《Strongest Sorcerer》


 Spell 1: Prologue I - Ill enter Rebirth!

    Chapter 1: Prologue I - I''ll enter Rebirth!


    Boundless. A word to describe this universe. The boundless, and vast darkness filled with life and light. A universe created, and not fabricated with some accident story. In this universe lies a stream of white light in space. It travels from one world to another carrying different souls from different times and places.


    Then suddenly, one speck of light from this stream diverted its course. It flew to other worlds and galaxies, journeying through the endless universe unbound by time. For millions of years, this tiny light traveled to even the most remote corner of the universe and even discovered its edge called the profound loop.


    As this light through the vast created realms, achieving the peak of the physical world¡¯s knowledge, it still failed to do what it meant to do. It searched the whole universe but was still unable to find what it was searching for.


    The tiny speck of light returned to the origin of the universe, it''s center. A vast creation called the Myriad Worlds. This place contained the Ten Heavens, the Nine Hells and, the Seven Realms, the first of worlds to be created by the Ancient Origin Creator. As the tiny light reached this place, it soared up to the ninth heaven and saw an amiable-looking man in his early twenties inside a beautiful garden. The man was sitting near a pond, looking at the surface of the water that projected a vast world.


    The man noticed the speck of light and humbly smiled as he looked at it. "Are you finally accepting your part in this controversy?" the amiable-looking man said softly. The speck of light, smaller than mung beans, remained silent. "To be reincarnated as a mortal soul would be another type of adventure don''t you think?" The man continued. "I know you have been to all the places there is, but isn''t it boring to travel alone? By being a mortal soul, you can travel with other mortals and share experience with them."


    The tiny speck of light answered with a question: "Your Excellency if I go through the rebirth, won''t I lose my memories?" The speck asked this because he knew that after rebirth, the soul will be remade and past memories will be erased to make room for new memories so that the rebirthed person will not be confused about himself. This is an automatic program that the creator made in order to avoid problems with new souls.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The man then answered: "Yes and No. The memory of who you are, you will lose them. But the memory of what you know, your understanding, will remain the same, your character will still be there, therefore, you as you will still exist. You are unlike the rest of the souls, as you are the firstborn of the created. You might lose your memories, but will retain the understanding of the universal and heavenly laws that formed from the word of the creator." the amiable man smiled as he turns his head to look back at the projection of the pond, then continued. "The created has become worse. Era by era, they have forgotten the truth. They have diverted to other paths and even proclaimed themselves as gods, oppressing the weak and destroying the strong. The seven realms and the nine hells have gone out of order." The man was saddened by this. He felt his heart aching as he thought of the creatures overshadowed by this darkness.


    "I am only a weak soul who went against the will of the heavens. How will I have the power to stop all this chaos?" The tiny light asked. "No. You don''t have the power to do so. Though you have attained the immortal soul, right now, you don''t have the ability to fix this problem that your relatives and that fallen star created." The man said. "Even she, one of my seven, your beloved, was not able to stop the madness that happened at that time. You remember what happened to you right? Your mortal doom, her immortal life extinguished by schemes... Even I had to intervene." the man sighed.


    The tiny speck of light remained silent whilst pondering upon his decision. Then the man said something that pushed him to answer. The man said "Your beloved just exited detention and has entered the mortal world and asked for incarnation. She thought you have entered the state of rebirth along time ago..." before the amiable man could finish "I''ll enter rebirth!!" the tiny speck interjected.


    The man looked at him and smiled. "Are you sure?"


    "Yes!"


    "Do you even know how to find her? It has been thousands of years in mortal time..."


    "Your Excellency... I thought you said she just exited the detention?"


    "Son... I believe you understand the concept of time? To me time is irrelevant. Now and a billion years has no difference." still looked at the speck of light with the same amiable smile.


    "Your Excellency, I will find her even if I have to undergo millions of rebirths, even if I won''t be able to remember anymore, even if... even if I have to go against heavens'' will... your will... again!" the speck steadily said.


    "Hahahahahahahahaah!" The amiable man laughed heartily. "Ok!" He smiled again. "Go, do my will. If you forget, I will personally come to remind you. Hehehehe. Go to the seventh realm, there, your fate is twined."


    The tiny speck hurriedly went and entered the seven realms.


    The main switched his attention to the images in the pond. It now projected the tiny speck. Then he said: "Remember, the fallen star will always scheme against you, oh firstborn, inheritor of the seven realms."

 Spell 2: Prologue II - Its been a good life

    Chapter 2: Prologue II - It''s been a good life


    The seventh realm, also known as the Mortal Realm.


    The tiny speck entered the vast realm and traveled through its thirteen kingdoms. He reached the Kingdom of Golden leaf and started to look for the empty vessel he was to rebirth one. This vessel must be a recently formed union of the male fire and the female ice. The fertilization of the male and female seeds.


    Before the new creature will be born, a soul must enter the vessel. The soul is the breath of life from the Ancient Origin Creator. Once the mortal vessel becomes old or dies, the soul with all its experience goes back to the creator, and stores all its memories on the creator then goes back to the soul stream and returns to the mortal world to enter another vessel again. Sometimes, a vessel remembers its previous life during its child years but then forgets after time passes as it is refreshed to make space for a new experience.


    High Castle - Kingdom of the Golden Leaf


    "This cannot be!" A loud angry voice rang in the hallway of the palace.


    "Your Highness... The queen, along with the child... has passed away..." a person who looked like a physician stood solemnly at the behind the king.


    "Why... why have the heavens forsaken me? What did I do to displease the ancient?" The king cried.


    "King Cedric, the Six kingdom alliance is now invading our lands. I know you are grieving by the loss of your wife and heir, but we have the responsibility to protect our people.." a man in steel armor with bear-like body reminded the king of their situation.


    "General San, how goes the preparations?" the king asked.


    "Everything is ready Sire. The only thing left is your order to use our national treasure." General San replied. But as he spoke, he frowned at the thought of using such means to an end.


    "General, this is the only way to protect the people. Remember, the blood of the Leafians is unique. The energy of the earth will always support us. The energy of the sky will always give us breath. The energy of the Stars will always give us life. Although we are not fighters, yet we are strong. If we use the national treasure, this strength will never be used by others. Our blood will be sealed and its strength is hidden. After death, we will hound these traitors as spirits!!" The king was angry. His wrath reached the peak of its scale. Thinking about the traitors that would rob them of their lives today, his face became red and eyes bore a fiery hatred that could consume the souls of who looked upon it.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    The six kingdom alliance was once called the Seven Swords Alliance. It was led by the Golden Leaf kingdom accompanied by the Silver Sword Queendom, Black Steel, Emerald, Dragon forge, Dark wing kingdoms and Holy Land of Lir. This alliance brought an end to the reign of a demon who escaped the 3rd hell and tried to conquer the seventh realm. With its strength as an alliance, it destroyed the demon army and gave peace to all the lands.


    But why would the alliance turn against their leader, the Golden Leaf? Why would they betray the man who organized them? Why would they attack the strongest of the 13 kingdoms?


    The answer lies in the blood of the Leafians. During the war with the Demon army, known as the "War of the first fallen", King Cedric and his army used their bloodline''s power to oppress the demon army. It was because of this move that they were able to win. But instead of praising the prowess of the Leafians, the Holy land of Lir incited distress to the other kingdoms. Claiming that the Golden Leafs power might be used to oppress and conquer their lands in the future.


    The first to object to this claim was the Silver Sword Queendom. They were in-laws with the Leafians. The sister of their queen was the wife of King Cedric. But an unfortunate calamity was brought upon the laboring queen of the Leafians. During labor, the queen lost all her life force and birthed a premature soulless child. The Silver Sword Queendom lost all reason and agreed to join forces with the alliance. Though they deeply regretted this in the future.


    As the armies of the Six Kingdom Alliance neared the capital, they ransacked and pillaged the villages and towns that belonged to the Leafians as they marched. The total soldiers they brought numbered up to 800 thousand. A combination of all the best and most unique fighters their kingdoms have to offer.


    Facing this great army was the Company of the braves. There were twelve people in total in this group. This includes King Cedric, General Sans, and 10 other Emperor Art experts. They were supposed to have around 200 thousand soldiers but they were ordered to gather their families and head to the center of the capital. Although they were few, yet these ordinary soldiers have 5 times the strength compared to the soldiers from other kingdoms. This is because they were not physical fighters, but mages. Expert of magical and spiritual arts, which goes against the doctrines of the Holy Land of Lir.


    The company of the braves was only 12 people. But these individuals carry the bloodline of the Leafians. The bloodline of magic and spirit wielders. Each of these mages has the strength of 10 thousand men. 800 thousand from the Six kingdom alliance against the 12 mages from the company of the braves worth 120 thousand men. Though they were strong, the quality was still overwhelmed by quantity.


    Members of the company started to fall on after the other. As general sans stood on the battlefield, he finally realized why his king wanted to use their national treasure. Because if they were defeated, and their people enslaved, their bloodline will be used by others as a weapon for other wars. But by using the king''s idea, their enemies will be deprived of this fortune.


    General San raised his two hands as he mumbled some words. The thousands of berserk soldiers from the alliance madly charged forward to him. Thinking that he was surrendering. Killing him would earn a billion gold coins. Who wouldn''t want that? Killing this old general would earn them a fortune that they cannot spend in their lifetime. Evil intent sparked in the eyes as they neared general San in rush.


    The old general sneered and grinned. He turned his gaze towards the person standing behind him. "Your Highness, it has been a good life!" He smiled.


    King Cedric smiled and bowed at the old general. "It has been a good life, general."

 Spell 3: Prologue III - Crying Child

    Chapter 3: Prologue III - Crying Child


    "Your Highness! It was my fortune to serve you and the ancient!" he shouted as he returned his attention to his foes. "High lightning of the Heavens! Hear my call! Sacrifice!"


    The soldiers of the alliance were only around 10 meters when a loud explosion was heard. Lightning bolts rained and hit the soldiers. There was no room to evade. It was like water pouring from a waterfall. The bolts overflowed from the sky and eliminate all living things around it. Only King Cedric was not affected by the calamity as he was protected by the energy of the national treasure.


    Half... exactly half of the remaining forces of the alliance got wiped out in this one move by General San. But the price to pay was the consumption of his soul. With this, the old general will never be able to enter the stream of souls.


    As his sparkling body stood, it was already void of life. At this moment, the leaders of the kingdoms regretted their greed and decision. So what if we conquer the Golden Leaf? With the loss of our armies that were much greater than the "War of the first fallen", we are bound to suffer greater misfortune than the fortune we gain. But all this thinking was going to change for the worse.


    King Cedric Stood on top of the castle walls. Behind him was the vast center of capital were his people stood with gazes of admiration towards him.


    "Friends, My family, My people! Forgive me. This is all that this powerless man before you can do. This sin... I will carry... that none of your descendants shall suffer in the future. If the ancient creator can remember our faith, then he might save us from this eternity. I will use our National Treasure as the final means... to end this war." The king said.


    "Your Highness! We are with you till the end!"


    "Whatever happens, we are still people of the Golden Leaf!"


    "Hail King Cedric!"


    "Hail the Ancient Creator!!"


    The people shouted and exclaimed. Though they are to enter an eternity of nothingness, they were still excited and happy that their king was always looking after them.


    King Cedric smiled as he looked at the palace far away. His lifeless wife and child were still there. He had no opportunity to bury his deceased family. Tears flowed out from his eyes as he remembered the love for his wife and the yearning to touch his child... but this calamity happened.


    "Cedric! Surrender now and be spared from this end!" A semi-bald man in his late 70s shouted.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Old worm! I should have known it was you who incited this madness.!" King Cedric looked at this old man in disdain.


    "Fool of a king! You heretics are banes of the 7th realm. If not for you evil magic and sorcery, none of this would happen. Your deeds go against the Lir! The god of Light, Law, and Order!" the old man exclaimed.


    The old man is Pope Bragar of the Holy Lands of Lir. A kingdom founded by the church of Lir, the largest religion worshipping the god Lir. He was the one who waged the Holy War against the Demon Lord Turda-in in the "War of the First Fallen". Now, he again, waged war against the Kingdom of the Golden Leaf. On the outside, was him waging a Holy war. But on the inside, it was him wanting the powers of the conquered nations.


    "Hahahahahahahaha!" King Cedric laughed. "Old worm, do you think things will go as you have planned?"


    "Fool! There''s no escaping your fate!" Pope Bragar retorted.


    "Then... suffer disappointment!" King Cedric shouted as he raised their national treasure.


    Bragar widened his eyes as he saw what happened. The citizens of the Kingdom of the Golden Leaf raised their hands and placed it near their hearts as if taking an oath. Then bright light flowed out of the national treasure and encompassed the center of the capital, swallowing all that it passed through.


    "Noooooo!!!" Pope Bragar shouted but there was nothing he could do. The capital of the Kingdom of the Golden Leaf vanished without a trace. Nothing remained in the central capital. It didn''t even resemble a kingdom anymore if not for a huge castle at the end of the capital that remained in its place.


    Loss.. a huge loss!! This War was for nothing. The alliance didn''t expect the Leafians to have such treasure that will make them disappear from the face of the realm. The scholars and Art masters were not able to answer this mystery. The alliance lost more than half of their forces and gained only empty lands. There wasn''t even a single coin in sight. And the King''s castle only contained simple rooms and ornaments. Nothing was worth more than their sword and armor. What a tragedy. They earned nothing yet the cost was more than they could afford.


    The Queen of the Silver Sword Queendom held in her arms the lifeless body of her beautiful sister. What she wondered was that she had heard that even the child her sister bore died with her, but there was no corpse of a child found near the vicinity. Only her lifeless sister.


    Thousands of miles away - The Republic of the 3 States


    "Uwaaaaa uwaaaaa!!!" A baby boy cried. As the child opened his eyes, what he saw was a tree, that blossomed with pink-colored flowers. But then he felt hungry... and the only thing he could do was cry for food.


    Not far from the crying child, an old man came tumbling down from a small hill near the forest.


    He was an energetic looking old man with leaves on his hair and mud on his face and clothes. His face showed an expression of surprise and bewilderment. Why the heck would a child be in the center of this forest? He was just gathering some wild herbs when he heard the sudden cries of a little baby.


    The baby was bundled in thick white linen. on the baby''s small neck hanged a ring turned into a necklace.


    "What the!!! Who hanged this necklace on the kid!! Aren''t they afraid it might strangle the baby??!!" He was angry at the person who wore the necklace on the child.


    As he was looking at the crying child... of which he had nothing to do with, a feeling of compassion whelmed in his heart. Then he thought of something.


    "I see..." The old man said. "This is my last mission before I join the others huh? You really give me no choices... It''s always been like this... to others... you gave thousands of choices... to me.. its only one... you''re just saying -Just do it!- huh?" He was looking at the heavens while mumbling.


    "Oh well... so... what do we have here?" He picked up the child and raised him up.


    The little baby boy seemed to stop crying as it was looking at him. Then the child smiled with a rosy cheek.


    "..." The Old man stared at the smiling child. A warm feeling engulfed his heart as he looked at the amiable little fellow.


    "What''s your name kid?" The old man asked.


    "Oooooooooooo" the child replied... with an "o" shape on his mouth.


    "Hahahahahahhaha" the old man laughed. "You act as if you understand me huh? Kid.. you think I''m a fool? Who''d believe that you can understand me? You''re just a newborn brat.... er... the heck I''m talking too??!!! I might be really crazy!!"


    "Oooooooooooo"


    "Don''t mock me!"


    "Oooooooooooo"


    "............." The old man then searched for some clue as to where the baby came from. But the only clue


    he could find was the ring hanged on the baby''s neck.


    On the ring were words written on the inside part. "Gin Ordric Dawnfall... Oh... a good name!"


    The old man carried the baby and walked outside the forest. Leaving the lonely cherry tree behind.

 Spell 4: Dont be surprised

    Chapter 4: Don''t be surprised


    Ten thousand years passed


    "We''re finally here!!! At last!" a hooded person exclaimed while facing the entrance of a small village.


    Outside of Lopan village, a group of silver robed people arrived near the entrance with the expression of relief shown on their faces. On their robes are crested with the shape of three swords facing downward. There were 9 people; 6 males, and 3 females. The 5 males and 2 females were in their late 20s. The other two are in their teens, around 15-17 years old. All of them were middle Mortal Arts practitioners. Among the seniors, 4 are rank 4, 2 are rank 5 and 1 rank 6. The 2 teenagers are both rank 5 Mortal Arts practitioners. For their age, becoming rank 5 mortal arts level was unprecedented. Usually, one opens a mana gate by the age of 20 and can become rank 2 by 21, rank 6 by 25, rank 9 by 29.


    One of the robed females walked towards the hooded person who shouted. ¡°It¡¯s really an honor to join your group in this expedition, your highness,¡± she said.


    The person removed his hood and a 15 ¨C 17-year-old girl was revealed. She smiled back at her senior and said, ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s a pleasure! It¡¯s a pleasure! Hehehe!


    The other teenager beside her also removed the hood and a teenage boy was revealed. On his left side hand two silver swords. He had a handsome face, wolf-like blue eyes and a warrior imposing aura. The only flaw in his heroic appearance was the troubled look on his face.


    ¡°Argh! Why did I have to go babysitting on my vacation¡­¡± the boy mumbled.


