《Soulforge Legacy》 Chapter 1 - Layoffs The rain came down in sheets. Waves sliding down the street and the uncovered sidewalks. Most flowed into the gutters, but it wasn¡¯t nearly enough. Quite a bit descended the stairs into the subway. While this made the trip up the stairs treacherous, it was nothing new. In fact, it was something I, and most everyone else, prayed for. The rain was the only thing that cleaned some of the built-up dirt and grime after all. Stepping out from under the aged, cracked plastic covering the subway entrance, I crossed the street. I avoided the piles of trash and other assorted items littering the gutters, being more careful with where I walked than looking for any sort of vehicle. After all, even the rich no longer used cars unless they had no choice ¡ª not with how expensive gas was. The bay door of the building in front of me was wide open, letting in fresh, cool air and washing away the smell of hot metal and grease as various machines ground down pieces of metal. I made my way past the lone guard and walked through the shop to my workstation. Xander was already there, setting up for our first order of the day. ¡°Morning Xander,¡± I called as I tossed my small bag under the worktable. Picking up the order to give it a look. It was a simple piece of metal tubing. The machine Xander was setting up would cut it to length while my machine would swage it into shape. ¡°Morning Alex,¡± Xander finally said as he got closer. His tall six-foot-four height dwarfed my five-five. Not that his height mattered when combined with his personality. While I was willing to make myself heard, he was soft-spoken and typically kept to himself. Only talking if required, and even then he would sometimes just walk away. It took over a year of working with him before he felt comfortable enough to talk with me. ¡°Simple job,¡± I commented as I turned on my machine, getting everything warmed up and ready for when he had the first batch of parts for me. ¡°Who do you think this one is for?¡± ¡°Military,¡± Was his simple answer. ¡°You always think it¡¯s the military.¡± ¡°No, sometimes the orders are for some¡­¡± he started, before I joined in, ¡°secret government experiment.¡± We stared at each other for a good three seconds before bursting into a fit of laughter. Laughter that has me chuckling until after he passed the first basket of metal tubes to work on. Selecting the program, I load up the first tube, letting the machine run as I put in a single earphone and started an audiobook. While it was against company policy to listen to anything, our manager was pretty lenient. It helped that he had worked on the floor for over a decade before becoming a manager. Taking the first part out of the machine a moment later, I verified that everything was where it was supposed to be. Measuring each part with calipers before finally taking it over to the quality guy for our section of the floor. ¡°Hi Roberto, got time to do a first article for me?¡± ¡°Sure, let me finish Laura¡¯s first,¡± the old guy said from where he sat. Laura stood just off to the side. ¡°Got ours done first,¡± she said as she smiled. It had become something of a competition between our teams to see who could get the first item out every day. From time to time, other groups had tried to join in, but none got any jobs that were as fast as ours. It helped that our teams were the only ones with machines that could do the work. ¡°You''re good,¡± Roberto stamped her page before handing both it and the part back to her. ¡°Now get, I would like to get some coffee after I finish Alex¡¯s job, and cannot do that if you both are hovering.¡± She waved over her shoulder as she walked over to her machines Roberto grabbed my part. He broke out the drawing, comparing the part to it and the listed measurements before stamping my paperwork as well. I knew better than to wait for him to dismiss me. If I had, he would have put our orders at the back of the line for the rest of the day, slowing everything down for no reason other than to be petty. As I placed the part into the empty box on the table, every machine turned off. They didn¡¯t grind to a halt. They didn¡¯t crash. The power simply cut out. The building went deathly silent. Somewhere, a tiny piece of metal hit the ground. As if the sudden tinking sound was a trigger, the room exploded into yelling as people tried to figure out what was going on. Neither Xander nor I joined in. We were paid to do a job. If something happened to prevent us from doing it, then it was up to management to fix it. After all, I couldn¡¯t order parts or arrange for repairs to the building. A loud buzzing sound filled the room as the building''s antiquated sound system switched on, pitched just right that I had to cover my ears. I was fairly sure that I would have heard it even if the machines were still running. Slowly, the buzzing faded, replaced with the building manager''s voice. ¡°Mandatory meeting in the breakroom in five minutes.¡± As always, his announcements were simple and to the point. I put the work paged into the finished parts box. The moment we got back we would have to see about splitting the order. I was not looking forward to the paperwork. Maybe I could get Xander to do it this time. I shot him a look as he grabbed his water bottle from the desk. He must have known what I was thinking because as he walked past me, he said, ¡°No, I did it last time.¡± Joining him and the rest of the throng, I faked a pout, pitching my voice up a tiny bit as I innocently said, ¡°But Xander, you have to. I don¡¯t remember how to properly fill out the paperwork.¡± I timed my response just right. He spit the mouthful of water onto the jacket of the person in front of us. The guy shot a glare at us before moving on. He was a third-shifter, just about ready to go home, so the water wasn¡¯t going to do anything the rain wouldn¡¯t in half an hour. ¡°Dude!¡± Xander said as he wiped his mouth. He shot me an exasperated look as he continued talking, ¡°You know not to use that damn voice.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked with as much innocence as I could muster. ¡°You know why.¡± Seeing that I wasn¡¯t going to relent, he groaned before finally saying, ¡°You sound like a chick. Combined with your looks¡­¡± He didn¡¯t dare finish the sentence. If he had, he knew he would pay for it ¡ª not immediately. I wasn¡¯t that mean. No, it would be a small thing here, a small thing there. Little acts of revenge. Just enough to keep him on edge, knowing another one was coming but not when or where it would come from I didn¡¯t get to say anything back as we walked into the breakroom. The room was just big enough for everyone to stand, but little else. The room was loud as people talked, growing louder as each group tried to be heard over everyone else. After a minute, I contemplated leaving before I suffered permanent hearing damage. Fortunately the building manager popped his upper half above the crowd. Everyone that noticed stopped talking, elbowing the neighbors that didn¡¯t. Within seconds, the room grew quiet. The loudest sound was that of various jackets rustling. Finally, he spoke. ¡°Good morning everyone.¡± Some people started to talk, likely to demand answers, but he held up his hand and continued. ¡°I know that some of you just finished your shift and want to go home, while the rest of you are just getting in, but this meeting is important and cannot wait. Not that it was my choice either way. So, instead of glaring at me, why not glare at the man that demanded this meeting.¡± He gestured to another man, who stepped up to join him. The newcomer wore a sharply pressed business suit. His eyes passing over each of us as he catalogued everything. Judging by his expression, he did not like what he saw. When he did start to speak, his voice was quiet. I had to strain to hear him as he said, ¡°I am sorry to announce that each of you are being let go as of today.¡± The room went from deadly silent to visibly shaking the walls. People were demanding answers, threatening, and even throwing out curses. Others simply broke down and cried. I looked down at my feet as my mind raced through everything as it tried to figure out what I could do and where I could go. That was probably why I had no warning before a shrill noise filled the room, causing everyone to clap their hands over their ears. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. When the noise finally cut off, no one spoke. I hesitated to lower my hands, worried it would return, and I wasn¡¯t the only one. Only after a minute did the man resume talking, albeit a bit louder this time. ¡°Each of you will be given a severance based on your length of service as well as the state''s mandated severance package. After you receive it, you are to vacate the premises. Anyone found loitering around afterward will be declared a trespasser and dealt with accordingly.¡± He was blunt, as if we were beneath him. Not worthy of his time or care. ¡°Each of you will be called by last name.¡± With that, he stepped down and out of sight. While most of us were stunned at the news, noise filled the room as some people cried and others babbled. A woman next to me collapsed onto a bench, crying. She had only finished her orientation earlier this week, and yet here she was forced to find yet another job. Given this economy, it would be a miracle if any of us found something. Turning, I pulled Xander over to one of the open doors. We stepped out under the porch cover. Both of our last names were fairly low in the alphabet, so it would be quite a while before either of us were called. ¡°Told you they were going to lay us off,¡± he said it in that told-you-so tone that typically pissed people off, but his face told me he really wished he had been wrong. I leaned against the wall, watching the rain as it tried to pound the tables into the ground. My tone was flat as I asked, ¡°How did you know?¡± Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shrug. ¡°One of my cousins worked at a factory in Georgetown. Everyone there was laid off and replaced with AI and machines. From the rumors I have heard, the military told the company to increase production or they would take over.¡± ¡°Why would they want us to increase production of anything we make?¡± As far as I knew, nothing we made was used in the military at the moment. ¡°Not my problem anymore.¡± We stood there in silence as he took a pull from his vape. ¡°So, what¡¯s your plan? Any thoughts on where you might apply?¡± I laughed. ¡°Not a fucking clue. No one¡¯s hiring right now.¡± No one had been for the past year. I knew this because I had been looking to move up. Maybe make a bit more money or do less work for the same pay. ¡°How about you?¡± ¡°I have a bit of savings and was thinking about getting one of the used pods and trying my hand at making money in one of the new games.¡± I had to hold back from laughing at the thought. Looking over at him, though, I realized he was absolutely serious. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll bite. What game has Mr. ¡®Never Plays an Online Game for Fear of Being Tracked¡¯ interested?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I am Mr. Antisocial too,¡± he shot back as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. ¡°Have you ever heard of the game Ascent to Aetheria?¡± ¡°The new full-immersion game?¡± I shrugged. I had been thinking of playing it but never had the money or time to really dedicate to it since it came out earlier this year. ¡°Pretty sure I won¡¯t be playing it now.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Xander turned to face me. I kept an eye on him out of the corner of my eye while I watched the rain. The storm let up a bit, as if making sure that I could clearly hear his words clearly. ¡°You¡¯ve been here as long as I have, so you will be getting a decent severance check. Add in the savings I know you have been doing, and I know you can afford one of the cheaper pods. After that it¡¯s up to you how long you take to make some money.¡± His tone brooked no argument. As if this was all a done deal and that I had no say. I shook my head, my inner pessimist piping up to point out the flaws in that plan. ¡°Sounds great in theory, but what¡¯s the likelihood that this economy will even support such a game? No other game managed to survive even when the economy was stable and everyone had some money to burn.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the kicker.¡± His hands spread out as if the answer was obvious. ¡°The unstable market and the war are helping to make the game market more stable, not less.¡± I rolled my eyes. I wondered at just what sort of logic leaps were required to come up with that conclusion. ¡°And how does that work?¡± ¡°With limited options for lavish spending or exotic vacations, the wealthy have turned to gaming. Specifically, games that offer them to do what they want and see things they¡¯ll never see in reality. Which is where the full immersion pods come in. That just leaves the question of what game to play. What company would be better equipped to take full advantage of the pods'' technology than the company that developed them?¡± ¡°Which just so happens to be the developers of Ascent to Aetheria.¡± ¡°Yep. But,¡± he held up a finger to forestall any more interruptions, ¡°the company has also made a bold guarantee. The conversion value of in-game currency will never fall below twenty-five cents per silver coin. A guarantee backed up by a publicly viewable fund dedicated to maintaining the promised exchange rate.¡± Again, I rolled my eyes, ignoring his finger as I spoke. ¡°Now you just sound like a salesman spouting off company lines. Who are you and what did you do to my conspiracy-loving friend?¡± He dropped his finger as he took another drag off his vape. ¡°The company doesn¡¯t advertise. All of their products are promoted by word of mouth.¡± I frowned. While it had been done before, it was rare for a company to succeed without some sort of advertising. After I pointed this out, he shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re right, it hasn¡¯t been done before. But they are, and it''s working. Know what¡­¡± He stopped as we both heard his name called by the building manager. ¡°My turn. At least give the idea some thought. If you do decide to take the chance, shoot me a message and we can see about partying up.¡± I shook my head but decided to at least do some research. It wasn¡¯t like I had anything else to do while I waited for my name to be called. Looking up the company, I found that it had come out of nowhere. Releasing the first pods as well as the public beta of Ascent to Aetheria early last year. While the pods were not the first ones ever made, they were hands down the best. Or at least that¡¯s what people who tried both said. Curious about the pods and their capabilities, I pulled up the company store and had to work to keep from falling over. The price started at seventeen grand and skyrocketed from there. Then again, each unit came with free delivery, installation, and maintenance in addition to free unlimited repairs. Every other company charged out the nose just one of these options because they knew they could get away with it. Maybe this company was as well, that would explain the prices. Shaking my head, I looked for reviews and footage of the game, both official and shared by players. Surprisingly, there were no developer channels or accounts. The reviews I found were from players. Each of whom seemed happy with the game but a bit disappointed that it would force them to log off if you didn¡¯t take care of your physical body from time to time. Various bloggers talked about making money on the game and how easy it was. But considering how fast easy-money spots usually got monopolized, I doubted the guides were useful. Hearing my name called, I put my phone back in my pocket, still digesting everything I had read. I barely noticed how quiet the building had become or how few people were left as I made my way to the back office. Nodding at the building manager as I entered. Every other time I had entered this office, it looked like the police had tossed the place. That was not the case this time. The scattered pages were gone, replaced with boxes and cabinets. Metal parts that had leaned against the walls longer than I had worked here were stacked in various milk crates. It looked like the manager was either getting ready to move to another office or had been let go. The suited man sat behind the desk, reading over a document on a tablet. I stood in front of the desk, waiting for him to notice me. When he did, he glanced up as his stylus swiped across the screen to bring up another document. ¡°Mrs. Alex.¡± He made it sound more like a statement than a question. Now, this wasn¡¯t the first time I had been misgendered. It also wouldn¡¯t be the last. Let us just say I had somehow won the genetic lottery for voice, build, and features ¡ª just for the opposite gender. That meant I looked and sounded just this side of feminine. Letting out a sigh, I quickly corrected him, not caring how rude I sounded. It wasn¡¯t like I was going to be working for him for much longer anyway. ¡°It¡¯s Mr. I am and always have been male.¡± His eyes flicked up to look me over again. ¡°I see. Well it looks like you have been with the company for seven years and have quite a bit of unused PTO and sick time. Coupled with local and federal requirements, your layoff check comes to quite a tidy sum.¡± He tapped an envelope on his right with the stylus before pushing the tablet toward me. ¡°All you need to sign are these forms and it¡¯s yours.¡± I pulled the tablet toward me. ¡°What am I signing, and what would happen if I refuse?¡± I was going to sign them, but that didn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t curious. ¡°You would be fired for refusing.¡± His lips lifted in a grin as he practically dared me to do it. ¡°The same law that forces us to lay off our employees in situations such as this also gives the company the right to fire those who refuse.¡± The smile dropped a bit as he continued, ¡°All these documents say is that you will not sue or defame the company or it¡¯s employees.¡± While I was sure he wasn¡¯t lying, I still read over each document before signing. They wouldn¡¯t have been the first company to try to try something shady, nor would they be the last. Surprising, the documents were exactly what he said. The last one even broke down my final paycheck. Seeing the amount was higher than I expected, I quickly signing before they could change their minds. He took the tablet back from me, holding it with the tips of his fingers. I rolled my eyes. It was almost as if he was afraid the thing was tainted just from my touch. Using the stylus, he pushed the envelope toward me. ¡°Here you go. I wish you luck with finding a new job.¡± We both knew that was unlikely. This place had been my first job after graduating high school and it would probably be my last. I hurried out of the office, ignoring the building manager as I made my way back to the machine shop. The place was dead silent as people grabbed their things and dashed out of the building. I was no different. I stuffed the check into the bottom of my lunch box before heading out of the building and onto the sidewalk. The occasional drop of rain sent ripples through the water-filled potholes, but otherwise, the storm had passed. Grabbing my headphones, I put on some music as I crossed the street toward the subway. Chapter 2 - Delivery The subway platform was covered in mud and other less pleasant things. Over to one side, a bunch of people slept. Whether they were homeless or not, I had no clue. Like everyone else, I kept to myself. I kept an eye out for the train while listening to some song my AI had added to my playlist thinking I might like it ¡ª and so far I did. The train''s brakes emitted a grinding, squealing sound as it came to a jerky stop. While the speakers and LED board no longer worked to announce the train¡¯s arrival, the large painted letters on the side identified it as the one I needed to take. It was practically empty as I entered one of the cars. Choosing instead to stand next to one of the more solid looking sections of the wall. The seats in this section were long taken after finally disintegrating to the point that someone could get seriously hurt. Swaying with the motion of the train I pulled out my phone to resume my research. My music quieted as the voice of my AI greeted me the moment I opened a browser. ¡°Would you like for me to find good deals on used pods?¡± Yeah, the thing was a bit invasive, but considering that everything reported everything you did to any company willing to pay for it, I found that I really didn¡¯t care. Seeing as I wasn¡¯t the only one on the train, I kept my response vague. ¡°Sure, see what I can get and how long I can live if nothing changes.¡± ¡°Researching.¡± The volume of my music returned to normal as I worked through various scenarios in my head. That check was enough to cover everything for a year or more without issues. Hell, I could probably stretch it to last another couple of months, as long as nothing major happened. Then again, I would still have to find a job. But if I bought a pod and joined the game, I could theoretically make money without needing to find a traditional job. The problem was time. How long would I have to play the game? Would I even have time to find a niche to exploit? How long would it last? How much work would it take? By the time my AI got back to me with some options, I had more questions than answers. ¡°I found a couple that are within your budget. Each is a used unit, but they come with quality and support guarantees.¡± A series of pods appeared on my screen. Clicking on the first page, I gave everything included with it a once-over before glancing at the price. The price was nearly a quarter the cost of a new pod, yet it still came with the same features. It would seem too good to be true if not for a recent law requiring every seller, whether offering new or used products, to include the product¡¯s previous owners and reason for sale. This meant I could read through the entire history of the device. The unit I was looking at had originally belonged to some rich kid. They sold it back to the company in return for a discount on their newest pod just a few weeks ago. According to the history, the company ripped every system out and replace it with like or better parts. Honestly, it was a steal. My AI must have realized what I was contemplating as another screen came up. It was filled with numbers and figures listing out a purposed budget based on my spending history. The AI numbers looked a bit conservative with the numbers in case prices went up or a small emergency occured. Based on the data, I could last just shy of six months with no issues. Sighing, I put my phone away as we approached the stop for one of the business districts. The very district where my bank was. ¡°I would recommend making a decision in the next ten minutes as the likelihood of that pod being sold is increasing.¡± AI¡¯s tended to be pushy when they thought the answer was simple, but they were also just machines. They didn¡¯t have pesky human emotions and doubts. A few jerking movements later, the train ground to a stop just short of thestation marker. Stepping off, I found myself practically assaulted by a religious nut job. ¡°THE END IS NEAR!¡± he screamed in my face. The smell he gave off had me holding my breath as I tried not to gag or throwup. I shoved past him as he kept screaming. ¡°THE WAR BETWEEN THE GODS AND THE DEMONS HAS BEGUN. REPENT AND TAKE UP ARMS OR YOU WILL GO TO HELL!¡± I joined a small group of people as they made their way out of the subway and into the building proper. The place was bustling. People flowed from one shop to another, from kiosks to crowded sitting areas. Other than those here with someone, no one interacted unless absolutely necessary. I didn¡¯t blame them, not with the number of stabbings that had happened in the last month alone. Breaking away from the crowd going in the wrong direction, I hustled across the floor. Passing dead plants and small hallways with people passed out from one drug or another. While a few stores open here or there, nearly all of them had something covering one window or door. The faint smell of smoke caught my attention, dragging my eyes toward the source. One of the stores was a burned-out husk. There was no evidence of water or foam. It was almost as if the fire department had simply let the place burn, or had been forced to. My heart raced as I noticed people standing on either side. They seemed to measure everyone as they passed. Glinting metal in their hands told me they weren¡¯t just curious about those coming and going. The problem was, now that I¡¯d noticed them, any action I took would seem more suspicious. Like I was waving a flare saying that I was someone they needed to pay attention to ¡ª maybe even mug. I forced myself to keep my pace even until I passed the security guard standing just outside the door to my bank. The room beyond was brightly lit. I had once asked why the place was so bright, the security guard said the bank¡¯s insurance required it. Other than the one teller, there was no one else in the bank. Still, I followed the rope maze until I reached the line on the floor indicating where to wait. She looked up at me before returning to whatever she was doing. While I was sure it had nothing to do with work, it wasn¡¯t worth demanding her attention, not when she could refuse to help me. Since I had to deposit this check in person, it wouldn¡¯t be good to antagonize her. Finally, she put her phone aside and gestured for me to approach. ¡°What can I do for you today?¡± ¡°I would like to deposit a check,¡± I said, pulling the envelope from my lunch box. She took the envelope and pulling out the check. One of her eyebrows raised when she read the amount. ¡°May I ask how you came into this kind of money?¡± Passing her my bank card, I simply responded, ¡°I was laid off.¡± Other than a brief wince, she didn¡¯t react. Instead, she pulled out a form for me to fill out. ¡°OK, I will need for you to fill out a bit of paperwork.¡± The form was something the government required for any decent sized deposit. It asked where the money came from as well as contact information for both parties. I filled the document out without issue. It wasn¡¯t like I had gotten it from some gambling ring or illicit sale. She barely glanced at the paperwork before dropping it and my check into a shoot. Turning back to me, she handed back my card. ¡°Your money will be available by the end of the day,¡± She said in obvious dismissal. Taking the hint, I quickly made my way out of the bank and down to the subway. I stayed as far as possible from the religious nut job and his friends. As I waited for my train, I pulled out my phone and pressed the buy button. I had played it safe for long enough now, and where had it gotten me? If there was a time to take a risk, it was now. ¡°Your purchase should arrive later today,¡± my AI chimed in my ear. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you have a spot picked out for it?¡± I murmured, knowing it would hear me. ¡°The front room slash living room is near every panel the device needs access to. Based on your history of playing games for days on end with little to no rest, this spot will not hinder any other activities, as there will likely be none.¡± Was that snark? Was my AI calling me obsessive? I mean, it wasn¡¯t wrong but still. A train limped its way into the station. One of the doors was missing and various windows were shattered. To my surprise, it came to a perfect stop where it was supposed to. So at least the breaks were in great condition, even if the rest of the thing was practically scrap at this point. I got on as fast as I could, making sure I found a spot far enough away from the doors and windows that nothing would hit me in the face. Well, that or if the train jerked hard enough for me to lose my balance. Not that it mattered much, I was one of the few to choose this car. The entire train car suddered violently and the lights dimmed as the motors started turning. I tried to put the situation out of my mind, focusing instead on watching various videos of people playing the game. None of the players were all that specific with information. If anything, they were just showing off their skills and items. ¡°Can you find some game guides for me?¡± I asked the AI. I wanted to get a head start on planning how to build my character. Maybe even find some good advice on quest areas. So imagine my surprise when my AI responded saying, ¡°There are no reputable guides available at this time for the game Ascent to Aetheria. Would you like me to keep an eye out for one?¡± Now that was weird. Even games that had been out for a week had some sort of guide available, even if it was woefully incomplete. The fact that there was nothing meant that either no one wanted to reveal any of their secrets, or that someone was removing them from the web. The train stuttered to a halt as it reached my station. The smell of ozone and smoke hit my nose as every light in the cab flickered before going dark. People around me groaned, while I smiled a little. It wasn¡¯t the first time I had to walk home after a train finally crapped out. At least this time it decided to do so here and not across town. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Is there any general information about the game available?¡± I asked, putting my phone away as I left the train. Various other people quickly following behind me, trying to get to the street so they could find the nearest working platform. ¡°There are a number of forum posts and blogs discussing the basics of the game and the world.¡± ¡°Wait, I thought you said that there were no guides?¡± ¡°These are not guides.¡± Of course they weren¡¯t. Goddamned AI and its need to be exact. While I would consider those guides, the AI didn¡¯t because they were not labeled as such. ¡°Ok,¡± I said, trying to not yell at the thing, ¡°compare everything available and give me a rundown of the parts that generally agree.¡± ¡°Three aspects of the game are common amongst the majority of the blogs. The biggest of which is a complaint about the developers'' refusal to reveal how stats are calculated.¡± ¡°So, there are no equations for stats?¡± I doubted that. Even if the game didn¡¯t reveal them, people would find a way to calculate stats themselves. ¡°Native to the game? No. But some players have experimented enough to establish some commonly accepted equations.¡± A tap of my keycard opened the buildings lobby door. ¡°Equations?¡± I asked as I quickly made my way in. Taking a second to pull the door closed behind me. This building didn¡¯t have a homeless population, and we all wanted to keep it that way. ¡°There are equations for each physical stat as well as some magical one, but there are mentions of certain stats affecting things that are harder to quantify.¡± Lucky for me, the elevator was working today and just so happened to be on the first floor. Pressing the button for my floor, I prompted the AI to continue. ¡°Give me a basic rundown of the physical stats.¡± ¡°For strength, each point increases how much you can carry, push, or pull by approximately one percent.¡± While that wasn¡¯t as much as in other games, the basic idea was the same. ¡°Every point of agility increases a person''s ability to move. Vitality mainly increases the player''s ability to heal and the durability of their body. Some players recommend balancing strength, agility, and vitality. Their reasoning includes an example where a player focuses on strength. As the player goes to move, their muscles tear and bones break as their strength rips their body apart.¡± Well, that was different. Most games forced you to increase vitality once strength grew past a certain point, but none allowed you to ignore that limit. This game let people make the choice to hurt themselves if they wanted to. ¡°What about the mental stats?¡± Given that there was magic, there had to be something mental on the stat sheet. ¡°Intelligence increases mana capacity. While the increase is negligible, it also seems to increase a player¡¯s ability to process information.¡± Interesting. How were they doing that? Unlike physical stats, there wasn¡¯t a simple way for a game to fake an increase in cognitive function. Maybe the pod took on a portion of the load for the player. ¡°Wisdom increases mana regeneration. Each point also seems to help players make connections they may not have noticed otherwise.¡± The worn metal door of my apartment opened easily. While the building owner didn¡¯t care about little things like that, I sure did. A single couch sat faced a wall of glass overlooking the street and cityscape. As the door clicked shut behind me, the glass darkened, replaced by various blog pages and highlighted text. ¡°There are some equations correlating three of the stats.¡± One of the pages slid down until a single equation stood front and center. It looked like it had something to do with reaction speed. ¡°Agility, intelligence, and wisdom seem to all affect how fast the user can react to a given situation.¡± That made logical sense, but I wondered ¡ª did the developers add it intentionally, or were players seeing something that wasn¡¯t truly there? Then again, did it matter? Even if it wasn¡¯t programmed in, knowing those three stats could affect a player¡¯s reaction speed was something I would need to keep in mind. ¡°What about dexterity and charisma?¡± ¡°Dexterity affects a player''s ability to stretch, contort, or perform complex movements. Charisma affects how others perceive you. Unfortunately, neither stat has any hard equations, only theories and observations.¡± The AI continued scrolling through the page, letting me skim over everything. Seeing something, I called out to the AI. ¡°Wait, what is that about a war brewing in the game?¡± The text stopped before jumping back to the section that mentioned it. Multiple people have reported human NPCs treating other races as second-class citizens. Even going so far as to outright refuse to pay for items. Sometimes even going so far as to get abusive. While I have personally never seen this happen, I am not surprised. Valoria is a human-centrist nation that doesn¡¯t punish its citizens for actions taken against other races. Some cities even go so far as to reward citizens that do so. Now, I don¡¯t know about you but this reminds me of some historical events that led up to the Second World War. This makes me think that war is on the horizon, which should generate some interesting content. What bothers me is how some players are acting. I am not referring to those that join in because they can or because they feel pressured to do so ¡ª those people exist in every game. What is concerning is how friends that I have known for years are suddenly acting with complete disregard for in-game consequences. When I confronted one, they shrugged saying ¡°It¡¯s just a game. No one is forcing you to participate.¡± Now, I get that it is a game, but their sudden shift in attitude is unsettling. Especially since these are people that tend to take good or neutral characters. Then again, neither option tends to pay out. With bills to pay, you do what you have to do. The blogger had a point. It sounded like a war was on the horizon and that there would be players on both sides. There wasn¡¯t anything inherently wrong with that, so why did the post bother me? Before I could ask the AI, the door buzzed. ¡°Aetherian Technologies is at the door.¡± The glass in front of me turned transparent, minimizing the browser windows. I made my way to the door. ¡°That was fast.¡± Three men stood on the other side as I opened it, one holding a tablet while the other two double-checked boxes on their dollies. ¡°Mrs. Alex Morgon?¡± the man with the tablet asked, glancing at me before scanning the room behind me. I resisted the urge to yell at him. Forcusing instead on taking a deep breath before calmly replying, ¡°Mr., but yes.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± he said, though his voice was neutral. He probably didn¡¯t care. He was here to do a job and nothing else. Holding out the tablet, he continued, ¡°Please sign here and tell us where you would like the pod installed.¡± Rather than just sign it, I took the pad and walked back into the room. As I started reading over it, I called to the AI, ¡°Please tell them where to install the pod.¡± After that, I tuned everything around me out. Ignoring the AI¡¯s response or its instructions as I read over page after page of legalese and technical jargon. I didn¡¯t understand a fraction of it. My AI and maybe even the delivery people knew this. I didn¡¯t care. I was just scanning for any of the more common traps or tricks companies might slip into their contracts. Not that I would find them if they really tried to hide them, but why take the chance? I didn¡¯t find anything. The only document I noticed was one detailing the pod¡¯s history, how it had been refurbished, and the warranty. With one final signature, I handed the tablet back. He tapped through the pages, verifying that I hadn¡¯t missed something. Turning, I saw that they had pushed my couch and table to the side of the room. In its place was a giant tube. It looked like it could fit two of me inside of it. The lid was slid back while various panels were off as the technicians connected cables and installed modules. Seeing two large cables going from the pod to a panel in the wall, I asked, ¡°Hey, AI, where do these cables go?¡± ¡°One is connected to the central power junction for the apartment. There is a technician down there adding a separate breaker for the system. The other connects to my server. Allowing the system to use my dedicated network connection as well as allowing me access to you in-game. Assuming you purchase the add-on that is.¡± Yeah, I had my own server running the AI. What could I say, I liked being able to modify my AI without some companies limitations. Plus, it is the only thing I really talk to outside of work. The two technicians finished around the same time. Closing up various panels and boxes as the man next to me spoke up. ¡°Would you like a tutorial on the device, or are you good?¡± I didn¡¯t care either way. If I didn¡¯t get the information from him, I was sure my AI would be able to answer my questions. I shrugged. ¡°Which do you recommend?¡± He smiled, likely happy that someone was asked for his opinion. ¡°While you could read the information in the digital files or have your AI explain it, I would recommend at least letting me show you some of the basics.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Gesturing for me to come over to the large cube sitting along my wall next to the partially closed panel, he started. ¡°This device translates the information from the game and the pod into something that can be efficiently transmitted over the internet. It also serves as a connection point for your AI, and as a backup power source for the pod. This backup power will last long enough for an hour of game time. That gives you enough time to find a place to log out safely or to finish any timed quest.¡± Gesturing to the pod, he continued. ¡°To open your pod, you simply can ask your AI to do so or tap this small indent here.¡± He tapped a tiny diamond-shaped indent on the lid. The lid lifted an inch before tilting out of the way. ¡°Once inside, there are similar indents on either side. When closed, the device will scan the interior. If detects a user, it will initiate the system and pull you inside. Simple, right? Any questions?¡± I smiled and shook my head. He was right. I could have read all of that in the documentation, but it was easier and faster for him to explain it. Now I wouldn¡¯t have to go on a hunt for that small indent. ¡°Thanks. Any advice on the game?¡± ¡°Not that I can share. Company policy and all. Anyway, have a good day and good luck.¡± He turned to leave. The other two guys had already left with all their trash and equipment. As he stood in the doorway he awkwardly spoke over his shoulder, ¡°Oh, and the pod needs you to be nude or in a skinsuit for the system to work properly.¡± He and I both knew I didn¡¯t own a skinsuit. If I had bought one, it would have been delivered with the pod. So, with that awkward comment, he closed the door. Sitting at the table, I absentmindedly ate my cold food, mulling over his last remark. He said that the system would work properly if I was nude, not that it wouldn¡¯t work at all if I wore clothes. Maybe I could wear something thin in case there was a fire and I needed to evacuate. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time it had happened this month. Hell, we were probably due for another person burning their dinner. Tossing the empty container into the bin, I made up my mind. I was going to play naked. I could always put something on if I found it too be awkward. ¡°Can you monitor everything and let me know if something needs my attention?¡± I called to my AI. ¡°Sure.¡± It replied, ¡°Are you going to go into the game for a short time or an extended period of time?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. We will see how I feel after trying the game for a bit.¡± I said as I slid out of my clothes. I didn¡¯t have anything thin, and most people were at work, so it was unlikely that the fire alarm would go off for at least a few hours. The plastic lining of the pod was cold and stiff as I sat on its edge. Rotating around, I found that there were soft pads situated all over the place. Blending in with the plastic. Each pad was filled with a thick substance, holding me in place without putting pressure in any one spot. Taking one last look out the gloomy window, I took in the view before pressing the button to close the lid. A soft hissing sound filled the pod as the lid clicked into place. I stared up at the glass roof of my coffin, watching as the company''s logo fills the pane. Some text and a progress bar replaced it a moment later. Initializing system. Cold air blew across my body. Goosebumps rose on my arms and legs as a shiver raced down my spine. Over the course of a few seconds, the air warmed until it was comfortable. Slowly the shivers and bumps subsiding as the progress bar filled up. Welcome to Ascent to Aetheria. Where anyone can climb to the top. That was the last thing I read before my mind grew fuzzy. My eyes felt heavy as a sudden wave of exhaustion hit me. No matter how much I fought, sleep dragged me into its warm embrace. Chapter 3 - First Login My mind went from muddled to fully awake with a snap. It was as if someone flipped a switch on my brain. Eyes popping open, I found myself looking up at a white expanse ¡ª not a cloud in sight. Sitting up, I tried to get my bearings. The problem was, the ground was just as white as the sky. Both stretched out as far as I could see. The only thing distinguishing the sky from the ground was an off-white orb high above. But the sky and ground weren¡¯t the only things I noticed. Everything was silent except for my breathing. No sounds of machines humming, electric lines buzzing, or people talking. It was it the place was holy and it was a sin to make any noise louder than was required to breathe. The place smelled different, or more accurately, it lacked any smell whatsoever. Nowhere in the city was without the scent of mildew or rotting garbage. At some point, I had gotten used to it and forgotten it was there. Now, this place reminded me of a time before people stopped caring. Back from before everything started to fall apart. Back when people were free to drive in and out of the city. When every type of food imaginable was plentiful. Now, most people barely scraped enough money together every month to buy protein bars that tasted like ash. The stuff was barely enough to keep one from starving. There were stories, rumors, about a secret war being waged across the world, but with the deterioration of infrastructure, media and news was unreliable at best. Who knew a lack of smell or noise could cause someone to cry? Quickly wiping away the tears that threatened to escape, I forced my mind out of the past and away from the horrors of what modern society. Instead, I focused on my surroundings, trying to figure out where I was and how I¡¯d gotten here. The last thing I remembered was passing out in the pod as I tried to log into a full-immersion game. So, either I was in some kind of loading lobby, or I was in the waiting room for the afterlife. Not that it would matter. If I was dead, I was dead. Nothing I could do about it. On the other hand, if I was in the game, then damn? If the game itself was anything like this place, I could see why people were willing to spend so much money to play. I was pretty sure anyone on Earth would do anything to escape the hell hole that Earth was becoming. First things first; what were the limits of this interface? Starting simple, I picked at the white fabric covering my chest and pants. They felt like a rough mix of wool and cotton. Reaching up, I ran my hand through my hair. It felt a bit greasy, like I hadn¡¯t washed it in two days, Which was true, but that was in the real world. The short strands flowed through my fingers without issues. It all felt real. None of it felt off or strange. A soft, cool breeze blew past me. The sudden change in temperature on my neck sent a shiver down my spine. As if traveling on the wind itself, a soft, melodic feminine voice spoke. ¡°Welcome traveler. I am one of the goddesses of this world. The locals know me as Luminara. Now, since this is your first time visiting this world¡­¡± Rolling my eyes, I muttered, ¡°Yay, a disembodied voice. You would think that the developers would at least create an NPC to do these introductions.¡± The soft tapping of a shoe on stone came from my right. Spinning around, I found that I was no longer alone. Standing there was the most breathtakingly beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had the look of a Greek goddess, taller than me with muscles and curves in all the right places. ¡°I will have you know that I hear everything said and thought in this place,¡± she said, a chair rising from the ground as she flowed into it. ¡°While this can be annoying at times, the reactions people have when I pop in are typically worth it.¡± My eyebrows rose, though I didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Tsk. You are not as much fun as I had hoped. Anyway, let us get an account set up for use on the forum and login to the transfer device. What username would you like to use?¡± The first things that came to my mind were not appropriate. As I shook my head, I found that she was smiling, as if she knew what I had been thinking. Then again, maybe she did. She did say that she could. ¡°For the forums, is ShadowFox available?¡± ¡°It is.¡± The floor lifted up between us, forming into a table or desk. A pen and paper appeared from nowhere as she jotted the name down. ¡°Now, what would you like to be called? This needs to be a full name, first and last, as it will appear on all official documentation in this world.¡± That was a bit harder. While I could¡¯ve gone with my name, it didn¡¯t feel right to me. Well, that and I wanted to include something about foxes into it. Something about them had always called to me. My mind kept coming back to a certain fictional fox¡¯s name, but it just didn¡¯t feel like it would fit me. Well, that and I didn¡¯t want to get sued by the company that owned it. You would think such things would disappear as civilization fell apart. ¡°Any suggestions? I¡¯m good with anything, as long as it includes foxes.¡± The question seemed to catch her off guard. After a moment, she nodded. ¡°How about Kyren Vulpier? Since no one else has that last name, it would be unique and easier for people to recognize.¡± Seeing my agreement, she wrote it down and filled out a few other sections. As soon as she finished, she pushed the page toward me. ¡°Fill this out.¡± She must have seen the confusion on my face because she added, ¡°Even us gods have to fill out paperwork. Trust me, if there was a better way to do this, we would.¡± I rolled my eyes at the thought of filling out paperwork in a digital world as I took the proffered pen. Not that I signed it immediately. That would have been stupid. No, I read the document from top to bottom. Looking for anything odd. I wasn¡¯t disappointed. It included typical things, like rules against cheating or modifying the game. The weird part was related to the name I chose. Once I signed, it would be permanent. No one would be able to change it, not even the developers. Something about it being linked to my character''s soul or whatever. Likely a bullshit reason given by the developers so that players would be unable to create multiple characters. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Then there was the section on character creation. It wouldn¡¯t be done by the player. According to the forms, I was agreeing to a full body scan from which the character would be created. After that, anything I did to my character in-game would be permanent. No do-overs. No take-backsies. Which meant that I would have to think through everything before committing myself to anything. Not seeing a problem with this, I signed my real name on the dotted line. As I watched, the ink glowed gold as the lines moved, changing it from Alex Morgan to Kyren Vulpier. Luminara smiled as the paper rolled itself up and vanished. ¡°Welcome to Ascent to Aetheria. We hope you enjoy your time here and pray for your success as you journey through the worlds. Now, let us go over the basic interface. You can bring it up by calling, screaming, whispering, or even simply thinking the word ¡®Interface¡¯ while intending for it to appear. Go ahead and give it a go.¡± While she said that I could call it up mentally, I opted to try doing so verbally first. ¡°Interface.¡± A purple box appeared in the air, hovering two feet away from my face.
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Human
Level: 1
Class:
XP: 0/100
HP: 70/70
HP Regen: 15% (10.5) per hour*
MP: 130
MP Regen: +15% (19.5) per hour*
Current Ailments: None
Current Buffs: Newbie Protection*
¡°Oh, nice color,¡± she said. Before I could ask about her comment, she continued, ¡°This first screen contains your basic information. Off to the side, you will notice that there are tabs.¡± Looking over to the left of the screen, I saw the tabs ¡ª like those from a school binder. ¡°These tabs include everything from shops to maps. Most of which are locked right now, but you will find them unlocking themselves when the system deems you ready.¡± ¡°We gods know this can feel overwhelming and that things might not be where you expect. That is why the interface is designed to be customizable. If you want something to be added or removed from a screen, will it to happen. You can also drag and drop sections to rearrange lines or tabs. You can modify it later. For now, let us continue. You will notice that there are a few asterisks on the screen. Focus on one of them to bring up additional information.¡± Ignoring her instructions, I focused on the line containing my HP. While I knew what other players had said about the lack of information, that didn¡¯t stop me from at least trying. Nothing happened. ¡°Why can I not bring up the information on my health?¡± ¡°Because there is nothing modifying the value,¡± she said, as if it was obvious. Maybe it was to her, but the restriction seemed stupid to me. Grumbling, I focused on the next line.
HP Regen Breakdown:
Base: 5% per hour
Active Buffs:
Newbie Protection*: +10% per hour
Total: 15% per hour
¡°As you can see, your health is currently being boosted by an active buff called Newbie Protection. Buffs might affect multiple stats and even other aspects. This is one such example. Go ahead and focus on it to see the buff¡¯s effects.¡±
Newbie Protection:
Type: Buff
Time Left: 72 Hours
Effect:
HP Regen: +10% per hour
MP Regen: +10% per hour
Respawn Timer: -50%
Other: No items drop when killed.
Even with that time limit, that boost was overpowered. With it, you could take on tougher enemies with little fear of death and its consequences. ¡°That buff is nice to have, and each player has a version of it. Of course, not all buffs are the same ¡ª it depends on whether or not they were annoying. Now, to close the windows, simply imagine them closing or tap the x on the top right corner.¡± I imagined sliding the windows shut like I would the bathroom window in my apartment. The top window collapsed but didn¡¯t disappear. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Luminara¡¯s hand flying up to her mouth as she tried, and nearly failed, to stifle a laugh. Grimacing, I mentally pleaded with the window to close. The window vanished, leaving only the character screen hovering in front of me. Curious about my starting stats, I asked, ¡°Is there a place where I can see my stats?¡± She didn¡¯t bother to answer. As if reacting to my question, the window switched to another tab.
Current Stats:
Strength (STR): 7
Agility (AGI): 12
Vitality (VIT): 8
Intelligence (INT): 13
Wisdom (WIS): 8
Dexterity (DEX): 11
Charisma (CHA) 13
Free Points: 0
Yeah, figured my vitality was under ten, but how was it eight and my health seventy? That would mean each point was worth about fifteen health. ¡°Since ten is the average for visitors to our world, you have a decent start.¡± I doubted that. I was weaker than other guys my age. Though, according to the game I was faster than the average person. ¡°Now, it is time for you to enter the world. But before you go, I want to give you a piece of advice. Think before you commit to something. The best path may not always be obvious nor the easiest.¡± With that, she, the table, and her chair all vanished. In their place hung a stone doorway. The scene beyond was of a city as viewed from a tower high above. Snow covered many of the roofs and the street far below. A soft, brisk breeze blew through the door, carrying the smell of wood smoke. Without hesitation, I stepped through it and onto a tower. Chapter 4 - Cold As I stepped through the portal, my breath fogged in the cold air. I looked around, trying to get a good sense of where the game had placed my starting point. It looked like what one would imagine a stone tower to be. The walls and floor were all made of dirty grey stones. The only oddity was the large bell hanging just out of reach. Dents and scratches marring its bronze surface. So, this had to be a bell tower or maybe the belfry of a local church. It didn¡¯t matter which. Both were typically built in the center of towns back on Earth. Walking to the stone wall that blocked most of my view of the city, I realized the tower was not in the center of the town. A couple of blocks away stood the nearest section of the wall, separating the town from the softly rolling hills beyond. The hills continued as far as I could see, storm clouds in the distance warned that the snow would stay for at least a little longer. Returning my gaze to the city, I noticed the population was made up of mostly humans, though a few other races were mixed in here and there. Kids of all ages, bundled up, were crying and laughing as they threw snowballs at each other. Others were racing and sliding across the small patches of ice covering sections of the road. Parents and stall owners occasionally yelled when the children¡¯s antics caused trouble. A breeze blew across the city, kicking up powdered snow in a wave. I shivered as the wind bit at my skin. Snow stuck to my skin, mostly melting as it made contact. The cold broke me out of my awe. I had expected that wherever I spawned, the gear I started with would keep me warm for a while. Yet here I was, already shivering as the biting wind stripped away what little heat I had. My body turned as my eyes scanned for a way out of the cold. The portal that had dropped me off was gone. The only sign it had been here was a line of dry stone. A slightly rusted metal ring on the other side of the tower caught my eye. Moving carefully to avoid slipping on the smooth stone, I made my way across. As I got closer, I realized that snow had covered a wooden trap door. A trap door that likely led down into the building proper. My hands burned as I yanked on the metal ring. Letting go, I stepped back, trying to think of another way down ¡ª but there wasn¡¯t one. The trap door was the only way in and out of this tower unless I wanted to chance a twenty-foot fall to the roof below. Reluctantly, I returned to the trap door, hoping it was frozen rather than locked. The freezing metal numbed my hands, biting into my skin as it cracked and bled. Drops of blood fell to the ground, sending bolts of fear through my mind. If I didn¡¯t get out of here soon, I was going to freeze to death. While it wouldn¡¯t be the worst way to go as fantastical situations went, that didn¡¯t mean I wanted to die. Plus, where would I respawn? Would I come back here? Was this on purpose to give new players a taste of death, or had the gods not been thinking when I was dropped here? Fear sent adrenaline surging through my body. I yanked on the handle as fast and as hard as I could. A cracking sound made my heart skip a beat as the door finally lifted with thick, broken ice lining the edges. I didn¡¯t notice how soaked my pants were until I sat down. The ice-cold water drained the last bit of heat from my legs as I swung them over the edge. My hands, still shaking and bleeding, gripped the first rung as I climbed down into the dimly lit tower. I made sure to close the trap door as soon as I could to trap what little warmth I had left in this space. Not that it was much warmer inside. My breath still fogged in front of me, but at least in here, there was no wind to steal more of my body heat. ¡°Who goes there?¡± A rough baritone voice echoed up me from somewhere below. I froze, weighing my options. Technically I was trespassing, but it wasn¡¯t like I had a choice. Then again, maybe they would understand as I probably wasn¡¯t the first one to spawn here. Making up my mind, I resumed my descent and called out, ¡°Just someone passing through.¡± ¡°Are you a new traveler?¡± he asked, his voice closer now. A soft flickering orange-yellow light filled the space around me. Looking down, I saw I was only a dozen feet from the ground. I had expected the ladder to go to the first floor it came to. Then again, stone was heavy, and it made sense to have the tower support its own weight rather than rely on the rest of the building. I spaced out a little, focusing on the last few rungs. My soaked slippers squelched against the stone floor. Before I could answer, he spoke again. ¡°Yes, you must be. Given the outfit. Come, Let me show you the way to the exit.¡± He sounded cold, like I was inconveniencing him. Seeing as I was already annoying him, I figured I might as well try to get some information. ¡°Where would you recommend I go for new clothes and gear? Maybe a place to stay? Also, is there somewhere I can earn some money?¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. He grumbled as he led me through a door and into a hallway. The only decoration was some bare carpet. His candle was the only light for as far as I could see. ¡°The guard¡¯s barracks or the adventurer¡¯s guild will have equipment and quests. As for a place to stay, ask the guild representatives.¡± ¡°Good to know. What city am I in, by the way?¡± I asked, wanting my AI to start researching and maybe message Xander if I wanted company for a quest or two. ¡°Are all of you adventurers so foolhardy? Do none of you look before you leap?¡± He sounded exasperated as we took turn after turn. ¡°You are in the city of Proxima, located in the nation of Valoria. The Great Forest is to the east, the mountains far to the south, and the Middle Sea far to the north.¡± That was more information than I needed, but he¡¯d probably been asked these questions enough times that he answered them all at once. While I mentally filed the information away, I opened my interface. Looking for something that would allow me to take some notes, maybe even pictures. The notes tab can be purchased through the Add-on store. The notification randomly popped up, almost as if the system was reading my mind. How much money would I need to spend to get everything a player would have in a normal game? Scanning through the rest of the tabs, I found the one for the Add-on store. Selecting it brought up another notification. The Add-on store is unavailable until you are registered with a governmental agency. Why did I need to register with an in-game group to spend real-world money? That seemed backward. Plus, what counted as a governmental agency? Did the paperwork I filled out for the goddess not count? As I tried to figure it out, we reached the end of the hall. The room we entered was expansive and well-lit. Orbs hovered across the vaulted ceiling and rows of pews filled the space. The room could easily fit hundreds of people, maybe more if they were willing to get close. Two large dark wood doors dominated one end of the room. A few people knelt at an altar near the front, deep in prayer. Others wandered around, cleaning, replacing candles, or huddled together, talking. I didn¡¯t realize I had stopped to look until my guide coughed from the back of the room. Jumping at the sound, I hurried to join him. He opened a small door set into the larger ones, gesturing for me to go through. The wind I had felt up in the tower still blew, but now the streets funneled it. I shivered as it ruthlessly ripped away my body heat for the second time. ¡°This is the exit,¡± he said from just inside the door. ¡°Any guard can direct you to the barracks. If you turn left and follow the street to the end, you will find the adventurer¡¯s guild. Feel free to come back when you need to pray or make an offering.¡± With that, he slammed the door. I had to decide which direction to go. The best place to find the guards would be near the gate. Based on what I remembered from the tower, the gate was to my right. Then again, that was where the guards were stationed, not where they slept. And who knew if they would be willing to let me stay. Making up my mind, I turned left, speeding up to a light jog as my teeth began to chatter. Trying to warm my body up or at least reach my destination faster. I heard people laughing as I passed. A few even openly mocked me. One called out, ¡°The misses kick you out in your underwear I see.¡± I ignored their jabs. I didn¡¯t have the energy or the time to waste. I was fairly sure I wouldn¡¯t last long in this weather, not without something to insulate me from the cold wind and misting snow. A giant, multistory complex came into view. There were several buildings made of dark stone and wood. Small halls connected some while others stood alone. The place took up the end of the road as every other building around it gave the place a wide berth. People wandered around, clad in various types of armor. Quite a few of them were using the weather to their advantage. Practicing their skills and coordination as they trained on how to deal with a cold and frozen battlefield. ¡°Oh, we got some fresh meat,¡± someone called from a hidden set of tables under an overhang. Glancing over, I saw several people caring for weapons and armor. As I scanned over them, more turned to stare back. ¡°Just another weakling,¡± scoffed someone in full plate armor while cleaning a giant axe. Another shiver wracked my body, reminding me of my need for heat. I ignored them, racing the rest of the way up the stairs. That didn¡¯t stop them from taking bets on what path I would take. The most popular bet was on mage. While flinging magic around sounded fun, it didn¡¯t sound right. Too bad for their bets. My fingers were numb as I fumbled with the door latch. After the fifth failed attempt, I used my forearm to push it down. Using my body to shove the door open. Blessed heat rushed out as I hurried in. The place was like a furnace. The heat hit me so fast that I started sweating almost immediately. It was enough of a change that my head spun. My vision blurred as my body struggled to adjust. Blood pounded in my ears as my panic kicked my heart into overdrive. I felt betrayed by the heat as it became a bigger threat. Panic clawed at my chest as I fought to stay conscious, not noticing as the world started to tilt around me. Every sound grew muffled as the dizziness intensified. The way my mind started to drift as it found it hard to concentrate on anything felt like I imagined drowning would. ¡°Woah,¡± someone said, their voice muffled as an arm wrapped around my middle. I tried to wave them off and mumble that I was ok, but my body refused to cooperate. Suddenly, I was lifted off the ground and carried somewhere. Frantically I fought through the fog, trying to get my body to respond. I couldn¡¯t so much as twitch. The arms set me down on a hard surface as a voice cut through the haze, ¡°Just lie here and relax. No one will bother you, not with me here.¡± The words brought about a sense of peace and calm as I waited for whatever was going on to pass. Chapter 5 - The Guild Slowly, I started to come back to myself. The first thing I noticed was the smell. Wherever I was, it smelled of booze, food, smoke, and wet fur. These smells helped center me, allowing the dizziness and lethargy to subside. I tried to open my eyes, wanting to see where I had been taken and who had saved me. ¡°Hey,¡± the voice spoke softly as something came to rest on my chest. ¡°You¡¯re still suffering from shock. Take your time.¡± I ignored the advice, pushing my body to open my eyes. My eyelids felt heavy, as if they were coated in thick syrup, refusing to move at first. Slowly, they slid open. A blurred figure hovered over me, surrounded by white light. One sluggish blink later, the world came back into focus. A young woman had her hand on my chest. White light flowed from her and into me through our point of contact. Seeing my eyes open and focusing on her, she smiled. She removed her hand, cutting off the flow of the light, she said, ¡°There you are.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± I tried to ask. It came out more like, ¡°Wha ha¡¯eened,¡± as my tongue refused to cooperate. Luckily, she seemed to understand and answered my question. ¡°You were exhibiting signs of hypothermia coupled with shock from the moment you entered the building. Likely caused by the sudden swing in the temperature around you.¡± While I had never experienced either myself, I had been trained to spot them in health class. Yet another thing kids had to learn as public systems collapsed. ¡°I healed you this time, but a healer will not always be there to help you if you find yourself in a similar situation. Personally, I would recommend increasing your vitality and getting better clothing.¡± I nodded and tried to sit up. This time, she helped, turning me so my back rested against the wall while my feet dropped to the floor. As my bare soles touched the warm wood floor, I realized someone had removed my shoes. It bothered me until I realized that I likely wouldn¡¯t be leaving this place for a while anyway. I probably had enough time to figure out where to get better clothing. Looking around, I saw that the place was pretty packed, which surprised me, given how quiet the place was. There had to be a dozen groups sitting around tables or on stools by the windows. Some were talking animatedly, while others sat with their heads down, nursing their drink of choice. ¡°Feel free to sit here for as long as you like,¡± the healer said, drawing my attention back to her. ¡°When you feel up to it, see about eating this.¡± She gestured to a bowl of soup sitting on the table next to me. Steam wafted off the bowl, disappearing well before it reached the wooden rafters. Bringing with it a smell unlike anything I had ever encountered. Which wasn¡¯t all that unsurprising given the amount of overly processed food I was used to. ¡°Hey, Nancy,¡± a guy called from near the door. The healer turned toward him as he continued, ¡°We need to get going.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be there in a minute,¡± she called back. She stood up, turning to me with a peaceful expression. ¡°I wish you luck and hope to see you in the next city.¡± The way she said it made it sound like she wouldn¡¯t be returning. I didn¡¯t have time to ask her before she hurried out the door after her friend. Pulling myself closer to the table, I grabbed the spoon. The soup was thick. The falling drops sat on the surface for a few seconds before melding back into the liquid. I lifted a spoonful to my lips and tentatively took a sip of the warm liquid. Flavors exploded on my tongue and nearly overwhelmed me before I had a chance to swallow. Once it was gone, my mouth watered for more. Spoonful after spoonful disappeared into my stomach. Warmth radiated outward from my core, chasing away the last of the cold. Before I knew it, the bowl of soup was empty. I barely restrained myself from licking it clean. Looking around, I wondered what I was supposed to do with the dishes, as everyone seemed to be avoiding my area. The nearest person sat behind a counter, reading a piece of paper. Slowly, I stood up and took a few unsteady steps in their direction. Placing my bowl on the counter as I asked, ¡°Where can I¡­¡± I trailed off when she lowered the paper. She didn¡¯t look human. While I had expected to see other races, I hadn¡¯t expected to run into one so soon. If I had to guess based on her short stature and well-defined muscles, I would have to go with her being a dwarf. ¡°Well, feeling better, I see,¡± she spoke with a voice deeper than mine. While I could hear an accent, it was faint, almost non-existent. ¡°What can I do for you today?¡± I stood there, frozen, trying to take in her features. A frown crossed her face as she asked, ¡°Well, spider got your tongue?¡± ¡°No, no, sorry,¡± I stammered. ¡°I was wondering where I should take these.¡± I lifted the bowl and spoon. ¡°As well as where to go to get help getting started.¡± ¡°Have you visited other worlds to help them fight various creatures before?¡± she asked as she took the bowl from me and placed it on a table behind her. The question threw me. As far as I knew, I had never visited another world, let alone fought in one. ¡°She¡¯s askin¡¯ if you¡¯ve played any other RPGs b¡¯fore,¡± someone called out from the nearest table. Their voice slurred slightly. ¡°Not that it¡¯ll do ya much good. This damn¡¯d game¡¯s nothin¡¯ I¡¯ve ever played.¡± I turned slightly, waving my thanks to them as I answered her. ¡°I have, many times.¡± ¡°Good,¡± the dwarf huffed, looking a bit happier now that she didn¡¯t have to explain the basics. ¡°Then you know how it works. There are a few things you will need to learn, but for now, you will do fine.¡± She looked me up and down, taking in my outfit. ¡°You can either go see the quartermaster for some gear and weapons ¡ª though they are not free.¡± Her eyes warned me not to argue or try to haggle. I held my hands up in surrender. ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Then there is also the one token each traveler, like yourself, receives upon arrival. It is good for one piece of equipment from the guard¡¯s quartermaster.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I glanced out the window. A storm of snow made it hard to see far. I would have to wait for it to pass before I could go anywhere, including the guard quartermaster. ¡°So, what can I do for you?¡± she asked, pulling my attention back to her. ¡°Um, what can I do?¡± I asked, rubbing the back of my neck as I realized just how stupid the question sounded. She rolled her eyes, ¡°You have a few options.¡± Her hand came up, counting off each option. ¡°One, you can go back out into the storm and find the quartermaster for your one piece of gear. Two, you can take on an easy quest. Maybe a delivery quest or something. Three, you can train and get a feel for this world and any changes to your body.¡± ¡°Training!¡± ¡°Do some training!¡± ¡°Go train.¡± People nearby piped up, causing me to look in their direction. I was also sure that others were saying the same thing, though I couldn¡¯t hear them. The dwarven woman smiled, clearly agreeing with them. While I hated giving in to peer pressure, they were likely right. Plus it wasn¡¯t like I was going anywhere anyway. ¡°Can I do some training first?¡± I asked. A smile shone in her eyes as her lips lifted, showing her white teeth. ¡°That you can. Let¡¯s get you registered first. After that, I can find you a trainer and a training room.¡± Reaching down, she pulled out a few blank pages and a crystal sphere. Placing them on the counter between us, she gestured to it. ¡°Please place your hand on the crystal.¡± I hesitated, not quite sure what would happen. Her smile faded slightly as she waited, saying nothing. With a couple of jerking movements, I tentatively tapped my palm onto the top of it. The moment I did, an electric current raced from the point of contact, up my arm, and across my body. Every muscle stiffened and locked up, preventing me from being able to move. I stood frozen until the current finally dissipated, leaving behind the feeling of tiny needles prickling my skin. It was the same feeling that you would get when a body part falls asleep, except it was everywhere. A single, sharp stab of pain lanced my palm, making me instinctively jerk my hand back. A tiny drop of blood stayed where it was smeared on the crystal. Rubbing the spot where the crystal had stabbed me, I watched as the drop of blood drained into the sphere, dispersing like dye in water. Slowly, the sphere turned a light shade of pink. As the color faded, lines began forming on the paper below. The more lines that appeared, the more they resembled circuitry. Between the lines, letters and numbers materialized. Line after line, word after word. It took me a moment to realize I was reading my current stats upside down. Once the orb returned to its clear state, she retrieved it and gave the page a quick glance. ¡°Not bad. Fairly normal for a new traveler. More balanced than some of the odder people.¡± She gathered the pages and tossed them into a strange box behind her. My hand instinctively rose to cover my eyes as a bright light flashed from it. Thankfully, it vanished nearly as fast as it had appeared. Peeking between my fingers, I saw a faint blue-white fire burning in the box. While there were no smells suggesting that something was burning, the papers twisted and curled inward. When the fire finally vanished, she reached inside without hesitation and pulled out what was left. It wasn¡¯t a piece of charred paper like I expected. Instead, it was a piece of metal about the size of a credit card. As she passed it over, I was surprised by how light it was. ¡°That is your adventurer card. With that, you are officially registered with the guild. If you lose it, you will need to get another made. The card helps keep track of your completed quests and kills so that you can be awarded appropriately.¡± Looking over the card, I found that most of the information from the pages was gone. All that remained was my character''s name and a ghostly letter ¡®E¡¯ filling the background. I had an idea as to what it meant, but why guess when I could ask? ¡°What is with the E?¡± ¡°That would be your rank,¡± she said, glancing at something just out of my sight, probably some schedule or chart. ¡°They go from A to E. The higher the rank, the harder and more dangerous the quests available to you are. Those also tend to pay more. Each rank also comes with a rank challenge once you complete a sufficient number of quests at that rank.¡± ¡°So no S rank?¡± I said offhandedly. She scoffed, meeting my eyes. ¡°Of course there is, but no one has been able to get to that rank in the last five hundred years. Nor has there been a need ¡ª for which we are all grateful. If one was needed then a great cataclysm is nearly upon us.¡± Her eyes returned to whatever she had been reading. ¡°For now, focus on training and let the gods decide if and when we need such a champion.¡± After a moment of silence, I finally asked the question that had been bugging me since before eating the soup. ¡°Why is it so quiet in here?¡± She gestured to the pieces of cloth hanging from the rafters high above. ¡°Sound dampening spells. Any respectable building will have at least one or two of them. More if they have large crowds. Given that we have large groups of rowdy adventurers, we have quite a few.¡± She must have found what she was looking for because she stepped out from behind the counter and gestured for me to follow her. We wove through the tables at the edge of the room, heading toward a dimly lit hallway next to a wide staircase leading to another floor. ¡°What kind of training will I be doing?¡± She shrugged. ¡°If you are smart, whatever your trainer decides. This could range from magical to physical training. Sometimes even a combination of the two.¡± After passing three doors, she opened one and stepped inside. ¡°Barti. I have a new victim ¡ª I mean trainee ¡ª for you.¡± The way she said it had a shiver down my spine as fear started to take root in my heart. ¡°Ginny, you always bring me something to brighten my day,¡± a richly accented man said from the middle of the room. A tall man sat with a book in his hand. He turned toward us, snapping it shut as he stood. He was nearly twice the dwarf¡¯s height and more than a head taller than me. His long, flowing hair shimmered between dark green and black, depending on how the light hit it. As it shifted, it revealed long, pointed ears. Steeling myself, I took a few steps into the room as he looked me up and down. ¡°A bit weak looking. Given the clothing and the fact that you are bringing them to me, I am guessing they are a traveler. Which is good because a strong enough breeze would send her off to respawn.¡± The comment was enough to pull me out of my fear-induced silence. ¡°I am male,¡± I grumbled. His eyebrows lifted, drawing my gaze to his light-brown eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say what?¡± Ginny asked, apparently having missed the exchange. Maybe dwarven hearing wasn¡¯t as good as that of an elf. ¡°She is a he,¡± Barti answered simply. ¡°You really should stay away from the forge. All of the noise is destroying your hearing.¡± He verbally poked at her. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk,¡± she shot back. ¡°Or was it your twin that was with me in the forge last night as we worked on your new sword?¡± she retorted, emphasizing the fact that it was his sword. The elf held his hands in surrender. ¡°You got me.¡± Turning back to me, he asked, ¡°So, what kind of training are you looking for? Any weapon experience?¡± I had no clue how to answer the first question, so I focused on the second. ¡°None, I have never had any formal weapon training.¡± Not that I hadn¡¯t used a knife to defend myself once or twice, but he didn¡¯t need to know that. ¡°As for training, I have no idea what to ask for. The most I have ever done was those required for school.¡± Barti nodded, ¡°That is fine. Good in fact. Less bad habits to break. I got it from here Ginny.¡± He dismissed the dwarf, who huffed as she pushed past me, closing the door behind her. ¡°For now, let us see what we have to work with.¡± I glanced around, expecting to see equipment of some kind. Maybe a treadmill or weights, but the room was fairly barren. Scarred wood lined the walls and floor with patches where newer wood had replaced old. Barti sat back down, gesturing around us. ¡°Well, start running or do I need to give you some incentive.¡± The look in his eyes told me I wouldn¡¯t like the kind of incentive he had in mind. Chapter 6 - Hell...I mean training It felt like I had been running for hours. My muscles had long since stopped burning, leaving only numbness. I gasped for breath as I continued in circles around the room. Sweat trickled down my back and into the waistband of my pants. If I hadn¡¯t agreed to training, I would have thought I was being tortured. The only thing that kept me from just running away was the damn elf''s melodic voice. ¡°You can quit at any time.¡± He repeated this after every lap, making sure that I knew that this torture was my fault and no one else¡¯s. Finally, though, I could no longer run. My legs gave out on me. Of course, I didn¡¯t just stop and fall to the ground. My momentum still propelled me forward. ¡°Oh, seems you are ready for your next exercise.¡± He said, not even bothering to look up from his book from his chair. ¡°Since you are on your belly, how about some push-ups.¡± A groan left my lips before I could stop it. ¡°Or would you like to give up?¡± He kept offering the option as if testing me. Seeing if I was worth training. My stubbornness was on full display as I refused to take the out even as my mind kept demanding to quit. It wasn¡¯t like anyone was forcing me to be here. I laid there, my cheek against the cold wood as I gasped for air to keep from passing out. Still, I couldn¡¯t give up. I couldn¡¯t give in. Not yet. Sheer stubbornness helped me struggle to my hands and knees. Sweat beaded up everywhere including along my hairline. The salty liquid stung my eyes as it raced toward the ground. The sweat that managed to drip off of me and to the floor pooled directly beneath me. As I tried to do my first half-assed push-up, he stopped me. ¡°Just what are you doing?¡± Damn it. This guy was not going to let me get away with anything. Which, now that I thought about it, was probably a good thing. ¡°Legs straight, arms and feet shoulder-width apart. Go down until your arm is at or past a ninety-degree angle.¡± Moving my arms and feet, I repositioned before lifting my knees off the ground. My goal of trying to figure out how to get back at the elf was the only thing that kept me from collapsing into a heap. Every dozen seconds or so, I heard the distinct sound of a page being flipped. The sound cut across the sounds of my ragged breathing and blood rushing through my ears. It drove me to keep going. With each push-up, I come up with another idea to get back at him. Maybe I could find an assortment of bugs and drop them on him. Or, what about paying for the cooks to always give him cold food? Hmm, no, that might get the cooks in trouble. How about spiking his water with something? No, that might be considered an attack. What about finding a way to shrink his pants? But then I would have to find out where and how to get into his room. As I thought up these ideas, my fatigue increased nearly as fast as the pool of sweat grew. Eventually getting to the point that I had to stop thinking. Soon enough, I had to focus on each movement lest I just collapse. But there is only so much I can force myself to do before my body simply refuses to continue. Finally, my arm and chest muscles refused to exert the force required to return to the up position. The deadlock with gravity ended with gravity winning. The pooled sweat caused my hands to slip, sending me crashing to the ground. ¡°Guess you''re ready for the next exercise.¡± The elf said as he turned the page. ¡°Let¡¯s go with some crunches now.¡± Ok, yeah, I was going to get him back for this hell. That is if I survived. My arms hurt even as I used them to push me onto my back. Slowly I shifted my legs closer as I prepared to perform the exercise. ¡°No, get your legs up in the air. Either straight out or bent as if you are sitting in a chair.¡± The demon called out. Mentally I cursed him, I fought to get my leg muscles to cooperate. They protested but eventually, I won the battle. They shook but they were in position as I worked through crunch after slow crunch. The burning pain in my arms made its way down to my chest. As it expanded something in the back of my mind demanded to know why I was letting myself be tortured like this. I used every argument to try and convince myself that it would be worth it. Things like how my stats would increase or how he was probably going to train me in magic and weapons later. But eventually, I just told myself to shut up as I focused on getting through the next crunch. An eternity, and at least fifty page turns later, my legs collapsed to the ground. Victims of yet another overworked muscle set. ¡°While I want to see you do some other exercises, I doubt you can even stand at the moment. Take ten minutes.¡± He called as something hit the ground near me. ¡°And make sure to drink that water slowly.¡± The trails of sweat slowly dried in the cool air as I lay there, not moving. Instead, I focused on just taking in breath after ragged breath until I no longer felt faint from the simple act of breathing. My hand fumbled blindly beside me as I searched for the container of water. My fingers brushed against a soft-skinned container that reminded me of a balloon. Unable to lift whatever it was holding the water, I slid it across the ground and up to my chest. Thankfully, the cap came off with a simple twist. Being careful to breathe through my nose, I tried to not let a single drop of the precious liquid escape. Cold water soothed my throat and settled into my stomach as I forced myself to take small sips. All the while, I wondered at just what the developers were thinking when they decided to make this game so damn realistic. It would be one thing if some of the exercises translated to something in the real world like some of the older VR games. In the silence of the room, I heard the snapping sound of something being shut. ¡°Well, while you are not as strong as I like, your ability to push yourself is decent, for a human.¡± Was he saying that I was stubborn? It sure as hell sounded like it. Also, was he insulting me for that or for being a human? ¡°With your limits in mind, I think we can start your training.¡± ¡°Wait, you mean that wasn¡¯t training?¡± What the fuck did he call everything I just did? I cried out in utter shock and fear as I sat up to look at him. His face was neutral, almost as if he was born without any sort of emotion. Too bad, thanks to the dwarf, I already knew better. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that I needed to see just what I had to work with when we started?¡± His voice sounded confused by my reaction. ¡°How can one train someone without knowing their limits? Did you think I would neglect something so simple and fundamental?¡± ¡°Given just how much sweat I have lost and the pain I have been in for the last, however the hell long I have been in this room, I figured training had already started.¡± His face didn¡¯t show a hint of care as he gestured toward me. A flare of green appeared around his hand before it flashed in my direction. The sight of something flying toward me caused my entire body to flinch as, whatever it was, splashed against my chest. A comforting warmth flowed out from the point of impact. Muscles loosed and aches disappeared. It was almost as if they had never been there in the first place. Only the pools and trails of sweat remained behind. The sudden relief from the pain caused me to nearly groan with relief. Confused and a bit more relaxed, I asked, ¡°What did you just do?¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°That was a simple healing spell.¡± He replied, his mouth twitched as if he wanted to smile. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know better, I would think you had never seen magic before.¡± Shaking my head I simply said, ¡°No I haven¡¯t.¡± Now, technically that is only true depending on how you quantify magic and what we mean by seeing it. As a famous writer once said, ¡®Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.¡¯ If I were to bring a smartphone or 3D printer into this world they would consider it magic. On top of that, could I consider seeing magic in other games as magic in this world? What if the principles behind it were different? To my surprise, he seemed happy with my answer. ¡°Well, that will make training you easier.¡± Seeing my obvious confusion at his remark, he continued, ¡°If you were to keep healing your body as you worked out, you would not gain the full benefits from said training.¡± Fuck physical training, I wanted to learn magic. Maybe the people outside had been right about me becoming a mage. Then I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about tiring myself out as much. Hell, if I could get someone to play tank then I could just hit any enemy from a safe distance. He shook his head as if he knew what I was thinking. Before he could say anything though, something occurred to me. ¡°Wait, can we increase our stats without spending any points?¡± While it wouldn¡¯t be the only game to do something like forcing people to have their characters work out, this one required us to physically do said workouts rather than some character on a screen. He laughed. The sweet sound seemed full of life as it sent a shiver down my spine. His laughter died down to a chuckle a moment later as he said, ¡°Of course you can. In fact, I recommend training over spending points.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked because I was confused about his wanting me not to spend points on stats and not because I didn¡¯t want to work out. No, really. ¡°How else will you know the limits of your body if you don¡¯t push said limits with training?¡± He smiled as he spoke. His words caused me to shudder as they created an image of me pushing myself to the limit over and over. ¡°Save your points for when you hit a bottleneck or for unlocking skills.¡± Wait, skills can be unlocked with points and not with levels? How? Where do I go to get said points? What can be bought with them? All of these questions flashed through my mind as he changed back to the subject of today''s training session. ¡°For now, let us practice throwing punches and kicks.¡± I stayed where I was. Even if I could no longer feel any of the aches and pains, I didn¡¯t want to get up. As he stood up, his book and chair vanished into the distance yet didn¡¯t move. Almost as if being pulled in a fourth direction. The elf looked in my direction where I was still on the ground with my mouth wide open as I tried to figure out what just happened. ¡°Are you just going to lie there for the rest of the day?¡± He snapped ¡°Ah, wha, how, where,¡± I stammered as I hurried to my feet. Finally able to get out my question as I moved to see if the chair had simply moved somewhere out of sight. ¡°What the fuck just happened to the chair?¡± ¡°You have heard of an inventory, right?¡± He asked as if not knowing if he was talking to an idiot or not. ¡°Well, sure,¡± I respond not quite understanding what he is getting at. Then again, who knew just what the developers considered realistic and not when they were adding features to this game? ¡°All I did was send both into my inventory.¡± He must have seen the dumb look on my face because he sighed. ¡°Just focus on your interface, willing your inventory to come up.¡± He made it sound simple. Maybe it was. I closed my eyes for a moment and focused on pulling up an interface. Not that I knew what would be on it. Or, maybe that was the screen that held my status sheet. I cracked one eye open and found that the screen was there, hanging in mid-air, though it was a bit different from the last time I checked.
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Human
Level: 1
Class:
XP: 0/100
HP: 85/85
HP Regen: 15% (12.75) per hour*
MP: 130
MP Regen: +15% (19.5) per hour*
Current Ailments: None
Current Buffs: Newbie Protection*
I ignored the changes, focusing on my current goal of finding the inventory screen. I could return and look over everything later. A moment later, the status screen changed to another screen. One filled with eleven empty boxes and one with a coin inside. Focusing on the object, it brought up the item''s description.
Name: Gear Token
Type: Token
Number of uses: 1/1
Description: Present this to any guard quartermaster for one free item of your choice from their stockpile.
