Empire! I know that I have taken you from your homes, but we are in desperate need of your help. The demons on Kistror have taken over the entire continent, and if we do not do something, it will soon be the world that falls to them. I am afraid I have no choice but to call upon you. Come! I will explain everything to you on the way to the throne room. You may ask me anything."

    Having all of this dropped on him without any forewarning, Malcolm was the first to speak up, which surprised everyone.

    "Where the hell are we?!"

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 Chapter H - 2

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 Chapter E - 3

    Esme was woken up by Hannah as the sun was rising. She found Hannah''s ability to wake up at any sign of light useful. They couldn''t use their phones, they had to save their battery life. Hannah''s phone was at 86% and hers was at 56%. Phones were useful here, and she wasn''t about to waste their precious battery on anything but the most important things.

    She went to one of the inn''s washroom and went down to meet Hannah for breakfast. They had the cheapest meal on the menu. That left them with 82 silver coins, which might have been a fortune, Esme didn''t know the value of the currency.

    From what she had gathered from buying their room last night, one gold coin was a hundred silver coins, and one silver coin was a hundred copper coins. It was easy to convert and logical. Esme appreciated that.

    After some mindless chatter, Esme and Hannah were ready to head out. Step one of the plan was to find a cheaper inn.

    They headed down Main Street, as the buildings got smaller and less important. They had left the rich parts of Winsor, and they were where the common folk lived. Hannah stopped a man to ask him where the cheapest inn was, but he ignored her walked past her. It looked like he was in a hurry. Esme noticed another man approach. He was old and looked frail, and was definitely not eating well.

    "Hello, pardon me, but I heard you were looking for a cheap inn? Follow me, I''ll take you to the Fletcher''s Arms. It''s cheap, can''t guarantee it''s the cheapest, but I''m sure it''ll do the job."

    Esme recoiled instinctively. This seemed too convenient, it could be a trap.

    "I think we-"

    "Yes, we''re looking for a cheap inn, any help would be appreciated!"

    "Well sure thing youngun'', just follow me."

    He smiled and started slowly walking. It looked like it hurt him to walk, and he didn''t have a cane. Hannah decided to help and support him while he leads them to the inn. It looked like they were going towards the poorest parts of the city. The slums. Kids looked malnourished and the floor was no longer paved. The houses were made of wood and some roofs were made out of cloth. It smelled. Terribly.

    They turned on a small street and Esme breathed a sigh of relief. The inn was real. Fletcher''s Arms. The old man had told them that the man running the inn used to be a [Fletcher], but he retired to become an [Innkeeper]. Unfortunately, his competition was too fierce and he was too low leveled and had to make one in the slums. A sad story, but that was the least of Esme''s worries.

    They went inside the bustling inn and were greeted by the familiar smell of cooked meat. A man quickly went to greet them.

    "Ah, welcome to my inn! The name''s Godwin. You here for a meal?"

    Esme quickly answered.

    "Um, not right now, we''re here for a room actually."

    ''''Hm, not many people rent a room here. Alright, it''s eighty copper coin per night here. Your room''s upstairs, first one to the left. I assume you''re sharing it?"

    "Right, thank you."

    Esme and Hannah thanked the old man, paid for their room, and went back outside.

    "I can''t believe it, Esme! Only eighty copper coins! We could stay here for months, we don''t even need to work!"

    "Yes, I''m glad we found a solution. Fine, work takes a backseat, for now, we need to go back near Main street and find that library."

    Esme was walking slowly. She was happy, relieved. She didn''t notice the group of men following her. She didn''t notice the streets slowly going empty. She didn''t notice they were being cornered.

    "Well, what do we have here?"

    Her head snapped back. She saw a group of men, all holding knives. She started to run, but she noticed they were in front of her too. Hannah was frozen in place, shaking, mumbling nonsense. Amongst these men was the old man that had helped them get to the inn, one hour earlier. He looked scared too.

    "Hand over yer coin, and we''ll let you lot go."

    The man that just spoke looked like their leader. He was around six feet tall. He was bald, muscular and had a deep commanding voice. Esme didn''t wait for them to get closer. She did the most sensible thing. She threw the pouch of coins on the ground. One of the lackeys went and took the bag and they started leaving. The man looked back.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Thank you for your business. Don''t even think of going to the city guard. We run this town and we''ll find out."

    The old man screamed at his back.

    "Wait! Our debt''s settled with this one, right? They must be rich, there''s multiple gold coins in there at least! Look at their clothes! I saw them stay at Winsor''s Gem yesterday!"

    "We''ll see about that. It better be, or your family will pay."

    They both walked away, and then Hannah fell to her knees, in the wet mud and they both started to cry.

    What were they going to do now?

    -------------------------------

    Esme and Hannah walked back to the inn slowly. Neither talked. Only their sniffles and the people on the street were accompanying them. Esme''s mind was working, though. She was trying to find a way out of this damned situation. They would have to go back to the inn and beg to stay for a few more days. They had only bought one night. She could say they''d work for free as long as they got a place to stay and even only one meal per day. She''d take that opportunity. They had to start back from square one, but it was fine. They''d be fine. Right?

    After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the inn. Esme looked for Godwin, but it looked like he was busy in the kitchen. Esme and Hannah sat down on a table. There was nothing to say, really. Esme could guess that Hannah was blaming herself for being too naive. Esme didn''t blame her. Well, she did. A tiny bit. But this was no time for petty blaming. This had to work.

    She noticed Godwin get out of the kitchen, going to serve someone with a meal. Esme quickly got up and walked towards him. Hannah''s head shot up from her daze.

    "What are you doing?"

    "I''m gonna try to get us out of this mess."

    Esme managed to intercept Godwin and pulled him to the side of the inn. She talked quietly.

    "Listen, my friend and I just got robbed. They told us they controlled the Winsor, and going to the city guard would be useless and only bring trouble. We need your help. Could you let us stay here for a few days? You said all the rooms were free. We''d take the worst one. We''ll even work for free here if you''d like. Please. I''ll do anything. We just need one meal per day and a room."

    Esme clasped his hands in hers. He looked apologetic. He was clearly going to refuse.

    "I''m sorry, but I can''t. You don''t have any levels in [Barmaid] or [Cook], do you? Also, you''re a target. I can''t afford to cross their gang. They have people everywhere. Watching. Keeping you here would only bring trouble, miss. You''ll have to be out by tomorrow.''''

    "I see."

    Esme walked back to Hannah. She saw her hopeful face, begging to see if Godwin had said yes. Esme just looked towards her with a sad face and shook her head. They still had their phones. and Hannah''s bag. They sat, in silence, for the rest of the day. As the sun set, they went straight to sleep. Crying, broken, about to be homeless.

    But not defeated.

    -------------------------------

    The next morning Esme and Hannah went out without protest. Giving one last look to the inn, they left. Esme and Hannah quickly got out of the poorer parts of town and went back to Main Street. They went to every single inn there, trying to get hired, trying to get a place to stay. But the richer inns had level requirements to be hired. For example, to be hired in Winsor''s Gem as a barmaid, you had to be at least level 15. But Esme and Hannah still didn''t have a class, and they didn''t know how to get one.

    The days passed quickly and the girls grew hungrier and hungrier. Water was free in the different wells in the city, but food?

    They hadn''t eaten in three days. They slept in alleys, they looked dirty and tired. No one would hire them now. Being homeless was a vicious circle. No one would hire someone that was homeless, so you couldn''t get any money. And no money means no place to stay. Hannah had resigned to begging on Main Street, but that wasn''t working too well. Esme couldn''t live like this. She had to do something. But what?

    She decided to steal.

    Nighttime was falling when it happened. The first time they stole. Esme had spent the past three hours getting Hannah on board, and the stalls were closing. She had made a plan for this. Plans were needed. They were important.

    They targeted an old woman''s stall. It was isolated, and they could escape easily. She sold apples. Only apples. But apples were like gold when you were starving. They were sweet and delicious. Hannah had lost any doubt she had before when she saw how easy this would be.

    Esme watched Hannah stroll in front of the old woman''s stall and initiated a conversation. She was good at that. It was mindless chatter to Esme. It wasn''t important. This was.

    Esme quietly tiptoed behind the woman''s stall. Hannah was trying her best to occupy her. Esme was about to take the apples from the woman''s stall when she was spotted by a man walking by.

    "Thief! Behind you!"

    The old woman turned and looked at Esme furiously. She took four apples as quickly as she could, shoved it in their bag and ran for it. Hannah ran for it too. Esme heard the old woman scream behind them. The man ran after them, yelling for people to stop them.

    Esme decided he wouldn''t let the man ruin her plan, and instantly turned and ran towards him. Hannah looked at Esme in horror, as she kicked the surprised man in the groin. She ran in an alley afterward, gasping for air. Hannah followed closely. Her legs burned. She wasn''t in good shape endurance wise. She looked out the alley. It looked like the commotion had died down. They had lost the man and made it out in one piece and they had food.

    They split the apples. Two per person. This was the best meal Esme had ever had. She had been in this world for a week and she had almost starved twice. The girls had traveled far from the street they stole from and collapsed on the floor.

    They were miserable. But they were alive.

    [Thief Class Obtained]

    [Thief: Level 1]

    [Skill - Quiet Step Obtained]

    Esme and Hannah''s head snapped up at the same time.

    "There''s a [Thief] class?"

 Chapter M - 4

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 Chapter H - 11

    ''Welcome to the Mob''

    These words rang over and over in Hannah''s head. She had never wanted to be a part ofthis. Whatever this was. She didn''t exactly know what she was doing to do now. Steal things for him? If he was so powerful why did he even need their help? Why did he even have this gang? Surely he could probably take over the entire city if he wanted to. It all made no sense, but regardless, Hannah walked out of the jewelry store, closely followed by Esme and Gregory.

    After they had joined the organization, Skull told them that they would be contacted shortly about their first job, and that it was a ''test''. None of that sounded good to Hannah. She wished she could get out.

    "Slow down."

    Esme reached out to her, grabbing her shoulder. Hannah jumped and her head snapped back. She saw Esme smile, but she knew her well enough now to know that she was also terrified, behind her mask.

    "You''re right. I''m sorry, I''m just freaked out y''know?"

    Greg quickly interjected.

    "The first day is always the worst one, girl. Skull doesn''t usually meet his new recruits personally unless he sees potential in ''em. And don''t worry about your first job. I''ll be there to show you the ropes. Tomorrow."

    "T-tomorrow? And what are we going to do exactly?"

    Esme tried to look at him straight in the eye but failed. She remembered how easily he had defended himself when she tried to stab him. She shuddered.

    "Well, I don''t know yet, but I''ll be notified soon enough. we''re gonna start moving soon. The boss is vying for control of the city."

    Of course. That was the end goal of the Mob. Or at least she thought it was. Hannah finally adjusted her walking speed and they kept going through the crowded, muddy streets. After a while, they made it back to their inn and sighed. At least this was familiar. Home.

    "Go get your things. We''re moving you."

    Or not home. This was too sudden. Moving where, headquarters? That was only a single room according to what they had seen earlier. Hannah looked up at him hopefully.

    "Moving where?"

    "Headquarters. Where else? The room you saw earlier was just an Illusion spell. Ye didn''t think that our central base was just a single white room didn''t ye?"

    Hannah blushed, and Esme smiled. Greg was trying to lighten up the mood. He knew how they were feeling. He had probably gone through the same thing years ago. But he wouldn''t tell them. Not yet.

    The girls went to talk to the [Innkeeper] about leaving. He was sad, since he had known them for a few weeks now, but he knew this was part of the job. [Innkeepers] almost always had to say goodbye to all their customers. They went up to their room. The room with a single bed and the walls full of holes with bugs and rats in them. The room with the dusty floors and without lighting. Esme looked around and talked.

    "Believe it or not, I''m going to miss this place. Not the bugs, of course."

    "Yeah. We were at our lowest and at our highest in this room. It''s where things finally started to look up."

    "And then all our hopes came crashing down."

    "Hmhm."

    They didn''t have many things, really. Just their bag. But their bag was special. It was from Earth, their real home. And it had their phones.

    "Well. Wasn''t that anticlimactic. We ready then?"If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Esme nodded, and that was that. They left and closed the door, and a chapter ended. They gave the key back to the [Innkeeper], who bowed and thanked them for staying so long. He didn''t usually get customers that stayed for more than a few days.

    Gregory was waiting outside. When they got closer, he nodded and grunted in approval

    "Ready?"

    They answered in unison.

    "No."

    "Well, ye never truly are, aren''t ye?"

    He chuckled and led them outside. Esme started asking him questions.

    "Well, Greg. Aren''t you the second in command of this gang? Shouldn''t you be doing better things than leading us to our bedrooms?"

    Greg chuckled and shook his head. He answered.

    "Well, like the boss said, you''re special. Plus, I''m not the only important guy ''round here. Ye just haven''t seen them yet. Actually, you''ve seen one already."

    "Which one?"

    "The lady that put that lass under the [Detect Lie] spell. She''s one."

    "Hm. Unsurprising. How many are there?"

    "Haha! Hold your horses girl. You''ll meet ''em at the conference tonight."

    "A conference? What will be going on there?"

    "Just some fancy announcement about our goals for our plan. With the city, I mean."

    "Right. And that plan is?"

    "I told ye, be patient, girl!"

    "I have a name you know. Esme."

    Greg chuckled lightly and kept going on ahead. Hannah felt kind of left out here, as she wasn''t participating in the conversation at all.

    "Y''know, I haven''t apologized yet. About the money."

    Esme''s light smile vanished. He slowed slightly and kept going.

    "I''m sorry. Thought it was some easy cash for the boys. I usually don''t do things like that."

    "You piece of shit."

    Esme knew she couldn''t have her revenge. Though Hannah was sure she fantasized about it. She kicked the ground in frustration.

    "It''s your fault we had to do this. Become [Thieves]. I hope you know that."

    "I managed to guess. And again, I''m sorry."

    "What happened to that man?"

    "What man?"

    "The old man who tricked us."

    "Oh. He''s dead."

    Hannah stopped dead in her tracks. Dead? Okay, he had tricked them, but killing him? That was simply going too far. Esme looked at Gregory, her eyes full of fury.

    "Why?! Why did you fucking kill him you piece of shit! You asshole!"

    "He had to be an example. He had owed us money. A large sum."

    "An example. Anexample.I may be a part of your fancy gang now but I sure as hell won''t like you.Murderer."

    Gregory nodded sadly. He expected this. But all of them knew they didn''t have to like each other to work together. But unexpectedly, he replied after a bit of thinking.

    "You stole from innocents."

    "I-I did. But-"

    "You did. And that''s all that matters. Don''t act all and mighty. You knownothingabout me."

    Esme was hurt. Hannah could see it. She finally intervened.

    "We had to do it to survive! We were starving out here! Andmurderingis worse than stealing."

    "Still. You are criminals. We all are. You. Esme. I heard about how you stabbed a half a dozen men without hesitation. You could have surrendered and served your sentence."

    Silence. Complete silence. Hannah and Esme were shut up in one swift cold reply. And the worst part was that he was right. Theywerecriminals. And they enjoyed it. The thrill. The adrenaline rush after you successfully managed to steal something. It was addicting. It got to your head.

    "It''s easy to claim you''re better than someone else without knowing the full picture. I have my reasons for following Skull. Now shut it."

    Every so often, Hannah and Esme realized how weak they were. This was one of those moments. The air around themtensed,and people started to look this way. Gregory quickly relaxed and the atmosphere became normal again.

    "Sorry. Aura skill. It''s hard to control when you first get it."

    The conversation died, and they kept walking. This was a part of the district that they had never gone to before, in its southern parts. Here, a building sat. Not a particularly large one, but it stood out when compared to the wooden houses surrounding it.

    "Welcome to our humble home."

    "I thought we were going back to the jewelry store. You''re telling me this small building can house your supposed thousands of members?"

    Esme was suspicious about this, but they couldn''t do anything about it. They went in. Gregory pointed.

    "Look."

    There was a counter in the building, where a man sat. He was the only one in the building.

    "Greg. Who''s this?"

    "New members. They''re important. You can open the passage."

    The man crouched and the girls heard something open. A trap door. They walked behind the counter and saw the staircase leading down into a lit tunnel. They walked in.

    "This is one of the many entries to headquarters. It''s-"

    "An underground system. Impressive."

    Esme had regained her composure from earlier. Greg continued.

    "Yes. the air is filtered in and out by a few of our good [Aeromancers]. We have thousands of people living down there. Hidden. Nobody outside of the organization knows this. Anyways, here it is."

    The tunnel slowly got larger. It went from a tall man Gregory having to duck to advance further to being basically twice his height. Huge wooden double doors were waiting in front of them.

    "That [Mass Silence] spell is really good, huh?"

    He opened the doors.

    And a sprawling underground city revealed itself to them.

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 Chapter H - 13

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 Chapter H - 14

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 Chapter M - 15

    A golem made of mud was slowly moving through the castle''s garden. It was past midnight, and Malcolm, like every night since he had gotten his spellbook from Albert, he practiced. He was a level 6 [Mage] now, but he had not gotten any new skills. He still felt stronger.

    He directed his golem to move faster, but for a mud golem, this was the fastest they could go. Air was swirling around it, but it was still moving slower than a walking pace. He ordered it to hit the ground with his fist, but it was so slow it barely left a mark.

    "Useless. Stop."

    The golem stopped and turned towards the young [Mage]. Malcolm sighed.

    "What am I going to do with you? I know you were going to be weak but..."

    It looked at him silently. Was it self aware? Could it think at least? Probably not. Malcolm moved his hand towards the golem and it collapsed into a pile of mud.

    "[Dispell]."

    Usually a [Mage] Golemancer would save his Golem and not dispell it. They took too much time to make to waste without even using, but this one was truly useless. Malcolm was sure he would use his [Warrior] skills and fight better without this liability, even if he did not enjoy doing so. He had been told by his teachers that even a low leveled warrior could kill a weak monster like Goblins.

    He was sweating, as he still wasn''t used to controlling it. Malcolm had learned [Dispell] after he first succeeded at creating his golem. Since it was a lower level one, he had to individually think of each action it did. Every punch. Every turn of its head. Every step. Well, it was more like... slithering? Sliding across the ground. He hadn''t given it legs. It was easier to just give it a large lump for a lower body, legs were still too hard for him to balance.

    He was dirty. He was always filthy these days, which made his classmates look at him funny. He had given up hiding now, it was futile. He sat and grabbed his spellbook from the ground.

    "So... the next step is using wood. That''s going to be hard."

    He looked and saw the first step after a mud or dirt golem was a wooden one. They would be fairly stronger and quicker, but would take longer to create. He could also just use wooden armor, or any kind of armor in fact on his creation. He really had to find to find a name for it... or him. He couldn''t just keep using ''it'' when thinking about him. Or her?

    He shook his head and headed back towards his room. All of this would be futile in any kind of fighting. He needed to get better, and faster. He wanted to keep practicing but doing this was mentally exhausting and he was almost out of mana. He thought of a way to give his golem legs before going to bed. Doing this would surely increase the speed two-fold atleast.He could even make him run! Probably. It was all about mana anchor points and putting the right amount at the right spot. Malcolm would figure it out. He was sure of it.

    He laid down on his bed and fell asleep.

    -----------------------------------

    Like usual Malcolm was the last one to wake up. A symptom of his garbage sleep schedule. After a quick trip to clean himself, he walked through the breakfast room. It reminded him of Hogwarts, but with more... tables. Like usual he sat grabbed his food and left again. He needed to study. Togrow. But he was stopped shortly after.

    "Malcolm. Stay, the [Emperor] has an important announcement."

    Albert was at the entrance and stopped him. The young [Mage] looked at Vitelius'' table. It was elevated as a show of status. He ate with his family, as usual. Malcolm didn''t notice it, but Claus wasn''t there. He didn''t eat at the main table anymore. He ate with Sarah, Blake and the others instead.

    "Really? What''s it about? Just tell me so I can study."

    "I''m afraid I''m not allowed to do so. Just stay."

    "Fine."

    Malcolm sighed and turned back. Where to even sit? He contemplated just standing next to Albert, but that would surely make him stand out even more, wouldn''t it? He looked at the free spots. There was one on Blake''s table, next to Sarah. That was a no go, he decided that in a split second. He noticed a smaller table with another girl sitting on it with some... friends? Probably. No one was talking. Perfect. He strode up to them with his plate and sat down without saying a word.