    ¡°Oh? You plan to go against my sister¡¯s wishes?¡± the girl asked.


    ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Oh well¡­ might as well get this task done¡­ Team captain¡­ what was this task again?¡±


    The ¡®captain of the group¡¯, one of the senior practitioners, explained the content of their mission. It was to investigate the complaint from the village chief of Lopan village about attacks from a monster coming from a nearby forest.


    ¡°Ah! This is so awesome! Imagine if this monster is similar to the monster of the legends! It also came from the same forest!¡± the girl exclaimed.


    ¡°Ah! This sucks¡­ Imagine if this monster is similar to the monster of the legends¡­ we¡¯d be dying in this mission won¡¯t we?¡± the boy sarcastically remarked.


    ¡°Relax Lyle¡­ With this princess around, all monsters will bow down to me! Hur hur hur!¡± the girl laughed.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°¡­¡± the others.


    ¡°It¡¯s really amazing how the two of them are already rank 5 mortal arts level.¡± One senior said.


    ¡°Yeah. In our academy, geniuses like them can be counted with just our 10 fingers.¡±


    ¡°How do they become so strong though? Captain, how can we be like them and have our Arts level and mana increase faster?¡± someone asked.


    The captain looked at the two teenagers who were currently bickering with each other. His gaze was warm as he looked at the two geniuses who were the pride of their academy. Then he replied to the question.


    ¡°Arts is the method of increasing and using mana in the body. It is cultivating one¡¯s aptitude in using the energy of the world. Arts practitioners start as Mortal Arts level, like us, which is the primary rank for a masterless art neophyte. As one gets stronger, one can absorb more energy.¡±


    Each level is composed of 9 stages, which are known as the 3 ranks in each stage; the early rank, middle rank and peak rank. The levels are Mortal, Transcender, and Ascender. The middle Mortal level is the hardest to overcome. Since this is the first stage, it is where the Mana pool for the Arts is formed. Usually, by the age of 30, one can break through to the peak of mortal arts then the rest of the stages will not be age reliant but must be overcome by talent as well as hard work. Either of the two will do. But some are unfortunate to be stuck in the 5th rank due to flawed arts, physical deficiencies, or bad luck from a curse.


    But these two teenagers went beyond the norms. Rank 5 Mortal Arts Level at the age of 15-17. Genius! Pure Genius!


    "Alice, it''s better if you stay in this village and..." the hooded boy started talking when a palm smacked his face covering his mouth and flattening his nose.


    "What? Lyle? I can''t hear you.." An innocent voice came out from the girl as she took her hood and muffler off. Leaving only a customized leather armor worm in a rebellious way that showed the prowess of a perfectly proportioned and well-endowed body.


    "........" The young boy frowned helplessly as he looked the playful looking girl smiling at him.


    The girl, although a teenager, looked like a fiery goddess that was sent to restore happiness to humanity. Her vermillion-red hair tumbled over her shoulders. Her face seemed to be molded out by the ancient creator himself to advertise His artistic prowess. She had a cheerful and joyous personality of the infectious type. She had a curvaceous shapely figure which could cause wars between countries. A pair of arched eyebrows that matched the fairness of her emerald green eyes and angel-white teeth. If kings, even the best of friends, could see her, they would wage war with each other only of have this eye-candy jewel grace their presence.


    But there was an exception. And this abnormality was the young boy named Lyle. The boy silently thought, "If only I can''t see her face in you... If only you weren''t her little sister... I would smack your head with a hand chop!!" This boy, who could ignore this otherworldly beauty, was actually deeply in love with her sister. So he had no thoughts of hitting on this playful girl.


    But he couldn''t say this out loud. If it were just them, he could. But right now, they were with other people who might think badly of him if he does. Plus, his relationship with the girl''s sister was a secret no outsider must know.


    "I finally got out of that place... now you want me to stay inside a building again? Ugh!!" The girl cutely pouted.


    "No need to worry, it¡¯s one of my dreams to enter this famous Sleeping Vine Forest and see the monster of the legends, the legendary spirit bull." The teenage girl replied.


    "Nguuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!"


    Suddenly a loud roar came from the deep forest and the ground trembled.


    "The spirit bull!!" excitement and anxiety can be found in the voice of the 2 teenagers.


    "Alice, when the bull shows up, please don''t¡­" The teenage boy was warning the teenage girl when he found out that the girl was nowhere to be seen. The others in silver robes were shocked to see that Alice is gone. Black lines can be seen in their sullen expressions. If something happens to Alice while on their watch, their whole clan will face extinction.


    "Not again!! That little¡­" the boy facepalmed. "Oh well¡­"


    "Sir Lyle¡­ what do we do?" The leader of the group asked as he trembled in fear the calamity they would face.


    "No worries¡­ she does this a lot. It''s the first time she''s with you guys so you might get a little surprised at everything she does." Lyle said calmly


    Surprised? Surprised?! We''re facing the extinction of our whole clan if something happens to her!


    But to their surprise, Lyle was very calm.

 Spell 5: I dont speak Bull

    Chapter 5: I don''t speak Bull


    At the age of 5, Lyle was brought to the Silver Sword 10th division barracks by a stable caretaker. He was an orphan from a clan that was destroyed during a war. The barrack was then invaded by a horde of goblins that started to pillage and destroy. The barracks at that time was unfortunate for sending most of their trained men to war against a neighboring rival country. Only one Art expert remained and that person was only a rank 1 arts practitioner-in-charge of the cafeteria.


    The goblins and hobgoblins led by a goblin general brought havoc on the barracks. Lyle, together with the other servants of the barracks fled to the inner camp escaping from the slaughter when suddenly a knight protecting them was shot by a goblin archer. The arrow pierced through his eyes through the back of his head. Instant death.


    Lyle picked the knights sword. He was full of courage and fearlessness of death. He had no family and no one to care about. Even if he died, no one would weep or miss him. So, he was determined to fight to the death.


    "If I will die anyway, I will bring a lot of enemies with me!" He said to himself.


    Unknowingly, a bloodline skill was activated. His clan''s bloodline, the Spirit Sword Arts woke from his blood and opened his cultivating body to rank 2 mortal arts. Although it was a low rank 2 mortal art, it was a bloodline art. He can suppress experts up to rank 4. So when his power was awakened, he slaughtered the invading goblin army including the rank 5 mortal art goblin general. Since that day, his name rang throughout the empire and was named Lyle the Silver Wolf.


    He grew up with Alice and her sisters. And fell in love with the eldest of the three. He was then tasked by her lover to watch over their little sister. For many years he has done his duty. For many years he has endured greatly. For many years¡­ he suffered daily. This is because of the carefree run-off-the-mill Alice. A headache¡­ this little lady truly causes heart problems. Fortunately, Lyle was already immune to shocks done by Alice due to his many years of experience.


    "Ok let''s look for the little tomboy" Lyle sarcastically said while smiling as he ran into the dense forest.


    "¡­." The rest of the silver cloaks blankly stared at the back of Lyle.


    "Wow¡­ this kid is brave¡­ talking about her like that."


    "Yeah. I wouldn''t call the lady ''little tomboy'' even if she is"


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


    "Well, the Silver Wolf does have a special relationship with them."


    They were amazed and astonished at Lyle. They had deep respect and admiration for him who was now well-known throughout the empire. Then they followed him towards the Sleeping Vine Forest.


    ~Inside the sleeping vine forest~


    Alice was jumping from tree to tree pretending to be a ninja. She then saw a beautiful pond in the middle of the forest. Beside the pond is a single cherry tree that shows its age as something that has survived thousands of years. The old tree that bore the scars of being cut down. A bloody bandage was wrapped around the trunk signifying that it was placed back up and was mended.


    "This tree¡­ there''s a homey feeling surrounding it." Alice thought to herself while nearing the pond.


    She then saw that around the pond were strawberry patches planted in an arranged order. Inside the pond, she noticed something moving. Alice neared the pond and looked at the center. Then fear struck her. Beads of sweat started to drip from her face.


    Two blue glowing eyes were present inside the semi-translucent pond. An aura that cannot be measured! As Alice was standing near the edge of the pond, blue aura filled the pond like wild flames. She saw a huge creature, 8 feet in height, slowly rising from the center of the pond.


    It was the spirit bull!!


    "Oh my stars¡­" Alice nervously said as the tyrannical spirit bull showed itself.


    The spirit bull was surrounded by an aura that looked like blue flames. An arrogant expression can be seen on its face, looking at her with its scornful looking blue eyes. It had two horns but the right horn was cut. A scar over its left eye, a body formed with well-toned muscles.


    The presence of the spirit bull brought heavy pressure to its surroundings. Its power level surpassed Alice 10 fold.


    It was angry. It was happy. It was annoyed. It was surprised. It was confused. It was angry again. A dozen expressions can be seen on the face of the spirit bull. It sensed familiarity with Alice but then it showed aggression.


    "He now big thing¡­ I''m just passing through¡­" Alice nervously smiled at the bull.


    "Nguu?"


    "Huh?"


    "Nguuuu???"


    "Err¡­ sorry I don''t speak bull."


    "Nguuuuuu!!!!!!!!"


    Arts Aura came out from the bull''s body adding more pressure to her.


    "Now¡­ what have you gotten us into¡­"


    Lyle arrived with the rest of the group. They were also shaking from the aura of the spirit bull.


    At first, their main objective in this expedition was to investigate and hunt a mischievous monster. An elder of Lopan village issued a quest to the Silver Sword empire''s hunter''s guild. But the guild won¡¯t accept the contract because of the very low payment. So the Knight Academy took the job as training for their students. The monster has been causing havoc in their village for many years that even their records cannot determine when this started. Each time the monster comes to visit, its route has been determined. It first smashed a hole in the village chief''s house, takes some carrots from a nearby farm plot, visits a worn-down wooden house and sits in front showing the feeling of sadness and longing, then returns to the deep dark forest.


    "At a count of 3, ready yourselves¡­ we will attack with all our strength." The leader softly said. "one¡­ two¡­"


    Lyle grasped the handle of his sword, ready to swing in a few moments while Alice was readying her Arts.


    "Three!!!!"


    The seven silver robes from the hunters guild jumped and aimed their weapons at the spirit bull.


    "Seven-star formation!!" This was the hunting formation the guild used to hunt titan level creatures. They deemed the spirit bull to be a titan class. Their most powerful hunting formation. It required seven people with arts above rank 2 Mortal Arts.


    As their attack neared the spirit bull, the big "bringer of calamity" calmly watched. It had a mocking grin and arrogant look.


    The moment their formation reached the blue aura of the bull, something unbelievable to the hunters occurred.


    Their attack was reflected by the aura and damage them instead. The seven of them spew blood as wounds appeared on their body. It was the damage caused by the seven-star formation.

 Spell 6: What are those?!

    Chapter 6: What are those?!


    "What happened??"


    "This¡­ this¡­its.. im.. imm¡­ impossible!!!"


    "What do you mean?"


    "The spirit bull¡­it''s realms stronger than us¡­"


    "What?!!"


    "The blue flaming aura¡­ is a monster bloodline that can only be activated by an Ascender beast.." the leader of the hunting party spoke with shock as if a god descended from the sky.


    "So you''re saying that this bull is an Ascender Expert??"


    "..." The leader closed his eyes, nodded and frowned.


    "Lady Alice! Sir Lyle! Please escape!"


    "Is there nothing that can be done?" Lyle replied as he grasped the handle of his sword. This was the first time he felt a sense of helplessness. When facing the horde of goblins, he never felt pressured. But this spirit bull released the pressure that can end all life surrounding it.


    "This fellow¡­" Alice pondered as she was imagining the chaos it did at Lopan village. She was wondering how this tyrannical monster attacked the village without causing any casualty. With the aura it''s releasing just by being around can kill people who are not practicing Arts. And in Lopan village, only 4 people were Arts experts. The village head who was rank 1 copper arts practitioner, and the three rank 2 mortal arts elders.


    "Nguuuuu!!!" suddenly the bull went into an attacking position, scratching the ground with its hooves, ready to attack.


    Lyle released his sword from the scabbard and dozens of spirit swords appeared above him. Alice chanted a seal breaking spell on her chains.


    "Spirit swords breaking formation!"


    "Holy chains activated! Evil be sealed!"


    Alice and Lyle shouted as they attacked the spirit bull before it can act. But suddenly, they frowned, faces became pale.


    Lyle''s sword formation suddenly vanished as it touched the blue flames. Alice''s holy chains did not move, as if it was dead.


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


    The Holy Chain Sealing Arts is a bloodline art that lets the user use divine chains coming from a different plane using the body of the caster as the entrance and exit medium. These chains emit a holy aura that is able to suppress evil.


    Unfortunately, the spirit bull is a sacred beast. A monster that emits the holy blue flaming aura. Therefore, when Alice commanded her chains to seal the bull, it did not obey her orders.


    "Lyle! Use the phantom sword slash!" She shouted to Lyle as she prepared another chain technique.


    "What are you trying to do?"


    "Defeat it of course.."


    "Gosh!! You believe you can defeat it?" Lyle asked in a tone of disbelief.


    "Nope." An innocent smile appeared on her face.


    "......." Lyle facepalmed. "I really don''t know what to do anymore¡­ ha ha ha.." he lightly laughed.


    "He he he... it''s not that I''m suicidal or anything... I just have a feeling..." Alice giggled as she ran behind the spirit bull.


    The Spirit bull this time was just standing in his original position, not minding the things around it. It was staring at a distant location deep in the forest. It had a serious look on its face.


    The two teenagers did not notice what the bull was doing.


    "Chain Arts! Earth sealing chain!" as Alice shouted her art, earth attribute chains appeared from the ground rushing around the spirit bull.


    The spirit bull noticed the unfolding of the attack too late. But it was still calm and looked back to the direction it gazed upon.


    "Lyle! I got it! it''s your turn!" She shouted while a sinister grin appeared on her face.


    "Gotcha! Spirit sword Art, First Sword, Tiger''s Fang!"


    Booooooooghsshshshshshhs!!!!


    A loud bang sounded throughout the central region of the forest. Dust particles rose up from the ground as a wave of energy torrents swayed the massive trees and broke nearby branches.


    "Are they successful? Did they defeat the spirit bull?"


    "I guess so¡­"


    "Phew¡­ I thought we were goners.."


    "Yeah. Thank the heavens the Silver Wolf was with us."


    "Also the lady¡­"


    "It can''t be... Its¡­"


    "It''s alive?!"


    Alice and Lyle frowned as the dust particles receded. The Spirit Bull was still standing in its original position. Not a scratch on its body can be found. It didn''t even mind the strongest attack Lyle unleashed. It was still looking seriously towards the east of the forest.


    Suddenly, golden symbols appeared from the spirit bull''s forehead and in a speed so fast, entered the heads of the 9 people present.


    They reacted too late. They wanted to evade but weren''t able to due to how fast the attack was. Thinking that they were about to die, they suddenly felt energized. Their wounds were miraculously healed. Lyle and Alice who used up most of their mana suddenly regained strength. Shock can be seen on their faces as well as traces of confusion.


    "Play. No. More. Danger. Leave. Now¡­"


    "What the¡­ did the Spirit bull just talk right now?" one of the silver robe hunters asked.


    "Maybe my brains'' broken from its attack just now¡­" another replied while shaking her head.


    "LEAVE!! NOW!!" The bull shouted as it dashed to the eastern part of the forest.


    ''BOOOGSSSHHHHHH!!!'' A loud bang came from the direction the spirit bull went to. Dust rose to the sky.


    The group felt the pressure coming from the eastern forest.


    "Alice¡­ stay here with the group. I''m curious about what happened to the spirit bull. I feel there''s something wrong. Leader, please take her back to the village and call the 40th barracks for airship assistance to pick up Alice." Lyle said seriously


    "As you command, Sir Lyle." The group leader replied.


    "Lyle, what are you up to?" Alice asked


    "For someone as strong as the spirit bull to be nervous, talked to us and warned us about an incoming danger¡­ something doesn''t feel right."


    Alice understood what Lyle meant. As a genius Copper Level Mortal Arts Practitioner, intuition, and instincts must never be ignored yet, the task given to him by his lover was to be the primary concern. But in this situation, a greater threat might come in the future, so he decided to end this incoming threat before it can reach his loved ones.


    "I understand. But you must take care not to encounter irreversible accidents. Or my big sis will choke me to death." Alice said jokingly.


    Lyle lightly smiled as he breathed out a silent sigh. He turned around and dashed to the eastern region of the forest.


    -Eastern Sleeping Vine Forest Ruins-


    A battle is happening on a clearing in front of the eastern forest ruins. Four creatures were moving so fiercely, hitting and evading with their respective moves. One of the creatures was the spirit bull. Against the bull, three creatures with bodies like giant gorillas, skin like dragon scales, head similar to that of a boar. They were powerful. Although they are not Arts practitioners, their aura can be compared to rank 5 Gold Mortal artists.


    As Lyle arrived, he went up on top of a broken tower and observed the situation. His eyes widened, his face darkened.


    "What are those?!"

 Spell 7: Human. Stupid. Brave. No. Live. Long

    Chapter 7: Human. Stupid. Brave. No. Live. Long


    These creatures are called Ragnakars. They are ancient creatures that were sealed on the dark planes 1000 years ago by the 13 sages. It is said that the ragnakars were created by the Sorcerer King, the greatest villain in the world. Ragnakars are made to be the symbols of death and destruction.