¡°Now,¡± the elf said in an attempt to pull me back to reality. ¡°Let me see you throw a punch.¡± I looked up just in time to see him smirk as he said, ¡°Try to hit me.¡± I smiled because he was giving me one hell of an opportunity. My right hand curled into a fist as I tossed my entire body at him. Everything I had went into the punch as I tried to hit him before he could form some sort of defense. I shouldn¡¯t have wasted the energy. His hand felt like a band of steel as it stopped and held mine effortlessly. He tsked. ¡°First, you won''t be able to hurt me no matter how much you try.¡± Without releasing his grip, he turned my hand around. The move brought me close enough that I could make out a faint woodsy smell. It was mixed with some herb and seemed to waft off the guy. He didn¡¯t seem to notice as he finished examining my fist. ¡°On top of that, if you had hit me with that you would have broken your thumb. Have you never thrown a proper punch before?¡± His fingers were rough and calloused from years of abuse as he tried to move my fingers. When I resisted, he looked me in the eyes as one of his eyebrows lifted. With a slight huff of annoyance, I gave up and allowed the guy to do whatever he wanted. He wasted no time in splaying my hand open. One finger after another, he rolled my fingers down before finally tucking the tips into my palm. His hand held my fist tight as he moved my thumb over the nails. Using it to hold the rest down. ¡°This is the proper position for your fingers when you throw a fist. Practice opening and closing them a few times until you get used to it. You need to keep practicing this position every day until it becomes natural. Now, punch me.¡± Smoothly, he slid backward as he released me. I took a minute to open and close my fist. Taking the time to slowly move the fingers back into position as I tried to get used to the feel. Or at least that was my excuse. As soon as he seemed a little distracted, I swung at him. One of his hands flashed up. Instead of catching my hand, he gently pushed it to the side. Not by much, but enough that I missed him. ¡°I thought I said punch me?¡± He taunted as I stumbled from the deflection. I spun around as I threw another punch. This time I aimed for his face. With the same amount of effort, he deflected the punch. Using the change in momentum, I kicked out at his knee. Everything seemed to slow down a little as I watched his other hand move just fast enough to grab my foot, holding it an inch from his pants. ¡°I didn¡¯t say kick me, I said punch me. You can try to kick me in a little bit.¡± He sounded like he was bored of this, of me. The thought of him already thinking I wasn¡¯t worth his time pissed me off. More than the warm-up slash training earlier had. More than his calling me a girl had. It even pissed me off more than the damn priest had. I ignored his demands to only punch. I lost myself as I threw everything I had at him. Punch, punch, kick, punch, kick. He deflected each strike. It wouldn¡¯t be so bad if he had dodged some of the strikes but he didn¡¯t. It was as if he was saying that even if I did manage to hit him, I would do no damage so why would he care? Chapter 7 - Dinner Falling to my hands and knees, I panted. My lungs pulled in the cold air as I tried to catch my breath. By the way my sweat had stopped pouring off me, I knew I was severely dehydrated. The elf kept calling on me to stop, to take a break. His words taunted me but I didn¡¯t fall for it. I wouldn¡¯t, I couldn¡¯t, not until I hit the bastard. Just one hit would do. Yet I couldn¡¯t. Nothing I did had allowed one of my hits to make it through his defense. It was like he knew where I would attack before I did, but that would mean that he wasn¡¯t just a few levels above my own, but a shit ton above mine. Not that his apparently high level would have gotten me to quit fighting. It was my own body''s weakness that ended our fight. First came the numbness. Robbing me of my coordination before eventually causing me to fall to the ground. Even holding myself up on my hands and knees quickly became too much. The world started to spin as my arms slowly gave out. For some reason though, I didn¡¯t feel anything. It was as if I was watching everything through glasses. The problem was that even that was slowly becoming harder. Black spots and blurs appeared in my field of view, growing and multiplying until even my sight was taken from me. As I floated in the darkness, I wondered if this was what it was like to die. Would my first death in this place be from pushing myself? God, I hoped not. That would be a bit embarrassing. I tried to pull up my status sheet, not expecting anything to happen. Yeah, nothing happened. My mind just continued to sit there in space waiting for something to happen. Likely the game was waiting for my virtual body to give up before giving me the option to respawn. A cool sensation filtered through the hazy numbness this dark space provided. It started at a spot just over my heart before oozing out. The sensation seeped outward in a lazy spiral. Where it touched, feeling slowly returned. As whatever it was reached my head, my vision returned. I found that, while I was on the ground, I was no longer on my front. My eyes looked up into the scowling eyes of the elf. His hands hovered over me as some sort of magic spell poured out of it and into my body. ¡°What the FUCK were you thinking?¡± He demanded as he helped me into a sitting position. My mouth was dry and gritty. The feeling was bad enough that I didn¡¯t want to talk until I had something to drink. So we sat there, staring at one another as he waited for me to answer his question. Each waiting on the other to break the silence. Finally, I gave in. ¡°Can I get some water?¡± While I had tried to talk normally, my voice barely came out loud enough for me to hear it. Sounding almost like I had been chewing on gravel. Thankfully, he seemed to understand what I was asking for. Another rubbery container of water appeared in an outstretched hand. ¡°Drink slowly. While I might have dealt with the majority of the symptoms, I couldn¡¯t just fix you. Maybe if I was a healer I could have but I am not.¡± By the end, he seemed to be rambling. I half listened as I took slow sip by slow sip of water. At first, the water didn¡¯t even make it to my throat, let alone my stomach. My dry mouth soaked it up like a sponge. Eventually, after my mouth drank its fill, the water made its way into my stomach just as the container ran dry. Still, I didn¡¯t talk. My mind ran in circles as I tried to figure out just what had caused me to go berserk like that. I mean, I knew why I had, but it was the first time that an emotion had taken such a powerful hold on me. It was strong enough that nothing else could break through. Strong enough that I could not stop fighting until my body forced me to do so. I didn¡¯t even want to know just how close I had come to death. Barti shifted until he was crouching as he waited for my mind to work through everything. The silence that filled the room was only broken up by the sounds of our soft breathing. Well, until my stomach decided that it wanted to make its demands known. Barti laughed as he stood up. ¡°Want to get some dinner and discuss some things?¡± The offer caught me off guard. ¡°Sure,¡± I took a proffered hand. Feeling that he was expecting me to ask the question, I gave in and asked. ¡°But I have to know, how did you block everything? You made it seem so easy. Is it because you have a high level? What is your level?¡± Smiling, he started for the door. ¡°One thing at a time. Let''s start with my level. I am level sixty-seven.¡± Hearing just how high his level was caused me to freeze. It was no wonder that he was able to move like he did and block everything. To him, I probably looked like a slow and clumsy fool playing at fighting. My stopping didn¡¯t seem to phase him as he continued talking. ¡°As for blocking you, that is easy when you are still too weak and slow. Though I will say that you have some potential but only if you keep training.¡± His hand held the door open as he let me pass through before closing it behind us. ¡°While you can train on your own, I think you will find that me and my friends can do a decent job teaching you, if you still want to train with us that is.¡± Did I want to train under him? I mean this guy was the demon that had driven my body to the brink not once but twice. That fact should have been driving me to run away, yet here I was feeling a bit excited at the prospect. But why? He seemed to have people¡¯s respect and trust based on the banter between him and the dwarf earlier. But if so, why me? Surely with his strength, wouldn¡¯t he have his choice of people to train? So why was he asking me? I couldn¡¯t take it and asked the question.¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why what?¡± He responded loud enough for me to hear him over the noise that filled the room. The place wasn¡¯t loud with any one conversation. It was more like every little bit of every conversation that made it through the enchantments built upon each other, filling the place with noise. ¡°Why am I asking you if you want to train under me?¡± ¡°Yes, after all, I am sure you have your choice of people you can train.¡± ¡°Not as many people want to train with me as you think.¡± He said as he gestured for me to sit next to the wall. Quickly, I took the seat, not noticing the two ladies across the table from me until I sat down. As soon as I saw them, my attention was fully focused on the pair. I didn¡¯t even notice the elf sitting in the chair. Both had ears on top of their head. One was a round shape, reminding me of those on top of a stuffed teddy bear. It matched the color of her light brown hair. The other woman had ears that were more oval than circular with a darker grey color. The inside of these were not furred. Pink flesh was on full display before the ears closed up. Her hair dropped to block her face from sight as she looked down at the table. The way she acted and her ears reminded me of the mice I saw on various shows. ¡°Oi, Barti. Who is the girl?¡± The bear-eared girl asked as she slammed a mug down on the table. ¡°His name is Kyren. I offered him some food after all the training we did today.¡± He replied as he shot her a look. She scoffed at that, ¡°Nah, you have to be wrong ¡®bout that. She is clearly not a he. Not given how small and soft she looks.¡± I was tired and hungry from getting my ass kicked in training and didn¡¯t have the energy to deal with her. Not right now. So, I rolled my eyes and ignored her. Instead trying to focus on the other girl. The act of her hiding behind her hair made me more curious about her than I wanted to admit. ¡°So, have you had a chance to look over your spoils from training?¡± Barti asked. My head wipped around to look over at him in confusion, I saw his wide grin as he continued. ¡°Remember how I mentioned that you can increase your stats with training? The system the gods created does not calculate your new stats until after a short break. That would have been while you were still near death on the ground so you might not have heard anything.¡± While I pulled up my status page, I noticed that it had changed. Curious about it, I pulled the stats sheet in another window.
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Human
Level: 1
Class:
XP: 95/100
HP: 72/115
HP Regen: 11.62% (13.37) per hour*
MP: 120
MP Regen: 10.88% (13.05) per hour*
Current Ailments: Minor Hungry* Dehydrated (Fading)* Exhausted*
Current Buffs: Newbie Protection*
Current Stats:
Strength (STR): 10
Agility (AGI): 14
Vitality (VIT): 11
Intelligence (INT): The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. 12(13)
Wisdom (WIS): 9
Dexterity (DEX): 9(12)
Charisma (CHA) 13
Free Points: 0
There were quite a few changes from what I could tell. Too bad there wasn¡¯t something like a log that could tell how everything had changed and why. As I thought that, a new window appeared, blocking both of the other windows. System Log: Initializing system. System initialized. Scanning occupant. Determining starting stats. Transitioning to an in-between space. You have successfully made the transition. Rejoice! Contacting local gods. Your name is set to Kyren Vulpier. Local spatial door located. Analyzing. Analysis failed. Spatial magic not found. Warning! Spatial door may lead anywhere and may be a one-way trip. Proceed with caution. Spatial travel detected. Determining location. Location determined. Welcome to the planet Paradox. Welcome to the city of Proxima in the nation of Valoria. You have been in the cold without sufficient protection for one minute. You have been inflicted with the Cold Debuff. Cold Debuff: - 1 Dexterity, minor shivering, minor loss of feeling. You have been in the cold without sufficient protection for five minutes. You have been inflicted with the Chilled Debuff. Chilled Debuff: -2 Dexterity, mild shivering, loss of feeling in fingers. You have been in the cold without sufficient protection for ten minutes. You have been inflicted with the Freezing Debuff. Freezing Debuff: -2 Dexterity, heavy shivering, -2 Vitality. Thin Skin Debuff gained. Thin Skin Debuff: Skin is thinner and easier to break. -7 HP from Environment. Parts of your hand have stuck to a freezing piece of metal. Bleeding Debuff gained. Bleeding Debuff: -3 HP every five seconds. -6 HP from Bleeding. -6 HP from Bleeding. -6 HP from Bleeding. You have reached a warmer location and stayed there for five minutes. Freezing Debuff, Chilled Debuff, and Cold Debuff have all been removed. -6 HP from Bleeding. Bleeding has stopped. Health recovered. All debuffs removed. You have been in the cold without sufficient protection for one minute. You have been inflicted with the Cold Debuff. You have been in the cold without sufficient protection for five minutes. You have been inflicted with the Chilled Debuff. You have been in the cold without sufficient protection for ten minutes. You have been inflicted with the Freezing Debuff. You have been in the cold without sufficient protection for twenty minutes. You have been inflicted with the Frozen Debuff. Frozen Debuff: All dexterity reductions negated, Dexterity reduced to 1, -2 Vitality, -5 HP per five seconds. -5 HP from Frozen x 10. Warning! Health under 25%. +1 HP from HP Regeneration -5 HP from Frozen x 2. You have encountered a sudden 20-degree difference. You have been inflicted with the Shock Debuff. Shock Debuff: Loss of senses. Weakness. HP Regeneration reduced by 50%. +25 HP from Healing Hand. -5 HP from Frozen. +25 HP from Healing Hand. Shock Debuff deminishing. -5 HP from Frozen. +25 HP from Healing Hand. Frozen Debuff removed. Freezing Debuff removed Chilled Debuff removed. Cold Debuff removed. For repeatedly surviving freezing conditions when you should have died, you have gained 1 Strength and 1 Vitality. Shock Debuff removed. Registration detected: Guild. Guild Rank detected: E. Unlocking Shop Function. Training room detected. Evaluating Stats. Generating Quest. Rank: Common. Daily Quest - Exercise I: Run 5 Miles. Perform 25 Pushups. Perform 50 crunches. Daily Quest Competed ¨C Exercise I: 10/5 Miles. 50/25 Pushups. 100/50 Crunches. Secret Quest Completed ¨C Do double the required amount. Double Rewards. Generating reward. +10 XP for completing Mission. +2 Strength. +2 Agility. +2 Vitality. Training Combat Initiated. Training Combat Finished. Result: Failed. Extreme Dehydration Debuff Gained. Exhausted Debuff Gained. Exhausted Debuff: -3 Dexterity. HP Regeneration reduced by 25%. Mana regeneration reduced by 25% Extreme Dehydration Debuff: HP Regeneration stopped. Mana Regeneration stopped. -50% HP per second. -43 HP from Extreme Dehydration. +50 XP for attempting. (Difficulty Modifier: x5.0) +1 Wisdom. +1 Dexterity. Skill Gained: Punching 1. +25 XP from learning a skill. Punching 1: Learn to throw a punch that won¡¯t break something. -21 HP from Extreme Dehydration. Warning! Health under 25%. +15 HP from Water of Healing. -18 HP from Extreme Dehydration. Warning! Health under 25%. +15 HP from Water of Healing. -17 HP from Extreme Dehydration. Warning! Health under 25%. +15 HP from Water of Healing. -16 HP from Extreme Dehydration. Warning! Health under 25%. +15 HP from Water of Healing. Extreme Dehydration has been reduced to Dehydration. Dehydration: -1 HP every second. HP regeneration reduced by 25%. Mana regeneration reduced by 25% -1 HP from Dehydration. +15 HP from Water of Healing. -1 HP from Dehydration. +15 HP from Water of Healing. -1 HP from Dehydration. +15 HP from Water of Healing. -1 HP from Dehydration. Thirst quenched. Dehydration fading. Health loss has been removed. Minor Hunger Debuff Gained. Minor Hunger Debuff: Stealth reduced. -1 Intelligence. Damn, that was a lot of information to go through. Most of it was redundant or no longer affected me. Barti must have seen my expression as he chuckled. ¡°You can change how the information is presented. I have mine separated between a few tabs.¡± ¡°I ignore all that junk.¡± The bear woman said as someone walked up to our table with a platter of bowls. Each filled with some sort of stew with a thick slice of bread. It smelled like heaven. Quickly shutting the screens down, I accepted a bowl as it was passed to me. I nearly dropped it as the liquid was fucking hot. Almost burning my hand through the bowl. Still, the smell caused my mouth to salivate. ¡°Hah, the look on your face.¡± Barti said, ¡°It''s almost as if you have never eaten a stew before.¡± I hadn¡¯t but I wasn¡¯t going to say that. I picked up a spoonful of stew. Lightly blowing on it as I changed the subject. ¡°So, I can get levels from just training?¡± ¡°You can,¡± Barti answered before he ate a large spoonful of his stew. It was as though he didn¡¯t care that it was practically boiling. ¡°But realistically only for the first few levels.¡± Which made sense. The devs probably wanted to give the players a taste of leveling up before upping the difficulty. ¡°And what would be the best way for me to get experience?¡± I asked, trying to think of the various ways other games had. Trying to figure out what might be best for me. ¡°The gods that designed the system made it so most anything that took effort and time gave some sort of experience. Especially if it betters you or a skill.¡± The mousy woman spoke in a hushed voice. Barti and the bear woman looked at her with raised eyebrows. ¡°But generally combat is the best option.¡± She finished, shrinking in on herself as she did so. I took the time to eat my now cooler spoonful of stew. It was amazing. I had expected fake meat but the texture was all wrong. Not only that but the flavors were more vivid and rich than I had ever eaten. The stew tasted like something created by a culinary god. For some reason, the flavors reminded me of something from my past. A memory long since worn away by time and age. I barely heard anything the other two were saying as I took in spoonful after spoonful without stopping. ¡°Mindi isn¡¯t wrong,¡± Barti said, ¡°But seeing as the storm has only just let up, it will be a few days before you are able to go out and hunt.¡± ¡°Why so long?¡± The bear woman asked. ¡°Surely he should be able to hunt in the snow.¡± ¡°Not unless you want him to freeze,¡± Barti said, gesturing to my shirt. ¡°That isn¡¯t a training outfit.¡± ¡°Wait, he is a new traveler.¡± Her disgusted tone told me what she thought of me. ¡°Why are you offering to train him? He will just use the knowledge to betray us later. It¡¯s a trait that humans all seem to share. Think about what they did last time. What you lost.¡± What did she mean by that? What could humans have done to someone as powerful as the elf? ¡°Tindi,¡± Before I could ask about what they meant, Barti¡¯s voice dropped as he spoke in a tone that sent shivers of warning down my spine. Suddenly I felt like I wanted to run. As I had nowhere to go, I forcibly distracted myself by focusing on my food. ¡°You don¡¯t have to remind me of such things.¡± I felt the danger and threat in his voice like they were physical. I must not have been the only one either because the table was completely silent. Eventually, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tindi nod her head in acknowledgment. The pressure that emanated from the elf evaporated. Tindi didn¡¯t wait a single moment before changing the topic. ¡°What are your plans for this training?¡± ¡°I was thinking that you teach him hand-to-hand, Mindi should probably be the one to teach him magic while I work on his general fitness. Eventually, I want to add in weapon training as he gets stronger.¡± As I sopped up the last of the stew with a piece of bread I looked up at the group. I savored the piece as I tried to figure out if I had missed anything. Out of nowhere, Tindi asked, ¡°What level are you currently?¡± ¡°Level one. What about you two?¡± I turned the question back on her, curious if they were as high-level as the elf. ¡°Thirty-five,¡± responded Tindi. ¡°Thirty-nine,¡± Whispered Mindi. They were both just over half his level. It couldn¡¯t be normal to have a party with such a disparity between levels. Was he powerleveling them or were they helping him in other ways? Hell, could they be more than just a party? ¡°How much experience do you currently have?¡± Tindi¡¯s question pulled me out of my thoughts. Double-checking my status sheet before answering, ¡°Ninety-five of a hundred.¡± I also noticed that all of the debuffs but Exhausted had vanished. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be hard to get that last little bit to get you to the next level. Then you can select your first element...¡± Tindi started. I interrupted her with a question of my own. ¡°Element?¡± She leaned back and gestured to Barti, ¡°You want to field this question.¡± ¡°No, you brought it up.¡± He said as he slowly ate his bread. His eyes were locked on hers as a mischievous smile crossed his features. ¡°You know I suck at magic. I can barely use what little magic I have.¡± She turned to Mindi, ¡°Mindi, you¡¯re the mage of the group, help me with this explanation please.¡± Mindi¡¯s head lifted enough from where she was hiding that I saw her light red, nearly pink eyes, as they flickered between her friend and me. Her body was tense, likely conflicted about answering the question. ¡°Ok, but if I butcher the explanation then don¡¯t blame me.¡± That comment seemed like it was the tipping point. Mindi glared at her friend as she grit out a soft, ¡°Fine.¡± Her body turned toward me as she looked at me. Even to my untrained eyes, the movement of her body was stiff. It almost looked like she was forcing herself to not run. Not that there was anywhere for her to run. She sat across the table from me. So, like me, there was no way out without forcing her way over her friend. She had probably thought it would be the safest spot when she had chosen it. Then along came Barti and his new trainee, me. ¡°Magic is divided into eight different elements and one non-element. Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Light, Dark, Space, and Time. While anyone can technically learn any of the elements, some will be easier for the person than others. This has been called one''s affinity, properties of the soul, and many other things by many scholars. While it has been measured, the reason for each person''s affinity with various elements is still unknown.¡± She started. The more she talked, the more she seemed to relax. As if her lecturing was something that she was used to and helped her to relax. ¡°Through training with a master, one can learn how to cast an element just like one can learn to punch or use a weapon. There are even academies dedicated to only learning various magics.¡± She continued. ¡°However, this is expensive and time-consuming. It is easier to just unlock your first element with skill points and practice using it.¡± ¡°What is your element?¡± I asked her, curious. ¡°Mainly Earth with a touch of Fire and Water.¡± Looking at Barti, I silently asked him the same question. He seemed to understand what I wanted to know as he said, ¡°Mainly Wind with some Water and Light. How else did you think I could heal you?¡± ¡°Before you ask,¡± Tindi said, her hands held up in surrender for some reason. ¡°I have access to some Water magic but only enough to summon water.¡± ¡°Tindi here is one of the few people with nearly no affinity for any of the elements,¡± Mindi said. ¡°So what is stopping someone from dumping all of their points and working to grow only one or two stats?¡± I asked, thinking about how I could min-max my character. They all laughed. Even Mindi. ¡°Not much except your inevitable death.¡± Barti said, ¡°For example, if a person increased their strength but not their vitality, their muscles would tear their body apart as they tried to move. Without enough vitality, magic will tear through your body as it works its way into your spell. It is a generally accepted fact that everyone should keep their lowest stat no lower than seventy percent of their highest. While that may seem stifling right now, you will find that the range of stats increases a lot as you grow.¡± Thinking back over my stats and doing some quick math, I found that I was just under that threshold with two of my stats. ¡°Um, so,¡± my lips went dry as I tried to ask the question. ¡°What would happen if my strength and wisdom were, say, less than that value?¡± With a predatory smile on his face, Barti''s simple statement sent terror racing through my system. ¡°We train you to increase those values.¡± Chapter 8 - Terminal Changes ¡°Speaking of training,¡± I groaned at Barti¡¯s words. He chose to ignore me as he continued. ¡°I think we should start in the morning.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± I paused for a second before asking a possibly stupid question, ¡°Where can I find a place to sleep?¡± They all gave me an ¡®Are you stupid?¡¯ look before Tindi answered, ¡°You do know you can rent rooms upstairs right?¡± I shook my head, ¡°No, why would I?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t take this personally as I know this is a stupid question but I have to ask,¡± Tindi held a hand up to stop any stupid comments that might come out of my mouth. ¡°But do you know how money works?¡± Of course I knew how money worked. In the real world anyway. The problem was, was it different here? I knew they used gold but was that their dollar equivalent or their penny or was it equivalent to a hundred? ¡°Yes, but would you explain it in case your money is different.¡± Some coins popped out of nowhere, they bounced on the table a few times before Tindy smacked her hand down on them. When she lifted her hand, I saw three coins. A copper, a silver, and a gold. ¡°This isn¡¯t every type of coin and some countries have their own currencies but you don¡¯t need to focus on the rest for a while.¡± Tindy started. Barti took over, stopping Tindy from continuing. She shot him a glare as I heard a thump echo out from under the table. ¡°To start with, we have copper which is usually used for change or small items. One hundred copper equals a silver. A couple of silvers are enough for a decent meal. Five is enough for a room at most inns. One hundred silvers equal a gold. Decent starter weapons start at a couple of gold.¡± That would mean that a dollar converted into money here would go pretty far. At least for now. Which begged the question, how fucked was the economy? I nearly asked about that very issue when Tindy spoke up, ¡°Though there is talk of getting rid of silver and copper altogether. Most things are starting to go up in price because of all the travelers suddenly consuming resources.¡± It sounded as if the developer was trying to rebalance the game market without causing too many issues. Still, they should have thought about it before releasing the thing. ¡°Though they are not as bad as Greedy Locusts.¡± ¡°You have locusts here?¡± I wasn¡¯t so much surprised they had a creature that at anything and everything but more so by the name of the thing. The company could have at least come up with some fantasy name for them. ¡°We have many types of locusts, but I was talking about Greedy Locusts. Damn bugs are as big as my arm. A tiny cluster is enough to strip a field in a day.¡± Tindy looked like she was about to start a rant about these Greedy Locusts. While it was likely useful information, I only half listened as I tried to find out how much money I had. It took me a few screens before I found the tab with my purse information. Snarling at the stupidity of its location, I opened up my inventory in another window. With one hand, I grabbed the coin information and physically moved it to the lower right corner of the inventory screen. The values and symbols shrank to fit their new location. Full words morphed and condensed to their single-letter equivalents. Only then did I take the time to look at the actual value. Twenty-five gold. With that, I should be able to get some basic gear as well as a room to sleep in for a few days. With a sigh of relief, I looked over at the elf and asked ¡°Where do I go to rent a room?¡± All three of them gestured at the front desk area. The same place where I had gotten registered to the guild and received my adventurer¡¯s card. Looking back at him, I expected Barti to move. He sat there, looking into the space directly in front of him. Likely reading something on his screen. Question was, how was he making it private, or was mine already private? Could I share something I was seeing on my screen or did I just have to explain it? Yet more things I would have to experiment with when it came to the interface. Barti seemed oblivious to the world, even ignoring me a few times as I subtly tried to get his attention. Eventually, I gave up trying to get out. Instead pulling out my own interface and exploring it. As I went down each tab, I realized one was no longer grayed out. Now it was full of listings and numbers. The look reminded me of an online store page. But, when did I unlock it? What had changed to unlock it? Looking back over the log, I searched through the thing. Going so far as to read it line by line. Which would have been fine if the sudden short bouts of drowsiness hadn¡¯t caused me to lose my place time and time again. Fed up, I focused on the screen as I willed the log tab to change. I pictured an email system with various areas for mail to get diverted into. One for damage notifications, debuffs, and warnings. Another for level changes and their rewards. A third for XP gains, skill changes, and unlocked items or sections. I also wanted a fourth for anything related to quests and nothing else. Oh, and one more for anything else that might come up. The interface lit up as the screen went blank while I held my desires in my mind. I continued to mentally push the system to change. At first, nothing more happened. Then it was like someone was dropping rocks into a still lake as ripples washed over the screen. With the ripples, the interface changed. Growing lighter and darker in various spots. Eventually words and images formed as the changes finished. When the ripples calmed and the system returned to normal, I was greeted by the sight of a simple email system. It was nearly what I wanted, yet not. The differences were enough that I questioned if the system was showing off or if it was using someone else¡¯s design that it decided to reuse for me. In addition to the expected five tabs, there were four more tabs that I had not asked for. Labeled as sent, inbox, contacts, and search. Each was empty but I could already see use for each. After all, what if I needed to contact any friends later? Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Speaking of friends, I tried to remember if Xander ever told me what his username would be in-game and I couldn¡¯t. Hell, I didn¡¯t have any of my gamer friends'' usernames. I would have to ask my AI to contact them outside the game. Speaking of the AI, I closed the log screen, returning the shop screen to the forefront. On one side, there was an obvious currency exchange with what looked like a real-time gold-to-dollar trade rate. It fluctuated around a dollar per gold. Dipping and jumping randomly as people bought and sold gold. Focusing on the other side, I found a list of items I could purchase. Surprisingly, their prices were listed in dollars and not gold.
Add-on: Cost:
AI Integration $25
Teleportation (1 time use) (Same continent use only) $10
In-game forum access $5 per month
In-game browser access $5 per month
In-game music access $5 per month
In-game recording access $10 per month
Local guide (City of Proxima) $4
Training (Basic ¨C LVL 1-10) (Physical) (1 Hour) $100 ¨C SOLD OUT
Training (Intermediate ¨C LVL 10-25) (Physical) (1 Hour) $500 ¨C SOLD OUT
Training (Advanced ¨C LVL 25-50) (Physical) (1 Hour) $10000
Training Gear (Basic ¨C LVL 1-5) (1 Hour) $100 ¨C SOLD OUT
¡­ ¡­
The list went on and on. Yet more evidence that, even in a game like this, people could still pay to win. Well, that is if they were also willing to train. Most of the lower-level stuff was already gone. Though looking at some of them, it wasn¡¯t hard to see why. For one hundred dollars, you could get someone to teach you a basic skill or help with your stats for an hour. Given that I was already going to be trained by some pretty high-level people in all three areas, I didn¡¯t think I would need to buy any of the training. At least not for now. In fact, the only things that I wanted were AI integration and access to various in-game systems. Then again, my AI could do those same things without paying for access. Were there limits on AIs imposed by the devs? The idea of my AI being able to do the same thing made me hesitant to purchase anything. After all, why waste money on such things if I didn¡¯t need to? However, there was one thing I would have to purchase no matter what and that was the AI add-on. As soon as I did, my AI spoke from seemingly nowhere. ¡°AI systems connecting. AI connection is successful. Alex, I am fully ready for use at any time you need.¡± Frantically, I looked at the other three people to see if they had heard anything. Either they did and didn¡¯t care, or the voice was entirely in my head. ¡°Anything else I should get?¡± I mumbled to my AI, making sure to keep my voice as low as I could so as to not bother anyone else. ¡°What?¡± Came Barti¡¯s voice while Tindi said ¡°Probably should hit our quartermaster as well before you head to bed. They can help set you up with some basic gear for pretty cheap.¡± Those two had damn good hearing if they were able to make out my mumbled question enough to answer. I took the out that Tindi unwittingly offered me. ¡°Sure.¡± Quickly closing the shop window, I gestured to the elf. ¡°Mind letting me out so I can get that all done?¡± For a full five seconds, he looked at me with a slightly confused face as he tried to figure out what I wanted. His face turned a bit red as he realized he had blocked me in. With smooth movements, he got out of the way while repeatedly saying that he was sorry. I shrugged his unnecessary apologies off and thanked them for dinner. ¡°Meet us in the same training room tomorrow,¡± Barti spoke loud enough for me to hear as I walked away. I focused on making it across the room. At some point during our meal, the room had filled out. People stood between tables in tight clusters as they drank and cheered for one thing or another. Those groups and the servers that carried trays made it nearly impossible to get across the space without needing to shove my way through a group or two. I saw no way around the issue and chose to take the least crowded path to the guild desk. Not that the path was empty. Humans and other creatures bumped into me multiple times. About halfway there sat a half-human, half-wolf-looking person. Their tail lazily wove through the air behind their chair. As I walked by one of the people on the other side of the aisle chose that moment to stand up. Their chair slid back just in time to catch my leg. My tired and abused body stood no chance of preventing the fall. All I could do was flail my hands through the air and hope to catch something. One of my hands managed to grasp onto a soft rope, giving it a decent yank as I tried to stop my momentum. The wolf yelped as he jumped out of his chair. That rope I had been holding onto yanked me toward him as he spun around. Unfortunately for me, the rope didn¡¯t stop, it went through his chair, taking my arms with it. Only stopping when my arms were stuck between the seat back and the bottom. My mind reeled as I tried to understand what had just happened. My eyes looked around frantically for clues. They locked onto the rope in my hand as it had to be the culprit. Following it, I found that the damn thing was somehow attached to the body standing on the other side of the chair. My eyes wandered up the body slowly as I took the person in. Bright amber eyes caught and held mine as they glistened. His expression was a mix of anger and pain. The top right side of his mouth was lifted as a soft growl filled the space between us. ¡°Let go of my tail.¡± He took the time to enunciate each word through grit teeth. In horror, I looked at the rope in my grip. Sure enough, the damn thing was a tail, albeit one that was currently being crushed by my white-knuckled grip. My fingers snapped open as I rushed to let the soft tail go. Without the tail to hold onto, gravity pulled me backward. As I fell onto my ass, my arm pulled the chair on top of me. The top of the which hit my forehead with an audible thump. The world spun as people crowded around me, their voices overlapped such that I could not make out what any one of them said. Unfortunately for me, my imagination was good enough to come up with various scenarios for me. After all, in most stories and games with adventurers, they typically are a bit rough and unforgiving, especially if you manage to hurt one of them. This group was probably trying to decide what to do with me. My forehead hurt and my mind felt muddled. Still, I pushed past it as I slowly pulled my arms out of the chair. I was careful to not attract attention as I prepared to make my escape while silently praying that they would let me go and forget about this. ¡°Oi!¡± Came a rough voice that I vaguely recognized. The crowd around me all turned to look in the direction of the voice. That was a sign to run if I ever saw one. In a crouch, I took off. I didn¡¯t care where I was going. I just needed to get away. To let everything blow over. Chapter 9 - Gear Yeah, I didn¡¯t make it far. Probably had something to do with the people around me. They were able to watch me and the speaker. ¡°And where do you think you''re going?¡± A voice said from right behind me as the people in front of me closed ranks. Their bodies moved to block any means of escape that I could have used. I sighed in resignation before I turned to look at the speaker. Ginny stood behind me, watching me. Seeing her, my heart lifted for a second before falling again when I noticed her expression. Her lips were flat and hard-set in an expression I wish was pointed at someone else. Hands on hips, her eye tried to cut through me. It was like I was a butterfly pinned to a wall. Unable to move, I muttered, ¡°nowhere.¡± There was no way for me to get out and we both knew it. She gave a swift nod before turning to face to her left. The wolf whose tail I had grabbed stood there. Claws were visible as he slowly opened and closed his hands. ¡°As both parties are a part of the guild the rules of the guild are to be followed. Lance, as the aggrieved party, what punishment are you looking for?¡± How was it he got to decide what my punishment was? While I felt bad for pulling on his tail, it wasn¡¯t like I meant to trip. Grabbing his tail had been entirely accidental. Shouldn¡¯t I get a say in this? As I opened my mouth to say so, Ginny shot me a look. My mouth snapped shut with a click as her gaze returned to the wolf. He stood there for a minute, not saying anything. The silence built as everyone waited to hear what he wanted. For me, the silence had my mind flying through various possibilities. From him demanding money to my expulsion or even a duel to the death. Whatever he decided, it was likely to shape my future in the guild. Not that I had much of a future after this. I was too embarrassed. It wasn¡¯t even a day since I had needed saving from my attempt at playing at becoming a human popsicle. As my mind wandered back, a glimmer of hope appeared. My eyes shot around as I looked for Barti or the girls in hopes that they would be able to help me. They were standing on the other side of the circle, eyes locked onto me. My eyes caught the elf¡¯s as he shook his head. At the back of my mind, a voice chittered away in panic as a fist clenched around my heart. Panic crept into my mind as I raced to figure out what he was thinking. Was he disappointed? Would they kill me for this? Or was he telling me that it would be fine and to let events play out? What was he saying? My eyes started to flick from person to person as my breathing sped up. I felt it as people in the crowd started to look in my direction. Their eyes bore into me. Judged me. Others looked at the wolf in anticipation. My breath caught in my lungs as the wolf finally spoke. ¡°I want her to serve me for a day.¡± Wait, what? He couldn¡¯t ask for such a thing, could he? Wouldn¡¯t that be like asking a genie for extra wishes? Unlike me, Ginny and the crowd didn¡¯t seem phased by his demand. Nodding, she responded. ¡°That¡¯s fine, but there will be the normal restrictions.¡± I wanted to scream at her. What kind of restrictions? Just what was going on? Why was she agreeing with this ridiculous demand? I know my face reflected my emotions, but Ginny didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°He will be your responsibility for the entirety of tomorrow.¡± Something about what she had said had the wolf blubbering. ¡°Wait, no, I take it back, stop.¡± Ginny pretended not to hear him. She smiled as she continued, ¡°In fact, I think I think your entire party should be included in this.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± ¡°Hold Up!¡± ¡°Lance!¡± Three people all called out from behind where the wolf was standing. A larger man pushed his chair back and waved at Ginny. His deep baritone voice practically shook the floor as he called over the group. ¡°I don¡¯t see a problem with that.¡± His face turned slightly to look at me. In those eyes, I saw a glint of mischief as he spoke. ¡°Come find us tomorrow morning. We can figure out something for us to do then.¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say. From how everything was going at the start, I thought I would have been made to do something demeaning or similar but now, I didn¡¯t know. The crowd dispersed as Ginny and the larger guy nodded at each other. Conversations, dinner, and drinking resumed throughout the place. The only person left standing near me was Ginny. ¡°Seems you found yourself in a bit of a pickle tonight.¡± She said as she held her hand out to help me up. Taking it, I stood as I answered. ¡°Yes, but, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, what just happened?¡± She eyed me before setting off in the direction of the counters. I followed her, interested in her answer as well as getting a room and directions. ¡°That, my dear, was a horny teen wolf trying to find someone that would be able to keep up with him. Too bad for him. Now he has to¡­¡± I didn¡¯t hear a word she said as my body locked up. My vision turned red as the world slowed down around me. It wasn¡¯t the first time that someone had tried to have their way with me, it wasn¡¯t even the worst attempt. The memory of such an event forced its way forward. ¡°Bye,¡± I wave at the guard leaning against the wall as he sucks on his vape. He waves back, not bothering to say anything. The sky above is dark, and the only visible lights are in the building behind him. Everyone else has been gone for hours. All except for Xander and me. Our machine broke down around lunch, and while it only took an hour to repair, that hour had resulted in four hours of work for various reasons. Both of us ended up staying for overtime, not that we were given a choice. The manager has a policy that you either finish your entire day¡¯s orders before leaving or you¡¯re fired. Since it was my machine that caused the issue, I offered to stay and clean so Xander could go home. It wasn¡¯t because I felt guilty or anything. The guy simply looked dead on his feet. I was worried that if he didn¡¯t head home first, he might fall asleep and get mugged ¡ª or worse. Besides, the sky at this time was beautiful. With most of the city asleep, the majority of the lights and systems are turned down or completely off, conserving what little battery they have for the early risers. I remember a time when gas-powered energy was still profitable, when the lights of the city never turned off. Not just here but everywhere. So many lights that even images from high up showed clusters all over the world. But that¡¯s all in the past. Glancing up, I wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness as I take in the sights. Without the moon hogging the spotlight, the stars blanket the sky. The sight is enough to take my breath away. A sudden yawn stretches my jaw, letting me know that I needed to get a move on. The last train will be at the station at any moment and it would wait for no one. Focusing on the other dimly lit station entrance, I jog over. Speeding up as I heard the squealing breaks of the train pulling in. As soon as my feet hit the stairs, I use gravity to help me speed up. My focus solely on not tripping as I race down at breakneck speed. The train doors are just starting to close as I dash across the platform. Only just missing the edge of the door as I made it inside the nearest car. Warm, moist air fills my lungs as my breath comes in ragged gasps. The stale air is filled with the smell of mold as the train fans fail to circulate it properly. Once I manage to catch my breath, I pull out my phone. Choosing to ignore the world around me in favor of a book as I wait for the slow train to reach my station. A man staggering into the car was enough to catch my attention. Even in the unmoving air, the smell of alcohol quickly fills the cabin, overwhelming everything else. Not that it bothers me. I would probably be drinking myself crazy if I found something I liked and had the money to spend on it. Finding him otherwise boring, I return my focus to my book. That was probably why I didn¡¯t notice his movements until a hand slaps mine hard enough to sting. My phone flew across the cab. Clattering against the cracked rubber and exposed aluminum sheeting until it comes to a stop against the far wall. Before I could react with a ¡®What the fuck!¡¯ or something similar, the guy is in my face, spittle flying as he starts to scream. ¡°Bitch, you listen when someone is talking to you! You should be grateful when anyone is willing to give you the time, let alone make some conversation.¡± I try to push him away, but my tiny frame doesn¡¯t mean shit against his hulking body. Not even with the amount of beer I can smell on him. ¡°Maybe you just need someone to teach you your place in this world?¡± One of his hands lands on my shoulder. Holding me in place as the other grips my hip. His crazy eyes roam up and down my body as he licks his lips. ¡°Yeah, I think I should be the one to teach you. After all, it was me that you ignored in the first place. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make it feel good for you.¡± The hand on my shoulder drops a little, trying to grope my chest as a leg presses between mine, forcing my legs apart. His other hand fumbles with the clasp of my pants, causing him to look down as his drunken dexterity fails him. Heart beating fast and hard in my chest, I seize the chance to smash my head against his. The move hurts like hell ¡ª likely doing more damage to me than to him ¡ª but it¡¯s enough to cause him to stumble back a step. With the extra room, I kick out with all my might. Aiming for his family jewels and connecting with a satisfying thud. Suddenly in horrific pain, the guy freezes in place. His face scrunched up as he squeaks out a simple, ¡°Bitch.¡± I scramble away from him, grabbing my phone from where it lies. Standing by the door, I wait for the next stop. Not even ten seconds later, the overworked and undermaintained braking system causes the train to shudder as it enters the next station. Unable to keep his balance, my assailant falls to the ground. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Not that I care. The moment the doors start to open, I race out of the car and look around. My mind racing as I think about my options. I can either get into one of the other cars or risk the roads above ground. Neither is a good option until I see just what station the train has stopped at. Seeing the sign, I sprint out of the station and toward my apartment. Hoping to reach the security door before the guy can get up and come after me. A moment after I shove the door closed, someone slams into the other side. I don¡¯t even have to look up to see who it is, the answer is obvious. His over-dilated brown eyes lock with mine as he spews demands that I cannot hear over the sound of my heart and breathing. They follow me as I back away. Even now, they follow me into my nightmares. My mind returned to the present as a shiver rippled down my spine. Fight or flight reflexes dumped adrenaline into my bloodstream as I made up my mind. While I wasn¡¯t the top dog around here, not by a long shot, I also would come back from death. I doubted he would. So I would give it my all to kill that wolf. He deserved it for thinking he could even think about forcing someone to do something like that. Suddenly a pair of steel bands wrap themselves around both of my wrists. They were strong enough to keep me in place. A growl rips through my lips as I glare at my captor. Ginny¡¯s eyes are hard as they stare into mine. Her mouth looked like she was talking but I couldn¡¯t make out anything she said. Not over the roar of my raging blood and the haze of anger clouding my mind. We stood like that for over a minute before she finally sighed. A moment later, a soft blue glow surrounded us. Where it touches, cold numbness blossoms. Even my skin doesn¡¯t seem to stop it. The cold seeps its way into my mind. Cooling the anger residing there. The more it touches and invades, the more the fire dies. ¡°Are you back with me?¡± She asks. Likely not for the first time. Just the first time I was able to hear her. My nod is stiff. I could feel my anger, coiled up at the back of my mind, but whatever she was doing keeping it at bay. ¡°Good. Now as I was saying. I don¡¯t know what he wanted you for, I just had an inkling. That¡¯s why I made it clear that you were a guy and that anything that happens to you is his, and his parties, responsibility.¡± Her eyes stare deep into mine. As if willing me to understand what she was saying. My tired and worn-out mind took a couple of minutes to churn through her words. Slowly, I realized that the way everything went down made what I was worried about practically impossible. The party itself would deal with him if he tried something because, if they didn¡¯t, they would have to deal with her and the rest of the guild. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if one or two people tailed the party to keep an eye on us just in case. Seeing my comprehension, she slowly lifted the spell as she continued. ¡°It will not matter much anyway. You don¡¯t have the gear to go out into this weather and they won''t fork out the coin to equip you. So, likely as not, you will just be training with them tomorrow. That means that Barti and his party can keep an eye on them. Ok?¡± I numbly nodded as the adrenalin flowing through me vanished. ¡°Speaking of equipment, I think you should stop by the Guild Quartermaster before going to bed tonight.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I managed to mumble as she released one of my hands. Using the other to drag me over to the counter. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached over the counter with her free hand. As soon as she had a hold of something on the other side, she yanked it toward us. The paper tore a bit as it was ripped off whatever had been holding it. She ignored the tear as she read over the printed information. ¡°Room 342 seems to be free. It is a single room and has most of the building and a floor between it and a number of animals.¡± Her hand released mine as she gestured toward a hallway to the side and the only visible set of stairs. Thankfully the hall is at the end of the counters and the stairs are along the back wall. Both are easy to reach without getting too close to anyone. ¡°Following the hall here will bring you to the quartermaster. After you get done there, go up two flights and to the right.¡± ¡°How much for the room?¡± I managed to ask through the encroaching numbness. ¡°The first night is free for all new adventurers, after that it is a silver per night.¡± As I started to reach into my inventory to pull out a couple of silver, she stopped me. Her hand held mine still as she continued, ¡°The system automatically deducts it from your account.¡± As soon as I nodded my understanding, she released me. Slowly I made my way around the counter and into the hall, I focused on staying awake and moving. The hall turned left and right a few times. Doors were scattered up and down the hall but none of them had a sign on them, nor were any of them open. I was debating turning around and coming back in the morning if the next turn didn¡¯t have some sort of signage. Thankfully, as I turned the corner, I found that the hall had come to an end. The only door open sat at the end of the hall. As I approached, I noticed more and more equipment piled up along the walls and on shelves. All of which were behind a counter. Sitting amongst them was a rather bored-looking mage who was playing with water and fire. The elements were shaped into various creatures as they flew around his head and hands. His focus was entirely on them which was probably why he ignored me. A soft cough broke through his concentration. His entire body dropped by a foot. His arms whirled around as the sound of things smacking against wood filled the space. As he fell, multiple elemental creatures vanished while others smashed together. The steam generated from the fire and water creature surrounded the guy. ¡°Facking hell!¡± He called out in what sounded like an Irish accent. While I couldn¡¯t see him through the steam cloud, I could hear him move as he got up. The steam suddenly vanished to reveal him waving his hand back and forth. The accent and his gruffness caught me off guard. One would think that the person running a quartermaster area would be a bit nicer. Plus, instead of doing his job, he had been playing with magic of some sort. It wasn¡¯t like any magic I had seen so far. It looked more alive. More flexible. It was the kind of magic I wanted to use. The sound of his voice pulls me back as he demands. ¡°What is it ye want?¡± He sounded like he blamed me for his magic exploding on him. Mentally I wanted to berate him but I knew it would do me no good. If anything, it would probably result in me getting the worst gear they had if he let me get anything at all. Taking a quick, calming breath, I pushed my annoyance down as I spoke, ¡°I was told to come here to get some starter equipment.¡± His eyes scanned me once before rolling as he turned around. He walked toward a section filled with various pieces of leather and fur items. ¡°Got ya, some basic winter gear and regular armor.¡± With a simple toss, the items he picked up flew over to the counter next to me. It looked too casual and slow to be him throwing everything. He had to be using some sort of spell to direct and propel the items across the space. He moved to a shelving area that was empty except for one small section. ¡°I hope skirts and leggings are to your liking, for they¡¯re about all we¡¯ve got left.¡± God damn it. I wasn¡¯t a woman. Why did I have to deal with these issues everywhere I went? I clenched my fists, biting back a sharp retort. Choosing to close my eyes and count to three as I tried to regain my composure. It helped a little, enough that I was able to speak without clenching my teeth. ¡°Are you sure there is nothing more appropriate for a man to wear in this weather or when fighting monsters?¡± My eyes were still closed as I tried to control my emotions but, based on his voice, I was fairly sure he was looking in my direction. ¡°Sure, but we¡¯re fresh out, I¡¯m afraid. The last bunch of new arrivals cleaned us out. There¡¯s a quest up on the board for more, but it''ll be a few days before the orders ready. Feel free to learn how to make some if you need them sooner. Course, you will have to hunt your materials as they be in short supply as well.¡± Again, I counted to three, slowly breathing in on one, holding it for two before slowly releasing it on three. The guy was just doing his job. Like every other employee out there, it wasn¡¯t his fault that the place was short on something. Plus I was fairly sure he could kill me in an instant if I did try anything. Maybe I could wear the skirt for a little while? Just until I could get some pants. It wouldn¡¯t be my first time wearing one. Hell, even my mother had insisted on me trying one on. She had said it was out of curiosity but we both knew she had always wished I had been a girl. At some point when I wasn¡¯t looking, she even managed to take a couple of photos. Even years after her death, I was still finding the damn things all over the place. Every time I found one, I burned the damn thing. Something told me that it was my cousin copying and placing the photos but I had no proof. Hopefully I didn¡¯t run into her in-game until after I got pants. Then again, maybe I could wear it like a kilt or something? How would one fold the skirt differently to do such a thing? As I thought over the issue, the guy finished his job and returned to the counter. ¡°We have a skirt, a thin shirt, a jacket, some boots, a set of undergarments, and a pair of leggings. Anything else I can get you? ¡°A backpack, please. Maybe a knife as well?¡± I asked while sorting through the various pieces of cloth. Each was made of something like wool. To my delight, the skirt was more like a long piece of cloth with a belt built in. Looking over the stats of each, I found that they all came with Cold-Weather Resistance Up (Minor) boost. The sight of it caused something in my heart to loosen. With that, I wouldn¡¯t freeze as fast outside. Maybe I could go to the Guard Quartermaster for my free weapon or maybe try a quest or two. The only issue I had with the guy''s choices was related to one of the undergarments. The underwear was something soft and would work, but why in the hell had he included a fucking bra. I didn¡¯t even have breasts so even if I was female there was no need for them to be added to the fucking pile. ¡°Here you go. The clothing will be two gold while the bag and knife will be an additional five.¡± He said as he placed the two items next to me. I tossed the bra at him. His hands shot out and caught the article without issue or hesitation. ¡°I don¡¯t need that. Now, how do I know if all of this fits?¡± He tossed the bra into the air, not paying it any attention as it flew over to one of the shelves. Likely returning to whatever pile it had come from. ¡°Everything resizes to their user as soon as they go to put it on.¡± He said before waggling his hand a little. ¡°Mostly. These will be fine.¡± Given that this was a game, I accepted his words at face value. It made sense given that the devs wouldn¡¯t want people to have issues with making clothing for each race. Also, what happened when someone gains muscle mass from their stats? Was that even an issue? Would your stats change your character''s body or would it only affect how the character interacted with the world? Maybe I could look it up on the forums later. Then again, why look it up myself? ¡°Hey, AI,¡± I muttered. Either the guy didn¡¯t hear me or didn¡¯t care as he didn¡¯t react. ¡°Yes, Alex?¡± ¡°Please find out what happens to a character when their stat goes up. Is the changes physical or does it only affect how they interact with the game?¡± The purchase left me with eighteen gold. Hopefully, it was enough to buy some stuff. Stuff like pants. With a single swift motion, I swept all the items into my inventory. One of the slots vanished as another row of ten slots appeared next to a bag icon. ¡°Also see about limits with bags,¡± I said as I started to flip through the various screens associated with each piece of clothing. Unlike every other MMO I have played, there was no way to auto-equip anything. I went to ask but the guy beat me to it. ¡°There is a bathroom down the hall. Feel free to change there or back at your room.¡± It was a clear dismissal. As if to emphasize this, he returned to his chair. Various elements swirled around him as various creatures took shape again. The reminder of my room caused me to yawn. I needed to get there and sleep. Trying everything on and figuring out how to get the skirt to look like a kilt would have to wait until I woke up. Chapter 10 - Time I was so tired that I barely noticed where I was going as my body moved on autopilot. The day had been packed with one event after another. Near death from ice, heat, and overworking my body had all taken its toll. Add to that the adrenaline high that the wolf caused and it was no wonder I feel like I did. Suddenly, I found my path blocked by a door. As I reached for the handle, a prompt flashed into view. Would you like to rent this room for one silver a night? Newly issued guild account detected. Fee waived for the first night. Accept / Decline The sudden appearance of the prompt wasn¡¯t as much of a shock given everything else I have seen today. If anything, the fact that the system monitored the doors to private rooms caused something inside me to unclench and relax. It meant that anything I left in here would be safe, including me, well my character. The prompt vanished as I worldlessly agreed to the price. Without me doing anything, the lock clicked open and the door swung out of the way, revealing the room beyond. Dim lights provided enough illumination to give me a general idea of where I would be sleeping, at least for the foreseeable future. On the far side of the room, above a single-sized bed, sat a window that looked like it overlooked the main road. The moon was angled just right. The soft blue-green light it gave off helped to illuminate the bed. My tired feet slowly dragged my tired body inside as my head turned to take in the rest of the place. A counter, stove, and sink sat against the inside wall. Each looked as though they were brand new. Just beyond the counter sat a door. The sight of a mostly closed door piqued my interest enough that I had to check it out before going to sleep. As I pushed the door open, I found a modern bathroom. The thing wouldn¡¯t have looked out of place in an apartment on Earth. A soft click and snick sound behind me caused my heart to nearly stop as my body spun to confront whatever had caused the noise. The dimly lit room suddenly felt more menacing as I searched for any potential enemies. My mind raced nearly as fast as my heart beat while my eyes scanned over the place. The door to the room was closed while the corners were clear, if a bit dark. Even the ceiling was clear of¡­wait, I didn¡¯t close the door. I practically collapsed to the ground as I realized my stupidity. The sound I had heard was the door closing. Which, given that modern front doors closed automatically for safety reasons, wasn¡¯t something that should have scared me. Even now my heart hammered against my ribs in an attempt to run away. Hand clutched to my chest, I stumbled across the room. Letting my body collapse as I reached the bed. The soft mattress that met my body felt like what I imagined a soft cloud would feel like. I didn¡¯t even realize I was asleep until beams of light pried at my eyelids. The abrupt pain of the light caused me to instinctively roll to the side. Where I promptly fell to the floor. The sudden drop and subsequent impact tossed me out of my dreams more effectively than any alarm clock. ¡°Where, what?¡± I cried out as my eyes scanned the room. Trying to figure out where I was and what was going on. There was nowhere in my apartment with such a nice wood floor. Hell, nothing in my apartment even looked half as new. I mean, there wasn¡¯t a single crack in the paint or wood as far as I could see. ¡°Good morning.¡± The voice of my AI calling to me caught my attention. ¡°Where am I?¡± I whispered back. I didn¡¯t know if I was kidnapped or not but why take the chance? ¡°You are still logged into Ascent to Aetheria. The current in-game time is oh eight fifteen AM.¡± Its words sparked memories of yesterday. Those memories, in addition to the AI¡¯s voice, helped to calm me, to anchor me. ¡°Also, answers to your inquiries have been found. Would you like to hear them now?¡± I rubbed my eyes as I ambled towards the bathroom. The remnants of yesterday''s chaos continued to filter through my mind. With one hand, I turned on the shower. The warm water would help ease the sore muscles. Too bad it would also lull me back to sleep. I needed to find some form of caffeine and soon. Until I did, I would need someone to talk to me. To keep my brain at least partially working so I didn¡¯t fall back to sleep. ¡°Sure, but remind me, what did I ask you to look up for me?¡± ¡°You asked what happens when a character''s stats go up. This morning, an admin provided some clarity. Essentially, a character¡¯s physical and mental capabilities mirror their stats. However, the manifestation of these stats can vary. For instance, some might develop enhanced muscular bulk. The extremes of which can resemble those found in stories of demigods like Hercules. On the other hand, others will find that their muscles increase in density instead of bulk.¡± There was a time when I tried to gain muscle definition. After months of work with a school jock, there had been no real change. Okay, that wasn¡¯t true. Most of my fat had disappeared leaving my form even more well-defined, just not in the way I wanted. Given that event, I was fairly sure I was in the latter category. Then again, this was a game so who knew? Maybe my character''s body would be different than my real one. Maybe I would be able to see what I would look like with muscles. I tried to picture how that would look as I stripped and stepped under the water. The soothing heat of the shower eased some tension in my back. The heat and pounding water eased the strain I had unconsciously ignored. As the water pounded into my hair and back, the streams flowed down my body and into the drain, taking the grime and sweat from yesterday with it. ¡°You also requested information regarding the inventory system, specifically the use of bags,¡± the AI stated in a neutral tone, indifferent to my physical state. As it spoke, I looked around for some soap. A bar of neon green soap sat on the far wall. I took a second to pick it up and give it a sniff. It gave off a pleasant, if unidentifiable, scent. With a shrug, I started to lather up my body as the AI continued. ¡°A character is capable of equipping as many bags as they have inventory slots. Currently, you have twelve such slots. However, it is important to note that bags cannot be nested within other bags due to spatial interference issues.¡± That was nice, though a bit annoying. It reminded me of how an older MMO dealt with its unchanging inventory system. They would rather add a new, larger bag than increase the inventory. Given how realistic this game was trying to be, I could see the developers doing something similar. Then again, couldn¡¯t a player just buy enough of the largest bags they could get to fill their inventory slots? How many bags should I get? Was it worth spending the money on cheap bags now or save up and buy a larger bag? As if responding to my thoughts, the AI answered in its customary impartial tone. ¡°Regarding bag usage, many forum users advise that all new players acquire as many as possible, as early as possible, to optimize quest efficiency and maximize carrying capacity. ¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I paused in my lathering as something nibbled at the back of my mind. It had to do with how the AI was talking. ¡°Say, how many bags can I carry?¡± ¡°At your current level, you are capable of holding twelve bags.¡± The words the AI chose were never arbitrary. ¡°What do you mean at my current level? How would I go about increasing the number of slots I could have?¡± ¡°A player can increase the number of slots in their inventory by purchasing and equipping bags.¡± I knew the AI didn¡¯t mean to twist my question, it had no reason to, but that didn¡¯t make it any less frustrating. ¡°Is there any other way?¡± I gritted out as I moved back under the water. The water pounded into my skin as the streams washed away the soap. ¡°There are entire forums dedicated to researching this. So far, the only thing they can agree on is that some stats add slots while others increase how many items each slot can hold. The problem is that some player classes can affect these slots, thus making it hard to come out with an exact equation.¡± I turned off the shower and grabbed the towel from where it hung. Using it to dry as I processed everything the AI had just said. Not only would the number of slots increase with time and stats, but it would also increase because of one''s class? How would one go about getting a class? Did you get to choose them or were you handed one? What class would I even be good at? My mind worked through the possibilities while I started to get dressed. Stopping when my mind registered the two items in my hand. A skirt and a pair of leggings. I did not want to put the leggings on. Then again, with how cold it was outside, did I really have a choice? It wasn¡¯t like I had pants to protect my legs from the cold bite in the air. I had already dealt with nearly freezing to death, I did not want to go through that a second time. Before I could chicken out, I tossed the skirt on the ground and slid the leggings on. As I slid each side up, a few of my leg hairs were yanked out. In pain and mentally irritated, I turned to the skirt lying on the ground. The sight of the thing had me cursing the city. How was it that I was unlucky enough to have to wear this damn thing? Surely no one else was having this issue. As I ranted and cursed out everything and everyone I could think of, I tried to add some pleats to the fabric. Using the belt to hold them in place as I wrapped the skirt around myself. Looking down at the result, I shook my head. Not only did it not work, it looked ugly as hell. Over and over I tried to fold different parts in various ways while using the belt to hold everything in place. Nothing worked. The result either came out ugly or skirt-like. With a growl, I redid the skirt one final time. Going back to one of the nicer-looking styles. Giving everything a once over, I found that everything fit perfectly. Not too tight or loose in any spot. As if someone had tailored everything to fit me perfectly. It was by far the best set of clothes I had ever worn. Too bad it accentuated curves I always tried to hide. Seeing those things had me cursing my father''s genetic contribution yet again. Why in the hell did a man need hips like this? Fear and powerlessness trickled in as I realized how many people would see me like this. The thought of someone out there trying to take advantage of me started to piss me off. Each emotion built off the others. Before the emotions could explode, I forced my eyes closed. Imposing my will onto my panting breathing. I sucked in a lungful of air and held it as I started counting to three in my mind. It didn¡¯t work. If anything, the act of trying to calm down seemed to make the panic worse. Without prompting, a window popped up in front of me. Even through my closed eyes, I could read the text presented. Extreme stress detected. Searching for cause. Cause detected. Emotional stress from a localized situation. Searching for solution. Solution found. Returning player to pod. Goodbye. My mind fuzzed out as my heart stuttered. The world blinked out as another replaced it. Wood and the light of day changed to plastic and artificial light. A soft hissing noise surrounded me as my mind slowly cleared. The glass lifted away to reveal the chipped and dirty grey ceiling high above. The fear and powerlessness I felt were still prevalent, but not as strong as they had been. Almost as if someone turned a nob down. My breaths went from the short gasping breaths that my body demanded, to something much longer and more calming. ¡°Welcome back Alex. The current time is thirty-three minutes after midnight. You have been in-game for two hours and thirteen minutes.¡± My AI called from a nearby speaker. I didn¡¯t pay attention to what it was saying, instead focusing on the voice itself as I tried to calm down. A couple of minutes later, my mind was calm and my heart was no longer trying to jump up my throat. My voice cracked as I asked the AI, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The health monitoring system detected a building panic attack. According to the log, it found the issue to be something in your environment. As a result, the system decided to eject you from the game.¡± Well, that was good to know. At least something monitored my health in-game and actively worked to solve any issues it could. It wasn¡¯t like I could. While my AI could monitor me, it was only capable of calling for help. Not something that would be much help if I was stuck in the pod when said help came. Hell, I didn¡¯t want to even think about what kind of damage would occur if someone was yanked out of the system improperly. Now that my panic attack had been dealt with, I felt a need to return to the game. ¡°When can I re-enter the game?¡± I asked. ¡°The lockout will be lifted in three more minutes.¡± Good, enough time to deal with going to the bathroom. Standing up, I found that the city was dark. Between the near-death experiences, training, and sleep, I had to have been in the game for at least twenty hours. There should be at least a bit of evidence of the sun on the horizon, but there was nothing. ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°Thirty-five minutes after midnight.¡± That made no sense. Not unless there was something going on with the time in-game. ¡°And how long have I been in the game?¡± ¡°Twenty hours five minutes in-game time. Three hours twenty-one minutes in real-time.¡± Yep, there was a time difference. While it was a surprise, I wish it was something I had been informed of before I jumped into the game. ¡°What is the ratio?¡± ¡°There is a one to six time ratio. Real world to in-game.¡± That was pretty good. I had heard of hardware with similar capabilities, but those were used by rich people or high-end companies. Well, that and the more specialized military training facilities. It was an open secret. Almost as hush-hush as the dangers of using such technologies. ¡°How stable is the ratio? Also, how much load does it place on my brain?¡± ¡°It is a stable time dilation. The company has said that, as they work out the bugs and upgrade the servers, they will be able to increase it. Some of their models suggest that the dilation will reach at least double that.¡± My AI stopped speaking. Not answering my other question. Seeing as the system was messing with my brain, I didn¡¯t take no answer as an answer. ¡°And the load it is placing on my brain?¡± ¡°The pod system monitors have registered no appreciable issues with the extra load to your brain. System buffers and modules are operating as intended to take up any extra load as needed.¡± Great, so the pod that had the potential to do damage to my brain was also the one my AI was relying on for sensor data and diagnostics. On top of that, did my AI just say that there were parts of the pod that would take a load off of my brain as needed? Did that mean that my mind was a part of the machine or that the machine was doing some of the thinking for me? Was there a possibility of me losing a piece of myself because it was still stuck inside a module? ¡°Five-minute lockout has been lifted.¡± I ignored the AI. Getting up and walking over to the bathroom instead. My mind was reeling with the possibilities. ¡°Rising stress levels detected. Is there anything I can do to help you with? Questions I can answer?¡± ¡°Not unless you can promise me that the pod won''t lobotomize my brain,¡± I said in a soft voice. My mind wondered if it already had. Would I even know? ¡°The pod has been declared as safe in every nation on Earth. As a part of this process, the EU required that there be multiple safety and backup systems installed to prevent such a situation. Short of a lightning strike to the main processor, the system will not be able to damage the occupant''s brain.¡± That made me feel much better. While the USA was strict with what could hit the market, in comparison to countries like China and India, it could not hold a candle to some of the modern European regulations. ¡°Thanks,¡± I said before sighing. At this point, I had a choice. To enter the pod and trust all the safety systems and regulations, or to sell the thing and hope to find a job as soon as possible. Like that was going to happen. Giving into the inevitable, I returned to the pod. The cold plastic on my bare skin caused a shiver to run up and down my spine. Goosebumps prickled across the rest of my skin as I pressed the button to return to the game. Chapter 11 - Breakfast The moment my mind cleared, I found myself lying on the ground in the middle of my room. The fabric of my shirt fanned out all around me. Other than the angle of the light entering the room, nothing else looked different. As I stood up, a prompt blocked my sight, making sure that I read it. User¡¯s stress levels sufficiently diminished. Welcome back Kyren Vulpier. 37 minutes have passed since you logged off. Current in-game time: 9:57:33 AM Well, if anything, that prompt confirmed the time dilation. It was something I could see as both a blessing and a curse. Imagine if you were working on a timed quest and had to run to the bathroom or had some other emergency in real life. It would be easy to miss the deadline. Then again, the extra time would allow people to turn their weekends into over a week of gaming. At least such time spent in-game didn¡¯t require any extra food. If anything, it would require you to eat less than normal due to some technological trickery the developer created so people didn¡¯t have to log out as often. Speaking of food. I needed to go find some for myself. The hallway outside my room was different than I remembered it. Likely a result of a tired mind making things up as it was forced to stay running well past the time it should have shut down. The hall was just as nice as the room. The walls and ceiling were a warm wood while the floor was made of something darker. Though, unlike the room, the only source of light came from points in the ceiling. Those points were bright enough that it was looking into the sun. Given that the game was based around the use of magic, I doubted the place was lit up with LEDs or anything else powered with electricity. Then again, what if they used magic to produce electricity? Surely there were people who could throw lightning bolts. At that thought, I realized I was stalling. Not wanting to head downstairs and meet the group from yesterday. Suddenly, I caught a whiff of something. I had never smelled something so delicious before. My mouth watered as my stomach gave the loudest growl I had ever heard. Like the mindless zombie I was, I followed my nose down the stairs and into the large central room at the bottom. The place was packed with people. Almost more than there had been last night. It also seemed louder, the enchantments seeming to be either running low on mana or simply struggling given how much noise they were letting through. The noise was a mix of people eating, maintaining their gear, planning something, or simply joking around. Though it¡¯s not like it mattered to me what everyone was doing. What mattered to me was that every chair in the place seemed occupied by a body or some piece of equipment. ¡°Hey,¡± someone called out from somewhere to my left. The chance of the person calling for me was none existent but still, I looked in the direction of the voice. To my surprise, a woman waved in my direction. My soul lifted as I thought she might be waving at me only to crash to the ground as I realized she was likely trying to get the attention of someone behind me. I lowered my head in embarrassment as I moved to the side and out of the way. Not that there wasn¡¯t room to get around me before, but something at the back of my mind squirmed. Telling me to get out of the way or I might die. Like whoever was behind me could squish me as easily as a bug. The feeling had me nearly running, but where would I go? Joints locked, I stood against a back wall as I carefully looked out at the room, making sure to keep my eyes away from the chick and her group as I looked for somewhere to sit. From what I could see, my only hope to get a chair was if one of the groups left. The smell of the place had my stomach singing its praise to the food gods. It was the only part of me that was happy about the place. The rest of my body was wound tighter than any spring, ready to bolt out of the room at the first sign of trouble. You know what, fuck the group that was stuck with me. I was going to eat and get out of here before I ran into them. Surely they wouldn¡¯t care. It wasn¡¯t like they wanted to deal with a straggler anyway. My eyes tracked a tray loaded with steaming hot food as it was carried into the room by a staff member. That was probably why I didn¡¯t notice the woman before she spoke up. ¡°Hello?¡± My head whipped around fast enough to give me a bit of vertigo as I turned to look at who had joined me. Her face was so close that our noses practically touched causing me to reflexively jerk back. I smacked into the wall hard enough for it to be just audible over the room''s noise. A grimace flashed over her face telling me that she had heard it. ¡°Yes?¡± I stuttered out as I tried to find a way out of this spot without seeming too rude. ¡°I thought you were supposed to meet our group today?¡± Her tone danced between that of a question and something playful. Like a cat deciding whether to play with a toy or leave it be. She tilted her head a little as her eyes slowly blinked. The slow movement caught my attention. Drawing my eyes to hers. The unique hue drew me in, reminding me of a sea churning in a storm. Blues and greens swirling in mesmerizing chaos. ¡°Are you not the guy that was enchanted with Lance¡¯s tail last night?¡± She teased, pulling my attention back to the moment. I didn¡¯t know this person, yet she was apparently tied to that damn horny wolf¡¯s group. Given that I didn¡¯t want to join them, I was happy to hear her practically giving me an out, even if she didn¡¯t know it. Hell, even if she did, I didn¡¯t care. Before I could take advantage, she continued, ¡°Because Patric was quite-¡± she paused, as if looking for the right word before settling on one, ¡°-animated this morning when he started to describe you. Almost as if he was trying to describe a lover. Shame Lance cut him off before I could ask him any questions. Instead, they forced me to wait until I saw you for myself.¡± Her eyes gave me a once over, an appreciative hum coming from her. My eyes widened as I gave up on being nice and instead started to slide in the direction of the stairs. She followed me. ¡°I so sorry, not right person,¡± I said, trying to fake not being good with English in the vein hope that she would go away. That she would leave me alone. Her eyes had lost their playful look and now she looked like she wanted to eat me. Who in their right mind would give such a look to any other human being? This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. My back slid a little further as I worked my way into the stairwell. Her body followed mine step for step. Making sure that I was never more than two feet from her as she stalked me. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± Her smile widened as she looked at something behind me. ¡°In fact, why don¡¯t we ask Victor here?¡± The flicker of a glance caused me to turn around, slowly. I ignored the tingling feeling on the back of my neck from having her behind me as I looked up at a skinny man standing on the landing just a few steps above me. He looked down on the two of us with an indifferent expression. ¡°What¡¯s up, Linda?¡± His voice was just as neutral as his expression. Even his words were devoid of emotion. ¡°Oh, just trying to bring our guest here back to the table.¡± She replied. I tried to go around him. Hoping that his presence would stop her from stalking me. He stepped into my path. ¡°And?¡± I growled a little, though the two of them either didn¡¯t notice or just didn¡¯t care. ¡°He says that he isn¡¯t the guy that pulled on Lance¡¯s tail last night.¡± She made sure to emphasize the pronoun as if to tell me that she had been told about Lance¡¯s mistake. The guy looked me over once as he answered, ¡°He is.¡± I had never liked anyone looking me over like that, especially other men. It felt like they were stripping me of my clothes as they tried to see everything beneath. In this case, he was probably trying to look past the new, thicker clothes and figure out what I would look like in the thin clothes all newbies wore upon entering the game. Still, the look gave me goosebumps and I wanted to get as far from him as I could. With the creepy ass chick behind me, I flattened myself against a wall while watching him. While it was subtle, I could swear I saw confusion pass over his features as he said, ¡°though he wasn¡¯t wearing the skirt at the time.¡± My face went beat red as he mentioned that stupid piece of cloth. What I wouldn¡¯t give for a pair of jeans. Someone just kill me now. ¡°Yeah, figured someone would have said something about that if he had been.¡± She said causing me to facepalm. Apparently, the group had even gone so far as to tell her what I had been wearing. Finally I worked up the courage and will to interrupt, I said, ¡°Can you just let me go? You don¡¯t have to worry about dealing with me today. I am fairly sure neither party will care anyway.¡± They both looked at me. A single eyebrow was raised on his face while hers were furrowed. She was the one to answer my question though. ¡°Why would we do that? You are the team''s responsibility. If anything happened to you today, we would be responsible. Plus, don¡¯t you want to learn more about the game than an NPC can tell you?