    "Oh. Hi. You''re Malcolm right?"

    He cursed internally. How did she know his name? They had never spoken! He was terrible with names, so he didn''t know her''s. He felt terrible about it but he responded, trying to not make the silence last too long.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "Yes! I''m, uh, sitting here because there''s an announcement?"

    "Right. We were told about that."

    They sat around and ate quietly after that. It looked like no one there knew each other very well, which was fortunate for him, or at least he thought so. He discreetly looked at each of them.

    The girl that had talked to him earlier was... boring? He felt like an asshole for thinking of that. She had no special features about her. She looked like she was average height and she wore glasses. She also had a nose piercing. One was an overweight guy that was eating a huge meal. He had a double... triple chin? He had a well-maintained caesar cut. He guessed he had someone take care of it for him. The last person that was sitting at the table was another girl, but she had dirty purple hair coloring. The kind that was faded after a few weeks.

    "So what level are you."

    The girl with glasses broke the silence, and Malcolm jumped on his chair, which made him hit his funny bone on the corner of the table. He groaned and grabbed his elbow for dear life.

    "Oh! Damn, sorry about that."

    She said sorry but she chuckled. After Malcolm recovered from his tragic injury, he answered the question.

    "Um, I''d really rather not say. Damn that hurt like hell."

    "Right, don''t worry I''m pretty weak too, compared to the rest. I''m a level 9 [Archer]. My name''s Pauline. Nice to meet ya."

    She held out her hand, signaling a handshake. Malcolm reciprocated.

    "How did you know I didn''t know? Your name, I mean."

    "Come on, I could tell. Anyways this is Josh and that''s Tara. We never talk, really. This is just where the losers sit. It''s convenient for all of us."

    Malcolm started to relax. Was this how people felt? This was a conversation. He didn''t plan what he was going to say next. He justknew. He hadn''t felt this way in... years.

    "Tell me about it. I''m Malcolm. Though you already knew that. Level 6 [Mage] and level 4 [Warrior]."

    Pauline''s eyes widened, and Tara whistled. Josh was too focused on eating to care. He continued.

    "Told you I''d rather not say. I''m weak. Probably the lowest levelled guy in this room. It''s not like I don''t work I''m just really bad at it. I-It''s like it takes me twice as much time to get half as far."

    Pauline patted him on the back, which really surprised him. He kept eating and a few minutes later, the [Emperor] stood up and coughed a few times, to announce that he was about to start. Pauline nudged Malcolm.

    "Looks like it''s starting."

    "[Heroes]."

    He didn''t need to call, and ask for their attention. Whatever he said was an order. The noise around the room instantly died and all heads were turned towards him.

    "You have made much progress in the month you have been here. I am proud of you all. However, you must go out and practice. On real targets. This will be your first test."

    Real targets? Did he mean Demons? Now? Surely not, they were still just beginners. Some whispers ran through the room.

    "Silence. You will go to one of our easiest Dungeon called the Arcane leech hive. It is a dungeon approved for bronze rank adventurers by the Adventurers Guild. You will go there and level. You have reached the limits of what training can offer you. To defeat the Demons and their [Demon Queen], you must level."

    A dungeon. Fuck. Of course, this day would come. And no amount of saying this was a ''low-level dungeon'' would make Malcolm feel less uneasy.

    "You will go there supervised. I will not risk you, [Heroes]. My best [Knights] and [Healers] will go with you. Fear not."

    Okay. Much better. He relaxed. But that didn''t change the fact that his golem would be useless, and he would need to make it again for the dungeon.

    "The dungeon is on the outskirts of Ankrea. You will go there today, in two hours. Get ready."

    Malcolm scrambled and stood up. Two hours? Impossible.

    "Well it was nice to meet you, Pauline, but I have things to do. For the dungeon I mean!"

    "Sure. See you around."

    "Yeah."

    He was the first one out of the room. He practicallyranout, which made the students laugh at him. They probably thought he was scared. He cared, but he told himself he didn''t. He went outside into the gardens. He lifted up his hand.

    "[Earth Manipulation]."

    Chunks of mud and dirt levitated towards him. He decided he would bring it to his room and work on his golem there. The [Mage] ran inside and slammed his door. He dropped all the earth on his floor. He''d clean later. Hehadto show his progress, otherwise would Vitelius even keep him? The Grand [Mage] was already wanting to kick him out. He didn''t have any good spells!

    He calmed himself down. Think. Okay. Earth. Much better than the wet mud he had yesterday. This was firmer and easier to work with. He used the spell again.

    "[Earth Manipulation]."

    It rearranged itself slowly. So very agonizingly slowly. Each particle of dirt going at the correct place at the correct time. Legs. How to make them? He shaped the earth in the form of human legs. It collapsed. Too thin. He tried to make them thicker and infuse more mana into them. It collapsed again. Again. Again. How much time had passed? They had no clocks here, and Malcolm couldn''t see the sun. This time forsure.He gave the legs a thicker base that got thinner as it went up, but nottoothin. He anchored the mana to the bottom of the ''torso''. It held. Good, hold.Hold.He felt like he was about to collapse. He made the arms in the form of two huge lumps of dirt with bits of stone he had gotten on them. He put another anchor on top of the body. He was almost done now. He just needed a head. A golem needing a head seemed silly at first, but it was where the last anchor would be stored. The most important one, that gave the golem the ability to move, contrary to the other ones that were for balance. The tired, shaking [Mage] used the largest stone and the leftover dirt for its head, and then the moment of truth came. He activated it by infusing mana throughout its body. He did his best not to slip. It required extreme concentration. A tiny bit more... now!He pulled his hand away and wind swirled around the room. He breathed tiredly and looked at his creation. It was huge, at more than seven feet. Could it even go through the door?

    It was beautiful. Malcolm commanded it to approach. Its steps made him feel like the ground was shaking. It was...

    "You''re beautiful."

    Beautiful. Malcolm had never considered himself an artist back home, but this? This was art. Art in its purest form.

    "Your name is..."

    The golem was not self-aware. It couldn''t think for itself. It was not alive.

    But it had a name. And it was...

    "Dune."

 Chapter M - 16

    "What the hell is that?!"

    Malcolm''s classmates all looked at Dune in awe. He had been the last one to arrive. In fact, he was fifteen minutes late, and they were about to leave without him.

    "Sorry I''m late, I was... working on him."

    He still couldn''t believe that he had only made it in two hours. He had some difficulty squeezing him through the door frame, but after that, it was all smooth sailing. The [Mage] also made Dune run through the castle and noticed the pace was good. He could run a tiny bit slower than him, but that was all he needed.

    Malcolm couldn''t wait to get to the dungeon. Dune would make short work of the leeches and other monsters inside of it. He was sure. Malcolm Noticed Pauline walking up to him.

    "Dude! That issobadass."

    "Yeah. I made him right after breakfast."

    "Does it have a name? Can it think?"

    "No, he can''t. But his name is Dune."

    "Cool name. Uh, anyway, how is he going to keep up with us? We''re going on carriages y''know."

    Malcolm looked at her blankly.

    "I hadn''t thought about that. We''re going on horses?"

    Malcolm couldn''t see any. He was confused but then figured that they must be waiting outside the city. One of their teachers yelled and asked the [Heroes] to gather up, and they finally left the castle for the first time since coming to this world. He was a bit scared really, which proved how sheltered he had become. He was walking in the back of the group, and Dune followed closely behind him. Ankrea was grand, or at least the parts that surrounded the castle was. His golem terrified the people that were just going about their day.

    "M-monster attack! Help!"

    Malcolm sighed. He wished he could just dispell Dune and instantly bring him back later when they got to the dungeon. Unfortunately, that wasn''t possible.

    The further they got from the castle the less wealthy the neighborhoods became. He passed the Adventurers Guild and he heard Blake jokingly saying they should all sign up and do some jobs. Speaking of guilds, there were many guilds in this city. A Mage Guild, a Messenger Guild... even a Merchant Guild, but for a big city like Ankrea, this was just the basics. Malcolm had learned that smaller cities usually only had an Adventurers Guild.

    When they passed the huge walls, Malcolm noticed that they were way taller and thicker than he had noticed when watching from one of the many balconies of the castle. They looked impenetrable, and they probably had many magic enchantments on them too. The city didn''t end at the walls, however. Many houses and farms sat outside of it, and a second wall was being built all around them. The second line of defense. Malcolm deemed this pretty unnecessary though. Didn''t the Draele Empire control all of... well, Draele? There was no risk of any warfare on the continent any time soon. This was just a waste of money and time.

    They finally reached the outskirts of the city. He had to think of how to get Dune there with him right now. He took a deep breath and strode towards one of the [Knights] accompanying them.

    "E-excuse me."

    "Yes?"

    "How long will the journey to the dungeon take?"

    "In carriage? Around two hours. Don''t worry about your... thing. We weren''t going to ride at our full speed. This will be a slow trip. Around walking pace. We don''t want to mistreat the horses for a situation that''s not an emergency."

    Malcolm nodded. Good. He looked back at Dune and just noticed a blank ''stare''. He couldn''t really stare since he had no eyes, but it was just something about him. He wondered if he''d change if he improved him more tonight. He turned back and to his horror, he needed to get on a carriage. With a group. God.

    He peeked around the carriages for a little while. None was empty. Of course. He then tried to find the one Pauline was on but it was full.

    "Sorry Malcolm, you were too late. Some other time."

    Damn. They were all full now. He should have just jumped in one of them when he could. Oh well, he could walk. Or he thought he would walk, but one of the [Healers] called out to him.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    "You! There''s a spot in this carriage!"

    Malcolm turned. Thank god. Walking for two hours would be way too long. His endurance wasn''t too good. The young [Mage] walked towards the carriage and then looked inside. To his horror, the ones occupying it were Blake, Sarah, Claus, Steven, Skye, and Monica. They grimaced when they saw him.

    This wasnotgoing to be fun.

    -----------------------------------

    Malcolm was gazing on the horizon. Farms. More farms. Occasionally there was a small village, and he even saw a river once. He sighed. He hated this. He refocused his hearing and snooped in on the conversation.

    "Monica, what do you think the dungeon will be like?"

    "Well itdoes, maybe, have ''leech'' in its name Blake. I don''t know, maybe it has, like, leeches?"

    "No need to be all sarcastic about it. I''m excited!"

    "Yeah? Well, I''m scared."

    Sarah interjected.

    "Come on Monica. They told us it was a beginner dungeon! Nothing is going to happen."

    "Yeah, she''s right. We even have the [Knights] and [Healers] with us. And me!"

    Blake flexed his muscles in his armor and kissed his bicep.

    "You''re such a dork! Stop it, you''re making me cringe."

    "Hey, come on babe. You''re talking to a [Knight] here!"

    Right. Blake had gotten the [Knight] class yesterday.Andhe had leveled his Hero class earlier in the week. It was hard to miss with how much he bragged about it all day. He was the first of the class to reach level 20, and contrary to what logic dictated, his growth was exponential. How could he be blessed by so much luck? Did his leveling correlate with his [Hero] class? It did make it faster, so maybe the more it leveled, the faster Blake would level as well? That was busted.

    Dune was still walking next to them. Malcolm smiled. At least he was good at one thing.

    "Hey. You."

    Malcolm snapped his head towards the inquirer. It was Monica.

    "Yeah?"

    "Your monster. Get it away from me."

    "He''s not- Why?"

    "It''s freaking me out, man? Why else? Do you use your head?"

    Blake and Sarah chuckled, which felt like a thousand needles pierced Malcolm''s heart.

    "Right, sorry."

    The girl repeated ''right, sorry'' in a joking manner, which made the entire carriage laugh. Malcolm sunk a bit into his seat. He messed up again. He ordered Dune to walk a bit further back, and more outwards. The golem instantly listened.

    Monica didn''t even say thank you. She just sneered at him.

    One hour left.

    -----------------------------------

    Everyone was surprised when they made it to the dungeon, including Malcolm. They expected an abandoned dark cave, or a crypt. Instead, around it was a full-fledged town, with people living there. There was a big central building that looked like a bank.

    The [Heroes] got off the carriage, and waited for the [Knights] to talk to one of the [Guards] stationed outside the city. The [Guard] looked flustered and instantly bowed to the class. They were let in. The town was bustling, but the biggest building apart from the ''bank'' Malcolm had noticed a few minutes earlier was the Adventurers Guild. Fitting for a city built on a dungeon.

    They were led into an inn and they were all excited at how luxurious it was. The town was apparently called Dalos, and this was their best inn. Malcolm heard one of his classmates talking.

    "It''s like we''re on a field trip!"

    It really was. It reminded Malcolm of the time in middle school where his class went to D.C. Except now they were going to kill monsters in a dungeon, instead of visiting museums and landmarks.

    The entire class checked in for rooms. They were going to have roommates. Malcolm just hated this entire day and wished he would have stayed on the castle to train. He probably would have made more progress that way. He had parked Dune outside the city. The golem was unsurprisingly easy to hide with camouflage since he was made of earth and stone.

    Malcolm couldn''t find himself anyone to share a room with. Well, he didn''t even try. He couldn''t find Pauline, and he doubted she''d say yes. Sarah was obviously going with Blake and the [Mage] didn''t notice, but [Claus] was secretly fuming. The [Knights] told Malcolm he would be assigned a roommate randomly with someone who didn''t have one. There were a few. Soon, they returned to the lobby.

    "Listen up!"

    All of them looked at their guides.

    "We will spend one week in Dalos. Every day we will go in the dungeon in groups. Since we have a recommendation from [Emperor] Vitelius, we can go in for free."

    For free? Did you have to pay to go into the Dungeon? Weird. They started moving and slowly walked towards the central building of the town. It wasn''t a bank. It was like... a dungeon registry? That was the best way to put it. Malcolm mentally called Dune.

    The [Mage] saw adventurers lining up, handing out money and going in the dungeon. Their names were written and they signed some sort of contract? He couldn''t really tell from afar.

    "Group up in groups of six!"

    Notagain.

    "Each group will have one [Knight] and one [Healer] going with them."

    Blake interjected jokingly.

    "I''m already a [Knight]! That means you don''t have to come right?"

    "One veteran [Knight] then."

    "Killjoy."

    Malcolm looked around. He saw finally saw Pauline. He took a deep breath, nodded, and walked towards her. He asked her if he could join her group. She said yes.

    The first group was going in now, going through what could only be the priority queue. The normal adventurers cursed under their breath. It reminded Malcolm a lot of Disney land. Pay more and get shorter queues. Damn.

    Soon it was his turn to go in. His group walked down the stairs. It wasn''t dark. The place had already been lit up with candles. Malcolm thought he would need to cast [Light], but it looked like it never was going to be needed.

    Dune was behind him, walking slowly. Malcolm knew this was safe, but he was still anxious. The [Healer] spoke and pointed.

    "The kill zone we rented is this way."

    After a short trip, Malcolm watched disgustingly as dozens of huge leeches crawled on the ground. Pauline recoiled.

    "Ew."

    "Yeah. That."

    "I will engage the arcane leeches! Anyone with [Warrior] as their primary class, with me. The rest can stand back and attack from afar. Don''t worry, they''re extremely weakened in the light.

    This was it! Malcolm sent his golem forward with the [Knight]. The [Healer] just stood back and watched. He made Dune punch a leech and...

 Chapter M - 17

    The leechflewinto a nearby wall screeching from Dune''s punch. The dozens of other leeches had regained their composure and crawled and a speed that shouldn''t have been possible towards the Golem. One somehow jumped and used its huge gaping mouth with many rows of teeth to bite his arm off.

    Malcolm was taken aback by this, and he tried to makee Dune shake it off but it didn''t let go. It bit harder, and harderuntil the [Mage] heard the beast scream. It had taken an arrow to the back, and died instantly. He saw Pauline wink at him, but they didn''t have time for jokes. Many more were coming now, but the [Knight] rushed towards them.

    "[Emperor''s Shield]! Stay behind me!I said behind me!"

    Malcolm felt his skin grow tougher and thicker. This was a skill to protect them. He noticed no effect on Dune, which made him think that only living things were affected by this skill. The Arcane Leeches noticed who the real threat was instantly, and they tried to rush him. Fortunately for the [Heroes], the [Knight] was simply too strong.

    "[Holy Slash]!"

    Five monsters were instantly cut in two. Malcolm felt useless here. What was the point of coming here if he did nothing? This wouldn''t make him level, this was a waste of time.

    Determined to at least get better at controlling Dune, he ordered his trusted golem forward. Dune lifted one of his fists and stroke down on a leech, but he missed. It was too fast. He tried to grab the monster but it slipped out of his clumsy grab. Malcolm would have made a mental note to add fingers to the next golem he made, but the leech screamed once again, and it ''looked'' at Malcolm. It had no eyes but the [Mage] knew. It could think. The leech rushed towards him. It had figured out that he was the one controlling Dune! Malcolm cursed and ordered Dune to run to protect him, but it was too fast. He had been careless! He took unnecessary risks by sending his golem too far away from him. He had gotten cocky. But he had one last trick up his sleeve.

    The [Knight], who was busy taking care of the grouped leeches didn''t notice him. It was the [Healer] who did. The man started to run towards Malcolm, trying to protect him but he was blinded by a bright light.

    [Light]. Most would consider it a useless spell in battle, but Malcolm had figured out it had many uses. Like blinding your enemies. It was like a flashbang grenade that made no sound. The monster howled and trashed all over its surroundings, but Malcolm was already gone. He couldn''t see the monster but heheardit.

    It shrieked one last time, as Dune''s fists pummeled it multiple times. He cheered internally but then instantly regretted not bringing his sword. He was a [Mage] but he was also a [Warrior]. He had been careless, and he wouldn''t be in the future. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and heard someone whistle.

    "Wow, you really got it good. Nice job dude."

    Malcolm flinched as his sight still hadn''t fully recovered. He scratched his leg awkwardly.

    "Yeah, and it almost gotme. That scared the hell out of me."

    "Better be more careful then."

    Malcolm nodded. They joined the others in their group and gathered around the [Knight].

    "Good work everyone! You all did well. There were far more of these than expected, but you handled it well. I thought we ordered a beginner kill zone. This was at least a high bronze tier level threat. Strange. Well, let''s go to the next one."

    The [Healer] fixed a few injuries someone had taken and then they left deeper into the well-lit cave.

    -----------------------------------

    "[Power Strike!]"

    A blade glistening in blood landed on an arcane leech. That was the last of them. Blake cheered.

    "Woo! We got the fuckers! Good job everyone."

    He high fived Steven and Hugged Sarah. This was their fourth kill zone they had cleared. Just one more and they would head back to the inn at the surface.

    Blake was happy. He was sure he would level at least twice tonight. Maybe even three times? This was soexciting. This new world of magic and monsters, and levels! And the best part about it was thathewas the [Hero] to save Humanity from the Demons!

    The other [Knight] in his group didn''t have to do anything, as Blake just rushed into a fight every monster he met. The leeches had surprised him at first. They were red, like blood, and they were two feet tall and between six and eight feet in length. If he was completely honest, he had wanted to run, but Sarah was there. He had to look cool in front of her. After his first kill, he realised something

    Killing things wasfun.

    He was addicted. Addicted to leveling and becoming stronger. Every time he did it was like he had a rush of endorphins to the brain. It was intoxicating, and he loved it. They reached their final assigned group of leeches now. This one was a larger group, as it had at least thirty in it. Blake didn''t care. He rushed in the fray and used his newly acquired skill. The [Knight] called out to him.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    "Blake, stop! This is abnormal, there''s too many! We need to-"

    "[Multi Strike]!"

    His blade became ablurto the others. He hacked at the beasts at insane speed and they all died one by one. Not even one could reach him. He was too strong, he waschosen. A [Hero] of this world. Nothing could stop him!

    His skill eventually stopped and nothing was left. It was all a big pile of dead bodies in front of him. His friends looked in awe. Claus just turned his head. Blake smirked. This was the life.

    And then he heard a scream throughout the dungeon.

    -----------------------------------

    His name was Jules, and he was the [Knight] accompanying the young [Heroes]. His batch was a weird one. It had an [Archer], which was the only archer in the batch, and one had a golem. They were still good at fighting at least, so it didn''t bother Jules.

    Everyone heard the scream inside the dungeon. The halls carried sound a long way. The shout felt like it could only mean one thing for the [Knight]. He felt like the others knew too.

    Primal fear.

    They all looked at each other uneasily. What could have caused this? The [Knight] shook his head and decided what they would do.