    Once a Ragnakar appears, thousands die. They are said to be extinct. But right now, not just one but three showed up.


    Ragnakars are categorized by power level and intelligence. The weakest would be Class E, which can kill hundreds. This is then followed by Class D, C, B and A. Class B and above can cultivate Arts. Class A ragnakars are able to destroy cities using its phantasmal roar. A very powerful existence that rampaged in the ancient era 1000 years ago.


    The ragnakars that the spirit bull is currently fighting are class E rank 1. With the strength of the Spirit bull, it began to suppress the three opposing ragnakars. Although class E rank 1 ragnakars can kill hundreds of people, the spirit bull is an Ascender master. Using its powerful Arts and aura, study body, strong muscles, high intelligence and thousands worth of experience, the spirit bull was at an advantage.


    Amidst the loud explosions happening, Lyle neared the battlefield until suddenly he felt danger. Behind him was another class E ragnakar, with its dragon claw-like hands smashing towards him. Lyle gritted his teeth, his pupils dilated, face pale. He only felt the extreme danger and left his life to instinct and fate.


    "SWISSHH" "BOOOOOGSSHHHH!!!"


    A crater form on Lyles location. He appeared a few centimeters away from the ragnakars arm, dripping hundreds of bead-like sweat.


    "I almost died¡­" Lyle said to himself.


    Just a few seconds after the attack, Lyle unsheathed his sword like lightning and slashed at the ragnakar right side towards the right side of the abdomen.


    "Ting!"


    The sound of something hitting a metal plate vibrated through the air. Lyle''s pale face showed a shocked expression. His eyes dilated. He felt numbness in his right arm as it was shaking.


    Without a thought, his body instinctively retreated dozens of meters away from the ragnakar. All these happened in just a blink of an eye.


    The spirit bull noticed Lyle and an annoyed expression showed on its face. The bull then forced its flaming aura to burst into a gigantic explosion, distracting the three ragnakars it was fighting.


    Lyle was breathing heavily as his body''s reaction speed soared levels due to adrenalin. He stared at the calm ragnakar a few meters away from him. He started to frown, regretting coming here instead of joining Alice escape.


    Focusing on the ragnakar, Lyle did not notice the Spirit bull was already behind him.


    Back to back, they faced their enemies.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Human. Stupid. Brave. No. Live. Long" The bull said to Lyle while smirking.


    "Uhhh¡­ Yeah¡­ Hahhahahaha!" Lyle replied sighing and laughing a miserable laugh.


    "We. Survive. Human. Hold. Uglies. I. Ready. Arts. Human. Dock. I. Kill. Uglies."


    "I guess you have a plan then?"


    "I. Strong." The spirit bull boasted while grinning and steam puffed from its nose.


    "Ok then!" Lyle held this sword towards the sky and closed his eyes. He gathered his mana and energy from his mana pool surged outside his body.


    The ragnakars sensed danger coming. The four of them looked at one target. Lyle.


    "Spirit Sword Arts, second sword! Blood thorns!" Lyle shouted as he thrust his sword towards the ground. As his sword sunk 2 inches on the soil, eight white swords flashed beneath the ragnakars and pinned them on the ground. This was the power of the 2nd sword of the spirit sword art. It can immobilize the target as long as the caster''s sword is pierced on the ground.


    The ragnakars became immobile. Their eyes turned red, bloodshot from the anger of being pinned down by a supposedly insignificant creature called a human.


    Though these monsters have very low intelligence, the bit of it contained arrogance, thinking of being a higher tier creature than humanoids.


    They struggled to break free of the swords that bound them to the ground.


    "ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH GRAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!


    One tried to open its mouth to use its phantasmal roar but failed as the bind became stronger than even their eyes are forced shut.


    "Any time now??!!" Lyle unconsciously asked as he felt the force of the ragnakars starting to overwhelm him. His spirit energy started to drain very fast as he pushed the sword on the ground. Every second that goes by, his sword gets pushed back by the ground at least by a centimeter. His temporal veins started to pop out.


    Heavy cold sweat started to flow on his back.


    "This... this is not coming from the fear of ragnakars... this.. is something else.." Lyle turned his head to look at the spirit bull.


    "Tiny. Human. DOCK AND RUN!!!!"


    BOGSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    This might be the loudest explosion Alice has heard so far while being around 5 kilometers away from the source. She looked at a huge mushroom cloud of dust that rose due to the impact of the explosion. Trees, soil, and stone from ancient ruins flew into the sky.


    Then she spotted something wiggling in the sky. She recognized this speck.


    "IM ALIVE!!! I ESCAPED!! YOOOWW ZHAAA!!" Then the speck looked below him... and he became pale...


    Lyle now realized that he is around a hundred feet from the ground. If it was only 25 feet, he might be able to use his reflexes to fight against gravity. But 100 feet? "I''m so dead!" he thought to himself.


    While falling and crying at the same time, Lyle saw the spirit bull on the ground looking at him.


    Then it said, "Human. You. Fly. Like. Birdy?" it said with a shocked look on his face.


    "................ Help... Please?"


    "Rock. Paper. Scissors. Paper! Catch!" As the bull shouted, its aura speedily formed into a hand that caught Lyle mid-air and slowly placed him on the ground.


    "Oh sweet mother earth!! I love you mah lovely ground! I don''t wish to part with you again!" Lyle burst into tears as he hugged the ground. He was so happy to be alive after all that happened but his happiness soon ended.


    Not long after that, the spirit bull sensed danger. It glared at the west of the forest. It sensed a great threat. It was something the Bull can overcome... but not these weak mortal humans. What the bull saw, were 3 Transcender and 20 Mortal level Ragnakars!


    "Puny. Human. Go. I. Lure. Ugly. Ragnakars. You. Run!" The bull roared as it issued a challenge to the incoming ragnakars.


    Lyle was in a daze. What did the bull mean? Are there more of these creatures? It wasn''t long till he saw 23 of those monsters closing in. But 3 looked different. They had smaller bodies compared to the others but they had very sharp horns and more dreadful eyes.


    "Bull!! You dare stand against us? Do you know what we are?!" One of the 3 Transcender ragnakar spoke.


    "You. Uglies. Ehehehehehehehehehe!!!"


    Lyle: "..........."


    "Human. Run. Now!" The bull said as blue balls of its aura flame flew and hit the Ragnakars.


    Lyle, on the other hand, ran for his life. Although he was strong against any humanoid Arts Master of the same level, but these monsters were just different. Too different.


    What distressed him this time though... was that in front of him... was Alice, who was standing in shock as she saw the monsters chase the spirit bull. She never imagined that she would be seeing these here. Back when she was at home studying, she found this really interesting book written by G.O. Dawnfall. It was titled "Mystical beasts of the 7 realms". It had very good artwork and was very informative. Some believe it was a made-up book of illusionary and imaginary creatures and none of them was real. But when she saw the Spirit bull, she remembered the contents of the book. And the illustration was very detailed. Like it was the Spirit bull itself that she saw was the model of the artwork.


    But what shocked her more was that in that book was a detailed description of the monsters she''s looking at now.


    The Book stated: "Ragnarkars: Beast that does not belong to the 7 realms. Their origin is not known by anyone in the realms, for they came from the third Hell. The gate of demons. -G.O. Dawnfall-"

 Spell 8: What are you talking about?

    Chapter 8: What are you talking about?


    Cold sweat ran down Alice''s back as she looked at the monsters in horror.


    "Alice! What the heck! Run!" Lyle shouted at her as he was running.


    As both of them ran towards the exit of the forest, they realized that something was following them. And to their great desperation, they saw 2 of the Transcender Level Ragnakars. Both of them paled. These were monsters on a different level. One of these can level an entire city. Only a Kingdom''s special force can counter such monsters.


    "Alice, go to the village and warn them. I will lure the 2 that are following us away. Meet with the others and wait for the airship units from the 40th barracks." While they were running, Lyle was thinking of ways to survive this calamity. The most important thing right now was to send Alice home. If he was alone, he had a higher chance of survival and might even find ways to defeat or contain the monsters.


    "Lyle..."


    "And what the heck''s with calling me Lyle?!" Lyle''s finger-flicked Alice''s forehead as he frowned.


    "Hehehehe. Yes sir Brother Lyle sir!"


    "Now that''s better! Remember! I''m your brother-in-law! Got it?"


    "Hahahaha. You have to tell mother and father about that first."


    "............." Lyle grimaced upon thinking about the "Mother and Father" Alice mentioned. He thought that... that couple is far more troubling than these monsters chasing us.


    "Ok... Let separate at the fork."


    "Ok!"


    As they reached a fork, Lyle stopped while Alice continued running to the left path. It was the direction of their rendezvous as well as Lopan Village.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Lyle faced the direction of the incoming Ragnakars. Chasing us eh? Then chase me if you can! I''m not called Silver Wolf for nothing!


    Just when the Ragnakars was near, Lyle raised his sword. "Sword Arts. First Sword. Tiger Fangs! Take this!!!!"


    Lyle knew that his Arts won''t even put a scratch on these monsters but he didn''t care. His aim was to lure them away from Alice and the village.


    As the sword''s force that looked like a pair of tiger fangs ready bite the Ragnakars, one of them swiftly swatted its claws towards the fangs and Lyle''s Arts vanished into thin air.


    As Lyle was looking at this, his face paled as he was shown the disparity between them. "Hehehe... You don''t have to shove into my face that I''m weak. Can you guys at least act like it was threatening?"


    "Foolish human! Do you think a speck of dust can threaten a Dragon? How much more a Ragnakar?!" One Ragnakar retorted.


    "I know I c... Ohhh... It can! It can!"


    "And how would that be?"


    "No one could withstand... a speck of dust going to your eye! Like this!" As Lyle never expected he would think of this, but he did... And he was gonna try it. He lunged his sword aiming at the eye of the Ragnakar. No one expected that move. The Ragnakars never expected a cornered prey to think of this attack. It was thanks to them though for inciting this idea.


    It was in a blink of a second that the thrust of Lyle''s sword reached the face of the Transcender Level Ragnakar, piercing its left eye. But no matter how unexpected Lyle''s strike was, even the eye of the ragnakar was as tough as a wyvern''s scale. Only the tip of his sword was able to penetrate the iris. When the Ragnakar closed its eyes, Lyle''s sword broke.


    "Dang it!" As Lyle retreated back, he took a bottle from his pouch. This bottle is called "Blinding Sun". A concoction by alchemists that stores light particles inside a bottle. It can be used as a torch during the night or inside a dark cave. But what if he breaks the bottle? As its name states... "Blinding Sun"... something that''s too bright like the sun is stored inside the bottle. This was his final trump card.


    He threw the bottle dexterously at the hard face of the Ragnakar.


    CRACK! Bang!!!


    A blinding light flashed through the woods. Lighting the darkest parts of the forest near the fork. Even Alice saw this and closed her eyes as to not get exposed to the brightness.


    The Ragnakars bellowed at their situation. Everything was white. It took a while before they can see some images. But just when they were able to see again, Lyle was so far ahead that he now looked like a speck of dust.


    Lyle shouted his lungs out, "CHASE ME!!! CHASE ME!!! NYAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"


    "WHY YOU LITTLE WOOORRRMMM!!!!!! I WILL KILL YOU!!!" The now-one-eyed Ragnakar angrily screamed as he chased Lyle.


    "Well thanks! I leveled up from a speck of dust to worm. Now I''m really proud of myself." Lyle laughed out loud as he ran. Little did he know that the other Ragnakar was looking at the other path to the left. Then it grinned evilly.


    Lopan Village


    A silver robed girl arrived at the entrance of the village. She was greeted by the rest of her silver robed companions together with the village head and Old Nan, the oldest Elder who was around 100 years old.


    "Lady Alice, thank the heavens you have arrived." a silver robed girl sighed in relief.


    "We... huff huff... We have to... huff huff... Run dammit! RUN!!!"


    Everyone was stunned. Was the spirit bull attacking? It was impossible. The bull never attacked at this hour. Its attacks were scheduled and patterned. Everyone treated this as a natural phenomenon... except for the village head.


    "What''s the matter miss?" the village head asked.


    "Ragnakars! Run! Now! Huff huff!!" Alice was still breathing heavily and couldn''t make a proper sentence.


    "What are you talking about?"

 Spell 9: You have her scent

    Chapter 9: You have her scent


    Everyone was wondering what Alice was talking about. Everyone except for Old Nan, who was sweating profusely with his mouth gaping wide and eyes that bulged like a donut. Old Nan was a village elder of Lopan village in charge of their accommodation. When the group first arrived at Lopan, they did not go to the village first. When they finally went to the village, a huge commotion was heard from the eastern part of Sleeping Vine forest which was only a few miles near the village.


    ¡°Everybody! Run! Leave the village!¡± as Alice shouted, an old man behind her exclaimed.


    "It''s as my ancestor said! It''s true! It''s true!"


    Everyone stared at Old Nan as he exclaimed. "What''s ''true'' old man?" They asked.


    While grasping for her breath, Alice with angry red eyes she shouted inside her mind. "What the heck! I told you guys to run, not to have an open forum!!!"


    "Ragnakars... according to my ancestor, near this village is a gate that was sealed by the strongest sorcerer. This gate is a portal that leads to the outer parts of Hell. The First Hell to be exact. This first hell is the homeworld of creatures known as the Ragnakars also known as the "Realm Eaters". And it was the Strongest Sorcerer, the sorcerer-king who sealed this gate preventing the coming of this bringer of destruction!" Old Nan explained.


    "What are you on to Old man?"


    "Have you eaten yet?"


    "Our history states that the sorcerer-king was evil and was the creature of demons! How would he do a kind deed as to seal those mythical monsters?" a silver robed man objected.


    "Boy... You know nothing of reality. History can be changed depending on the writer. And who wrote this so-called history? The Holy Land of Lir! Those damnable hypocrites!" Old Nan retorted.


    As they were debating if what Old Nan said was true or not, Alice felt chills over her body. When she turned around, what she saw gave her terror. The Transcender level Ragnakar was only meters away from the village. "It''s here!!!" She shouted.


    The rest of her silver robe companions turned there heads in the same direction and saw a monster they never dreamed to see. It''s deathly aura radiated all over the village. Its eyes struck fear across all their hearts. What they felt right now was a sense of hopelessness.


    The leader of the group noticed something unusual. He was a member of the Order of the Silver Robed Knights from the Silver Sword Empire (Once known as the Silver Sword Queendom) and a captain class knight of the academy. Their Order was tasked to hunt and eliminate creatures of the dark that the regular army cannot handle. They were trained to hunt Rogue Vampires, Lunatic were-beasts, demon spawns and other vile and evil creatures. He, as captain of a troop, was able to experience facing a lot of these anomalies. And he remembered this feeling the Ragnakar has brought.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "Bring out your wards! It''s a death aura! We''ll be defeated even before you fight if we get influenced by this evil power!" The leader howled.


    "Captain, let''s lure it away from the village! We can fight it better without worrying about their immediate safety!" One the silver robe knights said.


    "Lady Alice, please..."


    Before the captain could finish speaking, the Ragnakar spoke in a cold low tone.


    "You! Little Human Girl." It pointed one of its claw at Alice.


    "Huh?" Alice was stunned that it was pointing at her. What did this monster want? Did it take a liking to me? Was it expecting and ending of "Beauty and the Ugly Beast"?


    "You have the ¡®her¡¯ scent... I can''t believe how fast we found you! Hahahahaha. His Highness will be very happy. This time, your soul cannot escape!" The Ragnakar seemed to be happy and excited.


    As Alice heard this, only one thought came to her mind. "If this monster is aiming for me... then I can lure it out of the village..." with this thought in mind, she turned to the leader of the silver robe hunters.


    "Captain, please tell my sister that I, Alice Silversword, has fought bravely." then she dashed swiftly towards the deepest parts of the Southern Sleeping Vine Forest.


    "Stop!!! The captain shrieked. The rest of the silver robes were stunned.


    "Hahahahaha. Do you think you can get away from us?" The Ragnakar laughed then followed Alice to the dense forest.


    "Follow them!" The leader of the silver robes commanded.


    ------------


    On the other end of the forest, Lyle was still running away from the angry Ragnakar. He was starting to run out of stamina and was bleeding all over. The now-one-eyed Ragnakar didn''t care for any other thing anymore. On its mind was just "Squash the Worm!". It had been firing a lot of its phantasmal roars yet wasn''t able to hit Lyle, making it angrier.


    "FOOLISH HUMAN!!! I WON''T STOP UNTIL YOU DIE TODAY!!!" It bellowed like an angry old wife.


    "Hahahahahahaha. Well, thank you! I''m now elevated to one of the highest orders of species! Hahahhaha!" Lyle laughed even though he didn''t have the strength anymore. He was at his limits. The limit of a 5th Rank Mortal Arts practitioner.


    BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTT!!!!


    A Phantasmal Roar finally hit him and one of his legs got corroded into nothingness.


    "Accckkkkk... !@&^%&$(!*#($*(!!!!" He fell heavily on the ground and gritted his teeth. "&^%&!@$*&!@# I lost my leg!! IT *&%! @*#&$ HURTS!!!!"


    "HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Finally... I''m able to squash you now foolish speck!"