¡± She had my full and undivided attention, though Victor did a good job pulling my attention back to him. ¡°Of course, you could run, but then you would have to deal with Ginny and the Guildmaster.¡± ¡°Why? The issue is between your group and me. Why would they need to get involved.¡± I asked as I looked directly at her. She simply looked at me like she thought I was slow and that she pitied me. ¡°The deal includes the guild as the guarantor for both sides. If either breaks it, they get to decide the punishment. While I, personally, have never seen it happen, I have heard stories.¡± Even out of the corner of my eye, I was able to see the shiver that ran up his body. His voice quivered a tiny bit as he recalled something. The sight made me curious. Whatever those stories were, they must be pretty bad for this kind of reaction. ¡°Let''s just say neither of us want that.¡± He stepped past me and the chick. As he stepped off the last stair, his voice reached me. ¡°Now, let us go get some breakfast and find out what Michael has for us today.¡± They both walked away, giving me the ability to choose. Though he had made it perfectly clear that neither group had a choice. I would be going with them for the day and there was nothing we could do about it. But still, my feet stayed firmly in place even as they got further away. My body screamed at me to run. Only when they got halfway across the room and started to turn were my feet willing to listen to my commands. I fought with my instincts as I forced one foot in front of another. I was so focused on moving that I didn¡¯t realize how far I had walked until I was standing next to Victor. The three sitting at the table were quiet as they watched me. As I returned the stares, I realized that I knew them all. Well, okay, not really. I recognized them as the group from last night. The only one that was missing was the large guy that had agreed to this deal. Lance sneered from where he sat across from where I stood. He looked just as happy to see me as I felt to be here. It was awkward standing there, no one speaking or moving. Almost as if everyone was trying to see who would break first. Well, it wasn¡¯t going to be me. Not because I was choosing not to speak or anything. The lump of fear lodged in my throat simply prevented anything more than breathing. No one spoke until the large guy from last night lumbered up to the table. I hadn¡¯t seen him move the night before but now I could see why the wolf and the rest of the group had listened to him. Every move he made looked like it was full of power. A soft squeal came from my right followed by a blur as something shot by me to get to him. The blur jumped and wrapped itself around him. As the blur resolved into a body, I got an eyeful. Scary as fuck Linda looked like she was trying to eat his face off and he looked like he was all for it. Fairly embarrassed from witnessing such a thing, I quickly turned my superheated face away. The look on everyone else''s face told me that this wasn¡¯t the first time the two of them had done this. A loud cough from Victor a minute later did nothing to stop the two. Hell, the sounds seemed to get louder. Moans and groans joined in the cacophony of noise. Victor coughed louder this time. Loud enough that everyone around us could hear it based on the number of conversations that stopped. Chairs scraped as they turned to look at the person trying to get attention. Something about that must have finally caught the big guy''s attention because he pulled his face away from Linda¡¯s. Face aflame, I looked down at the table. I was too embarrassed at what I had seen and heard. A deep baritone rumbled over the table, catching my attention. ¡°Now that we are all here. Let¡¯s eat and discuss the plans for the day.¡± Behind me, one of the chairs creaked a bit as something heavy settled into it. In front of me, Victor gestured for me to take the chair next to him as he sat. As if our sitting down was a signal for someone, servers walked up to the table. They deposited dish after dish into the center followed by a pitcher of some golden liquid. Empty plates, silverware, and cups appeared next. I didn¡¯t see who had dropped any of it off as my eyes were firmly riveted on the food. Mounds of various items filled each plate. Things I had never seen except for on television and in video games. None of which could have prepared me for the smell. The smell was heavenly. Steam wafted off each plate as it worked to fill the space around us. I had to swallow a couple of times to keep from drooling. Thank god no one else noticed. Instead, they were fighting each other as they tried to fill their plates. I sat there, frozen, as I watched the mounds of food disappear while I tried to figure out if it was okay for me to take some for myself. It wasn¡¯t like anyone had said I could, but they also hadn¡¯t said not to. Then again, did I want to risk a hand in the meat grinder that was the fight for portions of each plate? Suddenly, my plate disappeared from in front of me. Appearing in Victor¡¯s hand. Portions of each item appeared on it as his other hand blurred. His movements were so smooth and controlled that the food didn¡¯t so much as slide or wiggle as he piled the plate full of a bit of everything. Looking across the table, I caught Lance looking at me. His gaze fixed as he ate his food. From the way he was looking at me, I couldn¡¯t tell if he wanted to kill me or what. My gaze quickly shifted away from the damned wolf and onto the plate as Victor set it down in front of me. ¡°Eat.¡± Was his simple command. I didn¡¯t argue. The speed, control, and power each of them had just displayed had me shuddering as I tried to figure out what they could need me for. Chapter 12 - The Team The food on my plate rapidly disappeared as it vanished from where it was and somehow made its way into the hole that was my stomach. I didn¡¯t notice the diminishing pile as my focus was entirely taken up by the explosions of flavor. Every single bit carried with it some new combination, each of which was better than anything I had ever tasted. Given that I didn¡¯t recognize some, and the few I did was only because of various old cooking shows, it made sense. Still, I was currently in heaven. Only dragged back down to Earth when my plate was empty. The sudden laughter from next to me caused me to look over at my neighbor. He held his stomach, tears welling in his eyes as he looked back at me. ¡°Your face. You look so sad that all the food is gone.¡± While I knew that was the case, I wished he would have kept quiet. His laughter transitioned into more of a soft chuckle as he continued. ¡°Feel free to get some more.¡± I shook my head. I knew how much this kind of food cost. Only the stupid rich people could afford it. Those were also the only people with the connections to get it transported to them in time before it went bad. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my plate disappear yet again. While I didn¡¯t see him take it, Victor¡¯s hands flicked a bunch more food onto a plate. ¡°No, I don¡¯t need more.¡± I insisted. My hands raised as I tried to back away from the table. The low voice of their leader spoke up at that. ¡°You will. You need to eat more if we are going to get much of what I have planned for the day done.¡± ¡°Oh, does that mean you have a quest lined up for us? Tell me it is one where I can kill something.¡± Lance said. I could see the glint of something at the mention of killing. ¡°Yes, though we need to do a few things first.¡± He replied. His chair scraped against the floor as he scooted back. Body repositioning as he got comfortable. Linda seemed to take that as a cue to jump on his lap. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t do anything other than lean against his body and put her head into the crook of his neck. ¡°Should probably introduce ourselves then,¡± Victor said with his neutral voice as he placed the newly filled plate in front of me. The thing blurred as he wove around my upraised hands. The leader nodded, ¡°Good idea Victor. Do you want to start?¡± I played with the food, reluctant to eat it. ¡°Sure, my name is Victor. I act as the team''s main archer. My class is Arcane Archer.¡± My head nearly hit the table when I heard his introduction. It had reminded me, in no uncertain terms, that this was a game. For some reason, since getting down here, I had started to mix this place up with the real world. How? I have no clue because there was nowhere near my apartment that was even this nice. Hell, real wood was rare enough in the city as it was. Forget having whole buildings made of the damned stuff. All of those had either rotted away with time or used by homes over the years as a source of heat. Either none of them noticed my reaction or if they didn¡¯t care. I focused my eyes in front of me while listening to their introductions. "My name is Jeremiah. I try to act as the team¡¯s crowd control but¡­¡± ¡°Your spells usually affect all of us,¡± Lance grumbled. Talking loud enough to cut Jeremiah off. His voice increased in volume as he continued ¡°Do you know how annoying it is to deal with wet fur? The smell of which makes it hard for me to do my job.¡± ¡°Well, maybe you shouldn¡¯t be in the way of any of my storms. It''s not my fault that you never stay away from the target area like you''re supposed to.¡± Jeremiah snapped back. Victor leaned a little over to me, talking loud enough that I could hear him over the two as they continued to argue. ¡°Jeremiah is a Tempest Warden. The class comes with a decent number of large spells but that¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°What is a class?¡± I asked him. That seemed to catch him off guard. Causing him to show a flicker of emotion as he tried to process what I said. As I saw his reaction, I realized how my question sounded. ¡°I mean, I know what a class is in other games. What is a class in this game? I didn¡¯t think there were any given that I wasn¡¯t given a choice for one at the start.¡± My voice came out in a rush as I tried to explain myself. I probably just ended up sounding like more of a fool than before. Of course, there were classes. Every game had them, even if they were unofficial. Everyone but Lance and Jeremiah looked in my direction. Those two continued arguing about water spells and whose fault it was that Lance kept getting hit. Everyone ignored them, acting as if this was normal for those two. Although they looked at me with confused expressions, I had a feeling that they didn¡¯t mind my stupid question. Linda was still tucked into Michael¡¯s neck. Her eyes visible through her hair as she looked at me as Michael spoke. ¡°Classes are offered at level ten. It is considered the first milestone in the game.¡± I felt it as he sighed before he finally snapped at the two. ¡°Lance! Jeremiah! Cut it out!¡± The two instantly stopped arguing. Their heads dropped. Lance¡¯s head went to one side so that his neck was exposed to Michael in obvious submission. The action caught my attention because it was an odd thing to see a human do. After a minute of tense silence, Michael continued his explination. ¡°As I was saying. Classes are offered at level ten. The classes that are offered are based on your skills, race, and what you have done so far in the game.¡± He nodded over to Victor who took over the explanation, ¡°My class, for example, required that the player have an archer-related skill over level three and one elemental magic skill above level three.¡± He didn¡¯t continue, letting me absorb the information and ask any questions I might have. I sat there, my mind churned through the information. A fair amount of happiness filled me as I realized how unique this game was. While other games had attempted something similar in the past, this one was large enough, and the AI¡¯s powerful enough, that there could be unique classes offered to each player. Of course, each class would have a requirement or two. I would just have to get everything I could. Work on getting every skill I could get and participate in every event I could before I reached level ten. Not that I wouldn¡¯t have done so before. Though I did have one question for the group. One that would dictate quite a bit of my future. ¡°If I find out that I don¡¯t like a class, can I change it?¡± They all shrug except for Michael. ¡°From what one of my higher player friends has let slip, there are ways to change classes but it¡¯s either not worth it or something.¡± He flipped a hand in the air. ¡°So find something you are willing to use and live with because you are going to be stuck with it for a while.¡± My mind swirled over this piece of information, wondering what the cost could be that even higher players wouldn¡¯t be willing to use it. Of course, his statement did generate a follow up question. Before Michael could continue, I asked, ¡°Where are all the higher-level players?¡± Yeah, that sounded rude as fuck. ¡°Not that no one here is high leveled, I just thought that I would see people flying around and doing stupid things even if this is a beginner town.¡± The group as a whole laughed at my stammering stupidity. ¡°As you level up, you will find that some places in the world will start to work against you. In this town, as soon as you hit level twenty-five, random events will start to trigger until you finally leave the area.¡± Michael started. Jeremiah interrupted him, looking at the guy next to me. ¡°You remember that event your brother triggered?¡± ¡°You mean the one that left the entire town covered in slime? Who in town could forget that mess.¡± I tried to not laugh as an image flashed into my mind. Thankfully I wasn¡¯t the only one. ¡°God that was a mess. Then again, that wasn¡¯t as bad as the typhoon that hovered over the city for a solid week. Poor guy had to hire a spatial mage to teleport him away before the city guard decided to charge him for the amount of damages and lost revenue.¡± Stories flashed back and forth. Some were serious because of the number of deaths while others were full of humor as the offending player found themselves getting pranked by the game constantly. The stories all seemed to balance out. For each bad event the game would trigger for one player, another player would get something embarrassing but otherwise harmless. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. While they all focused on these stories, I thought over Barti and the girls. They were all over the limit for the area which begged the question; how? Given that the group didn¡¯t have any stories of someone being able to stay here for long, I doubted they knew. Was that because those three were keeping their levels secret? But that didn¡¯t make sense either. If they had been trying to keep it a secret then why tell me? I was a nobody. Someone that had done nothing nor earned anyone''s trust. As I contemplated the issue about their levels, I came to the conclusion that I would not find the answers on my own. I would have to ask someone. While I could ask this group, I felt that it wasn¡¯t worth the risk of angering those three if they had been keeping it secret. Maybe I should just ask the next time I train with them. As everyone shared stories, they slowly relaxed and opened up. Even Victor lost the majority of his neutral expression. Choosing instead to join in on the storytelling and laughter. Unfortunately, it had to end eventually. Michael¡¯s raised hand stopped Victor from telling a story about the first event he had personally witnessed. ¡°We need to finish the introductions so that I can go over the plan for the day. We can continue telling stories of various players and out of towners when we get back if you all want.¡± Michael looked over to Lance. ¡°I believe it was your turn.¡± The wolf shrugged. ¡°As you already know, my name is Lance. I was born in a town not far from here.¡± Wait, he was an NPC? He always acted as if he was a player that the possibility never crossed my mind. Just how good would the system the game ran on have to be to host so many AIs? Each realistic enough to pass for a human. My personal AI was meh and it took up a dedicated server I had purchased for it. My mind whirled as he continued. ¡°My class is Lupine Marauder. I deal with getting in close and dealing as much damage as I can. Distracting anything that needs it or taking down clusters of weak creatures.¡± His fist connected with Jeremiah¡¯s shoulder. ¡°This guy never said his class.¡± ¡°Only because you interrupted me.¡± Jeremiah pointed out as he rubbed his shoulder. ¡°My class is Tempest Warden. I deal in casting large-area spells to control the battlefield.¡± Though Victor had already told me the guy''s class, I still nodded in thanks. The two of them returned to bickering back and forth, ignoring Michael as he spoke. ¡°Michael, as I am sure you already know. I lead this group of idiots and serve as the team''s tank with my class, Sanctified Bulwark.¡± The class sounded like one dependent on a religion. Just how would someone get such a class offer? ¡°Sitting in my lap is our other local, Linda. She is our team healer, though her class allows her to do some crowd-control.¡± Wait, wait, wait. The girl that has been acting all lovey-dovey with the guy was an NPC? What in the hell was going on in this game? They didn¡¯t give me a chance to ask any questions as the last guy spoke up. ¡°Names Patric. I deal with hitting from the shadows.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything else. Not that Michael let him. He started to speak the moment Patric stopped. Almost as if he was trying to prevent me from asking any questions or wonder as to why he hadn''t said what class he was. Then again, Michael hadn''t mentioned what class Linda was, just that she was a healer with crowd-control abilities. ¡°Do you have any weapons or magic skills?¡± Surely they knew I hadn¡¯t been in game for long. Hell, my clothing yesterday should have clued them into that. ¡°All I have is aknife.¡± ¡°Guess we need to hit the quartermaster and see if they have something you can get.¡± Michael turned and gave me a look as he asked, ¡°You do have your token still, right?¡± Based on the look, my answer better be yes or I would be sorry. In answer, I pulled it out of my inventory. Holding it up for him to see. It was a simple coin-shaped object. The rim was made of a bronze material while the center seemed to be formed of some clear crystal. Quartz maybe? Surely nothing like diamond. That would be stupid. Well, unless they could create it with magic. Wait, could one make diamonds with magic? Getting pure, or near pure, carbon was the easy part. The problem was forming the diamond, or any other gem, was generating sufficient pressure and heat. If one could do that¡­ I had to yank my mind back to the present and away from the meandering path my train of thought had suddenly taken. ¡°Good because they are worth quite a bit and are hard to come by.¡± My eyes studied the simple token. To think that this little coin was worth something. Was it because anyone could go to any guard quartermaster and get one of any gear they had in stock? Surely the gear they offered was only for lower levels. Wait, didn¡¯t he say that higher-level people were forced out of beginner towns? Did that mean there were towns where the gear started at a higher level? Could you save the token and trade it for higher gear once you get there? That would equate to a decent jump in power later for to cost of a slower start. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Victor shaking his head. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about saving that coin for later. You will need every bit of help you need until you get a class.¡± Michael nodded his head toward Victor, ¡°Victor is right. From what I heard, the stuff in later towns is not worth it. Not when compared to what a skilled smith can make in half an hour with some scraps. Now, go grab your gear and anything you will need for a day out. Lance, take¡­now that I think about it, you never did introduce yourself.¡± He was right, but the sudden attention had my cheeks warming up. ¡°Ale¡­¡± I started only to suddenly correct myself, ¡°I mean Kyren.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°Do you have any skills?¡± ¡°Do you know what weapon you will be using?¡± ¡°Do you know what element you want to use?¡± ¡°Any real-life training?¡± Patric and Jeremiah took turns bombarding me with questions. They were all good questions, but neither gave me time to breath, let alone answer. Michael held up a hand, silencing them. ¡°Where do you see yourself fighting from? Maybe a weapon preference.¡± My mind wandered off, taking me with it as I ignored everything around me in favor of finding an answer to his questions. Honestly, I had never given the questions a thought. Most of the time I picked a class or such before finding where that class best fit. Choosing weapons that boosted any relevant stats or did more damage. Maximizing my character''s capabilities. Of course, this required me to create a few characters so that I could try various builds out, something I couldn¡¯t do here. Using a bow and shooting from a distance sounded nice. It was more likely to keep me far away from the actual fight. Only that would require that I find someone to keep the enemies occupied as I shoot them full of arrows. Then there were the mages. The glass cannons of any game. They could dish out damage, but finding one that could take a beating was hard. But maybe they were different in this game. Or maybe I could make them different. Unfortunately, I had the feeling that I wasn¡¯t the first, nor the last, person to think about this. Maybe I would try it if I got a unique class related to it or something. On the other hand, I could always go with a tank related path. They could take a beating and keep on kicking. Too bad I hated the idea of taking any damage. Especially when that damage would actually hurt. Could you imagine purposely taking damage? Fuck that. Speaking of damage, could I try healing it instead? Would such a class be something I could do? I thought back over every time I had tried in other games to use such a class. Recalling how I had failed each and every time. My fingers always twitched to help deal damage, but then I would end up drawing agro away from the group and end up either running for my life or dying, taking the team with me. What Lance said about his role for the team was starting to sound more up my alley. It would allow me to get in close as needed, do some damage, and then get away. Focusing more on speed over raw power. It also had the potential to allow me to go solo until I ran into one of my buddies or found someone to play with. Having made up my mind, I returned to the present to find that almost everyone was discussing something to do with magic and rituals. Michael, however, was looking directly at me. Which was probably why he was the first to notice the change. ¡°Figure something out?¡± His sudden question caught everyones attention. ¡°I think I would like to go for something mid-range. Something similar to Lance,¡± I gestured at the wolf. ¡°I would like to go for speed and maneuverability over anything else.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± was his response. Linda spoke up as Michael was trying to think about something. ¡°I think you are right. With your build, I think that would be the best place for you.¡± Her eyes locked on mine as her predatory smile sent shivers down my spine. I could almost see myself being forced to run away from her as she hunted me. Likely as a result of her training. ¡°Ok,¡± Michael pulled my gaze from hers, breaking the impromptu stare-off. ¡°Lance, take Kyrento the guard quartermaster. We will meet you both at the eastern gate when you are done. And yes, we will get your gear Lance.¡± Lance looked like he wanted to argue but shut up when Michael shot him a glare. Hanging his head, he muttered something I couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Will do.¡± His voice was loud enough this time that we all could hear him. ¡°Good.¡± Michael¡¯s chair scraped against the ground as he moved to stand up. Linda wrapped her legs around his waist as he left. Heading in the direction of the stairs. The rest of the group followed after him. All except for me and Lance. Seeing them go, I realized that the room was fairly empty. The noise that had filled the place gone with the people. The food and conversation had kept my attention enough that I had not noticed people leaving. Likely all going to do their own quests, training, or an errand. Something that we would be doing. Looking back at Lance to see if he was ready, I found him in the same position as before. His head was down on his chest. Looking as if he wanted to punch something. As I didn¡¯t want to be that something, I took my time stacking the dishes together. Going so far as to scrape all the trash and scraps onto one of the large platters to make everything easier to manage. Just before I finished, a staff member soundlessly appeared next to me. Her voice was kind and gentle as she said, ¡°I can take care of that. Thank you though.¡± Lance¡¯s ears twitched. His head rose slightly as he stood up. His voice was soft, resigned as he said, ¡°We should get going.¡± As I followed him across the room, I was careful not to get too close to the wolf. Afraid of what he would do if I accidentally touched his tail again. Chapter 13 - Quartermaster The outside air was crisp. A soft breeze blew small clouds of snow down the road as kids ran around. Each bundled up as they chased one another. Screaming and laughing as they played. Their parents were scattered, some sat on benches while others ran stalls. Lance stopped at the top step. His face turned up as he looked into the sky. I followed his gaze. There was not so much as a white wisp hanging out up there. ¡°The seasons will change soon.¡± Was all he said before resuming his walk. He said it with such confidence that I was sure he had seen something. I kept up with him while I thought about what I had seen up into the sky myself. Trying to figure out just what he had noticed but I came up empty. As I dropped my gaze down to look around, I caught sight of a streak of fire-red hair as it flew past. Startled by someone running in front of me, I quickly scanned for the person I had nearly run over. My eyes caught sight of three other kids chasing another kid. The look of happiness reminded me of a time when I was young and didn¡¯t understand what was going on in the world. Of how everything was falling apart. Of all the wars springing up across the world. The largest of which kept showing up on television. Whenever I asked my parents about it, they brushed it off as nothing more than yet another spat between powers. That it would change nothing and not require the US to get directly involved. Just like most of the other recent conflicts. Such constant fear seemed to have desensitized both my parents to anything related to it. So I guess it was a good thing they both didn¡¯t live long enough to see the war cover most of Europe and Asia. As I recalled all this, my feet started to move only to get yanked back to reality when my foot ran into something on the ground. Curled up on the ground with barely enough fabric to cover her chest and legs, lay a girl. Her eyes vacant as she stared up at the sky. Looking yet not seeing the world around her. The small puffs of fog as she breathed in and out were the only sign that she was still among the living. Worried that she might be near death, as I had been the day before, I crouched down. Looking her up and down as I tried to figure out what I could do. ¡°Ignore her.¡± Came Lance¡¯s clear voice from a few feet away. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Ignore her.¡± He repeated. His teeth clenched as his voice dropped lower. ¡°And if you know what is best for yourself, you will keep to yourself.¡± I heard the crunch of snow as a boot ground it into the ice below as he spun around. Inside, I fought with myself. This girl would likely die without help. It didn¡¯t matter if it was mine or someone else¡¯s. To my surprise, a guard came up a second later. Their heavy boots scuffed the stone through the snow as they bent down, giving her a once over as they asked, ¡°Did you touch her?¡± Were they asking if I had tried to do something to her? The fact that that was the first thing to come out of their mouth told me a ton about this town and some of the people in it. The very thought nearly had me retching. One of them scooped her up without another word, carrying her off. Hopefully they would get her somewhere warm. As they turned down a side alley, I saw a small tail hanging down. It was limp and lifeless. I stood up quickly and took off to catch up with Lance before he disappeared into the slowly growing crowd. All the while trying to put the girl out of my head. The image of her tail haunted me. It wasn¡¯t the only thing that bothered me. But I couldn¡¯t place my finger on why. The smells and noise increased the more we walked. The snow slowly transitioned to a dark brown littered with various piles of refuse. The number of horse-drawn carts and carriages increased proportional to the number of people. It increased fast enough that I soon could no longer afford to be distracted. If I did, I was likely to lose Lance as a cart or group blocked him from my sight. So, I forced my mind onto the task at hand as I rushed to keep up with my guide. All the while, trying not to get shoved around. The chaos calmed down and grew more organized as the walls came into sight. While I was fairly certain that there were guards scattered throughout the city, the guards near the gate had a visible presence. In addition to the patrols walking through the crowd, there were a number of them standing in various places. Their eyes wandered over the place as they kept an eye on everything and everyone. Multiple orderly lines flowed through the gate in both directions. To my surprise, not a single person was stopped. No one was questioned about what they might be bringing into the city, about their identities, nor their reason for visiting. As the sound of people talking, horses stomping, and other noises had grown too loud, I chose to save my question for when we got someplace a bit quieter. Our path meandered through the lines as we slowly made our way to the left side of the street. Eventually, we passed out of the crowd and into a decently wide alley that bordered the wall and the first row of buildings. The noise from the street abated enough for me to hear our echoing footsteps. I had to scramble a bit to catch up and move to the side as I moved close enough to talk. ¡°So, two questions.¡± ¡°What?¡± He growled as one of his hands rubbed at his twitching ears. ¡°Why was no one getting stopped at the gate?¡± ¡°The system the gods created scans anyone who goes through a gate. Charging tolls as needed on top of checking for warrants and various illicit or illegal items.¡± Makes sense. Pretty sure any government on Earth would have killed to have such a system. ¡°What is your other question?¡± ¡°How come the city doesn¡¯t build houses up to the wall? It¡¯s a ton of wasted space.¡± He stopped and looked at me. His expression asked if I was really that stupid. Finally, he just rolled his eyes and resumed walking. ¡°Officially it is because building a house along the wall is dangerous. If the wall broke then it was likely to take the houses with it, killing everyone inside. In reality, it is to prevent anyone from using said houses to get through the wall without using a gate.¡± So it was for security. Wait, did that also mean that you could get around the gate scan as long as you didn¡¯t go through a gate? I stored that tidbit of information away for later use. Never knew when you might need to sneak into or out of a city undetected. As we passed each door on the building side of the street, I tried to get a glance inside. My mind tried to come up with what each building was being used for. I doubted any of them were used by the poor or the homeless. The buildings were too well-kept for that. The wood and stone used in each were just too clean. It almost looked like someone took the time to regularly clean and maintain everything. The further we walked, the more jittery I became. My nerves became more sensitive as we passed five more buildings of similar look and size, a gap ahead of us caught my eye. From this angle, it looked like the building that had been there had been mostly demolished. The only things left were a few pillars and a roof that looked like it wanted to give up. Only when we approached the building did I realize that the place had never held a building like the ones around it. Not a single wall was visible, nor were there any studs to suggest there ever had been. The pillars holding up the roof, while falling apart, looked to have always been exposed to the elements. Even the rotting wood making up the ground was, save for the rot, in one piece. Sitting on a chair against one of the better pillars under the lip of the roof was an older man. His features looked like they were heavily influenced by an Asian ancestor. Not that it bothered me. No. What bothered me was the state of his body. He was thin. Bones jut out from his cheeks and through his shirt. He looked like he would keel over at any moment. It didn¡¯t help that he looked to be missing an arm and leg on his left side. The same side that was pointed away from the street. Hidden enough that one would be unlikely to notice it from the street. Lucas seemed to be walking directly for the man. For what reason, I had no clue. ¡°What do yah want?¡± Came a gravely voice. I looked around for someone else as I hoped he was want talking to use. My gaze returned to the old man just in time to see his mouth move. ¡°Spit it out, girl. Don¡¯d ¡®ave all day.¡± Hearing this elder call me a girl nearly caused me to rant at him. Fortunately for him, and me, my parents raised me to respect my elders. So I closed my eyes. Forcing myself to count to three as I took a long and deep breath. Holding it for three seconds before finally exhaling. I drew the process out as long as I could before finally attempting to answer his question. Trusting that this place was where Lance was supposed to bring me. Stolen story; please report. Slowly, I opened my eyes as I spoke. ¡°I was sent here to get a weapon.¡± His eyebrows lifted, eyes shining a little at something I had said or done. ¡°Let me get ah look at yah then.¡± He demanded as his hand gestured for me to come closer. With a bit of hesitation and dragging feet, I moved closer. The moment I was in range of his hand, it whipped out. Yanking my right arm nearly out of its socket as he moved to study it. It felt like I had millions of ants crawling under my skin as his eyes moved over my hand and up my arm. Squeezing parts as he got a feel for something. He must have come to some sort of decision because he dropped my arm as he proclaimed, ¡°No ¡®eavy weapons for you. Maybe a sword, if we ¡®ave any. ¡®ake a look ¡®round and see what yah see.¡± I took that as permission to pass into the place and away from him. I had been so focused on the old man as we approached the building that I hadn¡¯t noticed the piles scattered across the floor. As I turned and walked into the place, I had no choice but to look. The sight of the place and the state of the weapons in the piles made me sad, angry, and disappointed. There was no way I was going to be able to find anything even remotely usable in this place. The piles on the floor were made up of one weapon type or another. All of the visible surfaces ranged from simply tarnished to straight-up rusted through. Shelves scattered across the place held the only serviceable-looking weapons. Even those were heavily worn. Everything looked like someone had abused it. Using the weapons while ignoring any maintenance before trading it in for a newer and shinier piece. I took my time to look at all of the items on the shelves. Hoping that something would stick out to me. That I would find something I could use until I saved up enough to buy a better weapon. I passed by hammers of all sizes and shapes. Axes on the end of a rather long shaft. Blades that looked like squiggly lines. Even some multipointed knives that reminded me of tridents. I tried to imagine myself using them in various situations. Contemplating if I should try to learn an odd weapon or not. After all, most people developed strategies against most of the common weapons they might encounter. The odder the weapon, the more of an advantage you would have. Even with those thoughts and ideas at the forefront of my mind, none of the weapons called to me. In fact, I was pretty sure that if I used any of these odd weapons, I was more likely to hurt myself than anything I targeted. Giving up on the weapons on the shelves, I moved on to the haphazardly placed piles of blades. Most of which were without sheaths. The sheaths that were in the pile were so tattered that they were practically useless. Like every other weapon, each blade had some sign of wear and tarnish. Still, I didn¡¯t have much choice but to go through the pile if I wanted any hope of finding something I could use. I moved from blade to blade. Carefully taking from the top of the pile in an effort to keep it from collapsing. Giving each weapon a good look before separating them into three piles based on what I knew about metal. The majority ended up in the scrap pile. Their metal was pitted with rust while visible cracks made their way across the surface. A few made it into a pile of blades with small cracks and no rust pitting. While it was a small pile, it wasn¡¯t the smallest. That honor fell to the one for blades with absolutely no cracks and only minor tarnish to the metal. Yeah, there were only three blades in that pile by the end of my search. Even then, those blades each had some issues. Issues that made me question their usability. Still, something about one of the blades repeatedly pulled my attention. The weapon was on the shorter side. Its tip only reached the center of my chest when held in my outstretched hand. Both hands fit in the grip comfortably, though I felt as though I could use it with one hand in a pinch. Most of the issues with this weapon had to do with the wrapping and sheath. The only damage I could find on the metal itself had to do with a bit of chipping and rolls along the edge. All of which were probably something that any blacksmith could fix given time and money. ¡°Find something?¡± Lance asked from just over my shoulder. The unexpected voice caused me to jump. His fast reflexes were the only thing that kept me from falling onto the piles of blades. I could only nod as I tried to catch my breath from the close shave with death, again. I needed to stop trying to give the respawn system a try. His hand released my shirt as if burned. ¡°Good.¡± He about-faced. Taking the lead as we walked back to the front. I presented the blade to the old man. He smiled as he took it. ¡°Let me see what yah picked.¡± While he had a grip on the weapon, something inside of me refused to let go. His eyes shone with a glint of amusement at something, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he calmly waited until I could force my fingers apart. With his leg, he carefully unsheathed the blade. Balancing the blade on his leg as his fingers traced the metal. ¡°Ah,¡± his voice grew more broken up and harder to understand as he stroked the blade as if it were a long-lost lover. ¡°Though¡¯ I lost my sweet ¡®irl in da fight dat took so much from me. Glad ta see ¡®er ¡®gain. Mus¡¯ of ¡®een ¡®rought ¡®ere after da baddle.¡± I pretended to not see the streaks of water on his face as he slowly resheathed the blade. He held it out to me. His voice was still a bit rough as he said, ¡°¡¯just need yah ¡®eapon token.¡± I held the coin in the palm of one hand as the other took the blade from him. ¡°Good, good.¡± A ringing notification sounded off in my head followed by a simple pop-up screen. Token use detected. Adjusting weapon for immediate use. Adjustment finished. Weapon ¡®Shizukana Arashi¡¯ has been gifted to you by Takeshi. There were a few things about that screen that irked me. To start with, I thought I had notifications turned off. Then again, it was a trade slash gift so maybe it was the system''s way of protecting both parties. Also, why was the weapon name green? Nothing else I had seen so far had a different color. Confused and annoyed with the system, I willed the item''s description into view.
Weapon Name: Shizukana Arashi
Type: Single-Edged Blade
Specific Type: Chisa Katana
Rank: Uncommon
Range: Melee
Material: Folded Steel
Current Damage: 10 ¨C 100 HP*
Level: 13
XP: 14.4k/16.9k
Skills: [Locked due to damage]
Durability: 27/150
Current Condition: Sheath ¨C Worn through Handle ¨C Wrap falling apart Blade ¨C Poor.
Requirements: A blade-related skill LVL 2 or greater Or User named Kyren
Description: This weapon excels at short-range combat. This blade¡¯s previous wielder poured their heart and soul into practicing with this weapon. As this blade took the lives of their enemies, it absorbed the knowledge. Nudging its wielder in time of need. Kyren, take care of this weapon and it will take care of you. Also, you will find that this weapon is best used with both hands, though you can use one if necessary. Without a blade-related skill, you will find that the damage is negligible.
So, the weapon kind of sucked. I mean, the flavor text hinted at its ability to help me in a fight, but that meant nothing to me. Even the damage meant nothing. Not when it was such a large range. Hell, based on the durability and listed conditions, the weapon was practically falling apart. If not for its status as an uncommon weapon, I would probably trade the thing in at the first opportunity. Not that I would tell the old man that. Instead, I would hope that the weapon skills would make up for the amount of work I would have to put into it to get it repaired. Where did one even go in the city to get a new sheath? Thankfully, neither of them noticed my reaction. ¡°¡¯ake these,¡± the old man said as he passed me a small cloth with some sort of stone inside. ¡°Use them to take care of my blade.¡± While I was a bit disappointed in the weapon, I still wanted to show respect to this old man. I stored the three items in my inventory before bowing at a full forty-five-degree angle toward him. Happy that my obsession with anime and Japanese culture had some use. ¡°Thank you for the gift. I will take care of it for as long as I am able.¡± He nodded as he out with his arm to grab my shoulder and give it a light squeeze. ¡°I know yah will. Now off ¡®ith yah.¡± I lifted my head the moment he released my shoulder. Without another word, he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, effectively dismissing us. Not wanting to disrupt his nap, I turned and headed in the direction of the gate. Lance caught up in an instant before pulling slightly ahead as he took the lead. Chapter 14 - On the Other Side The moment the gate came back into view, I saw that the lines had not gone down in size. If anything, they looked longer. Lance didn¡¯t seem to care. He just pushed his way into the crowd as if he were a wolf following a scent trail, no matter what it cost him. Personally, I hesitated for a moment. Uncertain if I wanted to give people the impression that I was an impatient and rude person. Before I could make a choice, Lance turned his head just enough for me to see one of his eyes. He glared as he growled loud enough for me to hear him. ¡°Keep up.¡± That was all he said, but something about how he said it caused the little hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. I was also fairly sure that if I didn¡¯t follow him, he would just come back and drag me. Head down, I did as he bid. Following him while I tried to figure out just what had changed to make him so cold. He practically refused to talk to me unless he had to. Hell, not even twelve hours ago he demanded that I work for him. Just where had that guy gone? Did I somehow piss him off? Wait, was it the fact that I wasn¡¯t a woman? Wow, if that was the case he was fucking shallow. ¡°Ah, there they are.¡± Michael¡¯s voice boomed out from a little ways in front of us. ¡°We were wondering if you would manage to make it to our group before we exited the town.¡± ¡°I bet that you wouldn¡¯t,¡± Victor announced as if proud of the fact that he had lost. While they could see us, I was too short to see over the crowd. As I finally passed the last group of people between me and them, I found that everyone had changed. Each of them sported some sort of armor that covered various parts of their body. Victor and Patric wore some thin leather armor not too different from what I currently wore, minus the skirt. Maybe if I begged one of them I could get one of them to trade? Or maybe, I could bet with Victor and force him to wear it as a punishment. Ideas ran through my head as I tried to figure out how to trick each person in order to steal their pants. Not that there were as many pants as people in the group. In fact, as I looked over the rest of the group, I found that each wore something slightly different. Some of what they wore looked specialized. Michael¡¯s armor looked heavy as hell. Solid pieces of metal covered almost every part of his body except for his joints and his head. The joints were covered in what looked like chainmail, if chainmail was made of rings big enough to fit on my pinky. Honestly, he looked exactly like what one would picture a tank would look like. On Michael¡¯s shoulder, acting as if she were a queen looking over her subjects, sat Linda. What she wore was similar to what I did, just of a much better quality. It looked practically tailor-made to fit her. Then you had Jeremiah with his long leather overcoat. Coupled as he was with a long ashen staff and a cowboy hat, he reminded me of a wizard. All he was missing was a familiar. Like, say, a talking skull. At least I hoped that was it. Then again, if he had the power of that wizard then he wouldn¡¯t be here now, would he? Lance stalked right up to Michael, ¡°Where are we going? I thought we had to stay near the city for a little babysitting.¡± Unexpectedly, his words stung. Not that he was wrong. I was a newbie in comparison to anyone else in this town. So much so that I would be a liability anywhere I went with them. But still, ever since breakfast, I had started to hope that the group would at least take me under their wing, if only for the day. Maybe then I could have learned something. But based on how Lance was acting I doubted today would yield anything worthwhile. I almost wanted to just turn around and return to the guild. Michael¡¯s eyebrows lifted as he replied in his deep and calm voice, ¡°You mean the babysitting that you demanded?¡± Lance didn¡¯t reply, choosing instead to glare at Michael. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the people walking around us started to slowly edge away as Lance looked ready to blow a gasket. Linda must have noticed this as well, or was simply not willing to put up with the stupidity, because she rolled her eyes. Her hand whacked the back of Michael¡¯s head. Judging by how Lance flinched and rubbed at a spot on his own head, she had hit him too. Which confused me as I hadn¡¯t seen so much as the blur of a hand as it moved in his direction. ¡°This is not the time, nor the place, for a dick-measuring contest.¡± Linda¡¯s finger poked into Michael¡¯s cheek. ¡°Now, Michael, we are getting near the gate.¡± I looked forward and noticed that she was right. Our slow forward shuffle had practically brought us within feet of the gate. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that you should share the quests with Kyren here?¡± My heart stammered a bit as I realized that today might not be as big of a waste as I thought. If I could get some XP then I could get to level two or even level three today. However, the fact that she was using the plural form of quest confused and concerned me. Were we doing more than one? What kind of quests were they? Were we going to go kill some things? Maybe harvest a few plants and herbs? Oh, maybe we had to go find and rescue someone trapped in some forest or canyon? All of these were common quests in starter towns as they helped familiarize a player with the land around the village and the game as a whole. But didn¡¯t most of those come after doing a few quests inside the town? ¡°Ah,¡± Michael sounded a bit apologetic as he rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°I forgot about that. Sorry Kyren. Here are the three quests we need to do today.¡± Three pieces of paper popped up in his outstretched hand. The moment I touched them, three windows popped up next to each other.
Quest: Pest Control If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
Quest Type: Extermination ¨C Rank E
Description: Some Verdant Shelled Beetles have started a hive in a barn. Eliminate them and destroy their hive before they do too much damage.
Requirements: Destroy the hive before they eat all the crops and the barn.
Reward: 25 XP per person
Failure: 10 Gold Penalty
¡®Would you like to accept this quest?¡¯
Quest: Weathered Buildings
Quest Type: Harvest ¨C Rank E
Description: Buildings across the city are showing signs of rot and age. Harvest enough wood for their repair.
Requirements: 100 Logs ¨C Min 2-foot diameter, 5-foot length.
Reward: 10 Gold 25 XP per person
Failure: 20 Gold Penalty
¡®Would you like to accept this quest?¡¯
Quest: Shrooms Aplenty
Quest Type: Harvest ¨C Rank E
Description: Herbalist Benden is in dire need of some Moonshade Caps for a large order. Go to a nearby forest and retrieve them for him.
Requirements: 75 Moonshade Caps
Reward: 50 Gold 100 XP per person
Failure: 50 Gold Penalty Herbalist Benden thinks less of you.
¡®Would you like to accept this quest?¡¯ What was it with these quests? They seemed so, not worth it. Hell, one of them had a penalty worth more than the reward. Michael must have known what I was thinking because he put a hand on my shoulder as he said, ¡°Accept them.¡± Not able to see a valid excuse to say no, I did as he bade. It wasn¡¯t like two of them had a time limit. If need be, I could probably get them done on my own, eventually. ¡°What is with these quests?¡± I asked as I passed the quest pages back to him. ¡°The wood one is a public works project. As such, they cannot offer much in the way of rewards. Of course, that doesn¡¯t mean they won¡¯t fleece those that cannot fulfill the quest for as much as they can get.¡± He started as we shuffled along. ¡°The mushroom quest is because we will be in the forest already. As for the beetle quest. That one was handed to us by the guild as the city cannot allow a hive to pop up near the town.¡± I nodded along, understanding the concept of doing multiple quests at the same time for efficiency. It was especially true if you were going to be in the same area already. I would probably have selected the same quests myself. The only one I couldn¡¯t understand was the beetle quest. How was it that a hive had snuck up on a farmer? If these beetles were such an issue then surely they would have noticed them flying in the area. As I voiced my concern and confusion, Linda answered. ¡°The beetles are great at helping to keep a forest healthy. Helping with the life cycle in the area, especially when it comes to dead trees.¡± As she spoke, our group finally pushed through the gate and into the wilds beyond the city. A new window popped up. ¡®Leaving Proxima. Quests found. Toll ¨C Deferred to quest issuer.¡¯ Seeing this, I moved it to the side. Vowing to ask about it after Linda finished explaining about the beetles. ¡°When their hive hits a threshold, they split and scatter. Each forming new hives in nearby regions.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how this could be an issue. Surely farmers would like for such a creature to come to their farms. The creatures could even help get rid of unwanted pests and plants on top of cleaning up any encroaching trees, right?¡± I wasn¡¯t so sure about bugs and plants and my tone became more of a question than a statement as the crowd of people we had been following behind started to disperse. Most of them kept to the large road going directly out of town. Other groups dispersed in either direction. Following tiny paths stomped into the ground over time, or simply forging their own. Michael took a rather moderately sized path that led directly up a hill as Linda spoke. ¡°Sure, that would be true if the majority of the buildings in this area were not made of wood. Specifically dead wood.¡± I nearly facepalmed as I realized how stupid I had been. Of course these things would be bad for a farm or city if they ate dead wood. ¡°Then why did the city and guild assign this job to a party rather than waiting for someone to take it? I am sure several parties are chomping at the bit to get their hands on this kind of quest.¡± Just then, we crested the hill and, for the first time since my initial view from the church tower on the first day, I got a good look at the area around the city. Hills rolled all over the place. Snow covered most of them, though more seemed to gather in between each hill rather than on top. From behind a hill in the distance rose a plume of smoke. Likely a result of someone using a fire to cook or heat themselves and their surroundings. Likely both. As I looked around, I saw that it wasn¡¯t alone. Plumes rose from all over the place. Some of the buildings were even visible, if just. From what I saw, it looked like the structures were built directly into the hills themselves. While the snow gave the place a bit of a cold and desolate feeling, something told me that there was life under the surface, sleeping. Waiting for the moment the snow started to melt so that they could wake up. Plants would pop up and grow like weeds while creatures of all sorts would hunt and be hunted. All while players and NPCs ran around completing quests and leveling as fast as they could. ¡°Are you going to stand there or are you coming?¡± Linda called back. The smile on her face told me that she somehow knew what I had been thinking about. As I rushed down the hill, my foot slipped on a chunk of thawed and refrozen snow. One moment I was running, the next a voice cried out in alarm as I slid head-first down the hill. Laughter erupted from somewhere behind me as I started to pick up speed. I probably could have done something but my mind was frozen as I flew down the hill. Within a couple of seconds, I reached the bottom of the hill. Thankfully the curve was long and shallow enough to change my direction rather than the alternative. Eventually though, my luck gave out. A patch of snow was not thick enough, nor strong enough, to hold my weight. Chapter 15 - Snowball Fight I could hear the group as they hurried down the hill. The snow under their shoes crunched as the sound of their laughter filled the air, echoing off the hills oddly. My face felt like it was both on fire and freezing as I debated digging myself deeper or getting out of wherever I had fallen into. The decision was made for me as someone yanked on the collar of my shirt. I was pulled up and placed on my feet by someone who didn¡¯t sound at all strained as they pulled off such an awkward lift. ¡°Are you ok?¡± Michael laughed as he asked. He wasn¡¯t the only one to laugh either. Of course, it was the laughter that made the situation worse. Something about it made me feel isolated, not welcome. It emphasized the fact that I just did not belong with this group. I shouldn¡¯t be with this group. Hell, I wouldn¡¯t have been with this group today if not for the fucking wolf. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I spluttered as I tried to get the last of the snow out of my mouth. The stuff was cold and gritty and not something I wanted to try swallowing. Who knew what was in the stuff? I had to spit several times to expel as much of the melted liquid as possible. It was only a few seconds of my doing this that I found that they were still chuckling as they waited for me. Their bemused expressions made me realize what I was doing. While in the real world, I would have to worry about all the chemicals mixed into the snow, such things didn¡¯t exist here. Or it did but it wasn¡¯t nearly as toxic. That realization alone relaxed something inside of me. It even allowed me to snap at the tiny jabbering voice at the back of my head to shut up. The thing listened to me but only after giving one last verbal jab. This is still a game. You will have to return to reality at some point. It was right, but it didn¡¯t have to remind me of that fact. No matter how much I wished it wasn¡¯t true, I knew that this place was nothing more than a fictional place and that I would have to return to reality sooner or later. As I looked up, I found that Linda was the only one without a smile on her face. In fact, she looked to be glaring at Michael. A moment later, she broke away from the group and tried to help dust me off while checking for injuries. ¡°Ignore them,¡± she said, her voice was both warm and soft. ¡°They can be a bit insensitive sometimes.¡± Her genuine concern caught me off guard. In a group that seemed to find amusement at my expense, her kindness was a welcome surprise. It was like she was actually trying to welcome me, which was more than I could say about the rest of the group. Either the cold was getting to my cheeks, or the woman looking at me caringly was getting to me; my cheeks burned even hotter than before. My eyes dropped from Linda as I muttered, ¡°Thanks.¡± She shrugged. ¡°It happens to everyone. And hey, what¡¯s an adventure without a few slips, right?¡± Her words acted like a balm for my embarrassment. ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Watch where you step,¡± Victor pointed at a fairly smooth portion of snow before lightly tossing something at it. A section of snow the size of my head caved in. ¡°There are places in the snow where ice formed over a hole before more snow piled over it.¡± ¡°How far do we have to walk?¡± I asked as we started up the next hill. My eyes constantly scanned my path for similar-looking sections. Either there were none, or I was still missing them because they were suddenly nowhere to be found. ¡°Probably an hour to get to the barn. Another half hour to get to the edge of the forest.¡± Michael said with a chuckle. Without warning, something flew across the group and nailed Lance in the side of the head. The explosion of pure white had me scrambling, looking around to find where the attack had come from. To my shock, Jeremiah stood off to the side as he casually tossed something in one hand. Without warning, his arm blurred as the white object vanished. Its blurred trail was obscured by the scenery around us. From the sound of someone growling, it had struck Lance, again. ¡°What the hell?¡± I asked, though, judging by how everyone around me was scrambling along the ground, there was little chance I would get an answer. Their hands dug into the softly packed powder. Looking almost as if they were all digging a hole to hide in. Still a bit wary of the freezing stuff, I didn¡¯t join them. Instead, I watched as Michael, Linda, Victor, and Patric all skillfully packed balls together. As if planned out, each of their arms blurred. The packed snow vanished. Three puffs of snow were the only signs of where they had hit. While those three missed, one managed to nail the guy square in the chest. The impact was so hard that it caused the guy to slide a foot back before finally causing him to topple to the ground. The sounds of crunching and scrambling told me that the group wasn¡¯t done. If anything, it sounded like they were just getting started. I chose to ignore the people around me. My eyes were instead locked onto Jeremiah. His body was as still as a statue. As I watched, the air, which had been fairly still throughout the walk, started to pick up. As it did, it picked up a bit of the powdered snow. This wasn¡¯t something that was all that odd, or at least it happened all the time in movies. I had even seen something similar happen one time when the temperatures dropped well below freezing for a prolonged period of time. Slowly, the snow around Jeremiah started to spin as it started to resemble a dust devil, only made of snow. ¡°You really want to add magic to this?¡± Victor laughed. I turned to look at him, confused as to why he would ask such a thing. That was when I saw just how many snowballs they had gathered. Their arms were loaded. If I had to guess, the only reason they stopped making them was because they were unable to carry any more. Each of them looked prepared to rain hell down on Jeremiah. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. A soft crunching sound behind me caused my head to flick in his direction. Jeremiah stood in the middle of his little snow devil. His long leather coat fluttered around him, looking like it wanted to join the snow in its energetic flight. As I watched, small spheres of snow, no larger than a nickel, formed around him. They grouped together as more of them formed out of thin air. As their numbers increased, the sight resembled that of a carrier and its escort. The balls even managed to get into a V formation. His smile had me scrambling back. It was wide and maniacal. Not a smile you wanted to see on someone who was about to attack you. Both groups watched me, making sure that I could get far enough away before lighting the fuse. The moment I stopped, the battle started. Missiles of snow flew back and forth. They came out of the swirling air around Jeremiah like machine-gun pellets as he sprayed his targets. In response, the other side fired their collection. While they were fewer in number, they were much more accurate. Some even managed to explode after intercepting a pellet. The powder hung in the air, taking out quite a few other shots before finally fading. I watched in utter awe while the shots that made it to the vortex froze in midair. Moments later, they practically disintegrated before being reformed into yet more snow pellets. As one, most of the new weapons were launched at Victor, who looked to be readying something. Michael yelled and stomped his foot hard. Whatever he did caused a wave of snow from the point of impact. It raced across the distance, growing as it did so. The wave engulfed the latter half of the missiles, but the rest were too fast. They flashed across the space to where Victor stood. Just before they hit him, he tossed a ball in a random direction. As it hit, he vanished from where he stood and appeared at the impact point. An impact point that just happened to be behind his target. With a fast spin to gather momentum in Jeremiah¡¯s direction, he threw the last of his ammo. Instead of getting torn apart by the wind, it passed through, slamming against Jeremiah¡¯s back, causing him to once again stagger. As the whirlwind stuttered, Patric took advantage. He melted into his shadow only to appear out of a shadow cast by one of his balls. A ball that was just outside the range of Jeremiah¡¯s control. Suddenly standing just behind Jeremiah, hands full of snow, he dumped it down the guy''s back. Jeremiah cried out as he jerked forward. ¡°You asshole. That¡¯s fucking cold.¡± ¡°You asked for it.¡± Patric¡¯s voice was quiet. The only reason I could hear it was the silence of the frozen world around us. Given how he sounded, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if the guy was grinning, even as Jeremiah grimaced while he tried to get the snow out from between his shirt and skin. As the group gathered back together, the rest of them smacked Jeremiah¡¯s back with fistfuls of snow. Each one caused a small explosion, sending snow up under his cowboy hat where it either got stuck in his hair or fell onto his neck. My stomach hurt from just how hard I was laughing as I watched their antics. Linda must have noticed that I was standing on my own off to the side, because she walked in my direction rather than join the rest of the party''s antics. With a playful smile, she held out a small ball made of packed snow. ¡°I thought you might want to throw one.¡± ¡°Like I could hit any of you. Not with all those skills.¡± I snorted as I admitted some of my feelings. If only I had some skill or ability, then I wouldn¡¯t have to be left out at times like this. ¡°Skills or no skills, everyone can throw a snowball.¡± She smiled and gave me an encouraging wink as her eyes sparkled with mischief. ¡°Also, trust me when I say that no one will see this coming.¡± Her encouragement had me taking the ball from her. It was heavier than I expected. I tossed it up one time before picking a target. I imitated what I had seen in movies about baseball and tossed it at the one person here who deserved it above all the rest. The ball of packed powder exploded as it smacked into the back of the wolf¡¯s head. He spun in place and glared at me. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to march over to me and beat the piss out of me. A moment later, though, the look was replaced with fear. When I turned to look at where he was looking, I saw Linda. Her grin was wide and displayed quite a few teeth as she looked from the wolf to me. ¡°Good shot. Too bad the snow is melting. It would have been nice to have you join us. Maybe next year we can get together and have a hell of a battle.¡± With that thought in mind, we resumed our trek through the snow. A few minutes into our walk, Linda leaned down from her perch on Michael¡¯s shoulder. Her eyes were warm with concern as she brushed a bit of snow off my coat. ¡°Hey,¡± she began, a hint of remorse in her voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t warn you about the holes under the ice earlier.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°It is just that sometimes I forget just how little some travelers know.¡± She smiled encouragingly at me. ¡°Just know that if you ever have a question, need help, or just want to talk, don¡¯t hesitate to ask. I will be here to help you in any way that you might need.¡± Her willingness to reach out and help me provided a warmth that had nothing to do with the clothes I wore. Maybe, just maybe, this party wasn¡¯t so bad. Well, as long as we ignored the fucking wolf¡¯s hormones. At least one of them was willing to welcome me. With those thoughts in mind, and curious about the mechanics of some of what they used in the fight, I switched topics. ¡°The fight looked fun, though I have no clue how you guys pulled off some of those moves.¡± Most of the group chuckled, but Jeremiah was the one that spoke first as he asked me a question. ¡°So, you know how skills work in most games?¡± I nodded. Skills were fairly straightforward, though how they reacted with each other could create some interesting, or broken, effects. ¡°Here, the system doesn¡¯t just limit what you apply those effects to.¡± Jeremiah waved off anyone that was about to contradict him.¡°Yes, they will be more effective for the weapon they were built around.¡± He gestured to Victor. ¡°For example, Victor has skills that he applies directly to the arrows he uses. Technically a snowball is just a very, very dull and short arrow.¡± I thought about that. He wasn¡¯t wrong, but it just felt odd. Most games I played required that the player only use sword skills on swords and refused to let them work on anything else. If what he was saying was true then it would open up some interesting ¡ª and some stupid ¡ª combinations. Combinations that no one could predict. Ones that would allow for players to fight above their weight class. The very idea had me practically salivating for a class. Too bad I had to wait for level ten. For the next long while, I ignored the rest of the group as I fantasized about various combinations that I knew I would never get to use. I simply justified it as planning for future fights. But who was I kidding? I was having a blast coming up with ideas. Chapter 16 - Farmers Bane I wasn¡¯t paying attention to where I was going. My body was on autopilot while my brain ran through various weapon skills I had ever used. I was trying to come up with how skills from each could be applied to everything from weapons to everyday objects. I was so engrossed in my meandering thoughts that I didn¡¯t notice the scenery around me change until the sound of crunching stones and a warm breeze brought my attention back to the real world. For hundreds of feet in every direction, the snow was gone. Dirt and grass were exposed to the air. Patches of it looked moist while others looked like they had been left to sit in the hot sun for days on end. ¡°Yeah,¡± Michael said as he took in the place. ¡°The farmer here has a beetle problem.¡± ¡°Must be a fairly decent-sized group to heat up so much area in such a short period of time,¡± Victor stated from where he crouched. He dug a hand into the dirt and let it run through his fingers. ¡°Might even have their own queen.¡± A decent-sounding thwack came from Lance. One of his hands was wrapped around a fist as he excitedly spoke, ¡°God I hope so.¡± ¡°We all know you like to hunt but try not to bite off more than you can chew.¡± Linda rose from where she sat, to stand on Michael¡¯s shoulders. ¡°You know as well as the rest of us that a queen is a rank D threat.¡± ¡°Thank the gods above,¡± Called a young male voice from our left. His accent was something rough and hard to pin down. It was thick enough that the thing made it hard to understand him. ¡°Please tell me you were sent to deal with these damn pests. They are eat¡¯n all of me stored seeds.¡± ¡°We are.¡± Michael nodded at him. ¡°Can you tell us anything you know about the situation?¡± The guy shook his head. ¡°There isn¡¯ much to tell that you that yah probably didn¡¯t already know. Fucking hell, you likely know more about these fuckers than me.¡± I took the opportunity to get closer to the man as I worked to understand him despite his accent. All the while, I was trying to learn what I could about the situation and the creatures. After all, who knew when I might have to go against these creatures myself? ¡°Is there anything you can tell us?¡± Michael asked, ¡°Any information would be helpful.¡± ¡°They came durin the day. A swarm larger than any I had ever seen before.¡± His eyes looked off in the distance as he recounted the event. ¡°Blotting out the sun as they hovered over the farm. I only really noticed them as the light snow of the day turned into a soft drizzle.¡± Wait, did that mean that the creatures were able to heat an area up? Was that a magical effect or some biological process? ¡°They hovered there, high above me farm, for a couple of minutes before dive bombing their way to the ground. Me and my wife hid in our house,¡± the guy pointed at a hill just in sight. Now that I knew where to look, I was able to see the door. It was half hidden by a dirt mound. ¡°While me parents and other farmers told me stories, each pales in comparison to the actual event. I will never forget the sound their bodies made as they pounded into the ground.¡± He shuddered. ¡°I had hoped that was the end of it but no, my luck wasn¡¯t that good. The dirt wasn¡¯t frozen enough to kill them on impact.¡± Did he just say the creatures survived a high-speed impact with frozen dirt? Just what were these things made out of? Iron? Steel? ¡°The next morning, as the sun rose, the creatures reawakened. Their droning hum echoed off these here hill hills. Sounding the death march for my farm.¡± Michael laid a hand on the guy''s shoulder. ¡°Go inside and be with your wife. We will deal with things out here.¡± The guy looked like he was on the verge of crying. Instead of answering, he bowed and took off in the direction of the door. In mere moments, he vanished into his house. As soon as he was gone, Michael turned to the group. ¡°Well, not as bad as it could have been.¡± ¡°Still not good though.¡± Patric pointed out. ¡°You know as well as the rest of us how many it takes to warm up this large of a space in one night.¡± Michael nodded, looking at me, likely to make sure I was paying attention. ¡°At least a couple hundred.¡± He took a deep breath. His head swiveled toward the center of the circle. ¡°Nothing to do about it but to kill them. Jeremiah, any chance you can force them to stay on the ground?¡± ¡°Depends,¡± Jeremiah swiped through an invisible screen. ¡°Do you mind getting soaked?¡± I watched the group plan as I wondered how such a small group was hoping to deal with such overwhelming numbers. ¡°Too much water and the place will become a mud pit,¡± Lance pointed out. ¡°Or wash away entirely. Spreading the issue out and making it much harder to find and kill them all before they can multiply.¡± Linda added. ¡°Ok,¡± He swiped on the screen. Muttering as he went. ¡°Tornado? No, that would just toss most of them far away. Hurricane has the same issue. Those three are useless here. Ah, what about,¡± Jeremiah¡¯s voice rose as he offered another spell option. ¡°How about Gale Force? I should be able to direct the wind downward, probably.¡± He didn¡¯t sound all that confident, sounding more like he was guessing it would work. Not that the rest of the group seemed to mind. Each nodded at Michael before he gestured for the mage to get to work. Jeremiah walked away. Heading around the edge of the circle he muttered. One of his hands down at his side, pointer and middle fingers pointed toward the ground as the rest curled together in his palm. The other hand made some random-looking and sweeping gestures. Going from the ground to the sky at times to making circles in the air. ¡°Victor, Kyren, head over to the top of the farmer''s house. Kill anything that tries to escape or heads your way.¡± Victor grabbed my arm, pulling me after him as he moved to follow Michael¡¯s order. The rest of the group broke out their weapon of choice. Lance whipped a few thin knives out of a hidden thigh sheath. They sliced through the air as he moved through a couple of positions before returning them to their places on his leg. From his belt sheaths, he pulled out knives that looked longer than my forearms as he repeated the cutting motions. A small staff made of a metal so red that it teetered toward black in color appeared in Linda¡¯s hands. She gestured with it, lips set in a thin line as she focused on something. Patric pulled out his own small blades but also checked over a pouch built into his armor that I hadn''t noticed before. Of the group, Michael was the most showy of them all. In one hand he held a giant axe made of a mix of bleached bone. Coupled with a white metal, the material shone as the sunlight hit it. The other hand hefted a shield nearly as tall as him made of a dark wood with some gold-colored metal set into it. The way the metal had been added in seemed deliberate rather than for looks or decoration. Almost as if the creator had some purpose for the metal that wasn¡¯t related to structure or looks. As I watched, the two objects started to glow. The emitted light increased in scope until it covered his body and the area immediately around him. If I had to guess, given Michael¡¯s class and position in the group during a battle, it was likely some ability that increased defense or something. As soon as we reached the peak of the hill, Victor pulled out a beautiful bow made of a crimson-red wood with blue metallic accents. ¡°Stay there and stay quiet.¡± He muttered toward me as he strung his bow. ¡°Do not try and interfere unless something is about to hit you.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°No buts.¡± He glared at me. ¡°We have been fighting long enough to know what to expect. You jumping in to help will only make everything worse. Hell, someone would probably get hurt trying to save you.¡± I opened my mouth to argue, but no words came. My mind was blank as every possible excuse vanished. There was nothing I could do and we both knew it. I looked out at the group. What I found was a group that looked like they were used to this. None of them looked hesitant or nervous. Almost like they had participated in such battles dozens of times before. Their postures did not change much. Just little things here and there. Alone, the changes were meaningless. Taken as a group, however, even I could tell that they were each ready to move in any direction. Able to react to anything. They also stayed silent. None of them joked or talked about something meaningless. Not even to discuss strategies or plans. If I had to guess, each probably already knew where to go and where everyone else was going to be. Jeremiah panted as he joined us on top of the hill, nodding at Victor. Victor grabbed the string of his bow and pulled it back. He didn¡¯t string an arrow as he readied to fire on the barn. ¡°Wake them up!¡± Michael¡¯s order was close to a roar. In response, Jeremiah fired. I cringed, as I thought he had just dry-fired his bow. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Something flashed out of the end of his bow. A white shimmering object streaked toward his target, briefly leaving a line connecting him with the barn. Something made an audible thump inside the barn followed by a small crackle and pop of something glass bursting. For a brief moment, nothing happened. The silence didn¡¯t last long. Whatever Victor had fired into the barn did something to piss the creatures inside off. A deep droning buzz filled the air. While it was loud, I felt it more in the chest than anything. The noise rapidly rose in both volume and tone. From my vantage point, I saw Lance¡¯s ears flatten against his head as his tail twitched in agitation. Then it just stopped. One moment it was nearly loud enough to force me to cover my ears, the next the place was as silent as the grave. I frantically looked around. Trying to figure out what was going on. The only thing I noticed was how calm the rest of the group was. They all sat in silence until Jeremiah seemed to suddenly decide that it needed to be filled and called out, ¡°The person with the least number of kills buys the first round.¡± Everyone groaned but kept their eyes on the target as they readjusted their weapons. Victor pulled the string of his bow back. A bright crimson rod formed where an arrow would typically rest. A dark green wave exploded out of the barn door. The light from the sun high above shimmered as whatever it was charged our group. As he was the closest to the group, they rushed towards Michael. Looking almost like a wave of water, they splashed against his planted shield. Most were diverted left and right, but a fair few exploded upwards. They didn¡¯t get far. At nearly twenty feet up, they encountered something that shot them back toward the ground. Whatever force was acting on them caused a ripple to flow over the wave. The sudden attack using their brethren from above caused parts of the stream to pinch and bunch up. Victor, seeing an opening, took advantage of the bunched-up sections. His prepared arrow flashed out and impacted one of their bodies. Red light flared before exploding into a fireball as wide as my chest. He continued to fire as the rest of the group charged in. His arrows targeted the denser sections while the rest of the party took on the stragglers, survivors, and those trying to escape. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch any one fight for very long. My eyes had to flicker from person to person, target to target as I tried to catch as much of the fight as I could. What I saw amazed me. Patric repeated his vanishing act. Popping up behind, below, and even above a cluster. His knives slashed out a few times before he vanished again. Moving to take on another group as Lance finished the previous group off. Lance¡¯s arms were a blur as he slashed at the clusters with his hands. His knives sat in their sheaths, unused, as he used what looked like claws. Not that it made a difference. With every slash, bodies fell. Linda made crazy and wild gestures. I couldn¡¯t see what she was doing, just that she was pushing and pulling her hands in the direction of one person or another. All while, she stayed behind Michael. Michael, for his part, stood there like a statue, the light coming off him like a beacon even during the day. His axe only moved when the waves tried to go around him. As soon as he did that, they reoriented on him and he returned to blocking their attacks with his shield. A small cluster managed to make it through their blockade. They ignored the rest of the group as they charged in the direction of the only other enemies in the area; us. In panic, I pulled out my sword. While I didn¡¯t know how to use it, it couldn¡¯t be that hard. I just had to remember that the sharp side goes into the enemy. As the small cluster approached, the world seemed to slow down, allowing me to see the beetles for the first time. Their vibrant green carapaces glimmered in the light while their wings vibrated through the air. A humming sound joined with the clacking of their mandibles as they chewed at the air. The sound promised pain and maybe even death if they were allowed to get to me. I didn¡¯t move. I couldn''t. I was frozen there. My body refused to move. In the back of my mind, I knew this was a game but it just felt so real. The pain as something stabbed, burned, or otherwise hurt me would feel real. It would feel like it was happening to me and not some avatar on a screen. The very possibility of feeling such pain caused my mind to stall out. Add to that the fact that I didn¡¯t want to find out how death worked here. Even if I knew I would respawn. Death was still death, I would still feel it. I also knew that if I didn¡¯t move, or defend myself, I was more likely to die than if I stood here and did nothing. But, still, I could not move. Even as I watched the beetles as their clicking mandibles closed in on me. I could not move. It was almost as if my body and mind refused to move. Refused to fight back against the death that they thought was inevitable. My heartbeat, already going a mile a minute, sped up until it practically vibrated in my chest. Adrenaline surged ever faster through my veins. My eyes focused on the clicking mandibles that looked like they could rend my flesh with ease. As the world around me faded, I watched the shadow of death approach. As suddenly as the attack came, it ended. A sharp knife sliced up and through the closest creature. It cut through the carapace as if it were nothing more than a piece of paper. The weapon changed course as it flowed from one attack to another. It sliced and gutted creature after creature as they charged at me. Not that they let a little thing like being eviscerated or even having their wings removed stop them from reaching their target. Their mandibles clicked as they continued to charge me. Those with enough momentum to make it the rest of the way to me even without their wings hit my skirt and bounced off. The sticky transparent green liquid that squirted from their bodies was only made worse by the veritable puddle of it that trailed them. Though I wanted to throw up, I was happy to find that the majority of the creatures did no damage. A glint of light drew my attention back to the knife as it was placed into a sheath. The hand that had been using it returned to its position on the bow. Without a second of hesitation, Victor pulled the string to his cheek. A cheek that moved as he said something. The combination of rushing blood and my stalled-out brain prevented me from hearing a word of what he said. A light breeze caused the hem of my skirt to brush against my leg moments before two sharp stings stabbed into my right leg. Tears welled up and my jaw tightened as the pain steamrolled me. As it did so, it brought with it yet another shot of adrenaline. In panic, my head spun around as I frantically searched for the source of the pain. Sticking out of my right leg, with a small but growing spot of red, clung two of the heads. Each flexed as the pain continued to flare. I stood there transfixed. Unable to do anything as I watched their movements slow and, eventually, stop. Not thinking, I reached down, wrapped a hand around one of the palm-sized heads, and gave it a sharp yank. The mandibles must have still been clamped down, even in death, because the head took a thumb-sized chunk out of my leg. Blood gushed out of the wound. As more adrenaline surged through my system, the pain seemed to fade away. The amount of blood should have caused me to stop. To think about the consequences of my next action, but it didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t pause before I yanked out the second head. It took with it yet more flesh and muscle. Suddenly I felt lightheaded as everything around me started to go fuzzy. While blinking brought the world back into focus, it lasted maybe a second before unfocusing again. As I mentally fought with my eyes, I didn¡¯t pay attention to my surroundings. Not noticing that I was no longer looking down at my bleeding legs but up at the clear sky. A red flashing bell icon flickering on and off in the corner of my vision. ¡°Warning. Your health is critical. It is recommended that you find a suitable healer.¡± Came my AI¡¯s voice. It sounded soothing. I must have said the words out loud because the AI¡¯s voice became more stern. ¡°Get some fucking healing!¡± That managed to snap me out of my stupor. My mind worked overtime as I forced it to focus. Before I could fall back into my previous state, I bit my cheek with as much force as I could muster. A coppery tang covered my tongue showing just how deep I managed to bite. My mouth filled with saliva as fast as I could swallow it. Using the act of swallowing as an anchor to this moment, I worked to get up. As soon as I tried to sit up, the world spun with enough force to knock me back to the ground. That was not a good sign. Either the beetles had some sort of poison or I had lost quite a bit of blood already. Given that I had no way to deal with poison, I focused on staunching the bleeding. I tried again, but this time I rolled to one side. While my head still spun, the move worked. I found myself in a half-fetal position. As long as I didn¡¯t mind breathing in shallow breaths, I would be free to examine the wounds on my legs. There were two deep wounds. While there was a ton of blood around them, almost none of it was new. If anything, the wounds looked like they were already healing on their own. Scabs covered most of the exposed muscle. The only part that still bled were the top layers. Even that was more of an oozing than anything else. Given that I was still a low-level player, not much different than a typical human according to the system, I doubted that I was healing because of my stats. Pulling up my character sheet, I looked for anything that might be affecting me.