    "Ok. I''ll go check what that was, you all head on back to the entrance."

    There were no objections. If something dangerous was down here then the only reasonable choice left was to leave. The students nodded and left. Jules watched them as they turned at a corner and then he headed in the opposite direction. If one of the [Heroes] died, the [Emperor] would never forgive him. He would have his head.

    He walked towards where he thought the scream came from. He heard nothing. He saw no monster. There was just an eerie silence. Only two groups had ventured this far, and they both had the most experienced [Knights] leading them. What could have...?

    He didn''t have time to finish his thought, as he heard people running his way. He squinted and saw it was a few [Heroes]. Only three. Out of twelve. Jules looked horrifyingly at the children. One of them was missing an arm, and all of them were crying. One of grasped at his arms.

    "H-help u-us, please. T-there''s a huge thingdown there! We nee-"

    "The others! Where are the others?!"

    "They''re all dead! They died in seconds! I-it used magic, we couldn''t do anything. we couldn''t... couldn''t..."

    "It''s okay. It''s okay. Here. Healing potions. Pour them on your wounds. It won''t regrow the arm but it will stop the bleeding. Run!"

    The [Knight] handed them a few potions and they ran. He wanted to do so as well. He really did. But what if there was a survivor? A [Hero]''s life was worth much more than his. His honor as a knight wouldn''t allow him to run. He had to go.

    He took one step, but then he heard something. And then hesaw.

    Hundreds¨C no,thousandsof leeches flooded the hallways. It was like a wave. An unstoppable force. Jules instantly ran, but it was too fast, too...

    He was absorbed into the swarm.

    -----------------------------------

    "More over there!"

    "Damn it! Kill them!"

    The entrance to the dungeon had been sealed.

    In the event of an emergency like this one, to save the city, a dungeon could be closed with massive reinforced enchanted steel gates. Malcolm had stumbled upon the closed exit, and saw many more students waiting, trying to break the door open, but at the same time the leeches were closing in. They were everywhere, digging through the walls and the ceiling. Dozens, constantly attacking the [Heroes] and the remaining [Knights]. The doors wouldn''t budge, even when Blake tried getting them open.

    Malcolm cursed under his breath, as he sent dunes to crush another monster. Why didn''t they just open the doors? They were [Heroes]! Saviors of this world! The god damn [Emperor]''s son was here, for god''s sake! This wasn''t fair!

    One of the better [Mage] students got an idea.

    "I-I''ll send a [Message] spell. S-someone has to know we''re in here."

    The last group of students arrived. Malcolm watched, horrified, as he saw one had a stump in place of his arm. This was bad. Really bad. A few minutes later they heard it.

    The swarm was here.

    -----------------------------------

    Vitelius was having a good day, all things considered. He had less work than usual. His eldest son had gone back to Irasal a week ago, to take care of things there. He didn''t have to handle the [Heroes] either. Aside from routine work and administrating the Empire, this day was less busy than usual.

    "Albert. How many rebellions this month?"

    "Five, your highness. Four of these were from the Dwarves in the north."

    "Good. Keep squashing them. Make sure no one finds out."

    "Actually I have received a message from Jonas. This morning. There seems to be a problem in... Winsor yes that was the one."

    "Winsor you say? Hm. Of what scale? For what reason?"

    "It''s a full-on rebellion sir. The reason is not specified but they call themselves the Mob. A petty gang."

    "How could the city guard let agangget so big? No matter. Tell Jonas to let the city guard captain of the city take care of it."

    "Yes, your highness."

    Once Albert left the room, he sighed. Routine. How boring. He wondered how the [Heroes] were doing. They would level a lot from the dungeon for sure. He didn''t want to waste too much time. They needed to be ready sooner rather than later. In one year they''d launch the war on the Demons. The [Emperor] hoped that harsh experiences in the war would make them level even faster, and by the time they were fighting the [Demon Queen], they''d be over level 70. One showed particular potential... Blake. He had already become a [Knight]. And he had leveled in the [Hero] class, a feet not seen in millennia!

    But his train of thought was instantly interrupted when Albert burst through the room.

    "Vitelius!"

    Vitelius worried. Albert only used his name when the situation was terrible.

    "What is the situation?"

    "We just received a [Message] spell. The Heroes! They''re..."

    As Albert explained the situation, the [Emperor]''s face contorted into horror. Why had they not opened the gate? Why were they keeping the [Heroes] and hisson down there? He had specifically addressed the [Merchant] owning of the dungeon that they were [Heroes]. He thought he was a man he could trust!

    "Tell thatfuckerSerle to open the doors! Orders from the[Emperor]!"

    "[Merchant] Serle won''t answer our [Messages] sir. He''s completely silent."

    "Could he be... no... no...!"

    -----------------------------------

    On Kistror, a [Demon Queen] was grinning. One of her advisors approached her.

    "The [Merchant] has received his payment. Ten thousand gold coins."

    She answered him.

    "Good. Let him know of the consequences if he does not keep that door closed."

    The demon nodded and left.

 Chapter M - 18

    <div>

    The swarm of leeches approached. They were all frozen in place. The [Heroes]heardthem around the corner.

    "Run!"

    Blake was the first to act. He grabbed his weapon, grabbed Sarah''s hand and ran. Malcolm blinked and then everything went to shit. Everyone pushed each other to the side or to the ground and the [Mage] fell. All form of cohesion and strategy was lost. He fell to the ground and cursed.

    Dune was still there. Unmoving. Malcolm made him walk over to him to protect him from whatever this was. Only some of his classmates knew and had told people, but he wanted to be ahero, not just a [Hero]. It was known that in the face of adversity or crisis, people leveled exponentially. It was a gamble, but he wanted to take it. Everyone was gone now.

    And then he saw it.

    A wall of flesh. Arcane leeches. Filling the hall.

    He ran. He subconsciously made Dune go with him but the golem was too slow. The monsters would catch up to him. He had two choices.

    Send Dune to distract the leeches for a few seconds and run deeper in the dungeon where his classmates were. Or...

    "[Earth Manipulation]!"

    The earthrose. A wall stood in between Malcolm and the monsters. They burst through it in a few seconds.

    "Damn it! [Earth Manipulation]! [Earth Manipulation]!

    Rows of earth, each one thinner than the last leaped up. He kept running, and Dune was falling behind. He didn''t know where he was going. Where had his classmates gone? He took a right, and he ended up finding himself facing a room, which was a dead end. He had no mana potions, and he was almost out. He reckoned he at enough for at least two more spells.

    No time to think. It was at this moment that he wished he had learned more offensive spells. He looked at Dune.

    "I''m sorry."

    And the Golem went back into the hall. He''d buy him time. Even seconds were precious in the situation. He lifted his hand up and pointed towards the wall, cursing at himself for not thinking of this earlier.

    "[Earth Manipulation]"

    A hole opened up in one of the walls. It was large enough to accommodate him, even if he''d be uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that was the least of his worries. He crawled in and sealed the wall, only leaving a tiny hole for air.

    And as the leeches swarmed the room, Malcolm passed out.

    [Mage: Level 9]

    [Skill: Earth Wall Obtained]

    [Skill: Earth Manipulation ¨C¨C> Greater Earth Manipulation]

    -----------------------------------

    Sarah was still running with Blake. A few of her classmates had split from the main group in the confusion, but they were still at least twenty. There was no time to count.

    "This way!"

    Blake abruptly turned, which made her trip.

    "Fuck! Sorry!"

    He lifted her up.

    "It''s fine! Let''s just go!"

    Adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She had never felt like this before. She wasn''t tired, she wasn''t scared, she was just... numb. After what felt like hours of running, they stopped. They didn''t hear where the monsters were anymore, which was good news. Everyone was sitting and panting. Everyone but Blake and Claus. They took the initiative. The two men had become de facto leaders of their group.

    "Listen up. We need to set up a barricade and seal this room. We don''t have shovels, but just use your hands."

    "Claus is right. They''ll probably be here any minute. We need to do thisnow."

    They got digging. As bad as the plan sounded for most students, it was their only hope. After they were done sealing the room, they''d wait as long as possible for a rescue team to arrive. With some luck, someone was already on their way! The city must have had protocols for something like this! But the student that had first used the [Message] spell was out of mana, so they were completely in the dark...

    Help was on the way. That is what everyone told themselves to stay sane. Sarah also believed it. After all, they were [Heroes], right?

    Soon enough the room was sealed. The students sat down and started relaxing and tending to wounds with the few potions they had. They could last for days in here but only thanks to one person. Sarah sat next to Blake and he grabbed her in his arms.

    "We''re going to get out of here. Just you wait."

    She nodded. Sarah was a [Hydromancer], which meant that their water supply wasn''t an issue. Most [Hydromancers] needed a water source nearby to fight, but some extremely talented individuals could create water out of thin air. She was one of them.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    [Create Water] was the first spell she had learned when she got the class at level 20. She had many more spells of course, but water magic was always her forte. The human bodies could last potentially for weeks without food, but only a few days without water. They were set for the long haul.

    The long haul? Sarah shook her head. No, help would be here in a few hours.

    It had to be.

    -----------------------------------

    How long had he been here? It could have been 2 hours but it also could have been a day. Malcolm was continuously drifting in and out of sleep, a symptom of mana exhaustion. He was getting better now though, and the noise outside his self-made man cave was gone.

    He wasn''t going to go out there though. At least not until he was sure it was safe. If he heard someone walk past the room by pure luck, he would scream for help. That was his plan. His throat was getting increasingly dry and his stomach was growling. He would have to make his move soon.

    He had better skills now, but he still was mad thatallof the events today, creating Dune and fighting leeches had not brought him to level 10. Blake was already level 20! And probably more people had reached that point now. His progress was so agonizingly slow it was astonishing. And he had been left behind by his own foolishness! The others might even be out by now! Malcolm cursed under his breath.

    He didn''t know how the system worked but he vowed to figure it out one day.

    If he ever made it out alive.

    -----------------------------------

    [Emperor] Vitelius was the only known [Emperor] to the world. He was far more important than the petty kings of Sahir, or the squabbling Drake [Lords] of southern Irasal. He was unique.

    And he was riding towards Dalos with twenty-five elite [Knights], who were all over level 30. He could see it in the distance now. He had only made his way here afterhoursof arguing with his [Advisors].Hours of time wasted!His eyes flashed with fury. Serle. He would have his head.

    Serle was the [Merchant] that owned the dungeon. It was rather poor compared to the legendary conquered dungeons in the frozen northern plains of northern Draele. Those generated as much as thousands of gold coins per month at least, and were accessible to gold rank adventurers and legendary rank. Compared to those, Serle''s measly dungeon only made him a few dozen gold coins, and the greedy man always spent it all in one place.

    This all made Vitelius think thatsomeonehad bribed him to keep the door locked to the [Heroes] and everyone else inside as soon as they all went in. He didn''t know who it was at this point, he had a lot of enemies. He suspected the Drakes, as they were the kind of scum to do such a thing, but it could also be...

    The demons. Every year they caught [Spies] and insiders for the Demons, but surely Serle wouldn''t swoop that low. He was a coward! He knew the consequences. He was probably just terrified of any monsters getting out of his dungeon.

    As he got to the entrance of the city, the [Guards] instantly recognized him and bowed. There was not a single person in this Empire that didn''t know his face. He was let through and he commanded his horse to go faster.Faster. There was no time. He made it to the dungeon.

    "Serle! Where are you, coward!"

    Everyone around the room gasped. The [Emperor] himself was here? Why? Vitelius looked around, and he only saw tired-looking [Adventurers] resting.

    No sign of the [Merchant]. He desperately wanted to go look for him but he had to save the [Heroes] first. The summoning ritual had been way too expensive in lives! If they were to die here... thewaste.No. He wouldn''t let them die.

    "I am [Emperor] Vitelius, and I order the person with the key to unlock this door."

    The people around him trembled. Vitelius had a terrifying presence when he was mad, and hewas.This was not a skill. One of the receptionists walked up and handed a key to one of the [Knights].

    "Good."

    They opened the door.

    Nothing was there.

    "Twenty of you go inside, the other five stay with me. Bring them out as soon as you find them."

    He wanted to go, but he couldn''t risk himself. He was an [Emperor] but he could also fight. He had been taught sword fighting by his father since he was six.

    "Now, where is Serle..."

    -----------------------------------

    Malcolm had decided he had enough. There were no signs of anything being outside and he needed to get out. He dug himself out of his hole and to his great relief, he was safe. The ground and the walls were covered in some sticky mucus that disgusted the [Mage], and he had an urge to throw up. He swallowed and went forward.

    His knees felt weak as he walked, but at least he had recoveredsomemana. He could feel it. Malcolm tried to find Dune''s remains but they were indistinguishable from the dungeon''s normal surface. Just rocks, dirt, and more dirt. He finally mustered up the courage to leave the room, and there were still no leeches in view. The torches lighting the corridors had been destroyed however so he sent out a [Light] spell to scan his surroundings. The [Hero] had mastered the spell, and so he did not need to call out anymore when he used it.

    No monsters to be seen. Good. Malcolm made his way through the dungeon, trying to retrace his steps. Something still gnawed at his mind, however. Why would the leeches suddenly leave? Maybe they were just on the complete opposite side of the dungeon. He still didn''t know where his classmates were. Maybe they were all dead.

    Malcolm was lost now, and he knew it. There was no way of knowing if he was walking deeper into the dungeon or towards the exit. He wished Dune was there.

    -----------------------------------

    Sarah jumped when she was told about the [Message] spell their class had just received. Help was on the way! Now she was sure. The [Hydromancer] smiled and Blake hugged her. The [Heroes] decided to take down their wall so the rescue team wouldn''t miss them. In fact, some were even suggesting going out to find them. If [Knights] were walking around the dungeon, surely it was safe again.

    It came down to a vote, and the majority voted to leave. They decided that splitting up would be a bad idea and they opted to all go. The class walked at a slow, prudent pace, but they were making good progress. Receiving a [Message] spell actually demanded very little mana, so the [Knights] were communicating with them, even if they couldn''t answer back.

    Sarah was happy now. Just a little bit more and they''d be back to the surface, and she would never go into a dungeon again! Maybe she''d level when she slept tonight. After around an hour of walking, they finally met up with their rescuers. The [Knights] were glad to see they were ok but then the [Heroes] told them about the dead. Sarah felt sick to her stomach. She was only thinking about herself and her dead classmates the whole time. She knew all of them well except for, well, Malcolm. She''d make sure to make Claus reprimand the [Emperor]! If that was even possible. Soon enough they reached the gates. The sun blinded them, and when they asked how many hours they''d been down there, they found out it was ten. Ten hours! It felt much shorter and longer at the same time to Sarah somehow. The door was locked once again for the time being, as the bodies wouldn''t be able to be recovered. They were all... eaten down to the last bit, even the bones.

    Unfortunately, they didn''t know Malcolm was still down there, wandering aimlessly. Lost. Hungry and thirsty, with only his thoughts.

    They had left him for dead.

 Chapter H - 19

    Hannah and Esme were waiting behind a well-trimmed bush. They were in the Upper Winsor District, to steal a valuable artifact from one of the city''s [Mayors]. They were briefly told about him this morning. He was a fat man in his fifties that was corrupt and never improved the lives of the poor. It awfully reminder her of home, really. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer. They were waiting for the man to leave his manor from afar. He would leave sometime soon to meet with the other [Mayors] to discuss... the rebellion. They called it a minor rebellion, but it really was a full-blown civil war in its infancy stage. They didn''t know that though.

    So they waited, and after a few minutes, they saw him rush out his door accompanied by two [Guards]. A carriage was waiting for him on the road outside his garden, and he hopped in, although with difficulty. He had to be pushed up by his men. Esme grabbed Hannah''s shoulder and nodded. They slowly worked their way around the mansion without making a sound. The plan was that they''d sneak in through a window and then find the artifact. If they got caught, Hannah would use [Charm] to get them out. Hannah thought it was simple enough.

    She still felt giddy inside from yesterday. She was a [Mage]! A real one! Although she only knew [Light]. Now she felt like casting it again, but now wasn''t the time. The girls came up to one of the hundreds of windows and peeked inside. The building was lit up by magical lights on the walls and the ceilings. A giant red carpet was on the center of the floor and the edges of the floors including under the carpet were made of carved wood. Esme whispered.

    "No [Maids] in view, we can break in."

    And then she broke the window with a rock.

    They jumped in and Hannah nearly cut herself on the broken glass, but it was looking good. The halls were quiet and the artifact was nowhere in sight.

    "Should we split up?"

    "Bad idea. We need your [Charm] skill. Let''s get moving."

    They advanced into the manor and came across multiple rooms, each more extravagant than the last. It was a culture shock for the girls, who had lived in poverty for a month. There were golden jewels, vases... these all looked so valuable. Hannah''s head suddenly snapped when she realized what Esme was doing.

    "What are you doing?!"

    "We might as well. This man won''t miss a few valuables. He probably won''t even realize they''re gone."

    "Yeah but... we didn''t come here for that."

    Esme was grabbing what she could and shoved everything into her bag. These must have been worth dozens of gold coins. Hannah reluctantly nodded and decided to do the same. After their bag was packed they began searching once more.

    "Where is this damn artifact? We''ve been here for ages!"

    "It''s only been twenty minutes. I came in expecting hours of searching."

    Hannah sighed. Where would someone keep an artifact? Probably in a vault. She started thinking about magic and what spells she could learn when they came across one of the [Maids] of the mansion sweeping the floor.

    "W-who are you?"

    "We''re just visitors, don''t mind us."

    "Right..."

    The woman''s eyes turned hazy and she kept doing her work. Esme pulled Hannah forward and whispered.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "[Charm] is quite effective, without it we''d be compromised."

    "Yeah. She''ll remember in a few minutes though so we have to hurry!"

    Esme nodded. Their walk turned into a jog and that jog turned into a sprint. The [Maid] would probably call [Guards] here and none of them felt like fighting. Door after door, they had explored the entire eastern part of the manor, and the artifact was nowhere to be seen, but the girls were fine thanks to their endurance skills. Hannah started to doubt they were ever going to find it.

    "Maybe we should just say we couldn''t find it."

    "No. This is important."

    It was important. The fear effect was. If they managed to use it against the army that would inevitably come to retake the city if it fell, they''d have a decisive advantage, even if the area of effect was on the weaker side. And they weren''t the only ones with missions like this. There were dozens of events happening all over Winsor and they were only playing a minor part in the rebellion. Still, Esme felt like this was their duty, Hannah knew that.

    "Halt! You! Surrender now and no harm will befall you."

    Two [Guards] showed up behind them. Hannah recognized them as the men who accompanied the [Mayor] to his carriage. Esme pulled out her daggers.

    "I leveled up yesterday. After training. Can you still use [Charm]?"

    Hannah nodded.

    "Leave this house. We are visitors."

    Shortly after, the [Guards] nodded and Hannah exhaled, surprising herself. She didn''t notice she was shaking. The girls ran once more.

    Hannah had to use [Charm] two more times before they found the room the artifact. They knew this was the room as soon as the passed it in a hurry and scrambled back towards it. First, they were double doors, and they were grand, adorned with gold and different patterns carved in the wood, similar to the entrance door. Second, they could feel something emanating from the door, oozing out of the door

    Fear.

    Hannah couldn''t feel her legs. She thought the artifact had to be activated for the fear effect to take place. That''s what they had been told yesterday and yet... and yet... this was it. Esme swallowed hard and put her hand on the door handles, and she pushed down.

    And the doors splintered in a thunderous crash.

    -------------------------------

    Morten waslivid. He had been livid all day in fact. At six in the morning today and ever since then, there had been reports of high ranking officials being kidnapped and killed, artifacts and equipment being stolen, stores being looted. One [Mayor] had almost been killed! It was the Mob, it had to be. But they had had... an agreement! Why now? Why now out of all times. What changed? He hoped he would find out.

    He had called for an emergency meeting between all the [Mayors] of Winsor. He already had mobilized the City Guard since this morning, and they were already neutralizingsomeof the crimes being committed. Most [Mayors] were already here, but they were waiting for one last man. The Lower District''s [Mayor], Eliott, was nowhere to be seen.

    "There is no time to waste, Captain Morten. Let us go ahead."

    "Agreed."

    The [Mayors] were already harassing him to start. They could still wait a few minutes! If Eliott was missing, it only meant one thing. He had switched sides. Morten clenched his fists.