    "Ouch... That''s rude... I got demoted..." Lyle couldn''t help but grin at his situation. Is this my end? Will I never see you again... Reyla? I wonder what happened to little Alice. I hope the air support of the 40th barracks was able to pick her up. They have those Mana Cannons that could destroy these monsters...


    As Lyle was lamenting over his misfortune, the Ragnakar bellowed.


    "Meet your maker speck!" It raised its arms and directed its claws towards Lyle when suddenly a chill was sent down his back. It turned his head around and saw a flaming blue hoof as large as a mountain coming towards it.


    "This... can''t be!!!" It shrieked. "You were not supposed to be alive! It''s been 200 years since you disappeared! You..."


    The Ragnakar was not able to finish speaking when the hoof squashed him like a bug. Its blood splattered all over the place but the blue flames of the hoof devoured anything that resembled a part of the ragnakar.


    Lyle wasn''t optimistic. He lost one of his legs, if he won''t die of blood loss then he will die of shame losing his leg. He''ll be now known as the "crippled wolf". First was the claw of the Ragnakar, and now this blue flame will devour him. As he waited for his end, instead of feeling a burning pain, what he felt right now was a soothing warmth.


    "Ah... I guess this is the feeling of dying... I thought it would be suffocating... but this feels nice..."


    "You. Not. Dead. Puny. Human. You. Live. I. Awesome."


    "Huh? I know that voice."


    "Hmph. No. Thank. Me?"


    "Ahhh!! Bull!! It''s you!! Ahh!! My leg!! It''s back!"


    "Master. Flame. Help. You." the bull proudly exclaimed.


    "What the... How come you this strong? I suffered all that and yet you can defeat them like swatting bugs???"


    "Power. Sealed. But. Master. Conscious. Power. Back!" The bull grinned.


    "Master? Which Master? What Master?!" Lyle was now getting agitated. He remembered the stories of old. Legends and Myths about the ¡®Evil Sorcerer and his mount¡¯. With the stories and the history that he knew about the Sorcerer King, his return will mean the end of the entire 7th Realm.


    "Sorcerer. King. Who. That? Master. Is. Future. Richest. Man. In. World!!"


    "What?"

 Spell 10: The names Gin! The future richest man in the world!

    Chapter 10: The name''s Gin! I will become the richest man in the world!


    Southern Sleeping Vine Forest


    "Formation! formation!"


    "Set the seven-star formation!"


    "Captain, I can only stop him for about 10 seconds!"


    "10 seconds is enough!"


    "Gotcha!"


    Chain Arts Earth Sealing Chain


    The Ragnakar halted its movements and started at the chains binding it to the ground.


    "You smell like her... but there''s something missing..."


    "....." Alice frowned. What''s this monster talking about? What smell? I smell like sweet strawberries alright?!


    "Yes... I see... This time... That person is not around! My ancestor told me that wherever you are, his spirit is always near... But I guess not this time around. Hahahaha. Even if he is... I might just destroy him too!!"


    RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR


    The Ragnakar howled and its death aura''s energy multiplied by tenfold. Everyone became dumbstruck. Time seemed to become slower and their movements were hindered. As if heavy metal balls were chained to their hands and feet.


    "I can''t move..."


    The Ragnakars claws swiftly slashed and one silver robed hunter was split in two and died instantly. It held the head of another hunter then suddenly, chains came out from the ground and restrained the Ragnakars arms, paralyzing and preventing it from crushing the hunter''s head.


    "I won''t let you do what you want!!!" Alice exclaimed.


    When the other hunters gained freedom from the death aura''s restriction, they instantly attacked the Ragnakar, surrounding it from all sides. One hunter prepared her silver bolts and bottles of holy water. The others readied their weapons for their joined formation attack.


    "Charge!!" The leader shouted.


    A hunter lunged himself like an arrow and tried to pierce the ragnakar with his spear but unfortunately when the spearhead touched the scale of the monster, it broke into pieces, destroying his weapon. But it was only the start of the joint attack. They knew it wouldn''t be that easy.


    The silver robed hunters continuously attacked the Ragnakar, and each time they do so, they either broke their weapons or lost an arm from the Ragnakar''s counters.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    A few moments later only Alice and the Silver Robed Leader remained standing. Others were either decapitated, emboweled, minced or squashed.


    Alice was shaking in terror. It was the first time she saw this much blood, violence, and gore. There were human body parts everywhere, and these belonged to her companions. Her face was pale as she was silently crying in horror.


    "Lady Alice... You should run..."


    "But captain..."


    The leader took off his silver robe and a middle-aged bald man with a thick stubble on his face appeared. One of his arms was made of metal and his right eye was patched.


    "Monster... It''s time for our 1 on 1!"


    "Foolish human. You can''t even defeat me 8 against 1... how much more you alone?" The Ragnakar looked in disdain at the leader.


    "Well... I have this trick you see..." The leader bit his thumb and blood gushed out.


    Blood Arts Blood Berserk!


    It was an Art that boils the blood in the body, increasing its blood flow and mana absorption, thus changing the constitution of his body. His muscles bulged and grew bigger. He was now as large as the Ragnakar.


    "Take this!!" The leader threw a punch and the Ragnakar reciprocated it with the same move.


    POWWWW!!! As the two fists collided with each other the Ragnakar frowned. "How did this human suddenly become strong?"


    "Lady Alice!! Run to the meeting point! Wait for the air support of the 40th Barracks!"


    Alice bit her lower lip as tears fell from her cheek. Then she turned around and ran.


    "Human... You were hiding this strength of yours very deeply huh?"


    "Hahahaha... You could say that."


    "But... Right now... your strength only reached the peak of the 9th Rank Mortal Arts... you''re a realm below me..."


    "......." The leader closed his eyes and smiled.


    Meeting Spot


    Alice arrived at the designated meeting spot. It was surrounded by ruins. It seemed to be a village made entirely of stones. And at the center of this area is a stone crystal that was covered with vines as thick as an elephants body. The vines were dormant. Neither growing nor withering. This is where the Sleeping Vine Forest got the name from.


    The meeting spot was dead silent. The 40th barracks hasn''t arrived yet. It was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago... Where were they?


    TOGSHHHHHH!!!!


    A loud explosion occurred at the entrance of the ruins. A shadow with glaring eyes slowly crept out of the woods. Alice''s heart thumped like mad... she was now drenched with cold sweat.


    At first, she was brave enough to lure the Ragnakar. But after she witnessed the brutal attacks it did on her companions, her courage vanished into thin air. Right now, all she could think of was: "I don''t want to die yet!"


    Dragging a corpse by the head, the Ragnakar appeared. The dead body was obviously the silver robe leader. His metal arms were gone, a leg missing and only his lifeless body remained.


    The Ragnakar looked at Alice happily. It didn''t expect its mission to be easy. As it slowly neared her, the death aura started to radiate again.


    "Now... you oh angel of life. 7th of the first. Lover of humans... face your final death. Never again will you enter into the Stream of Souls!"


    "Wha..Wh.. What are you talking about?"


    "Oh! I see... You haven''t woken yet?"


    "What do yo.. you mean?"


    "Hahahahha... this is funny. You die not knowing who you are. What a pity... oh wait... We ragnakars don''t even feel pity! Hahahahahahahaha!! Now Die!!"


    Its claws were raised and attacked Alice. But by some fortune, or it might be due to fear that Alice''s legs gave in, the claw wasn''t able to hit her as she fell down on the ground. Instead, it hit the Crystal Rock covered by the thick vines.


    BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!! A loud explosion was heard as the impact of the Ragnakars claws destroyed the stone crystal. Dust was everywhere.


    "Cough! cough!" Alice was coughing out the dust as she hear a shriek. "KAAAAAAAEHEHEAHEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"


    When the dust settled down, she was shocked to see someone downcast in front of her. It was a man with very long dark blue hair, a thick long beard, amber-yellow iris with a crossed scar on his left eye. The man was staring at her seriously. The situation couldn''t have been more awkward when she noticed that this man was naked. Her eyes involuntarily looked below and saw his little bro dangling. Her face reddened.


    Alice came back to her senses and realized that the shriek came from the Ragnakar. It was bloody all over and its right arm was gone.


    ¡°Finally!!! I¡¯m freeeeeeee!!!!¡± the man shouted happily.


    "Who are you?" She asked the man.


    "Alice? Eru tu ar?" the man replied. A look of shock, anxiety, and happiness could be seen in his face.


    "What?"


    "You¡­ You look like ¡®her¡¯ but you don''t speak the ancient tongue..." the look on the man¡¯s face change into gloom.


    "huh"


    "I guess you''re not ''her'' then..."


    "Her? What Her? Why Her? Who''s her...?" before Alice could finish her words, the man turned around and faced the Ragnakar. Alice was now facing his butt.


    "Ragnakar ary ed tu ore?" The man spoke to the Ragnakar.


    "The Ancient Tongue!!" the Ragnakar shrieked in surprise.


    "I guess even you... hellspawn... do not speak our language anymore..." the man sighed in disappointment.


    "What are you?!!" The ragnakar bellowed in fear. Alice did not saw what happened earlier but the Ragnakar clearly remembers.


    When it attacked and smashed the stone crystal, a golden hand suddenly appeared and flicked its finger on the ragnakar. The monster, on the other hand, felt fear as the finger was about to hit it and raised its arms to block the attack. But when the finger reached the ragnakar, the monster''s arms exploded like a balloon. Its flesh was all over the place and chill was sent running down its spine.


    "Me?" The man grinned...


    "The name''s Gin! The future richest man in the world!"


    "What?"

 Spell 11: Rock Paper Scissors!

    Chapter 11: Rock Paper Scissors!


    "The name''s Gin! I will become the richest man in the world!"


    And there was silence.


    The Ragnakar was not able to process the information it gained upon receiving the message through its auditory canals.


    Alice was not any better. Her eyes became round and had a very confused-looking face. The words "...richest man in the world" kept ringing in her ears.


    ''I''m gonna die here, what''s all this nonsense? Who is this nonsense? Why is this nonsense?''


    Then something distracted her from all the thinking. She was facing a shiny, silky smooth butt. The texture seemed like something that was polished by the greatest sandpaper in the 7 realms. The complexion was out of this world. It was like a baby''s skin multiplied by ten.


    ''What awesome butt is this???''


    "Nyahahahahahahahaha! Are you amazed by my awesomeness?"


    The man started to show-off his not-so-muscled average thin body, flexing his small biceps and puffing his chest until his skinny ribs are visible using some Mr. Muscle poses.


    "Witness the glamour of the world''s richest man! Nyahahahhaha!!"


    RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!


    The Ragnakar was fuming with rage. ''What''s this skinny human doing?! Why am I even bothering with this? He might have only read a few books about the Ancient Tongue. What am I to fear?''


    The Ragnakar smashed its claws directly at Gin but somehow, the man was able to duck and evade. The ground was hit instead and made a huge hole where Gin was standing. Dust was all over the place and with that kind of impact, it would hit Alice who was nearby.


    But as the dust came down, the Ragnakar saw Gin''s back. He moved further away from the Ragnakar. The man was facing Alice while his back was facing the Ragnakar. During the commotion just now, he was able to move and bring Alice to safety. It was as if he didn''t mind the monster behind him.


    "So... Miss... having a hard time with the little bug here?" Gin asked while smiling.


    "Uhh.. can''t you see how powerful that monster is??!!" Alice exclaimed.


    "I can help you..."


    "What?


    "I said I can help you. For a price of course!"


    "Damn it! We¡¯re facing a life-threatening situation here!"


    "Well... 1 million gold pieces to save you. What do you say?"


    "...."


    "Ok ok! 500 thousand gold pieces?"


    Alice''s eyes bulged and turned red. But the Ragnakar seemed to be feeling much worse. Large veins kept popping from its bulging muscles and its eyes turned completely red.


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


    "Why you human SCUMMM!!!" The Ragnakar shouted.


    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!


    Another attack from the Ragnakar came. It was more powerful than the first blow. The ground cracked and fire seemed to come out of the fissure.


    But Gin and Alice where again located at another place. It seemed like they teleported and moved through space. Alice was stunned to see what happened.


    "The claw was just right above us and..."


    What shocked Alice the most was, the place she was currently sitting on was the same place she sat on from the start. She didn''t move at all. It was the Ragnakar that kept moving.


    Then she saw a very thin golden bubble screen just a foot away behind Gin.


    "Alright alright! Since you smell like my Alice¡­ those fresh sweet strawberries¡­ So... 10 gold?" Gin was still haggling over on a price to save her.


    "10 Gold? Deal!" Alice replied with hope in her eyes.


    Earlier, she was on the verge of death. The monster was about to kill her. And now, this mysterious person that just popped out of nowhere might have the ability to save her.


    In the current economy of the 7th realm, the current currency was called Tals, which was taken from the last name of the king who made the first bank, Talmund Tal. It is composed of different values starting from the lowest copper tal, silver tal, gold tal, white gold tal and the highest value, origin tal.


    Tal was based on the amount of origin ore deposits a country has. Origin ores are used by Arts Practitioners in their cultivation, Flying Ships, Defense systems, Healing, and Life prolongation.


    The higher the amount of Origin Ores a country has, the richer it is. There are a lot of origin ore mines located around the 7th realm but the process of mining was hard. A lot of manpower was needed. So the value of the resource became much higher than actual gold.


    10000 copper tals are equal to 1 silver tal. 1000 silver tall = 1 gold tal. 10 gold tal = 1 gram of origin dust. 1 kilogram of origin dust = 1 origin stone of the lower tier. The higher the stone''s value, the better its effects are. The annual salary of a common working person is 1000 copper tals a year while a regular soldier would earn 5000. 1000 copper tals is just enough to feed a family of 5 people.


    A kingdom under the Silversword empire has income from tax around 1000 gold tals a year. 900 gold goes to the expenses of the empire such as military and improvement. 100 gold tals go to the different expenses of the royal family.


    Let''s say Alice belongs to a noble family that earns an annual income of 10 gold a year. Then her annual allowance would be around 50 silver tals. Currently, her total savings is 9 gold tals... and that kind of money gives you the title of "wealthy". Yet this mysterious person is actually asking for 10 gold? The heck?!


    But she had no choice. Her only hope of surviving this calamity lies in the hands of this mysterious man. She has to compromise. ''What will I do with those tals if I die here?''


    "Ok! Deal! Now... hand in those gold coins... ehhehehe.." Gin was extending his hand, with eyes that where gleaming at the thought of gold.


    "Um... I don''t have any right now... I''ll pay you after I can get some from the bank..."


    "What? Are you scamming me, little lady? It''s just a bit of gold and you can''t pay?"


    "Bit of gold? Do you think that''s a bit of gold?! That''s a WHOLE LOT OF GOLD!!"


    "Urgh! Anyways... pay up first!"


    Alice felt like fainting. ''What''s with this crazy person? There''s a monster behind him and yet here he is haggling for the gold... After this is over... I will have this naked man executed!''


    "Do the task first you scoundrel! Then I will pay you! Who carries that amount of tals anyway?!"


    "Everyone carries them on their Inventory Pouches!"


    "Inventory Pouches?"


    "Yes! Them Inventory pouches! Don''t tell me you don''t have one? Are you that Poor?"


    Alice saw the world was spinning. ''Good heavens! What is this man spouting about? Inventory Pouch? Only powerful and important figures of the Empire has one... They are worth 1 million origin stones!"


    While the human couple was quarreling with each other, the angry Ragnakar was at the peak of its wrath. Its blood was boiling and steam can be seen puffing out of its nose and coming out of its ears.


    PHANTASMAL ROAR!!!


    The Ragnakar''s phantasmal roar that can corrode even the toughest of steel, shot from its mouth like a raging cannonball ready to erase all life forms it hits.


    Alice became still and her face paled at the scene. All she could see was a bright red light before an explosion occurred. The pressure from the roar was so strong that Alice just closed her eyes and let fate decide the outcome.


    ''If this scoundrel acted before the monster then we might have a chance... It''s too late now. The both of us have probably corroded into nothingness... we... huh?''


    "Fine! But I''ll have to stick with you until you pay me alright? And you pay for my food and lodging as interest until you can pay me!"


    "..." Alice opened her eyes and what she saw next stunned her so badly.


    Gin was holding a red ball of energy that radiated a deathly corrosive feeling. It was the Ragnakar''s phantasmal roar.


    "What?! How?! Who are you??!!" The Ragnakar exclaimed. It now was feeling fear and started to slowly walk backward. It was thinking of escape! ''You''re holding my Phantasmal Roar on your hand like it¡¯s some kind of toy''


    What happened next made the Dark green scaly skin of the Ragnakar turn white.


    Gin was putting the phantasmal roar in his mouth and biting it like eating cotton candy.


    "Ewwwwwwww!! What the hell is wrong with this energy? It''s corrupted! Yuck!"


    "....."


    "Welp! Time to earn my money... Hehehehe"


    The Ragnakar only felt great fear. So great that the only thought on its mind was an escape.


    It then turned around and used all its mana in increasing its running speed. One can say that the Ragnakar seemed to be like lightning. But can it really escape?


    The monster¡¯s acceleration stopped. Something was wrong. It looked at his body and found out that a gold hand was holding its trunk. Its eyes became wide and looked crazed. It smashed its claws on the hand but to no avail. Instead of damaging the hand, wounds started to appear on the monster''s body.


    "What is this!? What kind of Art is this!?"