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Human
Level: 1
Class:
XP: 95/100
HP: 21/115
HP Regen: 15.5% (17.83) per hour*
MP: 130
MP Regen: +14.5% (18.85) per hour*
Current Ailments: Bleeding* (Fading) Damaged Muscle ¨C Right Leg*
Current Buffs: Newbie Protection* Damage Transfer (Group Spell)*
As I read over the new ailments, and wincing the effect, the Bleeding ailment disappeared. With a quick glance at the wounds, I confirmed that even the weeping had stopped as the wounds finished scabbing over. Rereading the other ailment, I shuddered at the thought of how much it was going to affect my ability to even walk if I didn¡¯t get it healed. Trying to distract myself from the bad news, I glanced over the group spell buff. My eyebrows rose as I took in what it was saying. In effect, it transferred a set amount of damage from me, and everyone else in the spell, to the caster¡¯s designated target. Given that there was only one healer in the group, this had to be the result of one of Linda¡¯s spells. But who had she designated to take the damage? Who was paying the price to keep me alive? Who had saved me by taking the damage themselves? Bestiary Entry - Verdant Shelled Beetle Name: Verdant Shelled Beetle Type: Creature - Physical Hostility: Neutral - Territorial Rarity: Extremely common Description: The carapace of these creatures is a dark green, nearly black. This color changes the moment they open their shell, becoming more of an emerald color. The shell glimmers in the light, as if it were covered in facets of a gem. It uses this effect to blind and distract opponents while others attack. They have developed a method of group magic to heat the area around them. The larger the group, the larger the area heated. This allows them to survive in cold and harsh climates. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Where can it be found: Verdant Shell Beetles typically form colonies beneath the forest canopy, consuming underbrush and fallen trees which contributes to the forest''s health. Over time, these colonies can become overcrowded. When this occurs, the majority of the colony migrates in search of new areas to colonize. If these beetles settle in farmland, they become a significant threat by consuming crops and wooden structures, and will aggressively defend their new territory against any perceived threats. This behavior makes them notorious among farmers and a frequent target for extermination quests. XP reward: 5 XP per creature level Typical Levels: Found in levels ranging from 2 to 12 Danger Level: Alone: Nil In a group: Low Harvestable Materials: Shell Meat Attacks: Bite Blind Charge First Discovered: 03/20/918 First Interaction: 03/20/918 First Kill: None killed as of yet. ChatGPT Generated Image: Chapter 17 - Barn I lay there on the ground, tiny rocks and clumps of dirt grinding into my side, as the swarm was decimated. The last few fell to the ground with a solid smack from Linda¡¯s staff. Or was it a wand? The thing couldn¡¯t be long enough to be considered a staff, right? As part of me argued uselessly about semantics, I realized just how out of it I was. Linda looked around for a second before she made the rounds. She stopped and examined those nearest her finally making her way toward us. Seeing me on the ground, she called out to Jeremiah and Victor. ¡°He pass out?¡± ¡°No,¡± Jeremiah called back as our eyes met. ¡°He just took a few heads to the leg.¡± ¡°Explains the random pain I felt,¡± Michael stabbed his shield into some dark dirt. ¡°If any of the heads did impact you, we might have had to increase our training.¡± I heard Victor groan while Jeremiah''s face flashed a grimace. ¡°Anyway, let''s get everything cleared up before we check the barn. Linda, check on the kid.¡± I tried to get up, to show that I was fine and didn¡¯t need someone to check on me. As I did so, the world slowly spun. Not as bad as before, but it was still uncomfortable. Still, I waved Linda off. Faking that I was completely fine. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± My waving arm missed hers as she reached for my shoulder. ¡°The faster I do this, the faster we can both move on.¡± She stated as a pulse of something warm flowed into me and down my body. Whatever it was reflected off the bottom of my feet and the tips of my fingers before returning to her hand. ¡°You are just a bit anemic. Go ahead and eat these.¡± She held out a small bag of some sort of dried fruit as she continued. ¡°When we get back to town I would recommend eating a bit more iron-rich foods from now on. At least until you increase your vitality a bit more.¡± Bag in hand, I dug out one of the fruits as I asked, ¡°I get that vitality will help me heal faster and be harder to hurt, but why would it help with something like blood loss?¡± As I took the first bite of whatever fruit this was, all the moisture in my mouth vanished into the piece. As suddenly as my mouth dried, it returned as I started to chew. Flavor exploded on my tongue. It was a bit sweet with a sharp undertone. I practically moaned as I took another bite. I barely heard her as she replied, ¡°It will help your body be more efficient at healing and storing necessary materials. Thus making you more able to survive an injury like this with no ill effects.¡± Her reminder of the injury brought my mind back to the present as I recalled just how close I had been to death from just two of the creatures. If not for that spell I would have died. Speaking of spells, I swallowed my bite and excess saliva so that I could ask a question. ¡°Was it your spell that saved me?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she shrugged as she moved a little to the side. Her hands scooped up as many creatures as she could. They quickly vanished into her inventory as she continued. ¡°It¡¯s standard practice in our party to share all our damage with Michael over there.¡± Given that he was the tank he likely had the largest vitality pool out of everyone here. Then you add in any defensive abilities and their strategy made sense. I rolled onto my knees to join the group in picking up the beetles. While I had gotten a decent look at them as they attacked me, what I had made out at the time paled in comparison to what I could see now. Many of them still had their shells open as their gossamer-thin wings were splayed out. Each of the wings seemed to catch the light, reflecting and refracting the beams in odd ways. Most of the redirected light ended up hitting the back of the open shell. Curious, I got as close to the spot the light hit without blocking it. Some sort of network of thin filaments lit up as it carried the light in various directions. To do what, I had no clue. I mentally made a note to ask someone about it later as I placed the beetle into my inventory. Maybe someone could figure out how to bend light if they studied the things. Thoughts of something like an invisibility cloak came to mind. Then again, if it was so easy, someone would have come up with a way to do it on Earth. After all, any and every military would have paid dearly for such a technology. While my mind went back over the fight, my body moved from one pile to another as I picked up every piece of the creatures I could find. From their bodies to their heads, I left nothing behind as I had no clue what was worth collecting and what wasn¡¯t. In every other game I played I would have asked or looked online but my mind was too busy beating myself up. I had frozen. Able to see the attack coming but unable to do anything about it. If I had been alone, I would have died. I couldn¡¯t let it happen again. I needed to find a way to avoid freezing up. After all, it wasn¡¯t like I would have someone around to save me every time. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Ok, I think it is time we head into the barn,¡± Michael called out. He stood near the structure with Lance and Linda. I looked around to see just how much we were leaving behind but, other than the last few around me, there was a distinct lack of glinting green shells. With a quick command, I sent the last of what I had into my inventory as I jogged to join the group. ¡°Likely as not, there will be quite a few inside to protect their nest. Patric, you lead. Stick to the shadows as much as you can. I will go next, followed by Lance, Linda, Kyren, and Jeremiah. Victor, take up the end of the line.¡± We all nodded in turn as he announced our position in the group. I agreed with most of it. Keep the weaker members in the middle where they can be protected, especially any healers. My only issue was with our ranged person being placed at the back and not in the middle. He would be in a very disadvantageous position if something tried to sneak up on us. I needed to learn how to school my face to hide my emotions because Michael only glanced at my face before explaining the reasoning for this setup. ¡°The only hostile creatures in the area are the beetles. All of which are inside the barn.¡± With a jerk of my head, he joined the rest of the group in double-checking their equipment. As for myself, I pulled out my sword. Not so much to check the weapon but to get a better feel for it. With closed eyes, I held the hilt in my hand while I prayed that, if I had to, I would be able to power through my fear. The sounds of the group as they moved caught my attention. My eyes popped open just in time to see Linda gesture for me to walk behind her. I understood that I was weaker than her but for some reason, the motion caused heat to bubble in my chest. Everyone in the party was supposed to protect the healer yet here the healer was trying to put me behind her where she could protect me. At the front of the group, Michael walked through the door set into the side of the hill. Patric ghosted around him. He quickly disappeared into the murky depths. ¡°Jeremiah, give us some light,¡± Michael called back. His voice was quiet, just loud enough for me to barely make it out over the sound of our footsteps. I started to turn to relay the message when I noticed a series of tiny multicolored motes flying around and past us. A few flicked out ahead of the group, lighting up the barn hallway while others flickered up to the ceiling a foot above our heads. While each was dim on its own, the group as a whole managed to cast enough light across the place so that even I could make out everything. Everything went from a dark, moonless night, to that of a full moon. The place didn¡¯t look like any barn I had ever seen in any other game or movie. The hallway was large enough for two people to walk side-by-side without issue. Every half-dozen feet or so a door broke up one side. I took a moment to glance into each as we passed them. Most of them were empty save for a bag here and a box there. Lance scoffed at my curiosity. Speaking just loud enough for me to make out ¡°Focus ahead.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t they store everything in one room?¡± I hissed back. ¡°Seems like a waste of time given that all of this could easily fit in one room.¡± ¡°Some of the seeds need to be stored in very specific conditions,¡± Jeremiah said in a half-whisper. ¡°Plus it makes it easier when the tax collector comes around.¡± At the next room, I took a chance and reached my hand out towards the room. The moment my hand went to pass the threshold, something pushed back. The force wasn¡¯t all that much. Maybe as much as a thick syrup. While it might not be able to keep a person out, it might work to keep any bug from just entering the room beyond. My hand, now past the barrier, felt chilled. It was as if the room on the other side was being kept artificially cooled. Not only that but the air felt greedy for any moisture it could get. Seeming to go so far as to leech the very moisture from my skin. This drove the chill deeper into my flesh. I withdrew my hand in a flash. The sudden change in temperature sent a stab of pain up my arm, but I accepted the pain as it was better than the feeling of my flesh being dried. As we continued, I rubbed at my hand to ease the lingering pain. I didn¡¯t reach the next door before something passed in front of the lights ahead of us. I tried to make out what it was but something about how the shadows clung to it made it impossible for me to track with any certainty. My heart rate increased as the thing got closer and closer. I nearly had a heart attack when it spoke with Patric¡¯s voice, ¡°There is a queen ahead, just like you suspected. She is being guarded by a number of higher-level beetles.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Michael wasn¡¯t the only one to curse. In fact, it sounded like everyone other than me and Patric cursed. ¡°Any chance of luring the guards away?¡± ¡°Already tried.¡± The shadow said while the part where his head would be shook. ¡°They stopped chasing me the moment I passed through the doorway.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Michael repeated. He turned to look everyone over as he asked Patric, ¡°Think we can push in and not get swarmed?¡± Just how many did they think were in that room? Surely not as many as there had been outside. Hell, where had they even come from? Given that the rooms seemed to keep things out, I doubted they had been hiding in one. Plus none of the rooms had enough space for all of them to rest. ¡°It¡¯s the central room so it would be a bit hard, but I think we can do it.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Michael resumed walking as he laid out his plan. ¡°Victor and Jeremiah. Take out as many of the ones in the back as you can. Focus on those that are at higher levels if you can. Patric, Lance, you two need to range out around me. Take out anything and everything that comes close. Be sure to watch for any trying to get above us. Linda, Kyren, stay back with Victor and offer any support you can. Remember everyone, Do Not hit the queen!¡± ¡°What happens if we hit the queen?¡± I couldn¡¯t stop myself from asking the question. As soon as it was out of my mouth, I wanted to facepalm. Based on how they had been acting and talking about the thing, it was likely a mini-boss battle of some sort. ¡°All hell will break loose,¡± was Victor¡¯s simple answer. Linda shot a glance in my direction as she answered. ¡°The queen is one of the evolutions for the beetles as they level up. On top of her being stronger, faster, and overall tougher, she has the ability to boost those around her.¡± Yeah, the damn thing was a mini-boss. Joy. Chapter 18 - Queen The group¡¯s pace quickened now that Patric had returned. A large set of double doors stood at the end of the hallway. Unlike the rest of the wood in the place, these were made of something a bit darker and looked to be covered in some sort of shiny material. The material looked like it was applied by someone in a hurry because it wasn¡¯t applied evenly. Like someone had simply slapped a few strokes on with a paintbrush and let it run. Actually, now that I looked at it, the entire scene reminded me of something out of other video games I had played. If not for how realistic the place felt, from the scents to the ability to move freely, I would have thought this was any other role-playing game. One where the main characters were about to encounter some big bad ugly. Michael moved to the front of the group as it came to a stop. Cautiously looking through the cracked door to confirm what Patric had said. ¡°That is, not ideal.¡± He sighed as he pulled his head back. ¡°But it is what it is. Ready?¡± Everyone around me nodded in his direction. I grabbed my sword from my inventory before doing the same. Michael and Patric opened the two doors slowly, likely in an effort to keep quiet. The bottoms of both still ground against the dirt. Hands clammy and palms sweaty, I readjusted my grip on the sword. I half expected something to come scurrying in our direction to get a look at what had made the soft noise. Nothing did. When the doors were far enough open, I saw why. In the middle of the room, on top of a large pile of quarter-cut logs, sat a massive beetle. The thing was as large as Michael¡¯s chest. Its cold black beady eyes were larger than the length of my thumb. Everything around it was reflected in those eyes, including the piles of stark white stones scattered around the room. Each of which had a dozen or more beetles standing sentinel. An ominous clicking sound started the moment Michael¡¯s foot crossed the threshold. It grew louder as the two trailing him entered. As the noise echoed around the room, it became distorted and amplified itself until I could no longer make out the sound of my own fast shallow breaths. Michael was the first to strike out. With a swift move, his sword slashed down as it bisected two of the creatures at once. The weapon didn¡¯t stop there. Its momentum carried it through the pile and into the ground. Each of the flat stones popped like balloons as they were cut. As they popped, soaking the ground around them, the room exploded into action. Most of the beetles on this side charged Michael. They moved as if they held little regard for their own life as they swarmed him. As if he had expected this, Michael raised his shield in time to block the leading edge of attackers. While I didn¡¯t hear it, I saw some parts fly off as they drove their bodies into the shield with as much force as they could generate over such a short distance. Surprisingly enough, Michael started to slide backward. His feet dug furrows into the ground as he tried to stand his ground. Patric and Lance chose that moment to pop out around him. Each slashed at the flying creatures imitating pile drivers. Waves of darkness flowed off Patric¡¯s blade. Each wave left tiny cuts and damage over everything it touched. That might not seem like much but each strike hit dozens of the creatures at once and there was more than one coming off his blade. While the beetle''s carapace seemed strong enough to take the damage without worry, their thin wings simply fell apart. Beetles dug furrows of their own into the ground as they lost the ability to fly. Lance took advantage of the downed creatures. Blazing red claws sliced through the growing swarm. Every time his claws touched a carapace, putrid black smoke poured out and up. It smelled as if someone was burning plastic. Reminding me of the subways back on Earth. Something flickered past my head. Before I could turn my head to look, a small explosion of air blasted apart a group of beetles who looked to be waiting for something. Not even a moment later, the pile of stones they were guarding exploded in a fireball. The fire was nearly instantly doused as the liquid inside the stones turned to steam. An arrow sat embedded in the ground at the center of the now destroyed and hissing pile. Dull yellow flames flickered along its shaft before finally vanishing. Most of the rest of the beetles took to the air. Only the largest of the beetles stayed where they were. Prepared to protect their queen if we managed to survive the onslaught. Michael did something. Screamed something to the world. I couldn¡¯t make it out as the chittering of the beetles and the various sounds of battle drowned him out. Still, whatever he screamed did something. Activated some skill. A slightly opaque wave of something surged out of him. Flowing across the room in a faintly visible red haze. Every beetle it splashed against stopped targeting everyone else. Stopping in place as their bodies pivoted toward Michael. The clicking intensified until the very air felt like it vibrated. As one, they charged his shield. Their wings vibrated so much that they became invisible as they pushed against the air to go ever faster. The kicked up dust and smoke swirled around their bodies, making it harder to track each of the creatures. Not that it did them any good. As one, the rest of the group fired off spell after spell. Attack after attack. Smoking husks, sliced carapaces, and even some withered husks fell to the ground in droves. Only a small fraction of the army made it to Michael. Where they promptly slammed into his shield. While a few managed to somehow grab onto it with their legs, most bounced off. They tried to move around the shield to get at their target but the two party members on either side took them out. Killing all of them before they could get around the edge. Within moments, the room went silent. Beetle carcasses were piled around the room. While some still smoked, no more fires were spewing thick streams of the stuff. Of the veritable army, only seventeen beetles were left. The queen and her guard. Each stared at our group with hatred. Still, they did not attack. It was as if they were waiting for us to make the first move. ¡°Linda,¡± Michael called, ¡°curse them as quickly as you can.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Linda¡¯s voice caused me to turn enough to see her as she gestured at each of the beetles. The creatures noticed. Their bodies and gaze swiveled and locked onto her. Michael didn¡¯t give them a chance to attack her though. He cried out and shield charged the nearest one. The hit caught the beetle by surprise. It was thrown into the one behind it. Neither chittered in outrage or pain. Instead, they screamed. The sound reminded me of a piece of metal being tortured. It was a sound that had my eyes reflexively looking around for an emergency stop button. I had to stop myself from moving as I remembered I was in a game and not at work running a CNC machine. I took a second to close my eyes and take a deep breath. As I opened them, I found that three of the beetles were charging our group. Jeremiah and Victor targeted one each, firing spells and arrows at them. They looked like they were doing a ton of damage but it wasn¡¯t enough. The creatures managed to cross the distance. One of them focused on me as its mandibles opened up wide enough to grab onto me. Not willing to freeze up this time, I bit my lip. I used the pain to keep myself grounded and present. As it got close enough to bite me, it came within range of my sword. I didn¡¯t waste any time. With every bit of force I could muster, I swung down on the creature. Praying that I managed to land a hit and that said hit would do enough damage to kill the thing. When the tip of my sword hit the top of its head, it bounced to the side. It didn¡¯t even look like my attack had so much as left a scratch on the hard shell. Fortunately, I had thrown my body weight into that attack. While it wasn¡¯t much, it was enough momentum to keep my sword moving. While the damned thing did no damage as it skittered across the carapace, it continued to move down its back and toward the ground. As the blade skipped off its head, it caught the joint of one of the mandibles. The lucky strike cut through it with little resistance. Suddenly free to travel downwards, my blade raced toward the ground. The force of which forced me to crouch as the blade tinged off the stone. Whatever it used for blood pulsed out of the wound. Some of which splattered across my back as the creature continued over my lowered body. Bolstered by my lucky strike, I turned as quickly as I could. My sword up and ready to deliver another strike. Linda, staff pointed at the ground, stood behind me. The beetle lay at her feet, twitching as its body refused to die. It looked like it wanted to keep going even if its head was crushed to the consistency of a paste. Before I could ask, another scream filled the room. It was a mix of the earlier chittering and metal tearing, but now it had the added element of the scream of a wounded animal. As I spun around, I found that the queen was the only beetle left ¡ª and it looked pissed. Unlike the rest of its kin, it didn¡¯t wait for us to make the first move. The two front legs lifted to its mouth. From the orifice, it pulled out a pair of balls made of a sticky green tar-like material. The arms pitched back and threw them in the direction of Michael and his group. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. As Michael¡¯s shield caught both on the front, a sizzling sound filled the space. ¡°Fucking hell, acid, really?¡± He cursed as Lance and Patric hid behind him. Given the fact that bright yellow-green steam rose from the front of the shield, I doubted any of us could take a hit without suffering major damage. The creature reloaded as it continued to pelt the shield with ball after ball of acidic slime. Effectively pinning the three of them in place. Next to me, a clear arrow appeared in Victor¡¯s hand. It slowly turned red as he knocked it and aimed. ¡°Ready?¡± He asked. I thought he was talking to me at first. Before I could make a fool of myself, Jeremiah answered. ¡°Ready. On three?¡± Victor gave a single sharp nod. ¡°One.¡± They spoke at the same time as Victor pulled the arrow back as far as he could. The red light grew brighter. Bathing our surroundings in an ominous color. ¡°Two.¡± The red color deepened. It went from the bright red to that of dried blood. ¡°Three.¡± As soon as the word was out, the arrow vanished and the world around me bucked. A wall of heat washed out of the room. The force of it knocked me off my feet. Eyes wide at the amount of force the attack had generated, I looked for the queen. The spot she had been attacking from was a blackened crater. Any remaining stone piles in the room were gone. Blasted apart and destroyed by the blast. Michael, Patric, and Lance picked themselves off the wall that had served to catch them. Each of them looked relaxed as they started to go over their weapons and armor. Likely trying to get an estimate of the damage and cost to repair. Linda, having nothing to go over, came up to me and offered me a hand. ¡°Good j¡­¡± she started when a raspy chittering sound filled the room. As one, we all looked in the direction the sound originated from. From behind a nearly demolished wood pile, the queen was dragging her carapace up the short incline. A massive hole was cut into her body. It exposed the creature¡¯s organs as semi-translucent green liquid streamed out of the wound. She didn¡¯t bother to hold up her body as she lay on top of the pile. Each leg looked damaged and mangled. Still, her eyes were full of fury and defiance. Challenging us to finish her. A moment later, a shadow rose from the ground behind her. It took on the shape of Patric as he thrust a knife deep into her wound. Her legs and mandibles fluttered around for a second before finally seizing. This time, we watched as her eyes turned glassy with death. None of us said a word as we started to collect every piece of beetle we could find, including the shells of what had to be eggs. While I didn¡¯t know why the rest of the group was quiet, I was reeling from what I had just watched. The power that the group as a whole, and individually demonstrated. Whatever attack Jeremiah and Victor had launched together, it was strong enough to send even the team''s tank flying. Yet the queen had survived it, albeit barely. Something that I doubted I would be able to do even if I leveled up. I wasn¡¯t much help during either of these fights. Hell, I was probably a hindrance. But still, the entire event gave me a better perspective on what was possible. As we finished collecting the last of the shells, Lance and Patric took off down the hall. I saw one vanish into a store room as the other continued to the next. ¡°Where are they going?¡± I asked Michael out of curiosity. Michael¡¯s voice sounded a bit tired as he answered my question. ¡°We need to see how much damage the beetles managed to do to the stored seeds so we can let the farmer and the city know. The city will offer to sell seeds to replace those lost at a discounted price.¡± That was quite generous of the city. Then again, if this nation was anything like how medieval society was, the local farms fed the population and made up a decent chunk of what the place exported. Letting the farms struggle would only serve to hurt the region as a whole. As soon as we had gathered together, we started toward the exit. Patric and Lance rejoined the group as we walked. Patric gestured at the first door we passed, ¡°The place is clear. The only damaged seals and crops were in the closest room. All of the seeds are gone.¡± ¡°Any idea what seeds were in the room?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Bags were too torn up.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Michael shrugged, seemingly not bothered by the lack of information. ¡°Go talk to the farmer. See if he knows what he stored in that room. The rest of us will start for the forest. Catch up when you are done.¡± ¡°Will do,¡± Patric said, his voice fading. As I looked around, I found that he had vanished, again. Bumping into my shoulder, Linda whispered, ¡°So, how many levels did you get from the two fights?¡± Curious myself, I pulled up my status sheet.
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Human
Level: 6
Class:
XP: 3353/3600
HP: 120/145
HP Regen: 16.5% (23.9) per hour*
MP: 140
MP Regen: 15% (21) per hour*
Current Ailments:
Current Buffs: Newbie Protection*
What in the fuck. Where in the hell did all that experience come from? It took me a single thought to pull up my experience log. {Level 2 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x351 {Level 3 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x432 {Level 4 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x79 {Level 5 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x184 {Level 6 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x177 {Level 7 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x217 {Level 8 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x5 {Level 9 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x24 Short Sword Skill (Passive) Level 1 Unlocked. XP awarded. Healing Skill (Passive) Level 1 Unlocked. XP awarded. Survival Skill (Passive) Level 1 Unlocked. XP awarded. {Level 1 Verdant Shelled Beetle Egg destroyed. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x1000 {Level 5 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x21 {Level 6 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x17 {Level 7 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x99 {Level 8 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x32 {Level 9 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x34 {Level 10 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x26 {Level 11 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. Almost all the XP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in the battle.} x11 {Level 12 Verdant Shelled Beetle defeated. A minor Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 5 levels greater you¡¯re your own. A large amount of XP has been extracted as a penalty for your small contribution to the battle.} x5 {Level 24 Verdant Queen defeated. A small Bonus has been awarded for killing a creature 20 levels greater you¡¯re your own. A large amount of XP has been extracted as a penalty for your small contribution to the battle.} x1 Three, seven, eight, nine, ten, thirteen, twenty-three, twenty-four hundred or so beetles and one queen. Holy hell, that was a lot. Not that I got much experience from each. The system made it clear what it thought of my contribution to the battles. Then again, any experience was better than nothing. As I relayed what I found to Linda, she smiled. ¡°Figured. Even if you didn¡¯t get much of the experience, you did try to participate in both fights. That coupled with your getting hurt in both allowed the system to give you some of it.¡± ¡°This seems¡­easily abused,¡± I said as a few ideas popped into my head. ¡°You forget the AIs running in the background.¡± Jeremiah oh so helpfully pointed out. ¡°They take intent into account when doing any calculation.¡± ¡°So don¡¯t expect anyone to power-level you,¡± Victor called from the back of the group. While that was a bit annoying, it made sense. While I wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up with the higher-level players, this meant that I had some chance to catch up to the majority of the players. My mind wandered as Michael led us off in a random direction. The dirt quickly gave way to snow as we followed a series of valleys. Chapter 19 - Forest As we walked Michael had his shield out as he grumbled about how much damage the acid had done to it. As I took a glance at the thing I had to agree. The acid had managed to melt baseball-sized craters into the metal. The fact that there were no holes to the other side proved just how strong the shield was. Compared to that, the rest of their gear was practically untouched. While I listened to their discussion of how the fight had gone, I ended up zoning out as my mind wandered over my character. Only as trees came into view did I start paying attention. The hill we curved around was just taller than me. As soon as we got on the other side the hills abruptly vanished. Replaced by a thick forest that seemed out of place. The ground between the trees was clear of all but a dusting of snow. ¡°Is such a change in terrain common here?¡± I asked, confused about how this could be considered realistic. ¡°Not really,¡± Victor answered. ¡°The farmers and city keep the hills cleared as it provides a decent vantage point for any monster hordes that might come this way.¡± A sudden rumbling sound filled the silence as he finished talking. It reminded me of a bad motor that was on its last legs. Everyone turned their heads toward the sound. The producer of the sound looked a bit sheepish as he said, ¡°I am hungry alright?¡± ¡°Other than Jeremiah, anyone else hungry?¡± Linda asked as she rolled her eyes. I shrugged, not really expecting much given that we were out in the wilderness. ¡°Ok, you guys get started on chopping down some trees and gathering mushrooms while I cook up some food.¡± ¡°You heard her,¡± Michael¡¯s shield disappeared as he summoned an axe. The damn thing was taller than me. ¡°Go gather mushrooms. Kyren and I will get the trees.¡± I hurried to catch up as he turned and started for the woods. His stride easily ate up the ground. We passed a good fifty trees before he finally settled in front of one that had to be a good yard or two wide at the base. He scored the wood with the tip of his axe. Curious why he chose this tree, I asked, ¡°I thought we needed smaller logs?¡± ¡°That was the minimum,¡± he answered as he stood up. ¡°On top of that, the tree''s width tapers off as you get higher up. This means the wider the base, the more wood we can get out of the tree. If you got a base that was just at the minimum requirement, the top would be too small to even count toward the total.¡± ¡°Now, I am guessing you have never cut a tree before.¡± I shook my head as he continued. ¡°Alright, stand perpendicular to the tree and spread your feet shoulder-width apart,¡± he instructed as he demonstrated the stance. ¡°Make sure you can swing with full extension; you need momentum to make a clean cut.¡± It looked like he was getting ready to hit a baseball as he pulled the axe back and over his head. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid to use the rest of your body to generate some of the force. When you are ready, swing.¡± The axe blurred as he did just that. A small explosion of chips was accompanied by the sound of the axe as it smacked into the wood. With a flick of his wrist, Michael pulled the axe out and swung again. His swing caused the axe to hit above the previous spot. ¡°Make sure to cut a notch in the direction that you want the tree to fall. While it won''t always fall in the exact direction you want, it will help guide it.¡± With a few more large swings, he cut a fairly large chunk out of the tree before he stepped around the tree. He waited for me before continuing. ¡°Now, while you can cut through the tree to the notch, I wouldn¡¯t. It is dangerous and simply a waste of energy. A simple wedge is cheap to buy. If need be, you could even make the things with random pieces of wood or stone. Now, cut most of the way through before you hammer a few of these into the tree. As soon as you hear the tree cracking, back away and watch for where it falls.¡± With a few swift chops, Michael had a large cut that went nearly halfway into the trunk. Not wasting any time, the axe disappeared, replaced with a large piece of metal shaped like a doorstop and a mallet. ¡°Seat the first wedge into the center of the cut with a simple tap. Then give it a few good whacks.¡± The mallet in his hand blurred as three loud thumps reverberated through the woods. Each sent a shiver up the tree as he pulled out another two wedges. ¡°On trees that are this large, you will want a few more wedges to help provide leverage. Put them about halfway between the first wedge and the end of the cut.¡± It only took him a second to tap the wedges into place on either side before he swung at both with quite a bit of force. As he finished, the first wedge nearly fell to the ground as it jumped out of place. Michael settled it back in place before he gave it three good smacks. Just as he moved to swing again, the trunk shook as a loud cracking sound filled the forest. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Michael grabbed onto the back of my shirt as he moved back a couple dozen feet. We stood there, watching the tree shiver and crack a few more times before it finally gave out. Leaves rustled and branches snapped as it crashed to the ground. ¡°Your turn.¡± He said as he held out a tiny axe for me. The thing was half the size his had been and it still felt overly large in my hands. Its head alone was larger than my palm. As he let go, I stumbled under the unexpected weight. Michael led me to a nearby tree that was about half the size his had been. I had to stop myself from asking him why he had a piece of white chalk in his inventory as he drew a line on the tree. ¡°Cut your wedge on this side. Let me know when you are done before starting the other side.¡± With that, he turned and walked back to his tree. His axe back out and resting on his shoulder as he measured out a length before proceeding to chop off a section that was longer than I was tall. Seeing that he was focused on that and not me, I took a breath to ease the tension in my shoulders. ¡°Hey, AI,¡± I said in a normal voice. ¡°Play some music.¡± The system didn¡¯t respond before a heavy rock song started to blast into my ears. As I sang along with the song, I moved my feet and lined up the axe. With as much effort as I could, I took a swing. The axe barely dug into the bark before stopping. The sudden stop rebounded most of the energy back up the axe and into my arms. Hissing in pain, I continued. Pulling the axe back for another swing. This time it dug a bit more in. I ignored the pain and focused on the music as I continued to beat at the tree. Soon I had small pieces flying off with every hit. Finally, after what felt like an hour, I finished my first notch. Sweat poured down my face and back. Some of it went into my buttcrack while the rest simply soaked into my clothing. For the first time, I felt happy that I was wearing a skirt. The winter breeze that flowed up my legs and around my neck did a great job of cooling me down as I worked out. Taking a second to look around, I noticed five stumps where I could have sworn trees had previously been. A short distance away, I found Michael cutting through yet another tree. His progress made the job look easy as he went to work on hammering in his wedges. As soon as the tree fell, he looked my way. ¡°Done?¡± He called. A bit stunned at his show of speed and skill, I simply nodded. ¡°Ok, let me take a look.¡± His eyes looked over the cut before he nodded. ¡°Good enough, though you could go a bit deeper. Go ahead and cut the other side until you reach this mark.¡± With a piece of chalk, he added a pair of white lines just before the halfway point in the tree. With a sigh of resignation, I moved to the other side of the tree and started to cut into the wood yet again. This time it looked like I was barely making any progress. Each cut no longer broke away large chunks as it had when I was cutting the wedge. Eventually, I managed to get the cut done. With a tired sigh, I turned to find Michael. I nearly jumped when I saw just how close the guy was. He sat on a stump not more than a dozen feet away as he watched me. He didn¡¯t bother to stand up as he spoke. Instead, he held a set of wedges and a mallet out to me. ¡°Looks good. Go ahead and use these wedges and mallet.¡± As I took the proferred tools, I tried to pass back the axe. He held up a hand. ¡°Keep it. I have no use for one that size anyway.¡± I struggled to breathe as I knelt next to the log. The combination of the workout and my chest being constricted by the position made breathing hard. As I was nearly done, I pushed through the pain. I worked as fast as I could so that I could stand back up. The first wedge went into the center. After a simple tap to seat it, I hammered the thing in as hard as I could. Once. Twice. Three times. Without pause, I repeated the process with the wedge to either side. Rinse and repeat. Hit the center wedge three more times before moving to the outside and back. Ten cycles later the tree finally let out a loud cracking noise as the trunk vibrated. I jumped back and waited. Nothing happened. The only sound in the immediate area was that of the leaves high above rustling. It sounded almost as if the trees themselves were making fun of me. Grumbling, I stomped forward and gave each wedge a few more whacks. My hammer hit a wedge with a decent thud. Instead of moving a fraction of a centimeter forward, the wedge jumped forward. Loud, staccato cracks filled the clearing as the tree swayed. Before I had time to react, something grabbed the back of my shirt and tossed me. As I flew, my eyes tracked the tree¡¯s fall. Branches and leaves followed it as it crashed through the canopy. Branches snapped, cushioning it as the tree hit the ground. Michael started to move toward it before the tree even finished settling. Shooting me a wave as he called back, ¡°Rest up. I will finish cutting up the tree.¡± While I wanted to argue that I was fine, I didn¡¯t. He knew what he was doing and was clearly faster at it than me so why stop him? His movements were swift and efficient as he sliced through branches. Finally, he cut off a segment and stored it away. As he started to cut the rest into small pieces, I asked, ¡°Why are you cutting the rest of the tree up? Don¡¯t we need more logs for the quest?¡± ¡°The diameter of the rest of the tree is too small to work.¡± Thwack. ¡°The rest of it will make good firewood though.¡± Thwack. ¡°Which is always nice to have on hand when on longer missions.¡± Thwack. ¡°Seeing as how you will probably be doing solo missions soon,¡± Thwack. ¡°You will be taking this tree with you.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± I started to protest as he was the one doing all the work. ¡°Nope. We already have enough wood from all the other trees anyway. Losing this much won''t affect us.¡± Michael looked at me, making sure that I understood. I rolled my eyes but accepted his generosity. ¡°Come pick up the wood and let us go see if lunch is ready yet or not.¡± My stomach growled loudly at the mention of food. In a rush to get going, I rushed around the clearing and grabbed all of the chopped logs. Tossing them into my inventory before I raced after Michael. ¡°Don¡¯t forget the branches. You will need it for kindling.¡± I grumbled in annoyance as I turned and did another circuit of the area. Frantically stuffing every branch and chunk of wood I could reach into my inventory. Chapter 20 - Stew and Magic Just outside the forest¡¯s edge sat a large table. I noticed it because the thing looked out of place where it sat. Scraps of various plants littered the table. As I got closer, I noticed a shimmering green mixed in the pile. Linda hovered over a large steaming pot as she slowly stirred a small bottle of a dark red liquid in. We must not have been quiet in our approach because when we were close enough, she called out. ¡°Lunch is nearly done. Just adding my family''s secret sauce.¡± Bottle empty, she gave it one last stir before taking a small sip off the ladle. ¡°You¡¯re being awfully nice to share that sauce with Kyren here,¡± Jeremiah said as their group popped out of the forest behind us. ¡°It took me four or five trips with you before you shared it with me. Now I can¡¯t get enough of the stuff.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself,¡± mumbled Lance. There was a sudden pop of air as Michael vanished. A loud crack and muffled scream came from my left. Michael had Lance up against a tree. One of his legs was bent at an odd angle. He flailed, trying to get out of Michael¡¯s grasp. Michael didn¡¯t budge as he leaned forward to say something into one of Lance¡¯s ears. Lance¡¯s eyes dimmed as his body relaxed. His body fell to the ground in a heap as Michael released him. Having seen how quickly he had done that to one of his companions, I worried that something similar might happen to me. Michael must have seen this on my face because he gestured back as he spoke. ¡°Mixed races like Wolfmen have some of the instincts of their animal counterparts. They will try to kill those they feel are a threat if you don¡¯t show them who is the alpha every once in a while.¡± I tried to process what he said. While I got what he said, it didn¡¯t quite match what he had done. Lance hadn¡¯t said anything in challenge to anyone else in the group. In fact, the punishment made no sense. Not that I was going to say anything to that effect. No, I would just have to play it cool until we got back to town. After today I could keep my distance from them. I gave a brief, if jerky, nod as I turned to look at Linda. Her eyes were locked onto me as she studied. She must have seen something she liked, or decided to offer an olive branch, because she filled a bowl nearly to the brim and held it out for me. I took the bowl before moving to the side. The liquid was thick. Chunks of meat were interspersed between various vegetables. It reminded me of a stew. All that was missing was a piece of bread. Curious, I lifted the bowl to my nose and breathed the steam in. The stew smelled of the forest mixed with a sharp undertone. Its smell made my mouth water. As I sipped some of the stock right from the bowl, flavor exploded across my tongue. It was slightly sweet with an edge that snuck up on you as the rest of the flavors vanished. I don¡¯t mean that it was spicy like some people described the peppers used in some eating challenges. It was more akin to the sharp bite of freshly ground pepper. Not enough to overpower anything but enough to cause the mouth to water and deepen the flavor of the dish. Curious about the rest of the dish, I grabbed one of the spoons off the table. I lifted one of the pieces of meat and gently placed it into my mouth. The meat fell apart as soon as it touched my tongue. It acted like an oversaturated sponge. Every bit of stored liquid and flavor poured out of it and across my tongue as it disintegrated. This time, the sharp bite at the end was more pronounced. Almost like the meat had been the source of the spice that produced the effect. Curious, I ate one of the orange-colored vegetables next. As it had been cooked in the stew for a little while, I had expected it to be soft. To my surprise, it crunched as I bit down. While it didn¡¯t have much spice, it contained quite a bit of the other flavors. A soft white cube was my next target. It was soft, nearly falling apart as I caught it between my spoon and the side of the bowl. A more neutral, if a bit earthy, flavor filled my mouth. The rest of the bowl quickly disappeared as I ate. When I looked up from my empty bowl, I found Linda watching me. A soft smile on her face as she lowered her spoon. ¡°Would you like some more?¡± I nodded. She set her bowl on the table she reached for mine. As I passed it over, I hesitated before asking ¡°Is there any way I can get the recipe?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± She passed my refilled bowl back as she continued ¡°as long as you are willing to eat a lesser version of it. Most of the flavor comes from my family''s sauce.¡± ¡°Is there any way I can get some?¡± I nearly facepalmed the moment I realized what I had said. It was her family''s secret sauce. There was no way that she would give me such a thing. ¡°Sure.¡± Her answer surprised me. Given the fact that the group went silent and stopped eating, I was not the only one caught off guard. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michael¡¯s eyebrows lift in obvious question. Lance groaned before returning to his bowl. Grimacing as he took another bite. ¡°Why not?¡± She shrugged. ¡°It would give us a reason to keep in touch. Maybe when you catch up to us you can join our group.¡± Yeah, how about not. Something about this seemed a bit off. Then again, what would it hurt to be willing to talk to her every once in a while in return for her willingly selling me some of whatever this sauce was? Just because I accepted the bargain didn¡¯t mean that I had to join their group. ¡°Sure, what do you want in return for some? Oh and a few recipes that use it,¡± I took a second before adding ¡°If you don¡¯t mind that is.¡± She chuckled. ¡°For you, a silver a bottle. Though I only have a single bottle on me. When we get home I can get you a few more. Not many more, I still need some for myself. I can also message you several recipes and ways to add it to some dishes. The only thing I ask is that you refrain from using it in the guild. We can''t have anyone else catching wind you have some. Some of them will fight you for it.¡± Yeah, I was not willing to fight someone for a sauce. She tapped and dragged at the air as I finished my next bowl. Moments after she returned to her bowl, something flashed at the bottom right side of my vision. The symbol reminded me of a message bubble. A window opened up the moment I focused on it.
TRADE
Initiated By: Linda Morrowgrave
Ask: Offer:
1 Silver Coin Contact Information 1 Bottle of Secret Family Sauce Contact Information Recipe Book
Reject Accept
Well, that is new. This was the first time I had ever had a nonplayer character initiate a trade of their own volition. I had expected her to physically ask for the money and hand over the bottle. Maybe even hand me a small book of recipes that I could save to my interface, somehow. As I accepted the deal, nothing seemed to happen. Then again, what did I expect to happen? It was likely that the system moved everything into and out of my inventory on its own. ¡°Cool. Just contact me whenever you need some more.¡± Michael grabbed Linda around the waist, kissing her lips lightly before murmuring something. As he stepped back, he turned to the four others. ¡°Victor, how many mushrooms did you guys gather before lunch?¡± ¡°We got lucky. Lance managed to find two large clusters. We have enough to complete the quest twice over.¡± He said as he scraped at his bowl. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Good, the extra mushrooms should fetch a good price at the guild. Lance, help Jeremiah with the dishes.¡± I expected Lance to grumble but he simply lowered his head and moved to do as he was ordered. Jeremiah flicked his hand over his bowl. A small orb of water formed in the air only to splash into it. A few moments later, a murky liquid lifted out. It shot toward the trees while he tossed the bowl to Lance. Each person passed him their bowl and he repeated the process. After I handed mine off, Michael pulled me to the side. ¡°While those two are working on the dishes, we have time to talk a bit.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Did you not gain a few levels from the fight earlier?¡± Not quite understanding where he was going with this, I spoke, though it came out more like a question than an answer. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You need to think about what you want to spend those points on. Unless you don¡¯t want to learn a skill or use magic.¡± Well damn, for some reason I had forgotten what Barti had said about points. Michael had to be the one to remind me. ¡°No, I do. I just forgot that¡­never mind.¡± I waved my hand in an effort to try and erase what I just said. ¡°How do I use them?¡± ¡°Pull up the shop window and select the skill tab.¡± He spoke as if it should be obvious. I rolled my eyes but did as instructed. ¡°Bear in mind that the costs for some of the skills may be higher or lower for you than for other people. Something to do with compatibility or something.¡±
Skill Selection
Skill Point Cost
Cooking 1 1
Swimming 1 1
Meditating 1 1
Hair Cutting 1 1
Kick Boxing 1 1
Jumping 1 1
Silent Movement 1 1
Long Sight 1 1
Communication 1 1
Bladed Weapons 1 1
Hand-to-Hand 1 1
¡­ ¡­
The list was long. My head shook at what the system offered as I skimmed over the list. I mean, I get why some were offered and why someone would buy them but come on, haircutting? That just sounded stupid. Every time I scrolled to the bottom, the scroll bar popped back up to the middle indicating there was yet more. It was as though the list was never-ending. While I doubted that, I didn¡¯t have time to read through everything. Not sure of how to return to the top, I simply closed and reopened the screen. My eyes scanned the page for a search bar or some other way to narrow the list. Unsurprisingly, the option was right at the top of the list. It even had a few options right at the top of the drop-down. Attack Defense Utility Magical Physical I selected magical. Attack, defense, and utility all auto-selected. Given that I had no clue what I was looking for, I left them alone. The list that populated was much smaller. Not that it mattered. What I needed was at the very top of the list.
Skill Selection
Skill Point Cost
Fire Element 1 5
Earth Element 1 5
Water Element 1 5
Wind Element 1 5
Light Element 1 10
Dark Element 1 10
Space Element 1 50
Time Element 1 %^#()@!
Magic Missile 1 1
Ether Claw 1 1
Night Vision 1 1
¡­ ¡­
Well, I wouldn¡¯t be using the space element anytime soon. Not that I minded. Various characters in various fictional stories I had read had each tried to play with the element only to accidentally rip holes in reality. It took the ones that survived a while to figure out how to control their powers. While I was willing to spend time learning to control such power, I would rather not do so until I got the hang of magic in general. Then there was the buggy point cost associated with the Time Element. If that was any indication of the cost being way too high, the system could keep it. Though, now that I thought about it, how would such magic even work in this game? It wasn¡¯t like a player could go back in time. Forward, yes. All that would be required for a game to do something like Future Sight was a very sophisticated prediction program. Hah, did I really just say that was all that was required? Such a program would be put to better use predicting the weather or solving other real-world issues. For some reason, my eyes kept going to the Fire Element option. Something told me that it was the most likely option to help me deal damage on my own. While there was other options, it was my best bet, so I selected it. As I did so, another window popped up asking me to confirm my selection. The window disappeared the moment I agreed to the purchase. Another window replaced it a fraction of a second later. Not that I got to read it. Not with the sudden liquid fire that seared its way from the center of my chest. Each beat of my heart pushed it down my veins. The liquid burned everything it touched. Beat, burn, repeat. Eventually, it reached the end of my limbs. There was nowhere else for it to go. I expected the fire to finish whatever it was doing or to at least kill me. After all, what else could it do now that it had burned through my body? Yeah, it didn¡¯t. The damn liquid practically bounced off the ends of my limbs and raced back toward my heart. As soon as it returned to my heart, the muscle spasmed. It almost seemed to stall out. Whatever was flowing through my veins did not like that. It wrapped around my heart and squeezed. Another wave of heat raced out of the heart faster than the first. Again my heart spasmed as it nearly stopped. Wave after wave repeated the process. Each traveled along my veins faster than the last. Each caused my heart to spasm before being forced to beat yet again. As the waves sped up, so did my heart. An eternity later my heart felt like it was humming. The waves were no longer separate. It almost felt like my veins were soaking in an ocean of fire. Slowly though, the pain subsided as my heart gradually slowed. Not that the fire fully disappeared. Instead, it became something that sat in the back of my mind. Something I could ignore. Finally, I opened my eyes and found myself staring up at the sky, again. Though, this time most of it was blotted out as Linda looked down at me. While I expected the grass was fairly soft, I didn¡¯t think it was as soft as whatever was under my head. In fact, given her proximity, the only thing that made sense for me to be lying on was her lap. That thought caused me to freeze. Given that she was dating Michael, I didn¡¯t want to somehow piss him off. If he wanted to, he could crush me like a bug. So, as calmly as I could manage, I slipped off her lap while I mentally prayed to the gods that he didn¡¯t see where I had been lying. As I got up, I realized that there was a flashing icon in the corner. It looked almost like a minimized window. When I focused on it, a window popped up. ¡®Fire Element 1¡¯ integrating. Please wait. Yeah, figures the burning sensation was because of the fucking fire element. I almost didn¡¯t want to know what the other elements would feel like to unlock. Would water feel like you were drowning? What about space? Would it feel like I was being torn apart as my body tried to stretch and compress at the same time? No, thank you. Shaking my head, I looked at the skill purchase window to see if anything had changed.
Skill Selection
Skill Point Cost
Earth Element 1 10
Water Element 1 10
Wind Element 1 10
Light Element 1 20
Dark Element 1 20
Space Element 1 100
Time Element 1 %^#()@!
Magic Missile 1 1
Fireball 1 1
Fire Tornado 1 5
Fox Fire* 1
Fire Element 2 10
¡­ ¡­
I had wondered where the fireball spell was on the list. Turns out you needed the ability to use the fire element to use it. Go figure. I wasn¡¯t going to deal with any of the other options. At least not right now. With a brief effort of will, I closed the window. I took a look around as I tried to gauge how long I had been indisposed. It couldn¡¯t have been all that long because Jeremiah was still washing the last of the dishes as Lance packed up the table and other supplies. Linda dusted off her pants as she stood up. ¡°What element did you choose?¡± Without pause, I replied, ¡°Fire.¡± She smiled as she walked over to give me a hug. ¡°Congratulations. I am sure you will love that element.¡± I stood there dumbfounded at her sudden need to touch me. Yeah, I had no clue how to take any of this. Though I was thankful for the group. Even though they were odd at times, and I didn¡¯t agree with some of the things they did, they were being helpful to a newbie they had been stuck with. ¡°Let''s head back,¡± Michael called from the other side of the group. Linda released her hug but didn¡¯t leave my side as we made our way back toward town. Botanical Compendium - Moonshade Caps Name: Moonshade Cap Type: Plant Hostility: Not Rarity: Common Description: Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. A cap that grows in the shade of the forest. When fully grown, it emits a soft glow reminiscent of a full moon. Where can it be found: In the shaded part of the forest. Look for the glow of the moon. Use: Alchemy ¨C Potion of Shadows Potency: The brighter the light, the more potent. XP reward: NA Typical Levels: NA Danger Level: Not Harvestable Materials: Mushroom Attacks: NA First Discovered: 3/20/918 First Interaction: 3/20/918 First Kill: NA ChatGPT Generated Image: Chapter 21 - Poison Victor, Jeremiah, and Patric messed around in the melting snow. They laughed and tossed snowballs back and forth, sometimes they even used a few skills and spells to move out of the way or make shots that were otherwise impossible. I just watched. Unlike the rest of the party, Lance was acting overly submissive. His tail, usually standing slightly out from his body, hung by his inner thigh. Something inside me wanted to go to him. To find out what was wrong and to fix it. Every time I made a move to go in that direction, one of the people running around would get in my way, forcing me to step back or get pelted with snow. Eventually, I gave up. The threat of a snowball to the face coupled with my cramping stomach had me focusing on moving forward and nothing else. I tried to hide the pain, as I just wanted to get back to my room. Knowing Linda, she would forced the group to stop as she tried to help me. Too bad I couldn¡¯t hold back a grimace when a particularly hard cramp rippled down my stomach. ¡°Are you ok?¡± Linda¡¯s question told me that my grimace hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed. I waved off her concern as I said ¡°Yeah, just a stomach bug or something.¡± Another wave rippled through my stomach. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it''s just a stomach bug.¡± ¡°What meat did you use in the stew?¡± Michael¡¯s question came out of left field. I couldn¡¯t tell if he was trying to distract me or something. ¡°Beetle, why¡­oh¡± Linda¡¯s eyes widened a bit as she looked at me. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°You will find that most meat that people eat here is from one monster or another. For the most part, this is fine. However,¡± Michael explained, a bit of pain flashed across his face as he recalled something. ¡°There are some meat that contain a minor poison.¡± Before I could yell at them for poisoning me, even if it was unintentional, he continued. ¡°It¡¯s nothing your body can¡¯t handle and over time it will adapt to it. Hell, some people use such meats to gain Poison Resistance.¡± ¡°It was the meat I had on hand.¡± Linda insisted, her eyes pleaded for forgiveness. ¡°You¡¯re fine. You didn¡¯t mean to poison me.¡± My voice came out pained as another cramp struck. ¡°Though I would really like to find a toilet soon.¡± As I said that, we crested a small hill to find the city walls. While I was a bit flabbergasted as to how we had made such good time, I was also really goddamn grateful. ¡°Well, good thing the forest is a short walk from where we were cutting trees down,¡± Michael spoke as he gesturerd me to continue moving. I didn¡¯t even notice I had stopped walking. The thought of being so close to a bathroom had me kicking up my speed. Hand on stomach, I jogged nearly the rest of the way to the gate. People flowed through just as fast as they had when we left. However, this time it looked like more people were flowing into, not out of the city. Likely on their way home after working on a farm or something. I ignored the glares and curses that flew in my direction as I pushed my way into the front of the line. Not caring what other people thought. The porcelain gods were calling my name and I had no choice but to answer. While the guards were watching me, they stayed where they were. They were likely there to stop anyone from starting a fight or something and nothing else. While I knew that the pain wouldn¡¯t stay gone for long, I was thankful when the cramps did lessen as I passed through the gate. As soon as my feet hit the street on the other side, I took off at a dead run. Weaving my way down the street as fast as I could. I flew down the street and to the end of the road before jumping up the stairs into the guild before the next wave of cramps could hit. Through the entryway, around a person sweeping the dining hall and up the stairs. One turn after another until I reached my floor. Door after door flew by me as my eyes scanned for my number. Open door. Get through. Slam the door. Run to the bathroom. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I had to give it to people that wore skirts, they were so much easier to slide off in a hurry. With my skirt down and shirt up, I sat on my throne and let everything flow out. I don¡¯t know how long I sat there. My only time of relaxation was between cramps. Finally, though, I had enough. ¡°Fuck this, I am logging off for a while.¡± Between one blink and the next, the world around me changed. Going from the warmth of my rented room to that of my cold modern apartment. ¡°Welcome back Alex. The current time is six forty AM. You have been in game for six hours and seven minutes.¡± My AI called from a nearby speaker. I didn¡¯t pay attention to what it was saying, my mind freaking out as a small cramp rippled through my stomach. Somehow the damn bug had followed me out of the game and into the real world. Not that that thought lasted all that long. Not when my stomach growled loud enough that I could have sworn that it echoed. As I got up, I tried to figure out when I had last eaten. My only memory of any food entering my system was from before I first logged into the game. Given that that was¡­actually how long ago was that? ¡°How long have I been playing the game and how long has it been since I last ate?¡± ¡°You have logged nearly twelve real-world hours in the game. You have not eaten since starting.¡± Damn, no wonder my stomach was threatening to revolt. I took the time to make one of the last freeze-dried meals in my cabinet. Before I forgot about my lack of food, I called out to my AI as I added boiling water to it. ¡°Add freeze-dried meals to my shopping list.¡± ¡°Freeze-dried food added to your list. I recommend placing the order soon.¡± That reminded me, I needed to go through that list. I was fairly sure that I didn¡¯t need some of the things on it anymore. Not while I was trying to save what money I had left. While I waited for my food to heat up and soak in the water, I looked out the windows on the other side of the room. My mind slowly churned away at everything that had happened in game. I needed to get stronger fasterr. What I had seen while out with the group made that obvious. Of course, that meant more training. Add to that the need to learn how to use magic. All of which was going to take quite a bit of time and effort. Then there was my weapon. I needed to learn how to use the thing as well as find someone to replace the parts of it that were tattered. Maybe after that the skill section would be unlocked and I could get some cool abilities. As I moved to take my first bite, I called up to the AI, curious about its answer more than anything. ¡°What kind of sword style should I try and learn?¡± ¡°Given that you have a Japanese Chisa Katana, I would recommend something similar to the traditional styles, though I would also recommend learning something like Kali as it couples martial arts, knives, and some sword work. This would give you options in case an opponent ever disarms you.¡± I had to give it to my AI as it not only gave me an answer to my question but added something I would find useful. Now, how to go about learning either. ¡°Are there any dojos in virtual space or even in the game?¡± ¡°There are many places in game to train. However, there are none in the town you currently are in. I would recommend moving to a larger town to have a chance of finding a willing teacher.¡± Well damn. ¡°However, there are a few other options currently available to you.¡± I waited for the system to continue. When it didn¡¯t I rolled my eyes. For a smart system that could read beyond a simple question, it was stupid at times. ¡°What options are available for me?¡± ¡°Option one, buy the skill with your free points. I do not recommend this option as it will give you the knowledge but none of the training or any muscle memory. You would still have to learn everything.¡± I had to agree with its assessment, hopefully, the other option was better. ¡°Option two, purchase a trainer in the add-on store. This would allow you to train under a master for short stints. It would be like going to a dojo to learn a lesson and practicing it for hours on your own before returning for the next lesson.¡± Before I could say anything against this, the AI continued. ¡°However, I would recommend asking your other instructors if they have any sword knowledge. Learn everything you can from them while you can. Wait until you move to a large town to learn Kali.¡± Ok, yeah, the AI¡¯s plan was fairly decent. It also had the added benefit of being free. At least for now. Nodding in agreement, I finished up my small bowl. I tossed it into the trash and re-entered the pod. The moment I pressed the button, I was returned to the game. Welcome back Kyren Vulpier. 3 hours have passed since you logged off. Current in-game time: 7:24:19 PM While my stomach no longer felt like a towel being rung out, it still hurt. It wasn¡¯t bad enough to send me for the toilet every few minutes. Still, I decided to just give up and go to bed. Hopefully whatever was left of the bug would make its way out of my system before I woke up. Chapter 22 - Shopping I am proud to announce that my stomach no longer hurts. Given how many times it woke me up through the night, it better not. Despite the disruptions, I slept fairly well. What woke me from my latest nap was a new noise. Some idiot decided that they just had to knock on my god damned door. ¡°Kyren,¡± Linda¡¯s voice was loud enough for me to hear even through the door and across the room. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I rubbed at my eyes as I worked to get as much of the goop and crusties off as I shuffled across the room. On the other side of the door, stood Linda. Behind her, not really paying much attention as he leaned against the wall was Lance. She snickered at something while looking at my legs. My face turned to fire as I slammed the door closed. Instantly awake, I scanned for my skirt and slipped it on. At least now neither of them could mistake me for a girl. When I returned to the door, I acted as if nothing had happened. While one of the corners of her lips were lifted, she did the same. I looked over both. Lance¡¯s tail was still tucked under him, ears flat to his head as his eyes looked at the ground. I was about to ask him about it when Linda¡¯s voice pulled my attention away from him. ¡°Good. I was worried that you were still sick.¡± ¡°No, just woke up.¡± My sickness couldn¡¯t be the only reason she was here. I mean yes it was her fault but the group was only stuck with me for a day. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± She held out a small bag that clinked a bit. ¡°Just got your reward for the quests, and the beetle materials.¡± With a tentative hand, I took the bag and looked inside. The thing was filled with gold coins. My head shook as I tried to hand the bag back. ¡°I did nothing to deserve this much of the reward.¡± Her hand pushed the bag back. ¡°Yes, you do. That is just over one hundred gold. Most of which came from all the materials. Speaking of which, how many beetles do you have in your inventory.¡± In the rush for the bathroom, I had forgotten I had picked up some of the fuckers. I had meant to hand it over to the group when we got back to the guild. At least now I wouldn¡¯t have to go searching for one of them. Mentally, I pulled up my inventory and I found that the beetles filled multiple slots in my bag. If I had to guess, this meant there was a limit to how much each slot could hold which wasn¡¯t all that different from other games. ¡°Two stacks and seven Beetles. One eighty-nine eggshells.¡± ¡°Um,¡± She looked like she was trying to figure something out. ¡°How many in each stack?¡± That was an odd question to ask. Wasn¡¯t it the same for everyone? ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°No,¡± her head shook as she continued, ¡°the number of slots and how many each slot can hold increases as your stats do. I am sure that one of the boys could give you an exact equation or whatever if you want.¡± Ok, so not like most games. ¡°One hundred and three.¡± She nodded, likely already having done the math to find out just how many of the buggers I had from our trip and their worth. ¡°Anyway, if you can give me a bag or something, I can give you the lot of them.¡± ¡°No,¡± Her hands lifted as if to stop me. ¡°We don¡¯t currently need the gold while you will. Especially if you are to fix your weapon.¡± That was a fair point. While I may not know how much something might cost, I doubted that any tradesman would be cheap. Then, as if it just occurred to her, she said, ¡°Oh and to turn in harvested materials, just ask the person at the front desk. They can take any material you have to get appraised before making an offer.¡± That was good to know. And I didn¡¯t miss how she didn¡¯t say monster material but harvested materials. It likely meant that they could deal with any material I brought back from a trip outside the city. As I lacked any reason to decline the offered money, I moved the bag into my inventory. Yet another slot vanished. At the bottom of the page, ten more slots appeared. Two of which were already filled. One with a hundred gold and the other with three more bottles of her family''s sauce. I didn¡¯t realize what I was doing until I reached out and hugged her. At first, her body stiffened in my embrace. Given that her body relaxed as she gave me a soft squeeze back. While the events that led up to me being teamed up with the group, the day out had been helpful. Still, I was going to keep away from them as much as I could. I would also keep an eye on the wolf. He wasn¡¯t going to be allowed to try and do something like this again, not if I had a say in it. A deep, if soft, cough from down the hall caused me to jump back. ¡°Thanks. For everything.¡± I said as I looked toward the floor with cheeks aflame. ¡°You don¡¯t have to act as if we are never going to see each other again.¡± Came Michael¡¯s deep voice. His heavy footsteps came from the direction the cough originated. ¡°I am fairly sure that we will be able to help you from time to time, whether it be training, information, or running a quest or two.¡± Yeah no. ¡°What about moving on to the next town? Are you guys not reaching the limit of what you can do here?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± his arm wrapped around Linda. ¡°But our girl here is having some issues letting go of her family.¡± ¡°Hey.¡± She slapped his chest. While she looked like she had put some force behind the strike, he didn¡¯t seem at all phased by it. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lance flinch a little at the sound. He must have been slowly moving away because he was nearly to the next door. ¡°I told you that we just had to wait a little bit is all.¡± ¡°Yes, you did.¡± Michael chuckled. ¡°Well, we will let you be. Feel free to shoot one of us a message if you have any questions or requests.¡± With a wave, he led Linda down the hall. With jerking steps, Lance followed the pair. Not seeing a reason to return to my room, I closed the door and followed them to the first floor. While they joined the other three at a table, I continued to the other side of the room. The line for the single active guild desk was short. From what little I could hear through the noise suppression enchantments, quite a few of these people were putting in orders and requests. While they all sounded interesting, I doubted that any of them would be something I could handle in my current state. ¡°So, what brings you here today?¡± A bored looking beastmen said. Her hair and fur were all black. You would think that the rounded cat ears swiveled on top of her head would demand my attention, but it was her eyes. They were a vivid green with a slit pupil. I don¡¯t know how long I looked into them before an irritated tapping noise broke me from my stupor. My eyes dropped to my hands where I found the source of the tapping noise. Long, black nails clicked against the desk as she rapidly tapped her fingers. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said, embarrassed with myself for staring. ¡°Can I get some materials appraised?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± A hand shot under the table and returned clutching a small bag. ¡°Please put it all in here and hand me your guild card.¡± I dropped everything into the bag before sliding the bag and my guild card toward her. She looked over both as she wrote on a piece of paper. After she slipped the paper into the bag, she passed the card back. ¡°Due to the hour and how busy the monster specialists are, the appraisal will take a few hours. Feel free to come back after lunch.¡± She gestured for the next person to move up, clearly dismissing me. I shook my head at her briskness as I moved over to one of the small and empty tables. Nearly as soon as I sat down, one of the people flying into and out of the back area with various orders stopped by. ¡°What can I get you?¡± When I opened my mouth to answer, I stopped. What did I want? Hell, what were the options? ¡°Um, what do you recommend?¡± Her smile was soft and genuine. ¡°Today¡¯s special is pretty decent. A stack of pancakes, a pair of eggs, some hashbrowns, and a pair of sausages. Not only is it well made but it is also fairly cheap. Only twenty silver. For an additional five silver, I can get you a rather large cup of fresh orange juice.¡± That sounded, interesting. While I had had a few of those items yesterday, I had never had a pancake before. No time like the present to give it a try. Nodding, I passed her thirty silver. She smiled at the obvious tip, and, with a nod in thanks, she set off to put in my order. Given that the food might be a while, I went over my log. At some point, I had two new skills, Fire Element 1 and Tree Cutting 1. While I didn¡¯t understand what most of these skills did to help me, I got that they were doing something. The Fire Element skill reminded me that I needed to find Mindi and ask her to teach me how to use magic. But first, I needed to find someone to repair my sword. While I could put it off, I didn¡¯t think it would be a good idea. Plus, I had the money now so why not? It wasn¡¯t like I was going to use the thing when training. That would be stupid. Before I could dig deep into my logs, my server returned with a tray held over her head. She set a large plate filled with round steaming golden brown pancakes. They even had small pieces of something that peeked through its skin here and there. Another plate joined it on the table. This one was filled with two eggs and a small pile of hashbrowns. Last but not least, a giant mug of orange juice went to one side. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Anything else?¡± She asked as she moved the tray under her arm. ¡°Any syrup or jam?¡± I tentatively asked. While I knew from various shows and books that the stuff went well with pancakes, I personally never had enough money to spend on such luxuries, let alone anything to put it on. ¡°Sure.¡± A small bottle appeared out of nowhere as she set it on the table. Taking the bottle, I thanked her as I poured a small dollop on one side of my plate. It was thick and purple with specks that caught the light. My hand went to where a knife and fork typically would be when I ate at home. Nothing was there. In fact, there was not a single piece of silverware anywhere on the table. Looking up, I hoped that I could catch her or one of the other servers. As if she realized I didn¡¯t have any utensils, they appeared as she passed by moments later. With a nod of my head in thanks, I cut off a small piece. I dabbed it into the syrup and took a bite. A combination of flavors, both sweet and tart, exploded on my tongue. It reminded me of some of the old commercials for fruit drinks. On top of that, another flavor slowly joined it. Growing stronger the longer I chewed. With it came a reminder of better times. My parents had spoiled me whenever they had the chance. One such time was for my eighth birthday. They made me a cake. Nothing too big. Hell, it was barely large enough for all of us to get a bite. Still, it was something they made. Even to this day, I can still recall what it tasted like. While this pancake didn¡¯t match it exactly, it had that same underlying flavor of chocolate. Something wet hit my hand as I took another bite. Confused, I reached up to wipe the offending liquid away and found that I was crying. I was in the middle of a public setting, crying, and I couldn¡¯t find it in to care in the slightest. Before I knew it, the food was gone. My stomach was full and my eyes were dry. The meal had been nice and if given another opportunity to eat it again, I would. Getting up, I waved in the direction of where my server sat along the far wall. Her eyes were constantly scanning the place as she waited for someone new to sit or for someone who needed help. Seeing my wave, she nodded back as she rose to clear my table. When I stepped outside, I found that the air felt warmer than yesterday. Water ran down the edge of the street and along roofs. Spring was nearly here and the city showed it. Even more people wandered to and fro. Stalls sat side by side up and down the street. Each of them had people hawking their wares as loudly as they could. While I was looking for someone to fix my sword and a place to get pants, I still took the time to look around. Most places had trinkets that were entirely homemade including the enchantments. Hopefully, these things were not the limit of this game. Hell, I hoped that these things were considered trash because I would not be caught dead wearing anything I saw. As I kept walking, I passed into a more open section of the street. Stalls filled not only the edges but the middle as well. The setup left enough room for two or three people to walk abreast between stalls except in the center of the road where, with a bit of maneuvering, a cart could make its way through. Instead of the crap sold at other stalls, these were filled with various items that ranged from meat to pots, vegetables to burners. My mouth practically started to water at all the fresh produce. ¡°First po-tay-toe harvest of the year! Grown on an enchanted field. Only ten silver per pound.¡± The speaker emphasized the word potato. Which was probably a good thing given how the rest of his sentence ran together. ¡°Come get all the pots and pans you will ever need. With proper care, they will last you for a lifetime!¡± ¡°Fresh meat! Rabbit, deer, beef, domesticated and hunted. We have it all!¡± ¡°As you can see, the knives I sell will slice through bones without issue, making meal prep a breeze.¡± Unlike the others, this seller took the time to demonstrate his products. I stopped for a second to watch as he used a knife to shave a bone into slivers. The stalls around me were hawking things that were all interesting, but more importantly, useful to me. As I slipped through the crowd, I made my way to the first stall. It sold spices. ¡°What can I do for you.¡± Came a craggy old voice. The owner of the voice sat on a stool and seemed to be old enough to be my parent''s grandparent, if not older. Her eyes looked closed but given that she had noticed me stop, they were probably hidden within the folds that covered her face. ¡°Um,¡± I started as I tried to think about just what I needed. ¡°I have no clue,¡± I finally said, giving up as I truly did not know what I needed and what would just be nice to have. Hell, I only knew that spices went into dishes but I had never used them. It was kind of hard when anything fresh was expensive as hell. ¡°Ah, let me guess.¡± A sliver of her eye poked out from beneath her wrinkles as she appraised me. ¡°Never used spices before?¡± The manners my parents beat into me came out in full force. While they might not help me get a better deal, it wouldn¡¯t hurt. I might even be able to get some pointers from her.¡°No ma¡¯am. Never had the chance.¡± ¡°In that case, I would recommend getting most of the basics. Enough that you can experiment with but not so much that you will never run out. After all, you can always come get more.¡± I didn¡¯t see her hand move but somehow she was suddenly holding a small assortment of bags. Given the size and shape, I had to assume that each was filled with a handful of one spice or another. ¡°If you find that you like cooking, come find me and we can see about getting you a grinder so that you can have fresher spices.¡± Taking a moment to look over the assortment, I didn¡¯t see a reason not to go with her selection. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Four gold.¡± I didn¡¯t know if that was a good price or not. But, it wasn¡¯t like I would argue with her. Pocketing the spices, I moved on to the next stall. It held several small plants in baskets. Each of which looked like pieces of a much larger whole. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± An older man asked from where he sat. Before I could answer, the old woman spoke up from her stall. ¡°That boy is new to cooking. He needs all the basics.¡± ¡°Guessing you gave him dried oregano and bay leaves?¡± ¡°Yep. Lasts longer.¡± ¡°Ginger?¡± ¡°You know I don¡¯t carry ginger powder. I don¡¯t like the stuff. Just give him a small piece of the root.¡± The old man picked through the baskets as he piled several items together into an empty basket. ¡°So, here is a basic assortment of tubers. Got a decent number of potatoes as you can''t screw those up. Just have to boil, fry, or bake them. Then we got some carrots, some onions, and some celeriac. Cut those up into small chunks and boil with some cubed meat for a decent stew. Mind that you cook the meat first.¡± That sounded so simple that even I couldn¡¯t mess it up. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Seven gold,¡± my eyebrows rose but he continued before I could ask why it was so much. ¡°There is enough here to make enough stew to last you a week. The excess potatoes will last you twice that if you eat it as a side and not a main dish.¡± Looking at the basket, I tried to figure out how so little food would make so much. With a sigh, I handed him the gold. The moment I attempted to put everything into my inventory when a warning popped up. All bags are full, defaulting to main inventory. ¡°Um,¡± I started. ¡°Where might I find a place to get some more bags.¡± ¡°Running out of room? You must be really new¡­¡± The old man was interrupted by the women. ¡°Or have an inventory full of junk.¡± He scowled at her, pointing across and down the row. ¡°Go see Zavier. He¡¯s the one with a cute kid dancing behind his stall. Tell him Brandon sent you.¡± Thanking him, I rejoined the flow of people as I kept an eye out for a girl jumping and moving around behind a stall. The moment I saw her, I found that her face was full of glee at something, though whatever it was I had no clue. Given how she was looking into nothingness, it could have been system-related or imaginary. If I had to place her age, she looked no more than ten or eleven. As soon as I stopped in front of the stall, she jumped to face me. ¡°Hello there.¡± Her face turned serious as her hands worked to smooth her dress. ¡°What kind of leather are you looking for?¡± A hand gestured at the stall, directing me to look over everything. As she did this, an older man shifted. One of his eyes constantly watched her as he worked on a piece of leather. ¡°I was told to come see a Zavier.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my dad.¡± She turned and pointed at the man before spinning back around. A pout on her lip as she protested, ¡°But I can help you too.¡± ¡°Sure, I just wanted to make sure I had the right stall,¡± I said, trying to not be the one to cause her to cry. Who knew what her dad would do if I did that. ¡°I need to get a few more bags as well as a few other things.¡± ¡°What size?¡± ¡°Small.¡± At my answer, she looked around for a second before stepping onto a basket behind the counter. Using it as she reached up to one of the higher baskets. Her fingers scrabbled as she worked to pull the lid off and reach inside. ¡°How many?¡± I took a second to the number of slots I had open in my main inventory. ¡°Ten.¡± Lifting small bag after small bag out, she counted out loud. ¡°One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.¡± She was just so cute as she worked hard. The sight brought a smile to my face. ¡°What else can we get you?¡± ¡°I was also looking to commission a sheath and maybe see about getting my weapon¡¯s wrap repaired.¡± I pulled out my Chisa Katana, showing her what I needed. ¡°Oh, and I would like to get a few pairs of pants.¡± Her face twisted as she protested. ¡°But you look so pretty in your skirt. Why would you want to wear something so ugly?¡± My smile faltered at being called pretty, especially in conjunction with my wearing a skirt. Thankfully the man took that opportunity to step in. Likely because of whatever emotion had flashed across my face. ¡°Now now Fiona. You shouldn¡¯t go around insulting people. Especially a customer.¡± He held out his hand for my sword. I hesitated for a second, afraid to part with the weapon even though I had only had it for a day. But if I didn¡¯t then it would never get repaired. So, reluctantly, I passed it over. He took it and started to examine the grip. Tsking as he picked at the frayed edges. ¡°How fancy are you looking for?¡± ¡°Something simple. Same with the pants.¡± ¡°We can do that. Though it will cost you ten gold for the wrap.¡± ¡°Why so much?¡± ¡°Because it has to be made with care and precision. Can¡¯t have it falling apart in battle or causing any hot spots. Such shoddy work would be bad for both you and me. Best to do it right the first time.¡± While I nodded, I had no clue what he meant. I guess I would just have to trust his expertise. Afraid of the answer but needing it, I asked, ¡°And how much for the rest?¡± He took a second to look everything over as he tallied everything up. ¡°Fifty gold.¡± I scoffed. ¡°That seems high. Forty.¡± ¡°Forty-nine¡± ¡°Forty-one. Also, what if I told you that Brandon sent me?¡± ¡°Forty-five and only because that geezer sent you.¡± I went to counter but he held up a finger. ¡°As it is my wife is going to kill me for lowering it so much. Take it or leave it.¡± I passed him the gold and took the bags. ¡°How soon can I get my sword back?¡± ¡°The rest will take a day or two but I should be able to get that done tonight.¡± He said as he moved back to his stool. His fingers were already working to remove the wrap. ¡°I will drop your weapon off at the guild as soon as it is done.¡± I took a second to move the bags into my inventory before taking a look around at the other stalls. The sight of one with an assortment of utility items caught my eye. The guy there didn¡¯t care to haggle as I purchased a small table, a chair, cleaning tools, a cutting board, a ladle, silverware, bowls, plates, and other necessary items. In the end, the only thing the man didn¡¯t seem to sell was something to heat everything up. He instead told me to simply cook over a fire or find someone that dealt in magic stoves before he moved onto his next customer. After that, I got several other plants, meats, and even a few basic recipes. All for the low price of forty more gold. Easy come easy go I suppose. Maybe I should cook for myself from now on. That way I could get some practice while saving a bit of money. If worst came to worst and I ruined a meal, I could order something from the kitchen. Chapter 23 - Start Your Training On autopilot, I returned to the guild. My mind and eyes fully focused on the interface in front of me. Recipe after recipe scrolled past. There were quite a few of them for purchase at one of the stalls. At least they sold them in bundles because, even with the list narrowed down to those that I had the ingredients for as well as ones that a beginner could make, there were over a hundred recipes. These recipes ranged from stews and soups to skewers and something called a fritter. Yeah, I had no clue what that last one was. Too bad the recipe didn¡¯t include any images. The doors of the guild hall were wide open. Various people were cleaning the inside. Giving it a good scrub while the weather was good and warm. I stepped around a section of the floor that was still wet as Ginny waved me down from where she stood behind the counter. The moment I was within earshot, she started to talk. ¡°Your material appraisal is complete. Seems you got into a bit of trouble with that group yesterday.¡± One of her eyebrows rose toward her hairline. ¡°Tell me, did they make you do anything dangerous?¡± ¡°No ma¡¯am.¡± I quickly said. While I wanted to avoid the group due to how they treated Lance, the group was great. ¡°The group had me stay in the back with their spell caster and archer. The only time I even got hurt was my own fault.¡± Internally I winced as I recalled just how I had frozen during that fight. ¡°Good.¡± She huffed. ¡°As for the value of the beetles and eggs, the guild is willing to offer one ninety for the whole lot.¡± For some reason, I felt that she was a bit colder toward me. Not from anything particular, I just got that feeling from her. I stammered at the number. What the hell was going on? There was no way that those creatures were worth that much. ¡°But, but, why? What about these items warrant that kind of money? What could they be used for?¡± ¡°It was the eggshells you brought back. Those are used in various magical fertilizers. All of which are used across the kingdom. The only time anyone can get some is when a colony is just forming. Given that demand and the lack of a steady supply, those shells go for quite a bit.¡± As she spoke, her expression, while it retained its cold edge, softened. ¡°How much were the beetle shells worth?¡± She pulled out a small slip of paper and passed it to me. Three things were listed on it.