    "Damn it! Fine. You all know why we''re here. There are massive waves of crimes going on all over the city. Multiple high ranking officials have already been kidnapped or killed. State the damage in each of your districts in detail now."

    They each stated the effects of the attacks. Atleast five thousand gold coins in damage, eleven high level [Merchants] and [Managers] killed, fifteen missing, and there was an unknown number of dead or wounded [Guards]. This was a complete disaster that would take years to pay off for a city like Winsor. They''d have to request aid from the bigger cities, or even worse, from the [Emperor]''s son himself.

    Regardless, he had to find out a way to fix this situation, and he was no [Strategist]. He wasn''t even a [Tactician] in fact. He wished he had the class right about now.

    "So, I am currently focusing on arresting all perpetrators, but we have had... varying levels of success. I believe we need to implement conscription."

    The [Mayors] looked at him aghast. One of them spoke up.

    "Conscription?! With all due respect captain, I believe you''re overreacting. This will collapse the econo-"

    "This is a full-on attack, Laurence! If we do not act now, it will be too late."

    "Please, let''s rethink this. I am sure the [Guards] will handle it. Let''s put it to a vote."

    Morten cursed internally. They didn''t know how dangerous Skull could be, and they could stop him from doing anything with these pesky votes. They were all against conscription. They thought the situation would fix itself.

    He hoped they were right

    -------------------------------

    "Esme!"

    The [Rogue] had goneflying into the wall. She was crumpled on the ground and had difficulty breathing. Hannah wanted to look inside. But someone stepped out of the room, holding an amulet in front of him. He opened his mouth.

    "No."

 Chapter H - 20

    "No."

    The man held up an amulet and it shone, instilling one thing into Hannah''s mind. Fear. She slowly stepped back as he walked towards her. She tried to charm him as she was shaking.

    "S-stop. We don''t need to fight."

    It had no effect. For the first time since she had gotten the skill, [Charm] failed. She scrambled backward as Esme slowly got up from the ground. The two girls looked at each other and instantly knew what to do.

    They ran. But before they could get anywhere close to escaping Hannah was on the ground before she even knew what happened. Pain rang through her entire body, and the [Thief]''s head was bleeding. Hannah couldn''t see straight.

    "Ugh..."

    Esme had stopped running now, and she started getting ready for a fight. Now Hannah started to realize how useless she actually was in battle. Her only spell was [Light] and the [Thief] class didn''t have battle oriented skills. Esme would have to do it all. The girl only now got her first look at her assailant. He was not wearing armor, but somehow, his skin looked tough. He had dark shoulder-length brown hair.

    He never spoke a word. The man just fixed his gaze on the two [Thieves]. He looked indifferent; like he didn''t care. He was indifferent to them, and in his hands, he held what they had come for.

    The artifact.

    -------------------------------

    A thousand thoughts ran through Esme''s head in what seemed to be a few seconds. Running was impossible but could they fight? If so how? Hannah didn''t have any offensive skills and her [Charm] had failed.

    Her ribs feltwrong. Were they broken? The [Rogue] had never broken any bones before, even as a kid. Fortunately, though they had brought a few potions, all she had to do was drink the bottle and her wounds and broken bones healed. It had always fascinated her, from the first day she saw one. How did they work? Could she bring them back to Earth when she got back? So many questions, and so little time to answer.

    Esme was ready to fight. She was only a level 4 [Rogue], but she had some tricks up her sleeves that she had been taught yesterday by Kayden. First, she had a new passive skill called [Dodge Sense], which, as the name implied gave her a greater chance of dodging blows. Second, [Lesser Dagger Proficiency] already had turned into [Dagger Proficiency], which was apparently rare.

    She stood still, ready for anything. Posture? Check. Potions ready? Check. Her enemy had no weapons, but he was taller and had longer arms than she had, which meant he had the range advantage. Her strikes would have to be quick, either at the back of his legs, underneath his arms or... his throat.

    She breathed in. Only five seconds had passed since she drank the potion.

    The [Rogue] surprised the man and went on the offensive, daggers firmly in her hands. She lunged out one of her arms and reached for his leg, but he was quicker and pulled back so she ended up striking nothing. Esme couldn''t stop the momentum and the man struck her in the face and sheflew.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "D-damn it..."

    She needed to try harder. For Hannah. The [Rogue] got up and downed another potion and she dashed forward. Her enemy was ready for her now, and he was almost smiling. He held up the artifact and Esme felt sick with fear. She stopped dead in her tracks, her legs were shaking, she had to run!

    "Snap out of it!"

    She slapped herself and looked at Hannah and the new [Mage] looked terrified. She had to do something.Anything.

    By pure chance, Esme looked at her potion belt and figured out a plan. The artifact had little effect now, so the assailant got impatient and ran at her. She only had a few seconds, but she waited until he got close enough and then she threw one of her daggers at his face, and he avoided it, but that was okay. Esme grabbed a potion and threw it as hard as she could, and it hit.

    The small vial broke on impact, and glass shards penetrated his skin. He howled in pain, but he was being healed at the same time, which caused the shards to get stuck on his face and neck. It was now or never.

    One dagger in hand, she ran towards him once more. He had underestimated her and he would pay for it. His eyes were still closed, and he was clawing at his face. Good. She had activated [Quiet Step] so he wouldn''t suspect her of being right next to him. She couldn''t hesitate, she had to do it. The [Rogue] stabbed him in the throat.

    Potions were good, but these low tiered ones weren''t good enough to heal a slit throat. Their enemy''s face flashed first with pain, then with anger, and then with fear. Fear of dying. Esme just watched him while silently sobbing, while he died of blood loss.

    "E-Esme."

    Hannah finally called out. Esme''s face was full of tears, snot, and blood. Some of it was hers, some of it wasn''t. She had killed someone. She was a criminal. A murderer. The moment the steel blade touched the man''s skin, she regretted her decision. The [Rogue] felt like throwing up. Her hands were painted red. She couldn''t breathe, she felt like she was suffocating, like she¨C

    "Esme!"

    Hannah was closer now. She smiled sadly at her, and Esme tried to reciprocate, but she just couldn''t.

    "Thank you for saving me. I-I''m sorry I was useless."

    "I killed someone."

    "You did. You did kill him."

    "I''m a monster."

    "He was going to do the same to us."

    "Still. I could have tried something else. Knocked him out."

    "This isn''t a movie, Esme. You did your best to save us and you succeeded. You stopped running for me. Without you, I''d be dead."

    Esme tried to think Hannah was right, but she wasn''t the one with the blood on her hands, figuratively and literally. She didn''t know how itfelt to stab someone. unfortunately, Esme heard something behind her.

    "It''s them! Send a [Message]! They killed our adventurer!"

    [Guards]. Seven of them. The girls needed to run.

    "Take the artifact, we need to go!"

    They had come here for the artifact, and they had succeeded, and so they left while being closely followed by seven [Guards] for thirty minutes.

    -------------------------------

    The girls were back at headquarters now, and they were walking towards the school to meet Gregory, who had given them this job in the first place. Of course, they wouldn''t tell them that their bags were stuffed with gold and jewels, but Hannah felt like he deserved not to know for giving them this shitty job. Gregory smiled as he saw them approach, artifact in hand.

    "Hey! You did it. Good job."

    "Hey Gregory."

    Esme said nothing, and shoved the artifact in his hands then stomped away back to their home.

    "Oh. Something bad happen in there?"

    "Yeah. Someone tried to stop us... I overheard the [Guards] say it was an adventurer. She killed him."

    "Oh."

    "Yeah."

    Gregory didn''t pry too much. Hannah was thankful, but she felt like there wasn''t much else to be said, really. She started leaving but he called out.

    "First time is always the hardest."

    "What?"

    "Tell her that."

    "I don''t feel like that would help. See you."

    When Hannah got back to her room, Esme was already sleeping. The [Thief] smiled and laid down on her bed as well. They would get through this. Each hurdle only made them stronger.

    She wished she had a spellbook though.

    [Thief: Level 10]

    [Skill - Sense Threat Obtained]

 Interlude

    "... we must announce another disappearance¨C this time a twelve-year-old child named John Ronald. That is the 67th of these mysterious disappearances that have been plaguing not only Canada, but the entire world. And only in one month! What do you think is the answer behind this issue mister Reed?"

    "Well, Miss Xi, I must say the internet has many crazy theories. There are many many theories out there. From Aliens to North Korea to the world governments themselves. Don''t believe all you read online because¨C"

    "Please mister Reed, I''d like to stay on track."

    "Pardon me. Yes, I believe that this is simply just a coincidence. You know these days, social media will jump on any bad news and make it seem like it''s the end of the world. Honestly, if it were me, I''d leave twitter right about now because the conspiracies are everywhere¨C"

    Nadia Walker turned off her television and sighed. She was an older woman that was in her late fifties now. She felt tears well up in her eyes when she thought about her daughter.

    Hannah.

    She missed her so much. She was her baby girl. But she was gone. And yet when she reported that she was missing more than one month ago now, the police had told her that there was nothing to be done. She was last seen going up the elevator in her apartment and the cameras inside of it weren''t working, so there was no way of knowing what happened to her.

    "Where are you... Fuck."

    This had caused a rift in her relationship with her husband. Nadia had spent almost all of their savings hiring private detectives, psychics, anything to find Hannah. None of them had wielded results. Not yet at least. The woman took her iPhone and opened up twitter. #2020Kidnappings was trending now, and it had been for a few days since the media picked it up. Hell, it had even revived the newspaper industry in her small town. She looked at the official disappearance count. It was... four thousand already. Most of them were concentrated in North America, but almost all countries had seen at least one of them.

    She turned off her phone. It was time to sleep now. Maybe tomorrow there would be some news. Maybe Hannah would be found. She prayed to God as hard as she could, like she had been doing every day since Hannah went missing. If there was a God, he probably thought she was a hypocrite for only praying when her world collapsed around her.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    -------------------------------

    All over the world, events like these were happening. Hannah was not the only one. She was not unique, and neither were Esme and Malcolm. Thousands of new arrivals. Thousands of souls transported in this unfamiliar environment and more arriving each day.

    -------------------------------

    A young woman was sitting on a plane, with around fifty other people. She was happy because she was finally flying in first class, and she was watching Black Panther on the little screen they gave you with her headphones. It distracted her at least, as she couldn''t sleep on a plane. She always wondered how anyone did that.

    "The real question is, what are those?!"

    She cringed. That was a dead meme. She paused the movie and looked up to see if she was allowed to unfasten her seatbelt. She needed to go to the bathroom really bad. It was off. She whispered to herself.

    "Thank God."

    As she got up however, the world shifted and she found herself with the passengers in a city full of... were those dragons?

    A lot of screaming ensued.

    -------------------------------

    A man was currently running out of his university business class. He didn''t want to miss his bus, even if it was raining and he was completely drenched. He saw the bus slowly arriving at his stop, but he was still at leastthirty seconds away. He hoped there would be a red light so he could make it. Almost there... almost...

    He face-planted into the ground, but instead of the hard sidewalk, he fell in soft sand. It was hot. Extremely hot. Where was he...?

    "Enemy [Spy] in the camp!"

    He looked around him and he saw huge cow men approaching him, swords in hand. He panicked. Were those minotaurs?! Those didn''t exist! He was tripping, he had to be! But he was surrounded, and so he had no choice. He pulled up both his hands.

    "Wait! I''m¨C"

    -------------------------------

    Another young man was carelessly riding his bike through the hot streets of Palodhi in India. Even in winter, it was hot. He wished he could see snow. He wished his family wasn''t poor. But now wasn''t the time to think about that. He was going to have fun with a few friends today. They had all saved and bought movie tickets to see something tonight, and so he was carefree.

    He didn''t see when the truck approached him at speeds that should have been above the speed limit. The truck honked at him but it was too late. He wasn''t fast enough, he was¨C

    Not on the road anymore. He was on a mountain, and it was snowing.

    -------------------------------

    Many more innocent souls over the world were taken. No one knew, on Earth or in this new one. Thousands of them. Many would die on their first few days, killed by a monster, or dying of dehydration, starvation or poisoning. Some of them had cancer, were diabetic, or needed medication regularly to live. The selection was random and ruthless. It didn''t spare anyone.

    Hannah was sleeping, ignorant of this situation. There might have been someone from Earth in a city close to hers. There was no way to know. She thought Esme was the only one she had. Her last memory from home along with a few belongings in a bag, but this was much bigger than the two of them. Slowly, the world was changing. Both worlds.

    And this was just the beginning.

 Chapter H - 21

    The next day, Hannah and Edali went to the surface. Esme still refused to get out of her bed, so they were on their own. They were currently walking towards Upper Winsor, because they were close to securing that part of the walls. Winsor was a large city, so it would take weeks to take it over. If they took it over. Guerilla warfare, harassment tactics... everything went in the rebellion.

    She could see burning buildings in the distance, but this part of the city was unusually calm. The city guard had abandoned it, as they were been hell-bent on defending the Main District from any kind of takeover, but this district was relatively undefended. Being a [Guard] wasn''t really a popular job and there weren''t enough guards to defend the whole city at once. Skull had predicted that the army would come to reinforce the city if this wasn''t solved in a few days. The [Emperor]''s son¨C[Prince] Jonas, was in charge of Draele''s affairs in Irasal, and his rule was ruthless. That was expected from someone raised by the Emperor himself. You didn''t rule a continent and a half by solving protests peacefully. You crushed them. You killed them until no one was left.

    But Hannah wasn''t thinking about that right now. She wanted to learn more magic¨C well, more spells. She had been useless in the fight yesterday. She wanted to learn a big powerful one, like [Ultimate Fireball]! Was there an [Ultimate Fireball] spell? She chuckled to herself and turned to Edali.

    "Hey. Edali."

    "Hm?"

    "I want a spellbook."

    "What?"

    "I want a spellbook."

    Edali answered with a slight smirk.

    "We don''t have any of those. What for? Aren''t you enjoying your [Light] spell?"

    "No... wait, stop joking around! I felt useless yesterday."

    "Right. I know something big happened but you won''t tell me, or anyone, in fact."

    "It''s... personal."

    "I get the gist of it. Your first battle?"

    Hannah nodded sadly. She still hadn''t told anyone about their fight with the adventurer because... well Esme had killed him. Only Gregory knew what happened, but no one else. Hannah tried to cheer herself up.

    "Well, regardless of what happened, I need new spells, and quickly, because otherwise, I''m just a useless [Thief]."

    "Eh, [Thieves] are underestimated in war. Sending one to steal an artifact that would decisively win a battle a few days before that said battle? You have a panicking [General] which makes his [Soldiers] panic in turn. I''ve heard stories, you know."

    That cheered her up a little. Hannah liked Edali. She was a teacher of some sort. A guide? Maybe a mentor was more accurate. She kept going.

    "Still, we have no spellbooks. They''re a rare thing. Not anyone can become a [Mage] by just learning [Light] as you did. It has to choose you."

    "''It''? Who''s it?"

    "The system."

    "Oh. Of course."

    Hannah felt dumb. She still didn''t know how the system worked, or who ran it. She wasn''t religious before coming here, but the existence of levels and another world that defied the laws of physics daily with magic and skills? Someone must have been up there to make it. Or maybe they still existed.

    "Hey. Who made the system?"

    "The Gods? Who else?"

    "Of course. I was... just making sure."

    Edali exhaled suspiciously, and looked at the young [Mage] directly.

    "Oh? You can''t fool me, I know something''s up with you."

    Hannah''s inside dropped. Did she know?

    "What do you mean?"

    "Well, first, you don''t know anything about levels and the system, second, you''re not willing to tell anyone where you''re from¨C not even which continent. Third, my brother found weird artifacts in your bag."

    "What!?He went to take our stuff? Is it still there? He better not have stolen¨C"Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "Relax, relax. He put it back after I told him to. He showed it to me briefly. Lights up when you press a button on the side? Is it a light artifact? What else can you do with it? Why couldn''t I detect any magic from it? Hey! Why are you speeding up?!"

    Hannah needed some space. That was the thing she had learned about Edali. Once she got interested in something, she''d barrage you with questions. The [Mage] couldn''t believe that Kayden stole stuff from her bag! She was the [Thief]! She stole things, not the opposite! He''d hear all about it when she got back!

    "Slow down."

    She looked back at Edali, who looked annoyed and sorry at the same time.

    "I''m sorry. If you don''t want to tell me about it, I''ll respect that."

    "Thank y¨C"

    "But youhaveto tell me one day though! How about when we win the city? As a celebration?"

    "N¨C well, I''ll talk to Esme about it. Anyways! We were talking about the system. And spells and stuff."

    "Right."

    "Hypothetically, and I really mean hypothetically. If someone knew nothing about levels or the system, what would you tell them? I mean, how would you explain it?"

    "Wow. You don''t know anything do you?"

    "I said hypothetically!"

    "Fine. Well, I''d tell them that when the Gods created this world, they also created the system to guide beings. To shape them throughout their lives. They used to walk among us you know? Tens¨C no hundreds of thousands of years ago. Each God created a race in their image. Our God created us, the Humans. But one day they just¨C they vanished. And they''ve never been seen or heard since. According to the church anyways. I''m not that religious."

    Hannah listened to each sentence and analyzed it. She found two things wrong with this explanation. One, this implied that this planet was only hundreds of thousands of years old, when Earth was... was it four billion years old? Second, where were the churches? Ever since she had come to this world she had seen zero mentions about religion. Nothing. Not once.

    "So, do you guys have churches for the Gods then?"

    "Of course not! That''s banned in the Empire, we have our own religion. Of course, I don''t believe in it but¨C hey, by the way, what I told you just now is technically illegal, so don''t go around repeating it if you ever go back to a normal life."

    "Ok. But what''s this new religion then?"

    "Draele''s religion is Unicism. They worship the system itself. You know that voice you hear when you level up and gain new skills? They think that''s God. They say that there''s only one God and those who worship multiple are uncivilized."

    Hannah nodded. That made sense. In her world countries banned religions all the time in the middle ages, although this world was quite more advanced than the middle ages.

    "So why are there no churches here then?"

    "There aren''t many churches. There were many before we invaded this continent. I guess they were destroyed. Churches that follow our religion have to be approved by the [Emperor] to be built. It''s a reallybigdeal. And they''rehuge. Not as big as our magical academies though!"

    That was a small jab at Hannah. She wanted to go to a magic school like Draemary so badly, but instead, she was stuck here! But they were almost at their destination, which meant things were going to get busy quite soon.

    "Listen, we''re almost here, so I''ll tell you more later. Don''t forget, first you use [Charm] and then¨C"

    "I got it the first ten times. Go ahead."

    "Alright."

    Hannah strode forward and turned around a corner. There, she saw one of the rare patrols to keep the Mob out of Winsor''s walls. They were three and these men weren''t wearing the traditional [Guard] uniform and armor, however. They were wearing light leather armor and they all had bows. Hannah ducked behind a box.

    "... that this job is shit. We should just get out already. We''re wasting precious time when we could be leveling up and getting rich off a dungeon."

    "You know the drill, William. We have to help the city in times of crisis. It''s the law."

    "Yeah. Sure. As if this is a real danger to the city. Bring me to the captain of the city guard and I''ll tell him to piss off."

    "Shut up. If we break the law here, we can''t do any more jobs inany city. Unless you want to go work for theLizardsWill?"

    "Bah! Stupid laws! Back in my grandfather''s day, they were more lax! Adventurers could do whatever they wanted! And our relationship with theDrakes¨C not Lizards, was ten times better! He says we cooperated and traded!"

    "Well, they gave up that right after starting the war. I lost my wife because of them, they¨C well you know the story..."

    Hannah looked up once more. They were walking away from her, so she could move towards the walls. They had to take it today, according to Skull. She was just glad she avoided most of the war. They had suffered hundreds of deaths in a few days already. Fighting on Main Street was tough. She snuck around the alleys before she was one street away from the walls, and then she finally saw her target.

    Dozens of adventurers and [Guards] were guarding the entrance of the city. Hannah had heard that leaving or coming in was effectively banned unless you were important. Her job was simply to [Charm] them into leaving. There was a problem though.

    She wasn''t sure if it could work on all these people.

    They had tested it this morning, and Hannah succeeded in charming twenty people at once, but these were [Guards]. Maybe one of them had a [Charm] resistance skill or something. And the number of people here clearly surpassed all expectations. Edali told her it would only be fifteen to thirty people! There were at least one hundred people here.