    "It''s called Energy formation, Titan Art!" Gin exhaled proudly.


    "Now... let me show you my personal Art! My Modified Energy Formation Art!"


    Gin clenched his fist and posed like he was about to throw something.


    ROCK! PAPER! SCISSORS! ROCK 10 TON CANNON!!!!


    Gin punched and a golden glowing fist twice the size of his hand came out from his clenched fist. The pressure it applied was greater than the phantasmal roar but was much compact and firm.


    The golden fist struck the Ragnakar. The monster shrieked as its body started to deform from the impact, pressure, and power of the fist. It was like a piece of chalk smashed with a sledgehammer.


    ACKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!


    The ragnakar become powder and scattered through the air.


    "Now... pay up!"

 Spell 12: Dont put together debt and treat!

    Chapter 12: Don''t mix up debt and treat!


    According to the "Lore of the 7th Realm" written by a very wise sage named G.O. Dawnfall, below the 7th is a plane called the 1st hell. This plane of existence is the gate of a humongous "detention hall" (as Sage Dawnfall views it) called the 9 Hells.


    At first, when the Ancient Origin Creator made the Myriad Worlds, the 9 Hells was called the 9 Vacant Planes. It was supposed to be a sandbox world where the creatures of the 7 realms, having the same character as the Creator would create their own world as mini creators thus mirroring the Almighty. Unfortunately, all of that changed since the fall of the created.


    It started within the 7th realm and influenced the other realms to do the same thus creating a relationship barrier between the created and the Creator. A rebellion was a crime punishable by death. But due to the intervention of the "Amiable-looking Man" of the 9th heaven, the rebels and their minions were sent to the 9th hell as punishment until they are pardoned.


    Those who are slowly paying their dues move up to another hell until they reach the first hell. In this plane, they are now pardoned and allowed to return to the Stream of Souls.


    The 9th hell contains the most wicked, most intelligent and strongest of all creatures. While the 1st resides the repenters.


    Ragnakars are minions of those that live in the 3rd hell. Their owners are weak, but the Ragnakars make up for this deficiency.


    But the owners of the Ragnakars suddenly disappeared. And holes that connect to the 7 Realms suddenly appeared. Fortunately, the connection to the 7 realms was weak thus powerful Ragnakars cannot enter as the holes would collapse randomly.


    Alas! A 3rd degree Ragnakar successfully entered the Mortal Realm and caused havoc. It was no other than the Great Demon God Malibourne who created havoc within the 7th realm.


    Fortunately, Malibourne''s darkness has not prevailed and was vanquished by the Seven Swords Alliance through the intervention of the "amiable-looking man''.


    Malibourne, as a 3rd degree Ragnakar was supposed to be only a little more powerful than the 2nd degree Ragnakars. It took the Seven Swords Alliance many lives just to vanquish the powerful Ragnakar. So a 2nd degree would take at least 500 battalions of heavy-armed soldiers to defeat it.


    ''But this crazy man...'' Alice sighed. ''Killed a 2nd Degree Ragnakar in 1 hit...''


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ''Nom nom nom nom nom'' "More of this cola please!!" Gin happily shouted. "This is new to me! So much better than that stinky bitter beer! Hahaha... Whoever invented this is a genius!"


    Currently, Alice and Gin are inside "Tiny Pony Tavern" a famous Adventurer''s Guild establishment, while Lyle was tasked to send a report using the guild''s message crystal.


    This establishment was originally made with the intent of providing members of the adventurer''s guild a resting place when traveling between national borders. But later on, because of its safe environment and accessibility to trading routes, it became a bustling rich trading node called the Tal Road.


    After gaining his freedom back, Gin''s first priority was to eat. And based on his present appearance, with hundreds of used plates that piled like a mountain, he was certainly famished.


    "Hey! Leave some for me!" Alice contested with some of the meat dishes but after a few bites, she stopped eating and just watched wide-eyed at Gin''s monstrous appetite. "Wow, it looks like you haven''t eaten for years!" she joked.


    "Nah ah! It''s been years!" Gin rebutted.


    "Hahahaha! Who would believe a crazy old man like you?" Alice laughed at Gin''s claim.


    "Hahahaha!" Gin also laughed. ''I''m telling the truth and you won''t believe me... oh well time for more food!''


    ¡°By the way¡­ where do you come from old man?¡± Alice asked.


    Gin looked at Alice like she was some retard. ¡°What with this old man thing? Well anyway, I was trapped there for a very long time!¡±


    ¡°Really? In that ruins? How many days have you been there?¡± Alice continued to inquire.


    ¡°Days? What days? I¡¯ve been there for years!¡±


    ¡°Really? How did you survive? Where did you get food?¡± Alice was starting to get amused by his story.


    Gin stopped eating and felt emotional ¡°Ah! That would be a long story to tell. But to make the long story short, I licked the rocks for energy¡± after saying the short version of his sad experience, he went back and munched some dumplings.


    After many servings, Lyle arrived. As he neared the tavern, he was wondering why people are crowding at the establishment''s window. After asking the crowd, he almost collapsed. Gin''s eating emptied the food storages and the bill cost was 987 Silver and 90 copper Tals.


    "Alice! What humongous bill is this?" Lyle was gobsmacked.


    "He... he... he ate all of it..." obviously, Alice was in a state of shock as she stuttered. "Damn you crazy man! You ate all of my savings for this month!" She roared.


    "Wow! Only 988 silver coins for that? This tavern sure is cheap." the Gin happily patted his belly.


    988 silver tals is cheap? Cheap your sister! 1 Gold Tal is the annual income of a local noble family. If you eat like this, you¡¯d probably dry out all the Noble families within a year!


    Alice and Lyle didn''t whether to laugh or cry. "What''s with your expressions? Don''t tell me there''s more food after this little snack?"


    ".... Argh!! This is bill is coming from my 10 gold tal debt!" Alice furiously roared.


    "What? Why? Don''t mix up debt and treat! One must pay his debts and treat people food to gain good karma" Gin pouted like a child.


    "..." karma your sister!


    Meanwhile, back at the Sleeping Vine Forest


    ''blub blub blub'' The pond near the cherry tree bubbled as a blue burly young man emerged from the waters.


    2 hours earlier, after the defeat of the two 2nd degree Ragnakars, Gin and the Spirit Bull had their little reunion.


    ¡°Who are you? Where¡¯s little blue?¡± Gin asked the spirit bull.


    ¡°MASTER. ME. LIL. BLUE. 260<sup>th</sup>. ANCESTOR. TASK. WAIT. RETURN. MASTER.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ that means¡­ It¡¯s been a lot of years then. Where are the other generations of the spirit bulls?¡±


    ¡°MASTER. OLD. BLUES. ON. FIFTH. REALM.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Since you¡¯re a descendant of little blue, I¡¯ll call you Little Blue! It''s nice to meet you.¡± Gin grinned as he patted the bull''s head.


    "IT. GOOD. TO. SEE. YOU. MASTER." the Spirit Bull bowed.


    "Well right now I don''t need a mount so... if you want to follow me like little blue ¡®the first¡¯, use the technique I taught your race before, and transform into a humanoid."


    "YES. MASTER!" the Spirit bull was happy to work for the master his ancestors told him about.


    After 2 hours under the pond, using the transformation art, the spirit bull emerged from the waters looking like a young burly man in his mid 20''s.


    "Now... time to help master search for the mistress! To a great adventure!" the blue burly man exclaimed.

 Spell 13: I was just testing you

    Chapter 13: I was just testing you


    "... around ten thousand years ago, Ancient Sage Gray Silverleaf found a child in the middle of a forest. He took care of the child and trained him to be one of the protectors of the realm. But fate seemed to play differently. Sage Silverleaf was killed while the unfilial child became the Demon Sorcerer. With his great oppressive power, he amassed a great legion of demons from the 3rd hell and scourged the lands. The Strongest Sorcerer enslaved the Grandmaster craftsmen and had them create thousands of Emperor level artifacts. With his legion and artifacts, he caused havoc and great destruction on the Mortal Realm. If not because of the Six Kingdom Alliance and the 13 Heavenly Armies sent by the Heavens, the world would have ended. So..."


    While on the road, Alice was explaining the reason why they were here, thousands of miles away from home, she noticed that behind Gin was a tall burly young blue-skinned man.


    "Wow... there was a person like that? Why haven''t I met him before?" Gin asked looking confused.


    "Of course you haven''t met him! Although you look old enough to be my grandfather, you couldn''t have lived for 1000 years, could you? Hah!" Alice exclaimed, annoyed by Gin''s question.


    "Huh?! Old?! You''re Old! Your Father''s Old! All your family''s old! I''m just 18 years old! How can I be old!" Gin shouted angrily.


    "But Master, adding the time you were in the seal..." the blue man whispered to Gin.


    "Oh... I guess I''m old enough to be your grandpa''s ancient ancestor''s grandpa..."


    "You! How dare you curse my family to be old?!" Alice was fuming with anger


    "Why? Don''t you want to be your family to grow old? Want them to die young huh?"


    "You... Urgh..." Alice was mad but couldn''t refute the logic behind the statement.


    "...Anyways, we thought that the Blue Spirit Bull terrorizing Lopan Village was the Strongest Sorcerer''s Great Demon Bull. But It turned out to be an "Ordinary Spirit Bull". Although It was super strong, it couldn''t be compared to the Demon Bull of the legends... By the way... Who is that Blue Ogre following us?" Alice asked.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "Oh... He''s my friend, the "Ordinary Spirit Bull" you just mentioned." Gin replied.


    "Eh???" Just as Alice asked, Lyle, who was walking in front turned around to look.


    ''I see, the bull was actually a super powerful Blue Orge! I couldn''t even sense him when he''s just behind us...'' Lyle silently thought. He was so shocked that he just discovered an extra person behind them. ''I need to be stronger!''


    Blue Ogres are humanoid creatures that have a high aptitude to be Druids and Mages. And being a druid, they can transform into many different creatures. Emperor level Blue Ogre Druids can even transform into Dragons.


    With Little Blue''s blue burly body and two tiny horns poking on his forehead, he was mistaken as a Blue Ogre.


    Little blue though it was ok to be mistaken as a blue ogre. He had a lot of blue ogre friends before so it''s ok to be called one. And since his Master didn''t react, then why should he?


    "Wow! Can you transform into a huge flying ship?" Alice asked enthusiastically.


    "No Alice... Blue Orge Druids can only transform into living things..." Lyle replied


    "How about a large flying bird?"


    "No..."


    "A pony?"


    "No..."


    "A huge Hamster?"


    "No... I can only transform into a bull..."


    "Aw, that''s a shame..." Alice ended her series of interrogations to Little Blue with disappointment in her face. "By the way... why are the two of you following us?"


    "Since you guys are going to... where was that again?" Gin said.


    "We''re heading to one of the Agnakar Cities, Belona. There''s a trading ship there that has access routes to the Silver Sword Empire." Lyle explained.


    Silver Sword Empire was once known as the Silver Sword Queendom. Although it has been a queendom for many years, it was actually founded by Grand Knight King Alluria Silversword. Its inhabitants are called Allurians. Ever since the "Great Calamity" a war between demons and gods with Lunarians caught in between, Silver Sword Queendom and the Dark Wing Kingdom have been in constant war. Skirmishes between Allurians and Agnakars happened from time to time on border zones.


    But both of these nations didn''t know the cause of their conflict. If they knew, they''d be spitting blood of how stupid their respective founders were.


    It started with Alluria Silversword and Agnakar Ironfingers, apprentices of a Great Knight, bet over a bowl of strawberries. Then it became feud which turned into enmity until the later generations forgot the cause and still waged war with each other. A special location on their borders called "The Great Rift" was recognized as the entrance to both Empires. Both of the Empire leaders erected a 100 feet statue of their respective founders with both figures pointing swords at each other''s necks.


    "Then we''re heading where you''re heading. Onwards to Belona!" Gin pointing to a direction.


    "Belona''s not that way... It''s this way..." Alice pointing at the direction they were currently headed.


    "I know that... I was just testing you... hur hur hur..."


    "Whatever... crazy old man..." being exasperated with their talk, Alice continued walking forward.


    The path from Lopan Village of Peach Country to Belona was inside a forest. But on the middle part of the route, one has to pass a 2 meter wide 5-kilometer long cliff path. The height from the path to the base of the cliff was a staggering 2 kilometers while going to the top would reach 1.6 kilometers. There was another path to Belona but it would take at least a week to travel as they have to go around the forest.


    The main reason why travelers would rather go around the forest or on the dangerous cliff is because the huge forest they have to pass through is known as the "Howling Woods". A very dangerous place where remnants of the Scats still lurk.


    Therefore, the fastest route to Belona is the cliff path.


    But it''s just that the fastest route doesn''t mean the safest route. One has to mind the landslides, strong winds and bandits... yes... bandits.


    And speaking of bandits, just as the group reached the middle part of the cliff, a group of rowdy bandits were waiting in the middle of the road.


    "Ok! Drop all your equipment, clothes and gold! And we might decide to give all of you painless deaths... or we will throw you off the cliff!" a thin one-eyed bandit roared.

 Spell 14: Im trying to draw here

    Chapter 14: I''m trying to draw here


    One-eyed Marlou was a former Agnakar soldier. He was ruthless and brutal in dealing with people. As a member of the 907th infantry battalion, he used his position in the military as a means to oppress civilians and get what he wanted.


    But due to his arrogance and unlawfulness, he met a new recruit in the military cafeteria and tried to show his domineering side. Unfortunately, he offended someone he shouldn''t have.


    In their short skirmish, he accidentally poked his left eye with a fork. Apart from losing an eye, he got court-martialed due to several of his crimes being brought to light.


    Losing his job, his status and his left eye, he joined the underworld and started his own bandit gang called the Red Rag Bandits.


    One-eyed Marlou became famous in Belona due to his savageness. His bandit gang always left their signature on the victims; the gouging of their left eye.


    Agnakar, Alluria and Peach Country placed a bounty on his head due to crimes of banditry, murder, rape, arson, and vandalism. With his crimes, he got a bounty of 100 Silver Tals, dead or alive.


    "Ok! Drop all your equipment, clothes and gold! And we might decide to give all of you painless deaths... or we will throw you off the cliff!" a one-eyed Marlou roared.


    Around 20 bandits blocked the cliff path preventing Lyle and the group from moving forward.


    Suddenly, ropes fell from the top of the cliff and 20 more bandits appeared behind them. Now they were stuck with no path of retreat.


    The bandits caught sight of Alice and saw her beauty. ''Wow! What a gorgeous young girl! Although she is a bit sun-tanned, it doesn''t cover the fact that she is beautiful. Her body is well proportioned and well endowed for her age!'' the bandits thought upon seeing another victim.


    "Hehehe! I see we have a little beauty here. Well, we can let you live after gouging all of your left eyes before we have fun with the girl." one-eyed Marlou stated after drooling.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Ho ho ho! I may look like a girl with mah flawless skin and otherworldly appearance but let me tell you... I''m 100% manly man... a rascal, a boy... someone with a ''bird bird''... and I don''t swing that way." Gin said, appearing to have heard a very good comment.


    "What are you talking about old man?!" one of the bandits bellowed.


    "Hahaha! They''re talking about me... you silly old man!" Alice proudly claimed.


    "What?! Hey! Mister One-eyed stick! This girl is underage! Don''t even think about it or... You''re going to jail!" Gin roared.


    "Huh? One-eyed stick... you!!!" Gin''s sentence greatly provoked One-eyed Marlou. He has been insecure about his body being thin and skinny. Being a notorious bandit, no one had ever called him like this... until now.


    "Kill them except the girl!" One-eyed Marlou angrily shouted.


    As the bandits dashed towards the group, Lyle sneered.


    "I''ll take care of the front while you guys handle the back." Lyle thought of a way to earn money from these bandits.


    Having bounties on their heads, they were a perfect solution for quick tals. Enough to pay the fare for the transport ride.


    As several bandits now neared them, Lyle unsheathed his sword. This was a new sword he bought for 15 copper tals. It was expensive for a sword of that quality, but he had no choice. He won''t be able to use his sword arts without one.


    With a quick dash and a swift slash, one bandit fell on the ground, unmoving and lifeless. The rest of the bandits were shocked as they stared at their dead comrade.


    "Why you!!" a bandit dashed and swung his sword at Lyle.


    Lyle quickly docked and evaded the sword while moving a step forward.


    "Spirit Sword Art! 1st blade! Tiger Fang!"


    The bandits were not able to see Lyle anymore but an image of a ferocious tiger pouncing at them in an incredibly fast speed.


    It only took a blink of an eye for several more bandits to fall on the ground, lifeless.


    Lyle stood straight and posed trying to intimidate.


    The bandits shook as cold sweat filled their backs.


    On the other side, Alice was pounding her fists together without hiding the grin in her face.


    "I really thank you for calling me a beauty. It really makes me feel like one of those noble princesses. Hehehe." Alice smiled sweetly as she slowly walked towards the bandits.


    "Heh! Wait till you get played by us and you''ll really feel grateful by being beautiful!" a bandit sneered as several of them went forward to attack.


    "Chain Arts!"


    "Huh? Why can''t I move?" the bandits felt the world darkening and their bodies heavy.


    "Earth Sealing Chain!"


    As the Holy Chain Art manifested, hundreds of thin chains materialized on the bandit''s bodies. It was as if the chains drilled through their flesh and bones while pulling them down, disabling their movement.