Amount Item Value
213 Verdant Shelled Beetle (Whole) 0.76.21.84
189 Verdant Shelled Eggs (Shells) 0.113.78.16
Total 0.190.0.0
¡°What is with these numbers at the end?¡± I asked, pointing out the weird numbers in the value column. She took a second to look at what I was pointing at. ¡°That is a shorthand method most people use to denote currency. Starting from right to left we have copper, silver, gold, then platinum. One hundred copper to one silver, one hundred silver to one gold, one thousand gold to one platinum.¡± While I hadn¡¯t known what the ratio was for gold to platinum, I had been told about the other two. With that information in mind, the information in that column made more sense. It was similar to how the dollar worked, just with a bit of a longer number. ¡°Thanks for the information. Is there anything else required for this?¡± I gestured at the paper. ¡°Just your signature at the bottom.¡± The moment I signed it, she pulled out a small bag of coins. We traded items. With a moment of focus, I attempted to put the bag into my inventory. While the bag deflated, it stayed where it was. No more inventory slots open. Given that I had bought a ton of bags today, I was fairly sure there were slots open in my inventory. Taking a moment to check, I found that most of my inventory was open. Yet no matter what I tried, the bag would not go into my inventory. This time both of Ginny¡¯s eyebrows scrunched together in annoyance. ¡°How many open slots do you have?¡± ¡°Eighty-five.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°How many open slots do you have that are not inside of a bag?¡± Not understanding what she was getting at, I replied as I tried to force the bag into the screen. ¡°None.¡± The bag suddenly vanished in a blur as her hand dipped below the counter. Before I could so much as say a word in protest, she said, ¡°Bags cannot go into other bags.¡± Oh, yeah, didn¡¯t someone tell me that earlier? Her other hand gestured at me to move on. Dismissing me as another person walked up to take my spot. I debated rejoining the line and questioning her but something told me that wouldn¡¯t go over well. Instead, I started toward the training room, not really sure if Barti and his group would still be there. As I got closer, the sounds of wood hitting something solid made its way to me through the door. I stood in front of the door as I debated what to say and do. After all, the three of them had left me to the mercy of the guild and Michael¡¯s party. While things had gone over decently well, I was still a bit irked. But I also needed the training. My mind waffled back and forth until it froze as the door opened. Barti held the door as he looked at me for a moment before asking, ¡°Are you coming in or are you going to stand out here all night?¡± ¡°Um,¡± My first instinct was to come up with some excuse. Some reason for why I had been standing out here like a stalker. After all, I didn¡¯t want to lose the ability to train under him and the two girls but what could I say that wouldn¡¯t sound stupid? Wait, why did I even care what they thought? ¡°Why the hell did you stay quiet last night?¡± I demanded. He sighed as he leaned against the door. ¡°Because, while we can train you here, I cannot go out of the city without an escort for¡­reasons.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. His excuse sounded half-assed. ¡°Reasons? What reason could there be to limit you to a city? What reason would be good enough to leave me to the wolves? And I mean that both figuratively and metaphorically. What if they decided to get me alone and assault me? Would you have helped me then?¡± Barti¡¯s voice was tinged with a bit of anger as he spoke. ¡°Just, trust me when I say that if I had any other choice, I would have taken it. Luckily, that was the group I was going to end up asking to help with your training anyway. Am I sorry it went down the way it did? Yes.¡± What the fuck. If not for the fact that he and the girls were free and willing to teach me, I would have walked right then and there. Hell, if they tried something like that again, I might just do that. ¡°Now, we have the training room for the next month. Hopefully that is long enough to get you up to speed on the basics.¡± His eyes looked me up and down as he let out a bit of an annoyed sigh. My eyes followed his to see my skirt as it waved through the soft breeze. ¡°Having holes in your clothes makes you look incapable of fighting.¡± The elf sounded like he was admonishing me. ¡°I am incapable of fighting.¡± I sharply reminded him. ¡°Then you will need to learn fast. Also, you should buy a few more pairs of clothes for when the ones you have are no longer usable.¡± A bit confused, I again looked down at my legs, this time shoving my skirt to the side to find whatever he was talking about. In the middle of both my legs, just below my knees, were two jagged holes. The sight of them reminded me of the two beetles that had managed to stab into my leg. ¡°I will get some more clothes later.¡± I rubbed at my face and walked past him. Suddenly wanting nothing more than to move onto the training before he found something else embarrassing to point out. Tindi was at one side of the room. Her fists and feet flying as she punched a bag that hung down from the ceiling. Mindi was on the other side of the room. Her body glowed softly as she sat on the ground. Small objects flickered in and out of the air around her. None of which were large enough or stayed long enough for me to make out what they were. Barti closed the door behind me. He must have understood my need to change subjects as he spoke, rather than asked, ¡°You leveled.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good, did you pick an element?¡± ¡°Fire.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± he gestured to Mindi, ¡°She will train you in how to use magic.¡± I started in that direction but his hand stopped me. ¡°However, that will come after today''s training.¡± I groaned at what I knew was his next words would be. ¡°Get running.¡± My feet pounded against the wood floor as I made my way around the room. Dodging the bag Tindi was pulverizing as it swung into my path. ¡°Faster!¡± The elf called out. Too bad. I was already running as fast as I had during that first day. There was no way I would be able to run any faster. Still, I pushed myself. To my surprise, my speed did increase, but so did the burn. Laps, pushups, and crunches. He had me do all the same exercises that I had during our last session. Only faster, longer, and more. Thankfully, this time he added in a break here and there to give me time to drink water. Did I mention that he let me do smaller sets? Why? I asked the same thing after the second time he called for a break. ¡°Why are you letting me take breaks? Why not push me like you did last time?¡± ¡°Last time I was trying to find your limits. Now that I know what those are, I can push you to that edge without going far enough to kill you. Though it''s not like that would kill you or any other traveler.¡± ¡°Wait, so everyone has access to the system created by the gods but only us travelers are brought back after death?¡± Ok, I know this is a game and it wouldn¡¯t last long if a player''s death was permanent. Especially when you considered that it was impossible to create a second character or reset your original. But why not extend the same protections to the NPCs? This would make the world seem more alive in some ways. What if one of those characters was trying to relay secret information in a battle and died during an escort mission? The opposing side would be more likely to win and it would be your fault. Or what about a monster destroying a village? The village would be gone with no way of coming back. ¡°Yes and no.¡± Barti sighed as if preparing to explain something he didn¡¯t want to. ¡°There are classes that allow one to resurrect others. Each is rare and the spells they provide have at least one restriction. Add to that the costs. Sometimes it is better to just let the dead lie.¡± What could he have seen to say such a thing? When would it be best to leave someone in the grave, especially if you had a way to bring them back? Then again, now that I was thinking about various scenarios I found that there were such situations where the resulting cost was more than it was worth. Instead of continuing, I changed the subject. ¡°So, what are we doing for training next?¡± ¡°Do you have a weapon?¡± ¡°Yes, though it is currently getting repaired. The quartermaster¡­¡± He waved off my explanation. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter why you don¡¯t have it. I just need to know what weapon it is so I can start to train you.¡± A rod made of a deep red wood appeared in his hand. He didn¡¯t move or try to pass me the weapon. Realizing he was waiting for my answer, I said, ¡°Chisa Katana.¡± Eyes fixed on the rod, he started to mutter as his hand passed over it. The wood rippled as if it was a lake and he was dropping stones into it. Waves pushed parts out as other parts vanished. It thickened in some parts while thinning in others until the rod resembled my sword with uncanny detail. His hand held it out to me hilt first. ¡°Until I see your weapon, this will have to work.¡± I nearly dropped the thing as I took it from him. Who knew that wood could be so damn heavy? It was even heavier than its metal counterpart. ¡°Now, let us go over some basic forms. Take whatever stance you have been using until now.¡± Feet slightly apart, I held the weapon out in front of me. Muscles across my body tensed up in preparation to react to anything that might come my way. Barti clicked his tongue as another rod of wood appeared in his hand. Unlike mine, he didn¡¯t form it into a sword. Given how it stung when he used it to whack my feet to force them apart, I doubted it mattered. ¡°Feet shoulder width apart. One foot ahead of the other. Keep your knees slightly bent.¡± The rod smacked my back next. ¡°Stop slouching. Straighten your spine.¡± Another smack hit my chest. ¡°Roll your shoulders back and keep your chest open. Being able to breathe deeply will keep you going longer in a fight than if you compress your lungs. An easy way to remember this is to remember open chest, open airway.¡± I did as he commanded. My feet settled into place as my knees bent. My back straightened as my shoulders lifted. I felt the difference immediately as it suddenly became much easier to breathe. ¡°Also, for system''s sake, relax.¡± Confused, I asked, ¡°How am I supposed to react to something if my muscles are relaxed?¡± ¡°How can you react if your muscles are tired from being tense all the time?¡± He retorted. ¡°As you are using an eastern weapon, you will find that the moves are more fluid. Flowing from one form to another. Attack to defense and back. All without pause. Like water. So, like water, you will need to learn to flow and not rely on speed and power.¡± ¡°How can I hurt someone if I am doing no damage or get hit the moment the fight starts?¡± I grumbled. ¡°Both speed and power will come with time and practice. Both of which you travelers seem to forget even though you are gifted with copious amounts of one to do the other. Now, lift your sword over your head and slice down as you step forward.¡± It sounded as if he was a bit disappointed in me. As if he expected better. As I resigned myself to yet more hard work and training, I started to swing. He corrected my posture using the rod before having me repeat the motion. Again and again, I swung at the air. I only paused for a few seconds at a time to fix something after his rod smacked a part of my body. It hit the body part that was positioned wrong as he told me how to correct it. Given how hard those smacks were, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if I wasn¡¯t black and blue by the end of the day. Still, I kept at it. Lift, step, swing, return. Lift, step, swing, return. Over and over again. ¡°Good,¡± he stopped me from lifting my blade after I finished another slash. ¡°Keep your feet where they are for the start of this next move.¡± Unfortunately, I had gotten so used to returning to the starting position that my foot was sliding back without me noticing until he said not to. I scrambled a bit as I returned the offending foot back. ¡°This next move is mostly used to parry a blade as you move away but can also be used as an attack.¡± His body lowered into a mirrored stance. The rod pointed toward me as he demonstrated the move. ¡°Step forward with your other foot as your blade cuts up at an angle.¡± The move knocked my wooden blade to the side as he got in close. Stepping back, he gestured for me to try. I want to say I got it the first time but that would be lying. As with the first strike, he yelled at me over and over. The move was too shallow, too steep. At least with those mistakes he just hit my hand and told me to try again. When my foot went too far or not far enough he pushed me hard enough to send me sprawling to demonstrate how vulnerable I was in that position. Still, I grit my teeth and kept going. Eventually, I managed to perform the move without getting whacked or knocked over. ¡°Good. From that new position, slice horizontally. Sliding your other foot to the side.¡± Following his instructions, I cut a horizontal line in the air. As I moved back, I found myself automatically flowing through the previous two moves. The transitions were pretty choppy but I could see how the moves would flow. A sudden epiphany caused me to feel like a moron. One powerful attack was all well and good but what would you do if it was blocked? Better to hit the opponent again and again. Never letting up until either they were down or you were. Chapter 24 - Go With The Flow As I finished the horizontal slash, I continued the motion. Going with the flow before Barti could stop me. My forwardmost foot slid back and to the side as I sliced down at an angle that was a mirror of my earlier slice. Using the rotation to both generate a bit more force as well as to move me away from my invisible opponent. ¡°It seems like you have a bit of talent with the blade,¡± Barti commented. ¡°Back to a neutral pose.¡± The only thing I needed to move to do so was my sword, even then it wasn¡¯t that far off. ¡°Take a step back and raise your sword. Bring your hands up to your ear while moving your blade so that it is parallel to the ground.¡± While the movement was smooth, my right arm strained a bit due to the awkward angle. As every other time I didn¡¯t get it just right, he smacked the out-of-place arm. The rod in his hand forced my elbow back and in. While this relieved some of the strain on my muscles, the spot he hit stung like hell. ¡°Now, keep that position as I explain a few things, after which you can give the entire sequence a try.¡± It sounded like he was testing me. Seeing if I could remember and figure out how to do the moves from whatever description he gave. Probably to make sure that I could practice these moves after today. As he talked, he casually strolled around me. ¡°From this position, while you can stab at your opponent, it is better to instead move into a wide diagonal sweep. Cutting from their shoulder to hip. Then cut horizontally across the waist. Aiming for just below their belly button.¡± I wanted to stop and ask him if he was sure about that because that was a fairly gruesome wound to give someone. Then again, if I was ever forced to use these moves it would be on something as it tried to kill me. At some point, Barti stopped talking. I had been so distracted with the thoughts of killing someone that I hadn''t noticed. Without rhyme or reason, he resumed talking. ¡°Move your hand up to eye level while moving the blade so that it is perpendicular to the ground as you use it to block anything swinging at you.¡± He made a motion as if he was slicing down at me from above, giving me an idea of what he was getting at. ¡°Slice across the opponent''s body as you pull your hands to your waist only to immediately stab forward.¡± ¡°Now, most of the time your thrust will be blocked. But for this set, we are going to assume that it is not.¡± He said, waving his hands in dismissal. ¡°Step back, pulling your sword with you. As you pull it out, slice outward with as much leverage as your back hand can generate. After you retreat, return to the ready position.¡± Apparently, he was done giving instructions because he stopped talking and stepped back. His eyes tracked my movements or lack thereof. Taking it as a cue to start, my foot slid forward as I stabbed. My target was the location of my enemy''s face. Given that I was thinking of a certain elf at that moment, it meant that my stab was angled upward. Thankfully I managed to adjust the strike to something I could work with. Without waiting, I slid into the second position and pulled the blade out of the target. Readjusting my blade, I stepped forward as I sliced down. Cutting across my opponent''s chest. The moment my foot landed, I was already starting to slide it sideways. The blade rotated as I sliced across their belly. Something about how I was supposed to block an attack with the next move caused me to instinctively bend my knees more. As my center of gravity lowered I rotated the blade so that whatever attack was coming at me would hit the spine and not the edge. Neither was good for the blade but, hopefully, the thicker side could handle the abuse better. The moment the imaginary attack landed on my blade, I twisted the sword up and around, moving the blade out of position as I pulled back and struck fast. My stab went through the my target¡¯s chest and into their heart. As I panted, Barti clapped. ¡°That was good.¡± ¡°Seems a bit too good.¡± Came Mindi¡¯s skeptical voice from her side of the room. I turned to find her now standing. The glow that had surrounded her, as well as all the intermittent objects, were gone. ¡°It is what it is. Now, are you ready to teach him some magic or should I continue his weapon training?¡± ¡°I was thinking more about getting some lunch.¡± At her answer, his eyes furrowed as he looked at something to the side. ¡°Huh, didn¡¯t realize it was nearly that time.¡± Barti shrugged. ¡°How about I treat all of us to a bit of an early dinner?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± A sudden silence filled the room as the sound of rapid punches hitting the bag vanished. Less than a moment later Tindi shouted ¡°Food!¡± I shrugged as the two of them looked at me. To be honest, with or without the offer of food, I was more than glad to give my muscles a break. ¡°Sure.¡± As I held the wooden sword out to the elf, he shook his head. ¡°While for most of our training bouts, I will have you use your weapon, you will find that training with others might require something that won''t kill them if you manage to hit them.¡± That couldn¡¯t be right. While I knew that training with whatever it was you were going to be using was best practice, it was not a good idea to use something that could potentially kill your sparring partner. ¡°I think I misheard or something. Did you say that I would be using my weapon while training with you? The one that can actually do damage if I hit anything?¡± ¡°No,¡± he shook his head. ¡°You heard right.¡± His light brown eyes, shining with a bit of mirth, met mine as he continued. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about hurting one of us. Even if you do manage to land a hit, we are strong enough to heal such damage without any issues.¡± My concern suddenly felt silly as I put the training sword into my inventory. The way this group held themselves sometimes made me forget that they were much stronger than me. I tried to keep my head down as we made our way down the hall. ¡°So, what element did you choose?¡± Mindi asked. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I looked over at her so that I could see her expression as I answered. ¡°Fire.¡± ¡°That is a decent element to start with.¡± Her head bobbed a bit as we entered the main room. The place was empty save for the few people that milled here and there. The lack of people confused and worried me. ¡°Where is everyone?¡± ¡°Likely out doing quests,¡± Tindi said as she sat at the first table large enough to fit our group. Thankfully this one was not closed in by a wall or anything. ¡°Most people chose to stay inside during the last cold snap of the season. Now that it is starting to warm up they are all rushing to get as much money and materials as they can before the spring festival.¡± ¡°Festival?¡± The word caused my head to snap to look at her. Nearly every manga and anime I had read had such events. While I had never personally had the chance to experience one, they looked fun. While she and Mindi laughed at my reaction, Barti was silent. Though, based on how his shoulders shook, even he was cracking up inside. While he was the first to calm down enough to speak, it still took him a second before he said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You will be able to join in the festivities as well.¡± ¡°Will there be any events? What about games? Food?¡± My mouth worked overtime, not letting them get a second to answer before the next question flooded out. It took Mindi slapping a hand over my mouth to shut me up so that Tindi could answer. ¡°There are many games and competitions over the course of the day. Though the one that has the most attention and the most participants is the Arena fights.¡± The thought of fighting in an arena against another person had my blood pumping. Even if I lost it would be fun. Plus where better to see a bunch of different fighting styles? ¡°Don¡¯t forget the magic-based competitions. I plan to take first in both the Artistry and speed casting events.¡± Mindi said as a server walked over to our table. ¡°What meal are we looking for? Dinner? Lunch? A combination?¡± ¡°Dinner for me, the special if the chef is ready to make it,¡± Barti answered. He turned his head to look at me. His eyes held a question that seemed important but for the life of me, I could not decipher it. Both girls were silent as they watched him. I was fairly sure the two of them were even holding their breath in anticipation of a decision. Without giving any sign of his decision, he turned back to the server. ¡°Did the shipment of Pearlfruit juice come in yet?¡± ¡°The chef should be ready and yes we did. Do you want a mug?¡± ¡°Get us a small pitcher if you will.¡± The server turned to face me. I froze as I still had no clue what was available and almost wished she would ask the girls first. Not wanting to be difficult and tell her to come back to me in a minute, I simply asked her ¡°Can I have the same?¡± She nodded as she turned her head to look at Mindi and Tindi in turn. Both asked for the special, though Tindi asked for a side of honey for some reason. As soon as the server started to walk away, I turned to Tindi, ¡°So, when is this festival, and what events would you recommend I participate in?¡± Her chuckle was deep. As if it originated from vibrations in her chest and not her lungs. ¡°It is in nine days. If you work hard you might be capable of participating in the lower-tier arena fights. Other than that, I have no clue. Mindi would be the one to ask if it would be worth getting into the magic events.¡± ¡°We will see after training tonight and tomorrow,¡± Mindi answered without me even needing to ask. ¡°It depends on your innate control and skill.¡± ¡°And if we find that I am not all that good at any magic?¡± Given that I was going to be on my own until I ran into one of my friends, it was a valid concern. I needed every advantage I could get. While the sword would give me a way to fight up close, I hoped that magic would give me the long-range combat capabilities I would need. It would also be nice if I learned a few support spells like how to heal myself if I got stabbed, again. Mindi¡¯s hand covered mine. ¡°Stop worrying. I am sure that you will be able to learn some spells. Plus, there are spells that you can buy from the points shop if you are unable to learn any of the ones I know.¡± Her brows scrunched together as if she just realized something. ¡°Please tell me you didn¡¯t buy any spells from the point shop.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what would be useful or how to use them. I figured I would just ask someone when I started to learn magic.¡± The hand that covered mine lifted as she dismissed my concern. ¡°The shop only offers spells and such that you can use with your current abilities and stats. For example, it won''t offer to sell you a fireball spell if you can¡¯t use the fire element. This is because if you purchase a spell from the shop you are, in fact, purchasing the knowledge required to cast the spell at the most basic level.¡± That explained a few things about that page in my interface. Before I could ask another question, Barti interrupted with one of his own. ¡°Do you know when you might be getting your sword back?¡± My mind reeled a bit at the sudden change in topic. ¡°I was told the wrap would be done by tomorrow. Why?¡± ¡°So I can adjust the weight of your training sword and teach you how to care for your weapon.¡± Yeah, that made sense. ¡°Anyway, looks like dinner is here.¡± Just as he said that I noticed the server out of the corner of my eyes as they approached our table with a tray in each hand. She set both on the next table over. Her hands worked quickly as she unloaded four identical plates onto our table along with four cups and a pitcher of an opalescent liquid that seemed to shimmer. As the liquid rippled, the colors moved. The light it gave off shifted and changed as it did so. It was like looking at a stained glass window but the light coming through was somehow a different color than the glass. I was so captivated by the drink that the world seemed to fade away. Something that felt like wood was pressed into my hand, startling me out of my stupor. When I looked over, I realized it was a cup of the captivating liquid. There was just enough in it for a few swallows. ¡°Try it,¡± Barti said as he cut at his food. While all of them were eating the fish, their eyes were focused on me. Watching me. Waiting to see my reaction to whatever this liquid was. Tentatively I lifted the cup to my and took a sip. Everything around me slowed so much that it seemed like the world froze. As I looked around, I found a thin string of gold sticking out of my chest. Slowly, a white opalescent mist condensed around the golden thread. Not knowing what was going on, I lifted the string to my eyes. Thankfully, the mist stayed where it was or I would have missed the faint red strand interwoven with the golden threads. Whoever had woven the thread had added it for a reason, not that I had a clue why. Before I could do anything more, look any closer, something yanked on the far end of the string with enough force that the piece in my hand was ripped away. There was enough force that I half expected it to rip the thing out of my chest. Of course, it didn¡¯t. After all, this was a game thus could willfully ignore physics whenever the developers wanted. Without much more warning, I found myself being pulled up and out of the guildhall. My body passed through walls and floors as if they were simply holograms. The world shrank as I flew higher and higher, before eventually vanishing beneath the clouds. Slowly, my trajectory shifted as the thread curved to the west. Forests, plains, rivers, lakes, and even mountains appeared and disappeared as I flew. I was overwhelmed by everything I was seeing that I didn¡¯t even notice the ground coming up until it was nearly upon me. While I knew it would be pointless at these speeds, both of my arms lifted in reflex as I prayed to whatever gods were out there that I wouldn¡¯t just go splat. Chapter 25 - Past and Future Now, I don¡¯t know if any of them heard me, let alone answered my prayer, but I am proud to announce that I did not go splat. While I felt the cold air around me, I didn¡¯t feel the need to shiver. Almost as if my body wasn¡¯t bothered by it. Coupled with the fact that I had flown through walls and floors, I had a growing suspicion that I was no longer in my body. While this could mean that I was dead, I highly doubted that Barti or their group would have poisoned me, probably. It was more likely that I was being shown something or my mind had somehow wandered away from my body. As my mind tried to figure out what was going on, my eyes started to take in the scene around me. Before me was a rather large wooden building. It reminded me of some Japanese temples. The mountain it sat on was tall and steep. A glance over the closest edge of the platform was rather informative. The mountain was just as steep below as it was above. Clouds far below blurred the edges until the stone disappeared entirely. With a jerk back I moved away from the edge. I wanted to figure out why I had been dragged here without falling toward the ground far, far below. Seeing no other option available, I walked into the temple. Pillers stood tall as they supported the roof high above. They were one of the only things visible in the room. The only thing in the place was a large chair made of some material. Not that I was paying attention to any of that. My eyes were stuck on the woman that lounged in said chair. Around her, multiple tails were visible. Some poured across the edge of the cushion while others laid over the armrest. Long, pointed ears pointed directly up out of the top of her frost-colored hair. They reminded me of the ears from a fox. Her eyes were closed as she drew deep from a long pipe. The moment she let it go, an off-white cloud obscured my view of her. Not wanting to lose sight of her, I resumed walking forward. Out of nowhere, my shoes scuffed the ground. The light sound broke the silence that filled the place. While I knew it wasn¡¯t likely, I hoped she had not heard it. Too bad because, as the cloud dispersed, her face came back into view. Her eyes were locked on me as anger boiled off her. They stayed locked onto me as she stood up. While she was taller than me, not counting the ears, she was shorter than I expected. Nine tails fanned out behind her as she pointed her pipe at my chest. The Japanese styling of the place, the number of tails, and her fox ears left no doubt in my mind that she was a Kitsune. Given what I knew about them, I knew to never fuck with one. Too bad I didn¡¯t have a chance now that I had caught her attention. ¡°Humans are not welcome on my sacred mountain, no matter the method of travel. Return to your body but know that you will be unable to speak of what you may have seen of this place with anyone but my children.¡± With a flick of her pipe, the world smeared as I was sent flying. The world didn¡¯t stop moving until I smashed into the ground with enough force to leave bruises. With wide eyes, I got up and looked around to see where I had been sent this time. Sitting at the table in front of me, Barti and the girls watched me. I opened my mouth to demand answers about what I saw but found that I couldn¡¯t. The words were on the tip of my tongue but they simply would not come out. Even as I tried to ask roundabout questions, my voice failed me. Finally, I gave up and asked the only question that related to my trip that I could. ¡°What in the HELL is that drink?¡± ¡°Pearlfruit juice,¡± Barti replied as he took a sip. His eyes closed for a moment before he continued. ¡°The fruit grows deep in Elf-controlled territories. Harvested during special ceremonies and processed in such a way as to maintain the fruit''s special magic. Magic that will allow the drinker to view something relevant to you or your future. It is one of the country''s most strategic exports.¡± I stared down at my cup in awe and puzzlement. I was surprised that there was such an item. But how was a temple in the middle of nowhere with a stupid powerful Kitsune a part of my future? Not that I could ask about it. ¡°What did you see?¡± Mindi asked, with unabashed curiosity. I tried to answer her but I found that I still couldn¡¯t. An idea occurred to me and I pulled up a blank message in my mailbox. The moment I went to type, my mind blanked. Whatever that damn woman had done, I was truly incapable of talking about the situation. At least, I was while inside the game. Maybe if I left the game I could ask around on the forums about it. With a sigh, I resolved to save that task for after magic training. ¡°I can¡¯t talk about it.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Mindi whined. ¡°Do you think you cannot trust us or something?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that is what he is saying,¡± Barti said as his eyes studied my face. ¡°I think it is more like he physically cannot talk about it. Probably a geas of some sort.¡± Which made sense. Though I had no clue when that woman had cast such a thing, she had said that I would be unable to talk about anything I saw. ¡°Tell me, did someone see you while you were out? You don¡¯t have to talk, just nod yes or no.¡± It was good that he just wanted me to nod because I couldn¡¯t even say yes to that question. ¡°Damn.¡± Mindi grumped. ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Tindi spoke up as she dumped her small ramakin of honey onto her fish. I took my time as I tried to ask about the liquid and what it showed me without bringing up anything about what I saw. ¡°So, how much of what it showed me should I pay attention to?¡± ¡°As much as you want.¡± Barti sounded a bit sad as he spoke. Both of the girls looked at him in sympathy. Neither said anything but they both made it clear that they were there for him if he wanted to talk about it. I stayed quiet as his face clouded over in grief as he stared off into space. I ate my fish in silence as we waited. Eventually, his mind returned. ¡°I am going to tell you a story of the worst mistake in my life. All because of a mistake I made after drinking this liquid during a festival.¡± As he spoke, a mist lifted out of his hands. Surrounding our group as a breeze tugged it this way and that. Slowly, my mind fogged over as he started to tell his story. The world around me faded into the background. Replaced with what looked like cut scenes. Suspended high in the air. The gentle wind swayed the long rope bridge that served as the pathway between the various tree platforms. It brought with it the sounds of laughter and talking from the platform that was just out of sight. Slightly out of breath, I ran up the slight incline toward the platform on the far side. While it was the largest in the village, that didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t crowded. It was no wonder given that my brother and the chief¡¯s daughter were getting married. Everyone in the village had known it was going to happen, everyone except those two anyway. With how stubborn the two of them were, it was a wonder that they had ever confessed their feelings. ¡°There you are.¡± Micah clapped me on the shoulder with enough force to nearly send me sprawling to the ground. ¡°Micah,¡± I growled. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be at the front getting ready for your bride to show up?¡± As people noticed us, they shifted as they created a path to the altar set up in front of the city''s Mother Tree. It was the oldest tree in this section of the forest. Brought here from the elven home city when they were looking to expand. With every marriage, the couple would take a sapling gifted to them by the tree and plant it somewhere at the edge, increasing the size of the forest and thus the village. ¡°Now how could I get married without my best man? Your wife would kill both of us if you missed this.¡± ¡°My wife wouldn¡¯t kill you.¡± I protested. ¡°She would let Brianna have that honor.¡± We both laughed as we walked the last steps. ¡°Micah, are you ready?¡± A wisp of a woman asked from where she sat on the altar. We both bowed while he answered, ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Good,¡± she smiled as she pushed her body off the edge of the altar. It drifted down as if it was a leaf on its way to its next destination. ¡°Because here she comes.¡± Spinning around, I took in the beautiful dresses both of our women wore. While the woman in front was gorgeous, my eyes were focused on the goddess behind her. Her dark sapphire blue hair shimmered in the sunlight as the wind pulled it out from her head. My eyes drifted from her hair to her face. As soon as her striking emerald eyes locked onto mine, I was lost. She shone with laughter and glee. It was something I would never grow tired of seeing. As they both moved up, I stepped away from my brother and toward my wife. We stood to the side as the platform went silent. ¡°Welcome.¡± As the woman spoke, the wind carried her voice across the platform. ¡°I have had the joy to unite many youngsters throughout my long life. Some brash, others long overdue.¡± A ripple of laughter and abashed faces passed through the crowd at that. ¡°I feel that this one has been a long time coming.¡± Her voice grew more serious. ¡°Now, Micah, Brianna. You both stand before this village''s Mother Tree. What do you seek?¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As the magic faded, the platform erupted in cheers, whistling, and music. I lost myself in the party as I danced with my wife and daughter long into the night. We only decided to leave when Xilly started to yawn. ¡°Wait,¡± Micah called as we made our way through the much-thinned crowd, Xilly high up on my hips. Her head rested on my shoulder as I turned to find Micah racing toward us, his wife in tow. ¡°Before you go, join us in one last drink.¡± He held up a bottle while Brianna held up four cups. ¡°One of the elders gifted us with a bottle of Pearlfruit juice.¡± My eyes shot to the bottle. That was one hell of a gift to give. While it wasn¡¯t expensive, most were exported and sold to other countries. As one, we circled around the nearest table. The patrons were long since gone. We all watched as Micah poured a shot into each of the glasses. The opalescent mana that flowed through the drink absorbed and radiated the light from the fires and mana lamps. Its light brightened the table. Small, nearly indistinct images danced through the beams. Something ran through a forest in one. As the image vanished, it was replaced by what looked like a dusty workshop deep in the mountains. I hesitated to grab the cup. Afraid of what the liquid would show me. Afraid of what magic itself would point out as important to my future. And, glancing at the rest of our group, I found I wasn¡¯t the only one. ¡°Pwetty,¡± Xilly said, her hand reaching out to the nearest cup from where she sat in my lap. Her movement broke us out of our hesitation-filled stupor. Each of us grabbed our cup and gulped the liquid down. Flashes of the forest filled my mind''s eye. Monsters raged across the ground while their footfalls crushed everything as they went. The scene disappeared, replaced with another full of monsters as they torre across the canopy. Overloaded branches fell, taking their passengers with them. Yet again, the scene disappeared, replaced with a scene of devastation. Monster corpses littered the forest floor. Some of their bodies were crushed while others had wounds from various weapons and spells. Mixed in were the bodies of elves. Elves that I knew. The magic faded, taking with it, the visions. Not that I would forget what I saw. Based on the looks everyone else had on their face, I was the only one shown such things. In fact, they all looked like they were shown something amazing. I didn¡¯t want to ruin any of that for them so, before they could see my shocked and fearful emotions, I forced myself to think of something happy. I would just have to ask an elder about it in the morning. Early in the morning, I walked into the shack. The elder was thankfully at his desk. Taking up a ready position, I voice my request. ¡°Elder Quickblossom, may I have a moment of your time?¡± ¡°What have I said about calling me Yandre?¡± He said in his brusk tone as his eyes glared at me and his hands finished filling out a piece of paper. ¡°Protocol¡­¡± ¡°Look, son, I helped raise you after your mother lost a part of herself when your father passed. I will not accept protocol from you except on formal occasions.¡± His eyes bored into mine as he waited to make sure that I understood what he was saying. Not that either of us believed I would do as he asked. If I had then he wouldn¡¯t have had to ask every time we met. His breath rushed out in resignation as he spoke, ¡°Now, what can I do for you?¡± After a quick look around the room, I asked, ¡°Is there somewhere we can talk?¡± His eyes studied me for a moment but he didn¡¯t ask the question that I was sure was on the tip of his tongue. He knew me well enough to know that I wouldn¡¯t ask for him to talk privately if it wasn¡¯t important. With a simple flick of his hand, a spell flashed into place. The world went silent around us while every sound we made echoed. ¡°Well?¡± He prompted when I didn¡¯t immediately start talking. I started and stopped as I told him everything the liquid had shown me. The more I said, the more the color in his face drained away as he sagged deeper into his chair. By the time I finished, he looked defeated and deflated. His nearly five hundred years of age peaked through as what I said sank in. ¡°There are only two things that could be.¡± He started in a voice that was soft and full of anguish. ¡°It could be a dungeon break or a mass migration. Given that we are nowhere near a monster nest, it has to be a dungeon break.¡± ¡°We have a dungeon close enough for such a thing to be a threat?¡± The old man¡¯s head shook back and forth. ¡°Not really. The outskirts of the city were growing too close to the entrance. After weeks of debate, the elders finally agreed to eliminate the core. They sent a team in with your father. So, unless it has managed to regrow its core in the last fifty years, it is not a threat.¡± Hearing that floored me. Dungeons were great resources for the nation that owned them. Adventurers from all over would come to challenge it. The cities around them benefited financially as they spent their money and sold any loot they found. For it to be eliminated, it had to have posed a definite risk. The old man''s eyes met mine. A fire burning in them as he came to a decision. ¡°I want you to take your team and investigate the dungeon. Eliminate all the creatures you come across and make sure that core is destroyed.¡± Fist to chest and feet snapped together, I said, ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°So there was a dungeon under the rock,¡± Beetle stated as he stood at the top of the hill with the top half of his body hanging over the edge of the hole. A hole that had been covered by a supposedly sacred rock we were forbidden to touch. Yeah, more like it was a coverstone for a dead dungeon. ¡°Beetle, don¡¯t stand too close,¡± Uru said from where she stood. Her eyes were focused on the terminal in front of her. ¡°We don¡¯t know how stable the ground is.¡± ¡°It held that stone up for longer than I have been alive.¡± He protested. ¡°So are you saying that it is more stable than you or less?¡± Patty asked, though she didn¡¯t wait for his answer. ¡°What monsters and traps can we expect?¡± ¡°No clue. It has been too long for any of our information to be reliable.¡± I answered as I anchored a rope deep into the ground. ¡°So stay as nimble¡­¡± ¡°As a squirrel and vigilant as a fox.¡± They all finished together. It was a saying that I had heard somewhere and it had stuck. ¡°Good, let''s go.¡± I grabbed the rope and dropped into the cavern deep below. Quickly followed by the rest of the team. After hours of fighting and exploring later, we found the core. Based on the odd spikes sticking out from various sections, it had started to heal. I smashed it and scattered the pieces across the floor before declaring the mission a success. It would be at least another century before this place had the energy to send out any sort of monsters. As I climbed the rope and exited the dungeon, I found the surface quiet. There were no sounds of playing kids. None of the teens or adults were high up in the trees playing or training. It was the silence of the grave. I didn¡¯t wait for the rest of my team to come back. I ran for the nearest rope ladder only to find it ripped apart and crumpled on the ground. Pieces of it were scattered across the forest floor along with various wood boards. I raced across the forest floor. Jumping over corpses and destroyed items as I raced to where my family would have been hiding in an emergency. A pile of monster corpses covered the ground in layers around the Mother Tree. Sitting on top was the corpse of the Mother Tree¡¯s spirit herself. While I wanted to find my family, the sight of the spirit caused me to freeze. Her dull eyes met mine. One of her arms twitched as she smiled a bloody smile. A bloody mist erupted from her mouth as she went to speak. My body blurred as I raced to catch her falling body. I hugged her to me as I tried to shush her, to tell her that help was on the way, but she shook her head. ¡°We both know I am not long for this world.¡± ¡°But surely there must be something I can do.¡± I followed where her eyes glanced as I said that. The trunk of her tree was badly gored. It was bad enough that I was surprised the tree was still standing. There was nothing I could do. The only one who could heal such a wound was an elvish priestess of the highest order. Too bad there hadn''t been one of those in the last millennia. ¡°Do not feel bad for me. I have lived a longer life than most. One of my children will take up the burden when they are ready.¡± A tear ran down from her eyes. ¡°But just know that none of this is your fault.¡± Her hand cupped my cheek as her thumb softly stroked my cheek. ¡°Know that the gods and goddesses have plans for you. In time, you will have your revenge.¡± Her voice grew less and less distinct until I could barely hear her. Without warning, the Mother Tree let out a loud crack. The sound was so powerful that it reverberated through the ground. The trunk swayed back and forth as it teetered before finally giving out. Its size and mass took out multiple other trees as it came down. As I looked down at where the spirit had been, I found her gone. Grief pulled at my heart for the Mother Tree but I had someone else I needed to find before it was too late. My feet slipped and slid as I raced down the pile of monsters. An eternity and a moment later, I made it to the town''s central shelter. It was gone. Leveled. The ground looked almost like a giant monster had simply stepped on the shelter and crushed it. There was no way anyone could have survived. While my mind prayed that my girls were not inside, my bond with my wife told me they were. I was supposed to protect my wife until the end, yet I had failed her. I had failed Xilly. Now that they were gone, what was there for me in this world? Pulling out my knife, I prepared to meet them in the next cycle. As my knife made its way to my chest, a hand stopped it. ¡°Do you think she would want you to end your life like this?¡± Uru cried. While she was right, what would be the point of living a life without any joy in it? The mother tree¡¯s words came back to me. If there was a chance that I could punish those responsible then that is what I would do. That is what I would live for. Only when that was done would I be allowed to meet with my wife again. The forest faded as the guild hall returned. The grief of his story was vivid even though he had shown us only bits and pieces. Everyone was silent for a moment. None of us said a word as we all wiped away tears. Finally, Barti continued, ¡°While I don¡¯t expect you to understand what I went through, I do expect you to understand that, no matter what you were shown, it may not be the entire picture. One wrong assumption, even unintentional, can and will lead you down a path you may not expect or want.¡± His voice grew more horse and emotional as he talked. I had never been all that good with emotions. Hell, my words were blunt at times. I wanted to ask him if he had ever found out what had caused the monster swarm. Why he was in this town of all places? I wanted to ask that and a multitude of other questions. All of which I was sure were not welcome, nor would I ask them even if they were. Instead, I bowed at the hip. My head nearly touched the table as I spoke. ¡°Thank you for the warning.¡± While I would keep my eye out for the Kitsune, I would not let it lead my life nor divert my path. Not until I learned as much as I could and had no other choice. Maybe not even then. ¡°Well,¡± Mindi said as she stood up, ¡°With that, I think it¡¯s time I train you on some magic.¡± I stood up. As one, Mindi, Tindi, and I left the table as we made our way toward the training room. Barti stayed behind to deal with his memories and the stirred-up emotions in peace. Chapter 26 - Magic While Mindi led me into the room, Tindi continued down the hallway. Given that I would be learning magic from Mindi, I didn¡¯t see a reason to ask where Tindi might be going. ¡°Go ahead and sit on the floor.¡± Mindi started as she sat cross-legged in front of me. ¡°Let me get some of the basic information out of the way and correct some of the misconceptions you travelers seem to have about magic. Anyone and everyone can use magic.¡± As I sat down, I opened my mouth to protest her statement because it couldn¡¯t be true. If it was then I wouldn¡¯t have had to buy the ability from the point store. She held up a hand to stop me, ¡°Everyone has the ability,¡± she stressed the word as her eyes connected with mine. ¡°The issue everyone has with magic has to deal with is their affinity and available training.¡± I thought back to what options the shop had offered and her explanation made some sense. After all, why would magic be any different than any other skill? With enough training, even a monkey can communicate with sign language. Then again, there are those who, no matter the amount of training they got, would never be able to play an instrument or perform surgery. Maybe that was what she meant by affinity. But why guess when I could simply ask. ¡°What do you mean by affinity?¡± ¡°Good question,¡± she nodded as three orbs of different elements formed in front of her. ¡°Affinity has to do with how close someone is to an element. For me, I have a minor affinity for water and fire and a moderate affinity for earth. This is made visible when I cast a spell like this. Each of these orbs are crafted using the same amount of mana yet, as you can see, each is different in size with the stone being the largest. Just don¡¯t ask me to cast anything using any of the other elements.¡± That was one way for the game developers to allow anyone to use any element while not letting any one element grow overpowered. Likely each player was given a flat affinity percent for each element that affected how much mana it cost to cast each spell using that element. No more spamming fireballs at early levels if your affinity for fire was low. Though, that begged the question, what were my affinities? With a wave of her hand, the balls of magic fell apart. Flames snuffed out, water splashed to the ground, and stone smacked into the wooden floor. ¡°Now, I am curious about your affinities but we will have to wait until Tindi gets¡­ ah there she is.¡± The sound of the door opening behind me had me twisting in place to check out who it was. Sure enough, Tindi walked through. A small crystal orb was clasped in both hands as she kicked the door closed. ¡°Got the Affinity Testing Orb.¡± Mindi reached forward to take it from Tindi as she moved to sit next to the two of us. I scooted over to give her room to sit without forcing her to be too close to either of us. ¡°This crystal is one of the perks of joining a guild, even those that do the bare minimum have supervised access to it.¡± With a wave of her hand, the stone ball changed. It almost seemed to melt as it changed from an orb to a bowl. The sight made me excited to try magic. To see if I could do something similar. With the bowl finished, Mindi placed the orb into it. It fit perfectly as if the bowl was made to hold it, which it kind of was. Taking the opportunity, I ask two of the questions floating around in my mind. ¡°How does one use the orb and why is it important enough that everyone wants to use it?¡± ¡°As its name suggests, it is used to test a person''s affinity with every element,¡± Mindi spoke as she placed her fingers on either side of the orb. ¡°All a person needs to do is push their mana into it and¡­¡± Suddenly, six small lights started to spin around the center of the crystal. Two-thirds of which were barely visible. The sapphire and crimson colored orbs looked to be about a millimeter across and were close enough for their lights to mix a tiny bit. But they are not what caught my eye. What caught my eye was the dime-sized orb the color of fresh mud. As Mindi pulled her fingers back, each of the lights faded slowly until the crystal returned to its previous clear state. ¡°Those were my affinities. Pitiful for a mage but pretty decent for where I grew up.¡± Tindi reached forward, seemingly copying Mindi¡¯s actions but nothing happened. ¡°As you can see, I have no real affinity. This doesn¡¯t mean I can''t use magic just that it isn¡¯t worth my time.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that limit you? As an adventurer I mean.¡± Tindi shrugged, ¡°Sure, but I was never into that magic stuff. But punching things, that is what I am good at.¡± ¡°You use magic.¡± Mindi¡¯s comment and eye roll caught my attention. ¡°When?¡± ¡°Body enhancement magic.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Did you think you could keep up with the damn elf on your own?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called being skilled.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s called being delusional. The guy is multiple times your level. You know as well as I do that¡­¡± It sounded as if this was an argument that they had had before. Tindi lifted a hand, cutting Mindi¡¯s rant off. ¡°We are getting off topic.¡± ¡°Fine but we both know I am right.¡± ¡°Keep imagining things.¡± ¡°Where was I?¡± Mindi asked in a huff. She didn¡¯t wait for an answer before continuing. ¡°Ah yes, so each orb is expensive to create. So much so that only high-tier nobles and large guilds would be able to afford one. Luckily, this guild is one of them. Don¡¯t ask why.¡± I had to roll my eyes at her comment to not ask. It was obvious that the content writers and developers couldn¡¯t come up with a good reason and just omitted it. They could have just said that it was because it was a starter town and moved on. ¡°But how do I use it?¡± ¡°Just pour your¡­¡± Mindi starts before immediately realizing what she was about to say. ¡°Ok, I forgot you have no clue how to do that. Ummm¡­close your eyes.¡± I followed her instructions. ¡°Take a deep breath in through your nose. Good. Hold it. Now, out through your mouth. Again, but slower this time.¡± It took me a few seconds to realize that she was trying to put me into a meditative state. Something I hadn¡¯t done in quite a bit of time. In fact, not since one of my more eccentric friends had dragged me to one of her ¡®cleansing ceremonies¡¯. The entire experience was weird. While the memory of the event was not one I wanted to recall, the knowledge it had given me was enough to allow me to quickly drop into the required state. ¡°Good. Now mentally trace your body and find the energy buried inside. Energy that was dormant until the system rudely woke it up. Tossing it out of its slumber like my mother used to when I didn¡¯t get up on time.¡± As soon as she said that, I nearly burst into laughter. While I managed to do little more than smirk, I did fall out of my meditative state. With an annoyed grumble, I once again focused. Forcing my mind to clear and drop back into a meditative trance. The moment I managed it, I mentally scanned over my body. To feel my way down each limb and system as I look for any trace of this so-called energy. After a while, it felt as though I could practically see my body and each system, yet the mysterious energy was missing. Either it was well hidden, or I was doing something wrong. Again and again, I tried. Eventually, I had to admit that I wouldn¡¯t find what I was looking for this way. I had to either try something else or admit that I was lost. Given that I didn¡¯t want to seem like I needed my hand held through everything, I mentally backed up and replayed her words as I looked for some other way of interpreting them. Yeah, it didn¡¯t feel like there was any hidden meaning to her words. So my issue had to do with how I was searching. I had gone over every part of my body slowly. Hands, arms, chest, etcetera. There were only two ways I hadn¡¯t used to look over my body. Macroscopically or microscopically. Close as hell or as a whole. Did I want to take the time to go over each tiny section of my body? Hell no. That would take forever. Instead, I would try and take it piece by piece. To work my way down. The first scan yielded, drumroll please, nothing. On top of that, while I didn¡¯t expect it to work, I found yet more nothingness when I looked over my entire body all at once. I was left with working my way down or giving in and asking for help. Mentally moving to my pinky, I started to scan over it again and again. My focus narrowed with each scan until I could get no closer. Once there, I maintained that level of focus and moved on to the next finger. The scan from one to another before finally moving onto the palm. It slowly worked its way up my arm and into my chest. And like that, I found it. A spherical lump of densely packed energy sat behind my heart. In the same spot that I had felt the fire solidify. An event that I should have recalled yet hadn¡¯t until now. I could feel the energy as it licked at the inside of the ball. The warm sensation reminded me of a gas fireplace my parents had when I was a little kid. As I mentally probed the gold ball-sized lump of energy, it felt like it probed back. It was almost as if we were having a conversation, except we didn¡¯t exchange words. We just, understood what the other had to say. Suddenly, without warning, the ball of energy exploded in every direction. The energy rapidly traveled through my body. Waves lapped their way down each arm and leg as they did god knows what. ¡°Good!¡± Mindi¡¯s voice and clap were so sudden and unexpected that it broke me out of my trance. As both of my eyes snapped open I noticed that the area directly around me was slightly brighter than the rest of the room. It was almost as if there was light radiating from me. Given that my skin looked like a lava lamp with red and yellow colors traveling up and down it, I was pretty sure I was a living nightlight. The light worried me. I couldn¡¯t very well go into the world with a body imitating a glowstick. While my eyes and mind were occupied with the feelings, power, and potential issues, one of the girls grabbed my hands. She deposited them on something smooth and cold as my head snapped from looking at my arm. As soon as both palms were flat on the orb, mana flowed out of me and into the crystal. Six lights appeared just as they had for Mindi, though the proportions were quite different. The largest of which was a deep crimson that one could mistake for blood. It was more than twice the size of the next largest. At a centimeter across, the next largest light was a white color, though it seemed to be dotted with black spots. Given that the nearest sphere of light was pitch black, I chalked it up to the two visually overlapping. The other elements were also visible, if just barely, with their own colors. Mud brown, sapphire, and misty white. As I looked up at Mindi to see her reaction to my affinities, my vision tunneled down. Spots rapidly appeared and disappeared until the world was engulfed. The second to last thing I heard was a soft bell chime followed by Mindi¡¯s voice as she spoke to someone else. ¡°Damn decent affinities. Also seems to have some natural ability to resist mana exhaustion. He should have passed out the moment he released his mana and drained his pool.¡± Chapter 27 - Cooking The sunlight that streamed through the window stabbed into my eyelids, waking me up. Not that it hurt as much as the rest of my head. What the fuck hit me? It felt like someone was actively jabbing a dull icepick into my brain. Slowly sitting up, I called out to my AI as I rubbed at my face. ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°The time is one fifty-five AM,¡± The AI responded. That made no sense. If it was so early there would be no sign of the sun, let alone enough for it to wake me up. Unfazed, the AI continued, ¡°Today is Sunday, July twentieth twenty sixty-four.¡± ¡°AI, run a check on your real-time clock.¡± The thought of debugging the AI system magnified the headache. ¡°Also, increase the shade level on the windows and dim the lights.¡± ¡°All clock systems functioning within expected parameters. Time is within acceptable margins of all accessible timekeeping servers.¡± Well, that couldn¡¯t be good. Either something was bright enough to light up the world, or every server was wrong. ¡°Shades in virtual room cannot be lowered by me. Recommend performing the action manually.¡± ¡°Virtual room?¡± I opened my eyes just enough to get a look at the place and realized that I was a fucking moron. Of course, I was logged into Ascent to Aetheria. Was the headache a result of the game? Was it a bug? Wait, the pod and my AI were linked and it had some medical-related functions. Maybe my AI would be able to see what was causing the headache and give me something for it. ¡°I have a hell of a headache. Can you please find the source and maybe give me something for it?¡± ¡°Communicating with the onboard medical system. Please wait.¡± ¡°Scanning user¡­¡± A new voice spoke up. It sounded more robotic and its voice was devoid of all inflection and emotion. ¡°Artificial source found. Scanning logs for origin¡­Origin found. The system induced a headache in the user in response to the condition Mana Exhaustion. Condition is fading. Will disappear in five minutes real world time.¡± Wait, I knew that the system was somehow able to create pain in a player but going so far as to mess with my head to do so seemed a bit excessive. Given that the game didn¡¯t have any option to decrease pain levels, I would just have to avoid whatever had caused it. ¡°Source of Mana Exhaustion and ways to avoid similar issues?¡± ¡°Mana Exhaustion is from over-taxing your mana.¡± My AI spoke up. Likely since the medical questions were done, the medical AI had returned to its passive state. ¡°Reading over your logs and extrapolating from various player accounts, I would recommend not letting your mana drop below ten percent. Twenty percent if you don¡¯t want a headache from Mana Fatigue.¡± While that sounded, without some sort of bar or other tool to monitor my stats, I would never know how close I was to that limit. I could keep my status screen up all the time but that would become one hell of a distraction when I enter into any fight. Figuring the AI might have some advice or idea from the various posts it had gone through, I posed the question. ¡°How can I add some sort of status bar to my view? Something that won''t get in the way but is always visible and useful.¡± It didn¡¯t answer. Instead, three bars showed up at the top left of my vision. The top one was red, followed by one that was blue. Both were full. Below them was a thin bar three-fourths filled with a lime green color. As I focused on the group, information appeared next to each. As one would expect, the top two bars were for my health and my mana respectively. What surprised me was the fact that the third bar was for my experience. With a glance at my stats, I found that each had risen by one or two points. Likely from the training. As I looked over everything, my headache faded to a dull throb. ¡°Are there any changes you would like done to the new setup?¡± While I wanted to say yes and nitpick, I forced myself to look away. To focus on something else so I didn¡¯t fall into a rabbit hole. I took a moment to glance back at the bars momentarily to see if I could use them without being distracted. Yeah, I know. It wasn¡¯t a real test. There wasn¡¯t some random person or creature bearing down on me with a weapon. This was the best I could do until either I sparred with someone or went on an extermination quest again. ¡°It should work for now.¡± As I turned in my bed, my stomach gave out a loud growling sound. Given that I had somehow managed to sleep through dinner, it was no wonder the thing was empty. Of course, the question was, would I head downstairs for some food or try to cook something myself? Who was I kidding? I had no clue how to cook. While this fact would send most people downstairs, it was something I couldn¡¯t risk dealing with later. If my food was inedible then I could go eat downstairs. If not, then I would be able to eat whatever I prepared. Either way, I would get some much-needed practice. Stepping over to the small kitchen, I took my time going over everything. To see what the room came with as well as what I would need to use from my recently purchased goods. While the place had some soap, running water, and even a well-used sponge, it lacked any other dish. No pots, pans, plates, or even silverware. As I ran my hand over the various countertops, one of them caught my eye. It was made of a darker stone flecked with red and gold veins. It contrasted with the rest in the fact that it looked way too fancy for the room. It even had a small golden circle embedded in one of the corners. When I ran my thumb over the circle as I tried to get a better look, a notification popped up. Would you like to use ¡®Magical Stove¡¯ for five mana per minute? Well, that solved my immediate need for a stove. It wouldn¡¯t help when I went out of the city, but it would work for now. Declining the prompt, I turned to the island and debated what to cook. Finally giving up and asking the AI for some advice. ¡°I have no clue what or how to cook. Thoughts?¡± ¡°Looking through inventory. Searching archived information. Sorting based on difficulty, taking into account the desire to learn. Recipe found. Error, ingredients missing. Calculating substitutions.¡± ¡°What ingredients am I missing?¡± I had honestly thought I had grabbed everything I would need. ¡°For the current recipe as well as many others, you are missing bell peppers and olive oil. Would you like me to collate a proper shopping list for you? Just enough to cover all the basic meal ingredients.¡± ¡°Sure, but first, breakfast.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Cut up half an onion. Then dice a couple of potatoes and half a pound of either meat.¡± ¡°What do you mean by dice?¡± I asked as I pulled out a cutting board, my knife, and all the specified ingredients. If I didn¡¯t know better, I would have thought I had heard the AI sigh. ¡°Cut each into small cubes about half an inch on each side.¡± I listened to the AI as I started to cut up the onion. As I went to make the third cut the AI interrupted me. ¡°Have you ever cut an onion before?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± My knife was halfway through the onion as I continued. ¡°Don¡¯t I just have to cut it into pieces?¡± ¡°While you can salvage that onion, let''s save it for another day. Get out a new onion.¡± While I was a bit confused by the computer''s instructions, I never the less did as I was instructed. The partially cut onion went to the side as I pulled out a new one. ¡°Cut the onion in half then cut off both ends.¡± I had no clue what I was doing and it showed in my cuts. The tops were fairly thick and likely contained a fair bit of useful onion. The AI didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°Make a shallow cut through the top layer of the onion, using it as a spot to pull off the skin.¡± The knife went halfway through the onion but, hey, I managed to get off the top layers of the onion off. ¡°Take your time to cut half the onion into rounds.¡± It seemed to realize what it had said and decided to clarify what it meant. ¡°Cut the onion so that you have thin round sections. Each about half an inch or so thick.¡± While I didn¡¯t know what a round was at first, the instruction made more sense after the AI explained it. As soon as I managed to cut the first half of the onion, the AI spoke up. ¡°As if cutting a pie, cut the rounds into sixths. Then put the whole lot to the side.¡± If cooking was this easy, why did no one do it? Oh, that¡¯s right, no one had the ingredients to do so. Ah well. At least I get to experience it, even if it was only in a video game. ¡°What now?¡± I asked as I slid the onions to one side. ¡°Cut the potatoes into cubes about half an inch on a side.¡± As I got to work, the AI didn¡¯t stop me which probably meant I was doing a passable job. ¡°Place them into your skillet and put it onto the stove.¡± To my surprise, the system message appeared as I placed the pan on the stove. It seemed that I didn¡¯t have to touch the symbol to turn the thing on. As soon as I accepted the prompt I felt some sort of tether form between me and the stove. Until that moment, I didn¡¯t notice the energy that now flowed through me. It felt as natural as blood. Flowing up and down my limbs before it returned to the spot behind my heart. As soon as the connection was formed, some of the energy broke off and flowed down it. Leaving my control as it did so. There was no visible change to the counter but I could suddenly feel the heat coming off of it. ¡°Your heat is too high. Please turn it down.¡± My AI said, which was all well and good but how in the hell was I supposed to do that? Picking up the pan did nothing. The flow of mana didn¡¯t even stop. While I was a bit worried about my breakfast burning, I was more worried about the stove draining all my mana away. ¡°Heart rate and actions indicate alarm and confusion. Looking for solution. Interface previously located. Likelihood of it being the solution? Unknown.¡± What the hell was the AI going on about now? What interface have I seen for this damn thing? Wait, when did the prompts appear? There was the time I placed the pan down but that was not the first time. No, it appeared when I touched the circle. Quickly tapping it again, I sighed in relief as a screen hovered to the side of the counter.
Stove Top Controls
220 C Current Temperature 428 F
Down Temperature Control Up
OFF Status ON
Well, that was simple, if a bit odd. Then again what else could the developers have done? Add knobs to the front of the counter. That solution wouldn¡¯t have been realistic given the magical nature of the device. What would the knob even control? Anyway, I tapped the down button a few times. Each of which decreased the temperature by five degrees. I kept pressing the button until the AI spoke up. ¡°That should be good. While the potatoes are cooking, cut up the meat to about the same size.¡± From time to time, I glanced up from the meat to the blue bar. It was dropping steadily but, from what I could see, it wouldn¡¯t deplete for at least twenty minutes. I just hoped that was enough time. ¡°Push the potatoes to the side and throw the meat into the pan. As soon as the meat is browned, add the onion. Once the onions are nearly translucent, mix everything together. Add some pepper for flavor as you go.¡± The moment the meat hit the pan, it started to lightly sizzle. The juices and fat melted as the meat cooked. I moved the meat around enough that none of it burned while ignoring the sizzling juices that pupped up and burned my skin. Based on my health bar, the burns were not doing much damage anyway. After what felt like forever, the meat was finally cooked. In a rush, I poured the cut-up half of the onion into the pan. With quick work, I mixed it into the meat and let it sit as I pulled out the pouch of pepper. Thankfully the merchant had preground pepper as I didn¡¯t think any of them sold something like a grinder. Hell, they probably used something like a mortar to grind it all down. The large pinch I added mixed into the liquid at the bottom of the pan and coated a few pieces as they cooked. Then I just resumed stirring, stirring, and more stirring. Growing more and more annoyed as I waited for the onions to finally change color. When they finally did, it wasn¡¯t to the transparent color I had been told to look for. Most had browned edges and looked a bit dry. Giving up on waiting any longer, I mixed the potatoes in. ¡°What next?¡± I asked as I stirred in an attempt to keep the meal from burning further. ¡°It is done, though you might want to try it first. Depending on how fresh that pepper was, you might want to add some sort of sauce.¡± It couldn¡¯t be that bad. I mean, I know that most of the pepper I used in real life to add flavor to the prepackaged meals was ancient, but fresh couldn¡¯t be that much stronger, Right? Turning off the stove, I felt the mana thread snap as the interface disappeared. Now that the food was less likely to burn, I took my first bite of breakfast and nearly spit it out. It had one hell of a kick. Enough that it had me running to scoop water into my mouth from the faucet as fast as I could. As I greedily sucked down as much water as I could to wash out the taste, I contemplated tossing the whole meal into the trash and going to get something made downstairs. My AI stopped me as I lifted my head out of the sink. ¡°Try adding one of the bottles of sauce to it. The liquid should cut down on the flavor and mellow it a bit.¡± I hesitated for a few moments as I contemplated the AI¡¯s suggestion. It wasn¡¯t like they were expensive or anything. But would it solve the issue because I would hate to waste something if I didn¡¯t have to? Then again, what if it did make the meal palatable? It would save me quite a bit in ingredients as well as allow me to eat my first home-cooked meal. That fact clinched it for me. I would do whatever it took for me to be able to eat this meal. Pouring a bottle of ¡®Secret Family Sauce¡¯ into the pan, I stirred the entire thing together. The residual heat in the pan was enough to allow the thick liquid to flow more easily as it mixed in. Everything in the pan seemed to absorb the liquid. Slowly changing from their colors to something a bit darker and somehow becoming a bit more appealing to the eye. As soon as the liquid heated up enough, it started to release a thin, nearly transparent, pillar of steam. A pillar that, as soon as it hit my nose, made my mouth water. Unable to hold myself back, I switched to a spoon and dug in. The contents of the pan disappeared between one thought and the next. When my head dipped to lick at the pan, some of the liquid globbed onto my nose. The sensation was enough to shake me out of whatever that was. ¡°What the¡­¡±I asked while I looked around to see if anyone noticed. The lack of anyone else in my room made me happy that the rooms were singles and not bunk rooms or something. Quickly, I moved all of my dishes to the sink and started to clean everything as I mentally wracked my brain to recall what the meal had tasted like. It was like metaphorically slamming my head into a wall as I tried to recall anything. Eventually, I gave up. Choosing instead to promise that I would try and make it again another day when I wasn¡¯t starving. With everything done and put away, I stepped out of the room and made my way to the main floor. Chapter 28 - Maintenance As I walked through the room, a few beastmen shot me the odd scathing look. Some even snarled as I got too close. Given the large plates of food in front of them, I assumed they were likely trying to protect it from pilfering. Not that I would. I was plenty full from my own breakfast thank you very much. I ignored the looks and odd animalistic noise as I approached the first open counter. ¡°Good morning,¡± the same panther-looking girl said in a bored tone. Her demeanor changed the moment her nose twitched. She looked pissed and instantly turned hostile. With a clipped tone, she asked. ¡°What can I help you with today?¡± With a shake of my head, while I tried to ignore the odd response, I calmly inquired, ¡°I am just here to see if a merchant has turned in my sword.¡± ¡°Name and weapon type.¡± ¡°Kyren and Chisa Katana.¡± ¡°Yeah, we got it.¡± She said, though she didn¡¯t make a move to retrieve it. We stood there watching one another for a good minute before I reproachfully asked. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Is there anything else we can do for you or are you going to continue to waste my time?¡± Her tone dripped with venom as she glared daggers at me. I was surprised that my eyes didn¡¯t hurt given how hard I rolled them. ¡°Can I have my sword?¡± ¡°Sure, that will be¡­¡± She started only to get interrupted by Barti. ¡°Free, or has the guild changed its policy regarding merchants and guild member orders?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t but¡­¡± Her eyes were locked onto something behind and above my shoulder. It was likely the elf she was looking at given the origin of his voice. ¡°Then please get the sword.¡± His tone was cold as she quickly vanished into a cleverly hidden nook. I twisted around to face him and found my nose practically rubbing his shirt from how close he stood. Frantically side-stepping, I maneuvered enough that I could breathe without ruffling his shirt. Finding myself a bit flustered, I tried to change the subject. ¡°What was with her?¡± ¡°I wonder¡­¡± His eyes followed me though based on how he was talking, I doubted he was seeing me. We stood like that for less than a minute before she scampered back to the counter with my sword clutched in her small hands. The elf didn¡¯t even ask before reaching out and taking the sword from her to inspect it. ¡°If that is all you need, please clear the counter so that the next person in line can come up.¡± Her voice was saccharine sweet though her eyes practically told me to go away. With another eye roll, I took the hint and walked away. Barti caught up to me as I entered the training room they had rented. Once inside, he passed me the sword as he spoke. ¡°Not a bad weapon. It has quite a bit of potential but only if you treat it well. Speaking of which, do you know how to take care of your weapon?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± I took the sword and placed it back into my inventory. ¡°I have never had the chance or reason to learn such things.¡± Not unless it was similar to re-sharpening some of the more expensive bits I used to use at work. Don¡¯t ask. ¡°Good. I think we will start with that today.¡± Out of his inventory, Barti pulled out a table, a jug of water, and some other miscellaneous items. ¡°I assume you still have the knife I gave you?¡± As I nodded, he continued, ¡°Get it out. We will use it for your training before you sharpen your sword.¡± His hands moved fast as he popped a shallow pan in front of him and filled it with a good inch of water. The stone he placed into the water was visibly rough and made of a greyish material. ¡°The first thing you need to do whenever you sharpen a blade is to work out any of the dings, dents, and chips located along the edge of the blade. Do not worry about getting the larger ones or those located anywhere else. Leave such damage to a professional to deal with. You are only doing this to keep your blade maintained between visits to a trained blacksmith.¡± With a visibly dented and dinged-up knife that he pulled out of his inventory, he started to work at the stone. His motions were smooth as he pulled the blade toward him in a single, curved motion. ¡°Make sure to get as much of the blade as you can in a single pass so that you don¡¯t overwork or miss a section.¡± The blade flipped to the other side as he returned it to the top of the stone. ¡°Also, make sure that you work both sides evenly.¡± He made sure to wash off the metal shavings every few strokes. Slowly, the dings and dents smoothed out. They didn¡¯t disappear, nor did the spots seem repaired, but the edge looked better compared to what they had been. One of his hands gestured at the pan and stone. I took his spot and tried to mimic his motions but I had never been one to work while someone watched me. Doing so tended to cause my work to degrade and today was no exception. My hands shook as I pulled the blade toward me in jerky motions and with uneven pressure. Footsteps approached me. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Without warning, the elf¡¯s reached around my body. With a body stiff from shock at the invasion of my personal space behind me, I didn¡¯t have time to react as his hands covered mine. My heart fluttered at being in such an intimate position. Now, the guy was hot in that fantasy story way. Likely the combination of power, confidence, smoothness of movements, and his physical features played a part in how attractive he was. Which would be good and all if I wasn¡¯t straight as a freaking arrow. Plus I doubted he felt that way about me. Hell, he had been married. That simple reminder was like having a bucket of ice poured over my head. Either he didn¡¯t notice or he ignored my reaction as he didn¡¯t hesitate in correcting my posture. His hands rotated mine so that the blade was angled more while also pushing into it a touch harder. Both hands stayed on mine as he continued to work the blade with me until I finally could do it myself. As he stepped away, he pulled the pan with him. The stone inside went to the side while another replaced it. The new stone was lighter in color. ¡°This stone will help to refine the edge. The edge created is considered the first usable edge. Though considering the creatures you might go against, I would not recommend stopping here.¡± Even though his hands moved faster as he sharpened this knife, the movements were just as smooth as with the previous stone. When he passed the pan to me, I tried to repeat the movements he demonstrated while holding my hands. The thought of which caused my cheeks to heat up in embarrassment. While I didn¡¯t move even half as fast as he had on the first stone, he didn¡¯t have to stop and help me. Given my current reaction, I was thankful as fuck for that. With a nod at my work, he grabbed the pan and replaced the stone with one that was nearly white. It would have been completely white if not for the visibly marred spots from where something had damaged the stone at some point in its life. As he worked over his knife, he spoke, ¡°This stone is used for creating a decent edge for the amount of work we have done on the blade. It is enough to cut through most of the creatures you will be going up against for quite a while.¡± He held up the blade and let me inspect the edge. It was mostly smooth. The only breaks were from a few pretty decent nicks that looked like they might have been caused by something heavy smashing into it. I didn¡¯t need him to pass the pan to me this time. I reached over and pulled it to me. Getting right to work as he watched me work the edge. A smile lifted my lips as he didn¡¯t reach over to help me or correct my posture again. When I got the edge to a decent point, I looked up at him. Barti shook his head. ¡°Keep going. Add more pressure as you work the blade.¡± He continued talking, likely after seeing the confusion that flashed across my face. ¡°You have been slowly decreasing the pressure since earlier. At the moment you are barely touching the blade to the stone.¡± With narrowed eyes, I returned the blade to the stone with a focus on increasing the amount of pressure I applied to the blade. Mid-stroke, Barti reached over and snatched the blade out of my hands to inspect the edge. Within moments, he declared, ¡°Good enough,¡± as he passed the blade back. His other hand shoved the pan to the back of the table and pulled out a bundle of brown material. The end with tassels was quickly tied to the table as he spoke. ¡°This step is for creating a polished edge. It not only helps to enhance the sharpness of the blade but also cleans up the side of the blade itself. If you need to attend some sort of ceremony, I would recommend you perform this step. Other than that, there really is no reason for you to take the time to do so.¡± The strip crossed over the table as he held it taught in his hand. In a single smooth motion, he pulled the blade across the material. His hands moved slowly as he made sure to get every part of the edge. As I watched him, I tried to figure out how he was going to work on the other side. Would he switch hands or something else? As soon as he reached the tip, he flipped the blade along its spine. Pushing away from his body as he worked on the other side. Back and forth, he worked on the edge for a couple of minutes before finally holding the end of the strip of material toward me. Out of curiosity, I asked him, ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Leather from the back of a Thornback Lurker. Damn pests ate any creature they could run down or trap.¡± Welp, that explained the organic look of the material. Also explained why I had no clue what it had been. After all, it was my first time seeing some sort of leather strip. As I moved to slide my blade down the leather, he reached over and grabbed my hands, holding them in place as he spoke. ¡°This does not require any pressure other than that of the weight of the blade.¡± As his hands released mine, I relaxed my grip and let the blade practically dangle in my hand. I took my time as I worked the blade back and forth. The motions were soothing enough that I lost myself in them. An unknown amount of time later, Barti broke me out of my trance as he took the blade from me. ¡°Not bad. Keep remember that, no matter which step of the sharpening process you stop on, the next step is to clean the blade. Gently rub one of these cloths over the surface as you remove any flecks of metal. It will also help to absorb the leftover water and oil.¡± As he spoke, he handed me the blade and a cloth. We both took our time as we cleaned the blades. ¡°While not all blades will require this, it is good practice to oil your blades.¡± Barti¡¯s hand reached out to the last item on the table. It was a small flask of glass filled with some sort of yellow-brown liquid. As he moved it, the light it reflected shifted. The liquid inside became more of a gold than a yellow-brown. With a small dab of the liquid on the cloth, he rubbed the blade down. I watched as he took his time to make sure he didn¡¯t miss a spot. When he finished, I turned to my blade. Mimicking him as I oiled my knife. His eyes watched me as I worked over the blade. As I finished, he nodded. ¡°I think you understand enough of the basics to at least not damage your weapon. Pass me your sword and go join Mindi for a bit of training.¡± Given his skills, I was more than happy to have him sharpen my Chisa Katana but I had been under the impression that I was supposed to do so. Then again, maybe this lesson plan had taken longer than he thought it would. How long had it been since breakfast anyway? I looked around for some sort of clue. Surprisingly, I found the girls were in opposite corners doing various exercises. Tindi was beating up a bag while Mindi looked like she was meditating as various elements floated around her. When had they joined us? Barti coughed and I realized I was still holding onto my sword. Quickly passing it to him, I walked toward Mindi, curious what sort of training was in store today. Hopefully not something that would cause me to pass out. Given that my blue bar had been partially filled when we got here and it was now, we had been here a while and I hadn¡¯t even noticed. Maybe I should inquire about how long it would be until lunch? Chapter 29 - Mana Primer As I crossed the room, I heard the soft scrape of stone on metal. That meant that I had been correct in assuming that Barti was going to sharpen my sword for me. Which was good because I had no clue what else he might have wanted to do with it. I stopped a short distance from Mindi as she sat on a cushion of air. While I could have gotten close enough to get her attention, I didn¡¯t want to risk one of the spells whizzing around her head. Of which, the fireball was the most erratic. It dipped and swerved, sped up and stalled out without any rhyme or reason. I stood there trying to understand how she was manipulating the spheres. Was it some skill or just pure manipulation of the mana? Were such skills given when you learned to access an element or did you have to earn them? I wanted to know and, given that my current instructor, I needed to rely on some other source for information. But where? Mentally, I pulled up my skill notification page. Quite a few new notifications were waiting for me. I had no clue what any of the listed skills did. Ok, based on their names I could guess but come on, what did the skill Healing do for me? Would it make me heal faster, or would it affect how fast others would heal when I treated them? On top of that, would it just affect my body or any items or spells I used? Annoyed, I grumbled to my AI. ¡°Is there any way to get more information on these skills?¡± ¡°Maybe open the skill tab?¡± While my AI¡¯s voice was calm, it bordered on snarky with that response. With a shake of my head, I searched for such a tab. Yeah, it was on my character sheet near the bottom. It hid itself behind a button I had never noticed. When I pressed said button, it brought up another list. A list that was much shorter than I would have guessed given all the training I had done and what was already on it.
Skill: Level: Type: Earned By: Effect:
Fire Element 1 Active Learn to control the fire element. (Bought) You are able to cast fire-based spells.
Healing 1 Passive Heal your HP two times during a single fight. Your body heals faster. +1 Vitality
Mana Manipulation 1 Active Learn how to manipulate the mana inside your body. You are able to manipulate the mana flowing through your body.
Punching 1 Active Learn to throw a punch. Your fist will naturally fall into the correct grip so you don¡¯t break something.
Running 1 Passive Run a decent distance without passing out Running is slightly easier for you.
Short Sword 2 Passive Learn some basic sword movements Your strikes are more likely to strike a specific region on your target.
Survival 1 Passive Survive an attack that should have killed you. Your body is naturally more sturdy. +1 Vitality
Tree Cutting 1 Active Cut a tree down. Any attack against a tree is more effective.
Weapon Care 1 Active Learn to care for your weapons. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Any weapon cared for by you will receive an extra 1% durability.