    She turned to her mentor. Edali was supposed to take out their charmed enemies. She didn''t have any spell with enough power to take out one hundred people at once. Hannah wasn''t so sure about this plan anymore. It wasn''t safe. They had to go back and try again later.

    Edali shook her head, like she knew what Hannah was thinking. Skull had told them to do it today, so it would be today. The Mob couldn''t spare any more manpower for this. They had to do it on their own. Edali whispered to her.

    "Well I''m no [Gambler], but I''d say we need to at least try this."

    "It''s suicide."

    "Maybe. Use it."

    Hannah sighed. She got up and faced the [Guards].

    "You! H¨C"

    "Stop. Leave the walls. Go this way and stand."

    The [Guards] and the adventurers frowned. She prepared for the worst and winced.

    And they all left.

    Hannah collapsed on the ground. She heard each of them get ''taken out'' by Edali. Each one of them dropping on the ground after getting their skull pierced with a high-pressure water stream. Each and every one of them.

    She passed out.

 Chapter E - 22

    When Hannah woke up, Edali was quietly sitting next to her. The men were gone¨C or rather, they were replaced by new ones. Allies from the Mob. They were on the walls, chatting, laughing together. Some were just looking on the horizon, fearful of seeing an army approaching. Hannah wondered when they''d come, and if they did, how many? What was the size of an army in medieval times? Fifty thousand? One hundred thousand? Surely not. She wished she had looked this all up online before coming here, but her train of thought was interrupted by Edali.

    "Hey. Finally awake?"

    "What? Oh, sorry. How long was I out? No, wait. Why was I knocked out?"

    "Looks like your skill used up a lot of energy. Guess there''s a limit to how many you can charm at a time. Oh and by the way, it didn''t last that long. Barely two minutes. But that was enough for me to kill most of them. I got stabbed though."

    Hannah was about to panic but her mentor showed her an empty healing potion vial. The [Mage] exhaled a sigh of relief and got up on her feet. She stumbled a little and she had to lean on Edali for support.

    "So what''s the plan now?"

    "Well, think! Why would Skull want access to an exit?"

    "To escape? In case of an emergency when the army comes?"

    "No! Why would we escape when the safest place we can be during a siege is in the city. That''s the basics of warfare. It''s to send [Scouts] to track them down. Then we can estimate the time we have left to take the city and dig in."

    Hannah nodded. That made sense. Right now they were totally in the dark, and reinforcements could be two hours away or one month away. They had to know. Hannah was curious about who would go.

    "So who''s going?"

    "Well, that''s above me. Skull will pick."

    Hannah wanted to go on top of the walls and look at the landscape, but Edali refused so they went back to get some rest. When Hannah got back to her room, to her pleasant surprise Esme was nowhere to be seen. She spoke to herself.

    "She''s probably just wandering around..."

    Hannah was a little worried, but she decided to not panic and wait instead.

    -------------------------------

    Esme was... well, depressed. She had spent the last twenty-four hours crying on her bed until she ran out of tears and she just laid there silently. She had been pulled from her room by Kayden, her [Rogue] teacher. She hated him.

    "Where are you taking me?"

    "Relax, I''m just taking you to Greg. Skull''s orders."

    "Can''t you just tell me?"

    "I don''t even know! Skull keeps a lot of things private. Greg knows the most out of all of us¨C hey don''t glare at me like that!"

    "Hmph."

    She was uneasy. She had been ever since Hannah left to do... whatever she was doing. Esme didn''t know, and she didn''t like it. Killing the adventurer had made her level up twice in her [Rogue] class, and getting out with the [Mayor]''s belongings leveled her up once in the [Thief] class. She didn''t mind it, it was just that she felt like the system was actively rewarding her for murder and encouraged her to domoreof it. It was sickening.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "Gregory."

    "Hey, kid."

    Before she knew it, they made it to Gregory. The bald burly man was sitting on a table and he had around twenty men with him. It seemed like he was never alone on the surface. He always had his goons.

    "Whatever. I brought you, Esme. What''s going happen now?"

    "Skull''s got a special job for us."

    The [Rogue] decided to stay quiet and let Gregory explain.

    "We took the northern exit two hours ago. Hannah and Edali did."

    Kayden gasped and so did Esme. The last news they''d heard was that they were in a bloody stalemate on Main Street and that they were slowly conquering Upper Winsor. This was fantastic news. Kayden cheered.

    "Ha! I told you the city guard was incompetent! Bunch of useless fools¨C"

    Gregory lifted up a hand and frowned. The [Rogue] understood now that there was more to come.

    "Listen up. Skull''s gonna send a scouting party to the east. The army should be coming from New Draele. That''s about seventeen days away. Maybe twelve to fourteen with a good [General]. Could even be ten if they march at a good pace. I want you two in the group."

    Esme''s jaw dropped. There was no way she was going to get herself killed out there!

    "What the hell! I amnotgoing out there to meet an army that could have tens of thousands of [Soldiers]! You might as well call me dead! Kayden, tell him!"

    To her surprise, however, Kayden was smirking. Her teacher nodded.

    "Fine. It should be doable. You want me to lead right?"

    "What else could I ask from you? You''re our best [Scout]."

    "Hold on, you''re a [Scout]? Both a [Scout] and a [Rogue]?"

    "Yeah. When are we leaving?"

    "Two hours ideally. Gather supplies to last you a week and a few days, gather a crew and take some horses we managed to capture earlier. Good luck."

    Kayden nodded, and Gregory left. Esme was left aghast. She needed to find Hannah! If she had to go, she needed to tell her at least. It would be dangerous, and the [Rogue] didn''t want the last thing they''d done together to be stealing an artifact and killing an adventurer.

    "Hey. Where are you going?"

    "I''ll meet you at the gates! I won''t be late!"

    "Wai¨C no! Come back here!"

    Kayden was going to chase her, but for some reason, he did not. Esme was thankful. Maybe he wasn''t so bad.

    It was at moment like these she wished she had learned a movement enhancement skill. Kayden had shown her his, and she had instantly become jealous. It was so... efficient! So useful! All she had movement-wise was [Dodge Chance], and that was a passive skill. Hell, It didn''t even work during her fight. She had [Lesser Endurence] as well, if you counted that as a movement skill. Even Kayden had been impressed to learn that she had it. It was apparently a pretty weird skill for a [Thief] to learn, and it usually was given to [Warrios] or [Soldiers].

    She ran on, feeling the wind in her dark brown hair, looking around every corner she passed through. Soon, there was no more wind, and she was underground. Where could Hannah be? Gregory said they had taken the walls, but she wasn''t anywhere close to it. She went to the school, to the food distribution line. Hannah was nowhere. But in her rush, Esme had forgotten the most obvious place to look. Their home.

    She opened violently opened the door and saw Hannah practicing her magic by playing around with her [Light] spell. Hannah jumped and the spell quickly went out. Esme sighed, but she was smiling. They had only been apart for a little more than two days, but she missed her. It was like she hadn''t seen her in years.

    "Esme! There you are! I was worried about you!"

    Esme just smiled. She smiled so much her mouth hurt.

    "Why aren''t you saying anything? Something on my face?"

    Hannah got up and got closer to her. The feeling of relief and happiness was slowly washing away when she remembered her task. Her mission.

    "Hannah. I missed you."

    "Uh, me too!"

    Esme hugged Hannah, which surprised her once more. She felt emboldened. She felt like she had to do itnow.It was now or never.

    "Hannah, I¨C"

    She paused. This was far awkward for her liking. She just had to say it!

    "I''m being sent outside for a week or so. In a scouting party"

    "What!? No! There is no way you are going out¨C"

    "I''ve made up my mind. I''m going. I thought I had enough guts for this, but it turns out I don''t. If I don''t leave now I''ll be late. See you."

    "Esme, wait!"

    She had failed to tell her what she wanted. Esme felt humiliated. The [Rogue] left in a hurry, leaving Hannah behind.

 Goblin Side Story - 23

    Bearpaw and his tribe had now reached the coast. They had been traveling for a week now and it had been uneventful, apart from the fact that one, his [Shaman] Rafa was now almost done becoming a Hobgoblin. Two, he had leveled up in his [Chieftain] class again two days ago, but he had gained no new skills. His tribe made good progress with [Rapid March]. It was an incredible asset to have on a large continent like Irasal, although the Goblins didn''t have names for continents.

    "Ocean! Ocean!"

    The younger Goblins in his small tribe looked very happy. It was the first time seeing the ocean for many here. A few Goblins went to take a dip in the waters of northern Irasal, but they were instantly turned off the thought after one of them almost drowned after being swept by a wave. Some even tried drinking the water, not knowing that it was in fact, salty. However, they were smiling.

    Even Bearpaw smiled. Goblins usually didn''t have fun. There was no time for fun when you were being hunted by a Giant Bear and adventurers considered you as just another step towards glory. The activity was short-lived however, as the [Chieftain] yelled at his tribe. They had to go.

    East. Goblins wouldn''t do well here. There was no forest and no hills. It was all flatlands, and Bearpaw had never heard of Goblins doing well at sea. None of the Goblins knew why their [Chieftain] wanted to go east. In fact, he didn''t really know either, but it was either that or the south.

    To his north was¨C well, the ocean, and to his knowledge, no Goblin had ever built these wooden structures the Humans made to float on water. And to the west was the largest mountain range on the continent that the ''civilized'' races called mount Varlen, or just Varlen for short. He decided east because he had just come from the south. He and his tribe could walk along the coast and send a few dozen Goblins to hunt every day. Bearpaw''s problem, however, was that he had heard of the cities along the coast. The cities of death and pain. The cities that killed them.

    He had not seen or sensed another tribe in this entire journey. Bearpaw was worried that all of Goblins had been wiped out. The Humans were never kind, and they had been hunted for thousands of years.

    "[Rapid March]"

    His tribe groaned. Even if his skill made them go faster overall, they used more energy to move. That is something Bearpaw had learned. But he had to push them. To make them level. They were all still too weak, and he itched for a fight.

    He got his fight a few hours later when he came across a team of four adventurers. They were hunting blue looking slimes. Bearpaw had seen slimes before, but only green ones. He was confused, but he snapped back to reality when he heard the Humans scream. They were probably a new team if they were killing low-risk monsters like slimes, and they had probably never seen a Hob in their life. Indeed, in this day and age, finding a Hobgoblin was harder than finding a needle in a haystack, and the number of Goblins was dwindling in general¨C or at least on this part of Irasal. However, once they were mighty. He knew the stories. Everyone did. They were passed on from generation to generation. From one tribe to the next. Once, Hobs were as common as grains of sand on a beach. Once.

    Not anymore. The four adventurers were running now, but Bearpaw wouldn''t let them. He couldn''t. The [Chieftain] bellowed.

    "Rafa!"

    "Yes, [Chieftain]!"

    Multiple balls of fire¨C not to be confused with the actual spell [Fireball], flew towards the fleeing adventurers. The panicked Humans didn''t look back when they ran, and they were all suddenly hit by fire on their back. All of them collapsed.

    All except one. She kept running for her life. Rafa kept firing more spells, but she was too far now. Bearpaw cursed. This would endanger the tribe greatly.

    The other Goblins stopped cheering when they saw the look on his face. They were confused. Wasn''t killing the Humans and making them run good? It showed the might of their [Chieftain] and their tribe!

    "Not good."

    "Sorry, [Chieftain]. New body. Aim not so good."

    Bearpaw nodded. He understood how awkward moving around or fighting after your growth spurt could be. He explained his problem to his tribe.

    "Last Human run. Not good. Will tell others."

    The truth dawned upon them. Low-level adventurers meant that there was a city nearby and a city... being close to a Human city meant death for a Goblin. A painful, cornered death.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    He couldn''t stay here. They had to go inland now as fast as possible. No city would let a tribe with two Hobgoblins roam free. They would hunt them down on their horses and kill them until no one was left.

    And so they marched inland. Inland towards safety. Towards a new home.

    Towards an army.

    -------------------------------

    Towards the south, an army was marching as fast as they could. Straight towards Winsor. Along with them rode their [General], or more precisely their [Lord General]. He was a lord of Draele, as his class indicated, and his name was Maximilian Largus, or Max for short, but only his wife called him that way. To his army, he was just [Lord General] Largus, and the Lord part was important. He was the pride of the house of Largus, one of the largest in Draele, and he had been hand-picked by [Prince] Jonas, the eldest son of [Emperor] Vitelius himself. This was a job he could not fail.

    He could not fail. He kept telling himself that on the march. Wiping this petty rebellion would earn him the respect of the second most important man in the Empire.

    His force numbered twenty thousand men, which would be more than enough. They were all [Soldiers] of course, and not petty [Warriors]. These men were disciplined. They were his elite force, right out of New Draele, along with a few thousand new recruits. These new recruits always lagged behind, which irritated him.

    "Hurry up men! Winsor calls for aid, and we must reach the city before it falls!"

    His men groaned. Of course, he could wipe out their fatigue with one of his skills, but he was waiting for the right moment to use it. It took around three days before he could use it again.

    The sky was darkening, not because night was falling, but because it would rain soon. The [Weather Mages] had told him so before he left. The rain made the spring ground muddy and hard to move in, which is why he needed to cover as much ground as possible before it started.

    "[Lord General] Maximillian."

    "[Lord] Phillip. What is it this time."

    Phillip Hauser was the second Lord on this mission. Maximillian had not thought or seen him in the past four hours, which had pleased him greatly.

    "Our men are tired. Let them rest for the day. We''ve been marching since dawn and¨C"

    "Mymen are fine. We must get to Winsor, lest you desire a siege."

    "It will not get to that point. The city will not fall, the city guard is¨C"

    "Incompetent. Have you seen the reports? They let this... thisgangfester for years, [Lord] Phillip.Years![Prince] Jonas will have his head."

    "I do not think so. The [Message] spells we have gotten are all of positive nature. If we exhaust the men they will not be at their full potential when we arrive!"

    "Those [Messages] are lies, [Lord] Phillip. Petty lies! If we do not reach the city within a week, it will fall. Mark my words."

    "I assure you..."

    That was the nature of their relationship. They had spent the entire time bickering out of New Draele bickering. Each time one did something, the other opposed it, not out of good judgment, but out of spite and rivalry.

    Both Maximillian Largus and Phillip Hauser had gone to the best military training school in New Draele, and during their stay there, they had been bitter rivals. From teenagehood to adulthood they competed, until their graduation. The [Prince] did not care, and they could not refuse his orders. That would be like refusing the orders of the [Emperor] himself.

    During their reunion, however, Phillip had found out that Maximillian''s classes merged, and his did not. This generally meant that the System was acknowledging the former as the better [General]. Having two classes merge was better than having them stay separate. This was all common knowledge.

    He felt the first raindrops now, and he ordered one of his [Mage] units to cast a [Magic Veil] spell on him, which protected him from the water. He saw Phillip do the same.

    [Lord General] Largus looked back at his men from his horse. They were all in heavy armor, and now that he looked closer, they did look tired. He knew deep inside that Phillip was right. The men needed the rest. He lifted his hand up.

    "Hold. We will take a two-hour break here. Bring out the tents."

    And so they did, and Phillip looked at him sympathetically. After around twenty minutes, they were set up, and the twenty thousand men could finally rest, even if most of them were drenched.

    Their rest was short-lived however, as Maximillian Largus heard multiple screams from the edges of the camp.

    "Goblins! Goblins to our west!"

    -------------------------------

    Bearpaw was panicking. In front of him was... thousands of Humans. An army! Why were they here? Had they heard about them? No. They had been discreet up until now, and not enough time had passed. This spelled disaster for the tribe. He saw the Human [Soldiers] take arm.

    "Run. We run!"

    They had no choice. Going up against a force this large was suicide and not even he could make it out alive. And so they ran.

    But the Humans on their horses were faster. He tried to activate [Rapid March] but it had a limit. He could only use it once per day. He had been foolish to use it so freely. The riders were almost at the edge of his tribe''s rear now. They could not escape.

    His goblins started getting cut down. They had no chance. They were too small compared to men on horses. Could he buy them time by himself? Maybe with Rafa? He had notimeto think. Every second spent thinking was another five dead Goblins. He turned and roared.

    Some Humans kept going. Most froze. That was how you could tell who had seen a Hobgoblin in their lives. He still had his sword he stole from one of the adventurers back in his forest. He was a [Chieftain], but he was also a [Warrior]. He had no choice. He would protect them.

    His name was Bearpaw, the [Chieftain] of the Deepwoods tribe.

    And he would die to defend it.

    -------------------------------

    A few miles away, a [Scout] rode back to his party, to report back what he had seen.

    "Did you find anything?"

    "I found ''em."

    Esme saw Kayden frown. He kept going.

    "I found ''em, but... they''re fighting monsters."

    One of the [Scouts] interjected.

    "Oh. What kind? Did they see you? And did you see how many there were so we can go back already? I don''t want to be anywhere near this army."

    "A Goblin tribe. They didn''t see me. I stayed far and I used my skill. I couldn''t approximate well though, I don''t have a skill for that."

    "Well, I do. Lead the way."

    And so they rode.

 Goblin Side Story - 24

    Esme was riding as fast as she could on her horse. She was following Kayden towards the supposed army that was on their way to Winsor. The [Thief] was, unfortunately, struggling to keep up. She almost fell off multiple times in the last ten minutes, that was how fast they were going. But that wasn''t the only reason. Esme had, of course, never ridden a horse in her entire life! No one back on Earth rode horses, or at least not in large metropolitan cities.

    "Damn horse..."

    She hated the horse, but Esme also disliked most animals. She had been attacked multiple times by dogs or seagulls as a young girl, and plus, she was allergic do dog and cat fur. But horses were now the fastest method of transportation in this world, or at least the fastest one that she knew of. She wondered about flying spells and their speed, or teleportation spells. What level did you have to be to perform such a feat? The [Thief] had seen Edali fly a few times, but she could not do it for long. It mattered little to Esme however. She was not a [Mage].

    She was a [Rogue] of course, although a young inexperienced one. Kayden had been teaching her the ropes and she was apparently leveling incredibly fast, and so was Hannah. Esme did not know why, and nobody did. Well, she had an inkling of why, but it didn''t make sense.

    Esme did not have time to think about it, however, as her mentor suddenly stopped and she almost crashed her horse into his, but luckily the beast had stopped first. And there she saw them.

    Thousands upon thousands of men, filling the prairie below her. Esme had never seen such a large army before. In fact she had never seen an army period. It disturbed her. But they weren''t alone. They were killing... people?

    Esme squinted. Now that she looked closer she noticed that these were the Goblins the other [Scout] had talked about. It was her first time seeing them, but they were just like in the movies and games. From afar, she could tell they were all around four feet tall, but of course some were taller or smaller than the norm. And two were... huge. They were at least... no they were seven feet tall, and the one with the sword was taller still. He was charging into the cavalry, killing both [Soldiers] and horses alike. The other huge Goblin was using magic, throwing fireballs at her enemies, burning them to a crisp. Esme winced. She was still far, far enough to not be seen, but she could still hear the screams of men burning alive.

    But she also heard the Goblins do the same. It was surreal like she was in a dream. She heard the [Scouts] muttering around her but she could not take her eyes off the battle. It was so one sided and yet the Goblins fought. Their corpses littered the ground, fighters and children alike. Their screams filling the air. Their pain so familiar.

    "Esme."

    "W-what? Oh."

    Kayden was looking at her strangely.

    "You okay? You look... stressed out?"

    "Shouldn''t we help them? The Goblins."

    "What? They''re just Gobs. Pests. We''re done here, let''s go."

    "I thought you had to count?"

    "Ricky used his skill. [Efficient Headcount] right? It''s a nice one for a [Scout]. There''s twenty thousand and five hundred of them down there and I don''t want to stay any longer than I have to."

    "Oh. Alright, bu¨C"

    "It''s a good thing the green fuckers were there though. Good distraction."

    Slowly they all started leaving, and soon enough they were all gone. All of them except Esme. She looked back one more time and¨C they were mostly all dead. All except a few dozen and the two Hobs. It was over for them. Maybe Kayden was right. After all, they''re monsters. They probably killed many innocents over their lives.

    That''s what Esme told herself, but it still left a bad taste in her mouth.

    -------------------------------

    The sound of screams filled Bearpaw''s ears. Still, he did not stop fighting, and he felt tears well up in his eyes as he cut another [Soldier] in two.

    "[Heavy Slash]!"