    "Now experience how this beautiful girl breaks bones!"


    Meanwhile, on the side, Gin was looking at Alice, his brows frowning. ¡°¡­ This¡­ Holy Chain Arts¡­ I Art I gave to ¡®her¡¯¡­ this girl really resembles my Alice¡­ but why doesn¡¯t she have my seals¡­¡±


    Each punch Alice dealt to the immobile bandits was like solid steel hammering on their bodies. A punch to the rib broke ribs, a punch to the jaw broke the jaw.


    ''How in the world can this girl punch so hard!!??'' The other immobile bandits who haven''t gotten punched yet shivered at the thought of receiving the monster-like punches.


    As Alice was having fun beating the bandits, she inadvertently glanced at her other companions and was stupified at what Gin was doing.


    ''Lyle and I are fighting bandits here... and you... are...''


    "Hey Old man! What are you doing? Aren''t you gonna help?" Alice shouted.


    She saw Gin and the blue burly man talking with each other and giggling as they faced the cliff wall. On Gin''s hand was a twig and it looked like he was using it to write on the wall.


    "Shussh! Just continue what you''re doing. I''m trying to draw here..." Gin replied


    Alice took a closer look at the wall and lo and behold... stick figures and doodles were drawn.

 Spell 15: Who鈥檚 He?

    Chapter 15: Who¡¯s He?


    After Lyle and Alice defeated the bandits, they gathered the spoils, tied the bandits with bounties, and started to drag them all the way to the nearest bounty center.


    ¡°Hey missy¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Is the ¡®Golden Coin Peace Keepers¡¯ skill around?¡± Gin asked.


    ¡°Golden Coin Peace Keepers?¡± Alice was wondering who these peacekeepers were when Lyle interjected. ¡°From what I remember, the ¡®Golden Coin Peace Keepers¡¯ is still around but they changed their name to Golden Eye Mercenaries now.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Those mercenaries? I heard they¡¯re a group of bloodthirsty good for nothing hooligans that only work for coin. Are you sure the term ¡®peacekeepers¡¯ can be associated with them?¡± Alice asked bewildered.


    The Golden Eye Mercenaries was an infamous mercenary band. As they work only for coin, they don¡¯t have principles. To them, whoever pays the biggest gets their cooperation. If they are asked to do something and the opposite side offers a larger pay, they would switch sides. The brutality of their work, their disloyalty, and their work ethics gave them a very bad image. Normally, people who need mercenaries would not ask them for services, but the thing is, the results they show carry a 100% rate of completion.


    As the two were talking about the ethics of the mercenaries, Gin¡¯s frown became deeper. ¡°What happened to them? Did the 100 Heavenly Immortal Weeds die within these thousands of years? What about my millions of gold I left there?¡± as Gin was thinking about this, his facial expression contorted. With his long hair and beard, he looked so sinister, exerting a very dark and bone-chilling aura.


    Lyle and Alice were startled. ¡°What happened old man?¡± Lyle asked.


    ¡°AH!!! I¡¯m gonna kill those retards! I think this is where we split little missy and little brat. Take care! Little Blue! Make haste! To the guild!¡± Gin roared and disappeared.


    ¡°Guild¡­ guild¡­ hmmm¡­ Ah! I know! Master wait for me!!¡±


    Lyle and Alice were left there staring at the empty space. Huh? What was that? They stood there looking confused. What just happened. It felt like a gust of wind just passed by and the two people in front of them suddenly disappeared.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ that old guy was really weird. Although he looked old, his voice seems young. And that blue ogre¡­ don¡¯t ogres have a single horn on their forehead? That one had two¡­ what do you say Alice? Huh? Alice?¡± as Lyle was talking to Alice, he noticed that Alice seemed out of herself. She was staring at the doodle on the wall of the cliff.


    ¡°The heck! Why do I look so fragile in this drawing?! I even have a tail¡­ I look like a dog!¡± Lyle complained angrily. ¡°Hahaha! Alice, look at the ''you'' in the drawing. There¡¯s a strawberry sprouting on your head. Hehehe!¡±


    ¡°Lyle¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmmm?¡±


    ¡°Look at the drawing on the wall¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m looking at it¡­ it¡¯s funny¡­ that old guy has no artistic sense.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ you don¡¯t understand it.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do I don¡¯t understand?¡± Lyle asked bewildered.


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    ¡°The drawing on the wall¡­ it¡¯s¡­ the formula for the second stage of my Holy Chain Arts!¡± Alice exclaimed. She was so shocked to see that on the wall of the cliff, the doodle that Gin drew, was exactly the formula for the 2<sup>nd</sup> stage of her Holy Chain Arts! And it was not the same as the one in the Silver Sword Empire¡¯s forbidden library. The one on the wall is the complete one!


    ~Valley of the Immortals~


    Hundreds of miles away from the Howling Forest¡¯s Cliff, the ancient Lunarian Empire¡¯s ¡®Great Wall¡¯ stood tall as the border of the central continent. It stood in the middle of the Valley of Immortals, from one mountain to the other, closing the path of the valley. At the central part of this massive and long wall, was a fort. On its gates was a massive sign that says, ¡°Golden Eye Mercenaries¡±.


    ¡°Ah! look at this wall! Still standing very majestically! This was made to last for one million years! Unless that Leira, that little girl dies¡­ this wall will never crumble. From the looks of things, this only means that she¡¯s still alive. Or else that name 100 Heavenly Immortal Weeds doesn¡¯t amount to anything! Come on little blue! Let¡¯s pay an old friend a visit!¡±


    As the two walked towards the Fortress, they saw a lot of armed people on the way. Some were shouting at each other, some were brawling, some were hugging multiple women on the streets, some were begging for coin. The path towards the fortress was dark and gloomy. It was very different from the bright, and jubilant fort that Gin remembered. ¡°Did they really turn to evil ways? What happened to this place?¡±


    When the duo reached the massive door of the fort, two mercenaries stopped them from entering.


    ¡°Halt! Old Man! Go away! A poor bloke like you have no business here!¡± one mercenary glared at Gin.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to meet the 1<sup>st</sup> division commander.¡± Gin explained.


    ¡°You? Are you daydreaming old man? You don¡¯t have the right to meet the commander. Only kings have that privilege!¡± the mercenary rebuked.


    ¡°Ah! It¡¯s ok. The commander knows me. Tell her that the young master is here to claim his gold. She¡¯ll know what to do.¡± Gin calmly instructed.


    ¡°Her? Who¡¯s her? The only ¡®her¡¯ in this fort are the wenches that just arrived today. Those playthings of the commander. Hahahaha! Old man, maybe your daughter is one of them? Hahaha. Then she¡¯s lucky to be a bringer of pleasure to the commander. Go away, old man¡­ when the commander¡¯s done with your daughter, he¡¯ll return her to the streets where she belongs. Maybe she¡¯d receive a copper is she¡¯s good. Ha ha ha!¡± the mercenary laughed.


    ¡°He? Who¡¯s he? I certainly know that Leira is a girl¡­ then¡­ this commander is a different commander¡­¡± Gin thought. ¡°Um.. excuse me, may I know the name of this commander?¡± he asked the mercenary.


    ¡°Huh? You want to meet the commander but you don¡¯t even know his name?¡± the mercenary asked with the puzzled look. ¡°You suffering from memory loss because of your age huh, old man? Oh well. Since I¡¯m kind-hearted I¡¯ll tell you. He¡¯s known as the Executioner Immortal! He has been the commander of the Golden Eye Mercenaries for 200 years!¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ then this person is not the person I was looking for. Thank you for answering. I will take my leave now.¡± Gin smiled as he turned around. With the current situation, Gin knew that the previous residents of this fort were not here anymore. He really didn¡¯t care as who owns the fort, as the wall served no purpose anymore. The threat that made the content construct this wall has already disappeared during the great war ten thousand years ago.


    As Gin started to walk away, a little boy about the age of 4 rushed to the gate while shouting.


    ¡°Give me back my big sister! My big sister! Please! Return my big sister!¡± the boy was shouting this as he cried. Tears continuously flowed from his reddened eyes. The dirt on his face and clothes, the mud on his feet, the wounds on his knees, hands, and elbows, anyone would know that the suffering this little boy experienced. Signs of falling on the ground and getting wounded by sharp objects like tree branches and rocks could be spotted all over his frail body. He looked very thin due to hunger.


    ¡°Oh? Ah! I remember this brat. He came from that village 100 miles from here. Hahaha. Wow. Is this brat a marathon runner in his past life? Hahaha. He looks so funny.¡± the mercenary sinisterly laughed so hard that one would see his tonsils.


    Hearing this, Gin stopped on his tracks. Turned around and walked towards the little boy. He carefully looked at the face of the little boy then spotted something on his forehead that made Gin¡¯s eyes constrict. ¡°Kid¡­ what¡¯s your name?¡± He asked the boy.


    ¡°Sniff¡­ sniff¡­ my big sister¡­ please return her to me¡­ hu hu hu!!¡± the little boy continued to cry.


    ¡°Hey, kid¡­ is your family¡¯s name Silverleaf?¡± Gin asked another question.


    When the little boy heard Gin ask his second question, he looked at Gin and ran towards him, grabbing the edge of his shirt then said as he cried, ¡°Grandpa¡­ Do you know my parents? Hu hu hu! Sniff sniff¡­ Please grandpa, help my big sister! Grandpa! Help my¡­¡± then the little boy fainted. It might be due to hunger or fatigue or sadness. Gin gently picked him up and gave him to Little Blue.


    Then he faced the mercenary guards with his eyes devoid of emotion. It seemed that at this moment, time stopped. There was no wind, no movement of any molecule or cell in the area. It seemed like the whole world turned silent. Even the clouds stopped. Everyone in the area felt this phenomenon. They felt like their consciousness was leaving their bodies.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I feel like my body stopped functioning¡­¡±


    ¡°My heart¡­ I can¡¯t feel my heartbeat!¡±


    ¡°Heavens! I can¡¯t hear my breathing! What¡¯s wrong with me¡­ it feels like I¡¯m not breathing anymore!!¡±


    Being the ones in the closest proximity, the two mercenaries trembled in terror. ¡°What the heck!¡± the mercenary talking to Gin earlier was so terrified that he pissed on his pants.


    ¡°Where is his sister?¡± Gin asked in a calm tone devoid of emotion.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    One of the guards was unable to comprehend the situation and was annoyed at the old man in front of him. He replied angrily, ¡°What¡¯s it to you, old man? She might be experiencing pleasure right now! Leave here before I break your¡­¡± before he could finish his sentence, a terrifying pressure came out of Gin¡¯s body hitting the mercenary. He flew like a kite with broken strings and hit the wall very hard.


    The wall of the fort was not any ordinary wall. It was crafted from bricks forged from the magma of a molten titan and was built by the best dwarven craftsmen. The mercenary hitting the wall was like an egg hitting solid rock. Everyone could hear bones of the mercenary cracking. But it did not stop just that. The pressure kept coming out of Gin¡¯s body that the mercenary on the wall got squashed into a paste.


    ¡°Y¡­ Yo¡­ You¡­¡± the other mercenary was pale as paper.


    ¡°Where... is his sister?¡±


    Gin still looked so calm and composed but his eyes showed no trace of emotion. He was angry. Really angry.

 Spell 16: Annihilated

    Gray Silverleaf, a genius sage of the ¡®Wiztra of the Wind¡¯. A group of scholars founded a city with the aim of spreading knowledge, whether scientific, theological or magical, to the four corners of the 7<sup>th</sup> realm. They are the foremost experts in worldly knowledge and keeper of history. The sages of the institution are great scribes and are the number one critic of the ¡°Dawnfall series¡± of books.


    Among these scholars and sages was Gray Silverleaf. He was known as the ¡®White Sage¡¯, inheritor of the White Guardian, one of the ¡®Seven Keepers of the Realm¡¯. He was an elder brother that Gin acknowledged. Thousands of years ago, five children trained together with Gin under the same teacher, and Gray Silverleaf was the eldest among the six. During the war with the Great Demon god Malibourne and the sealing of the ¡®Nine Hells¡¯ gate, he was conferred as one of the heroes of the realm together with eleven others.


    That time, Talmund Tal, leader of the twelve representatives of the Seven Realms alliance against Malibourne, became the 1<sup>st</sup> Emperor of the united 7<sup>th</sup> Realm issued an imperial edict stating that the twelve representatives together with their families and descendants will receive utmost respect and protection from all of the 7<sup>th</sup> realm. This edict included Gray and the Silverleaf family.


    But what currently bemused Gin was that, right now, he saw a descendant of the Silverleaf family suffering and being bullied. One of Gin¡¯s characteristics was that he was very protective of the people close to him. In his heart, he said ¡®Eldest Brother¡¯s descendants are my, Gin¡¯s, descendants! Bullying them is the same as bullying me!¡¯


    ¡°I guess that brat Talmund wants me to change his so-called ¡®currency¡¯ eh?¡± Gin said as he coldly glared at the remaining guard.


    The guard was newly hired personnel from a desolate rural village. He was very happy when he was accepted to be a gate guard of Golden Eye Mercenaries. His daily allowance was 10 coppers which were enough for him to live by. After months of working for the mercenary group, he adapted the attitude of his colleagues and became arrogant. Together with his new friends, they acted like bandits and did the bidding of their boss by abducting virgin teenage girls.


    But now, the friend that he drunk with last night turned into meat paste. When he saw this, his feet and hands became very cold and his face turned pale. Although he was not intelligent, he was not stupid. He knew from the way his friend died that the ¡®old-looking¡¯ man was not someone to be trifled with. He knew that if he did one more thing that this old man finds offensive, he will cease to exist.


    With a quick thought, he dropped on the ground and groveled. ¡°Great Sir! I.. I beg you to spare this insignificant person¡¯s life! I am just a mere gate guard obeying orders from the high command. Please, great sir! Spare me¡­ wuu wuu wuu¡­¡± the guard started bawling in front of Gin as he begged for his life.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Gin coldly looked at the begging guard then turned his attention elsewhere. He was currently looking at the fort¡¯s main tower. He sensed something from the tower that felt dark and foreboding. Then he mumbled, ¡°If inside that tower is the same thing that¡¯s on my mind right now, I will make sure this fort will fall today¡­¡±


    ¡°Take me to where his sister is held¡­¡±


    ¡°Wuu wuu wuu¡­ huh?¡± the guard was still crying with his tears and snot mixed. He was then elated to have the chance to keep his life. ¡°Yes! Yes! Great sir! I will take you to her!¡±


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    Entering the large fort gate, Gin felt nostalgia as he took a glance at the stone walls and the wall-mounted Starfire blue torches on the sides. He remembered how he labored in making this fort and the ¡®Great Wall¡¯. He remembered how some of his friends died on the other side of this wall, as they battled ragnakars and the undead, to protect the 7<sup>th</sup> realm from Malibourne¡¯s scourge. When he tried to ¡®time travel¡¯ back to the past to change the fate of his companions, he discovered that time only moves forward. What he saw was just images of the past, intangible and unchangeable. Even with all his previous power, he can never change fate and felt powerless against time. The laws of time, bounded him and showed the limits of human capability.


    Remembering his powerlessness, Gin laughed at himself. To change ones¡¯ fate was going against the will of the heavens. This was the reason why he was sealed in the first place. ¡®Sealed¡­ yes¡­ I was sealed¡­ to change ¡®her¡¯ fate! I went against the heavens, against the ancient¡­ At least ¡®she¡¯ lived¡­¡¯ a flash of memory dawned on him. The memory of a smiling beautiful lady clad in armor, ready for battle. She had pink hair as beautiful as the flowers of the cherry tree and had the face of a goddess. Remembering her made Gin smile softly.


    ¡°Hey, Bernard! Where the hell are you going? You¡¯re supposed to be guarding the gates!¡± a thin man with a thug-like face and large front teeth stopped them from going forward. They were now at a courtyard where most of the mercenaries stay. The thin man who stopped them intentionally increased the volume of his voice so that the others will notice. When this happened, the rowdy mercenaries looked at them with their malicious eyes.


    ¡°Rat¡­ don¡¯t block our way, you don¡¯t know the consequence of hindering the great sir!¡± the guard who led them retorted at the thin man. This Rat is the most rotten among all the bad apples of the mercenary group. He¡¯s the one giving newbies like Bernard a hard time.


    ¡°Consequence? Are you talking about consequences with me? A bottom-dweller gate guard like you dare to speak such high valued words to me? Hahaha!¡± the thin man laughed loudly at the guard.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny Rat?! Move away now and don¡¯t block the path!¡± the guard exclaimed angrily at the thin man.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny? Here¡¯s what¡¯s funny! You dare decide who gets to enter the fort? Only members of the Golden Eye Mercenaries and virgin girls can enter! Who do think you are? You aren¡¯t even an official member! Yes, you¡¯ve joined raids¡­ but those weren¡¯t even official mercenary work! Hahaha! You think your one of us?¡± the thin man shouted at the guard.


    ¡°You¡­¡± the guard can only grit his teeth and look down in embarrassment. He really thought that he was part of the mercenaries. He worked so hard and even did somethings that went against his conscience. But in the end, he was just considered as a lowly gate guard, and not part of the group.


    ¡°Boys! Let¡¯s show these trespassers that no one can come out alive trespassing the holy ground of the Golden Eye Mercenaries! Kill them all!¡± the thin man shouted.