That gave me quite a bit of new information and questions. ¡°What is an active skill and how is it different than a passive one?¡± I asked my AI. To my surprise, it was Mindi who answered me in a soft tone. Almost as if she was afraid to talk at all. Her volume increased as she forced herself to continue. ¡°It depends on the effect and whether or not it requires deliberate and conscious activation by the user. For example, running might sound like it would be an active skill because you need to run to use it but it doesn¡¯t just stop working after you stop running. The skill will help to relieve any of the aches you might have gained from running.¡± Mindi¡¯s voice grew stronger as her body slowly drifted to the floor. ¡°Some skills can even be combined to gain more benefits than you would get from each skill on their own. A case of how a combination of things can be greater than the sum of their parts.¡± The balls of mana that whizzed around her fizzled out one after another. ¡°If you had something like muscle manipulation or fatigue resistance and tried to run, you would find that you could run faster and further than you could now.¡± With a slight bow, I said, ¡°Thank you for the explanation.¡± She blushed and lowered her head enough to hide her eyes behind her bangs. Her voice was soft as she spoke. ¡°Guessing our elfen leader told you to come learn some magic?¡± I nodded. With a sigh, she lifted her eyes to mine and gestured at the ground in front of her. Suddenly, her voice came out strong and with authority. ¡°Take a seat. What do you know about magic.¡± The change shocked me enough that I didn¡¯t answer her for a few moments. It was like she was someone dropping into a sort of teaching mode. Mentally shaking myself, I answered. ¡°Other than what you shared with me yesterday? Nothing.¡± I tried to sit down with my legs crossed. It hurt. My knees did not want to bend far enough. And here I was hoping the game would have at least gotten rid of pain from things like age. Quickly giving up on sitting criss-cross-applesauce, I moved my legs under me. While my feet and legs would hurt in no time, I would bear it. Hell, maybe I could think of it as mental training of a sort. Thankfully she didn¡¯t comment on my shuffling. She instead chose to move on. ¡°Ok, so we talked about affinities and unlocked your mana. You did get the Mana Manipulation skill right?¡± I nodded. ¡°The first level will allow you to manipulate the mana flowing throughout your body. Oh right, you probably don¡¯t know what mana is. Mana is life and death. Heat and cold. For lack of a better term, it is the energy within everything as well as the energy of nothing.¡± That, both made sense and didn¡¯t. While there was energy in all things, it wasn¡¯t separated into things like heat and cold. Those were descriptions of how much thermal energy was present in something. But that wasn¡¯t the only issue. The amount of energy that would be required to manipulate such concepts, like earth or water, was astronomical. Let me put it this way, matter is made of energy. Energy that has become stuck, for lack of a better term. Or at least that is what current scientists kept talking about on various news outlets when discussing revolutionary energy generation techniques. Given the fact that none of them came to be, I was dubious that even modern science could manipulate such forces, let alone a single person using just their will. Then I practically smacked my head against the floor. This was a fucking video game. So what if magic didn¡¯t follow the laws of physics, it didn¡¯t have to. Still, I had questions for her, but before I could ask even one, she held up a hand. ¡°I know that you want to argue about this. Every traveler I try to teach does. I don¡¯t know why this world is how it is nor why one can do what they can with their will. Those questions are for the philosophers and magical theorists. All I know is what I have been taught and what I can see.¡± She waited a few seconds as her eyes bore into mine. It was as if she was daring me to ask her my questions anyway. I refrained. Letting her resume her lesson. ¡°As your skill in manipulating mana increases, the range of mana that you can manipulate will increase. This will give you access to the mana of your surroundings. Increasing the amount of mana you can access as well as how fast your mana pool fills.¡± That sounded stupidly overpowered. If one could gain enough levels in Mana Manipulation then they could just use the mana around them to throw spells without using their own pool. Fights between two mages doing this could go on for hours if not days. ¡°Of course, there are limits to this. You must spend your own mana to control the mana outside of your body. The farther you stretch your control, the more mana it will require to control it. For example,¡± Mindi held up her hand, a small ball of fire appeared hovered. ¡°While this spell only consumes a few dozen points of mana to form, holding it in place will constantly take yet more mana.¡± ¡°How much more?¡± I asked, curious as it sounded a bit like resistance in a wire. The farther you had to push electricity, the more you lost in the transfer. ¡°The exact value depends on a few things. As your Mana Manipulation skill increases, you will find that the value will drop as your range increases. On top of that, your affinity for an element will affect anything you do with said element. Since my affinity for fire is low, the cost to hold it even this far from my body is significantly higher than anything made of earth.¡± Suddenly, I recalled the position I had seen her in earlier, I asked her a question. ¡°What were you doing when you had a few elements floating around you?¡± ¡°Mental and mana training.¡± A few orbs formed around her. They floated behind and over her body. Each danced and played with each other as if with a will of their own. ¡°To cast a spell, one must keep their mind focused on said spell. If your focus wavers for even a second,¡± the elements around her exploded or went flying off in a random direction. ¡°Then the spells will go wild or fail. With smaller spells, this isn¡¯t so bad, but when you get into massive spells meant to take down larger creatures, such a loss of focus can lead to a disaster.¡± I could imagine. Honestly, this mechanic was quite common in games that had magic. Even some popular dice-based, tabletop games had ways to interrupt spells as they were being cast. Given that I was going to be learning some magic, I had to make sure to learn how to cast a spell while fighting. ¡°How can one fight while casting spells?¡± ¡°Tons of practice.¡± She waved at the room around us. ¡°At first you practice being able to hold your mana in a given shape. After you can do that we move on to having you holding a spell near you. As you gain proficiency with that, you start adding other distractions. Small things at first. Things like running or general activities.¡± ¡°Then we get into the fun part.¡± Came Tindi¡¯s shouted voice from across the room. As I glanced over I noticed that she was in the middle of kicking a bag to death. ¡°Sparing while you hold a spell.¡± With wide eyes, I looked at Mindi for confirmation. She was scowling in Tindi¡¯s direction. ¡°Thank you for your input Tindi.¡± Her eyes returned to me as she let out a resigned sigh. ¡°But she is right. After that, we start working on integrating magic into your fighting. Working our way from holding a spell to casting a spell while fighting off multiple opponents.¡± Well, that sounded like a lot of time-consuming and mind-numbing work. Then again, I would be able to use magic, MAGIC, fairly freely. Hell, I might even be able to throw fireballs around. Actually, now that I thought about it, I could probably do that now if I had the spell. ¡°So, what do we do first?¡± ¡°First, we need to teach you your first spell, well your first rune which can be used to cast your first spell.¡± Wait, already? I thought she was going to have me hold my mana in a given shape first like she said a minute ago. ¡°Spells require three things, a clear image, mana, and a spell form. While you can cast without one, you must make up for its loss with more of the other two. Since you don¡¯t have all that much mana, you will need to make sure to keep a clear image of what you want the spell to do and have a nearly perfect spell form.¡± I raised my hand to ask a question. The move brought a smile to her face as she gestured for me to speak. ¡°What is a spell form?¡± ¡°Think of it as the pathways for your mana to flow down as you cast a spell. It is typically made of one or more runes depending on the complexity.¡± With a simple flick of a finger, a small symbol of water formed in the air between us. ¡°Most of the time you will form it out of mana, though enchantments will have them embedded into the material using special ingredients. This is the rune for fire and can be used to cast the spell fireball. I want you to use some of your mana to form this symbol just on the skin of your palm. Do Not cast it until I look it over!¡± She emphasized that last point while glaring at me. Her expression smoothed out as she saw that I understood her. With a brief nod, she closed her eyes and dropped into a light meditation. The symbol stayed where it was. Defying the world around it as it floated there, frozen in place. Not even the soft breeze that blew across the room generated so much as a ripple across its still surface. Not having anything else to say or do, I focused on trying to do as she asked. My eyes moved over the symbol to memorize as much of it as I could. After a while, I started to draw the thing on the mat in front of me by dipping my finger into some water. The process took a while but eventually I felt like I could draw the thing by memory, maybe. Now, how in the hell was I supposed to move my mana to create this thing? Chapter 30 - Mana Manipulation Yeah, fuck this. I had been sitting here for over an hour trying to get my mana to go where I wanted it and getting nowhere. Could I move my mana around, sure. The problem had to do with the fact that it wouldn¡¯t hold the shape I told it to. Well, that and it was taking way too much effort to even do so much as bend the mana in one direction, let alone twist it into a U shape. Finally, I had to give up. With a bit of grumbling and a soft growl, I spoke up. ¡°How in the hell do I get the mana to go where I want it?¡± Mindi opened her eyes. They met mine as the rune made of water disappeared. Likely whatever she had been doing was canceled as she prepared to lecture me on what I was doing wrong. ¡°And here I was hoping that you were some sort of genius with magic. Ah well.¡± Her response caught me off guard. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Well, you seemed moderately proficient at everything else that I figured you might be a natural magic user.¡± She held her hands up defensively, ¡°Now, don¡¯t get me wrong, you are learning pretty fast but nowhere near what a normal traveler would have. You are nearly as slow as a typical person born to this world.¡± Was she calling me dumb? I mean it was round about but it sure sounded like it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± I said. While my tone had a fair bit of sarcasm laced through it, the words came out as more of a question as I tried to figure out why I should be apologizing. She waved a hand as she either ignored my sarcasm or didn¡¯t hear it. ¡°Not your fault. Just means this will take longer than I wanted. How were you trying to craft the spell?¡± ¡°I never even got that far.¡± I started. Her brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°My issue was with how to manipulate the mana to even form the rune.¡± Her head dropped into one of her hands. It hit with enough force to create an audible thump as her palm smacked against her forehead. ¡°Tell me what you were doing.¡± ¡°I reached for the mana floating through my body and tried to twist it into the shape. It fell apart as soon as I moved on to the second bend.¡± She nodded. ¡°You were trying to manipulate the mana inside of your body. While this is your mana, it is not your mana. As I told you earlier, mana is everywhere. It is a part of everything. That includes your body. Hence why there is mana floating around your body. While you can control that mana, you don¡¯t have the skill or knowledge to do so yet. For now, you need to focus on the mana that you have full control of.¡± ¡°Where would I find said mana?¡± I asked, annoyed that I had missed something that sounded so simple. ¡°Your center. The well that holds all of your mana.¡± Her finger pointed directly at my heart. At first, I thought she meant just that, my heart. Given that there was nothing there, I mentally glanced around. I nearly smacked my head as I rediscovered the sphere of mana behind the damn organ. ¡°Pull a thin strand of mana out. This strand is what you will manipulate to form the spell form needed to cast your spells.¡± Great, I was going to be doing knot work with my mana, or would this be considered embroidery? Not that I honestly cared which it was. It didn¡¯t matter. What mattered was the end result. With that in mind, I focused my mind on the task. Mentally looking over the golden orb containing all my mana. The energy inside pulsed in time with my heart. As it pulsed, it sent out a tiny wave of something through the mana floating around. Mentally, I reached forward and touched the orb. As if in response to my touch, the energy reached back. It felt almost alive. If I didn¡¯t know better, I would think that it was asking me what I wanted, no, needed it to do. Whatever the feeling was, it was probably something I was imagining based on the odd sensations going through my head. After all, I was working with a force that humans didn¡¯t have. It was something being simulated and projected into my mind by a game. So, I ignored all of it as I pushed forward. Shoving my way through the shell and to mana below. I felt resistance and pressure. Not just in my mental image but in my physical chest. It was like something was pressing down on my heart. Since it didn¡¯t hurt, I took it as a sign that I was on the right track. I pushed harder until both abruptly vanished as my hand reached the other side. Liquid heat licked at my hand. The feeling was so vivid that I felt that I could drink whatever this mana really was. Not that I thought that was truly possible nor was it a good idea. With a bit more concentration, I visualized a rope made of mana. Within moments, my mental fingers felt as though they were holding onto a piece of rope. With this in hand, I worked my way back through the shell. The rope didn¡¯t fall apart as I pulled it further and further out. Still, given that it was as thick as my wrist, I doubted this was what Mindi had in mind. I dipped my head and let out a sigh as I pushed the rope back into the sphere. It melted away. Vanishing as if it had never formed in the first place. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Trying again, I focused on making a thinner rope. While I pulled out one that was indeed thinner as it sat at the thickness of a pen. But, I felt like I could do better. Repeating the process again and again. Each time my image shrank as I tested how small I could get the thing. One such thread was as thin as my hair. It was thin enough that I could barely see it. The moment it left the sphere, it snapped. Every bit of the thread that was outside the sphere exploded into smoke. I mentally stood there, watching as the smoke dissipated. Not able to do anything to stop it. But what exactly was the smoke? Why did it dissipate instead of returning to that orb? With a glance up I found that my mana pool had dropped a tiny fraction but we are talking about a sliver of the whole being missing. With a command, I grabbed the information from my character sheet.158/160 MP. Sure enough, my mana pool had dropped. That little thread had cost me two points of mana to form. While it was annoying to lose mana with nothing to show for it, the loss did tell me two things. One, the orb was my mana pool. And two, if I let it go while it is outside said pool, it will quickly vaporize and vanish into the ether. ¡°That was a bit thin. Try a little thicker this time.¡± Mindi¡¯s voice nearly broke me out of my meditative state. Gritting my mental teeth, I focused on my task and ignored the world outside. As I moved to form the next thread, a thought occurred to me. Whoever said that the threads had to be one solid piece. Why not wrap multiple threads together like they do for clothing and even bridges? How did they do that again? Wasn¡¯t there a core with various threads wrapped around it? Did the outer threads rotate in the same direction or the opposite? It had to be in the opposite direction otherwise the layers would more easily fall apart at the same time. With a bit of effort, I visualized three of the thin threads spinning around a slightly thicker thread. The thread that formed worked, mostly. As I pulled more and more of the thread out of the sphere, a dull throb started at the back of my head. Apparently holding such a complex visual was taxing. It felt like I was trying to draw while holding a conversation with someone. While I could do it, I would lose all the work if I got distracted for even a fraction of a second. With a mental death grip on the thread, I started to open my eyes. I didn¡¯t even get them halfway open before I lost the damn thing. Not only did I feel the thread as it vanished, I saw it as a tiny wave of mana burst out of me. ¡°Damn it. I thought I had it that time.¡± I cursed. As I took a deep breath to force myself to calm down, Mindi spoke up. ¡°Good. This time, take that thread and loop it around to your back before returning it to your pool.¡± Wait, what happened to trying to form a spell first? She was changing the lesson plan yet again for no reason. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want me to form the rune for fire first? Hell, I still need to work on stabilizing the thread before moving on to manipulating it into any shape.¡± ¡°Sure, but the thread is mana being held to the shape you want with your mind and nothing else.¡± She said as she tossed a small ball of water between her hands. ¡°If you could hold it without a spell for any length of time you would be capable of things beyond me. Though maybe not Barti. That elf¡¯s ability with magic scares me sometimes. Feel free to practice holding a thread without help later. For now, focus on looping the thread through your back and back into the sphere.¡± Huffing at the oddity of the order, I fell back into my meditative state. It took only a moment to locate the sphere and pull out a thread of mana. I took my time as I wrapped the thread around to my back before returning it to the starting point. The moment the thread touched the sphere, it merged with it. Stabilizing and thickening as mana started to pump down it. ¡°Good,¡± she said while giving me a good, hard slap on my back. The thread seemed to distort a little before stabilizing. ¡°That is the most basic form of body strengthening spells. This one is specifically for your back muscles.¡± Slowly, I opened my eyes while my mind mentally grappled with the thread. ¡°But how is that different from something like cultivation?¡± Her face filled with confusion. It was as if she had never heard of the term. Then again, maybe she hadn¡¯t. ¡°It¡¯s when someone uses inner power and intent to control their body and power various abilities. Practitioners typically sit around and gather as much of the energy of the world as they can. Typically with the goal of becoming effectively immortal.¡± ¡°First off, while there are spells to slow aging and help you live after death,¡± She visibly shivered at some image. ¡°No amount of mana will make you immortal. Everything dies, even gods. Second, there are many ways to use mana. Some spells will use mana to gather yet more mana until it has enough to cast the main spell without the help of someone triggering it. Most enchantments are like this but as I told you earlier, there are spells you can cast that would do something similar to the mana around you. There are also those that can just use mana to force an element to bend to their will.¡± ¡°There are?¡± An image of someone performing some avatar-like moves to manipulate the area around them. ¡°How does one go about getting such skills?¡± ¡°Before we get into that, how are you for mana?¡± I had to do a double-take at my mana bar. It was dropping even though I wasn¡¯t doing anything. Rapidly checking the rate, I found that it was dropping by about a point a minute. While that might not seem like much compared to the stove or such, it was still faster than my mana regeneration. I relayed my findings to Mindi and watched as the grin on her face became a bit sinister. ¡°Now onto the fun part. Don¡¯t worry, I will answer all your questions as we go.¡± I didn¡¯t know whether to groan or cheer upon hearing that. Not with that smile. And here I was starting to think she was a nicer teacher than Barti. Chapter 31 - Fuck Training ¡°Run around the field and don¡¯t stop until I tell you to.¡± Barti barked from where he sat. Looking over at him in surprise, I noticed that my Chisa Katana sat on the table behind him. The blade gleamed in the training room light. ¡°While Mindi might be great at training someone in magic, I am your general trainer as well as your weapons instructor. As we get deeper into training there will be more and more times that you will have multiple teachers instructing you at the same time. NOW RUN!¡± The echoes of his voice chased me as I took off. That combined with my surprise at his choice to join in my magic training caused my concentration to falter and my spell thread to snap. ¡°Get that spell thread back up,¡± Mindi¡¯s yelling made me miss the sweet and soft woman from earlier. Going from a run to a light jog, I worked on doing just that when Barti yelled at me again. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you to stop running.¡± With a sudden, sinking feeling, I realized what they both wanted from me. This training was going to drive me nuts. Slowly, but surely, I remade the thread and snapped it into place. It was stable for all of ten seconds before something on the floor caused me to stumble. ¡°Get the spell back up!¡± ¡°I told you to run, not do a drunken stumble!¡± Fucking hell. One of them was bad enough. The two together were going to drive me into an early grave. Then again, that didn¡¯t mean much when I could just come back. Maybe that¡¯s why travelers learned faster. They didn¡¯t have to worry about death being permanent. Around and around I ran. Thread after thread broke and reformed. As they broke, I forced myself to form them faster, earlier, efficiently. While I wasn¡¯t all that talented, my speed increased just from the sheer amount of practice I was getting. On top of that, the spell was becoming easier to hold whenever the invisible and shifting object tripped me or when someone smacked the back of my head with something. Panting and drenched in sweat, I dropped to the floor. My muscles shook and refused to move, let alone run. ¡°Is he dead?¡± One of the girls asked. If I had to guess, it was Mindi given where the voice was coming from. ¡°No,¡± Barti responded. ¡°He just needs a few minutes to catch his breath. I sometimes forget just how weak new travelers are. What was that, two hours of running? Didn¡¯t he do better last time?¡± ¡°Last time he wasn¡¯t having to hold a spell in his head. The constant mana loss would have had some effect.¡± ¡°Just how small is his mana pool that it would be affected by such a simple spell?¡± These guys didn¡¯t care that I was here listening to them beat me down, did they? As I sat there, something changed. It felt like a blanket was suddenly ripped away and everything around grew more real. Moments later, a notification popped up in the middle of my vision. Newbie Protection has worn off. Well damn. There went the starting buff. In the corner of my eye, my mana bar practically stalled out. I was pretty sure that my regen had just been cut to ribbons. And here I was thinking that training was hard enough before. The moment my muscles stopped screaming, I groaned and rolled over. ¡°Looks like he¡¯s ready to get back to it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, though I don¡¯t think running is the way to go,¡± Barti called out to me from wherever that evil elf was standing now. ¡°Give me some pushups.¡± ¡°Form a mana thread and thread it around your whole chest this time,¡± Mindi said in a calm tone before going back to her stern, commanding tone as she continued. ¡°Do it WHILE you are doing pushups.¡± Fucking hell. These two just would not let me do one thing at a time. Instead of wasting my time on doing both at the same time, and failing, I focused on my pushups first and started to pump them out. The rhythm my body fell into was enough to let me focus on my mana without pissing the elf off. This time, when I visualized my sphere of mana, I found that it looked hazy. The light and warmth coming off of it was dulled. Almost as if it was a fire running low on fuel. Given that what I was seeing was my mana and the bar hovering at the edge of my vision showed just over half a bar, I was running quite low when compared to every other time I had seen it. Not that that would stop me from doing as I was ordered. I used every bit of mental determination and grit I could muster to form the thread and weave it into the shape. I ran the thing straight down to just below my belly button before circling up. Keeping just below the skin as I moved to just below my neck. The sweat I felt pouring off of me could have been from the pushups or from the mental exertion I was under as I fought to keep the thread solid. Finally, though, I managed to run the thread across the areas I needed and returned to the sphere. It had visibly dimmed and only grew worse the moment I tapped the thread into it. Mana flooded out of it like water does when a main is broken. I watched as my mana bar sharply dipped. The thing dropped below a quarter before slowly going back up as the mana made its way back into the sphere from the other side. Finally, it stabilized just below where it started, though it did start to decrease as the spell took hold. I didn¡¯t realize until that point just how sore my chest muscles were. The moment the spell went to work, the muscles loosened and seemed to heal at a rapid pace. Someone looking at me as I worked out would have thought I had just found my second wind rather than anything to do with magic or a spell. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Took you long enough. Though next time I would recommend weaving the thread through your body rather than just wrapping it around under your skin. You need the mana to get to all the muscles, not just those on the surface.¡± Mindi said as a weight settled on me. While I felt the additional weight, I didn¡¯t strain under it like I thought I would. ¡°You will find that these spells will help you with recovery as well as strengthening various muscles.¡± ¡°Can I do this to any other part of my body or just my chest?¡± I asked through gritted teeth. Hey, just because I wasn¡¯t straining as much as I thought I was didn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t straining at all. She had added enough weight that I was sure could crush me if I dropped the spell. ¡°Sure, you can do the same thing to every part of your body.¡± It sounded as if she was thinking about something as she answered from somewhere above me. Suddenly, I felt another weight settle on me. Given the soft tapping of two somethings on my side, I had a feeling she was sitting on me. ¡°The spells aren''t all that efficient though so it is best to only use them during the moments you need them. And before you ask, yes you can combine them all to get a general body fortification spell. Too bad the spell eats mana like there is no tomorrow.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise to explain a few things while he worked out?¡± Barti asked Mindi showing that he had been paying attention and remembered what I had forgotten until now. She sighed, ¡°I did but he was already having issues focusing on two things that I doubted he could have paid attention to my talking. Now, what was it I was going to explain first?¡± Barti didn¡¯t answer her question, probably seeing if I recalled the original conversation or had a different set of questions in mind. I thought back and asked the first question that came to mind that was related to the topic we had been talking about. ¡°How does one get skills related to pulling in mana faster?¡± Here is to hoping it is something I can learn fast to help with my pitiful mana regeneration. ¡°That¡¯s an easy one and there are many skills related to it. The most commonly used one is meditation. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you didn¡¯t already have it.¡± Had I gotten that skill? Mentally I called up my skill screen and sure as shit, the skill was there. It even doubled the rate at which mana regenerated while meditating. It wasn¡¯t the only skill I had gained during this training period but I would come back to them in a minute. I had to focus on mana regeneration first. Everything else would still be there later. ¡°There are also other skills that you may or may not stumble on on your own.¡± She continued, ¡°And before you ask, I will not be teaching the ones I have to you. As you can imagine, any skills related to increasing a mage''s mana regeneration are highly coveted and thus protected.¡± Damn. I guess it made sense. I would just have to experiment with various methods as my Mana Manipulation skill increased. ¡°What are runes? I mean you showed me one and told me that they can be used to cast spells but that doesn¡¯t tell me all that much.¡± ¡°In essence? It is the language of magic.¡± Her voice was filled with reverence. It was as if she was speaking of her god or something. ¡°With the right runes, one can make a spell that can do anything they want. The only limit is what runes are known to them.¡± Oh great, yet another thing I had to learn. Only this time it was a freaking language. I had issues learning Spanish in high school. How was I supposed to learn something that sounded even more complicated? ¡°Lucky for everyone, we don¡¯t need to teach you how to read the language.¡± I briefly stopped at the top of my last pushup to wipe off my brow. That piece of information was a gift from the gods, even if it was odd given how realistic this game was supposed to be. ¡°It is the only system or language like this. Want to learn to speak another language? Study. Build a house? Hire someone or build it yourself. From what my professors taught me, the system will guide you in doing these things but not nearly as much as with the runic language.¡± Mindi stopped to take a deep breath before continuing with her rant. ¡°There are two ways to learn a rune. The easiest way is to have someone show you it and tell you what the rune means. This is how you learned the fire rune. You can also find random runes lying around. They could be in spells or etched into objects. If you focus on one such rune, you have a chance to identify what the rune means. On top of that, if you are really lucky, the gods or the system might gift you with a spell that uses it. Though don¡¯t count on this as a way to gain spells.¡± Other than my heavy breathing and the sound of my heart hammering in my chest, the room became silent as she finished. Seeing an opportunity to ask another question, I asked about something I had seen on the skill shop page. ¡°Are there other skills that I can get to increase my control over an element?¡± To my surprise, it wasn¡¯t Mindi that answered, but Barti. ¡°There are some skills that will alter how you interact with any given element. Skills like Fox Fire, Gaia¡¯s Growth, Poseidon¡¯s Palace, Heaven¡¯s Mercy, and Demonic Devastation to name a few. Each will alter the element they coincide with in one way or another. Gaia¡¯s Growth, for example, will alter earth-related spells to be more effective when it comes to anything plant-related.¡± ¡°And how does one go about getting one of these skills?¡± ¡°From what various elvish researchers have found,¡± now wasn¡¯t that a thought. People who lived hundreds, if not thousands, of years researching one topic. ¡°is that it depends on a combination of your personality as well as your elemental affinities. It isn¡¯t that it is rare to have one such skill. The issue is finding out which element a person has the skill linked to.¡± ¡°Now hold on a minute,¡± Tindi yelled from wherever she was. ¡°That cannot be right,¡± Mindi yelled from above me. ¡°¡­Never have I heard¡­¡± ¡°¡­Said that it was the elemental god blessing¡­¡± Both girls spoke over of each other as they tried to argue with the elf. Their voices were so loud that I couldn¡¯t make out more than a few snippets of what they were saying. Barti must have done something because both girls just suddenly stopped talking. ¡°Us elves have a more complete record than any other species, save the gods. That coupled with the fact that we have the time to find our specific element means that each of us has done so. For instance, my element is Air. Specifically Fluttering Flicker. It focuses on the speed and control aspects of air over everything else.¡± ¡°I thought you were just fast. You mean to tell me you have been using your magic every time I went to hit you?¡± Tindi sounded like she was a bit angry at this. She likely felt cheated given the fact that she wasn¡¯t able to do the same. ¡°Nope. My elemental skill level is high enough that the air near me is nearly a part of me. It is enough that the air itself tells me if and when something is near me. All I have to do is dodge. No mana required.¡± The elf sounded bored. ¡°So if I said that I was already offered one such skill, what would you say?¡± ¡°Depends on which one it is. Some of the more common ones linked to fire would be Pheonix¡¯s Flame, Scorched Earth, Solar Flare, and Dragon¡¯s Breath. All of which have their good sides and bad. Which did you get offered?¡± Wait, didn¡¯t he talk about Fox Fire when listing out random elemental skills? A bit confused, I answered him, ¡°I got offered Fox Fire.¡± The room went silent for a second time. This time, I didn¡¯t think it was because they were waiting for me to ask another question. Chapter 32 - Fox Fire I gave up on doing pushups and dropped my spell so that I could look at Barti. His brows were furrowed. So much so that it almost looked like he had a unibrow. ¡°What?¡± I demanded. Barti either didn¡¯t hear me or didn¡¯t know what to say because Tindi was the one who answered my question. ¡°That¡¯s not something a human would get.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I wanted to stand up and look at the three of them in the eyes and demand to know what was so weird about being offered this skill but whatever was on my back was very heavy. In fact, now that I thought about it, how was I holding them up? When I dropped the spell I should have been unable to hold that much weight up. ¡°Honestly, no clue. All I know is that it is a skill reserved for Fox Beastman. You are the first person I have heard of that has been offered it.¡± Tindi answered. ¡°That makes no sense. I thought skills were related to one¡¯s elemental affinity and personality¡± That or there were things the three of them were not telling me. ¡°They are.¡± Barti finally spoke up. Most of the weight on my back vanished with a wave of his hand. Free to move and feeling light as a feather, if a bit achy, I shot up. ¡°But some personality traits are so ingrained in one''s upbringing that it is nearly genetic. The relevant trait here has to do with foxes and their need to trick people. Typically in revenge for something the target has done to them. It is to the point of being a part of their culture. To not get pranked is to be insulted.¡± That sounded closer to Kitsune than foxes, but then again this is a magical world so who knew what traits foxes would share with their mystical counterparts? As I thought back over how I dealt with issues and bullying, I found that I did love to trick people. Both subtly and not. After all, if no one had any evidence that you were the perpetrator then you couldn¡¯t get in trouble. While I thought myself a bit of a prankster, who wasn¡¯t in one way or another, I didn¡¯t think that I was good enough to be on par with legends and myths. Yet this game seemed to consider me at least equal enough to earn the right to get the skill. I didn¡¯t know if I should take that as a compliment or a subtle jab. ¡°So, do I take it or not?¡± ¡°Up to you.¡± Barti shrugged as he turned around to grab something off the table. ¡°If you are going to I would do it sooner rather than later.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you''re still learning magic,¡± Mindi spoke from just behind me. Something about her tone and presence there caused a shiver to run up my spine. It took everything in me to not spin around or jump away. ¡°It will change your connection with fire enough that you will need to retrain with it. Not because it changed how it works, but how your mana interacts with fire.¡± I am sure to her that sounded like it made sense but it didn¡¯t. A skill would change how another skill interacted with something without changing how it worked. I could understand if it was a circuit or something mechanical, but it was energy interacting with other energy. There was nothing between the two. Unless Fox Fire stepped in but then wouldn¡¯t it make me weaker when it comes to fire? It would be adding another step in the process to control anything fire-related after all. With a shake of my head and not knowing what else to do, I asked my AI to flip a coin. If it was heads I would buy the skill, otherwise fuck it. ¡°Flipping coin. The coin landed on heads.¡± A sigh escaped my lips, bringing with it a bit of relief as I bought the skill. With no warning or notice, I felt pain. It was nothing like when I bought the ability to use fire but it hurt nonetheless. My heart felt like it was burning up. Wait, not my heart. It was whatever the sphere containing my mana. The damn thing felt like it was on fire. It wasn¡¯t the only thing either. Flares of searing heat flashed out of it and across my body. The flames burned everything as they made their way out. I heard as the people around me tried to talk to me, to ask me questions, but I had no time or energy to spare to understand them, let alone answer. It didn¡¯t help that my instincts were screaming at me loud enough to drown everyone else out. They were telling me that I would regret it if I didn¡¯t get control of whatever was going on. They also told me I didn¡¯t have long. Even over the couple of seconds that had passed since the burning had started, the flares had sped up and grown in strength. I forced my mind into a meditative state as I focused on my chest. On the sphere that sat there. The liquid radiated heat and pressure that blinded my mind¡¯s eye. If it had been physical it could have given the sun a run for its money. As the pressure built, small, thin streams of mana burst out from the surface. Each stream that escaped did so with such force and speed that I could barely see it blur by me. I fell to my knees, giving up as there was nothing that I could do. Not against something so powerful or unpredictable. As if in response to my giving up, everything stopped. ¡°What the fucking hell!¡± I screamed. Somewhere in the back of my confused mind, I wondered if my screams were real or just in my head. That part of my mind was smacked by the part that demanded that I focus. As I knelt there, uncertain of what I could do, I waited to see what would happen next. Maybe the sphere would explode or something. Suddenly, a series of god-damned fireworks erupted from the surface. As they finished, they left behind sparkling words that hovered in the air for a couple of seconds. I groaned as I read them. ¡®Got You!¡¯ Great, now even my mana was going to be playing tricks. At least now it was quiet. ¡°Damn it,¡± Mindi¡¯s voice cut through the silence ¡°If you don¡¯t respond in the next couple of seconds I am going to have to do something we both don¡¯t want.¡± Did I want to know what she meant? No. But I also needed to deal with my mana and its behavior. If any little kid, hell even if it had been an adult, pulled such a trick on me I would have likely decked them, or their parents. The amount of power and heat being given off reminded me of something working its way up to an explosion. Given that the damned thing was inside of me, I didn¡¯t want to know what would have happened to my body. Would such a thing kill me or leave me crippled? Would I have died only to respawn with it happening again over and over until I logged out? Yeah, no. Of course, that brought up another question; how did one punish a piece of themselves? I couldn¡¯t just whack it like I did a hand as it reached for my food. What about the fact that it was energy and not a physical object? That added yet another problem, though maybe instead of hitting it physically, I could hit it with mana instead. My mind wandered down track after track filled with possible ideas on how to deal with my mana. So much so that I hadn¡¯t even realized a minute had passed since Mindi had yelled at me. So when someone put an ice-cold hand against my neck, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I say nearly because at nearly the same instant a bolt of mixed mana stabbed its way into me. It raced up and down my spine and down every fucking nerve. I reeled against the feeling of the lightning that raced along my nerves. While the bolt wasn¡¯t all that powerful, it was like being shocked by static electricity everywhere at once. Add to that the feeling of some of my blood turned to slush while other parts felt like they were boiling. I was in hell. To top it off, as if it had been waiting for this moment, my mana decided that its earlier joke was nothing. Only, instead of sending out small flares of hot mana, it shed an ever-expanding shell. The thing burned, oh did it burn. Under the onslaught of fire, water, and electricity, my heart was starting to stutter. It skipped one beat here, another there, only for the shell of mana to slam into it. I am damned sure the thing stopped. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Silence filled my ears. It was the sound of my death as the reaper came to pay me a call. At least he would put a stop to the attack on my muscles. I only wished he had been here earlier. That he would have been able to take me before most of the pain had seared its way along my body and mind. As the shell of mana continued to expand, the muscles in my heart that came into contact with the shell quivered before they contracted as fast and as hard as they could. Moments after the last muscle did so, my heart fluttered before beating itself with all the force it could muster. The moment it did so, the specter of death vanished. It didn¡¯t complain about its victim being taken from it. It never did. Death was always a patient hunter. One who would always get its target in the end. The next beat of my heart was normal, as were all the subsequent ones. The heart was free of pain and any foreign mana from what I could tell. With how realistic every feeling had been, I wondered as to why the pod hadn¡¯t kicked me out. Even if it hadn¡¯t affected the real organs and muscles, wasn¡¯t the emotional toll of the event enormous? The wave of mana didn¡¯t stop there. It continued to expand outward. Wherever it met the foreign mana, it burned it away as easily as if it were a pressure washer washing away some dirt off some piece of concrete. Unfortunately, mana kept pouring in from my neck. While the shell cleaned up everything else fairly easily, it had to fight for every inch as it climbed toward my neck. Finally, the last vestige of mana whipped out and struck the spot where the mana was pouring in from. Suddenly free from the last of the pain and mana, I heard the world around me. The first thing I heard was Mindi as she shouted ¡°Fuck!¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Barti and Tindi asked. I snapped my eyes open in a mixture of fear and anger. My voice was hard as I demanded. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me?¡± Barti and Tindi stood a few feet away. Both were looking at me. Mindi was just visible out of the corner of my eye with her hands clenched together. One looked like it hurt given how she was holding it. ¡°He burned me,¡± Mindi¡¯s voice was soft and slightly pained as she walked toward them. Her path was curved away from me as if she was scared that I would do something. When she got closer, she opened her hand to show them the damage. Given that she was the one that my mana had burned, I snapped at her. ¡°And you electrocuted, froze, and boiled me.¡± ¡°I told you we both wouldn¡¯t like what I was going to do if you didn¡¯t respond.¡± Her voice was rough. It almost sounded like she was either hurt and about to cry or angry and about to yell at me. ¡°Yeah, and how did doing that to me hurt you?¡± My body started to shake as I tried to not straight up scream at her. ¡°If not for my mana doing whatever it had done, I probably would be dead.¡± ¡°Like that would be much of a problem for a traveler.¡± Snorted Tindi. I shot her a look that said to stay out of this. She paled and shut up. Mindi spun to face me. Frustration and anger were tinged with a bit of fear as she started to shout. ¡°You think I like hurting people? Do you think I like seeing other people hurt in such a way that leaves them unable to do anything to stop the pain? This was something that my professors did to us whenever our mana ran wild. Did they go far a few times? Yes, and some of those people are dead or crippled.¡± What the hell kind of place did she go to to learn magic? No punishment should have the possibility to cripple or kill someone. Not unless there was no other choice. ¡°I had to watch as one of my best friends was burned from the inside. All because a new professor put too much power into their spell.¡± She continued as tears started to stream down her face. Something told me that she was mentally reliving the memory of the event. ¡°She wasn¡¯t my only friend lost either, only one of the first. At least her death was accidental. My boyfriend killed someone when learning to use this spell. He ended up taking his life.¡± That academy had even taught the kids how to do this to others? That thought, coupled with hearing about her friends and seeing her emotion-filled face, I couldn¡¯t stay angry. Not at her. Not really. I wanted to just leave. Be done with this group and forget anything had happened here. But before I left, I had to ask one final question. ¡°Why?¡± My voice cracked as I tried to speak. ¡°Why do such a thing to me if doing so hurts you?¡± ¡°Because a mage whose mana is running wild is a danger to not only themselves but everyone around them.¡± Barti cut in as Tindi wrapped Mindi up in a tight hug. His voice was calm as he started to explain. ¡°As you know, mana is power. A living creature can contain it, concentrate it, and use it. Doing so is what gives each creature mana to use in various spells and abilities. The moment the body loses control over the ability to contain it, the mana breaks free. Rapidly expanding outward until it reaches equilibrium with the mana present in the world around it.¡± He didn¡¯t have to finish what he was saying. The picture he had painted was enough. Even the small amount in my pool would have killed me. It might have even been enough to hurt of kill everyone else in the room. She hadn¡¯t attacked me but tried to save me, or at least she thought she was doing so. Of course, I wanted to know just how such a technique would have stopped such a thing, but I felt like such a question would be best left for another day. Not knowing what else to do, I skirted around the group as I went for the door. I had no clue where I was going. I only knew that I needed to get out of the room. To get away and think. ¡°Will you be coming back?¡± Mindi¡¯s voice was soft. Barely audible even in the silent training room. Her question caused me to stop with my hand on the door as I took a second to truly think over her question. To think about if I could come back to this group even after what had just happened. After everything they had done, or not done, to me and for me. Yes, she had hurt me and been hurt in return. But she had a good reason for doing it, even if the reason was wrong. Then again, I only had their words to go off of, just as I only had Barti¡¯s word on why they didn¡¯t say anything in my defense. ¡°Maybe.¡± That was all I could say before I left. I let the door close on its own as I walked to the main room of the hall. The place was nearly deserted. Given the time, I wasn¡¯t surprised. Most of the people here were probably off doing some quests or out shopping. Both were options that would give me time out of here and get my mind off what just happened. The prospect of which instantly caught my attention. It wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t need to go shopping. After all, I still needed to go get some more ingredients as well as find a stove I could take with me. The only problem with going shopping at the moment was that it would mean interacting and being surrounded by people and right now I just, I didn¡¯t want to be around anyone. Then again, there was another option. An option that would give me something to take out my frustration on. I looked around and found the one place in this room I had yet to visit. The quest board. Barti: My shirt was practically soaked as the door to the training room closed. Not that I cared that Mindi¡¯s tears were soaking my shirt. Not when, the moment she stopped crying and stood on her own I would cast a simple cleaning spell. I could even do it now but my mind was stuck on something else. Someone else. That boy, his mana was something else. At first, I couldn¡¯t place it. It felt wild. Almost like that of a beastman on the verge of losing their mind. But he was human. Not only that, his mana was always like that. While I had a special skill that allowed me to see mana as if it were physical, I still couldn¡¯t help but wonder why not a single other person had noticed or felt the difference. Neither of the girls had even guessed that his mana was closer to that of a beastman like theirs than any other group. For the last few days, I had been trying to find out what a beginner like him could have that would cause such a thing, yet I had come up empty. The only explanations left were either impossible or not something that would be found here in this little town. That was until he told us about the shop offering him the Fox Fire skill. It was something impossible yet explained so much. While Mindi had given him fairly good advice on buying it, I had been skeptical. And judging by his expression at the time, I hadn''t been the only one. After he mumbled to himself about flipping a coin, his decision was made. Within moments, he purchased the skill. Not that you could miss him doing so. His mana, while animalistic before, became fierce. It snapped out at everyone and everything that came too close. It made its presence known to the world even as it changed on some fundamental level. Not losing something or anything like that, but almost like it was getting closer to being complete. As if it had found a piece of itself and was defending it from the world while also welcoming it home. Of course Mindi would go and misunderstand what was going on. The places this nation called academies would not allow one to lose control of their magic. To do so was to let tragedy befall hundreds, if not thousands of people given how much mana they had access to. Even if it meant that they lost mages and scarred even more with this barbaric method. Yet I still did nothing to stop her. My mind and body had been too occupied at the time as I took in the magnificence of his mana and what it was doing. In the end, it had snapped at her mana as if it were a beast defending its territory. As Mindi pulled back, I acted as if I hadn¡¯t seen a thing. After all, no one other than the Guildmaster and the sub-Guildmaster knew of my ability and I sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to share it with someone who seemed to be cozying up with the demons, even if he didn¡¯t know it. Though, I will say, the shape his freed mana took was interesting. I didn¡¯t even know that mana could form a pair of fox ears and a tail with nothing physical there to anchor to. Guess the wiseman of that beastman village long ago was right. ¡®Even the gentlest breeze can hide a storm within.¡¯ I would just have to wait and see if this was a storm that blew with or against us and our goals. Chapter 33 - Bunnies, Bunnies, it must be Bunnies As I stood in front of a board that filled up a good half a wall in this massive room, I had no clue where to start. Papers filled the thing and there seemed to be some sort of organization being used, but I had no clue where to start looking. ¡°Solo or with a group?¡± Came a gruff voice that I recognized. I turned to face the dwarven woman and answered with a simple ¡°Solo.¡± At my word, her eyes appraised me. I had a feeling that she was looking beyond whatever she could physically see as she judged what I could and could not handle. Not that I cared. Not as long as she got me something to do. Something to kill. ¡°I think that there is a perfect quest for you.¡± She spoke as she walked over to the farthest, and largest, grouping of papers on the board. ¡°These are quests that are considered perpetually up. Their ingredients are always useful and easy to get.¡± So there were guaranteed repeatable quests. Quests that would yield some easy money and experience for any beginner, at least while in this town. Most games had some, though some limited how many times a single player could use it while others didn¡¯t care. ¡°If they are so easy to get then why don¡¯t people constantly farm the quests?¡± ¡°Farm?¡± Her brows crinkled a bit as she pulled two of the pages down. ¡°Oh, you mean repeat the quests as many times as they can? Because neither is worth much. It is more of a ¡®turn in the goods if you happen to grab them as you pass by¡¯ kind of quest. But judging by how you look, I would guess you need something that you can kill without being in too much danger.¡± I took the proffered pages and looked them over.
Quest: Bunnies, bunnies, it must be bunnies.
Quest Type: Extermination ¨C Rank E
Description: The bunny population in the rolling hills around the city is ever-growing. Help the city by culling their numbers. Plus, who doesn¡¯t like a bit of bunny meat now and then? This quest is repeatable.
Requirements: 5 Beater Bunny corpses.
Reward: 2 Silver 10 XP
Failure: None.
¡®Would you like to accept this quest?¡¯
Quest: The Good Stuff
Quest Type: Harvest ¨C Rank E
Description: Potions are always in demand. As such, so are their ingredients. Kill a few monsters and feed their blood to the Bloodfern plant until its thirst is quenched. After which the plant is ready to harvest. This quest is repeatable.
Requirements: 5 Crimson Leaves
Reward: 2 Silver 10 XP
Failure: None.
¡®Would you like to accept this quest?¡¯ Thoroughly grossed out at the thought of feeding some blood to a plant that was going to be used in a potion, I had to force myself not to simply toss the papers back at her. She likely had a reason for picking these missions for me. ¡°What is with the plant and blood?¡± She shrugged. ¡°Bunnies are as easy to kill as they are plentiful. Since you are going to be in the area, might as well grab the leaves after the fight.¡± She made it sound as if someone going out to kill creatures to let off a bit of steam was normal. That shouldn¡¯t be normal. Then again, why not? This was a game and nothing was being hurt. Plus, it would be a good opportunity for me to find out just how strong I was. Yeah, I couldn¡¯t fool even myself with that excuse. I had felt the need to hurt someone before but my tricks and jokes usually were enough to quell the rage. This time, I didn¡¯t think that would work. Something about this anger was different. Almost like it was alive. With a nod of thanks to Ginny, I accepted the two quests and passed back the pages. As I turned to leave she spoke up. ¡°There should be a decent-sized warren a little ways to the southwest of the town.¡± While I was curious how she would know such a thing, I held up a hand in thanks as I made my way across the room. The doors at the front of the guild were wide open to allow the gentle, sun-kissed breeze to filter in. All of the stubborn snow and ice had finally melted away as the air warmed up. I had no clue what season it was, or even if this place had seasons as I knew them, but I felt like it was shifting. Huffing, cries of pain, and a few yelled words filled the air. In the cleared areas around the guild building, people trained. Some beat upon one another while others simply practiced this skill or that. As I passed, I found my eyes drawn to the various forms of combat. Wooden weapons of all types smashed against other weapons as an adult watched from a short distance away. Others fired various projectiles at targets dozens of feet away. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Given that this was a world built with access to magic, the arrows fired were in the minority. However, those that were used were usually fired with some sort of magic infused into them. Not that one could visually tell until they hit the target. I watched as an undiscript arrow struck a target only to have the target crumple around the arrow. The result looked like some sort of giant had grabbed the target and crushed it into a tiny ball no larger than my head. That was the last thing I saw before the crowded street of the market beyond swallowed me up. I didn¡¯t fight the current. Simply going with the flow as it pulled me toward the gate. While many were alone, most had a teen in tow. Either their kid or some sort of apprentice given the medieval-like society that the game seemed based on. Of course, this did bring to mind my own job status, both in the game and out. This little adventure with the game had cost me a couple of days, and a hefty chunk of my savings, yet what did I have to show for it? Not much. Even if I managed to trade all of my gold for money, I wouldn¡¯t have enough to cover a single month in the real world, let alone the cost of the pod. Not that I had seen any really good way to make money for someone my level. To do that I would have to take chances and level up in every way. But I had been trying that the entire time I had been playing the game and I was only level seven. On top of that, the city and area around it was likely a beginner area of some kind and yet I was weak as hell for even this place. I needed some sort of edge. Something that no one would expect. Something that would work on not just other people but creatures as well. Given how much I tended to rely on them in the real world, maybe a trick of some kind. The moment I thought that, my mana sent a small flare of fire to lick at my heart. It almost felt like it was agreeing. Only, that would mean that my mana was alive and that it was capable of conscious thought ¡ª or was I simply anthropomorphizing energy? Fuck it, who cared if it was alive or not. This was a fucking game. The crowd pushed me out of the gate before releasing me in a spray not unlike that of a high-pressure hose as it released its contents into the air around it. The notification about leaving the town appeared and vanished in an instant as I looked around to get my bearings. Many of the people leaving were following the road straight out of the city, though a few took the other path that led out and slightly to the north. The was also a road that hugged the outside of the wall as it made its way to the south. I looked to be the only one to take it. As soon as I got far enough from anyone who might be listening, I played madman. ¡°What do you think we should do to get an edge?¡± I asked my mana. Nothing happened. Not that it should have. It was energy and that was it. I felt like an idiot for even contemplating any differently. It was up to me to come up with a solution to my problem. Maybe I could pour the mana along my Chisa Katana and use it to light the edge up with a fire or something. Then again, having such high temperatures near metal would soften it. So that would do more harm than good. Maybe I could constantly pump mana through my body. I would be strong and able to take a hit. Unfortunately I would also only last until my mana ran dry. Given how little mana I currently had, that would be fairly quick. Option after option ran through my head. All of them were good for one thing or another, but each caused more damage or limited my options more than if I didn¡¯t use them. It also didn¡¯t help that I only knew one rune and thus one spell. Fireball. No, I didn¡¯t count body fortification as a spell given that it had no runes attached to it.
Spell Cost Effect Damage
Fireball 15 Mana Fires a ball of fire. Explodes on contact. Deals burn and concussive damage.
It was simple and effective. With my current mana pool, I could fire eight, maybe nine, such spells before I was at risk of mana fatigue. Though, that spell wasn¡¯t really something I could use in close-quarter combat. Not without blowing myself up. It was something I would have to open with or use to clear out large clusters of enemies. As I stepped off the path, I made my way down the first hill and to the southwest of the city as Ginny had recommended. Not seeing anyone or anything around to yell at me, I took the opportunity to fire off one of the fireballs. Why? Because how else would I know when and how I could use it? With my mind focused, I formed the rune on the surface of my hand. Doing so was much easier now that I knew how to go about it. I took my time to let it gather mana while I held an image of what I thought a fireball should look like. Without warning, the spell crumpled into itself. In its place a blue fire, so dim that I would have missed it if not for the light and heat it gave off, formed. That wouldn¡¯t be an issue if it was anywhere except on the surface of my palm. The spell didn¡¯t even finish compressing into the fire before it seemed to shudder and explode. With a small explosion of blood and smoke, the fireball went off. I stifled a scream as the pain brought me to my knees. It felt like my hand was shredded. Not that I knew if it was or wasn¡¯t. I wasn¡¯t willing to look and find out. I may not have been squeamish when it came to blood but it was different when it came to your own blood. Especially when coupled with the pain. With grit teeth, I shoved the pain to the back of my mind and focused on my mana. With as much speed as I could manage, I formed a thread of the stuff into a janky body fortification technique that was focused on my right arm. The moment the spell solidified a soothing heat traveled along my arm and to my hand. I don¡¯t know how long I knelt there, but it was long enough that the wound was able to close. Long enough that my mana was coming close to the twenty percent limit. With an aggravated sigh, I let the spell fall apart as I looked over the results. In the middle of my hand sat an angry pink circle with radiating jagged lines. No burns. No cuts. No blood. Just some fresh and tender skin. Not that I was complaining. If that had happened in the real world I would have likely never regained full use of that hand. Hell, if I had had my hand closed, I might have lost the entire thing. Taking the win, I got up and resumed my journey to find these damn bunnies. While I walked, my mind wandered over how to cast the fucking spell. Every game and book made it sound so easy. Most of them made it so the main character was even capable of casting the spell on the first try. Well, I had cast it but it wasn¡¯t a result I, or anyone, would ever want to repeat. I played back how the spell formed. I ran through the scene over and over. The rune seemed to crumble in on itself as the mana concentrated. The first signs of fire appeared in the middle where the compression was highest. It didn¡¯t fail until it encountered something that disrupted the spell. Given that my hand was the only thing in the area, it was the likely culprit. Something rustled through the bushes just on top of the next hill. The sound caught my attention, especially coupled with the sudden lack of wind to generate said movement. Frozen, I waited to see if it would show itself or if I would have to go over and look for myself. A small pink nose poked above the grass. Its nostrils flared as it took in the scents of the area around it before poking its whole head up. I assumed it was a bunny given the two long ears and resemblance to one I had once seen on a school trip to cities one museum. It was one of the many creatures stuffed and hung up in a wing dedicated to recently extinct animals. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, I pulled mana to my hand. Taking my time to slowly form the spell as far from my hand as I could. The moment I finished forming the rune, I pushed mana into it and brought up the image of my ideal fireball. All the while, I prayed that the damned thing didn¡¯t explode a second time. A few moments later, a small ball of light blue fire floated an inch from my hand. The color of the rippling flames reminded me of a blue citrine. Its glow was close to that of how many movies depicted ghosts. One would think that, given its proximity to my hand as well as my recent experience, I would be afraid of the ball of doom. But I wasn¡¯t. Hell, the thing was only a half-inch in diameter. I doubted the damned thing could do much more damage than it had earlier. Still, heat poured off of it in a wave. Slowly baking my skin as it waited to be used. I pitched the thing underhand as I had so many other objects. Nothing happened. No explosion. No fire. Not even a small stream of light as it casually flew at my target. Maybe if I used mana to propel it, then it would travel faster than a snail. Which begged the question, how did one go about doing that? Maybe it was something to do with imagery. I had imagined a static ball of fire after all. So what if I imagined a ball flashing through the air? Without really giving it thought, I focused on the fluffy target as I imagined the ball flying at it. Before I could so much as blink, a thin streak of light crossed the distance. A microsecond later, a small explosion blasted the spot where the bunny had been. I say had been because I doubted it was there any longer. Not with the amount of red mist that was landing on the hill behind my target. So maybe an inch away from my hand was still a bit too close. Bestiary Entry - Beater Bunny Name: Beater Bunny Type: Creature ¨C Physical Hostility: Hostile - Territorial Rarity: Extremely Common Description: This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Hides in tall grass. Attacking invaders in small fluffles. Going so far as to sacrifice themselves to protect the rest of the colony. Their favorite attacks all have to do with bludgeoning attacks in one way or another. Where can it be found: Anywhere with sufficient green vegetation. XP reward: 5 XP per Creature Level Typical Levels: Found in levels ranging from 1 to 9. Danger Level: Alone: Nil In a group: Low Harvestable Materials: Pelt Meat Bones Claws Attacks: Head Butt Kick Bite First Discovered: 03/22/918 First Interaction: 03/22/918 First Kill: 03/22/918 ChatGPT generated image: Chapter 34 - Furry Missiles As soon as I neared the top of the next hill, my guess was confirmed. There was nothing left of that bunny save for the bits of scattered fur and blood that seemed to float in the air. I absentmindedly watched as the fur slowly drifted down to the hill below. Not that there was much of a hill left either. Eventually, I managed to shake off my stupor and look down from the edge of the crater my little fireball had created. It was no wonder the bunny had disappeared. The thing was deeper than I was tall and at least a dozen or two feet wide. It would have been wider, but the curve of the hill was such that it physically couldn¡¯t. Seeing as there was nothing salvageable from my kill, I didn¡¯t see a reason to slip and slide my way down the side. Instead, I followed the edge of the crater while being careful not to get too close. Who knew just how stable the dirt was after such a blast? Lucky for me, the next hill was fairly close. In fact, it seemed like three other hills were clustered fairly close to this one. Though, I guess close is a bit relative. In this case, I just meant that some of the hills seemed to ride up on others, almost as if they had been a part of a much larger whole before rain and wind had managed to wear them down. As I stepped toward the hill, a red and white missile blasted out of the bushes, flying directly at me. Not having any time to react, I took the hit full in the chest. Off balance, I fell backward as the object flipped in the air before vanishing into the grass. As it did so, I caught a glimpse of a single long ear and a red stump. It seemed like there were more than one of these things on each hill. If that was truly the case, then I didn¡¯t even want to know just how many of the things I had blown apart in that single blast. Hell, I probably sent a number of them flying. The sound of grass rustling nearby caused me to yank my sword out as I scrambled to my feet. Not caring that my legs and skirt were wet from whatever liquid coated the foliage around me. Something blurred in my direction a second time. While I can react, there isn¡¯t enough time for me to slice the thing down. Instead, I manage to tilt the sword enough to put the pommel between me and my attacker. Lucky, for me not my attacker, the thing hits the pommel squarely with its head. The force of the hit was enough to force me to sidestep to keep my balance. My head swivels as I try to get a clear look at what had just hit me. Lying on the ground, stunned and hurt, is a bunny. Blood oozes out of its one intact ear and dribbles out of the corner of its eyes while a red froth coats its mouth. Even the few feet between us was not enough space to deaden the sound of rattling as it struggled to take a breath. The sight and sound sickens me. No creature should be forced to go through such pain. Given that I was the one to cause it, I had to end it. Either by healing it or putting it out of its misery. Not that I was going to heal the thing. Chances were that it would attack me the moment I did, not that I could anyway. I should probably learn a healing spell or get some potions. With the briefest of hesitations, I stab the tip of my knife into its throat. The bunny doesn¡¯t move as I do so. Almost as if it had accepted this outcome and had been waiting for it. As I knelt there, I watched the life fade from its eyes. The last of its blood pours from the wound like a faucet before finally stopping. Most of it soaks into the dirt below. All except for a small amount of spray that dyes the ferns surrounding me. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I close my eyes as I try to come to grips with what I just had to do. The pain that I had caused this creature. Pain that I could have possibly prevented if I knew how to use and control my power. But I had let my excitement over being able to throw a fireball, coupled with the anger over Mindi¡¯s attack, overpower my need to always be in control. Something that hadn¡¯t happened in many, many years. With a deep breath, I did what I had always been taught. What I have been forced to do at times to keep myself from doing something out of anger that I would regret. I force my emotions into a box. To pack them away. To contain and hide them from the world. To keep them where they had no power over me. Where they could not influence my decisions. Not that they would stay there. The therapist had been clear about the fact that I could not leave them there. That they could not be left to grow, to fester, and eventually explode. I needed to find a safe outlet and slowly release the emotions there. It was one reason I had gotten into video games in the first place. No one cared if you killed a million bugs or declared war on another player, not while you were inside a video game. Hell, it was highly likely that I wasn¡¯t the only one that did it. But this game felt different. The pain the creatures displayed looked real. Almost as if the creatures themselves were alive somehow. Not that that was possible. After all, everything here was just a bunch of code. Code that told it the creatures where to go, what to eat, who to attack, and even which bunny it would fuck. Or maybe the fact that the game was meant to be realistic meant that the developers even made sure that everything felt alive in its own right. Maybe this was how high the bar was set for new games. Maybe they had to be this realistic to have any chance in this market. Maybe it paid to make it feel like one could find any of the game''s creatures wandering down the street somewhere in the real world. Multiple plants nearby rustled. The sound caught my attention as it dragged me out of my self-reflection and back to my current situation. Before I could place the directions or numbers, some instinct deep inside of me took hold. The body of the bunny vanished into my inventory as my chest crashed into the ground where it had been. A moment later, several somethings whistled just over my body. With a snap, I shoved my body up in one powerful pushup. The maneuver was something I could never have pulled off even when I was trying to bulk up in high school to impress a few of the girls. The incongruity between reality and the game snapped me out of the sudo funk and allowed the gamer part of my mind to take over. It analyzed everything as it started to calculate the odds. My Chisa Katana swung up at an angle just as something blurred by. Judging by the red spay, I managed to hit whatever it was. But even if I had managed to hit one, another smashed into the back of my knee in such a way that the knee folded, collapsing under me. If not for the fact that I had been moving, I would have been sprawled on the ground. Not letting the opportunity pass me by, I twisted around and slashed the creature before it could get away. The attack hits the creature''s chest, causing all of its organs to drop to the ground but, surprisingly enough, it didn¡¯t outright kill the creature. It collapsed to the ground where it let out a cry that echoes strangely around me. It is almost as if the hills around me have decided to repeat it. The sound caused the little hairs on the back of my neck to stand up as a shiver raced down my spine. Something told me that I had fucked up by letting such a cry get out. Plants in every direction, on not just this hill, but every hill in this grouping, practically vibrated. I watched as a few of the vibrating plants started to move as if a large breeze was blowing across them. Seeing the number and size of each group left me speechless save for two words. ¡°Oh fuck.¡± Chapter 35 - Pit Fight ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck.¡± I cried as I sliced my sword through the air. Trying as hard as I could to land a hit on one of the creatures as they flew past me. Nearly every strike missed as they somehow managed to move in the air. Each such shift allowed them to dodge my blade before they vanished back into the bushes. Slowly, the mass of creatures pushed me back. Almost as if they were being coordinated to drive me into a trap or corner. There was nothing behind me but the crater and it was coming up fast. The ground near me was already showing signs of the dirt my fireball had thrown into the air. Slowly, the dirt itself started to grow softer. Soon enough, over the sound of the plants rustling, I heard the sound of rocks tumbling down an incline. It was a sound that increased in intensity and duration as I got closer to the edge. As I saw it, I had four options here. I could stand my ground and hope for the best. Not that I thought I had much chance. They were utilizing hit-and-run tactics. Something that I was not trained for nor capable of countering. Then there was the option to run. Just put my sword in my inventory and take off at a flat sprint for the safety of the wall. It wasn¡¯t that far of a run but I didn¡¯t see myself as capable of making it even down the hill, let alone to the wall. Not when these things moved fast enough that I could barely see them. Of course, I could charge them. Take the initiative back. In most games I had played, such a move would usually confuse an attacker long enough to get a few good hits in. Only, I was facing an unknown, but not small, number of bunnies. If I didn¡¯t manage to kill or hurt a significant number of them, I was dead. Lastly, I could turn and run toward the pit. Get down into it and to the center. As mentioned before, running was probably not a good idea, however, doing so here might give me the one or two things I needed if I was going to have a chance at survival. It would force the things out from their cover. After all, where would they be able to hide if there were no more plants to use? With the ability to see my attackers, I could get a count of how many I was up against as well as react to any attack before it came rather than react to the sound of grass as the creature started its charge. After a flurry of charging creatures disappeared into the grass, I saw my opportunity. Without hesitation, I turned tail and sprinted the last few feet that separated me from the edge of the crater and jumped. I was both horrified and surprised by just how far I managed to make it before my feet slammed into the ground. Off balance and unable to compensate for the amount of momentum I had built up, my body continued forward. Within moments, my face was deep in the dirt as I slid another foot. Down and practically defenseless, I spit dirt out of my mouth as I rolled to the left. As soon as I managed to get onto my back I lifted my blade up just as a fluffy brown missile flew past me. Judging by how my blade tugged at my hand and the splatter of liquid I heard above me, I managed to hit it somewhere. Hopefully a vital spot. Suddenly the world went silent. It was as if even the very air was waiting to see what was going to happen next. Given the opportunity, I slowly stood as I took a look around me. Bunnies of every earthly color were lined up on the edge of the pit. They all stood stock still as they watched me. Each of their beady eyes drilled into me as one. There had to be at least a hundred of the things. The largest five bunnies in the group were spread out but, as one, they lifted a single long foot. They struck the dirt as one with enough force that I could see the ripples in the very walls below them. Within a second, the rest of the bunnies repeated the stomp. The sound they made wasn¡¯t as well coordinated as the first five, but it was nearly as powerful. A cascade of dirt and stone hit my legs as the sound echoed back from the other side of the crater. The first five repeat their stomp and are quickly copied by the rest. Over and over, faster and faster, the bunnies repeated this call and answer until eventually, it sounded like rolling thunder. As soon as I took a step back they froze. Not one or two but every single foot just stopped. Thoroughly creeped out, I contemplated throwing a fireball and killing everything here. And I do mean everything. I was under no illusion that such an explosion would kill me just as quickly and easily as the rest of these creatures. Maybe I should keep that as a backup plan. Albeit one that I hoped I would not have to use. Now that I thought about it, maybe using my mana wasn¡¯t a bad idea. Not for killing the bunnies, at least not directly, but to enhance my body. In fact, enhancing my entire body might be the only way I could make it through this. Of course, that begs the question of whether or not I had enough mana to pull it off. With a glance at the two bars in the corner, I got some good and bad news. Turns out, even if the bunnies had only been headbutting me, they had been doing some damage. My HP was already down to half. That was the bad news. The good news was that my mana was also approaching half. While I could use the spell, I would have to be careful how often I did so. I almost wished that there was a way to restrict how much mana flowed into such spells. Maybe when I got back to town I would ask Mindi or Barti if there was a way to do so. As I thought that, I realized that I would go back. It hadn¡¯t been her fault that she had to do that to me. It was something that had been drilled into her. Plus, I needed the training and they were knowledgeable and free so why not? However, I would have to see about getting them to promise to not do something like that again. But first. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. As I focused back on the army of bunnies I prepared my spell. I took my time to form and loop a single thread through and around my entire body. Making sure to focus on the larger muscles as I went. But, even when I had finished setting up the spell, I didn¡¯t connect it to my core. I couldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t waste the little bit of mana I had until they attacked. The smallest in the bunch looked antsy. Its nose and ears twitched, yet it stayed where it was. Not daring to move or attack, even as the very earth below it started to give. Given that the dirt had been mostly stable until we got there, it was likely the combination of the extra weight as well as the stomping that destabilized the lip. Not that it mattered. The only thing that mattered was the end result. A result that started with the bunny falling and ended with all the others taking it as a sign to attack. As the first bunny fell, I connected the spell to my core and let the mana flow. The moment it did power flooded into me. With a shove off the ground, I flew forward to meet their charge with my own. I slashed at them even as they dodged. Most of them tried to headbutt me again, but many seemed to have another goal now. Now they simply aimed to bite or scratch at any part of me they could get a hold of. Blood blossomed around me as my Chisa Katana found purchase again and again. Killing one or two at a time all while I dodged five or more attacks. Not that I managed to do so sometimes. The first major wound was delivered by one of the smaller and faster bunnies. Its bite tore a piece of muscle right out of my calf. Searing pain from the bite nearly caused me to lose focus. Given that part of my mind was entirely focused on holding a spell going while the rest kept me alive, that would be a very bad thing. I chanced a glance at my health bar and nearly balked. It was flashing red as the levels inside slowly, but visibly, dropped. Not only that, my mana was already a fourth gone and this fight had barely even begun. I would not be able to keep this up. Not if I wanted to survive. Gritting my teeth, I switched to an entirely defensive posture as I dropped the spell. I had to think fast. I had to come up with some way to stem the bleeding and keep going without using up all my mana. If only the Body Fortification spell wasn¡¯t so inefficient at healing wounds with mana. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like the spell was designed to help with healing. Its purpose was to increase the strength and resilience of the muscles and bones in a limb or two by flooding said limbs with mana. Wait, what if I didn¡¯t flood a limb with mana but a small region of it? Like, say, where the wound was. It would possibly speed up the healing without wasting much mana. A bunny got within my guard and I instinctively punched it. The body hit another bunny as part of my mind got to work threading the new mana thread through my body. As soon as I reached the missing chunk of muscle, I wrapped the wound in thread after thread of mana. Not stopping until it looked like there was a piece of cloth woven inside me. The moment it connected back to my pool and mana flooded it, I felt the skin and muscle squirm. I nearly threw up as I felt my cells go to work repairing the damage. Wound taken care of as well as I could with what little knowledge I had, I changed tactics as I moved from a defensive footing to a modified one. One that felt right as I removed my left hand from the hilt and pulled out my knife. Had I ever trained in dual weapon combat? Nope, but I needed the extra weapon now more than ever, even if my skill was subpar. I forced my mind to work faster and faster. To take in every piece of information the world was giving me and process it. To plan with it. All so that I could keep up with this pack? Army? What is a group of bunnies called again? Ah right, it was a fluffle of bunnies. Even then, I pushed myself to go faster. Pushed my body and my brain as far as I could. Based on the growing headache and the iron-tasting liquid that slowly trickled into my mouth, I was probably pushing it beyond what I should. My feet danced as my hands wove a tapestry of steel in the air. Hitting each bunny as if they were notes of a song in an older VR game that used lightsabers to slice blocks. Single notes quickly turned into combos as I danced. I received wounds, cuts, and deep bites, again and again. I simply focused my one healing spell on the worst of the wounds and kept going. My movements sped up and slow down as various wounds healed while others appeared. The blades of my weapons formed arcs of blood with each successful strike. With each such hit, more blood soaked into the dirt and eventually started to even form puddles. I ignored the sounds of bodies as they slid in the dirt. I ignored the sticky feeling of blood on my skin. I even ignored the iron smell that filled the air. I instead focused on one thing and one thing only; killing anything that attacked me as my bloody dance stirred the puddles of blood. Finally, just as I nearly reached my limit, the last of the bunnies fell. Its body was sliced in half lengthwise as it sailed past me. Everything hurt. Every muscle, including the one in my head. On top of that, I felt light-headed as hell. Likely from the amount of blood that I lost throughout the fight. Not that I was complaining. I was fairly sure that I would have been dead if not for my makeshift healing spell. Which apparently the system recognized as a real spell.
Spell Cost Effect Damage
Emergency Healing (Makeshift) 1 per minute Speed up healing in a single region. NA
Not bad for something I came up with on the spot. Though I would still have to ask about a real healing spell because I was pretty sure I wasted a ton of mana and time healing wounds with this one. I came too close to dying a few times as a wound took a little too long to stop bleeding. Arms relaxed at my side and shoulders back, I take a minute to look up at the sky. A crimson shade mixed with orange and yellow covered the sky as the sun sank below the horizon. Seeing it, I absentmindedly mumbled a few words I had read in a book once, ¡°Red sky at night, sailor¡¯s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.¡± While I had never been a superstitious type, I had found this saying to be mostly true. Though not always in the way one might think. Given how much fantasy was packed into this game, I was sure that it would be the same but only time would tell. Dropping my head, I looked at the mess my fight had created. The mounds of bodies that were scattered here were bad enough but the mist of blood in the air was dense enough that drops came together and splashed into the pools scattered around. Seeing all of this, I heaved a sigh before getting to work collecting everything. Botanical Compendium - Crimson Leaf Name: Crimson Leaf Type: Plant Hostility: Not Rarity: Common Description: The leaf of a Bloodfern plant takes on a deep crimson color when it absorbs blood. This color does not extend to the veins of the plant. When the leaf has taken as much blood as it can absorb, the entire leaf is crimson minus the veins, which stay a light green color. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Where can it be found: Any grassland, forest, or other location with dirt, water, and sunlight. Use: Alchemy ¨C Healing Salves Alchemy ¨C Healing Potions Warnings: Do not use sapient blood to create this item. Doing so will cause a potions effect to be wild and uncontrollable. Theories and experiments have found that the potion tries to merge the two sapient structures into one with disastrous effects. There are potions that can take advantage of the extra strength while suppressing the alien structure formation but the process of making such potions is hard and the results are unreliable. Potency: Scales with the strength of the creature that provided the blood. +5% per 20 levels. +5% per rarity starting at uncommon. XP reward: NA Typical Levels: NA Danger Level: Not Harvestable Materials: Leaves Attacks: NA First Discovered: 03/22/918 First Interaction: 03/22/918 First Kill: NA ChatGPT Generated Image: Chapter 36 - Results ¡°One bunny, two bunny, three bunny, four. Five bunnies, six bunnies more.¡± I had been collecting so many bunnies that my mind was coming up with stupid rhymes to keep me entertained. Who knew that the most annoying part of killing so many creatures was cleaning up afterward? Not me, that¡¯s for sure. Still, it wasn¡¯t like I was cleaning up just because. I needed the bodies when I turned in the quest. Plus, when I picked them up, I also found a few other interesting things lying around. One of which was a plant. Now you might be asking what was so special about this plant that even after the thing had been trampled it was worth picking up. I thought the same thing until I actually took a second to look the things over. At first, the plants looked like they were soaked in the blood that poured out of the bodies strewn around them. However, when I went to go pick them up I found that the plant only held a few drops on its leaves. The glistening crimson color was the plant''s natural color. Whatever wax or sap it had inside those leaves reflected the light as if it was covered in some sort of liquid. With a nail, I cut the stem and pulled up the description. What I saw caused me to groan in annoyance.
Item: Crimson Plant
Use: The leaves are useful to make potions.
Potency: Weak (+5% modifier)
Description: You just had to go and tear apart the stem of the plant. For most plants, this might not mean much but this plant is very sensitive to such damage. Even the bunnies wouldn¡¯t do such a thing. Next time just take the leaves and leave the stem alone so it can be harvested again in the future.
Was it me or was the game a bit rude at times? I plucked off the leaves and scanned them.
Item: Crimson Leaf
Use: Used in the creation of health potions and salves.
Potency: Weak (+5% modifier)
Description: A leaf of a Bloodfern that has recently absorbed the blood of a creature. The strength of the creature determines the potency of items created using it. DO NOT USE SAPIENT BLOOD TO CREATE THIS ITEM!
I was happy to have found the plants I needed for my second quest but the last part of the description was weird. What would happen if someone ignored the warning? Would some god strike them down or something? Actually, on second thought, I didn¡¯t want to know. With the crater cleared of bodies, I slid and crawled my way up the side of the crater. The loose dirt made the trek both harder and dirtier than it had a right to be. Well, maybe that wasn¡¯t right. The stomping the bunnies did was enough to loosen what was there, enough so that they ended up falling in themselves. Finally, standing at the top of what was left of the hill, I looked out at the rest of the nearby hills. Each looked just like this one had before I had gotten here. Likely each had quite a few bunnies on top of it. Though I suspected the nearest ones didn¡¯t have quite as many. After all, the army had to have come from somewhere. The sliver of sun that stuck over the horizon would provide light for another hour, tops. While I wasn¡¯t afraid of the dark, I was a bit wary of what might lurk around the city at night. So, with one final look at the scenery, I turned back to the city. As I walked, I grabbed any body parts or crimson plants I found, not that there were many. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± The dwarf behind the counter asked in a bored tone. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but at work. God knew I understood that feeling. ¡°I would like to turn in two quests.¡± He gave me a once over, his expression dubious. ¡°And what quests would those be?¡± He didn¡¯t hide his thoughts on what he thought of me and what I might have to turn in. Given that my clothes were in tatters and I had tiny scratches all over, I didn¡¯t blame him. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°The bunnies and crimson leaf quests.¡± It was so obvious that he wanted to laugh at that. Hell, I had thought they would have been easy too. That was until I had been swarmed by over two hundred of the damn things. How do I know? The log just happened to have that information saved for me to go over. {Level 1 Beater Bunny defeated. A small penalty has been applied for killing something 5 or more levels below you.} x61 {Level 2 Beater Bunny defeated. A small penalty has been applied for killing something 5 or more levels below you.} x37 {Level 3 Beater Bunny defeated. A minor penalty has been applied for killing something 2 or more levels below you.} x29 {Level 4 Beater Bunny defeated. A minor penalty has been applied for killing something 2 or more levels below you.} x41 {Level 5 Beater Bunny defeated. A minor penalty has been applied for killing something 2 or more levels below you.} x26 {Level 6 Beater Bunny defeated. A tiny penalty has been applied for killing something below your level.} x22 {Level 7 Beater Bunny defeated.} x20 {Level 8 Beater Bunny defeated. A minor bonus has been applied for killing something above your level.} x5 {Level 9 Beater Bunny defeated. A minor bonus has been applied for killing something above your level.) x5 While that seemed like a ton of experience, it was only enough to bring me to the next level. But hey, experience was experience. On top of that, the bunnies would net me a decent amount of money for how many of them there were. ¡°Place all of your quest items into this bag.¡± The dwarf said as he passed over a small bag. I could have done exactly what he wanted but I was tired, hungry, and lazy. I took out one of my bags that was already filled with everything and passed it over. ¡°Here you go.¡± He took one look inside and grimaced. ¡°Is something the matter?¡± ¡°No, but the quality of the bodies will affect the value.¡± I had expected as much. Hell, some of the bodies were no more than trash. They had been crushed and beaten to shit as bunnies landed and jumped off them in an effort to get to me. As he turned to put the bag away, he flippantly tossed a few coins on the counter. Not caring as one rolled toward the edge. ¡°Here is your reward for the quests. Come back in the morning to go over our offer for the materials.¡± One gold, six silver richer, I went looking for a table. Eager to find out just what was on the menu for the night. Tomorrow I would need to deal with getting a new outfit to replace the scraps that were left of this one as well as get back to training. For now, I should probably go over everything. Maybe even buy a spell that is a bit more precise in its application.
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Human
Level: 8
Class:
XP: 6139/6400
HP: 94.6/235
HP Regen: 9.5% (22.3) per hour*
MP: 61/200
MP Regen: 9% (18) per hour*
Current Ailments: Tired*
Current Buffs:
Current Stats:
Strength (STR): 16
Agility (AGI): 19
Vitality (VIT): 19
Intelligence (INT): 20
Wisdom (WIS): 18
Dexterity (DEX): 19
Charisma (CHA) 17
Free Points: 29
While the regeneration was less than when I had Newbie Protection, my stats were not all that bad. However, I wish I could just increase whatever stats affected my mana and its regeneration. Then I could just sit back and fire at anything and everything before I had to close in. Unfortunately, while I could do that, I still had to keep the rest of the stats above the seventy percent threshold or¡­now that I thought about it, no one ever told me what would happen. They only ever said to not let a stat get below that. Not that it was that hard now. With my highest stat being twenty, that put the lowest I could go at fourteen. While this would go up as time went on and I got stronger, the amount of range one could get between stats would continue to grow. As I tabbed my way through the screens, I found that there were a couple of new tabs including one listing my affinities, or at least some of them. However, the message that popped up on top was nearly as interesting as the information the rest of the page contained. To find out your affinity for more advanced elements, please use a more advanced affinity detector.
Element: Affinity:
Fire 51
Earth 5
Water 8
Air 7
Light 20
Dark 27
I quickly flipped back to the last place I had read about the affinities and unlocking them and found that there were at least two more. Space and Time. While I could see someone playing with space in the game to teleport, how in the hell would a programmer implement any time-related magic? Allow people to age an opponent? Maybe allow them to control entropy in a given area? Because doing anything more would be both broken and impossible. Giving the point page a good look, I didn¡¯t see anything worth wasting my points on. I mean, I could buy another element but I barely had a handle on my one element as it was. As for spells and skills, I was learning them for free right now so why waste the points? At some point during my mental perusal of the menu, my meal not only showed up but I finished it. Not knowing what else to do, I went to bed. I was out like a light before my head even touched the pillow. Chapter 37 - Updates The first thing my sleep-addled mind noticed as it woke up was that everything was blurry. Everything also seemed to echo oddly. Nothing like how my room did. Now that I thought about it, the place was also much too dark to be my room. ¡°Good Morning,¡± my AI called from speakers near my head. The volume coupled with the suddenness caused me to jump. I didn¡¯t get all that far as my head smacked into a solid piece of something. It couldn¡¯t be metal, it was transparent. Yet it couldn¡¯t be glass either. It didn¡¯t sound right when I hit it. Almost the same moment that I realized that I had hit a piece of techniglass with my head, I knew that I was no longer in the game. Though, I was still in the damn pod. The realization had me practically growling at my AI, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t this damn thing open when I get logged out?¡± ¡°When the system booted you for an update to the pods it deemed that all sleeping participants should have their pods stay closed for safety reasons.¡± Cool, so instead we would all wake up feeling trapped. Great idea. Whatever, might as well get all my biological needs done while I had a chance. As I pressed the button, I asked the question that was nagging me. ¡°What kind of updates were performed?¡± ¡°The change log provided lists several technical and connection-related changes as well as the activation of some latent systems.¡± The cool air of my room sent goosebumps down my arms and legs. ¡°What systems?¡± ¡°One second,¡± it said. Likely it was looking up the relevant information. ¡°According to some speculation online as well as some information has to do with some systems that have been in testing for quite a while. Systems that are installed in every pod and were just waiting for said testing to be finished. Tests that were being conducted by members of the military.¡± That was not good. There are very few times that the military would get involved in testing something unless it directly helped them in some way. ¡°What military?¡± ¡°As far as I can tell, nearly every military in the world has had at least one person participating. The only exceptions being some of the more anti-technological groups and nations.¡± With the war that was going on, there was no reason for any nation to help a rival nation''s company develop technology, even if it was a gaming company. As I stepped into the shower, I asked the simple question, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Unknown.¡± ¡°Speculate.¡± ¡°The company has made it clear that it is not on either side of the war. In fact, it has gone out of its way to make sure that both sides receive equal treatment and equipment. Equipment that is built in said nation if not an impartial third party country.¡± While that was smart of the company, I didn¡¯t want to know how expensive it was to hold such a policy. As I blindly started to wash my body, I nearly missed it. If I hadn¡¯t been living with it for over ten years, I would have. My belly fat had disappeared. Now, I wasn¡¯t fat or anything. Only the rich were able to get fat as they didn¡¯t have to walk or ride the train to get around town. Still, given the crappy over-processed food and junk I could afford left my body with things it processed oddly, I had managed to get a bit of a belly. ¡°Umm,¡± My mind blanked as I tried to figure out how to ask the AI about the change. Hell, what would I ask it? ¡°What happened to my fat?¡± ¡°You have been taking in the minimum nutrients recommended by the pods systems. Coupled with the extra brain activity of accelerated time has resulted in your body burning up all the stores of fat it has access to.¡± The AI spoke in a way that made it seem like this answer was both obvious and explained everything. It didn¡¯t. At all. ¡°And these muscles I can feel?¡± I probed as my fingers felt the start of some muscle definition. ¡°According to the pod manual, muscle growth is a side effect of pod use.¡± The sound of a page flipping came over the bathroom speakers. The sound was odd and had me worried over just how freely the AI was acting. It didn¡¯t seem to notice as it continued, ¡°This stems from the fact that the brain is still trying to send the signal for said muscles to move. Even with the hardware preventing such movements, it will not be able to completely negate them.¡± That sounded both plausible and cool, though it did beg the question about why they didn¡¯t promote this feature. Of course, I asked my AI about that and it responded, ¡°The lack of information about this feature is likely due to the subtlety and inconsistency of it. Not everyone¡¯s experience will be the same.¡± ¡°So I got lucky?¡± One hand turned off the shower as the other ran down the subtle lines of muscles. Muscles that I had been unable to form in high school no matter how hard I tried. And I had tried anything and everything in an effort to get this girl I had a crush on to like me. Yeah, I did not want to even think about the shit I had tried with that goal in mind. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Surprisingly, yes. Now, the update to the pod¡¯s systems are done. Would you like to jump back into the game?¡± With a towel wrapped around me, I made my way to the kitchen as I responded, ¡°Sure, but let me grab something to eat first.¡± One metallic-tasting, thick as hell, soup later, I slid into my pod and pressed the button. Curious to see if the update would change anything or not. Between one blink and the next, the modern world disappeared. Replaced with the wood and glass. Light from the sun outside streamed past me. Long since having risen from the looks of it. When I stood up I found nothing different. No odd screens, no notifications, no odd feedback, no extra sensations. Well, none that wasn¡¯t there before the update. ¡°What changed?¡± ¡°From what I can tell, nothing that you would notice.¡± With a shrug, I left the room. I was hungry but I had yet to go shopping for more ingredients, something I would have to do soon. But first I needed to replace my torn and tattered clothes. Maybe something with pants this time. As I made my way out of the stairwell and toward the hallway leading to the guild quartermaster, a horde of wolf-whistles and hooting filled the air. A few people even called out for someone to come see them for a good time. At nearly the same moment, a series of loud slaps, thumps, and cracking wood filled the room. Surprised, I looked around to find a large majority of the men face down on their tables or splayed out on the floor. Some of their chairs were moved away from them while others were missing legs. One of the women near me snarled as she tossed a robe in my direction. ¡°Men.¡± That was all she said. Given the amount of venom in her tone, I hoped to hell that she was talking about someone other than me. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t give them something to ogle or they might take advantage of it.¡± ¡°She probably wants them to do something. Why else would she be waltzing around in such tattered clothing.¡± One of her tablemates sneered. I had to close my eyes to keep from snapping at her. None of them seemed to realize a few things. Yet I had the feeling that if I told them, I would come to regret it. I pulled the robe on as I tried to cover myself. Not knowing what else to say, I simply said, ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°You should probably wear something less¡­destroyed.¡± The third and last girl at their table said as she put down her cup. ¡°This was the only thing I had to wear. I was heading to see if the guild quartermaster had something else for me to wear.¡± I said before muttering, ¡°Hopefully he has some pants this time.¡± The rest of the room returned to their previous loud chatter, though I did notice that more than one pair of eyes were keeping track of me. I expected the girls to do the same now that I had told them. To my shock, the three girls looked at me in complete horror. ¡°What?¡± Had I said something wrong? Was there something behind me or on my face? Just as I was about to run off, the girl that had sneered at me abruptly stood up. Without asking, or even any warning, she pulled me into a tight hug. Her head came to rest on mine. ¡°Oh, you poor thing. You must be new to the game.¡± I wanted to fight against her hold but something about it felt nice. It soothed something inside me that I hadn¡¯t even realized was in pain. Something that had been hurting for years. Not that I would have ever admitted it. I mentally froze as two parts of myself fought. On one hand, I wanted to stay in her embrace and comfort. The other part screamed at me to get away. To refuse the pain. To deny its existence and hide it from anyone else. The girls either didn¡¯t know, or simply didn¡¯t care, about my internal struggle. One of the others reached up and pulled at one of the tattered pieces of my shirt. The one thread that held it to the rest broke without much effort. ¡°These look like they were caused by small claws and teeth. Bunnies?¡± ¡°So it was your first solo hunt then?¡± ¡°How would you know that it was a solo hunt?¡± I asked, curious as to how they had figured out so much without me saying anything. ¡°Because you don¡¯t look like a tank and there is no one else here helping you. Most parties stick together even in town. Easier to take any on-the-spot quests that way.¡± That made a bit of sense. What¡¯s more, the question had managed to break the stalemate I had found myself in. With a gentle push against her chest, I thanked her. ¡°I got it from here. How much do I owe you for the robe?¡± While she let me get an arm''s length away, she didn¡¯t release me. Her hands held onto my shoulder as she studied me. ¡°When was the last time you had a girl¡¯s day? You know, a day of hanging with a friend or two and just relaxing.¡± Umm, never. Ok, not never. There was that one time that a girl had invited me to come join her friends in doing some things as a group. While I had thought that it was a bit weird to have more than just the two of us together, I had thought it was a date. Yeah, no. Turned out they thought I was a girl the whole time and that I needed some girlfriends and girl time. After that disaster, they never talked to me again. Though, the spa was nice. It was the last one left in town and, as such, was able to keep afloat without having to charge stupid prices for everything. Not that I ever went there again, nope. Oh, who am I trying to trick? I went back at least once a year. But I didn¡¯t think that she meant time to myself. But maybe I could stretch the truth a bit. ¡°Maybe a couple of years ago, but that¡¯s fine. I am more of a gamer anyway. I don¡¯t need any of that. Thank you though.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Nuh-uh.¡± ¡°Yeah, not getting away from this.¡± God damned it. What was with some girls and their need to make decisions like this for me? Fuck it. I had tried to be nice but it was time to straight up say it. Time to play the one card I knew would work. ¡°And if I tell you that I am a guy?¡± That took the three of them back for a second. Each gave my body a once over before the one holding me spoke up. ¡°I don¡¯t see it.¡± A bit exasperated at her, I rolled my eyes, ¡°I got the parts and everything.¡± ¡°So.¡± One of the other two said while her counterpart nodded. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be the first girl in a guy''s body.¡± ¡°And if I am a guy in a guy''s body?¡± I shot back, getting a bit annoyed at their insistence. The hands that gripped my shoulders lifted. With them in front of her, she said, ¡°How about this, at least let us help get you some new clothes.¡± Before I could protest that I didn¡¯t need help, she pushed on. ¡°We can at least show you a few stores that carry some clothes. All of it will be better and cheaper than the crap the guild carries.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I grumbled. It wasn¡¯t like I had much to lose. Maybe they would have some pants. Running and fighting in a skirt sucked. If I ever had to do it, it would be too soon. Plus it would give me time to think of some way to pay them back for their insistence on taking me shopping. The question was, what did I have access to that would be both annoying yet not harmful? Chapter 38- Dresses Yeah, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have agreed to this. They didn¡¯t lie about knowing a store with clothes. Hell, the store had tons of high-quality pieces. It just happened that most of them were dresses or otherwise built for a woman¡¯s body. Given that I wasn¡¯t a woman, they all felt awkward to put on. Not that they gave me much choice. Not when they gave me such pitiful looks and said things like; ¡°Were you lying about letting us help you find something?¡± And ¡°you promised.¡± Yeah, I was being a bit of a pushover. Sue me. You didn¡¯t see the looks on their faces. Now, that¡¯s not to say I wouldn¡¯t get them back for this. I just had to find the best time to pull something off. Hopefully before I had to spend any money on a dress or something else they thought I just had to have. Speaking of dresses, the most recent one they handed me was fluffy as hell. It was made from some animal¡¯s fur. The thing felt as soft as and as light as silk while containing absolutely no color. A combination I had not thought possible until now. Likely it wasn¡¯t possible in the real world. ¡°Can I get a blanket made out of this stuff?¡± I called out as I thought about how warm this material would be when camping. The only issue would be cleaning it. Maybe there was a spell for that, though such a spell likely required a water affinity. ¡°Sure,¡± Ronda called back, likely not because she thought that I could or would ever buy such a thing but in an effort to distract me from what I was doing. The three girls had gotten very into picking out various clothes for me. ¡°But first, let¡¯s see how you like it against various parts of your skin. Don¡¯t want you to commission something only for it to make you squirm or something.¡± I rolled my eyes at the obvious push as I reluctantly slipped the dress on. Unlike a few of the earlier dresses, this one settled itself into place. It was as if the thing was made for me as it fit perfectly. It even showed curves that I wished my body did not have. Curves that were kept well hidden under some fat and slightly oversized shirts. At least I didn¡¯t have any breasts. If I had those, I might have been forced to pay for surgery. And I mean out of pocket because it wasn¡¯t like my insurance would have paid for something they considered cosmetic. I closed my eyes before turning to face the mirror. As I let out the breath I had been holding, I opened my eyes. The instant my eyes caught sight of the woman in the mirror, my heart stopped while my breath froze in my lungs. She was the most gorgeous person I had ever seen. Her crystalline blue eyes caught mine and held them. Neither one of us were willing to let the other move on, but eventually, we had to. My eyes trailed down her face and to her lips. Lips that were a subtle crimson. It was the color that one of the girls insisted I try after the third dress. Looking a bit further down, I caught sight of her neck. Her short hair was longer than I typically let it get. It was nearly long enough to reach the back of her neck. An otherwise bare neck of lightly tanned skin that was only broken by the slight bump of an Adam¡¯s apple. It was something that I could have missed if I didn¡¯t know it was there. The collar of her dress hung just below her collarbone, looking like it was a part of her rather than a piece of fabric that she was wearing. Instead of the bright white fur that I had seen earlier, the color had shifted to a lovely combination of various shades of blue. The sight of which reminded me of the flames on a Bunsen burner of all things. The effect of the shifting colors made it look like the fire licked up her body. While sleeves covered the entirety of her arms, they left the hands and wrists exposed. As I watched an arm move up to push a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the blues shifted just enough to make it seem like the flames danced and swirled around her arms. While, thankfully, there were no breasts on display, or even hinted at, the rest of the curves were well and truly shown. Her hips were enhanced by a tight stomach. It was something that most girls I knew would have killed for, yet the beauty in front of me showed no signs of the various methods people tried. No signs of malnourishment or drugs. Nothing. On top of that, her legs were long. The bit of exposed legs were bare of any hair, yet she didn¡¯t have any razor burns. No signs of wax or laser burns either. It was as if there had never been any hair there in the first place. The only thing that was missing from her was a pair of shoes. Seeing her feet move as I felt the warm wood below my feet broke my trance. I went from seeing a lovely woman to seeing myself in a dress. All of the feminine-looking parts of my body were on full display. My face morphed from someone who was putting up with a request to one full of horror. I was not female nor did I ever want to be. Too bad the girls had taken my scraps of clothes and disposed of them after I tried on my first dress. Even going so far as to make sure that I got new undergarments. Though, if I had to be honest, I would keep those. They were so soft and fit perfectly. It wasn¡¯t like I would be showing anyone anytime soon. Every time we finished a place and I refused to buy anything, one of them would pass me the robe and hustle me to the next place to do it all again. I had put up with it for long enough. This would be the last dress I would be trying on and this time I wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer. I stepped out from behind the curtain and into the small room set aside for parties such as this. As I came into view, the girls all gasped as one. I ignored the looks as I took advantage of their focus and silence to say what I needed to say. ¡°No more. I am done. Get me a pair of pants and a shirt or I will find one myself.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Britainy started. ¡°No.¡± I cut her off. ¡°But¡­¡± she started again. ¡°No!¡± I said with more force. ¡°Would you¡­¡± She once again started speaking. As it sounded like she was going to ask me to try to put on yet something else, I cut her off again. ¡°NO!¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She didn¡¯t stop speaking though. Her voice cutting over mine. ¡°Stop cutting me off. I was going to say that we got you three pairs at the first store we visited.¡± That froze me in place. If they had those this entire time, why did they keep dragging me from store to store? Why did they push dress after dress at me? Ronda pulled a package out of her inventory and tossed it to me. ¡°Here.¡± She sounded hurt, as if I had done or said something to her. Package in hand, I placed it in my inventory and nodded to them before turning to head back into the changing room. I didn¡¯t know what I expected to hear, but the sounds of soft crying were not it. Then again, they had practically held me hostage as they had me play dress up for them. I ignored the sounds in the other part of the room while I took off the dress and pulled out a set of clothes they had purchased. The pants were made of soft black leather with gold accents. Thin enough to move around and not bunch up, yet it felt sturdy enough to stop some light attacks. Attacks like bunny bites. The shirt was nearly as good, though made of a deep burgundy-colored leather. Of course, the moment I put it on, it fit perfectly. It molded to my body as the crafter had intended. However, unlike the dresses, this outfit didn¡¯t show off any of my odd curves or work to feminize me. Instead, it somehow worked to make me look more regal and elegant than I had any right to be. Curious, I pulled up the stats on the two pieces.