    Another scream. This time right next to him. Another one of his Goblins dead. He roared and stabbed the culprit in the head. His sword''s edge was dulled now, and the Humans were still piling onto them. How many had he killed? Twenty? Thirty? And still, it did not matter. Nothing did. They would die here. It was over.

    And yet hefought.His entire tribe did. He did not raise them to be cowards! They would make the Humans bleed.

    But his numbers were dwindling, and he only had... five... seven goblins left. Eight counting himself.

    "Rafa! Fire spell!"

    Rafa looked at him and shook her head. He understood instantly. Goblins didn''t need to say many words to understand each other. She was out of mana.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    He looked around him. His kin was dead, and for what? This army had not heard of them before, why were they killing them? He cut down another Human blocking his way and moved towards Rafa. They were the only two left now. He felt like he was about to collapse from blood loss.

    No words were spoken in those few seconds, but they felt like years. Bearpaw was telling Rafa to run, and Rafa was refusing. In fact, she was telling him to run.

    It made some sense to him. Logically speaking, he could have made a mad dash and burst through the line of Humans, but he felt like it was too late. And a [Chieftain] never ran away from his tribe.

    Bearpaw sighed. He wished his tribe had not died in vain. He wished he could have stayed in the forest near that Human city. He had many wishes, and no way to fulfill them.

    Rafa''s throat was slit. Bearpaw readied himself and closed his eyes.

    This was it.

    But then a desire overtook him. A primal one. Fight or flight.Survive.Energy coursed through his veins and he felt like none of the wounds on his body were even there. His head was pounding with a single desire, to live. And he would try his best to do so, not only for himself, but for his entire tribe. He would not let them die in vain. He would not let this battle be meaningless, like the thousands of dead [Chieftains] that preceeded him.

    He felt a sword stab his back, but it was not painful. He could not feel anything at all. Only the metal touching his flesh. He muttered one sentence, in a language he had never spoken. But he knew some words that he had learned over the six years he had lived. All the Humans that came to hunt him did not stay silent. Over time he had amassed this knowledge.

    "I must live."

    The Human [Soldiers] were stunned. AGoblinspeaking?! That was impossible! And yet he did. It was far from perfect, and he butchered the pronunciation, but they understood him.

    And that moment of surprise was all he needed. Hedashedand knocked over the frozen Humans. A few tried to stop him using skills, but he just batted their swords aside with his hands, which were more of a bloody stump at this point.

    But he was succeeding. Alarmingly so to the Humans. His legs were burning, but he had to keeprunning. The moment he stopped he would collapse. He leaped towards a man, who flinched, and he grabbed him like he was nothing, using him as a meat shield. He was almost out now. But then he heard something.

    "[Piercing shot]."

    An arrow suddenly found itself lodged in his right eye. He let go of the [Soldier] he was holding and cried out in pain. Somehow he was still alive. The [Archer] unit of the army had arrived, and they were bombarding him with arrows. Still, he ran.

    And then he was out. Out of the encirclement of [Soldiers] and [Riders]. Free at last! But he kept running as fast as he could. He could not stop now. The [Riders] on their horses were still following him.

    Bearpawheaved.His lungs¨C no, his entire body was on fire, and he only had one healing potion. Suddently however, the men on their horses stopped and turned back, and their [General] shouted something that Bearpaw could not understand at this distance. But he did not stop here.

    He ran for hours.

    And hours.

    The [Chieftain] collapsed near a river. Bearpaw did not remember which way he had gone in his folly for survival. He barely had the strenght to uncork the potion he had stolen from an adventurer before leaving the forest. Where would he pour it? His eye was all but destroyed at this point, and he wasn''t sure if the potion would work on it. He could drink it, which would recover his entire body, but less so and more slowly than if he poured it directly on a wound.

    He decided to drink some of it, even if he had difficulty swallowing. That is how tired he was. The rest would be for his eye.

    Bearpaw crawled towards the river and lowered his head to the water to drink and wash away the foul taste of the potion. Indeed, healing potions did not taste good, and neither did any potion. Bearpaw had no idea what they were made of, but he wished they tasted better.

    He slowly sat up and plucked arrows from his body to let the potion do its work. But then came his right eye. Bearpaw couldn''t see anything using it. He had to take it offnow,but the amount of pain he was in from simply closing his eyelid or touching the arrow was immense. He would have to pull it in one go.

    One.

    Two...

    Three!

    He pulled the arrow as fast as he could and he felt like killing himself. He screamed and thrashed around, clutching his head tightly. His eye was leaking, and it was not healing from the potion he drank. He took the remaining amount of liquid and poured it on his eye as precisely as he could.

    Nothing happened.

    Bearpaw uttered a curse. This potion wasn''t good enough! But the pain was slowly getting better at least. He limped over to a tree and leaned against it, slowly sliding to the ground. He couldn''t see, but he could... notice what was bright and what wasn''t. His right eye was now useless. This would be a huge disadvantage in battle.

    But at least he lived. He closed his eyes and passed out.

    [Chieftain Class Deactivated]

    [Skill - Commanding Presence Lost]

    [Skill - Rapid March Lost]

    [Skill - Efficient Tribe Lost]

    [Skill - Battle Sense Lost]

    [Skill - Tribe Tracking Lost]

    [Warrior: Level 14]

    [Skill - Sword Proficiency Obtained]

    [Skill - Fury Strikes Obtained]

    [Skill - Long Dash Obtained]

    -------------------------------

    Back at the Human camp, [Lord General] Maximillian Largus was in his tent assessing the damage done to his army along with [Lord] Phillip Hauser.

    "Three hundred and forty-seven dead. To a single insignificant Goblin tribe! I can''t believe this. It''s a disaster [Lord General] Maximillian. A complete and utter disaster!"

    "Yes, I must agree, the number of wounded is still being counted. We underestimated this tribe."

    "We?!You did this! I told you not to charge in and to just scare them away! If you had not been so reckless¨C"

    "How could I have known that it would be so costly? I was taught to fight against Drakes, notGoblins!"

    Maximillian slammed the table and threw the piece of parchment in the air.

    "We must not report this. [Prince] Jonas will be furious! Such humiliation! We go on as planned."

    "What of the wounded, [Lord General]? We do not have the means to carry men who cannot walk."

    "Well find a way then!"

    Phillip stormed out of the tent. Maximillian was furious. This was supposed to be the start of his tale as a famous general like the ones in New Draele! How couldhe,a level 23 [Lord General] lose to a few Goblins?

    Those two Hobs had ruined everything. He wished he could have killed the second one, but Phillip had made him doubt himself! How had he dared! He, a simple [General] should have just let him do his work.

    But with some luck, the Hobgoblin had died of blood loss. No monster could survive what he had been through. He hoped he would level tonight.

    The next day, they started marching towards Winsor once again.

 Chapter H - 25

    A few days had passed since Esme had left Winsor, and the situation was getting more and more desperate for the guards of Winsor. Main Street was almost taken and the [Mayors] of the city had not appeared in public for a week now. The only one that did was Morten, the captain of the city guard.

    He kept fighting, and in his short speeches to the population and his men, he said he''d fight to the last man until reinforcements got there to retake the city. Of course, he didn''t know that the Mob knew of these speeches and appearances, since they were ''hidden''.

    They weren''t hidden well enough for the few [Spies] the Mob had at their disposition. That is how Hannah had heard of this. But she did not care at the moment. She was worried about Esme. She was supposed to be back in two days, but that was two days too many for her taste. Going out there was dangerous!

    In other news, she had gotten used to using [Sense Threat] as a skill. It was like alarm bells ringing in her head whenever she was put in a dangerous situation, so it was a self-explanatory skill, and Hannah had not found any hidden uses it could have.

    She tested it by having Edali attack her, which had been... interesting to say the least. Right now, however, she was on her way to meet her mentor once again. The time had finally come.

    She was going to learn a new spell! Or she hoped she would.

    They had no spellbooks of course. Edali would teach Hannah the spell manually like she did for [Light]. Hannah was in a rush to get there because she longed to be a good [Mage] but there was also another reason. She felt useless.

    It was true, she was useless. A level 10 [Thief] was not very useful to the Mob, and the only time she was used was in a pair with Esme, who could fight. But the [Rogue] was gone, and so she had been like a sitting duck, doing nothing since her friend has left to scout.

    Hannah was stumped, and the only way to become useful was to become strong. Or at least competent. She nodded and turned around a corner of one of the streets the Mob controlled. There was nothing special about the street, except that it was on the edges of the city, near where they held a part of Winsor''s walls. Every time she saw them she was astonished at how tall they were.

    "Ah! Hannah! Over here."

    Edali was waving her arms wildly to get her attention, but there was no way to miss her on the empty streets of Winsor. Most citizens were barricaded inside of their homes and crimes were rampant. It was what happened to humans when the social order collapsed around you. Gangs formed and broke the law. Fortunately, though, this was a safer place than most of the city, mostly thanks to the regular patrols set up to defend the wall in case of an attack in an attempt to retake it.

    "Hey, Edali."

    They went inside an abandoned house. It looked like it had been broken into and the people that did it stole everything inside. Or the people living inside of it had just packed their things in a hurry and left. Either way, this was now going to be Hannah''s classroom for a few hours. Edali started clapped her hands once and to speak.

    "So! Your first spell! Any preferences on what you want to move towards? Want to be a [Hydromancer] like me?"

    Hannah gave herself a few seconds to think. She put her hand on her chin and stroked it like she was in a movie.

    "What are the advantages of hydromancy?"

    "Well... isn''t controlling water nice? If you''re high level like me you can even conjure your own water! You''ll never have to worry about dying of dehydration again! Have you ever wanted to make a giant wave? A giant water vortex that sucks up your enemies and drowns them? No?"

    Hannah giggled. It was like watching a horrible salesman trying to sell you their pitch. And it wasn''t working.

    "Hmm."

    "Don''t ''hmm'' me. Yes or no?"

    "I don''t know, it''s a hard decision. I feel like I''m supposed to regard this as a life long commitment. What if I change my mind?"Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    "Well, you won''t gain the [Hydromancer] class right away of course. You''ll have to level up your [Mage] class to 20, but it takes even longer for some. I''ve seen up to level 30."

    "What about a fire mage? What are those called?"

    "[Pyromancers]. Don''t you dare go there. I don''t know any fire spells except [Fire Jet]. It''s one of the more basic ones that they teach you in school. Everyone''s forced to learn it."

    "Draemary right? Tell me more about it! How is¨C"

    Edali put her hand on Hannah''s face to prevent her from coming any closer.

    "No! We''re here to teach you a spell, not for a lesson about magic schools! I''ve already told you about themsomany times."

    "But you haven''t told mehowit was to¨C"

    "No means no. So. What spell?"

    Hannah was pouting like a child, but after a few minutes, she was back to normal. However, she still couldn''t figure out what spells to learn She figured she''d just ask for a useful one in battle she could use.

    "Just teach me anything useful. Something I can use to fight. Like this [Fire Jet] you talked about."

    "That''s impossible. [Fire Jet] is too complicated to learn for a level 1 [Mage], and especially without a spellbook. Let''s see..."

    Edali looked like she was in deep thought and Hannah understood. It wasn''t easy to teach someone spells other than really simple ones like [Light].

    "... I got it! What about a [Mist] spell?"

    "A mist spell? Come on! That''s useless!"

    "It''s not. It''s actually good and goes well with your [Thief] class. Your loss killjoy."

    "Just... get me a spell with some offensive power!Some!"

    "Fine. How about [Mana Bolt] then. Easy. Simple. Every low-level mage learns it at one point in their life."

    "That sounds fine."

    Hannah sighed in relief. She had no idea picking a spell would have been this hard. They had already wasted twenty minutes thinking!

    "So, what do I do?"

    "Hold on, I don''t really know how to go about this..."

    "What? This is supposed to be your job! Skull assigned you to me and you can''t even teach me this ''simple spell''? Come on."

    "It''s harder than it looks! Okay. Okay. I can do this. Alright, remember all the stuff about moving mana towards your palm to create [Light]? Well, you''re going to do it again, but instead of doing it slowly like with [Light] you do it as fast as you can."

    "Oh. That sounds easy."

    Hannah and her teacher went outside to not damage the house and then Edali held out her hand.

    "Let me show you an example."

    Instantly, purple energy burst out of her palm and flew out towards the clouds.

    "Woah! That''s... that''s awesome!"

    "You try."

    Hannah focused and cleared her mind. She took a few deep breaths. Learning a spell always took a clear mind, or at least that''s what Edali told her. She felt her mana swirling around her body, and she pushed it towards her palm and¨C

    The spell failed. [Light] came out of her hand and apart from the fact that it was bigger and had a tiny tint of purple, it was no different from the [Light] spells she could cast without even thinking now. Her palm also was slightly burned.

    "Ugh... what was that? It didn''t work."

    "Hmph. Classic. You didn''t move the mana fast enough. Haven''t you been practicing mana control like I told you to do?"

    "I did... a tiny bit... maybe."

    Edali sighed.

    "Hannah... how can you expect to go to learn new spells if you can''t even control your mana properly... I told you. Magic is all about¨C"

    "Repeated regular exercises. I know."

    "Well if you know, why didn''t you do it?"

    "I felt like it wasn''t yielding enough results so I stopped after two days."

    "Two days?! How can you expect results in¨C you know what, I don''t even want to know. You need to practice your mana manipulation. Or control. Or whatever you want to call it."

    "Fine..."

    "Now!"

    And so Hannah practiced. For hours. Moving her mana around her body, alternating between agonizingly slow and impossibly fast. The [Light] spell also required you to draw your mana slowly, but doing itthisslow...

    After a few hours, Hannah was laying on the floor and she felt exhausted. Night was falling now, but she was panting and sweating, but she still wanted to practice more. She got up and held up her hand.

    "Stop. You''re pale. I think you''re almost out of mana. Here."

    Edali grabbed Hannah''s hand and helped her up.

    "If I had a mana potion, I''d give it to you, unfortunately, they have to be saved for the battles. I''m sure you understand."

    The [Thief] nodded and looked at her hands. They were charred and swollen, and closing them hurt. She looked down at her feet and wondered to herself. Why couldn''t learning spells be easy like in games? She sighed.

    "Don''t feel down. You practiced an extremely long time. You''ll level tonight! If I''m wrong I''ll buy you a drink when the stores open again!"

    And that was Edali, always so optimistic. Always being positive even in hard situations. That was what astonished Hannah about her. Her teacher was never sad, always smiling and helping others. Hannah admired her.

    She wished she could be like her, but alas, she was now depressed. When she looked at the rate Esme leveled, well... it couldn''t even be compared.

    "Hey, Edali."

    "Hm?"

    "What level are you?"

    "Wh¨C don''t you have any manners?! That''s a private matter!"

    "Maybe if you tell me I''ll tell you where I''m from."

    "Really?!"

    "Yeah. You go first though."

    "Think I was born yesterday? No!"

    And so they bickered into the night. Hannah went home at around midnight and she collapsed on her bed instantly, and a messaged ringed in her head.

    [Mage: Level 3]

 Interlude - Tourists

    All over Draele you heard about Winsor, which was usually a city no one knew. Tensions ran high all over the Empire, which had not suffered defeat since they had lost their hold on northern Sahir centuries ago. No one knew the exact details of the situation except high-level officials and the people inside of the City.

    Of course, Hannah was in Winsor, and today was the day that Esme made it back to the walls. She had gone scouting with Kayden more than a week ago, so the Mob was expecting results.

    The good news was that Hannah was on the brink of mastering [Mana Bolt]. All she needed was to make the mana go through her arm a tiny bit faster and she would level, or at least that''s what Edali had told her. Maybe she''d even learn a skill to help her control her mana easier! That would be the ideal outcome.

    A beam of purple light shot out of her hand once again. They still hurt, but the burns were thankfully mostly gone. Hannah fist bumped in the air and smiled. Almost there!

    "Good job on that! I told you that working would pay off."

    Edali had sneaked up on the [Thief], which made her jump.

    "Gah! Don''t just come out from nowhere like that! I told you I don''t like it!"

    "Okay, sheesh. You''re a bit stingy today, aren''t you? Why''s that"

    "None of your business."

    Hannah kept shooting incomplete [Mana Bolts] until she couldn''t go any further because she''d run out of mana. Edali kept warning her about the effects that would ensue.

    First, you felt light-headed and weaker than usual, but that was only when you were close to running out. When you did, you would pass out and ''maybe'' die. Her teacher hadn''t told her what the death rate was.

    Hannah sighed and looked towards the city walls. Even from around the center of the city they were visible. Esme would be back soon and she''d finally see her again. It was strange how she had only known her for around two months but those months had felt like years.

    She wondered if out there somewhere... someone was in their situation.

    -------------------------------

    Alice was hurt, confused and terrified. Why was she here? She had been on a plane... and suddenly she and all the passengers had appeared in a medieval town filled with Dragons? Lizardmen? She didn''t know.

    Right now they were all in a prison cell, and they had been in there for the past few days. No one knew what these monsters would do to them. One of her companions banged on the metal bars across her.

    "This is unbelievable. How long do they plan on holding us in here?! We have rights!"

    Another guy tried to calm things down.

    "Calm down. Screaming will only alert them. Or make them mad. Do you want to end up like Micheal?"

    Alice shuddered. On their first day, while they were being arrested, a middle-aged called Micheal panicked¨C well, they all panicked. He tried to fight and he got killed by the lizard people. It was the first time she had seen someone get stabbed.

    She still couldn''t get the image of the life slowly draining out of his eyes out of her head. Alice still had nightmares every night because of it. The people who had their phones on them at the time had them taken right before being thrown in the cells, so calling the police was also impossible.

    Alice wished she knew someone here, but it was mostly silent around here now. During the first few days, there were theories about how all the plane passengers had seemingly been teleported here. Some people thought it was a government project, maybe the Russians doing something again. A few had even suggested that they were in a new world, however, Alice had only scoffed at this.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    A new world? Really? That was unfeasible. She treated them like fools. They all did. Ever since then the people that suggested this idea had stayed quiet, only talking between themselves. Of course, this was just her own cell. There had been hundreds of people on the plane, and they couldn''t all fit in there. They had been separated.

    As for Alice? At first, she thought this was all a prank, of course. Until she saw a man get stabbed and killed. The young girl was still in denial though, and she thought the army or the police would come any day now... any day...

    Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Everyone turned warily towards the noise and they saw it.

    The Lizard people. Well, they were known as Drakes throughout the world, but no one here knew that. Alice slowly edged towards the back of her cell. She was expecting the worst.

    "Listen up!"

    Alice flinched. She still couldn''t believe what she was seeing. Animals speaking English? It kept going.

    "One of you needs to tell us what these are for."

    It put up one of their phones. The screen was lit up, but it looked like the beast had put in the wrong code too many times since the phone was locked for a few minutes. One of the Humans screamed out.

    "That''s... that''s my phone!"

    The lizard beast answered him.

    "Ah, right. You did call them ''phones'' when you got busted. Come."

    The man squirmed uncomfortably and walked to the cell''s door. He was let out and Alice could see he was considering running for it.

    They all waited a few minutes in silence until the man put in his code. Or tried to.

    "No grabbing it. Just tell me the numbers."

    "W¨Cwhat are you going to do with it?"

    "None of your business. Tell me what this ''code'' is."

    "F¨Cfive, nine, zero, zero."

    The beast tapped the numbers and it''s face contorted. Was it... smiling? It was hard to tell. It left in a hurry with the phone. Alice sighed in relief and sat down once again. Why were they all here?

    A few hours later, the monster returned and each person was called one by one to go somewhere. Soon enough it was Alice''s turn.

    "You. It''s your turn."

    The lizard pointed at her. She had no choice but to oblige. No one had come back to them yet from wherever they were being put, so the panic was starting to set in. It was the first time she looked at one of them closely.

    The beast had thousands of little dark blue scales with some lighter patches on his neck. Its eyes were dark, but the pupils were like vertical slits, just like most lizards. It seemed like it was self-aware, and that it could think and that bothered her the most. Where on Earth was she?

    They arrived in a dark room illuminated by floating lights in each corner. There was just a wooden chair and a table in the middle. The thing gestured at her to sit, and she followed its orders.

    "Okay. Let''s start this then."

    "Start what?"

    "Who sent you?"

    "W¨C Excuse me?

    "Draele? The kingdoms of Sahir? If so which one?"

    "I don''t¨C I don''t understand."

    The beast sighed and shook his head. It got up and¨C

    "Guh!"

    Alice went flying at a wall. It had punched her! How¨C why?!