    Triggered by the shout of the thin man, the other mercenaries also shouted and picked their weapons. They were thirsty for some blood!


    ¡°Grahhhh!! Hahaha! Uh¡­¡± just when some of them were livened up by the situation, they suddenly saw a large golden hand covering the whole courtyard. The pressure it emitted was so strong that some of them started to bleed from their eyes and ears.


    ROCK PAPER SCISSORS¡­ PAPER! 100 TON SWATTER!


    The golden hand quickly descended and smashed the whole courtyard.


    BOGSHHHHH!!!!!


    Dust flew everywhere but not a sound from the mercenaries could be heard. Only the sound of crushed rocks and falling dust was audible.


    Bernard the gate guard was stunned silly. His eyes widened like they were coming out of its sockets and his mouth wide open. What just happened? The others were preparing to attack then, the next moment, everything went Kaput!


    He turned his head to look at the ¡®old-looking¡¯ man behind him. Then what he saw shocked him even more.


    With his usual poker face, Gin was currently picking his nose with his pinkie. ¡°What? They were so noisy and blocked our way¡­ They were also bad apples and the less of them there are, the better it is for the realm, right? I did the 7<sup>th</sup> realm some meritorious service. That¡¯s all of em¡¯ right?¡±


    The guard looked at Gin but was still dazed about what happened. He had no words to say. His face clearly showed what he felt¡­ Stupefied. Oh good heavens! Great sir! You just annihilated the Golden Eye Mercenaries!

 Spell 17: Deidre Von Seggrern, the Executioner Immortal

    Inside the main room of the fort, a pale young man awoke from his slumber. He was sitting on a chair in the middle of a large room. In front of him was a round table surrounded by 13 chairs and he was exactly sitting on the 13<sup>th</sup> chair. Glancing at the table in front of him, he remembered that before he fell into a slumber, he was reading an old tome.


    This tome was written by a scribe ten thousand years ago. On it was the memos and agenda of a meeting with names of the members of the ¡®New World Alliance¡¯ or known to be the ''council of the twelve'' was written and tagged present. Only a few names could be recognized as the text was written thousands of years ago and time was not kind to the ink and paper. But it was clear that twelve names were written on the attendance of the members.


    The young man pondered for a while. He knew that this fort he currently occupies was the fort of the ¡®Golden Coin Peace Keepers¡¯, the main army of the ¡®New World Alliance¡¯. He was well-read and knew that the ¡®New World Alliance¡¯ only had twelve members. Then why are there thirteen chairs around this table?


    Whilst thinking, he subconsciously touched a ring on his finger. The ring was made of gold embedded with a flaming-red ruby. On his cold and pale hands, this ring was the only thing that brought warmth. As he held the ring like the most precious object in his life, he suddenly sniffed a metallic scent that he was very familiar with. This scent was his favorite. He then remembered that before he slept two days ago, he wasn¡¯t able to finish five of his remaining meals. He smiled and glanced at his side and saw something that made his eyes shine. But before he could think about it, he felt a sudden pain on his head. His connection to one of his minions was severed.


    He felt that one of his summoned minions died together with its host body. The loss of this minion meant that the host probably had died or was able to extract the parasite. He frowned and looked at the covered windows. It was still a little bright outside but there was no more sunlight passing through the tiny slit on the window cover. It meant that it was nearing dusk. Before he could stand, he heard a knock on the large main door.


    KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!


    ¡°Hey, why are you still knocking? Just push it open¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Great sir¡­ this door won¡¯t open unless the fort master allows for it¡­¡±


    ¡°Really? Let me try¡­¡±


    The pale young man could hear some people talking and bickering on the other side of the door. He squinted his eyes and whispered something changing the atmosphere of the room. Then something suddenly happened that made him frown even more.


    BOGSHHHHHH!!!!


    The large door of the main hall was kicked open. The door was forcibly removed from the frame with its hinges torn away like paper. It seemed that the force of the kick was so strong that the metal hinges forgot it was made of metal and pretended to be paper instead. The two large doors flew and landed on the stone floor. With the very strong impact that shook the whole fort, it could be seen how sturdy the doors were. Only a few places of the door got chipped and a mark of a foot was present on both sides of the two doors. It was hit right in the middle where the opening was.


    As the dust started to settle, three figures could be seen from outside the door. One was the gate guard who was now pale with a very shocked expression. The other was a burly blue creature that looked like an ogre, and the last one was the one in front of the door. His arms were raised and folded behind his head while one of this leg was still raised. From the look of things, it seemed that this man was the one who broke the door.


    The pale young man looked and scrutinized the man in the middle. He wore some rugged clothes that seemed to be more like a beggar¡¯s rags than clothes and had a very thick blue hair and beard that reached his waist. Looking at the ¡®old-looking¡¯ man, he discerned that the although the man looked very old because of this beard, he saw that there were no wrinkles on his face and that his eyes were very clear like that of a teenager. When the ¡®old-looking¡¯ man appeared, he was grinning, so the pale young man saw his teeth and concluded that this ¡®old-looking¡¯ man was not old but instead very young, maybe around 18-19 years old. An immortal like me?The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    -----------------------------------------------


    The gate guard Bernard took Gin to the main building of the fort. With most of the Golden Eye Mercenaries dead, there was no longer anyone hindering them. When the reached the door of the main hall, he knocked on the door thrice but the ¡®Great Sir¡¯ beside him ordered to just push the door open. He explained to the ¡®Great Sir¡¯ that the door was magically enhanced. Even with a thousand soldiers hammering the door, it won¡¯t budge open. Only when the fort leader allowed the door to be open will it open.


    But never in the gate guard¡¯s mind that he will see the ¡®Great Sir¡¯ suddenly kick the large doors open. He was so shocked, his mouth opened widely until his jaw started to dislocate. A magically enhanced door just got destroyed like that.


    What greeted them was a well-lit large beautiful sparkling hall with a very nice ambiance. The atmosphere felt very warming together with the color combination of the objects displayed in the hall. In the middle was a large round table with thirteen chairs. In front of the far most chair stood a pale young man. Bernard recognized this man immediately. He was the Fort leader and also the leader of the Golden Eye Mercenaries, the immortal executioner himself, Deidre Von Seggrern!


    ¡°Hey there, dead old thing!¡± Gin grinned as he saw the pale young man.


    The pale young man¡¯s brows frowned due to the ¡®old-looking¡¯ man¡¯s insult. But he controlled himself and greeted back.


    ¡°Hello there. Welcome to my fort. What can I do for this young powerful sir?¡± He stood and half-bowed with a smiling friendly face.


    The gate guard blinked at their greeting. The ¡®Great Sir¡¯ called the young-looking immortal executioner ¡®dead old thing¡¯ while the pale young man called Gin ¡®young powerful sir¡¯. Well, maybe they¡¯re correct with their adjectives. The immortal executioner is immortal after all and became the leader of the Golden Eye Mercenaries for 200 years so calling him ¡®old¡¯ is not an understatement. But calling the ¡®Great Sir¡¯ young? I would¡¯ve called him ¡®Great Old Sir¡¯ if I was not afraid that he might kill me due to the offense I might cause.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ this room¡­ is not what I remembered it to be¡­¡± Gin said as he examined the whole room with his eyes.


    ¡°Oh? Is that so? Then you¡¯ve seen this room before? Then my guess is correct. You are an immortal too?¡± the pale young man asked.


    ¡°Immortal huh¡­ I guess you could say that.¡± Gin replied while he dazedly looked at the round table and the thirteen chairs.


    ¡°I see¡­ I see¡­ But this is my fortress now. What right do you have to enter my home and break my things?!¡± the pale young man asked in an imposing tone. Then he shifted his gaze towards the gate guard. ¡°Is my Golden Eye Mercenaries that dumb now to let outsiders enter my place? How dare a mere gate guard led someone here, in my most sacred place?!¡± the pale young man¡¯s glare carried a heavy pressure aiming for the gate guard.


    The gate guard was stunned. He froze and was not able to breathe. The pressure he felt was different from the domineering and hot pressure that the ¡®Great Sir¡¯ showed. The pressure that the pale young man¡¯s glare gave was cold and desolate. Making him feel like he was alone in a dark and gloomy world.


    ¡°Lord Deidre¡­ this¡­ this¡­¡± the gate guard was trying to explain when he heard something.


    CLACK!!


    As Gin snapped his fingers, the dark and dreary pressure that the gate guard felt disappeared.


    ¡°No need to ask him¡­ I¡¯ll tell you. He he he. Actually, all them so-called mercenaries already went to Sheol*. They might be swimming and enjoying the River Styx* by now. Do you wish to follow? Ah¡­ I forgot¡­ your kind can never have the luxury. When you die you just go kaput and turn to dust. Can¡¯t even use your remains as fertilizer¡­ such useless creatures.¡± Gin shook his head as his face showed pity yet disdain for the pale young man.


    ¡°You!!¡± the pale young man was angered by his statement. ¡°Tell me¡­ From which ¡®hunter¡¯ family are you? Helsing? Belmont? Holmwood? Shirfire? Or maybe one of the avenging ¡®hunters¡¯? Are you sure you should be coming for me, Deidre Von Seggrern, the Executioner Immortal, with just you and a blue ogre companion?¡±


    ¡°Ka haahaha¡­¡± Gin laughed at the pale young man¡¯s question. Really? If I tell him my ¡®family¡¯ members have become legendary beings by now¡­ would he believe me? But in the middle of laughing, a scent passed to Gin¡¯s nose. And when this scent came, Gin didn¡¯t miss to inhale some of it. By the time his brain registered the smell, his eyes constricted.


    ¡°Klaraon Staeer!¡± Gin suddenly shouted.


    All of a sudden, the atmosphere in the hall changed. The once bright and warm-looking walls turned into cold and mossy stone bricks. Blood was over the floor and most of the color turned black, signifying that it''s been there for weeks, months or even years. Corpses littered the cold stone flooring. Some of the corpses were dried up, some looked like fresh corpses. But one thing was common with these corpses¡­ their blood essence was gone.


    Upon seeing this horrendous sight, Gin couldn¡¯t help but frown. What happened to the ¡®Elder¡¯s¡¯ treaty? Why did they permit this? Was my blood contract broken? As he was asking these questions in his mind, he saw the true face of the pale young man.


    ¡®Eyes as black as the night sky, with pale-grey skin and dark large bat-like wings. Claws as sharp as a lycanthrope, and legs of as sturdy as a hobgoblin. With mouth almost reaching the ear and teeth that is like a piranha. If even only one of these will fly in the night sky, virgin girls beware, thou wilt die. The Blood Bat-vampire.¡¯ ¨C G.O. Dawnfall¡±

 Spell 18: So Dry

    Chapter 18: So Dry


    Facing the Blood Bat-vampire, Gin had a serious expression. The Blood Bat-vampire was the most annoying branch of the vampire mutations. Although they were not the strongest, their resilient bodies and ability to fly were the reasons why the vampire hunters avoid meeting them alone but prefer to have a team or two in facing them.


    Usually, Blood Bat-vampires dwell between rank 8 to rank 9 mortal arts. Rarely can this type of vampire transcend the limits of the mortal body and become a Transcender Arts Practitioner. This is because the energy needed to transcend must be a balance of hot and cold energies. Vampires are undead, meaning they are cold. Only the Highmoon Royal Blood Vampires and the members of the Elder Blood, who has practiced the unliving arts are able to transcend.


    But looking at the Blood Bat-vampire Deidre, Gin knew that he was a Transcender. And not just any transcender, but someone at the peak transcender stage.


    ¡°Lil¡¯ Blue¡­ how many minutes can you give me?¡± Gin asked the bull, but his eyes were still fixed on the Deidre.


    Little Blue looked at the vampire then passed the little boy he was holding to the gate guard Bernard. ¡°Master, if I use your techniques, I will last 2 minutes¡­ but if I use my own physical strength, I might be able to stretch it to 5 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Gin nodded. ¡°6 minutes¡­ give me 6 minutes¡­¡±


    ¡°6 Minutes?¡± Little Blue was startled. ¡°Is it very serious?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ He is a peak stage Transcender¡­ using my technique the Titan Art is only most effective against hell¡¯s creatures. Even if it¡¯s an Ascender, as long as it came from the 9 hells, ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS can turn them into dust. But the undead? Fire is most effective¡­ but I cannot use my fire spells right now¡­ I don¡¯t have my ring¡­¡± Gin then turned his head toward Little Blue.


    ¡°Right now, you are a rank 3 Transcender, and I¡¯m currently only at¡­ rank 1 mortal arts¡­¡± Gin awkwardly smiled as he seemed to be embarrassed at his current state of prowess.


    The volume of their voice was very low that Deidre wasn¡¯t able to hear the quick conversation but Bernard who was beside them was able to hear it clearly. Currently, he was again very shocked. ¡®rr.rra¡­rank 1 mortal arts? Only rank 1 mortal arts? And he was able to annihilate the Golden Eye Mercenaries in a blink of an eye? What in the world is happening here?¡¯


    ¡°Ok Master¡­ I will try to give you as much time as possible.¡± Little Blue smiled. He then faced Deidre. Suddenly blue flame-like aura burst out from his body. ¡°How about we spar a little bit little leech? I¡¯m currently not used to this form yet, so I¡¯ll need a little bit of practice.¡±


    When Deidre saw the blue aura coming out of little blue, he was stunned. An Ascender? Only Ascenders can use the blue aura! Before he could continue with his thoughts, a fist came flying straight at his face. But due to having a higher level than little blue, he was faster with his guard.


    Deidre¡¯s hands were already up on guard when little blue¡¯s fist hit him. Deidre flew like a broken kite for a few meters until he regained his balance.


    With little blue¡¯s natural strength, together with his bloodline arts, the power of his punches cannot be taken for granted. If Deidre wasn¡¯t able to block that punch, although he won¡¯t die, he would be injured. And even a slight injury would cause him to be at a disadvantage.


    ¡°Tsk!¡± Feeling the numbness on his arms, Deidre gritted his teeth. Only a few more months and a hundred more virgin teenager¡¯s blood essence, and he could have Ascended! But the appearance of Gin and Little Blue destroyed all his plans. As he stared at little blue angrily, he noticed something on his sleeves. He could smell a light scent of burnt fiber. On the spot that little blue hit, he felt a warm sensation. There was a very tiny flame ember left of his sleeves. ¡°This is¡­¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    While little blue confronted Deidre, Gin closed his eyes and his mind seem to enter another world. It was an endless area of land. This place is his inner world which he usually calls the Mana Pool. With his previous strength, his inner world would look like a vast ocean filled with a glimmering blue water-like substance called Mana. But right now, it looked like an endless desert. Empty and dry. Yes¡­ So Dry¡­


    Gin¡¯s image was projected in his inner world and currently, he was floating in front of 8 large structures. These large structures that looked like floodgates were actually his mana gates. When he saw his mana gates, he couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly and shake his head. His mana gates were broken. Never have these gates brought mana to his mana pool. This problem was congenital.


    Going down below his mana gates, he landed in front of a small puddle around 6 inches in diameter. This small puddle was currently his mana. Compared to the vastness of his inner world, the mana it currently contains was just a small puddle. How ironic.


    Surrounding this puddle were twelve orbs with names. These names were names of the clans who participated in the great war against Malibourne. The names were Heart, Helm, Highward, Vough, Silverleaf, Ashtara, Kivinu, Stonepaw, Beardchaser, Stormbrewer, Rothfield, and Millianard. Looking at these names gave Gin another instance of nostalgia.


    The twelve orbs are the twelve seals that make an energy array called the Soul Divide Array. It was an array used to split the energy of the user into parts. Each part contains the same amount of energy as the whole. Therefore, those who receive a part of the energy will have power equal to the undivided energy of the user. The only drawback is the user himself will have his power sealed.


    With Gin¡¯s power divided into twelve seals, he can only manifest a thirteenth of his total strength. But if those parts will be returned to him, they will serve as a key to unlock each seal to break the orbs, returning to him his original strength.


    Even so, if he still had a thirteenth of his power, he could defeat a hundred Deidres with just once punch. But right now, he only had a thousandth of his thirteenth.


    Looking at the small puddle in front of him, Gin raised his arm and glanced at his hand. ¡°With the current state of my mana pool, I can at most, use ROCK with 1 kiloton cannon once or¡­¡± Gin was deliberating which skill to use against Deidre. Without his previous strength or his equipment, he can only rely on his Titan Arts. But the drawback of using this technique was mana usage. Without the ability to absorb energy from the heavens and earth, Gin could only rely on potions. But because potions are expensive and he is currently penniless, he could only imagine the hard battle he will be fighting after 6 minutes is done.


    ¡°Haaa¡­. Dealing with ascender ragnakars was a hundred times better than fighting this undead bat¡­¡± Gin sighed.


    When Gin opened his eyes, the battle between Little Blue and Deidre was still going on. But from the look of things, the spirit bull was at a disadvantage. Only 2 minutes had passed yet the tables have now turned against Little Blue.


    Gin glanced at his side and saw the gate guard holding a little boy while shaking in his boots. ¡°Mr. Guard¡­ is the little boy¡¯s sister among the corpses on the floor?¡± Gin asked.