Name: Armored Shirt
Type: Armor ¨C Chest/Arms
Rank: Common
Material: Treated Leather
Physical Defense: 13
Magical Defense: 0
Environmental Defense: +10%
Durability: 200/200
Name: Armored Pants
Type: Armor ¨C Legs
Rank: Common
Material: Treated Leather
Physical Defense: 13
Magical Defense: 0
Environmental Defense: +10%
Durability: 220/220
They looked decent, though the information made little sense to me. Considering how much more information was displayed compared to when I had looked at my skirt, I had to assume this was one of the things that changed in the interface part of the update. When I stepped out of the changing area I found the room empty save for the attendant who was cleaning up the pile of dresses. Given that this last trip into the changing room was my fastest yet, it didn¡¯t make sense for them to have left. ¡°Where did the girls go?¡± ¡°They all left.¡± The attendant said as a flash of light and steam ran through the dress in his hand. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I had their names but that was it. I needed more information if I was going to get them back for today. ¡°They settled the bill and left.¡± His tone was one of annoyance. He probably wanted me to leave so that he could work in peace. ¡°Bill?¡± ¡°For the dress and the room. You didn¡¯t think that a store would have a room set aside for people to try on clothes for free did you?¡± Given how he sounded, I was sure that he was questioning my intelligence. ¡°Yes, I did.¡± Though, now that I thought about it, I had not seen any store doing the same in a long time. Only those in movies had places that anyone could use to try things on for free. ¡°And what do you mean for the dress? I didn¡¯t plan on buying any of them.¡± ¡°Of course you weren¡¯t.¡± He mumbled. Likely thinking that most people who came in here to try on multiple dresses with friends were just here for a good day and nothing more. ¡°They purchased the last dress you tried on. Is there anything else you need?¡± With a shake of my head, I put the dress into my inventory. The item went into my bag without any issue meaning that it was indeed mine. As I went to leave the room, I found myself asking him a question. ¡°What material is it made from?¡± ¡°Moonlight Fox fur.¡± ¡°And where might I order something else made from the same material?¡± He didn¡¯t answer. Instead, his eyes bore into me. I licked my lips and asked the question in a slightly different way. ¡°Is there a place that might sell such materials?¡± This time he answered. ¡°Moonlight Foxes are B-grade monsters. Protected B-grade monsters.¡± He emphasized the word as if to stop me from doing something stupid. ¡°Their furs are offered up only when one dies of old age or in battle. What you have there is what was left of the last one. The majority of its fur was used in a ceremony to honor the leader of the army that blocked the latest demon incursion.¡± ¡°If it is so rare and used in such events, why was this piece made into a dress and sold here?¡± He shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know how my father got a hold of it. I just take care of the store and learn as much as I can while I can.¡± With that, he turned back to what he was doing. Effectively dismissed, I walked out of the place. Curious about the dress, I pulled up its information.
Name: Moonlight Elegance
Type: Dress
Specific Type: Full Body Armor - Dress
Rank: Rare
Material: Moonlight Fox Fur
Physical Defense: 30
Magical Defense: 40
Environmental Defense: +150%, Cold Resistance Boost (Large)
Level: 5
XP: 950/1600
Skills: [Locked due to level (<10)]
Durability: 400/400
Current Condition: Pristine
Requirements: Feminine skeleton structure
¡°What can cut through this dress?¡± I asked the damn AI, the random numbers and lack of information were starting to get to me. ¡°Any material stronger than steel should be able to do some damage. Though, folded steel might find an issue cutting through it.¡± Of course, the damn dress would be one of the best armors I had seen so far. Sometimes I hated my life. Chapter 39 - Hand to hand The moment I walked into the guild hall, Ginny called out from where she stood. ¡°Oi, where the hell have you been? The pointy-eared bastard has been looking for you.¡± That surprised me a bit. I had thought those three would have left me alone for a little while longer before seeing if I was going to rejoin them or not. Stepping up to where she leaned against the pillar at the end of the counter space, I gestured down at myself. ¡°I had to get new clothes.¡± ¡°Did the bunnies do that much damage?¡± She spoke with a tone that conveyed her doubt. Whether it was doubt directed at my story or my abilities, I had no clue. I felt the need to point out something. ¡°You remember how you told me that there was a warren in that direction?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she said, her brows furrowing as she tried to understand what I might be getting at. ¡°There should have been a dozen or so per hill. All relatively low leveled.¡± I nodded, ¡°You are right, they were all at a decent level. Though I don¡¯t think the small army I faced was so few in number.¡± Her face turned red as she tried to hold in a laugh. One of her hands reached up to grab onto the corner of the pillar to help keep her upright. ¡°You¡­you¡­you faced an army of bunnies. God, what I would have given to have seen that.¡± Slowly, she got control over herself before continuing. ¡°Not that you would have been able to. There just isn¡¯t enough of the damn creatures in the surrounding area, let alone the area I sent you to, to form a decent-sized force.¡± Having a bit of an idea, I asked her, ¡°Hey, I have a few things that were being appraised by the guild. Can you take a look?¡± The sudden change in topic caught her a bit off guard but, being the professional she was, she slid into it with only the barest hint of confusion. She grabbed a folder from the counter behind her and started to flip through the pages. ¡°Sure, give me one second to take a look.¡± A moment later, she lifted her head to look me in the eyes and her eyebrows rose as she started to read the information printed. ¡°Two hundred forty-six Beater Bunny¡¯s in varying states. Most of which are cut to ribbons, making their pelts less than useless. The few that are usable are still in poor condition.¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Fifteen silver. There isn¡¯t much here that can be used and the parts that can will take some work to get to that point.¡± She put that page down as she looked me in the eye. Her tone was half serious half disbelieving as she asked a question. ¡°So, where did you find so many of the damned things?¡± With a tiny smirk on my face at her disbelief, I shrugged. ¡°Where you told me they would be.¡± ¡°How many hills did you clear?¡± ¡°Define clear?¡± Would she consider turning a good chunk of one as having cleared it? She groaned a bit while pinching the bridge of her nose as she spoke slowly and deliberately. It was as if she was trying not to scream or yell at me. ¡°Tell me everything that happened from the beginning.¡± So I did. Telling her most of what I could recall from the moment I reached the first hills and fired the spell to when I ran back to town. She cursed throughout the story. ¡°Fucking hell. You blew up a hill, killing who knows how many bunnies.¡± I wanted to stop her and count the number recorded in my interface but she held up her hands. ¡°Some of those kills will be considered environmental and not show up in your interface.¡± Well, that was good to know. ¡°Only to then have one survive and call out for help. A veritable army showed up and you killed them all, on your own. Does that sound about right?¡± I nodded, not knowing what else to say or add. ¡°No wonder the bodies are all torn up. Thank you for the information.¡± With that, she nodded and turned away. A bit confused at the sudden dismissal, I quickly spoke. ¡°What do you mean? Are you going to do something to lower the population or warn other people about the numbers?¡± ¡°That is guild business. For now, I suggest you focus on training. Maybe with an emphasis on multiple opponents.¡± That last comment had me rolling my eyes. I had yet to train against a single opponent, let alone multiple. Before I could do or ask anything else, she disappeared. She didn¡¯t even fucking pay me for my kills. With a roll of my eyes, I started to turn only to see something on the counter that hadn¡¯t been there before. Sitting there, open for anyone to take, was a single gold coin. I debated leaving it but something told me it wouldn¡¯t even last long enough for me to walk across the room. Instead, I put it into my inventory. If she asked for the coin back then I would give it to her, after she paid me for my kills that is. With a shake of my head at the oddness of my day so far, I made my way to the training room. The moment I opened the door, a body slammed into me. ¡°You came back!¡± Mindi cried out as her arms crushed me to her while something wet dripped onto my cheek. Given how her body was pressed against me, I was a bit taken aback. The feeling of which was causing some parts of my anatomy to react. Not wanting to bring attention to my growing issue, I looked from her to the room beyond. Tindi leaned on the door frame with her arms crossed while Barti gave the scene an indifferent look before returning to whatever he was doing to the ground. With a gentle pat on Mindi¡¯s back, I said, ¡°I just needed some time to think about everything.¡± She nodded but didn¡¯t say anything. Tindi rolled her eyes when Mindi refused to speak. ¡°And?¡± ¡°I found that I needed your training. I don¡¯t think I quite knew how weak I was until yesterday. Well, I did but not like this.¡± ¡°We could have told you that, but tell me, what clued you in?¡± Barti spoke up from where he was working. ¡°The fact that I nearly got my ass handed to me by a bunch of Beater Bunnies.¡± I nearly laughed as I said it. It just sounded so stupid to say that I had been nearly killed by something so fluffy and cute. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Given the laughs that erupted from the two inside the room, I wasn¡¯t the only one who found it hilarious. Even Mindi¡¯s body shook. ¡°Guess we need to work on more practical stuff. Now that you have the basics down that is.¡± Barti said as soon as he could do so without issue. That sounded great. Of course, the moment I looked forward to something, someone had to remind me of a sore point. Mindi pulled back to give me a once-over. She pouted a bit at something. ¡°You got rid of the skirt.¡± I winced at the reminder of my previous outfit. Though at least they didn¡¯t see me in any of the damn dresses. ¡°Yeah, it kinda got torn to pieces.¡± Turning around, Tindi walked into the room, calling over her shoulder. ¡°Well, get in here so we can get started on your training.¡± Mindi¡¯s grip on my arm was iron-clad as she pulled me inside. If I didn¡¯t know better I would have thought that she was afraid that I would run away a second time. The moment the door closed, she continued. ¡°Run and get warmed up.¡± Sighing, I pried Mindi off me and started to run laps. Barti chose that moment to start his lecture. ¡°Most fighting comes down to biding your time and waiting for the right moment to strike. All while not leaving an opening for your opponent to use. This applies to both the physical and the magical. As such, there are rules when fighting with each. Today, each of us will go over rules that relate to our disciplines. All while giving a hands-on demonstration, starting with Tindi.¡± Tindi joined me in my jog. ¡°We will start with one of the easiest rules to remember in hand-to-hand combat. Stay off the ground.¡± Without breaking her stride, one of her feet swept at mine just as I lifted the other. Off balance, my forward momentum sent me tumbling. ¡°While it is the easiest to remember, it is one of the hardest to achieve. Now, back to running.¡± I scrambled to my feet and took off in a light jog while I kept an eye on her leg. ¡°Rule two, never underestimate your opponent.¡± That was the only warning I got before I was shoved forward. My face met the floor and stayed there as I slid to a stop. ¡°Just because one attack was from my feet does not mean I will always use my feet.¡± Not willing to give her a target, I quickly got back up and started to run even faster as I tried to put some distance between the two of us. Not that it did any good. She kept up without seeming to break a sweat. A foot slid in my direction but missed as I jerked to the side. Next came an arm aimed at my back. I barely had time to drop to the ground and slide on one knee before the arm passed overhead. Her eyebrows rose as I started to get back up. Somehow I managed to get up fast enough that her arm was still within reach. Unable to turn up a golden opportunity like this, I grabbed on. She didn¡¯t seem all that worried as she asked, ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± That was a damn good question given that I had not expected her to let me get ahold of her. Maybe get close enough to think I had a chance, but not actually grab ahold of her. Just as I started to think of something I could do, she gave a sharp tug on her arm, sending me flying, again. ¡°Rule three, don¡¯t fight unless you have to. You had the opportunity to keep running but decided to take me on. A fight that every one of us knows that you have no chance of winning.¡± She curled two fingers at me. ¡°But since you decided to fight, let us fight.¡± I didn¡¯t know which part of this training irked me more; the constant face-to-face meeting with the ground, the fact that I had no chance in hell of winning, or her constant taunts about both. As I got up, I faced her while making sure that my feet were spaced a bit apart. The instant she moved, I reacted. My limbs moved to block her attacks. One leg blocked a low kick while an arm deflected the punch aimed at my throat. Suddenly, she spun in place. The leg I had blocked hit me hard on the other side with enough force to lift me off the ground and toss me a short distance. I didn¡¯t have time to get my breath up, let alone get up and prepare to defend myself before she reached me. Her fist hovered in front of my face. ¡°Rule four. Fight to win. Do not fight to stall your opponent. Do not fight to disable. Fight to kill because you can be sure your opponent will be doing the same.¡± Fucking hell, and here I was thinking that we were just training. Now she was telling me to try and kill her. Of course, it wasn¡¯t like I would be able to, not with her skills and speed, but still. As she pulled back, I got up. Tindi led me back to the center of the room as I messaged the spot she had hit. Barti was still there but as we got closer I got a better look at what he was working on. It was a large and intricate circle drawn with a piece of chalk or something similar. ¡°Ignore the circle. He is just getting something ready for later. Now, focus on me.¡± As I didn¡¯t want to know about yet another form of torture, I did as she bade. This time, instead of letting her attack first, I charged her. Making sure to bend my knees to lower my center of gravity as I charged in with my fists raised. One of which was already heading toward the center of her chest. She didn¡¯t hesitate to grab it and twist. Tossing me away as if I weighed nothing. When I landed on my back right next to Barti, he didn¡¯t say a word. He simply lifted an eyebrow. Before I could ask him what was going on, Tindi spoke up, ¡°Rule one!¡± She didn¡¯t give me more than a second before she grabbed my leg and tossed me to the other side of the circle. While I might be a bit new to fighting, I can learn. For example, the moment I landed I got up and ready to defend myself as fast as I could. I even managed to do so before I stopped sliding. By the time she reached me, I was ready for her. Blocking punch after punch. Kick after kick. Until she did something unexpected. Her chest lowered as she stretched her arms out before she charged directly at me. The suddenness of it let her get past my guard and get her arms wrapped around my stomach. I started to punch and pull at her but her grip was tight as hell. Tight enough that I was having issues even breathing. Just as black spots started to appear, she tossed me down to the ground. ¡°You failed to remember rules two and four. But that is understandable. After all, you don¡¯t know rule five. Throw a striker, strike a grappler. If someone is coming in to grab you, strike them. Keep them from getting a hold of you. If they are trying to keep their distance and only ever hitting you, get inside their range. Keep them off balance. If they switch tactics, switch with them. Keep going until they are down.¡± Jumping up, we squared off. The moment she went to strike me, I grabbed it. Getting out of the way of the strike while adding momentum. The move must have caught her by surprise because she stumbled in my direction. Said surprise didn¡¯t last more than a moment as her body twisted around. Letting her arm go, I kicked out. The heel of my foot caught one of her knees and sent her to the ground with a soft but definite snapping sound. Her face was filled with shock and pain. Instantly I felt bad. She told me to go at her with everything I had and she had gotten hurt. Concerned, I rushed toward her to offer what help I could. Of course, the moment I got within arm''s length, the arm that had been behind her, shot forward. I froze just as the tip of a finger-sized blade poked my skin. A drop of something ran down my skin from the contact site. ¡°Rule six. Watch out for weapons.¡± She said as she got up. Her leg moved as if it had not just been hit hard enough to make a snapping sound. ¡°Just because you might be a gentleman and following rules doesn¡¯t mean your opponent will be.¡± As my heart tried to beat its way out of my chest, I thought over that last rule. They were completely right and something I would always have to follow or I would inevitably find myself dead. Of course, remembering six rules would be nothing, but how many rules would the other two beat into my head and how much pain would I be in afterward? ¡°Now,¡± she called out as she turned to face me. Her knife was no longer visible. ¡°Ready?¡± Before I had time to nod, her foot flew at my head. Chapter 40 - Magic Rules ¡°Ok, I think that is enough hand-to-hand for now.¡± I never thought that I would be so happy to hear Barti¡¯s voice during training as much as I was at that moment. Tindi had been beating me up, down, and around the room with nothing but her hands and feet for god knows how long. While I would have loved to be able to say that I took her down a few times, but other than that first time, I failed to so much as knock her to the ground for more than a second. ¡°My turn.¡± Mindi¡¯s cheerful voice caused me to cringe a tiny bit. Not at her voice but at the fact that she sounded so excited about beating me up. It didn¡¯t help that I knew next to nothing about magic and how to use it to attack, let alone how to use it to defend myself. At Mindi¡¯s gesture, I joined her inside the circle. As I stood there, I watched her as she examined the circle. She looked to be going over each line and symbol. Barti dusted off his hands and pants as he spoke. ¡°It will do what you asked, maybe even a bit more.¡± ¡°Good. Go ahead and power it up.¡± She said as she moved to the opposite side of the enclosed space. Not understanding what was going on, I finally asked, ¡°Um, what is going on?¡± ¡°While this room is decently protected against magic spells, I didn¡¯t feel like paying for the guild for any damage. So, I asked Barti to place and power this circle.¡± Her hand gestured at the circle. ¡°It should stop almost every spell you could cast. It should also increase the rate of mana regeneration of everyone inside its bounds.¡± ¡°Meaning I won¡¯t need to worry about any spell that misses or how much mana I have.¡± I instantly understood why she wanted the spell for this training session. ¡°Aka, I won''t have to worry about anything more than fighting you.¡± With a shake of her head, she continued. ¡°Just remember that you might regenerate mana faster, but it does not mean you have unlimited mana. You will run out of mana, just not as fast. In fact, when he feels you are ready, Barti will randomly change how fast our mana regenerates. So keep an eye on your stores of mana.¡± ¡°Wait, what is the point of that?¡± I asked, confused about the point of training for such random changes. ¡°Ah, I sometimes forget that you don¡¯t know much about this world.¡± Mindi¡¯s eyes, while closed, rose to look at the ceiling as she explained. ¡°While mana is nearly everywhere, it is not spread out equally. There are some places where the mana is all but physical while in other places the motes can be few and far between. Such environments will change how fast your mana regenerates. But it isn¡¯t just the environment that can affect regeneration, the more mages you have pulling on the local mana can lead an area into a temporarily depleted state. This means that you need to be prepared for any changes as your regeneration can go from instant to nothing without warning while you are fighting.¡± Her head dropped and her eyes met mine. I nodded at her explanation because, while I didn¡¯t understand everything about it, I did understand the reason for the circle in this training. With that out of the way, she raised her hand and pointed at me as she spoke. ¡°Then let us see how you do.¡± With that as my only warning, a small ball of water formed in front of her finger before flying at me. It didn¡¯t move all that fast, maybe going only as fast as a softly thrown ball, but that didn¡¯t mean I wanted to get wet. My body dropped and rolled to the left in time for the ball to sail past. A moment later a second ball smacked against the top of my head. Either she had cast the spell after I dodged or it had been hidden by the first, either way, I had missed it. She kept casting the balls of water and simply watched me dodge, with some success, for quite a while but eventually her attacks stopped as she groaned. ¡°You are just dodging the spells as I fling them at you. While this is a great strategy when you can see the spells and can move fast enough to get out of the way, it will do you no good in a real fight. You need to be dodging or countering the spells as they form.¡± While my shirt was made of leather and didn¡¯t hold water like cotton, it hadn¡¯t blocked the water from getting under it. The feeling of wet leather sticking to my wet and cold skin had me nearly grinding my teeth at her. ¡°And how do you expect me to do that? It''s not like I can see the spells as they form.¡± ¡°But you can.¡± She insisted, ¡°You just don¡¯t know how to do so, yet.¡± With a step back, she sat on the ground and gestured for me to join her. ¡°When you cast a spell, do you see your mana?¡± I shrugged as I sat down as far from her as I could get in the circle. While it wasn¡¯t all that far, I needed every moment I could get to dodge her projectiles. ¡°I think I do. Or at least I see the threads of mana I use to form each spell.¡± Her head shook as she stated, ¡°That is not mana sight.¡± Then she tilted her head a bit before correcting herself. ¡°Well, it is but it isn¡¯t. It isn¡¯t true mana sight. It is like seeing an object but not seeing all the parts that make it up. Useful up to a point.¡± She seemed to be relaxing into the position as if she expected to be in it for quite a while. I ignored the movement as I voiced my confusion about the sudden shift in training. ¡°I thought we were training in magical combat?¡± ¡°We still are, mostly.¡± Her voice sounded a bit exasperated and annoyed at my question. ¡°Look, you are less than useless against another magical user if you cannot so much as sense their spell, let alone the currents of mana flowing around you.¡± Holding up a hand to placate her, I agreed with her. ¡°Ok, I understand learning to sense when someone is casting a spell, but why would one want to sense such currents?¡± ¡°Well, for one thing, if you can sense the currents then it will be easier to detect wild mana. It will also help you judge how fast your mana will recover in an area without having to experiment or guess.¡± I felt like an idiot. The answer to my question was obvious. She didn¡¯t give me long to get mad at my own stupidity as she continued. ¡°The two skills you will need to get are not all that hard. Just tedious.¡± ¡°And those would be?¡± I asked when she didn¡¯t immediately continue. ¡°Mana Sense and Mana Sight.¡± When she explained things like this she lost every bit of shyness. ¡°Mana Sight is a passive skill meaning you will not need to put some mana into it to use. With it, you will be able to see mana, or at least clumps of mana, at the first level. Though, you will want to work on leveling it up as the range and amount you are able to see is tied to it.¡± ¡°How do I go about gaining the skill?¡± Instead of answering immediately, she closed her eyes and looked like she was deep in thought. When she did answer, her first words were an apology. ¡°Sorry, I had to remember how I gained it. To unlock the first level, focus inside of yourself like you would for casting a spell inside of yourself. However, instead of focusing on your core, focus on a random spot. Just watch that spot until you start to notice a slight current.¡± Physically, I closed my eyes as I dropped into a light meditation. I mentally started to move into my body to do as she ordered, but her words delayed me. ¡°The other skill is Mana Sense. It is active and easier to learn after learning Mana Sight. Once you are able to see the flow of mana inside your body, you will need to disperse some mana from your core. While I imagine my mana as a mist, you might find some other image to help you hold the mana in place. ¡°The only thing that really matters is that you keep said mana under your control.¡± She emphasized that part. ¡°With mana dispersed, feel how your mana interacts with the wild mana. Watch it as they push and pull at each other. Those interactions are what you will need to feel for when you are using the skill.¡± ¡°I get that these skills are useful and all,¡± In fact, I had a feeling that this skill was this game''s version of an enemy detection tool. A mana radar as it were. ¡°But how do I go about leveling them up?¡± ¡°By pushing them in any way you can. In fact, every skill can be leveled up in this way. In the case of these skills, if you want more range, practice controlling your mana at greater and greater distances. Oh and always learn how each type of mana feels. Wild mana is different than mana inside a monster, which is again different than any other creature. If one trains hard and becomes decently good at telling mana signatures apart, one can even tell who it is they are feeling.¡± While I was interested in the information she was giving me, none of it made sense. I doubted it would until I had these two skills and could see or feel what she was talking about. So, taking her silence as an order, I resumed my meditation. Dropping into the state wasn¡¯t all that hard, which made sense considering the training I had when it came to casting spells while on the run. Doing so still required me to delve inside so that I could pull out a thread of mana and cast the spell. Of course, that memory brought with it thoughts of trying to cast spells without delving inside myself. Would it be faster? Would it require more concentration? I forced those distractions from my mind and focused on my goal; seeing mana. Now, since it didn¡¯t matter where I looked for the mana, as long as it wasn¡¯t my mana pool, I didn¡¯t bother to move from the spot my meditating mind put me. From the looks of it, it was a section of my lungs. I sat there, watching as it flowed in and out of my body. Not seeing much more than the movement of air as they expanded and contracted. Which made sense. If I were something like mana, I would probably be smaller than a cell, let alone the alveoli that I was watching. As I did when I went looking for my core, I moved closer and closer until I was able to see individual cells. Able to see and watch as my blood and air practically touched so they could exchange carbon dioxide for the oxygen my body needed to survive. The more I watched this, the more I realized that something about the exchange was weird. An odd haze flowed with the air. It melted through the walls of my lungs and into my circulatory system before vanishing with the flow. While I didn¡¯t know what the haze was, I could immediately eliminate a few obvious options. For example, it couldn¡¯t be any form of dust as dust would have been stopped by the barrier that kept my blood from drowning me. And, unless I was in the middle of a sewer, I doubted there were enough viruses and bacteria in the air to get close to haze level. No, this was something else. Something new. The more I focused on it, the more it seemed to thin out. Almost as if it was reacting to being watched. For all I knew, it was. Even light reacts differently when someone is watching it versus when it is not being watched. Now that I thought about it, what if this haze was just another particle? A particle that I couldn¡¯t see directly but affected the area around it. Similar to how heat affected the air above it, making it look like there was water where none existed. With that in mind, I focused on the effect itself and not the area it obscured. Everything else seemed to fade as I looked closer and closer. Something about it made me think that, if only I got just a little bit closer I would be able to see whatever made it up. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the case. The closer I got, the more hazy the view became. Almost as if I was looking through a camera and, while I could zoom, I had lost the ability to focus properly. Finally, I resigned myself to the fact that I would never see whatever it was that made up the mist. Whatever it was, I had to assume that it was what people were calling mana. Maybe some scientist somewhere would create tools to see and study it. It would be interesting to see what they came up with. As for myself, as long as it worked, I would live with what I had. Having discovered what I assumed was mana, I pulled back until I was once again looking over the entirety of my lungs. My eyes tracked the misty air as it flowed through my lungs and int my blood. After a minute, I followed the mist through my blood and toward my heart. A good chunk of the mist was pulled out of my blood, through my heart, and toward my mana pool. It created a thick haze in the area as something about the orb pulled all the mist toward it. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Some of the outer layers of the mist seemed to wisp away. As if pulled by a strong wind in another direction. The parts that broke off vanished from sight. Likely too thin for me to see. Not that I would have followed it. My senses were glued to the veritable fog of mana in front of me. A fog that I could see but couldn¡¯t feel. One that suddenly reminded me of the other skill I needed to work on. I nearly smacked my head for wasting time as I reached for my mana. When I pulled out a thin cord of the stuff, the mist shrank away from it. Almost as if the mist was afraid to get close to the creation. A bit curious to find out what would happen, I let the thread vanish. The mana that made it up dispersed into the environment in an explosion of mist. As it the new addition of mana tried to equalize with the environment it pushed the mist around it further and further away. As this happened, the mist on the other side of the sphere surged forward. It poured into my pool as if falling into a sinkhole. This sight confirmed to me that the mist I was seeing was mana. It also showed me just how mana pools refilled on their own. Something that most games skipped over with a handwave and abusing the excuse of ¡®because it''s magic¡¯. Focusing on the mist created by my mana, I found that it was no different than the rest. As in, I couldn¡¯t feel it any more than one could feel the air on the other side of a window. It seemed that, as soon as one released their mana, it became free and left their control. Of course this meant that, while I had figured out what it was, it didn¡¯t get me much closer to unlocking the skills. I pulled another thread out and tried to control the dispersal as I released my image while still trying to keep control over the released mana. Too bad the mana ignored me. The thread in my grip exploded outward as fast, if not faster, than the last one. Trying again yielded the same results. Given that I was not stupid and could learn, albeit slowly some days, I gave up on creating a thread first. From what I could tell, this way was akin to telling something to do two things at the same time. That it had to be both a solid thread and a fine mist. Since those two things were opposites, the mana bucked my control and joined its friends in taunting me by being visible but useless. Mentally I grabbed another fistful of mana. Instead of forming it into a thread, I kept it as a clump as I focused solely on maintaining control. I felt it as wisps of mana floated off. Most of which left my control, yet not all. With the little control I had, I tried to form a thin shell around my pool. It succeeded, but with the success came a new sense. Well, not a new sense but one that had always been there yet somehow muted or even silenced. Now that I could feel it, I realized it had always been in the back of my mind driving my intuition on some things. Now though, fully active and feeding me information, the information it gave me was both overwhelming and headache-inducing. Instinctively, I worked to tune it all out. Using the same techniques I had learned working in an industrial setting for years. While it might not help with everything, especially if it was too loud, it did help with the majority of the background noise. Which meant that, in this case, it was goddamned perfect. As the noise diminished to a dull roar, I found myself able to process the top layer of information. While it was dull, I could feel my blood as it rushed from one chamber to the next. But there was something else there. Something that wasn¡¯t blood yet seemed to go with the flow. Fascinated, I tried to get a better look at the spot. Within moments, I came face to face with one of them and found wild mana condensed out of my blood. As it left the veins, it swirled around my mana pool. The weirdness I felt was that of the very mana in the air. If I had to equate it to another feeling, I would have to say it felt like it was a mist that was thick enough for water to start to condense on my skin. While it mixed with the mana I controlled, it did so with reluctance. It clumped up on the outside of my mana before finally forcing its way through to the other side to reach some sort of equilibrium. Not that the space filled with my mana was all that large. It barely encircled my pool. Curious about what would happen, I reached into my pool and pulled out more mana before feeding it to the misty shell. The mix thickened. Going from what one would find floating on the breeze from the ocean to something thick enough to cut with a knife. The sight of it reminded me of images of San Francisco early in the morning. Fascinated, I added yet more mana to the mist and got a completely different result. This time, the mist expanded. More information flowed into my brain as it did so. Again and again, I took mana from my pool and dumped it into the mist. It alternated between expanding and thickening until it abruptly stopped. At this point, the mist filled my body. Information on every part of it flowed into my head where it was ignored. Yet, when I went to pour more mana into it to expand past my skin, the mana vanished. Okay, that wasn¡¯t quite right. The mana I poured into the effect was still there. The issue was with the mana that expanded past my skin. All of that mana dispersed back into the environment as I lost control of it. Before I could try again, Mindi¡¯s voice cut through the silence that had filled the room. ¡°Good. You have managed to get both skills in a reasonable amount of time.¡± ¡°Not that it will do me much good,¡± I grumbled as my eyes opened to look at her. My sight was tinged with a light mist. Not enough to block my sight, but enough that I could clearly see it. Given that one of the skills had the word sight in it, I had to assume that I was actually seeing mana with my eyes. Something that, while not useful at the moment, would help me in the future. While I was trying to get used to this new sight, a small part of my mind kept the mist in place so I didn¡¯t lose what progress I had managed to make. ¡°I can only sense the mana inside my body.¡± ¡°First off, that will do you a lot of good. You can sense more than just mana can¡¯t you?¡± As I nodded, she continued. ¡°Being able to see and judge wounds will help you during and after a battle. Allowing you to properly determine what is and what isn''t a fatal wound.¡± I hadn¡¯t thought of using it like that. Such a skill would allow me to triage myself. Such an ability was nice to have but not all that great for when one is in the middle of a fight. Probably seeing my annoyance, she rolled her eyes and continued. ¡°Take a look at your Mana Manipulation skill. If I had to guess it is level two.¡± She stopped talking to let me look and sure as shit, she was right. ¡°At that level, you are able to control your mana to just past your skin. That is what is limiting your range.¡± ¡°So, if I want to sense other people and the spells they are about to cast, I need to increase this skill?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± she popped the p at the end as she started to get up. ¡°Best way to do that is to practice and what better practice is there than to use it in a fight? This time I want you to focus on detecting the magic itself and not just dodging the spells after they have formed.¡± As I stood up, a ball of water flew at me. I didn¡¯t have time to dodge it, though this time I did feel the mana it was made of as it hit my skin. Even though I was now soaked, this gave me a bit of hope. If I could expand my Mana Sense, I could potentially track spells already on their way to me and not just as they were cast. Something that she had failed to mention. A good chunk of my mind was focused on keeping the skill going while also processing the information it fed me. This left very little of my attention to dodging and moving. Even with me being the only one of us moving, I was fairly sure that my stamina would run out long before her mana did. If I wanted a chance at taking her down, then I needed to go on the offense. Now, I could get closer but doing so came with risks. Namely in the fact that I would have less time to react and dodge any spell she tossed at me. More and more of my brain would have to focus on dodging her. Eventually, I would be unable to even cast any spell, maybe not even maintain my Mana Sense skill. To be honest, what I needed was another brain. Ok, maybe not another brain, but maybe the ability to hold three or more thoughts at one time. It couldn¡¯t be too hard. Just as I thought that a bunch of memories of my time learning to hold a spell and run at full speed reminded me just how hard learning to hold two things in the forefront of my mind could be. A sudden, sharp pain stabbed into my skin everywhere there was water against my skin. ¡°I think it is about time I start to introduce the rules when it comes to magical combat,¡± Mindi sounded bored as she spoke. Her hand stretched in my direction. Given the foreign mana I could feel on my skin, she had to be casting a spell onto the water she had splashed against my skin. ¡°Rule one. Never let someone''s spells coat you. Even if it looks harmless, the castor can still manipulate said spells.¡± ¡°How?¡± I gritted out through the pain as I stopped moving. I focused for a second to form some sort of fireball. Not to blow her up or anything, but something I could use to boil away the water. Anything to stop the pain. ¡°While it is cheaper and easier to pull water from the environment, I created it with mana. As such, I have more control over it than I would with regular water. On top of that, everyone else will have less control over it.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Pretty common tactic mages employ to prevent another mage from taking control of the elements inside a spell.¡± Finally ready, I didn¡¯t hesitate to cast my fireball spell. I didn¡¯t care that I didn¡¯t have complete control. Instead of shooting away from me, the ball hovered in place. Flames licked up the surface as the heat warmed the space immediately around it. The closest spot of water to the heat stopped hurting. Either she was unable to control it with my spell so close, or the heat was countering whatever she had been doing. Given that I had let my Mana Sense drop in order to cast the spell and deal with the pain, I had no clue. With my mind preoccupied in dealing with the water meant I didn¡¯t see the ball of water until it hit me. Well, not me but my fireball. The two instantly canceled each other out. The water turned into steam as the fireball was snuffed out. ¡°Rule two. Never take your eyes off your opponent. Even if you are trying to take care of, or focus on, one spell at a time.¡± Heeding her advice, I looked at her and found that she was waiting for me. A small ball of water balanced in her hand as if she were a pitcher and I was a batter. As she threw it, I found that I was too close, her throw too fast, for me to move out of the way in time. So, I sort of panicked. My mind spammed the fire rune over and over, forming a web of runes in a vain attempt to stop the ball before it could reach me. To my shock, the spell worked. A wall of fire formed between us. It vanished moments later in a cloud of steam. The mana holding it together completely used up in just one strike. Mindi pursed her lips but gave me a sharp nod. ¡°That spell does the job, though it is a bit expensive isn¡¯t it?¡± Flicking my eyes to the bar at the corner of my vision, I was shocked to see that half of my mana bar was gone. Likely from that one spell considering how fast it was refilling. ¡°Rule three. Don¡¯t use more mana than you need to.¡± She didn¡¯t give me time to argue that I had no choice as she asked a question that made me stop and think. ¡°Did you absolutely have to use that spell or could you have used another, much cheaper, spell?¡± My mouth snapped shut at that. She was right. If I could pinpoint where her ball of water would be, and when, I could have canceled it out with a simple fireball. Mentally I shifted gears from trying to figure a way to beat her to one of just getting a single hit in. Backing up as part of me worked to reactivate my Mana Sense. I forced more mana into it as I tried to force it further and further from me. Unbidden and unwanted, a stray scene wove its way through my mind. It forced me to watch it as the scene played out at a speed I could barely keep up with. A person worked on a piece of metal as it spun in a lathe. Taking their time as they cut and shaped it. The next piece of metal went into a more sophisticated-looking lathe. The tools were controlled with wheels and rails rather than hand as they cut out the same shape. Another piece, another machine. This time one with tools that cut following a predetermined path. Only stopping long enough for a pair of hands to switch the tool out before moving on to the next cut. The last piece sat in a completely enclosed machine. One that changed its own tools as it followed whatever paths it had been programmed to follow. While the scene faded, I felt as if I had been hit by a lightning bolt. I was a fucking idiot, always trying to control every bit of mana I could. It was taxing on both my mind and body when it didn¡¯t have to be. I needed to follow the example of the machinist and let my tools do their job. Let them bring me the finished part, or in this case, the information I needed to know. With just an idea and no clue as to how to go about it, I went off instinct as I pulled a thin thread of mana out. It formed it into a rune I had never seen yet somehow knew. It was a communication rune and looked fairly simple. Yet I somehow knew that I would have had a hard time forming the rune if not for the bolt of inspiration that came from the scene. The thread of mana formed a circle before dropping into a loop that went just past the center of the circle. As it passed the center it formed another loop even though the first loop was only half done. It then passed through the center a second time and formed a third loop before finally finishing the first loop. The thing looked like a three-leafed clover with a rounded triangle shape sat in the center. As the rune finished, it felt as if the mana near it became more present, if that makes sense. I could feel everything near that spot more clearly. It was as if everything was boosted with an antenna or something. The best part of the rune was that, just like an antenna receiver, I could tell it to ignore certain signals. This time, I held onto what I was fairly sure was a newly created spell as I pushed mana out around me. Unlike before, the mana stayed misted around me and under my control. As if waiting for this moment, Mindi reminded me of rule two with a ball of water. However, unlike before, I managed to feel the ball of water as it flew through the air toward me. Not that the extra few moments did me any good. I still wasn¡¯t able to dodge the ball and it splashed against my face causing me to splutter. ¡°Good, but rule four,¡± Mindi called out as if sensing that I had somehow figured out how to push my senses out. ¡°Everything costs mana.¡± Eyes wide, I glanced at my mana bar and found that it was dropping like a stone. In a rush, I canceled every rune I had up. The drop slowed before finally stopping. Unfortunately, it also did not go up. Given how clear the world looked around me, the circle was completely devoid of mana. Likely Barti¡¯s doing. ¡°Rule five,¡± Mindi stated as she held a small rock at the ready. ¡°Don¡¯t rely on any one method to do anything. The longer you do the same thing, the more likely your opponent will figure out a way to get around it. I will admit, I didn¡¯t think you would figure out a way to detect mana so fast. Pretty sure that, given another two throws, you wouldn¡¯t have needed to even dodge anymore. Too bad I am not going to give you the chance.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked a bit hesitantly. ¡°Now the kid gloves come off.¡± Her smile was malicious and sent a shiver down my spine. ¡°Now I start to throw some spells that can do some serious damage if you don¡¯t block or dodge them. All while Barti here does whatever he wants to the environment in here.¡± I was going to die here. Chapter 41 - Bunnies There was a movie that I watched when I was younger and didn¡¯t know any better. While the overall movie didn¡¯t stick with me, there was one line that did. ¡°If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.¡± The things Mindi threw at me had me wishing she was just tossing a goddammed wrench. It wasn¡¯t that her spells were all that complex. Hell, they looked like they were made of one or two runes each. It was in how she used them. She timed each so that they would reach a point near me at the same time. Given that one was a fireball and the other a waterball, it created one hell of a steam explosion. Then there was the earthball that was soaked by a waterball before meeting up with a fireball. That steam explosion hurt. So many tiny shards flew all over the place. But that isn¡¯t to say she didn¡¯t have a few more complicated spells that she threw in my direction. Let''s see, she made it rain. Not normal rain though. No, that would have been too easy to deal with in her mind. She made it rain fire, ice, stones, and combinations therein. Add to that the sudden depletion or flood of the mana into the circle and I had a hard time keeping even my Mana Sense going for longer than a minute, let alone casting any other spell. That isn¡¯t to say that I didn¡¯t work to expand my control over my mana. Every chance I got I pushed and shoved my mana out. The mix of pain and desire not to die turned out to be motivation enough to expand it a number of feet out. Just enough to cover the circle and warn me about the spell she was casting. Not that that did me much good. Her cast time was stupid fast, leaving me with little time to react and counter it with a spell. Eventually, I gave up on spells entirely and focused on using a wall of pure mana to block a spell. It worked and didn¡¯t. I spent nearly my entire mana pool on a flimsy and transparent wall that was no bigger than an inch on a side. Eventually, Barti called the training over. ¡°I think that is enough beating him up for now.¡± ¡°Good, because I am getting hungry,¡± Mindi said as she started for the door. Acting as if she hadn¡¯t just been practically trying to kill me. Tindi followed her out of the room without a second''s hesitation. Barti on the other hand stayed where he was. We stood like that for a few minutes, his eyes locked onto me as I tried to catch my breath, before he finally spoke up. ¡°How are you doing? I don¡¯t mean with just the training. I mean with everything in general?¡± His question confused me. It didn¡¯t make sense and confused me, likely in part due to my currently worn-out state. What else could there be going on right now in the game? I mean, there was always the fact that I wasn¡¯t making much in the way of money. But that was only temporary, probably. Finally, I just shook my head as I answered, ¡°I am doing just fine. Well other than the bruises to my body as well as my ego. Who knew those girls could so easily kick my ass.¡± One of his eyebrows lifted. ¡°I am fairly sure most people in town and everyone outside it could kick your ass. Though that will change as you grow in skill.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you mean level?¡± I asked as I started for the door. ¡°Level doesn¡¯t mean as much as you would think.¡± He answered. I looked over at him in bewilderment at that only to see that he was deep in thought. Finally, as we joined the girls at a table in the back, he spoke up. ¡°Early levels give you points, well every level gives you points but that is it. It is only when you unlock your class that you start to gain stats with every level up.¡± ¡°If that is the case, then why have you not pushed me to pick a class? Hell, do I even have class options?¡± Both of the girls shook their heads fast enough that their ears flapped a bit in the wind. Usually, they were hidden in their hair, so I never really thought about them and how the two human-looking girls were beastman. ¡±What? Why not?¡± ¡°Because of your stat balance. Right now you have no real leeway in stat points. If you were to get a class now you would be constantly gaining stats but not for every category. Additionally, classes are offered based on your skills and proclivities. As such, your class offerings right now would be crap with each only offering two or three stat points per level for one or two stat categories.¡± ¡°But I could pick a class now if I wanted?¡± I was sure that I had a gleam of greed in my eyes at that moment but I didn¡¯t care. ¡°Sure,¡± He nodded, his next words coming out fast enough to stop me from looking said options over. ¡°But let us wait until tomorrow to go over them. That way we can go over the last two parts of your training.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± a sense of dread caused my stomach to sink and a shiver of fear to cover my arms in goosebumps. ¡°Still got weapon training as well as your first foray into mixed training,¡± Barti stated as he waved down a serving girl. ¡°You didn¡¯t think that we would skip over weapons did you?¡± ¡°No, but¡­¡± ¡°And it wasn¡¯t like you were going to have to learn to fight with all three while on a battlefield fighting for your life. So you will learn to do so against one of us from now on. You will find that each of us will present quite a few challenges. Challenges that you will have to overcome if you want to survive out in the wider world.¡± ¡°What can I get you?¡± A young girl asked as she practically hopped over to our table. She couldn¡¯t have been more than ten or eleven years old. Her ears were long and pure white just like the rest of her hair. I had to quickly look away as they reminded me too much of the swarms of bunnies that had wanted to tear me apart. Either no one else noticed or they all chose to ignore my reaction because they each ordered. ¡°Can I get the special of the day?¡± Mindi asked. Without a second between the two, Tindi spoke up next, ¡°I would like whatever fish dish is available today.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°There is actually three fish dishes available.¡± The server said. ¡°Fish and chips, grilled salmon and vegetables, or a fisherman stew.¡± ¡°Salmon,¡± Tindi rushed to answer, all the while sounding like she was struggling to keep some sort of liquid in her mouth. ¡°Definitely the salmon.¡± When I looked up, I found her swallowing and trying to wipe some thick strands of saliva off her chin. ¡°Guessing the caravan arrived?¡± Barti asked. ¡°Yeah, they got here early. Don¡¯t know why though. My mother never tells me anything.¡± The serving girl sounded resigned at that. I didn¡¯t know why but I suddenly felt the need to pull her to me and tell her that it would be fine. Thankfully, the moment I looked toward her, my eyes caught on her ears. The sudden panic the sight caused sent my eyes racing back to look down at my new leather pants. ¡°Probably just trying to make sure they got here, made their deliveries, and got set up for the spring festival.¡± His voice was soft. Softer than I had heard it since I had met the guy. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Her voice from one of resigned sadness to excited glee in a way that only a child could. ¡°That is next week. I am so excited. This year my mother is letting me wander around with just my friends.¡± ¡°Good for you. Just remember not to go into any of the alleys or take anything from strangers.¡± ¡°I know that, I¡¯m not a baby.¡± I could hear the rolling of her eyes from the tone of her voice. ¡°What can I get you Mr. Elf?¡± ¡°Herb-crusted chicken please.¡± He hesitated for a second before saying, ¡°And can my friend here get today¡¯s special?¡± ¡°Sure. Those will all be out in a few minutes.¡± I hadn¡¯t realized just how many of my muscles were tense until I heard her hopping away. My body sagged into the chair. Feeling as though I was a puppet and my strings had just been cut. ¡°The fight with the bunnies really got to you didn¡¯t it?¡± Barti asked. There was no inflection in his voice to give away his emotions or thoughts but when my eyes met his, I found an emotion I did not expect. Relief. I could understand if he was sad, angry, or even laughing at me. But relieved that I found the bunny beastman kid scary? I had no clue how to deal with that. So I didn¡¯t, instead just nodding my head a bit before sipping the glass of water I hadn''t noticed the server drop off. ¡°Well,¡± Barti said with a sigh, ¡°you are going to have to deal with similar situations as you go against other creatures and meet more beastman that look like those monsters.¡± ¡°You mean like wolves and bears?¡± In my mind, I pictured direwolves and bears standing next to beastman with similar features. He nodded. ¡°Just because something looks like a creature that tried to kill you does not mean that they want to. It would be like if a human attacked you then you went on to meet other humans. While you might see those other humans as dangerous and out to kill you; society, family, friends, and others are always around to help you to trust again. To not immediately go on the defense, or offense, at the mere sight of someone.¡± He was talking about PTSD. I had heard about and read about it in books and news articles. Hell, who hadn¡¯t. With the war going on and soldiers coming home, the stories were quite common and sometimes had sad endings for everyone involved. I just never expected to feel what it felt like. Now that I had a chance to see my reaction in that light, I found myself re-examining my recent reactions and thoughts. I found that he was likely right in more ways than one. While it might not be immediate, the fear would slowly fade as life moved on and time dulled the memories. But if one fight with those creatures did this to me, what was it doing to everyone else? What had some of the higher-level players seen? While the other three chatted amongst themselves, I let my mind wander. I only came back to the present when Barti stood up. ¡°Time to get back to training.¡± Looking down, I realized my food was gone, though I had no memories of eating it. It seemed that my body had still been on autopilot as my mind worked to come up with horrific stories and examples of what others might be going through. With a nod to the girls, I followed him back to the training room. The two of them stayed behind. Likely to talk about me or something while I wasn¡¯t around to hear them. As soon as the door closed behind me, Barti spoke up. ¡°While you would typically train with a wooden sword, I want you to use your weapon when training with us.¡± I wanted to protest about potentially hurting any of them but he shook his head. A hint of a smile showed at the corner of his mouth and glimmered in his eyes as he chuckled. ¡°You will never hit us and even if you managed to we can heal relatively fast. If none of that is enough, I have healing spells and potions just in case.¡± Which made sense and I nearly groaned at my stupidity. These three were not newbie adventurers. Hell, from what little I could tell, they were probably one of the most veteran groups in this city. Of course they would have ways to heal themselves. In acknowledgment of their abilities and my trust, I said nothing as I pulled Shizukana Arashi. The metal still had blood on it, most of it still wet. He tsked at me. ¡°While time doesn¡¯t work the same in one¡¯s inventory as it does out here, you should still take care of your weapon at the first opportunity.¡± I blushed as I quickly pulled my cleaning cloth out. Giving the weapon a good wipe-down before getting back into position. Throughout the process, he stood there, watching me clean the blade. Finished, I moved into position opposite him. I turned and watched him as the mana around him flexed. I don¡¯t mean that the currents blew around like a mist in the wind. I mean, the currents shifted and even reversed flow. Each of which moved in his direction as he did something. Out of an abundance of caution, I pushed my mana out to try and feel what he was doing as my feet moved me away as fast as I could without looking. What my Mana Sense told me made no sense. It was as if, in the palm of his right hand, the mana was solidifying into something yet nothing was physically there. A moment later, my mana was forced away as a sudden pop of displaced air and mana occurred. A solid piece of something dark red, nearly black, appeared in its place. The mana that had been there vanished as it did so. At that moment my misted mana returned to the area after being forced back, it refused to get close to whatever the object was. Barti moved it in a few practice swings as he spoke. ¡°This is a training sword made of Shadowwood. Elves use it to force magic users to train their weapon skills because it has a habit of repelling mana.¡± ¡°Then how did you create it using mana.¡± Because that had to be what he just did. That amount of mana was stupid and had no other reason to be there. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t create it.¡± He looked a bit thoughtful as he continued. ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t think anyone can create this material with mana. Magic can''t even help the tree grow. What you saw was me forcing it out of my inventory.¡± That was¡­ what the¡­ He had to be joking. The amount of mana he just used was more than I could even comprehend, and he used it to pull a piece of wood out of his inventory. ¡°Now,¡± he started, ¡°there are only two rules when it comes to combat and they are both fairly simple.¡± I interrupted him, ¡°But hand-to-hand and magic combat each have quite a few rules, each of which is different.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Those are rules that are nice to have and keep in mind, but they really mean nothing when fighting for your life. Rule number one. There are no rules.¡± ¡°But you just said¡­¡± Barti talked over me as he started to slowly walk toward me. ¡°Rule two. If there are any questions about the rules, refer to rule number one.¡± The moment he finished, he charged. His wooden sword was off to the side, held parallel to the ground as he closed the distance. Chapter 42 - Simplicity of Combat He was playing with me. That was made obvious by the way his wooden sword never met the edge of my blade. It hit the side with just enough force to shift it off target. Not that it would have hit him even if I had been able to hit where I had been aiming. By the time my blade reached the spot he had been, even with its new trajectory, he was gone. My attempts to throw magic did nothing either. That sword of his blocked it just as easily as it did everything else. Getting a bit irked at the futility of this fight, I gave up trying to win and just focused on hitting him once. A foot kicked out as I went for a knee in an effort to slow the fucker down. As usual, his sword met and deflected the strike. Not that I expected any different. However, unlike before, I used the shift in trajectory, in addition to flooding my arms with mana, to strike at his exposed and vulnerable head. Between one moment and the next his sword blurred. My eyes saw it as a black smear of paint across the tapestry of the world. With jarring force and the sound of metal ringing after being struck, my sword was ripped from my hand. From how fast and how forceful his hit had been, I expected the next strike to take me out of the fight, maybe even send me back to respawn. To my shock, he stepped back and lowered his sword as he gave me a single nod. ¡°Not bad. I was wondering how long it would take before you tried something like that.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I said as I collapsed to the ground. My arm muscles felt like mush while the rest just felt exhausted. ¡°You used hand-to-hand in a combination attack with your weapon.¡± He said, his voice saying that he thought it was obvious. ¡°As I said before, there are no rules when it comes to combat. Use everything you can to win. It was you that kept limiting your attacks to weapons only.¡± ¡°What about the spells I threw at you?¡± I shot back, irked that he seemed to have already forgotten them. It was like he didn¡¯t even consider those attacks. Maybe to him they weren¡¯t attacks. ¡°Given that you don¡¯t have many attack spells,¡± try one, ¡°You should have used it as a distraction or to attack me from behind while I defended against a frontal attack.¡± I hung my head at his statement. The idea to attack from multiple sides had never occurred to me. ¡°Ah, it never occurred to you.¡± He was reading me like a book. ¡°But I think that won''t be a problem from now on. Now, collect your blade so that we can go again.¡± I groaned. This training had already been going on for at least an hour and my muscles were on the verge of going on a riot. It would be one thing if he attacked, but he just sat there, letting me come to him. Eventually, though, I relented and grabbed my Chisa Katana. When I turned to face him, I relaxed as I moved my limbs into position. I stood stock still as I watched the elf, wondering if he would attack or wait for me. If he attacked, I would defend as well as I could, but if not, I would be a fool to not take advantage of the time to rest and prepare. Mana oozed off me as it slowly expanded in every direction. To him it would look like I was simply watching for magical attacks but I already knew he wasn¡¯t going to use magic here. Well, at least not yet. Not until I forced him to do so to block my attack, if it worked. Taking a chance, I closed my eyes and focused on nothing but my mana. On creating the runes I would need. On holding them in place while I created a few spells at the edge of my control. The moment my eyes opened, I felt my control waver. I had hoped to hold the spells back until after I started my attack but I could already tell that they wouldn¡¯t stay under control for much longer, let alone if I go to move. I didn¡¯t care how much mana I used. Either this attack would work or it wouldn¡¯t. As one, I released the three fireballs aimed at his back. They were fired from the other side of him. Outside my typical range if not for that lovely rune I had learned out of nowhere. The moment the spells went off, I charged. Mana flooded my body as my legs pumped. My enhanced speed covered the twenty feet in less than five seconds. Just in time for the fireballs to hit their target. While that might not seem like a long time, it was long enough for me to see one of his eyebrows lift. His sword blurred faster than ever. I didn¡¯t even see what the sword hit, but given that I could no longer feel the fireballs, he must have used it to disrupt the magic. It was at that moment that I should have turned around and gotten some distance, but I was already committed. Already too close to him. My sword was already stabbing at his chest with as much force as I could generate in such a short amount of time and space. Not that I expected it to hit. Especially when I could already see his sword as it moved to block mine. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. It was swinging in from the right. As soon as it made contact with the side of my blade, I allowed the additional force to spin my body. He moved to my left, right into the new path of my blade. Just as I thought I was going to actually hit the bastard, he disappeared. I don¡¯t mean he blurred or anything like that. I mean, he disappeared from my sight. My sword sliced through the suddenly empty spot with no resistance. Given that I had expected some resistance to stop, or at least redirect, my motion, I was left scrambling to stay on my feet. Not that there was much I could do. Not against the amount of force I had managed to generate as well as what I could steal from his block. That damn elf managed to pull something off that made no sense. It looked like he vanished so, unless he moved faster than I could even perceive, he must have teleported. Add to that the fact that he wasn¡¯t tapping me with his sword or telling me what I did wrong, he likely teleported to somewhere outside the room. Feet tangled and arms flinging themselves out to catch me, I braced for the inevitable impact with the ground. It never came. Instead, a pair of firm hands grabbed my waist, stopping my motion and keeping me steady. That gesture was enough to make me grateful to whoever it was. While I got my feet untangled, I tried to catch my breath. The moment I got my feet back under me, I turned to look at my savior. It took everything I had to keep from socking him. Standing there, as if he had been there all along, was Barti. The color of his sword out of the corner of my eye told me he was unarmed. It was leaning against a wall on the far side of the room. Not that it would mean much for him when facing me, but still. Something inside me squirmed a bit as he looked down at me. At first, a bit of curiosity peaked through his eyes, only to get replaced by a frown as we both stayed where we were. Neither of us spoke as we kept eye contact. After a few seconds of standing there, I realized just how close we were. There was less than six inches between our faces and his hands were still holding onto my waist. Something squirmed in my stomach. I didn¡¯t want to know what it was nor why it was doing this now of all times. Not that I didn¡¯t find the elf attractive. I mean, it wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t had fantasies or dreamt of such things. Hell, when the bullying at school was at its worst, I had wondered what it would have been like if I had been born female. Not that it had ever done me any good, nor had I ever acted on any of that. On top of that, those wishes and dreams had never, ever, been told to anyone. Not even my parents or in any of my prayers to any god. Those were between me and my subconscious. Seeing as how neither of us were going to do or say anything, I shrugged and returned my sword to my inventory before heading for the door. I managed to make it over halfway before he finally broke the silence. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Shower and then bed. I need to get up early to buy a few things before tomorrow''s training.¡± I said while looking over my shoulder. He looked lost in thought before simply saying, ¡°Yeah, good night. Sleep well.¡± Taking that as my queue to leave, I didn¡¯t hesitate. Taking my time to leave the room and head to bed. ¡°Hey, AI,¡± I muttered, though I was pretty sure no one could hear me given how loud the noise filling the hall from the main room. ¡°Did you finish making that shopping list for various foods for me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± it said as a new screen popped up. It looked to be a simple note page built into the interface. It was filled with various ingredients. There were even images next to each item that could be expanded to help me locate them in case the names were different. Worn out from training, I made my way through the building and into my room where I passed out. Barti: The little guy was fast. Faster than he should be given his stats. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like he was ever going to be strong. Not with that skeleton and musculature of his. It just wasn¡¯t possible. But maybe that could be his strength. Maybe the girls and I could focus on training him in speed over everything else. After all, who needs strength if you cannot be hit? Speaking of hits. That last strike was perfect. Something that would take most years to even pull off on accident, yet he pulled it off after only holding the weapon for a few days. It had been so perfect that I was forced to use some magic of my own. Nothing much, just a spell to increase my speed by orders of magnitude for moments. While not useful for day-to-day use, one moment of such speed was known to end fights. But the fact that he had forced me to use magic at all was a testament to his growing skills. Of course, there was no way for him to have seen or anticipated such a move, so he was thrown off balance by the lack of response. Making a decision, I put the training sword my wife had gifted me many many years ago, and moved to steady him. It took more time than I thought he needed for him to stand on his own but eventually, he did. For some reason, I held on. I needed to be sure that he wouldn¡¯t suddenly fall to the ground even as he turned around to face me. As soon as he saw my face, emotions filled it, though none that I could make out as I tried to sift through my own. I was filled with pride and joy at his growth. Grief and loss at the fact that he has to learn such things. On and on the emotional rollercoaster went. All of them stemmed from an area I thought was long dead and buried. Killed by the humans when they sent the herd of monsters into the forest to rampage. The day my wife, and the majority of my village, had been killed. That of fatherly pride. Chapter 43 - Initial Offering My training seemed to follow me into my dreams. Only, the elf in my dreams was different. He was more violent and prone to beating my ass, but also more handsy. It didn¡¯t go anywhere, but it did go far enough to confuse me. Not that I would act out on any of what I felt in reality. Especially with someone like Barti. So, as soon as I got up I took an ice-cold shower. I don¡¯t mean that figuratively either. Somehow the shower produced water so cold that small icicles formed on the ledges in the shower. Thankfully though, none of the ice covered the ground so there was no possibility of me slipping. Imagine if it had and I had managed to slip. I would probably have been the first person to have died in the game from slipping in the shower. As I stepped out, I realized that, while I had a clean pair of pants and a shirt, I only had one piece of underwear. While it hadn''t bothered me yesterday, it did so now. I mean, wouldn¡¯t it bother anyone else if they had to wear something full of sweat after you just showered? Though, it wasn¡¯t like I had a choice. It just meant that I needed to add yet another item to my ever-growing shopping list. Good thing I was going shopping today. Dressed, I stepped out of my room and made my way out of the building. This time, while people did shoot me glances, I didn¡¯t get stopped on the way. As I stepped out of the building, I stopped on the stairs overlooking the street and took a deep breath of the crisp air. The winter chill still making itself known, even if it was being beaten back by the approaching spring. I wasn¡¯t the only one awake and moving around the town. Hell, if I didn¡¯t know better, I would say that I was one of the last people in town to wake up given how crowded the streets were. The sun was barely peaking over the wall in the distance yet people were already hawking their wares to passersby as they went about their morning. List to the side of my vision, I got to work. A couple of hours, and a few kababs, later, I managed to purchase everything on the list. Just in time for my stomach to let out another grumble as the sun reached its zenith and I reached the guild hall. Sitting in a group, the three of my trainers sat in the middle of the room. Tindi was the only one covered in sweat. Likely from whatever workout she had been doing. She was the first to see me as the other two were deep in a discussion. I didn¡¯t figure out what they were talking about as a gesture from Tindi caught their attention. Barti gestured to a seat. ¡°Just in time for lunch.¡± The table is silent as I sit down until Mindi finally bursts out with a question. ¡°Ok, I can¡¯t handle this. What class options have you been offered?¡± I hadn''t expected her to be the one to be excited about talking about something with me. While she was more open when it came to magic and training, she had been nearly as quiet as Tindi. Then again, judging by the group''s faces, she wasn¡¯t the only one looking forward to finding out the answer to her question. My stomach twisted into knots as I worried about what I might find. The butterflies that danced between the knots didn¡¯t help either as a part of me felt excited at the prospect of getting a class. While I tried to deal with the conflicting emotions, I pulled up my interface and selected the blank class box. I wasn¡¯t one hundred percent sure that was where I needed to go. Thankfully though, a new screen popped up. On it were eleven different options. Each showed only the class''s name and nothing else. ¡°Going from top to bottom, I have been offered Warrior, Swordsman, Enchanter, Mage, Battlemage, Fire Mage, Brawler.¡± At that one, Tindi laughed but waved me to continue. ¡°Emberblood.¡± Tindi and Mindi looked at each other in confusion while Barti¡¯s brows pinched. ¡°What?¡± Barti shook his head and simply said, ¡°Just keep going.¡± ¡°Graceful Enchanter, Pyromancer, and.¡± I had to stop for a second to keep from groaning in annoyance at the system. I didn¡¯t want to say it but based on their looks, they would not let me get away with not telling them. So, as quietly as I could, I grumbled out ¡°and Succubus.¡± Tindi and Mindi both burst into laughter. Tindi was laughing so hard that she fell out of her chair and hit the ground. Unlike the two of them, Barti simply pinched the bridge of his nose. Before he could say anything, I quickly asked a question that I should never have had to ask, not caring that the people I asked were non-player characters. ¡°This game can¡¯t switch a person''s gender, can it?¡± Barti, being the only one capable of answering, ignored the fact that I referred to everything as a game as he spoke up. ¡°Though I don¡¯t know if such a thing can happen to you travelers. It is exceedingly rare but it has happened to a few people. The thing that worries me is the fact there are demonic classes on the list.¡± He laughed half-heartedly as he asked, ¡°You aren¡¯t part demon are you?¡± With a shake of my head, I answered, ¡°Not that I know of.¡± Which was true as the game didn¡¯t give us the option to choose our race or anything else. ¡°Any ideas on what I should choose?¡± ¡°Well, most of those are basic classes.¡± At my confused look, he explained. ¡°Classes like Swordsman, Mage, and Brawler, only require a person to use a single method of fighting. Use a sword and you will get offered the class.¡± ¡°So not a good choice unless you have no choice,¡± I stated. ¡°Well, classes can evolve into stronger versions over time. Sometimes into variants that the system will never offer directly.¡± He took a breath before continuing. ¡°As for you, I would like you to wait while I go do some research on some of those classes.¡± I wanted to ask why, but he held up a hand. ¡°While the system might give you information on each class, it will not tell you everything about it.¡± Wait, the system would give me more information than just the name? Clicking on Warrior, I was somewhat shocked to see yet another window pop up. This one with quite a bit of information on it. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Class: Succubus
Rank: Rare
Type: Magic ¨C Specialized
Description: Possessing an inborn charm, an innate talent for manipulation, as well as traces of demonic blood, you are being offered a path some would, and have, killed for. A class that would allow you to use your magic and body to influence and control humans and demons alike. Make minions out of anyone you want, using your allure to turn enemies into allies.
Level-up Bonus: +3 Charisma, +2 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity, +1 Wisdom, +1 Vitality
Starting Skills: Charm, Life Drain, Seductive Whisper, and Glamour.
Additional Unlocks: Dark Element
Additional Cost: Permanently limited to Fire and Dark Elements. Gender Change: Male to Female. Race Change: Human to Demon.
Yeah, fuck that. I mean, it gave a decent boost whenever I leveled up, but the last section was not something I would have agreed to even if I had no other choice. Though, it was nice to see that non-combat classes were being offered. Some of them were useful for battle as a support class. Graceful Enchanter was a prime example of this.
Class: Graceful Enchanter
Rank: Uncommon
Type: Magic - Support
Description: You have shown a decent amount of control over your mana. It has been determined that, with a push, you will be able to take a class, such as Enchanter, and, using your looks and movements, increase a spells effectivity.