    "I will ask again. Who sent you?"

    "I don''t know! I swear I don''t! I was on a plane and then¨C"

    It punched her again.

    "You Humans. Pfff. You always say the same thing. Who sent you? What were you doing in Perthissil?"

    Alice couldn''t talk anymore. Each punch was like a truck hitting her, and she had already vomited on the floor. She was tortured for what seemed like hours until her body was covered in bruises and her face was a bloody mess. She couldn''t think or hear clearly anymore, and she had passed out multiple times, but Alice was always woken up strangely by some strange light.

    She was still limp in a corner when she heard the door open again. Another beast came inside and spoke to her aggressor.

    "Same thing?"

    "Yes, sir! The Humans all say the same things. First, they say they don''t know anything and then they talk about a plane. What the hell does ''flying on a plane'' mean? We don''t have any [Mages] here, we can''t see if they''re lying¨C"

    "Leave it for later. Put this one in one of the new cells."

    "Yes, sir!"

    Alice was dragged to a new cell. She didn''t have the strength to move her legs or her arms. The girl grunted in pain as she was literally thrown in with no care what so ever, and then she passed out.

    -------------------------------

    The small town of Perthissil was in an uproar. Humans? Here? Why? Was it war once again? All these questions were directed to Thrassk, the leader of the city. Well, he was a retired war [Sergeant] who had become a leader.

    And the problem was that he did not know the answer to these questions. What did these hundreds of children come here for? What were these devices they owned? There was no answer to these questions.

    And the Humans had asked a lot of questions that Thrassk did not know how to answer. They spoke of something called the internet, planes that supposedly flew, and ''calling the police''. Out here? What kind of Human police force would come all the way down southern Irasal?

    He sighed and cracked his knuckles. It looked like he had no choice but to contact the Drake High Command. This was beyond him, and he was starting to suspect these people were all innocent. Perhaps they were hit by a rogue teleportation spell but from where? These people did not know anything. He called out.

    "Tressa!"

    "Yes, sir?"

    "Be ready to call a [Messenger]. I''m writing a letter to High Command."

    "A-alright. Are you sure?"

    "Do it."

    And the history of the Drakes and Lizardfolk was forever changed.

 Chapter H - 26

    A young woman was standing at the gates of Winsor, along with multiple relatively important individuals. The [Thief] was waiting for her best friend... her only friend in this world. Though now that she thought about it harder, Hannah came to the conclusion that Edali could technically be considered a friend, even though all she did was criticize her control over her mana and magic. Gregory could also be sort of a friend. A frenemy? He had been nice to her, but he''d also stolen all of their money, which had rendered them homeless and starving in the streets of the city for weeks.

    Regardless of what she thought of him, Hannah was now indebted to Gregory and his boss, Skull. They had basically forced her to sign a magical contract, which forced her to pledge her life to the Mob. Even remembering how powerful and terrifying Skull had seemed back then was still giving her goosebumps. She swore that if she ever became strong enough to have her revenge she''d...

    "Happy thoughts Hannah. Happy thoughts..."

    One of the grunts frowned and looked at her.

    "What are you mumbling over there?"

    "Nothing!"

    Gregory and Edali weren''t the only ones here however, as there were multiple people Hannah had never seen before escorting them. The outskirts of the city were dangerous, even if they''d largely taken control over the part they were currently waiting in. And they had been waiting way too long in fact! Esme, Kayden and the other [Scouts] were supposed to have arrived hours ago! That''s why they were here in the first place. Originally, they would have just ridden in without anyone standing at the gates. Edali spoke out, as she had done many times while they were standing by the gates.

    "I think we need to go out there and find them."

    Gregory snapped back at her.

    "Go find them where?! We''re completely in the dark. They could be dead for all we know. Or it could be a trap! I say we give it a couple of days."

    "They could be in danger! I''m not going to let my brother die out here while I do nothing! And if you''re not coming, then I will go. Alone!"

    "I can''t let you do that. You''re one of the few competent [Mages] we have."

    Hannah grumbled at the thought of her being useless, but she knew deep down that even if she learned [Mana Bolt], which she was very close to learning, it still wouldn''t even compare to what Edali or other [Mages] could do.

    "No¨C I can¨C Hey! Stop! Let go! Fine, I''ll stay put! Just let my arm go."

    "Hmph."

    "''Hmph'' all you want, asshole."

    Gregory let go of her arm. He was way stronger than Edali would ever be because of all the physical work he was doing in the organization. He was also taking the brunt of the fighting on Main Street, but it was apparently coming to an end. They were winning! Hannah wished she could help but the [Thief] was simply too low leveled to do anything. She''d get annihilated in a few minutes. She argued that they could use her [Charm] skill to ease the pressure on their side, but Gregory had told her that it was too risky. They didn''t want her to get killed before the siege.

    If a siege was even coming. They assumed it was, but they had no idea, which is why having the [Scouts] return was so crucial to their plan. If they were going to get sieged, they needed to be quick about beating the enemy army, or the food would run out and they''d starve. Ironically, thievery had become rampant all over the city, which meant that the food had to be running out. The situation overall seemed pretty grim. And now the scouting party wasn''t returning?The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Hannah felt her heart sink into her stomach. Only now had she realized that Esme was in possible danger. Real danger. And this time her friend was too far away for her to do anything about it. And if Esme died, well... what was the point of being here?

    "Wait... I see them! Over there!"

    A man pointed in front of them, towards incoming horses. Hannah perked up and stood on her tiptoes to see if she saw Esme, and she did! The [Thief] breathed a huge sigh a relief. Esme was safe. She was safe! Although... now that she looked closer, some of the men looked wounded, and some were even missing. The scouting party''s size had been reduced.

    After a few minutes, they finally reached Winsor''s gates, amidst cheers and claps from their comrades, but their expressions were darkened. Edali was the first to speak up.

    "Kayden. I''m glad you¨C most of you made it back. What happened?!"

    "The army knew we were there. I don''t know how. We¨C we stayed so far. We were safe! But they still found us! They sent [Riders] after us. They were faster with their movement skills and some of us got cut down."

    He pointed toward his wounded men behind him.

    "They need urgent help. Potions."

    "We don''t have any. We... ran out yesterday."

    "What?! How is that possible! We¨C"

    The cheers and claps had disappeared now, and they had turned into a heated argument. Hannah was surprised too. They were winning, right? But at this moment, there was something far more important to her than this war.

    "Esme! I¨C I''m so happy you made it back! I was terrified something had happened to you."

    The [Rogue] got off her horse and pet it gently. She had grown to like it over her days spent in its company. Esme smiled gently, although Hannah knew her well enough now that she knew there was something going on. She kept going.

    "Is it true? I mean¨C the story. Kayden''s story."

    "Yes. It''s true. We got ambushed when returning. It''s all... true."

    "Crap... well I''m glad you made it at least. Is that selfish of me?"

    Esme smirked lightly.

    "It is. Terribly."

    The two girls hugged tightly. They had only been apart for a week and a few days, but sometimes that just felt like forever when you liked someone. After a while, they let go and Hannah refocused on the conversation. The argument had died down and relevant information was being shared.

    "Twenty thousand. That''s how many Ricky counted with his skill. He... died. They should be reaching us in three days."

    Gregory answered almost automatically.

    "Oh. I''m sorry. His life was not in vain."

    They all nodded seriously. He kept going.

    "Twenty thousand. Not good, not terrible. I''ll have to relay this information to Skull immediately. I''ll take my leave."

    He ran and left. Hannah was feeling many emotions at the moment. First and foremost was happiness from seeing Esme again of course but there was also stress... growing by the hour. In three days they''d be under siege. That wasn''t a long time. In fact, days seemed to pass extremely quickly, almost like a blur, but maybe that was because she''d started to become accustomed to her life in this new world. She looked up to Edali.

    "So what now?"

    "We wait for orders. Three days is faster than we expected. Way faster. We need to take full control of the city. Fast. Or else we''re fucked. The troops will pour in and we''ll be annihilated."

    Hannah and Esme shuddered at such a thought. Sure, Gregory had explained to them that a relatively minimal amount of high leveled individuals could hold a walled city against thousands, as long as they didn''t have many [Mages] showering them in spells like [Siege Fireball].

    It still boggled Hannah''s mind, how there was magic in the world. She couldn''t wait to show Esme her new spell but unfortunately, she hadn''t gotten the skill just yet. Here she was, struggling with [Mana Bolt], while there were high leveled [Mages] flying and launching [Siege Fireballs] from their palms or scrolls.

    How did magical scrolls even work?

    Thoughts for next time. Right now they awaited orders from Skull. Hannah expected the worst.

    "What do you think Esme? What''s Skull going to tell us?"

    "An all-out attack. We have three days to take the city, so he will be rushing to do so... you heard what would happen if we don''t seal the gates before they come."

    "Yeah. We... we die."

    She hoped it wouldn''t have to come to that.

 Chapter H - 27

    A few hours had passed since the scouting party came back to Winsor. Hannah was currently sitting on an empty supply box made of hardwood. Needless to say, she was not feeling comfortable in any way, but that currently didn''t matter. Only one thing did.

    In a few minutes, Gregory would come back and address the Mob''s men. Or Skull would come directly. Not many realized the gravity of the situation quite yet... but Hannah and Esme knew. There was no time to waste.

    So where the hell was Gregory?

    How much time was needed to receive some orders? Not hours that''s for sure. Unless they were planning something more complicated than an all-out assault. But what was there left to plan?

    The city guard''s forces were regrouping and digging in, and they had an escape path secured in case things went south. Meanwhile, the Mob was here twiddling its thumbs when in less than three days they were all going to die!

    "Stop biting your nails."

    "I''m sorry I just can''t! This whole situation is infuriating!"

    Esme was trying to lower Hannah''s stress levels but it wasn''t working at all. The [Rogue] grabbed Hannah''s hand and squeezed it tight.

    "It''s going to be ok... just... relax. Deep breaths."

    The [Mage] did just that, and it surprisingly worked. She was glad Esme was back. It was so strange, she had not known her that long, compared to her friends from Earth, and yet it was like they''d known each other their whole life. They were best friends. And she did feel guilty about it... perhaps it was because of their unique experience together. Hannah still shuddered at the thought of her arriving on her own. She might have died before even reaching a city. After all, it was thanks to Esme''s initiative that they had reached Winsor.

    Her train of thought was interrupted by Esme suddenly letting go of her hand. She looked up and saw that Gregory had finally returned, and he had a grim look on his face. The men were anxiously awaiting the news and he didn''t leave them hanging.

    "Listen up! Skull just ordered an attack on the remaining city forces immediately. Our forces on the front have already received the order via [Message] spell. There is no time for speeches, there is only time for action! On me!"

    Cheers were heard throughout the crowd, but the two [Thieves] weren''t cheering. They were trembling. Hannah looked pleadingly at Gregory one last time before he turned and stomped away, and he didn''t react. She knew what that meant.

    She was going too.

    The men rushed forward and followed their leader. Hannah and Esme had no choice and did the same. This was such terrible timing! She needed to sleep! Only then would she finally learn [Mana Bolt]. But there was no time. As they all advanced towards the fighting, the [Mage] noticed the landscape slowly growing more and more hectic. Collapsed houses, burning buildings, dead bodies littering the floor. And slowly, she heard the screams getting closer.

    The fighting had already started. She wondered how in a few weeks, the city went from a bustling peaceful place to this... hell torn apart by war. Hannah only noticed it now because they had kept her far away from all the fighting all this time. She''d only gone on one hard mission and spent the rest of the time training with Edali.

    The dead bodies made her stomach turn, but she soldiered on. Just before they arrived at the fight, Gregory forwarded his men, but stopped Edali and Hannah.

    "You two. Wait."

    When everyone but them was gone, he went on.

    "Listen. Hannah, I want you to observe. You two need to learn. Stay in the back. Don''t take risks. Esme, you... stay with her. Protect her. Got it?"

    The girls both nodded decisively. They were both feeling terribly afraid, but they had no choice. It had come to this.

    They had to fight.

    When they got to one of the actual streets where fighting was taking place, it could only be described by chaos. Of course, this was only one street. They didn''t know its name or its significance, but¨CThe narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    No time to think. An arrow zoomed past Esme''s face. She ducked moments later out of panic, but there was nothing to take cover from, except dead bodies. The [Mage] yelled.

    "Hannah, get down!"

    The [Mage] followed her lead, and they both tried playing dead on the ground. Hannah tried to sneak a few looks around here and she noticed that they were being pushed back. The battle had moved from in front of them to all around them.

    "Guh!"

    Someone had stepped on Esme''s back. Hannah mentally facepalmed. Of course, if they played dead they''d get trampled. They should have just moved back! She had been so foolish. They had to get up!

    And they did, however in all the confusion, Hannah didn''t notice the [Guard] behind her. Thankfully her [Sense Threat] skill rung in her head and she managed to dodge a strike in time. Esme finally unsheathed her weapons in a blur and parried his second sword strike with her two daggers. He was stronger than her but she was faster. The [Rogue] slid in between his legs with dexterity Hannah didn''t know she possessed and then Esme unleashed a new skill.

    "[Deep Cut!]"

    The [Guard] howled in pain as Esme struck. He collapsed on the ground shortly after. They needed to get out of here, but they were surrounded. Thankfully it was easy to distinguish who was on their side and who wasn''t thanks to the special uniforms the city guard used. Hannah had always wondered about how medieval armies knew who was on what side in all the confusion and the messy fights.

    There was nothing to do. No escapes. Hannah''s heart was pounding so hard and so fast she felt pain in her chest. They had to push their war through all the [Guards]. Hannah lifted up her hand. Now was the time to use what she had learned. Her mana surged towards her hand and a purple beam exited her palm faster than anyone could run. It successfully hit a [Guard] who cried in pain, but it didn''t kill him, one of the Mob''s men did by slitting his throat.

    "It worked! Thank god!"

    "What was th¨C Watch out!"

    "[Final Cut]!"

    Hannah already knew, however. It turns out [Sense Threat] was an incredible skill akin to a spidey sense. She ducked and avoided another arrow coming behind her, then the [Mage] instantly launched her best [Mana Bolt] in the general direction of the projectile and heard a scream.

    This was going to be a long day.

    -----------------------------------

    On the other side of the Battlefield, Captain Morten, the leader of the city guard, was yelling orders at different [Sergeants] and [Guards]. He was winning. All he had to do was to push them back here and hold the walls! They''d lose all morale and crumble. The Mob would have time to regroup and plan another offensive like this one! He just had to wait for reinforcements.

    "I want all available [Mages] in Henderson Street. Yes, don''t give me that look. I said all of them! Now!"

    He was about to gnaw nervously on his fingernails, but he remembered he had his gauntlets on. Of course, he was nervous. His life depended on the outcome of this battle. He''d get killed by Skull if he lost, or worse. If he managed to escape he''d be beheaded or imprisoned by the [Emperor]''s son, Jonas.

    The fighting was mainly taking place on two streets. His plan was to pull all of his [Mage] units and completely take over Henderson Street. If he played his cards well, he''d rout the enemy there and surround the other part of the enemy army that was on the second street, Crimson''s Way.

    He wanted to go and fight. To avenge his old [Captain]. But he knew that would be foolish. He had to assure his victory.

    Twenty minutes later, a wheezing [Guard] came inside of the half-collapsed house that acted as a makeshift commander tent.

    "C-Captain Morten, sir! All the [Mages] we sent have been beaten back! Half of them have died! Your orders, sir?"

    "W-what?"

    Had he heard that right? How was that even possible? [Mages] were normally feared on the battlefield. No one had reported about enemy [Mages] on that street. In fact, the Mob had a clear lack of [Mages]. They had only spotted seven... no, it was eight. The [Guards] had reported about one girl who kept using an advanced version of [Mana Bolt]. But still, who could have done such a thing?

    "Sir? Captain Morten, sir?"

    "E-Excuse me. I need to... wait, who did it? Who neutralized our [Mages]?"

    "It was a single man, sir. One man killed forty-eight of our [Mages]."

    Morten stood up instantly, which made the [Guard] flinch in fear. Only one person could kill so many [Mages] by himself. It was...

    "It''s Skull! I need to get to Henderson! You, follow me!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    Skull was here. Of course, he''d be there! Morten had been a fool! It had been years since he''d seen Skull fight, but he still vividly remembered how he killed his old [Captain]. How fast and nimble he was. And the worse of it all?

    He didn''t even use a weapon.

    -----------------------------------

    Hannah was exhausted. She couldn''t keep up the [Mana Bolts] much longer, especially since she had to actively concentrate on each one. She was wounded, bruised, and her hands were burned, but she was alive, and so was Esme. The two girls were sure they''d both level when they''d sleep if they lived the next few hours. Fortunately, relief had come, and it was in the form of Skull.

    The Mob''s boss. Elusive, hard to grasp and understand, and always absent. Sometimes, people wondered if he could even fight. Today, he proved why he was their leader. He was so fast you could barely see him. He blurred in between the enemy army, instantly snapping their necks. There were no screams. They died too fast to scream.

    He was like a one-man army by himself, and Hannah saw him use skills, although he didn''t call them out loud. Soon enough, the Mob''s forces started winning again, slowly but surely. Soon it would finally be over! Or at least the [Mage] though so.

    Until the Captain of the city guard showed up.

 Chapter H - 28

    It was in the midst of a raging battle that Morten, the captain of the city guard appeared and he looked truly enraged at the carnage he was seeing. Skull had noticed him, but he still didn''t stop his rampage across the enemy army. The mob''s boss had no weapon, and yet he weaved through the [Guards] without any effort, killing them by droves. It truly disturbed Hannah. She had never really thought about how... unfair the concept of levels was. The city guard couldn''t even hold a candle to Skull''s speed and skills just because he was high leveled. Someone could train for years¨C no, for their entire life and they would still not be able to defend themselves from a high leveled individual if that person suddenly decided to attack them. Captain Morten had had enough of this.

    "All men, retreat! Retreat!"

    In all the chaos, people barely heard him, but most of them noticed and ran from the Mob''s leader. Skull suddenly stopped and Morten glared at him.

    "Skull! You have festered in Winsor for too long! Prepare to meet your end, you vile creature!"

    Skull did not answer. He just looked at him with no expression, no emotion. Not even Gregory could have known what was going through his head. The city guard captain tensed his whole body.

    "[Steel Hide], [Strenght Boost]. Your time is over now, Skull."

    Morten dashed towards Skull, as the soldiers from both sides subconsciously formed a circle around the two. He tried grabbing Skull''s head with his huge hands but by the time he arrived, which was faster than Hannah could see, the Mob''s leader was already gone. Morten was hit at the back of the head by Skull''s first and groaned in pain, but he knew he could take many of these hits thanks to his [Steel Hide] skill.

    Morten instantly turned and finally struck Skull for the first time with his sword. He bled from his chest, and he instinctively tried to grab a healing potion from his pouch but then Skull remembered they were out. He''d have to do this without a fail-safe.

    This instantly made his strategy change and even Hannah could tell he was fighting safer now. He took his time to approach Morten, and every time the guard captain approached him he jumped back. To Esme, it looked like Skull was just bidding his time until Morten''s skills ran out, or maybe he was just waiting for a proper opening. It was hard to analyze his expressionless face.

    "[Valiant Slash]!"

    Another skill. Morten''s blade lit up in white and his sword''s length grew two-fold. It didn''t even phase Skull, and it was another missed hit. Morten couldn''t hit Skull at all. Hannah knew he was too fast... so why was he not doing anything? It had been twenty minutes at least. Morten''s men were waiting for an order¨C any order. A retreat or a final all-out attack... anything would have been better than this. This duel wasn''t going anywhere. Their captain was now panting and slowing each attack. Skull could have already killed him more than once! Esme could tell his form was getting sloppy from her lessons with Kayden.

    What was happening?

    For the first time since they saw him, Skull talked.

    "Morten."

    Morten was enraged and just glared. He continued to attack fruitlessly.

    "Morten. Listen to me."

    "Shut¨C hah¨C your mouth! [Valiant Slash]!"

    Skull just ducked to avoid the horizontal strike. He kept going.

    "You cannot beat me. Surrender."

    "Never! You son of a bitch! You dare look down on me!"

    He gathered his last bit of strength and tried to strike at his enemy''s neck. Unfortunately for him, somehow, Skull deflected it with his bare hands. He did not bleed.