    ¡°N.. no.. no Great Sir! She is the one there hanging on the wall¡­¡±


    As the gate guard said this, Gin turned his head towards the eastern wall. There he saw five girls with their hands cuffed and chained hanging on the walls. Although they were still alive, but due to hunger and fatigue, they were very weak.


    Among the five, Gin saw an ash haired girl around 14 ¨C 15 years old. Behind the bruises and the wounds, one could see that she was a very beautiful girl with fair skin, oval shape face, and had the presence of someone very pure.


    ¡°Surely¡­ she is a Silverleaf¡­¡± Gin said as he looked at the girl that seemed to superimpose the face of his eldest brother Gray.


    ¡°Mr. Guard, release them from their chains and help them out¡­¡± Gin ordered the gate guard coolly.


    ¡°Ah! Yes, Great Sir! I will abide!¡± the gate guard replied panickily.


    Gin turned back to the battle between Little Blue and Deidre. He clenched his fist and gritted his fist. Under the cover of his hair, his left eye shone brightly. Gin normally had green eyes, but when he releases his energy his left eye will turn into amber yellow.


    ¡°If I came too late¡­ what sin would have been done to my elder brother¡­¡±


    With a terrifying black and red electric-like aura surrounding him, Gin widely grinned¡­

 Spell 19: Gin versus Deidre Part 1

    Chapter 19: Gin versus Deidre Part 1


    ¡°Ha ha ha ha ha ha!¡± a bone-chilling laugh could be heard echoing the hall.


    ¡°I thought you were an Ascender! Hahaha! That scared me a bit.¡± Deidre was rejoicing at his current situation.


    Earlier, when he and Little Blue started to fight, he felt that the other party was extremely strong. Even with the sturdiness of the bat-vampires body, he could still feel that his opponent¡¯s attacks would sometime render him disabled.


    Then he smelled a burning smell coming from his clothes. Deidre suddenly realized that the blue flame-like aura was not the aura coming out of an Ascender! But it literally is a blue flame aura! Meaning, his opponent¡¯s attacks are flame-based!


    Deidre clenched his fist and gazed at the ring on his finger. ¡®Fire type? Hehehe¡­ This is my chance!¡¯


    ¡°Blue worm! Hahaha! Do you know that your attacks are useless?¡± Deidre taunted.


    ¡°And why would that be? Ugly Bat?¡± Little Blue stopped attacking and calmly replied to the taunt.


    ¡°Hahaha! One of my abilities is regeneration. Even if all my bones are broken, they will be fixed within minutes! Right now, my body is already good as new!¡± Deidre laughed at Little Blue.


    Little Blue frowned and found out that the bat seemed to be telling the truth. Looking at his own body, although the spirit blue was naturally sturdy, but fighting with an opponent 6 ranks higher than him, he was not a match.


    Coupled with the bat-vampires speed, strength, and ability to fly, Little Blue seemed to be getting the shorter end of the stick.


    Deidre continued, ¡°We are only susceptible to fire attacks¡­ It seems that your attacks are fire-based¡­ but it¡¯s too weak that my regeneration heals all damage within seconds! Hahaha!¡±


    The spirit bulls were always proud of their blue flame aura. The blue flame was one of the top strongest flame-based bloodlines and insulting it was insulting he whole spirit bull race. With Deidre¡¯s provocation, Little Blue took the bait.


    ¡°Oh, really now¡­ How about I cook your undead ugliness with my blue flame?!¡± Little blue gritted his teeth in anger.


    ¡°Hahaha Just try it worm!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I will try it bat!¡±


    FIRE BREATH 1<sup>st</sup> Style! BURNING EARTH!


    A huge wave of flame aura surged towards the bat-vampire.


    The huge wave of fire made Deidre swallow hard and hoped that his plan would work. Raising his fist towards the surging wave of fire, the ring on his hand faced the incoming attack.


    This action didn¡¯t escape Gin¡¯s eyes. When he saw this, his pupils constricted. What he saw startled him and made his blood boil. He stared on the vampire¡¯s hands and on his finger was a golden ring with a flaming red ruby. ¡°My¡­ Ring¡­¡±


    A sudden thought enlightened him. ¡°Lil Blue! Stop!¡± Gin shouted but it was too late.


    The fire attack already hit the bat-vampire.


    Gin could only stare at the scene as the blue flame of the spirit bull swallowed Deidre, engulfing him with fire.


    ¡°Huh? Master, What do you mean?¡± Little Blue asked.


    ¡°He has my ring¡­ Pyro Elementus¡­¡± Gin replied as he looked at Deidre with a frown.


    VOID SWALLOW!The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Before anyone could react, a dark void tore beneath Little Blue¡¯s feet.


    Sensing the danger beneath him, Little Blue quickly jumped backward. But before he can prepare for a counterattack, a dark energy ball flew straight at him.


    Immediately, Little Blue crossed his hands to defend from the energy ball. Yet the ball didn¡¯t hit him. Instead, it suddenly stopped in front of him and grew bigger.


    Little Blue was shocked by what happened. The shock didn¡¯t disappear yet when the ¡®now large¡¯ dark energy ball opened in the middle and became a mouth of a large beast and swallowed Little Blue whole.


    After swallowing the spirit bull, the dark energy ball transformed into a large dark beast with the body of a wolf and head of a dragon.


    ¡°Hahahaha! I¡¯m now at my peak state! Sooner or later, I will ascend!¡± Deidre rejoiced. His plan was a success.


    Deidre knew that the ring on his finger was a relic of the past. Ten thousand years ago, this ring became famous for being the bane of all Fire Arts.


    One of the known abilities that the ring grants, is fire immunity. Once the wearer is hit by fire, the body will absorb the fire and turn it into mana.


    ¡°With the ¡®ogre¡¯ gone, I can take care of the other one¡­ now it''s two versus one!¡± Deidre thought to himself while looking at the dark beast beside him.


    The dark beast was a low tier Ragnakar. They were the bottom dwellers of the Ragnakar race. But the one that Deidre summoned was no regular low tier ragnakar. It was an undead dark ragnakars.


    ROCK PAPER SCISSORS! ROCK 100 TON CANNON!


    Everything went into slow motion. Deidre knew that this phenomenon was called the ¡®Final Countdown¡¯. A phenomenon that will occur when the body detects a very high level of threat where one would surely die. The brain will send the highest amount of adrenaline and the one experiencing the threat will fill that everything will slow down.


    Deidre didn¡¯t know how Gin was already beside him. Earlier, he seemed to detect a fluctuating source of energy but because it was only a small amount and he was also busy with little Blue, he didn¡¯t mind it.


    Right now, he was thinking that the real Ascender was the old-looking-but-actually-young-slash-immortal man.


    While everything was in slow motion, Gin released his 100-ton cannon on Deidre¡¯s right side. His fist shone brightly as a golden fist covered with a black and red aura.


    Deidre felt the fist. He felt the weight of the punch. He also felt his death.


    The golden fist grew as it flew together with Deidre.


    Deidre already felt the right side of his body disappearing. The only thought in his mind was how to survive.


    He spent 300 years in amassing his wealth and private army just so he could have the foundations to ascend. It took him a hundred years to transcend. Now, only a few more steps and he could Ascend beyond the realm of mortality and have the chance to enter godhood.


    Upon nearing his end, Deidre unexpectedly broke the barriers of the Transcender stage going to the Ascender. With the sudden flush of energy, he channeled all his power to regeneration.


    As he was blasted, in slow motion, he could see the right side of his body getting obliterated then regenerated.


    He could not give up! Never will he give up!


    ¡°GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!¡± Deidre shouted as he was pushed towards the wall.


    Watching this, Gin was still grinning but suddenly detected an anomaly on his left side.


    PAPER! GUARD!


    Dark thorn-like energy flew towards Gin, but they were blocked by a golden palm as Gin swiped his hand in the air.


    Black Bolts of dark energy flew in the air aiming for Gin. He could flick them if he still had a thirteenth of his power, but the reality was different. He could only try to evade using his physical capabilities.


    Each energy bolt that would hit his shield would lower its durability by a third and it was already hit once. He could only receive hits with his shield for only two times more.


    Gin knew that Deidre was still busy holding off the golden fist. Therefore, the one attacking him was likely the undead ragnakar. If it was a regular ragnakar, it would be easy for him to destroy it using his Titan Arts. But the undead version was trickier. Especially when Little Blue was currently swallowed by it.


    Suddenly he felt a sudden burst of energy beside him. He was ready to catch it since he knew that the ragnakars strongest attack was its ¡®Phantasmal Roar¡¯.


    Just when he was about to catch the beam of energy, he felt a bad premonition. So instead of catching it, he parried the Phantasmal Roar with his hand. The energy beam got redirected towards the ceiling.


    BOOOOGSH!!!


    When Gin saw what happened to the stone ceiling of the hall, he frowned. The materials of the ceiling were similar to that of the ¡®Great Wall¡¯. It was also made from the magma of a molten titan and was specially crafted by the best dwarven engineers.


    But right now, a large hole was made by the phantasmal roar of the undead ragnakar.


    Gin then took a look at the hand he used to parry the energy beam with. It was burnt.


    The normal phantasmal roar wouldn¡¯t do that. This could only be possible because the ragnakar is undead. He started to hypothesize that Deidre, the transcender blood bat-vampire didn¡¯t have the ability to create such abomination, because only Ascender level beings can.


    Then a possibility entered in his mind. This undead ragnakar was given to Deidre. Someone or something is behind the bat-vampire. He guessed that Deidre was just either a pawn or a diversion by the mastermind behind this farce. Vampire mutation is a curse¡­ while this undead ragnakar¡­ is necromancy!


    ¡°Tsk! This is why I hate dealing with necromancers¡­¡± Gin expressed annoyance with his current situation.

 Spell 20: Gin versus Deidre Part 2

    Chapter 20: Gin versus Deidre Part 2


    Necromancy was a banned art due to its gruesome way of practice. Once necromancy was performed on a dead person, the person''s breath of life cannot enter the stream of souls anymore. Once the person gets destroyed, he will just dissipate like what will happen to the vampires when they die.


    The great demon god Malibourne was one of such necromancers. During the war ten thousand years ago, Malibourne and his undead and demonic army scourged the land and it was exactly this fort, the great wall, and the alliance of all living that they were able to destroy Malibourne and seal the gates of hell.


    Although there were some necromancers who only use golems for their practice, the evil nature of mortals will always surface. When the other necromancers started to practice with the dead, the Council of Mages, Church of Lir, Wiztra of the wind, and the Seven Knight Academies declared a total ban to necromancy.


    But looking at the present situation, it seemed that some still practiced in the dark.


    Gin frowned at the thought of another Malibourne.


    ¡°GAHHH!!! I almost died!¡± an angry shout echoed.


    Gin looked at the source. It was Deidre. The golden fist seemed to have exhausted its energy and dissipated. But the current condition of Deidre was also not so good.


    His physical appearance resembled that of a broken corpse. His right-wing was gone and the flesh of the right side of his body was not regenerating anymore. Currently, the upper right side of his body was torn. His heart could even be seen beating while his internal organs were still smoking from a severe burn.


    ¡°Damn you pests! You¡¯ve ruined everything! My ascension! My godhood! You took everything away!¡± Deidre raged


    ¡°Tsk! Taking all of them away is not enough for the crimes you have committed parasite!¡± Gin scoffed at the angry vampire.


    ¡°Then all of you will go down with me!¡±


    Earlier, when Deidre was hit with the 100-ton cannon, he was able to break the bottleneck that hindered him for a hundred years. But all of his happiness disappeared when he noticed that the strength of the golden fist was not simple. He had been holding it for a long time and barely able to stay alive using is regeneration ability, but it still did not dissipate. He was given the option of either get killed by the golden fist while currently on a semi-ascender state or sacrifice his current realm state and rank so that he can escape from certain doom.


    He chose to escape.


    Sacrificing all his hard work, his semi-ascender state and 5 ranks of the Transcender stage, he was able to gather enough energy to hold on until the golden fist will dissipate.


    Five dark energy balls flew from the vampire''s remaining hand and flew towards Gin. The energy balls flew very fast and were directly controlled by Deidra. Its maneuverability was high. The five dark energy balls seem to follow Gin wherever he goes.


    The five dark energy balls together with the thorn attacks by the undead ragnakar gave Gin a hard time. But even though it was difficult, and he was starting to perspire, Gin was still able to agilely avoid and evade the incoming attacks.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Until¡­


    ¡°Huh?¡± something suddenly grabbed Gin''s foot. A corpse got animated and was holding his foot like a snare! Gin was stunned. He saw that the eyes of the corpse glowed red. ¡°Damn that necromancer!¡± He scowled.


    Gin wasn¡¯t able to avoid two of the hits because of the corpse intervention. Two golden palms blocked 2 energy balls and Gin¡¯s shield defense crumbled.


    Kicking the animated corpse away, Gin again started to move and evade the attacks when suddenly¡­


    ¡°Hukkk¡­¡± pain reverberated in his head. ¡°Mana exhaustion? Ugh¡­ not at this time¡­¡±


    With Gin¡¯s sudden second pause, Deidre was delighted. Finally, an opening!


    VOID PRISON!


    A dark sphere suddenly engulfed Gin and sharp spikes grew inside.


    ¡°TCH!!¡± Gin groaned as the spikes pierced his body. One pierced his right shoulder, disabling his right arm. Another spike pierced his right rib, causing his breathing to be uneven, and the last one pierced his left thigh.


    ¡°Stupid weak body¡­¡± Gin blamed himself for being inept as he swatted his movable left hand at the spikes causing them to disappear but left three bleeding holes on his body.


    ¡®My incompetence caused me not to foresee those traitors¡­ caused ¡®her¡¯ to die¡­ although in the end, I managed to return her breath of life¡­ it caused me to be sealed and never see her again¡­¡¯ Gin clenched his fist as he blamed himself for not being powerful enough.


    While his mind was lost in self-blame, a large clawed hand suddenly grasped his neck.


    ¡°Hahaha! Got you! I will take you with me to an eternity of nothingness!!!¡± Deidre madly laughed as he held Gin by the neck.


    VOID LOCK!


    A sharp spike suddenly shot out from the ground and pierced Gin¡¯s back.


    ¡°KECH!¡± Gin coughed a mouthful of blood as he felt pain on his back.


    ¡°Finish him! Now!¡± Deidre ordered the undead ragnakar to shoot a phantasmal roar.


    The undead ragnakar opened its mouth and gathered the necessary energy for the attack when suddenly¡­


    ¡°BLEECCCHHH!!!¡±


    The undead ragnakar vomited a blue-colored bull.


    ¡°HE. HE. HE. THINK. UGLY. KEEP. ME. INSIDE? NO. WAY. HO. SEY!¡± Little Blue grinned as he limply felt flat on the ground, soaked in an unknown liquid.


    ¡°What the! A Bull?¡±


    With Deidre¡¯s moment of distraction, Gin evilly grinned.


    150 TON JET HAMMER!!!


    A swift kick flew towards the vampire. A golden foot struck Deidre and the impact caused him to release Gin.


    Deidre was smacked by the golden foot.


    ¡°NOOOO!!!¡± the vampire could only shout at his predicament.


    ¡°YOU WILL PAY!!! THE MASTER WILL AVENGE ME!¡± Deidre¡¯s roar echoed as he was destroyed by the golden foot.


    With Deidre¡¯s defeat, the spike that held Gin and the undead ragnakar dissipated.


    Gin fell on the hard ground and cough another mouthful of blood. He felt pain all over his body and was not able to move due to fatigue, injury, and mana depletion. In his inner world, the small puddle of mana disappeared. Right now, his mana pool was completely dry.


    ¡°He he he¡­ Little Blue¡­ You¡­ look like crap¡­¡± Gin poked fun at Little Blue¡¯s miserable state.


    ¡°HE. HE. HE. LIKE. MASTER. LIKE. LITTLE. BLUE.¡± The spirit bull grinned in return.


    Gin looked at the wall and didn¡¯t see the five girls and the gate guard anymore. ¡°Ah¡­ that gate guard did something good today. Hehehe.¡±


    POK!


    Something fell on the ground.


    With Gin¡¯s immovable body, he could only see by moving his head sideways.


    On the center of the round table, there fell a beating heart. For high born vampires, the heart was their weakness. Once it is punctured, they will die. But for lesser vampires like the Blood Bat-vampire, their heart was the most resilient part on their body.


    Seeing this, Gin frowned. ¡°Well now¡­ weeds really do die hard. Little Blue¡­ can you still stand and squash that beating heart?¡±


    ¡°UH. YES. MASTER.¡± Little Blue gathered all his remaining strength and was able to stand up.


    While little blue was limping towards the heart, Gin was looking at the sky through the hole. His eyes twerked and he suddenly became tense. Looking at the night sky, two blood-red moons hung.


    Light from the blood-red moons entered the hole on the ceiling and a beam of light fell on the center of the round table where the heart was.


    ¡°Little Blue! Hurry! Destroy the heart! Gin roared.


    Little Blue quickly used what little strength he had left to jump on the heart and squash it. But suddenly a red barrier prevented the spirit bull from doing his task and was instead flung away on the wall like a broken kite. Little blue coughed out a mouthful of blood.


    ¡°MASTER. SORRY. I. TOO. LATE¡­¡±


    Gin¡¯s eyes constricted as he saw the heart float and basked in the light of the red moons.


    ¡°Oh Crap¡­¡± Gin scowled.