    "Join me, Morten. Draele is rotten to its very core. If we keep treading this path we¨C"

    The captain of the city guard tried again and again. Skull, still expressionless just grabbed his blade and simply broke it in two. Hannah let out a surprised gasp as she watched Skull drop the blade on the ground.

    "I ask again. Join me. Humanity is doomed if we keep listening to this destructive leadership! Don''t you see it? Refuse and you will die. You are weak. Far too weak. While you stagnated for seven years, I grew and surpassed my limits. I leveled. How many times have you leveled since I came to Winsor? Once? Twice at most. Join the Mob. Save your species from doom."

    Morten didn''t answer, he only glared and spit in Skull''s face.

    "I''d rather turn into a Demon than join you, Skull."

    "Very well. You have made your choice."

    And just like that, Skull broke his neck.

    -------------------------------

    Hours later, the Mob had finally captured or killed the last [Guards]. Most of them had fled when they saw their captain die. Some of them even cried. They had created pockets of resistance in buildings, or in small alleys in the city. All the [Mayors] had fled, including the one that was supposed to be on the Mob''s side.

    A few [Guards] also flipped to Skull''s side, who was happy to accept new members after all the casualties they''d taken to take the city. Of course, he made them sign the magical contract to ensure there wouldn''t be any... complications. At least it was better than getting killed.

    It was night time now, and the Mob was celebrating as one. They were finally done, and it felt almost surreal to Hannah. This was supposed to be their first goal out of multiple, but still... taking over an entire city, just like that? Why did Skull wait so long to do so if he was this strong? He probably could have taken it over by himself, although with more difficulty. What level was he even at? Hannah had never seen someone really high leveled before, although she knew they existed.

    [Grand Mages], although less numerous than centuries ago, were said to be over level 70 according to Edali, although this was just gossip and speculation. Their true level remained a mystery to everyone but themselves and their closest allies. In fact Draemary, the best Draelish magical school was run by one of these [Grand Mages]. Hannah had forgotten to ask Edali for their name though.

    Hannah had to keep her mind busy. It was hard to celebrate after seeing hundreds of corpses on the floor, enemy or not. She liked to imagine her life at Draemary, and she also wanted to improve as a [Mage]. Although Hannah was also a [Thief], the young girl wondered if it was time to relinquish that class for good. Stealing from innocent people wasn''t her thing.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Someone called out to her.

    "Hey you! Hannah right?"

    He was a younger man who looked in like he was in his twenties with dirty blond hair. Hannah wondered what he could possibly want from her. They didn''t know each other after all.

    "Yeah. What''s up?"

    "I just wanted to let you know that Edali wanted to see you. I don''t know why though."

    "Oh. Do you know where she is?"

    "Well, not really... she was here a moment ago but she went that way."

    The man pointed towards a street packed with people. Hannah groaned but she nodded.

    "Thank you."

    "No problem! If anything I should thank you."

    "What? Why?"

    "You don''t know? You saved me with a spell earlier. The purple light one, ''dunno the name."

    "You mean [Mana Bolt]? Edali said it was one of the most known spells though..."

    "Well, I''m no good with magic. Never was. Thanks anyway."

    Hannah nodded and went along to look for her mentor. The [Thief] noticed that the common folk were slowly coming out of their houses now. It was a good thing to see. Maybe their life would finally return to normal now, at least until the Draelish armies arrived. That wasn''t much time but at least it was something.

    After around fifteen minutes of searching, Hannah finally saw noticed Edali through the crowd. She pushed her way through and made called out to her.

    "Edali! Edali!"

    Her teacher snapped her head towards the noise and smiled once she saw it was Hannah calling. They met next to a worn out building.

    "A guy said you were looking for me?"

    "Yes I was! Follow me, it''s about your magic."

    Hannah''s heart sunk. Was it still no good? Was she going to need to learn to control her mana even more? Any more of that and she would go completely crazy.

    They made their way to an emptier part of the neighborhood and even though Hannah wanted to ask Edali a million questions, she kept her mouth shut.

    "Listen Hannah."

    The [Thief] fidgeted in place and tried to avoid her teacher''s gaze. This reminded her of when her parents were about to ground her or punish her for something she did.

    "You are exceptional."

    "I''m sor¨C wait, what?"

    "Your [Mana Bolt]. It was the best one I''ve ever seen! It''s the most amazing¨C no, the most beautiful [Mana Bolt] I''ve ever seen in my entire life for someone of your level!"

    "Oh god! I thought I was going to get scolded! Is it really that good?"

    "It is! You have real potential. You have talent. Something I never had! Have you even gained the skill yet?"

    "Not yet, but I''ll level tonight. At least I think so."

    "Of course you will! I''m so excited for you!"

    Hannah was blushing and smiling from ear to ear. She wasn''t used to getting complimented this much. Was she really that special?

    "I am too! But I don''t understand, why did you need to take me here to say this."

    "To practice more, silly! What else? Although I''ll be teaching you a new spell this time."

    "Really? Which one?"

    "Well, you have a few choices. Of course, you know about the different mage classes. You could start specializing in a specific element... the earlier you specialize the better it is."

    "Why?"

    "Think! Find the answer yourself."

    "Hm... because... huh..."

    "Yes? Because?"

    "I don''t know. Tell me already!"

    "Ugh... come on. Ok, listen carefully, when you start specializing into one element earlier, you don''t waste levels into getting skills that you won''t use in the future. Essentially, your levels are valuable, very valuable, and I don''t understand how you were raised since this is common knowledge."

    Hannah jumped at the mentioning of how she was raised, but she nodded.

    "I see, that makes sense. So this applies to all the classes then?"

    "Of course. If you want to be a [Soldier], don''t waste your levels into a [Cleaner] class or vice-versa."

    "Damn, I wonder if Esme figured this out already, this sounds like something she''d be dying to know."

    "Knowing her, she already knew this at five years old, bahaha!"

    Edali slapped her knees a few times and wiped a tear.

    "So yeah, you need to choose. If you still can''t, I guess you could try to learn another generalist spell. Utility wise for your level, there''s [Levitate], or maybe [Silence]. Combat wise there''s [Strenghten Core], or [Magical Burst]. I obviously recommend a combat one. Choose."

    "What?! I can''t just choose just like that. I need time! A lot of it!"

    "We don''t have that time. Must I remind you of the army that is making their way to us as we speak?"

    That''s true, there was no time. She had to commit to learning a spell so she''d know in time for the siege. Hannah didn''t want to be useless anymore. The [Mage] wanted to be an asset, and a powerful one.

    "Sorry. Just let me have five minutes to think."

    "No problem."

    These five minutes went by in the blink of an eye and Hannah was still stumped. She sighed.

    "Can''t [Levitate] be used as a combat spell? Wait, hold on. Does it make the caster levitate or an object levitate."

    "It''s mostly used for objects, and it could technically be used for fights if you control it well enough. I suppose if you had knives or arrows or any pointy object, you could make it work, Hannah. But it would take weeks, and we don''t have that. It''s never used for fighting anyway."

    "I don''t know. I feel like it''s calling to me for some reason. Maybe I''m just delusional."

    "No, no. Don''t worry. If you want to learn it, I''ll teach it to you."

    Hannah grinned and hugged Edali.

    "Thank you so much! Oh, sorry, I''m just excited."

    "Don''t worry about it."

    "So how do I go about learning [Levitate], Edali?

    "Wait! First, how''s your mana doing?"

    "I''m good, it regenerated a lot since the fight."

    "Hm. Fine. This spell, well... it''s complicated. Pay close attention."

    Edali held out her hand and in an instant, a brick slowly rose from the ground. The air between the [Mage] and the brick was... fuzzy, like looking through a really hot desert. There was also purple light coming out of her hand.

    "As you can see, I''m not very good at it. It actually sucks to learn and it made me almost fail my generalist magic class in my first year at Draemary."

    "Oh. You need to tell me more stories about school. You know that right?"

    "Not now! Later. Long story short, you need to slowly¨C very, very slowly let your mana seep about of your palm towards your target, and then you want to control that mana to lift the object of your choice. Let''s start with something light¨C"

    "Woah, wait hold on! You want me to go slow this time?! Do you realize how hard it''s going to be to go from super fast for [Mana Bolt] to super slow for [Levitate]?! And how the hell do I control mana that''s outside of my body? This isn''t making any sense."

    "I told you it was hard! You wanted to learn it regardless! Are you with me or not?"

    "Ugh. Fine."

    "Like I was saying before I was interrupted, you want to start with something light. The lighter the object is the easier it is to levitate. Here, use this."

    Edali ripped out a piece of tied parchment from her pouch and gave it to Hannah.

    "Try."

    And she did. The [Thief] took a deep breath and she focused on her mana pool. Slowly, she brought the mana out by her palm. Slowly... slowly...

    "Wow, you''re surprisingly good at this."

    "Gah!"

    A purple beam shot out of Hannah''s hand, although it was weak and basically harmless because she caught herself in time. Edali gasped.

    "Oh. Was that my fault? Sorry, carry on."

    "Damn it, Edali! I was doing good! No more talking!"

    So the young woman tried one more time. She let her mana leak out as slowly and delicately as she could. Hannah opened an eye and she saw the parchment shake a little bit but it wasn''t moving yet, and that was because she still didn''t know how to control her mana outside of her body. The [Mage] heard a clap.

    "Excellent first attempt. It''s better than what I did for the first week of studying the spell, you''re a natural."

    "Thank you, but I still don''t know how to actually make the item move."

    "That comes later, for now just focus on making your mana go slow. It needs to be slower still."

    "If it''s that slow, how can I possibly use it while fighting?"

    "I never said it was convenient! You just need time to set up the initial mana bridge to the thing you''re levitating, and then you''re good to go."

    "Oh, is that what the fuzzy purple thing between you and the item is called? A mana bridge?"

    "Correct. I forgot to mention it, oops."

    "I swear, you will be the death of me someday."

    "Shouldn''t I be saying that? You almost shot me with a [Mana Bolt] you know? I''m very hurt emotionally."

    "Who''s fault was that?"

    "Yours! Only yours!"

    "Right."

    By the time Hannah was done practicing, the sun was already rising. She hadn''t slept but Edali had left a long time ago. Life went on like this for a few days. Defenses were being set up, new recruits were being initiated and trained and the Mob was as ready as it could ever be for the siege.

    And then the Draelish army arrived.

 Chapter M - 29

    Throughout the world, the big news of the month were about Irasal. More precisely about Winsor. Many nobles, [Merchants] and other highly influential individuals were taken aback at the city''s fall. No one expected the city guard to fail this hard, and this was a big humiliation for the Draele empire.

    The Mob''s actions rippled through the world, and the [Emperor] was furious. Vitelius had scolded his son for allowing such a thing to happen. What if this emboldened the Drakes and their allies, the Lizardfolk and caused them to attack? Many conspiracies were spreading like wildfire, but they were mostly spread by bored [Lords] and [Ladies] gossiping.

    After the [Heroes] had been freed from the Arcane Leech hive, many had become traumatized and simply decided to quit. They hadn''t lost their classes, but they simply stopped training. Overall, ten had died in the dungeon, or at least that''s what the [Heroes] believed.

    Jaden, Joshua, Yvonne, Micheal, Paul, Bryce, Tony, Joel, Samuel, and Malcolm.

    The name of the dead.

    Vitelius held a funeral for them at the castle. It would have been a national event if the existence of the [Heroes] wasn''t a secret. In any case, the [Emperor]''s appearance to save what people thought were adventurers made for interesting speculation. The cat was out of the bag and people were interested now.

    The dungeon was still completely sealed, and it would be for a very long time. Since Dalos¨C the city built on top of the dungeon, was heavily reliant on the fees adventurers paid to go inside, their economy was rapidly collapsing. Many [Merchants] were already pushing for reopening, but the city [Mayor] was never going to listen to any [Merchants] after what happened to Serle.

    Serle was the man who owned the Arcane Leech hive. Well, owned was a bit too generous. After all, the man had never been inside of it, and he just charged exorbitant prices for what the dungeon was worth. Unfortunately, he had disappeared the day the incident happened. No one could track him down, and it was as if he had never existed.

    Arcane Leeches were usually not very rewarding to kill. Their meat could be sold, and some of their organs could be used in very low-level potions, but that was it. Most adventurers came for one thing and one thing only: leveling.

    As soon as they leveled enough in their respective class, they''d never come back here again, so Dalos saw a lot of new faces every few weeks. No adventurer truly lived there except a few retired ones. But after the disaster that occurred, no one would ever want to go there again. The risk simply wasn''t worth it. The dungeons where adventurers risked their life had thousands of gold coins to be made. Now that was worth it.

    The poor [Mayor] had to try his best to offer an incentive for people to come back, but aside from heavily lowering the prices, which all the [Merchants] opposed, there wasn''t much to be done.

    Or that''s what he thought until a giant golem made of flesh and blood burst through the reinforced changed doors with Malcolm behind it.

    Let''s go back a few weeks, right after everything went south. Right after Malcolm was left for dead.

    -----------------------------------

    Malcolm was completely and utterly lost.

    But that was just stating the obvious. He was also terrified of going any further than he had already since the Leech swarm could be at any corner. Every time the [Mage] turned, he got ready to cast [Earth Wall]. Fortunately for him, after hours of wandering, it looked like the swarm had finally dissolved, now all he had to do was find the exit somehow.

    He was thankful he had [Light], most of the torches were destroyed or simply gone. Malcolm wished his trusted golem Dune was still there, but there was nothing he could do to bring it back. The [Hero] had already tried making a new golem, but his fingers were trembling every time he stopped moving. All the stress was weighing him down, but Malcolm had no choice but to move forward. He hoped his earth spells would keep him safe.

    The [Mage] couldn''t attack very well without a golem, but he could defend himself very well. Or at least he hoped he could. Malcolm was hopelessly lost in his thoughts. He had to distract himself otherwise he would collapse from exhaustion. Or maybe from hunger.

    Well, that was exaggerating. He had read online that the Human body could survive days without food. The bigger problem was water, which he had still not found, but this was all needed if and only if he didn''t make it out of here. If he could just recognize one pathway or an intersection...

    Fortunately for him, after a few hours of looking, Malcolm found the entrance.

    It was sealed.

    The [Hero] banged on the door calling for help. He stood there and called out for hours. Hitting the door until his hands bled and his nails were broken. He was helpless, the door wouldn''t budge. Not even a little. What time was it outside? Maybe they had gone home and the [Guards] would be back tomorrow. Yes, that was it!

    Malcolm still wasn''t tired though, the main reason being that he had destroyed his sleep schedule studying Golemancy and other magic in his room until two in the morning most nights. The [Mage] had no choice though, so he decided he needed to lay down to pass the time.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    He suddenly had an idea, however. Malcolm held out his hand and the earth around the door started moving.

    "[Earth Manipulation]."

    How had he not thought of this sooner? It was like trees you had to use cut on in Pokemon. He could simply go around and¨C

    His spell stopped working after around one foot. It looked like some sort of enchantment against magic, his spell simply had no effect. Malcolm tried it again on the left side of the doors this time and it had the same result. It looked like he was stuck here until tomorrow... whenever that was.

    The [Mage] walked down the corridor and dug a little human-sized hole for himself to keep him safe from any roaming Leeches. And so, Malcolm laid down and closed his eyes. The hole was uncomfortable but at least he was safe from harm. Hopefully.

    That "night", he dreamed. He dreamed that he was back home. Not at the castle at Ankrea, but back on Earth. It was the first time he thought about it since... since he arrived in this world actually, and the [Hero] thought that was odd after he woke up crying.

    Instead of forgetting the dream after a few minutes like usual, he remembered everything. Every single second hit him like a truck. He could finally remember his mom''s and his dad''s faces. His big sister''s face. Their voice, their smell, and everything about them.

    He felt sick to his stomach. Up until now, it was like he had completely forgotten about them... no, it was like his family never even existed in the first place. What could have caused this? Malcolm felt his heart beating faster and faster. His breathing got harder and his vision blurred. He was having a panic attack.

    Or he thought so since he had never had one before. There was no way to really know. The [Mage] threw up in a corner and coughed a few times.

    Malcolm was sobbing now, and his face was a complete mess. After a few minutes of sobbing quietly, he started making his way towards the door again. The [Hero] would get to the bottom of this. He knew this wasn''t natural. One did not simply forget about their family.

    He positioned himself in front of the door and started banging on it, and once again there was no response. Had he overslept? Or maybe he only slept for one hour? It was possible. Malcolm had no perception of what time it was in the dungeon. He screamed at the door.

    "Someone help! I''m stuck in here!"

    Still no response.

    Malcolm had also realized that he was probably the last survivor in the dungeon, otherwise, he was sure he would have seen someone make it back here by now. Or wait... maybe they were just lost like him and they were struggling to find the exit.

    Regardless, he needed to¨C

    "Schreeeeeeee!"

    Malcolm flinched and fell on his butt. It was an Arcane Leech! No, wait, there were four! The red oversized worms wriggled towards him. They had blue streaks of mana pulsating inside of their bodies. Did the screaming attract them here? He had been so dumb!

    The [Mage] gagged and crawled backward, He couldn''t beat them, certainly not without a golem by his side! His spells were purely defensive! He had to run¨C

    In a surprising feat of mobility, the Leech jumped towards him with its jaw wide open.

    "Ear¨C [Earth Wall]!"

    Malcolm''s hand glowed in a brown-yellowish light and the earth rose from the ground at neck-breaking speed. The Leech smashed into it and collapsed on the ground.

    For once, Malcolm wished he had brought his sword with him. After all, he was still a level 4 [Warrior] with two sword skills. Unfortunately, he didn''t bring it with him. The [Mage] had been arrogant, and he had thought that Dune would have been enough.

    Walls would get him nowhere, he needed to be better.

    "[Greater Earth Manipulation]."

    With newfound confidence, the [Mage] ripped out pieces of mud and dirt from the ground and walls, solidified them and turned them into spikes, all of that in less than a second. He then thrust them into the leech that hit his wall. It screeched in agony and then it went limp. Its friends didn''t seem to be shaken, and the four that were left rushed towards the [Hero].

    Malcolm once again used [Greater Earth Manipulation], and this time he created two spikes for each Leech. He managed to kill three, but one dodged and made it past him. The monster jumped and bashed against the [Hero]''s side. Malcolm groaned in pain. He wasn''t fast enough to pull up an [Earth Wall] to defend himself!

    It felt like the Leech had broken some ribs, but he would live. The [Mage] used all the remaining strength he had in his legs to push the monster off of him and then used his new spike technique.

    They were all dead now, and Malcolm was sure he would level next time he slept. If he had had faster reflexes, nothing bad would have happened to him. The [Mage] cursed silently at his own incompetence and slowly sat on the ground. He was useless. If only he was Blake or anyone else... he would have taken care of those Leeches in a few seconds without a scratch.

    After a few minutes of weeping and self-hate, Malcolm got up again, and the right part of his chest was on fire. At least he could still walk, and the [Mage] was thankful for that fact. If the Leeches had gotten him in the legs... Malcolm didn''t even want to think about it. Being crippled here would be a death sentence.

    He had no potions he could use to mend his bones either.

    Malcolm sighed. All the fighting had taken place next to the dungeon entrance and if no one heard it, then no one was ever going to open the door any time soon. He hadn''t eaten in more than twenty-four hours... at least he thought so. He was in agony. It was like his stomach was collapsing on itself. Malcolm had never been this hungry before, and his throat was getting drier by the minute.

    He looked at the Leeches.

    No... he would never do such a thing. Those monsters were probably poisonous too. There was no way. Malcolm could only hope they''d find him before he died of dehydration.

    The [Hero] contemplated looking for food or a source of water deeper in the dungeon. After all, these things had to drink and eat something right? Wait, no, they absorbed the ambient mana around their environment to live, so it was possible that no food was available anywhere...

    That was the worst-case scenario. Surely someone would come any moment now, right? Any moment now... for now, Malcolm decided that he needed to sleep, not because he was tired, but because he needed to level up.

    Level 10 in his mage class would bring him a much-needed boost. After all, it was common knowledge that the best skills came every ten levels. A level 40¨C or level 50 skill if you were unlucky, could propel you into a force that was able to threaten entire cities just by yourself! But first came level 10, and Malcolm would gladly take any skill that came with it. He closed his eyes and waited for the voice to do its thing.

    [Mage: Level 10]

    [Mage ¨C¨C> Earth Mage]

    [Skill: Earth Spike Obtained]

    [Skill: Ground Liquefaction Obtained]