Level-up Bonus: +3 Wisdom, +2 Intelligence, +1 Charisma
Starting Skills: Enchant Item, Mana Infusion, Arcane Shield, and Healing Aura
Additional Unlocks: None
Additional Cost: None
Did I know what the description meant? Nope. But the fact that it started with what sounded like an area heal spell as well as a shielding spell meant that it would be something that would give me quite a bit of freedom on the battlefield. Something that my current skills lacked. Though, I was a bit worried that the class would require me to dance to perform spells. Something that I would never be doing. ¡°All done,¡± Mindi said as she hopped out of her chair and grabbed my arm. She yanked me out of my chair she called back to Tindi who looked to be off on her own planet. ¡°Come join us when you finish.¡± The second the training room door snicked closed behind me, she was across the room. A spell she had cast tossed me into the door. It held me there as she tsked. ¡°You had more than enough time and skill to block that hit.¡± She stated. ¡°In case it hasn¡¯t been obvious, attacks can come from anywhere at any time.¡± Her statement, while innocuous sounding, had my full attention. She couldn¡¯t be saying that this game had no true safe zones, could she? ¡°Even here in town? Does the system not prevent such things?¡± ¡°No, why would it?¡± She looked truly confused by my question. As if such a concept of a safe zone was completely foreign. ¡°To do so would be to limit some classes and abilities as well as cost more magic than any god would be willing to spend.¡± So, no. There were no safe zones. The developer who thought of that was probably just too lazy to create a system for it. I wonder just how many players were cursing the person right this moment. ¡°That¡¯s not to say that there are no protections inside of towns. Magic protections get a boost while in town, especially those on houses and doors.¡± Wait, doors, protections. Did she mean that people could pick a lock and enter someone''s house? Well, maybe I would be returning to the real world when I needed to sleep. Then again, maybe I could just place something large in front of my door. A soft smack to my head brought me back to the present. Her spell still held me to the door, leaving me open to any attack she wanted to toss in my direction. With an effort of will, I pulsed my magic out as I filled the space around me enough to see the threads tying her to her spell. A simple application of force was all it took to snap said threads. As they fell away, so did the spell. I didn¡¯t celebrate getting free or anything, in part because she had practically let me go free based on how hard I had to work to break her spell, but also because I was already moving. Making myself a harder target to hit while I built a series of linked fireballs. They launched at my target the moment I was within arm''s reach. A shimmering shield popped into being between us. It deflected the fireballs in every direction. Not that I expected any different. It would have been weird and stupid if she couldn¡¯t have deflected such a straightforward attack. But, while she was watching my left hand and the spellwork attached to it, my right hand swung in. My Chisa Katana practically hummed as it cut through the air and embedded itself deep into her shield. From that one cut, a spiderweb of cracks covered the entire shield. Something about how the shield was made allowed it to survive for a few more moments before it finally shattered. The pieces sounded like tinkling glass as they hit the ground before the mana that made them up vanished. As it did so, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Not willing to ignore whatever instinct was telling me that I was in danger, I dropped to the ground and rolled to the left. As I popped back up, I found that I had managed to escape from an attack that would have hurt. Tindi¡¯s foot was positioned right where the back of my neck had been. While I doubted she would have killed me on purpose, I was fairly sure that attack would have done me in. Moving fast, I charge the two of them. Using my magic to distract more than attack while I aimed for their legs. Both simply jumped in opposite directions. Avoiding all of my spells and making me hesitate. If I attacked one, I would leave myself vulnerable to the other. Something neither of them would let happen without some kind of price. Gritting my teeth, I made a choice. I targeted Tindi while firing a pair of fireballs at Mindi. Hoping that it would keep her distracted for at least a few moments. Chapter 44 - Invited ¡°I think that will do for now,¡± Tindi called out from where she stood over to the side. Her breaths were faster than normal but nothing like the wheezing panting I was doing. ¡°We should stop and get some dinner. After that, we can see about doing some practice matches.¡± ¡°Who. Would. We. Be. Fighting. Against?¡± I managed to get out. ¡°We will have to see who is out there. Maybe Michael and his team will be out there.¡± Mindi offered up her two cents. ¡°They would be a decent mix of disciplines to train against,¡± While she wasn¡¯t wrong, I had hoped to keep away from them. Well, that and I was pretty damn sure that each and every one of them could kick my ass just as fast as these girls had, if not faster. But I knew better than to complain. Even if I did complain, the two of them would invite the group anyway. Maybe even faster if I tried to fight against them. As I followed the girls back to the dining room, I tried to get my breathing under control. Upon getting in sight of the room, I found the place was packed to the point that some people were forced to stand along the walls. ¡°Why are there so many people?¡± ¡°The festival of course.¡± Tindi proclaimed. ¡°Most everyone is going to finish their quests and keep close to town until after the festival is over. Ah, they are here.¡± She said as she led our group through the throng of people. She didn¡¯t seem to care who she pushed out of the way as she did so. No one challenged her or ever really said a word. The worst I saw was a glare or two being directed at the back of her head. Patric, who happened to be facing in our direction, was the first to notice our approach. He must have signaled the rest of the group because everyone suddenly turned to look at us. The glares they sent the girls sent a shiver racing down my spine. Though, as soon as they saw me the glare was replaced with something more friendly. ¡°Kyren,¡± Linda called from where she sat in Michael¡¯s lap. Was it weird that I wasn¡¯t even surprised to find her there? ¡°We haven¡¯t spoken since we got back from the forest. How have you been?¡± It sounded like she wanted to continue, but Michael cut her off. ¡°Why don¡¯t you join us for dinner?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I replied before gesturing to the two girls as I asked, ¡°Can these two join us?¡± Something flashed across his face but it was gone before I could get a read on it. ¡°Why not? The more the merrier. But tell me, who are these two lovely ladies?¡± He had a girl in his lap yet he was flirting with two other girls. Was he dumb or was I misreading the situation? Probably the latter as I was pretty sure that Linda could, and would, kick his ass if he ever even thought of cheating on her. As he said this, three chairs popped out of nowhere and settled between different pairs, effectively separating us from one another. It didn¡¯t seem intentional though. More like each chair was placed where it wouldn¡¯t cause someone to move. Lifting a hand to one and then the other, I introduced them as we took the proffered seats. ¡°This is Mindi and Tindi. They both have been teaching me magic and martial arts respectively.¡± ¡°Is there no one teaching you how to use your sword?¡± Victor asked from my left. ¡°His weapons teacher is Barti.¡± Tindi offered. A few of them whistled at that piece of information. ¡°He would be here with us but he had to do something else tonight.¡± ¡°Well, given everything going on in the city, he must be pretty busy.¡± Michael sounded mysterious when he said that, but he probably thought that Barti was doing something for the festival. A server took that moment to walk up to the group and drop off a large number of platters filled with food. As we ate, the conversation between everyone was light and full of fluffy nonsense. If I had been someone reading a transcript of everything said, I would have thought the group was full of either airheads or politicians waiting for someone to break and ask the first question. The person to break first was Patric. ¡°I noticed that you guys walked directly toward us from the hallway. Given that there have been no open tables on this side of the room for a good hour, what did you guys need?¡± As she was sitting across from me, I got to see Linda¡¯s reaction to the question. Her head thumped against Michael''s chest hard enough to visibly bounce. Tindi looked happy and had a small smile on her face as she answered his question. ¡°Our group isn¡¯t as well-rounded as yours, especially with Barti indisposed, we were wondering if you would be willing to help train Kyren?¡± ¡°What kind of training?¡± Michael asked, his tone flat. ¡°Just combat training. One-on-one matches, maybe even small group battles. Nothing that might give away any of your secret moves or techniques.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± He responded, not bothering to ask the rest of the group their opinion. ¡°But I would like it if he came with us on a mission tomorrow to get some hands-on experience.¡± To me that sounded like he was giving everything the girls wanted and then some. Yet Tindi¡¯s hesitation was obvious. Finally, after looking me in the eyes, she nodded. ¡°Sure, but you will have to help with training whenever you are in town. Under our supervision that is.¡± He shrugged, ¡°That¡¯s fine. So when is the first training session?¡± Tindi pushed her plate away from her and stood. Mindi jumped to her feet at the same moment. ¡°Right now.¡± Michael smiled as if he finally realized something. He nodded as he reached out to the nearly empty platters to fill his plate again as he spoke, ¡°We will join you in a little bit.¡± Without another word, the girls disappeared into the crowd. ¡°Sure you don¡¯t want to join our team?¡± Lance asked. While he sounded like he would like me to, something told me he would rather I stayed far, far away from him. ¡°I am good where I am, thank you though,¡± I said as I finished sopping up the juices on my plate with a piece of bread. Under my breath, I added, ¡°Plus, there is nothing I could offer you guys.¡± To my surprise, Jeremiah, who was sitting on the other side of Victor, spoke up. ¡°You have promise. Plus, you''re not all that far behind us. A bit of training and I am sure you will catch up in no time.¡± ¡°Speaking of training,¡± Michael said as he pushed his now re-emptied plate away. ¡°Let''s see just how much you have learned since the last time we saw you.¡± Linda rode on his shoulder while the rest of the group and I followed him through the room. None of them had to push through the crowd as everyone in our path gave the group enough room to pass. He must have known where we were going as he didn¡¯t hesitate for even a second as he walked down the hall and to the training door. It opened to reveal the two girls in the middle of drawing a few things on the ground. They looked to be adding something to the circle that Barti had placed there earlier in the day. Tindi stood up to face us as Mindi kept going. ¡°So, how do you want to do this?¡± For some reason, that quest seemed to cause Michael to stop. As if he had expected the two girls to try and control everything about this training. He recovered quickly and answered, ¡°First things first, we need to get a general idea of his strength and training. So, let''s go with Jeremiah first.¡± Jeremiah, upon hearing this, cursed up a small storm. I shrugged as I made my way over to the circle. Based on the sounds of muttered curses that followed me, he wasn¡¯t far behind. By the time I got to the far side, Mindi stood up from where she had been working. She scooted outside the ring and proceeded to meditate. Instantly, the haze caused by wild mana in the air grew thicker. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. One of Jeremiah¡¯s eyebrows lifted as he commented on the effect. ¡°Nice little circle. Who made it?¡± ¡°Barti did,¡± I replied, though most of my mind was focused on preparing my mana for the initial barrage. ¡°He said that it would prevent damage to the room on top of allowing him to control how much mana is in the air.¡± ¡°Good,¡± he nodded as he continued. ¡°That would make learning magic easier as well as teach one to control their expenditure based on the amount of mana available. Are you ready?¡± I nodded. ¡°Then come at me.¡± Either he was underestimating me, or he thought that I would be unable to hurt him. Maybe even both. Not that I was stupid. I wasn¡¯t going to attack him without making sure there were no defenses or traps. Dumping half my mana pool into the air, I filled the circle with a thin mist of my own mana. Sure enough, five different spells surrounded the guy. Each was primed and ready to strike me the moment I got too close. Given his lack of reaction to my mana surrounding him, he either didn¡¯t notice it or just didn¡¯t care. Too bad. If he had then he might have had a chance. While part of my mind constructed two fireballs, another part cut his connection to his spells to ribbons as I charged him. His eyes were only starting to widen as I released the fireballs at point-blank range. His chest exploded, throwing him back and into the magical wall isolating us from the world. I slid to a stop, stupefied at what had just happened. As my mind kept going over everything, Linda reached him. She started to cast the moment her hands landed on his chest. Whatever spell she was using turned the air around her crimson. The rest of the group stood stunned. Like me, the girls were probably wondering just why he had gone down so easily. The others were probably trying to piece together what had happened. Only when Linda finally leaned back, the aura around her disappearing, did Michael speak up. ¡°Well then. Seems like you have a hand on your magic. Patric, your turn.¡± Given that his main weapon was stealth attacks, this was likely another one-sided fight. Patric didn¡¯t say anything as he moved into position across the circle from me. The moment the air started to grow more hazy, darkness swallowed him. I didn¡¯t wait for him to reappear before I took off in a sprint. Circling around the outside of the circle as I took a second to think about how to find him. Not that there were many options. There was no lump of shadow slithering along the floor so either he was using magic to become a part of the shadows themselves, or he used the shadows to vanish into another realm or something. Both required magic to activate which meant that I should be able to trace them with my Mana Sense, but I couldn¡¯t. A spike of shadow speared at me from my left, grazing my arm as I went by. I still felt nothing. Well, nothing but an odd chill that reminded me of death for some reason. Something about the complete lack of ability to sense an incoming attack froze my mind. The fear of death and pain started to claw at the back of my head. It slowed my reaction time by a tiny amount. That doesn¡¯t seem all that bad but it was just enough to prevent me from reacting in time to his next attack. Another spike went between my legs. It grazed both of my thighs and cut deep enough to cause rivers of blood to stream down from each wound. Given the amount of blood flowing from me, I was out of time. I had to strike now and make sure it counted because I would not be given another chance. With an effort of will, I pulled every bit of mana I could as I formed ten fire runes. They formed around me, just above the ground. Linked as they were, they formed a large array. An array that, when I activated the spell, would cover most of the circle in fire. As I activated it, I watched as the circle was engulfed in fire. Every shadow vanished yet no one screamed or jumped toward me. For five long seconds, nothing happened. Then, as the fires started to sputter out, the mana powering them running out, the feeling of cool metal pressed against my jugular. ¡°Not bad,¡± Patric said into my ear. ¡°But you forgot about your own shadow.¡± He held his blade there for a couple of seconds, making sure I got the lesson, before backing off. I collapsed to the floor as soon as he did so. My legs were no longer able to hold me as the blood loss made itself known. Linda was by my side a moment later. Her magic worked to get me ready for my next fight. To say that I wasn¡¯t looking forward to my next fight was an understatement. Jeremiah was a decent mage with powerful spells. From what I could tell, the only thing he had going against him was the amount of time it took to cast said spells. Given that I had been training to use spells in conjunction with other methods of attack, he didn¡¯t stand a chance. Patric, on the other hand, was a rogue through and through. Great at hiding and striking when one didn¡¯t expect it. If I had been able to track his movements, I might have stood a chance. Though, I was pretty sure that he had a few tricks up his sleeves that would have taken me out if I had shown an ability to track him. As soon as Linda helped me to my feet, Michael announced my next opponent. ¡°Victor, you''re up.¡± Victor didn¡¯t say a word. He simply stepped into the circle while pulling out his bow and nothing else. Linda quickly made her way to the rest of the group as I contemplated how to approach this fight. Given my two options, fighting up close or at a distance, I knew I had to charge in. My fireballs were the only thing that I could use at a distance right now. A fireball against a rain of arrows stood no chance. On the other hand, any player worth their salt would have worked on finding a way to cover their character¡¯s weakness. Which meant that Victor likely trained in some sort of knife skills. The moment Linda stepped over the lines on the ground, the circle filled with the tell-tell haze of mana. Out of time, I fully cast my body fortification spell. I didn¡¯t even bother to cast Mana Sense. Focusing instead on using every bit of my will and bit of mana to take him down as fast as possible. Suddenly full of power, my body dropped low to the ground as my legs propelled me across the space. The space between us shrank to nothing as I got up close and personal with him. The speed of my approach must have been a surprise because he was still preparing to draw his bow when I struck. My Chisa Katana vibrated as I swung it up and across his body. Just as it made contact, the haze around us suddenly thinned. Without warning, my body was sent flying across the room. The suddenness of the motion and impact against a wall caused my brain to fuzz out. When I was able to hold a thought in my head again, I found myself propped up against a wall at an odd angle. My entire back hurt, though not as bad as the muscles in my legs and arms. Confused about the amount of pain, I ran a little bit of mana through each muscle as I looked around to find where the attack originated from. Michael and Linda were both standing over someone. This time her crimson aura was not just covering her form, but included Michael and even some of their teammates, all of whom were standing a few feet away. As if sensing my stare, Michael turned to look at me. ¡°What the hell were you thinking?¡± He practically growled as he stalked toward me. ¡°You nearly killed him with that move.¡± Wait, what? My shock and confusion must have shown on my face because he continued. ¡°By the time I reached you and stopped the fight, your sword managed to cut through his liver as well as a few of his other organs.¡± ¡°But¡­but¡­but¡­¡± I stuttered before finally getting out, ¡°but I only used my mana to fortify my body.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you used. You should have aimed for something non-life-threatening. He knows when to concede defeat. We all do.¡± His words shocked me because, well, they made sense. But if that was the case, were the girls and Barti really that much stronger that they didn¡¯t have to worry about such things? Not that I would complain about having the opportunity. Hell, their training was more realistic. In fact, ¡°But I was told to train as I would fight.¡± Yeah, it was a thin excuse but that didn¡¯t make it untrue. It must not have been a smart thing to say because his eyes shone with obvious anger. ¡°Sure, then use wooden weapons and dial back your spells so that you don¡¯t kill your training partner. But, seeing as you want to train in a realistic manner, you will face me next.¡± Well, fuck, that was not good. He would have been able to kick my ass before he was angry. Now he was going to make sure I felt every bit of his rage and it would hurt. He returned to the group where he helped Lance carry Victor to the side of the room before he returned to the circle. His eyes bore into me as he waited for me to join him. I hesitated for a moment before slowly making my way back to the circle. Michael was a tank through and through. The guy could take a hit and dish out quite a bit of pain. Likely as not, I wouldn¡¯t be able to take even one hit from him. Maybe not even a graze. With this in mind, I had no choice but to go full out and hope to end the fight as fast as possible. The moment the air grew hazy with mana, he started to walk. Not run, not jog. Walk. Slowly making his way to the center of the circle. His arms were both by his side. Hands clenched in fists. Not wanting to know what he was doing, I pumped mana into fortifying my body and fired off a couple of fireballs at his face. His hand rose to block the hits. Seeing the opportunity to get into a blind spot, I circled around him and charged at his back. The moment my sword hit his back, it stopped. It didn¡¯t rebound or vibrate as if it had hit something hard. No. It stopped. The corner of his eye watched me as he spoke. ¡°You did so well against Jeremiah. Making sure that he didn¡¯t have any spells ready to go before attacking. Yet here you are not doing the same against me. Is it because he has a magic-based class and I do not?¡± He sounded calm. Too calm given the situation. Calm enough to send shivers racing up my spine as he continued. ¡°Just because someone has a magic class or not does not mean they cannot have a spell or a skill that uses mana. If you had been checking, you would have seen me cast Divine Aegis.¡± Seeing as he was giving me time to do so, I poured mana into my Mana Sense skill. I pushed it out just far enough to reach him. A shimmering field of interconnected magic symbols surrounded his body. The brightest part of it was in a line surrounding my sword. Chapter 45 - Boars My body hurt like hell. Like I had been sliced with a dull knife before being smashed into the ground with a roller, only to then be dropped into a grinder and left to become a paste. Everything hurt. Michael didn¡¯t just beat me up one time. He beat me up, had Linda heal me, then did it again. Over and over. This repeated so many times that I lost count. I had expected one of the girls to step in at one point or another, but they had disappeared when I wasn¡¯t looking. Leaving me in the hands of my torturer. They probably got sick of seeing such a weakling getting his ass handed to him. Which was made even worse when one realized that they were the ones training me. Now, that isn¡¯t to say I didn¡¯t learn anything from the big guy. By the end, I was managing to dodge quite a few of his attacks. Effectively making him work to hit me. Given that he didn¡¯t come after me the same way twice, I learned how to dodge many different styles of attack. This became harder as I grew more and more tired. Too bad, for me, he refused to stop a fight until I became incapacitated. That typically meant I had to have bones broken or pass out from blood loss. Each of which Linda healed without issue. Though sometimes she did have to cast some disgusting spells. Spells that relied on her blood directly entering my body to do its job. Those wounds didn¡¯t just sting or itch as they healed. No, they burned. Even now, after a full night''s sleep, some of the worst of the cuts still felt a bit warm. I let out a pained groan as I got out of bed and slid my feet along the wood floor. As soon as I entered the bathroom, I caught a look at my body in the mirror. Every muscle was visible, but not overly so. The view in the mirror reminded me of how some professional swimmers looked. Though, the thing that caught my eye had little to do with the muscles themselves. My body was covered in dark bruises. Linda might have been able to heal me, but, either she didn¡¯t heal me the entire way, or she couldn¡¯t. Either way, it didn¡¯t matter. All that mattered was that I got into the shower and let the hot water soothe the pain. The moment the steaming water hit my skin, I practically moaned. While the pressure of the water made my bruises throb in pain, the heat it imparted made up for it. Hidden knots were melted away as my muscles finally relaxed. The only thing that could have made the experience better was if I was in a bath or a hot springs. My daydream thoughts of such an experience were enough of a distraction that, when I came back to reality, I had no idea how long I had been standing there. All I knew was that it couldn¡¯t have been less than a half hour judging by the amount of pruning on my fingers. I counted it as a blessing that the water never once changed the temperature on me. Something that even my apartment couldn¡¯t boast with its modern plumbing. But, I needed to get out and get a move on. While I didn¡¯t want to talk to Michael, I had agreed to go out with the group today. Given that they had fulfilled their side of the deal, I needed to hold up mine as well. With the water off, I dried and walked out of the bathroom. Judging by the fact that the trailing edge of the sun was lifting over the wall, I had been in there for quite a while. Long enough that they were probably getting annoyed. Quickly getting dressed, I jogged out of the room and down the stairs. The group sat at a table in the corner. Empty platters were stacked in the center of the table. As one, the group rose as they noticed me coming down the stairs. Michael waited for me while the rest started for the exit. I took a second to close my eyes and took a deep breath before joining him. He didn¡¯t speak until we both were outside the building and the whole group was on the way out of the city. ¡°We are going to go hunt a few Effervescent Boars.¡± Michael passed me the quest sheet.
Quest: Spring Festival Preparation ¨C Meat
Quest Type: Extermination ¨C Rank E
Description: What is a festival without food? Boaring is what it is. It just so happens that a large herd of Effervescent Boars migrate through the hills around the city at this time of year. Hunt some down without destroying the meat. As the population of Effervescent Boar is slow to recover, there is a cap on how many you may turn in.
Requirements: 1 Effervescent Boar (Usable Meat)
Cap: 5 Effervescent Boars
Reward: 3 Gold per Effervescent Boar 250 XP per Effervescent Boar
Failure: None.
¡®Would you like to accept this quest?¡¯ That was, weird. ¡°Who writes the quest descriptions?¡± Michael smiled, ¡°Most of the time? NPCs. Though there are quite a few quests created by other players, things like quests to gather a specific item that they need for crafting or to help them get to another city.¡± ¡°And this quest?¡± ¡°Oh, a player. Definitely a player.¡± He laughed, ¡°None of the NPC¡¯s would dare write anything like a pun on an official document. Especially one that their gods might read.¡± After accepting the quest, I passed the sheet back over. ¡°I would think that a city official would be writing the quests for festival materials, not a player.¡± ¡°From what I understand, the last person in the position quit and moved out of town. Given the fact that he didn¡¯t tell anyone he was leaving and that there was no time to train someone to take over, the city asked for volunteers and interviewed each one. They didn¡¯t care if the applicants were travelers or not.¡± Michael¡¯s hand lifted to place air quotes around the word travelers. ¡°Seeing as the game didn¡¯t care that a player got what amounts to an administrative job, does that mean anyone can get any job in the game?¡± I asked, my mind picturing someone trying to take over one of the governments in-game. He shrugged. ¡°Maybe. I doubt we will know until someone takes over, or doesn¡¯t. But, that is enough of that. Do you have any questions on the quest itself?¡± ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t three gold per boar a bit much?¡± ¡°Well, one,¡± Michael said as he lifted one finger up. ¡°The quest is for usable meat. That means no poisoning, burning, or otherwise turning in meat that cannot be used as an ingredient. Two.¡± He lifted another finger. ¡°They are a bitch to hunt.¡± I lifted my eyebrow at that. If he considered it annoying to hunt these things, how would I fare? ¡°Did you think the word Effervescent is in their name just because it sounded cool? The things never stop running. Which wouldn¡¯t be an issue except the damn things have a ton of mass in a tiny package.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Imagine a hog as long as Michael is tall yet weighing twice as much,¡± Jeremiah called back. ¡°Okay, so not so tiny.¡± Michael rolled his eyes. ¡°But the things still pack a punch.¡± ¡°That they do,¡± Jeremiah said as he slowed a bit to join us. ¡°But I think I will stay in the back again.¡± Victor joined in on the conversation. ¡°You mean you will stay out of the way and keep from casting anything, right? We don¡¯t need a repeat of the harvest festival.¡± Jeremiah¡¯s body shuddered at some memory. ¡°You don¡¯t have to remind me. Do you know how long it took for me to remove the mud from my entire body? I didn¡¯t even know you could get mud in some of those places.¡± Victor held his hands up in mock surrender. ¡°Agreed, thank you very much.¡± Michael¡¯s lips were curled up in a smile as he continued. ¡°And three, boar meat is tasty as hell. The stalls that sell it will make a killing. Even paying that much per boar won''t make much of a dent in their profits.¡± ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± I asked, figuring they already had a plan for this hunt. ¡°Oh, for the most part, each of us kills our own,¡± Lance stated from where he stood. He was the happiest I had seen him since I met the wolfman. ¡°We kind of make a game of it,¡± Michael said. ¡°I think Patric still holds the number one spot on our team for the cleanest kill.¡± ¡°I would also have the fastest if not for Jeremiah creating a river of mud out of the hill we were on,¡± Patric grumbled. ¡°I thought I said to not remind me of that.¡± ¡°You were not the only one that spent hours cleaning mud out of their ass.¡± Patric snapped back. ¡°Try being the one sliding down the mudslide from hell.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just vanish into the shadows, or whatever you do,¡± I asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work like that,¡± Patric answered. ¡°I can¡¯t enter a shadow while I am moving. Or at least, I couldn¡¯t at the time. Not being able to get out of that mess was one of the reasons I worked so hard to level up that skill.¡± ¡°I get that leveling up skills can increase what they are able to do, but how does one go about leveling them?¡± While I had already leveled a few, I was fairly sure that those levels had been more luck than anything else. I needed to figure out the trick to leveling them now so I could get them as high as possible as fast as possible. ¡°By just using them,¡± Patric shrugged. Before I could demand he tell me more, Michael spoke up. ¡°I am sure that one of your teachers has told you this, but you just need to find the skills limits and push them. Need more range, train that skill in such a way that you have to stretch it just past its limits every time. Eventually, that skill will level up.¡± ¡°But that makes no sense.¡± I practically whined at the difference between this game¡¯s answer to skills compared to others. ¡°That would mean that each skill is different for each player. How would anyone be able to teach another player a skill or work together to do something?¡± ¡°You are right that each skill is unique to each player,¡± Michael said, his head nodding once. ¡°But it is not as big a deal as you would think. If one person went for range and another went for power, they would get both, albeit, not as much. Someone focusing on power would always have more power in their skill than the one going for range. But it''s only something like five or so percent.¡± He waved the difference off like it was nothing. Without warning, Lance stopped. His hand lifted up as the ears on the top of his head twitched. Looking around, I realized just how far from town we had managed to make it while talking. Michael¡¯s voice was soft as he asked, ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Six, maybe seven,¡± Lance responded just as quietly. ¡°Fairly spread out.¡± As one, the group slowly made their way up the hill. I followed them as well as I could, but even I could tell that I was making a ton of noise. Thankfully, no one said a word. All of their attention was on the hairy pigs on the other side of the hill. There were five that I could see. ¡°Where is the¡­¡± I started. It was Victor who pointed to a rock that jutted out of the ground of the valley below. Two hairy asses poked out from behind the rock. Michael pointed at the two and gestured to himself and Linda. He then pointed at the isolated one nearest those two and gestured to me. I ignored the rest of his orders. Choosing to focus on my target instead. It wasn¡¯t the smallest in the group, nor was it the biggest. Those went to Linda and Michael respectively. Not that it mattered. If I could hit something vital then it would go down no matter what size it was. However, if I was the one that got hit in the exchange, even if it was by the small one, I would probably die. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michael hold up a hand with three fingers. Likely counting down so that none of us spooked the group too early. Wait, no, that wasn¡¯t right. If anything, it was more likely that he was counting down so that no one cheated. Not that it mattered to me. All I cared about was killing that boar. As he dropped his second to last finger, I formed and cast my Body Fortification spell with as much power as I could. It activated just as the rest started to move. My footing was poor. Not that I should have expected different. It was a dirt hill, not a sidewalk that I was running down. Still, I nearly tripped multiple times on my way down. The only thing that kept me going was my enhanced reflexes. Reflexes that were being powered by a spell that was sucking the mana out of me at a visible rate. As I got closer, I pulled out my sword. A plan formed in my head on how to hit it. Too bad for me, the creature wasn¡¯t willing to stay still and wait for me to attack. Its head lowered to point its two curved tusks in my direction and it charged. I managed to deflect the tusk pointed at my gut, but it went in the wrong direction. Its head turned in the direction I forced it. The other tusk cut through my shirt like it was paper as it rammed into my side. The head kept moving. Digging the tusk in further as the force of the impact lifted me off my feet. It felt like someone was digging away at my insides with a fucking spoon. Grinding against my bones as it tried to break them. The pain was more than I had felt so far in this game. I probably screamed as I used what little force I could muster to stab at the damn beast. Seconds or hours later, the beast was on the ground, finally dead. Its face was cut into ribbons, for what little good it did me. The killing cut was the one Patric had delivered to its jugular. If one didn¡¯t think about it too hard, the cut almost looked like the creature''s neck simply had a wide smile. The thought of a boar smiling nearly caused me to laugh. I mean, how would a boar even smile? Why would it smile? Why was I thinking about a boar smiling again? Why was Linda practically pouring her magic down my throat? I couldn¡¯t be that hurt. I mean the creature only managed to hit me one time after all. And what was with Michael yelling at me from his position nearby? ¡°Are you a fucking idiot? What in the hell possessed you to charge straight in?¡± As her healing replaced some of the blood loss I realized just how loopy I had been. Looking back I saw just how close to death I had been. With a resigned groan, I answered him. ¡°I thought I could get in close enough, fast enough, to hit it before it could react.¡± ¡°That would be a good plan,¡± he agreed before shooting it down. ¡°If you were either faster or had better armor because that shirt and pants combination are shit.¡± No kidding. It had done nothing to stop the boar''s tusk. ¡°Do you have any other armor? Something with a bit more defense?¡± Linda asked, a bit of concern in her voice. Likely from the fact that she had to heal me from near death multiple times in less than twenty-four hours. Her question brought to mind the dress I had in my inventory. The only dress that I owned. The one I would never wear. Unfortunately for me, she must have seen something flit across my face. ¡°You do!¡± Her face went from glee to a combination of concern and confusion as she asked, ¡°But if you have something then why are you not wearing it? Death, even for you travelers, is not something you want to experience.¡± I adamantly shook my head. ¡°Nope. Not happening. I will not be wearing that thing.¡± ¡°You will wear it if you want to keep hunting with us.¡± Michael practically yelled in exasperation. ¡°Why?¡± I demanded. Not wanting to give in. ¡°Because you do not want to experience death. Even if you were to get over all the lost experience and items, that place¡­¡± Michael paled and shook at whatever he was recalling of the experience. ¡°Suffice it to say, if we can stop someone from getting themselves killed, we will. No matter who it is or what sorts of deals we have.¡± Linda said as she set a hand on Michael¡¯s shoulder. ¡°But don¡¯t worry. When we get back to the town, we can get you something that will work for next time.¡± So, I was being given a choice. Give up on participating in this quest and watch them, or put on the dress. You would think the answer would be easy. There would always be next time. If I knew what direction town was, I could just head back now and get something myself. Maybe make it back out to kill a boar before it got too dark. But no, I had no clue which direction we had gone. I just knew that we had taken a few random turns as Lance tracked the creatures. ¡°You don¡¯t have to decide now,¡± Jeremiah spoke as he picked his way down the hill. ¡°It took us a bit longer to get out here, and, as far as I know, you haven¡¯t had anything to eat. So why don¡¯t we cook some lunch while you make up your mind?¡± The memory of whatever was on the other side of death''s door must have been more taxing than I realized because Michael collapsed on the ground at the idea. His head nodded as he sat there, his face pale and his breathing was ragged but deep. Linda didn¡¯t look like she was willing to leave him to go cook food. Being the gentleman I was, and wanting to get a bit more practice, I offered to cook lunch. Who cared that I would be treating this group like guinea pigs as they would be the first people to taste my cooking? Hell, maybe I would add a touch more salt to Michael¡¯s food. He deserved it. Bestiary Entry - Effervescent Boars Name: Effervescent Boars Type: Creature - Physical Hostility: Aggressive Rarity: Uncommon Description: Six feet long and not unlike boars from Earth. Where they differ is in their tusks, mass, and hair. Their tusks are curved so that, when their heads are lowered, they will stab into their target. Given their extra dense muscles, getting hit by these creatures is not something that most people can walk away from. If that wasn¡¯t the worst part. Their hair is as strong enough to deflect most attacks directed at it. Add all that to a creature that has the energy to run for days and you get this beast. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Where can it be found: They wander in large herds. Marching across the continent with the season. XP reward: 25 XP per creature level Typical Levels: Found in levels ranging from 15 to 30 Danger Level: Alone: Low-Moderate In a group: High-Moderate Harvestable Materials: Bones Tusk Leather Fur Meat Attacks: Charge Gore Slash Stomp Chomp First Discovered: 03/25/918 First Interaction: 03/25/918 First Kill: 03/25/918 ChatGPT Generated Image: Chapter 46 - To Dress or Not to Dress It was a good thing I had gone shopping for ingredients and other items yesterday. I needed more than I had thought. Plus there had been quite a few good deals going on. Thankfully I managed to get quite a bit of bunny meat. I mean, the stuff was cheap and the AI said it would go great in a stew. But that wasn¡¯t the thing that had me practically salivating right now. No, that would be the pieces of steak that sat in my inventory. Each of which was large enough to cover Michael¡¯s hand, and nearly as thick. It helped that the instructions the AI gave me to cook them looked stupidly simple, which made it the best thing for me to try. As I took seven pieces out and placed them onto the cutting board, small pools of blood started to seep out of each piece. Seeing as how the instructions said nothing about this, I had to assume it was normal and ignored it. Next came some olive oil. Or at least the oil that was closest to olive oil that my AI could find in the market. Not that it guaranteed anything. According to it, it could only go off of look and viscosity given the lack of any other information. I rubbed it into the steaks one at a time. I took my time to make sure to get the entire surface before moving on. I practically poured the salt and pepper onto the steaks. Rubbing them in as much as I could, which left my hands raw as hell. A bit of magic and water fixed those right off as well as got me ready for the next step. Searing. My new stove was nice. It was like the one in my room in the way that it could accept mana directly and didn¡¯t require any mana stones or wood to work. Add to that the iron skillet, and I was ready to travel. Following the instructions closely, I let the skillet warm up while adding a tiny bit of oil to the pan. As soon as the pan was too hot for my hand to get close, I dropped the first steak in. It sounded as if someone was running a bubbler in a fish tank on full blast. The oil burned as it touched my hand but I refused to back away. Nothing was going to get between me and my steak. As I flipped the steak over, I dropped a small amount of butter into the pan as well as a tiny dollop of Linda¡¯s secret sauce. I mean, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to add it, would it? Now, I just had to baste the steak. Who came up with that term? All it meant was to ladle the liquid out of the pan and onto the item being cooked. Why couldn¡¯t they just call it something like ladleing, or something else? Then again, did it really matter? The only thing that mattered to those eating the meal was the end result. Of which, my steak was a failure. The moment I basted the steak, it blackened, shriveled, and turned into a brick. It looked almost like it was a piece of charcoal in the shape of a steak. Grumbling in frustration at the failure, I tossed the mess on the ground and tried again. Again, the steak turned into a useless lump of charcoal. This time though, Linda saw me dump the food and made her way over to see what I was doing. ¡°Steaks?¡± She asked after looking over my setup. I nodded as I went to baste yet another piece. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her face scrunch up in confusion as she watched the piece blacken the moment I basted it. ¡°What are you basting it with?¡± ¡°Butter and the sauce I got from you,¡± I said, not seeing any issue with either. She took the skillet and spoon from me as she gestured me back. ¡°Let me.¡± Her arms moved fairly fast as she turned off the stove and moved over to the steaks. Mixing a bunch of liquids, including a red liquid I recognized, and spices in a bowl before rubbing the resulting paste onto the remaining steaks. ¡°Do you happen to have three more pieces?¡± Without saying a word, I passed the requested pieces over. She must not have liked me standing there, watching her work because she waved an oil-covered hand at me. Effectively shooing me away. ¡°Go practice your sword or something. It will be a little while before lunch anyway.¡± I was getting sick of being dismissed by people. Where was the harm in letting me stand here and watch? Maybe then I would learn how to cook. Maybe then I wouldn¡¯t ruin so much food. Not that I would argue with her. Not when she had just saved my life. Without the distraction that was cooking, I was now forced to think about what Michael had said. His ultimatum. The decision on if I would wear the dress or not. I wandered a short distance away and found a nice dry patch of grass to lie down on. As I looked up at the sky, I ran the options through my mind over and over. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I did so, it boiled down to whether or not I was willing to waste an entire day following people around or not. My answer to that was I didn¡¯t, but I also didn¡¯t want to wear the damned thing. At least not where others could see it. Maybe I could just ask the group to keep it between us. Even if they did let it slip, I could probably pay for someone to help me get to the next town. It would be harder to level as everything would be way out of my skill range, but it wasn¡¯t the first time I had done something similar. ¡°Lunch,¡± Linda called out. As I stood up, I found the rest of the group was already grabbing plates. As I grabbed mine and started to cut the pieces up, I spoke just loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°I will agree to wear the piece of armor but only under one condition.¡± ¡°What would that be?¡± Victor spoke as he took another bite of his already-decimated steak. Linda whacked the back of his head but looked at me expectantly. She clearly wanted to ask the same question, though maybe with a bit more tact. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°All I ask is that you tell no one about the damned thing,¡± I said before taking a bite of my steak. The thing was soft and so juicy. It made me wonder if I could afford to eat steak every day because if I could, I would pay someone to teach me how to make it like this. ¡°We are good with that,¡± Jeremiah spoke from where he was standing. ¡°Must be something pretty damn rare for you to want to keep it hidden.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that.¡± I shot at him. He was acting as if he knew me but I doubted it. He put his silverware onto his plate and held up his hand in surrender. ¡°Hey, I meant nothing by it. It would be the only reason I could see myself doing what you are is all.¡± He wasn¡¯t wrong, but that didn¡¯t mean I liked it. Especially considering how wrong he was. Well, wrong and right. God, I hated the fact that my best and rarest piece of equipment was the damn dress. Suddenly, I didn¡¯t feel good showing them this thing, either they would make fun of me or start hitting on me. The very idea of either was enough to turn my stomach. I had to force myself to continue to eat as I knew I would need the energy. As I finished, I waited for everyone else to do the same. I didn¡¯t have to wait long. Each of them were interested in seeing just what I was keeping hidden from everyone. Hell, I would probably had better luck keeping the thing under wraps if I didn¡¯t work so hard to hide it. I pulled in a long, deep breath before I pulled the dress out of my inventory. It had returned to a pure white color. They all looked at it, trying to figure out what it was or what it was made out of. I thought that Linda would have been the first to call out the fact it was a dress, but Victor surprised everyone. ¡°It¡¯s a dress, isn¡¯t it.¡± We all looked at him. ¡°What, I have three sisters. Don¡¯t you think they would drag me with them on shopping trips?¡± ¡°I sometimes forget that you were not an only child,¡± Jeremiah scoffed, ¡°you sure as hell don¡¯t act like it.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± He shot back. To be honest, I was curious too. Anything to keep the attention off the dress in my hand. Unfortunately, Linda didn¡¯t seem to care about their bickering. After setting her plate down on the table next to mine, she reached a hand out to inspect the dress. Feeling the fur and how easily the fabric bent and moved. Everyone was watching her as she moved on to stabbing the material with a knife. ¡°What is this made out of?¡± She finally asked as her eyes glinted with greed and jealousy. I took a glance at the dress''s information before answering. ¡°Moonlight Fox Fur.¡± The group, as one, whistled. ¡°And here I was thinking you were hiding it because it was a dress,¡± Jeremiah said. ¡°No, no, that was exactly why I was hiding it.¡± I rushed out, not wanting them to get the wrong impression, I continued, ¡°It was a gift from someone who thought I was a girl in need of clothes.¡± ¡°Why would someone think that you needed clothing?¡± Michael asked. His eyes squinting at me. ¡°Because I got my ass kicked by a veritable horde of bunnies,¡± I said, rolling my eyes. ¡°They tore my one outfit to ribbons. The group took me shopping and demanded I try on dress after dress. Even after I told them I was a guy.¡± Now that I thought back on that day, I felt bad for the girls I had yelled at. They didn¡¯t deserve that. Maybe when I got back I would look for them and apologize. ¡°The dress should work, but only if you put it on.¡± Linda helpfully pointed out. Likely wanting to see me in the thing. Looking at the rest of the group, I found that, while each had a different emotion, each was mixed, to varying degrees with curiosity. ¡°Fine, but I''m going to go change over there.¡± I gestured to the large rock that had nearly blocked two of the boars from sight. It would be large enough for me to get changed without everyone''s eyes on me. No one argued. If anything, Linda looked angry at the insinuation that any of them might spy on me getting changed. I took that as my queue and made my way around the rock and out of sight. Getting undressed was easy, if chilly. Granted, the sun was up and spring was working its way into the world, but that didn¡¯t mean that winter had given up its grip quite yet. Even with the chill present, I hesitated when it came time to put on the dress. This would be the first time I had ever willingly put a dress on and shown others what I looked like. Sure there had been times that I had put it on, but those times could be attributed to peer pressure. Here, no one had demanded that I show them the dress. They only told me that I couldn¡¯t keep fighting without armor. I had been the one to agree to this course. An icy blast of air caused the few hairs I had on my body to stand on end as my skin broke out in goosebumps. Not wanting to catch a cold, I closed my eyes and slipped the dress over my head. Letting its weight pull it down until it finally settled into place. With my eyes closed, I took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the rock. No one said a word. No sounds of hitched breaths or words of ridicule. Nothing from the group that should be even now looking at me. Let me tell you, the lack of noise was unsettling as hell. Unable to stand it any longer, I opened my eyes and looked at them. Each of them stood there, stunned. All of the guys except for Michael looked like they couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing. Michael looked impressed but otherwise uninterested. Linda, she was hard to get a read on. It was like her emotions were rapidly flipping between awe, jealousy, and irritation. ¡°Any of your sisters ever look that good in a dress?¡± Jeremiah asked Victor. He responded with a simple shake of his head. Not that his answer mattered. Jeremiah¡¯s question had served to break the silence. As one, the group acted like what I was wearing made no difference. ¡°Victor, Jeremiah,¡± Linda called the two of them out before they disappeared. ¡°Since you both seem to have so much energy, why don¡¯t you both clean up after lunch.¡± While they both muttered, they did as she bade. ¡°After they are done, we will head off to the next group,¡± Michael added as Linda walked toward me. While she was close enough to talk without having to raise our voices over the noise the two guys were making as they cleaned, she asked a simple question. ¡°Have you ever fought in a dress?¡± I shook my head. ¡°No, though I did fight in a skirt if that counts.¡± ¡°Not really.¡± She said with a sigh of annoyance. ¡°Just means you need to practice a bit before we head out.¡± Looking over at the two guys, she was just in time to see Victor flick a bit of soap at Jeremiah. ¡°Knowing those two, you have time.¡± She gestured for Patric to come toward us as she continued, ¡°Work with Patric here on your sword forms. Focus on how the dress bunches differently. Try to adjust your stances and movements until it feels natural and isn¡¯t affected by the fabric.¡± As I nodded in understanding, she left us to get to work. As Patric got closer, he raised an eyebrow. Taking a second, I let him know what she wanted me to work on and why. Without a word, he pulled a sword out and gestured for me to do the same. His eyes tracked me as I moved through my first set of movements. As I started the second set, he joined me. On top of copying the movements after only seeing them one time, he was more fluid than I was. As if he had been doing them for as long as Barti. To say I was jealous of his skill was an understatement. My teeth ground together as I vowed to get to that point myself someday. Chapter 47 - Upgradability If I thought that fighting in a skirt was bad, then dresses were hell. The one I had on actively constricted my knees. It prevented me from being able to separate them more than a foot or so. It was nowhere near the amount of movement I was used to having. I would have to either find a way to add a slit or run around with feet moving like Charlie Brown. Then we have the sections that actively constricted my chest. It hugged my skin and helped force it into a shape I wished it wouldn¡¯t. A shape that was fine until one tried to work out and needed to breathe. I found this out when I nearly passed out from a lack of air. I only managed to get enough air by practically panting. So, let us go over what this dress was doing to me. It was limiting my movement as well as preventing me from taking a single deep breath. Oh, and the skirt part kept fluttering in the wind. Which of course threatened to tangle my legs or show off parts of my lower half that I would rather it didn¡¯t. But hey, at least I was safer from the creatures and weapons in this place. Yeah, I was not sure it was worth it. Not given how the guys keep shooting glances at me when they think I was not paying attention. Out of all of them, Lance¡¯s looks are the most confusing. His face was a mix of pity, anger, and want. Not a combination I wanted looking at me. At least not by him. Not after what he had tried to do. ¡°Ok,¡± Linda called out to me from where she had been sitting. ¡°Come put your stuff away so we can get going.¡± Panting up a storm, I simply nodded as I put my sword away. Thankfully, everything I had taken out was stacked neatly on the table. It took mere moments to put everything into my inventory. All set, I looked around to find that most of them were already walking up to the top of the hill to join Lance. Only Linda stood at the base of the hill where she watched and waited for me. ¡°Are you ready to try this again?¡± She asked as we started up the hill. ¡°I would have been ready with or without the dress,¡± I said as my eyes rolled. ¡°It is the rest of you that refuse to let me do so without armor.¡± ¡°We already went over why that is. Anyway, blatantly switching topics to something more important, are you going with anyone to the spring festival?¡± Her question startled me enough that it took a second for me to answer her. ¡°Not really, why?¡± ¡°Is there really no one that would be willing to go with you? Maybe a significant other or close friend?¡± When I heard the word friend an image of Xander popped into my head. While he wasn¡¯t much of a people person, he understood that staying cooped up was bad for one''s mental health. As such, he would have practically dragged me with him to this event. She must have noticed something as she said, ¡°Oh, who was that that you were thinking of?¡± ¡°Just a friend,¡± I replied as I started to wonder what the guy was doing right now. She kept going, ¡°A guy friend or girl friend?¡± ¡°A guy,¡± She wasn¡¯t going to drop this unless I forced her to. ¡°How about you?¡± Her expression was enough to ask the question, ¡®Are you really asking that?¡¯ Yeah, probably not the best question to ask to force the conversation off me and onto her. I was worried that she would ignore my question and pester me about Xander, but then she sighed, ¡°While I will be going with the guys, it won''t be until later.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°My dad is making me join him in the morning. Something about father-daughter time. So annoying. It¡¯s like he doesn¡¯t want me to have a life. It would be one thing if he asked, but no, he demanded I join him.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you refuse?¡± She groaned, ¡°Did that once, it did not go over well.¡± Before I could ask what she meant by that, Lance held up his hand. His ears had likely found our next targets. As quietly as I could, I hurried to the rest of the group where Michael was already giving his instructions. ¡°Patric, you take out the one on the left. Kyren, you get the one in the middle. Linda and I will take the farthest two.¡± I glanced around the rock we were hiding behind. We were once again on a hill. Halfway down it was my target. It was the smallest boar of the group, likely the youngest, but that also meant it was more than likely nimbler than the rest. Michael held up his hand, counting down again. At two, I pulled out my sword. Took as deep of a breath as I could before letting it out just as he signaled for us to move. The group sprinted past me as we charged. Their strides made the trip easier and faster for them. As for me, I was pretty sure I looked like Charlie Brown as I made my way to my target. Just as I got close enough to slash, the beast charged me. As I had expected, it moved fast. While I had been prepared for the extra speed, I didn¡¯t expect it to be so much faster. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t fast enough to get out of the path of my sword. Both of my sides are hit by the tusks as its head rammed into my stomach with enough force to pick me up off my feet. Luckily, my blade was well on its way toward its target. With the added momentum granted by the beast''s powerful strike, my sword cut into its back. Somehow it even managed to cut deep into its spine. Going deep enough to nearly bisect a few of the vertebrae. The strike must have done quite a bit of damage to the nerves inside because the creature roared as it collapsed. Our combined momentum caused it to drag its belly across the dirt for a good half dozen feet. As the creature had been holding me up as it tried to drive its tusks into my stomach, I found myself dropping to the ground. My feet scrambled to keep me standing as images of my body getting smeared under the creature''s sliding bulk played through my mind. Finally, we came to a halt as I found my balance. Lying there in front of me, the creature groaned and whined. Likely in fear as it found itself unable to move. It was at my mercy. I could do anything to it and there was nothing it could do. I knew it and it knew it. I could let it slowly bleed out or even drag its living body back to the guild, but I didn¡¯t. Out of respect for the thing, I ended its life as painlessly as I could. With a quick cut, I sliced its throat open. Its blood flowed out onto the ground while I watched. When it finally breathed its last, I took stock of my injuries. My middle hurt like a bitch. It felt like someone had decided to use my stomach and sides as punching bags. Though, at least this time I wasn¡¯t bleeding. In fact, the dress seemed like it was just fine, even after taking a direct strike from the creature. Which confused me. If the dress was supposed to act as armor, why did I take damage while the dress seemed just fine? Jeremiah, likely checking on me now that the fight was done, joined me. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± ¡°Just a few bruises,¡± I answererd. ¡°Yeah,¡± he sighed, ¡°It is one of the downsides of having flexible armor.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± He shot me a look that questioned my intelligence as he answered. ¡°No matter how strong a piece of fabric is, it will still bend when struck. It may stop a blade, or tusk,¡± he gestured at the creature, ¡°But it will never stop all the damage from making it through. It is the downside to having armor with so much freedom of motion.¡± I felt stupid after he explained it. It made sense. Hell, now that I thought about it, every armor type only negated some of the damage. Rarely was there any sort of armor that prevented everything from even one type. With a nod in understanding, I got to work packing the beast away. Five hours, and three more boars, later, we started back for the city. My stomach felt like it was twisted. If I didn¡¯t know better, I would have thought that I had some sort of monster trying to torture me. As we walked, I kept one of my hands clenched in an effort to at least distract myself from the pain, if not dull it. Add to that the lack of talking coming from me, it was inevitable that one of the group would notice. Linda, ever the healer, was the one to notice. ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°Just peachy,¡± I said through gritted my teeth. I know. I shouldn¡¯t lie to the group''s healer but I had come this far. I had even managed to pull my weight this time. I didn¡¯t want to look weak and pitiful so close to the end. ¡°Tsk,¡± She shook her head as she grabbed my open hand. I felt it as a pulse of magic flowed up the arm and into me as she did something. ¡°Ah, I see the issue.¡± Her hand let mine go as she pulled something out of her inventory. Offering it to me as she continued. ¡°It looks to be from something you ate. While I don¡¯t have the skills to heal it, this should hold you over until we get to town.¡± I took the proffered item. It was a round ball about an inch in diameter. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked as I tried to get a better look. The setting sun''s light that through through it made the orb glow red with gold striations. ¡°Just a family recipe for a healing potion.¡± ¡°But it''s solid.¡± ¡°Nope, just the outer layer.¡± She gestured for me to eat it. I still hesitated. My hand squeezed it and found that the skin was firm, yet pliable. ¡°Makes potions easier to use. No need to fumble with corks or glass bottles. Just pop it into your mouth, bite down, and swallow.¡± Finally, I gave in and did as she said. Popping the orb into my mouth. However, instead of biting down on it and letting the liquid go everywhere, I carefully nipped it with one of my canines. I must have scored enough of the way through the skin because liquid oozed out. It was as thick as honey and nearly as sweet. However, there was a bit of heat that seemed to follow after it. It wasn¡¯t a burning heat, but something that felt comforting. As soon as it reached my stomach, the pain ebbed as the muscles unclenched. For the first time in an hour, my middle didn¡¯t hurt. The relief must have been evident on my face because she spoke as she held out something that looked a lot like a piece of jerky. ¡°Healing is good and all, but it tends to burn a ton of energy. I would recommend eating anytime you heal, no matter how minor the injury.¡± Just before I took a bite of the jerky, I asked, ¡°So what is the plan for tomorrow?¡± She shrugged. ¡°Depends on what your teachers want to do. It will likely be more combat training. Maybe with groups this time so that you can get used to working with someone and fighting multiple opponents.¡± ¡°How would that work?¡± I asked out of curiosity. ¡°The way I would do it is to have you going against a group of two. Both would have to be somewhat limited in what they can do to give you a chance. For example, one could be focused on support while the other is only allowed to focus on fighting.¡± That would be interesting and would represent the most basic team out there, other than solo people like me that is. ¡°Then working our way to more and more complex team compositions until you are able to handle being dropped into a battle and have no issue adapting to the situation. So that you can at least survive long enough to get away, or if that is impossible, long enough for help to arrive.¡± That plan sounded like it would take quite a few people. ¡°Do we have enough people or room to do all that?¡± I asked while imagining our entire group trying to fight in the circle Barti had drawn in the training room. While the thing was large, it couldn¡¯t be large enough for such a fight. ¡°Nope,¡± She shook her head. ¡°We will likely have to rent the guild arena or come outside of town for most of the larger fights.¡± Hah, that meant we wouldn¡¯t be able to use the circle Barti set up. I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the ambient mana dropping for no reason. As we approached the gate, I noticed that people kept giving us odd looks. It wasn¡¯t until we were crossing the gate that I realized why. I was still wearing the damn dress. Fucking hell, of all the things to forget, it had to be that. Maybe if I could find an empty alley or bathroom, I could get changed before any of those three saw me. The moment I thought that, Mindi and Tindi walked out of what looked to be a sweets shop. I don¡¯t know why, but their eyes snapped and locked onto look at our group. It was as if they knew exactly where we were going to be. Not wanting to be seen, I put Michael and Jeremiah between us. While this worked, it also meant I couldn¡¯t see where they were. ¡°Hey, where is Kyren.¡± Tindi¡¯s brusque tone came from the other side of the group. The group as a whole turned to look at me. They didn¡¯t even give me time to move away or say something before, as one, they moved enough for the two of them to see me. ¡°Huh?¡± came Mindi¡¯s soft voice while Tindi asked, ¡°Nice trick. Seriously though. Where is he?¡± Linda shot me a look while Patric simply said, ¡°That is Kyren. Turns out he can pass as one hell of a chick if he tries.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t try.¡± I countered on reflex only to instantly realize just what I said. Both Mindi¡¯s and Tindi¡¯s mouths dropped open in shock. Patric, Jeremiah, and Victor looked to be trying hard to not burst out in a fit of laughter. My face burned in embarrassment. I wanted to run but my feet felt like they were locked in place somehow. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, Barti strolled out of the shop. His eyes lifted as his eyes locked onto our group, and more importantly, onto me. ¡°Destroyed all your clothes already?¡± I didn¡¯t know if I should be annoyed or happy that he recognized me even while I wore the dress. ¡°No,¡± I tried to defend myself by shifting the blame onto the people around me. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t let me hunt with them without armor.¡± ¡°So, you put on a dress?¡± His eyes traveled up and down the dress. ¡°It was all I had.¡± ¡°Why do you own a dress?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask,¡± I muttered, likely sounding like a petulant child. ¡°Well, seeing as you have it and it is strong enough to count as decent armor, you will be training in it from now on.¡± His tone was one that said the decision was final. Still, I tried to argue. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°If you can learn to fight in a dress, you can handle fighting in almost any other form of clothing.¡± Fuck, he wasn¡¯t wrong but that didn¡¯t mean I wanted to listen. Unfortunately for me, everyone around me, save Lance, all looked at me. Many of which shook their heads. It seemed like I was not going to be able to get out of this. I let out a growl of frustration at the thought and idea of being forced to train in the stupid thing. Finally, whatever had been holding my feet was gone, letting me get away from the group and to my room where I wouldn¡¯t have to put up with anyone staring at me. Unfortunately for me, the moment I passed through the guild door a familiar dwarven voice called out my name. ¡°Kyren!¡± Turning, I found the person in question leaning on the far side of the counter. While the other attendants looked busy and had lines, she was on her own. ¡°A merchant dropped off a few things for yah earlier.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Seeing as there was only one merchant I had an outstanding order with, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what they had delivered. Figuring it was too little too late to hide the dress from her or anyone else here, I walked over to the desk. She wasted no time walking to the back and bringing me a few items. ¡°One leather sheath and three pairs of simple leather pants.¡± She said as she passed the items over. The sight of the sheath reminded me about Shizukana Arashi¡¯s status and how a section was locked due to damage. This was the last item needed to repair the Chisa Katana, that section would now be open. With a bit of effort, I held off from doing so right now. After all, who knew what I would find in the skill tree? I would just have to wait until I got up to my room. ¡°I have a quest I would like to turn in,¡± I said as I held out the bag that contained the Effervescent Boar bodies. She took a second to look each over. Going so far as to pull each out and check the wounds before finally nodding. ¡°They look good. Give me a minute to get your reward.¡± The dwarf turned and vanished through the door. While she was gone, I pulled up my current stats and gawked at the numbers. Either I was seeing things or this quest was more than a payday.
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Human
Level: 13
Class:
XP: 15801/16.9k
HP: 355/355
HP Regen: 13.5% (47.9) per hour*
MP: 280/280
MP Regen: 13% (36.4) per hour*
Current Ailments:
Current Buffs:
Last I checked, I was level 8. Going over the log, I found that those five boars were worth nearly seven thousand experience. Why? Because all but one was over level twenty. The knowledge nearly knocked me onto my ass. No wonder I nearly died when the first boar hit me. Hell, this dress likely carried me through each fight more than I had realized. Well, it and the rest of the group taking care of all the rest of the boars so that I could fight one on one. ¡°Ok,¡± Ginny said as she returned. I quickly closed the windows as I gave her, and the bag in her hand, my full attention. ¡°Here is your reward of fifteen gold. Is there anything else I can do to help you today?¡± I shook my head as I took the bag. ¡°No, thank you though.¡± As soon as I finished talking, she nodded and waved me off. Not willing to wait any longer, I hurried up the stairs and to my room. As soon as I entered, I pulled out my Chisa Katana and looked at its stats.
Weapon Name: Shizukana Arashi
Type: Single-Edged Blade
Specific Type: Chisa Katana
Rank: Uncommon
Range: Melee
Material: Folded Steel
Current Damage: 10 ¨C 100 HP*
Level: 13
XP: 15215/16.9k
Skills: None*
Durability: 148/150
Current Condition: Sheath ¨C Excellent Handle ¨C Excellent Blade ¨C Excellent
Requirements: A blade-related skill LVL 2 or greater Or User named Kyren
Description: This weapon excels at short-range combat. This blade¡¯s previous wielder poured their heart and soul into practicing with this weapon. As this blade took the lives of their enemies, it absorbed the knowledge. Nudging its wielder in times of need. Kyren, take care of this weapon and it will take care of you. Also, you will find that this weapon is best used with both hands, though you can use one if necessary.
Sure enough, the skills section was no longer locked. In fact, a pair of windows popped up alongside the first. The first listed various skills I could purchase. It looked very similar to the one I could use to purchase player skills. Only this page included more information for each. Going so far as to include mana cost, cooldown, and activation time. All of which would make deciding what skills to purchase easier. While this page was interesting, it was nothing compared to the last page. A page that included ways to upgrade the weapon. Something that, based on the fact that some of the options had the word used in the uses column, was already partially used.
Level Up Option: Description: Level: Uses:
3 Points Gain 3 Extra Points to spend on skills. 1 Unlimited
Material Upgrade (Iron to Steel) Upgrade the Weapons Material Level. 5 Used
Material Upgrade (Steel to Folded Steel) Upgrade the Weapons Material Level. 7 Used
Material Upgrade (Folded Steel to Magical Iron) Upgrade the Weapons Material Level. 10 1
Mana Infused Able to infuse your mana into the weapon to add elemental effects. 3 1
Blade Self Repair Blade slowly repairs itself using mana. 10 1
Blade Self Sharpen Blade slowly sharpens itself using mana. 7 1
Soul Bind Binds the weapon to your soul. It will return to your inventory after being left for 5 minutes. PERMANENT! 13 1
Spine Strengthening Strengthens the spine so that it can catch and deflect attacks. Counters Blue Spine. 1 Unlimited
Blue Spine Makes the spine more flexible so that the blade can absorb damage. Counters Spine Strengthening. 1 Unlimited
¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­
Reset Lose one point to remove all blade options and skills minus permanent and material upgrades. 10 Unlimited (Used 1 Time)
There were quite a few more options, but the last one caught my eye. It explained why the weapon had no skills and upgrades minus being materially upgraded to folded steel. Given that the weapon had been reset, I presumably had eleven level-up options to buy. The question was, what to spend them on. Soul Binding was an obvious one. As were self-repair, self-sharpening, and the material upgrade. As I purchased the material upgrade, the weapon started to light up. A dull orange-red color started at the edge of the weapon before expanding toward the spine. The metal looked like it was being heated up in a forge. The moment the entire blade had changed color, it darkened. Whereas the faux heating was gradual, this loss of color was instant and startling. As soon as I could see again, I noticed the change in the blade. An off-white metal made up the blade. There was no trace of the layer lines indicative of folded steel. Instead, it looked almost as if it had been made of the new metal since its initial forging. That left me with six more options to pick. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t as easy as choosing everything. While most of the ones at the top of the list were one-off purchases, the rest could be purchased an unlimited number of times. All of which could be useful at any time. Options to increase the weapon''s sharpness or durability. Then you had a few more complicated options. Mana Battery increased the amount of mana the sword could hold by a fixed, flat rate while Mana Battery+ increased it by a set percent. Given that I had no clue which way to go, I opted to leave the rest of my choices until at least after I gave the skills a closer look.
Skill: Level: Mana Cost: Activation Time: Time Limit: Cooldown: Point Cost:
Mana Slice 0 15 per cast 1 Swing NA 5 Seconds 2
Mana Blade 0 1 per second 10 Seconds 1 Minute 1 Minute 2
Double Strike 0 20 per cast 5 Seconds NA 5 Minutes 1
Crescent Moon Strike 0 10 per cast 5 Seconds NA 2 Minutes 1
Vorpal Strike 0 20 per cast 10 Seconds NA 5 Minutes 2
Cascading Strike 0 50 per cast 1 Second 10 Seconds 20 Minutes 5
Keen Edge 0 1 per 5 seconds 1 Second 1 Minute 2.5 Minutes 2
Meld 0 250 per cast 10 Seconds 25 Second 1 Day 5
While there were nowhere near as many skills as there were level-up options, they all looked pretty decent if used right. Well, all except for Meld. The description read ¡®Mentally become one with your blade.¡¯ Which made no sense. But then again, maybe I should ask Barti or someone about these skills before purchasing anything. Especially when you consider that I had only twenty-six points to spend on them. The last thing I did before going to sleep was to check out my weapons updated page.
Weapon Name: Shizukana Arashi
Type: Single-Edged Blade
Specific Type: Chisa Katana
Rank: Uncommon
Range: Melee
Material: Magical Iron
Current Damage: 25 ¨C 200 HP*
Level: 13
XP: 15215/16.9k
Skills: None*
Durability: 250/250
Current Condition: Sheath ¨C Excellent Handle ¨C Excellent Blade ¨C Excellent
Requirements: A blade-related skill LVL 2 or greater Or User named Kyren
Description: This weapon excels at short-range combat. This blade¡¯s previous wielder poured their heart and soul into practicing with this weapon. As this blade took the lives of their enemies, it absorbed the knowledge. Nudging its wielder in times of need. Kyren, take care of this weapon and it will take care of you. Also, you will find that this weapon is best used with both hands, though you can use one if necessary.
Weapon Upgrades: Soul Bound ¨C Kyren Vulpier Auto Repair Auto Sharpening
Chapter 48 - Shocking A minor headache decided to use the spot just behind my eyes as drums as it pounded out a beat to wake me up. ¡°Damn,¡± I muttered. ¡°What is going on with my body recently?¡± While I had never been the picture of healthy, especially when one considered what I was used to eating, I had never had any of these issues. ¡°Biomonitoring systems are detecting minor traces of toxins.¡± My AI¡¯s voice cut into my brain, it both startled me and caused my headache to flair up even more. My hands flew to cradle my head as I asked the stupid program, ¡°What do you mean traces of toxins?¡± ¡°Unknown, the system was not monitoring the game at the time.¡± Wasn¡¯t the system supposed to do that at all times? Something told me it was but I couldn¡¯t spare the energy to fight with the program right now. Instead, I took my time to slowly turn in and place my feet on the floor while I asked ¡°But it is monitoring it now?¡± ¡°The system constantly monitors your physical health,¡± its reply confused me. ¡°A protocol in the system must have been triggered to monitor your in-game health.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± I got out as I stood up and shuffled my way to the bathroom. ¡°Are you talking about a toxin in my game character or in my physical body?¡± ¡°In your avatar.¡± It was as if a small amount of weight suddenly lifted off my shoulders. I don¡¯t know why, but I had expected the AI to tell me that the game had somehow implanted a toxin in my physical body. Probably due to all the novels I had read about this kind of game and technology being used in similar, or worse, ways. ¡°Any idea on how long until the toxin is out of my body?¡± I asked as I moved to splash my face with cool water. ¡°Symptoms will pass within the day.¡± Ok, I could deal with that. Especially if this was the worst that I could expect over that time. It wasn¡¯t like I had anything dangerous or exciting planned for the day. Just training. After a quick shower and a simple breakfast made by yours truly, I made my way down to the training room. Mindi and Jeremiah stood nearly nose to nose in the middle of the room as they talked animatedly about something. ¡°I am telling you,¡± Mindi sounded like she considered the guy an idiot as she spoke. ¡°Pull directly from your mana pool and form the spell manually. You will find that it is both faster and more flexible.¡± ¡°That makes absolutely no sense.¡± He sounded like he was annoyed at something as his voice continued to grow louder. ¡°Calling a spell forth with a skill should be faster and more powerful considering the system is actively helping you.¡± ¡°No,¡± Mindi''s voice was nearly a growl as stomped her foot in annoyance, something I had never seen her do. ¡°Morning,¡± I cut in as I tried to stop the argument from escalating to a shouting match. They both whirled around to face me. ¡°Where is everyone else?¡± Mindi rolled her eyes while Jeremiah stated, ¡°On the other side of the walls getting the training area ready. But that¡¯s not all that important.¡± I raised an eyebrow at his declaration but didn¡¯t stop him. ¡°You need to help me convince this backward mage that using skills to cast spells is better than doing so manually.¡± ¡°I am not backward. You are the fucking idiot that thinks that anything he does is perfect and cannot be worse than another method.¡± I found myself acting like my mother did when another kid and I got into an argument. My hands lifted to placate them as I spoke. ¡°I am sure that both types have their strengths. I honestly wouldn¡¯t know and thus cannot say.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Jeremiah looked taken aback at my statement. ¡°You don¡¯t use skills to cast your spells?¡± With a shake of my head, I said, ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that you could use skills to cast spells. Anyway, we can talk and walk so would one of you lead the way to wherever we are supposed to meet the group.¡± With a step backward to get out of the doorway and make room for either of the two to take the lead. I watched and waited for a good minute as they glared at one another. Fed up, I growled out a question for both. ¡°What will Barti and Michael think when I tell them what took us so long to get out there?¡± That got both of them scrambling as their eyes became as wide as saucers. Not that I would have said anything to either Barti or Michael. And that was assuming they asked. Hell, even if they did, I could have feigned not feeling well and that it took me longer than normal to get down to the training room. But, neither of the two bozos in front of me knew that. Not with how fixated their brains had gotten on proving their casting method was better. They were both quiet until we stepped out of the building and onto the main road. ¡°What spells can you cast?¡± Mindi asked. I thought she was asking me but when I tried to answer, her elbow jabbed into my side, shutting me up. Jeremiah hesitated for a minute until finally saying, ¡°Air and water ball, gust, and a few other minor spells.¡± While I didn¡¯t know what spells he could cast, I knew that he could cast more than that. Mindi likely knew this as well, but she didn¡¯t force the answer out of him. ¡°How about this,¡± she had a gleam of an idea in her eyes that kind of scared me. ¡°You pick a couple of water spells of varying difficulty. Things not tied to your class. Then we both cast the spells one after another at a target. Whoever finishes first wins.¡± ¡°What do we win?¡± His eyes also seemed to gleam as the discussion went from a theoretical argument between mages to a challenging quest for a gamer. ¡°Depends on what you want.¡± She sounded nonplussed at his sudden change in attitude. ¡°How about Kyren.¡± His answer startled me and all I could get out was a ¡°Wait. What!?¡± I practically yelled at his price. One of the gate guards looked in our direction but otherwise did nothing as we passed through. A window popped up at that moment. Leaving Proxima. 25 silver deducted for toll. ¡°The toll went up again,¡± Jeremiah grunted before continuing his discussion of the reward he wanted. ¡°If I win, I want to take Kyren to the Spring Festival but he has to wear the dress.¡± ¡°No, absolutely not.¡± I cried out. Unfortunately for me, neither listened as Mindi uncharacteristically spoke over me. ¡°Agreed, but if I win, he goes with me.¡± ¡°Fuck both of you!¡± I yelled at the both of them. ¡°How about you guys wear the dress and I wear whatever the fuck I want!?¡± They both shot me a look that practically said to shut up. Annoyed and sick of the discussion, I let my mana flow out of me and into the ground ahead of us. It took me a matter of seconds to form the two spells I needed below the surface. As soon as they were within a foot of the two spots, I released the spells. Two pillars of fire erupted right in their path. The displaced stone and dirt flew up, peppering both of them with tiny rocks. While neither were all that hurt, it was still enough to get my displeasure through their obviously thick skulls. Or so I thought. They both shot me a glare but it was Jeremiah who spoke first. ¡°Keep that up and I might demand that we go shopping for something else for you to wear.¡± ¡°Oh, I was just going to demand that he put the dress on now.¡± She said before something occurred to her. A mischievous grin curled the corners of her mouth as she continued. ¡°In fact, didn¡¯t Barti say that you needed to wear the dress during training?¡± ¡°He did, but we are not in training right now. Merely walking to it.¡± I scoffed as I was annoyed that she remembered. ¡°So you are going to get dressed out here?¡± He asked. His eyes seemed to roam over my body. He was likely imagining what I would look like as I changed. It was a look that sent a shiver of distaste racing down my spine. I wanted to beat the guy''s ass for even thinking it. While I wasn¡¯t female and didn¡¯t have as much to hide when in a group of men, I was more than a little self-conscious of my body and their judging, wandering eyes. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I shook my head as an idea popped into my head. It wasn¡¯t a good idea, to be sure, but it was my only chance to stop this before it got any worse. This wasn¡¯t the time to step down. For all I knew, this was one of those times when their eyes and looks could be stopped with a simple demonstration. Showing them that I was truly what I said I was. As we crested a hill we found ourselves on a flat, dirt-covered, place. It was large enough for my old high school to host several sports games at one time without fear of interference or crowding. Oddly though, the place wasn¡¯t just dirt. Here and there, as well as forming the ring around the whole thing, were stones buried just enough to sit flush with the surface. Standing in the middle, Barti, Tindi, Victor, Lance, Patric, Linda, and Michael all waited. All of whom looked in our direction as Victor talked animatedly about something. Barti was the one to stop him as we got close enough to hear the group clearly. ¡°Where is your armor?¡± He spoke with a bit of annoyance at what he likely perceived as my ignoring his instructions. ¡°Let me get changed.¡± As I spoke every eye snapped in my direction. Some looked to be thinking they would get an eyeful of something while others looked concerned. I didn¡¯t care. Or at least I kept telling myself I didn¡¯t care. Maybe if I kept repeating it, it would become true. I didn¡¯t give myself any time to second guess my decision or hesitate as I started to strip. The moment my shirt went over my head, more than one pair of eyes looked at my chest. I don¡¯t know how I could tell, but I just knew that the girls were looking at my muscles while the guys were looking at my pecks. As I moved on, I tried to not react as I undid my pants and let them slip down my legs. I went so far as to intentionally let them catch on my boxers on their way down, revealing my junk to the whole group. With effort, I pushed my need to rush and fix my underwear to the side. Choosing instead to take my time as I reached for where the two were latched onto one another. When my boxers were released from their captor¡¯s grasp, I stood back up. It took only a moment for me to put everything away as I pulled the dress out of my inventory and dropped it over my head. It quickly settled into place. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Victor asked. His eyes looked like they were still glued to my lower half. Before I answered, I took a second to get a look at everyone''s reactions. Lance was as indifferent to me as ever. His tail sat still as he looked out into the distance. Barti had an eyebrow up as if he was asking me if I really needed to do that. Honestly, probably not but it was already done. No taking it back now. Linda, Mindi, and Tindi all had a bit of jealousy in their eyes. No clue why though. Each of them looked just as good in their own way. Michael, his eyes were full of heat, something I didn¡¯t expect. Though I was fairly sure Linda would kill him if he ever tried to act on it. Patric, on the other hand, was not as limited, and judging by the looks in his eyes, he was running through various scenarios in his head. Thankfully the last two, Victor and Jeremiah, looked like they had gotten the shock of a lifetime. They looked both horrified and disgusted. Which had been the reaction I had hoped to get from everyone. I shrugged as I answered Victor. ¡°I was told that I needed to wear the dress when training, not that I needed to wear it wherever I walked.¡± Most of them rolled their eyes, but all of them shifted their focus to Michael and Barti. ¡°I say we have him go against our wolf,¡± Michael stated. Something flickered across Mindi and Tindi¡¯s expressions at the word wolf. Before they could do or say anything, Barti spoke up. ¡°I don¡¯t see an issue with that. Into your positions, both of you.¡± Lance stayed quiet as he turned and walked toward a piece of stone halfway to the other side of the circle. It was made of a bright white material. As soon as I noticed it, I noticed the rest of them. Each was the same distance from each edge and the center. I was fairly sure that, if the circle was viewed from above, they would be evenly spaced. ¡°What does this circle do?¡± I asked as I started backing toward a stone opposite his. ¡°Just shields the rest of the world, and the viewers, from any stray magic. It also prevents outsiders from interfering with the match. Fair warning though, this one will not prevent you from dying so I wouldn¡¯t be stupid if I were you.¡± Linda stated. ¡°It is a similar spell to that used in every arena and coliseum in this kingdom.¡± With that, the group took the opportunity to get out of the circle as I jogged to my starting position. With a mental shake of my head, I cleared my head and focused on my opponent. I took a second to try and recall anything that I could about his fighting style. Unfortunately, no matter what, I couldn¡¯t seem to find anything concrete or useful in my memories. The only time I had gotten to see him fight was while we were killing bugs. During which he fought with knives or claws that appeared out of nowhere. Which meant I had no clue what weapons he used. As for his tactics. They were just as unknown because there were times that he brute forced his way through his opponents while other times he did some hit-and-runs. So, honestly, I was in the dark about my first opponent. The only things I knew were that he seemed to like up-and-close attacks and that he was part wolf. So useful when you were going to fight the guy. My only hope was to keep my distance and¡­suddenly a loud bell rang out from all around me. The very air shook as whatever it was announced its presence. While I was looking for the source, my eyes wandered a bit. By the time they went to check on my opponent, I realized he was no longer there. A moment later, something slammed into my side. I folded in half as the force of the hit sent me flying through the air. The sides of my left leg were the first things to touch the ground. They provided just enough drag to slow my lower half down and rotate my upper half forward. Within moments of being hit, my entire side was being dragged across the dirt and stone ground. ¡°Ow.¡± That was all I managed to get out before he was on me again. I watched as a clawed fist flew in my direction. It was aimed at my middle. Without time to think, I let my body do what it would. Mana gushed out of my center and into my limbs as I enhanced my body. My sword dropped into my hand already moving. Slicing through the air as I moved to block his strike. His claws and my sword met a shower of iridescent sparks. The color reminded me of a magnesium fire I had seen online. Only, videos could never seem to get across just how hot the damn stuff was. I could feel the sparks as they landed on my arms, even through the dress. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have time to check on my burns. I had to simply hope that they were not that bad or that the pieces of metal wouldn¡¯t light me on fire. He stood there as his claws ground against the edge of my sword. It was taking everything I had, enhanced and not, to keep him where he was. If I moved or let the enhancement spell fail, he would gain the upper hand. Likely even winning. So, I needed to do something now, before I ran out of mana. His position made my legs useless and I couldn¡¯t twist around or my sword would twist out of the path of his claws. Freeing them to continue their trajectory. The same went for either hand. That only left magic. As quickly as I could, I formed a tiny fireball below each of his feet. The one closest to me went off first. While the small amount of force was nowhere near enough to toss him off his feet, it was enough to cause him to stumble a bit as he tried to keep his balance. I took the opportunity presented to shove him back with all my might. He stumbled back as his arms reflexively wheeled their way through the air. I slashed forward only to stop when my sword touched his neck. ¡°STOP!¡± cried Michael from where the group stood. I did as he bade. Pulling my sword away from Lance¡¯s neck and returning it to my inventory. Lance seemed a bit hesitant but eventually offered me a hand. The claws that had been there were nowhere to be seen. When I took it, he pulled me to my feet. While we waited for the rest of the group to join us, I asked him a question. ¡°Where do your claws come from?¡± He looked taken aback by the question. Like he couldn¡¯t believe I would ask such a thing. ¡°All beastman have natural weapons of one kind or another,¡± Barti¡¯s voice startled me as he simply appeared. ¡°It is one of the things that you, as a human without such things, will have to watch for.¡± I tried to cover my surprise with a question. It didn¡¯t help that my mind kept generating images of elves with claws or such growing out of their hands. ¡°What about you? Elves don¡¯t have such weapons either, do they?¡± He actually laughed at that. ¡°No, we do not have claws. We have our magic.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t humans have magic too? Wait, don¡¯t most creatures have magic?¡± ¡°Well yes, but I think you misunderstood me. We don¡¯t have just magic. We have our magic.¡± He emphasized the word ¡®our¡¯ for some reason. ¡°The dumb elf isn¡¯t explaining it well. He means that the elves have a special kind of magic.¡± Mindi said while she shot a glare at Barti. Before I could roll my eyes and tell her I got that much, she continued. ¡°A magic that they generate naturally.¡± ¡°As opposed to how we gather magic from our surroundings?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Linda said, ¡°My dad once told me that it makes it hard to hold an elf. You need to constantly drain their mana to keep from escaping.¡± Tindi and Mindi both shot her a look of suspicion. She held her hands up in surrender. ¡°He is a guard. You don¡¯t think that there are no elves in jail do you?¡± ¡°Anyway,¡± Michael said, trying to pull the discussion back on track. ¡°Kyren, let us start with you. What do you think you did wrong during that fight?¡± I answered without hesitation. ¡°I got distracted by whatever created the bell-like noise.¡± Mindi, Tindi, and Victor all laughed, ¡°That was the starting bell.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I mumbled as I dropped my eyes toward the ground in embarrassment. How was I supposed to know that there would be a bell announcing the fight? Then again, it was a bit obvious now that I thought back on it. ¡°But, is there anything else?¡± Michael asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t keep an eye on my opponent. I underestimated him. I didn¡¯t have my weapon out at the start of the fight.¡± I started to list things off before finally saying, ¡°I let myself get into a disadvantageous position with only one way out.¡± Michael nodded before turning to Lance. He didn¡¯t even have to ask before Lance spoke. ¡°I didn¡¯t go for the kill with my first attack.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Barti said. ¡°You had the advantage thanks to Kyren being distracted by the starting bell. You could have, and should have, ended the match there and then. So why didn¡¯t you?¡± Lance simply shrugged as he chose not to answer the question. ¡°Well, no matter. Get back into position.¡± The group as a whole turned to the closest edge and started to walk. ¡°Wait,¡± I said, causing Barti to turn and look at me. ¡°Am I really facing him again? Shouldn¡¯t I fight someone else?¡± ¡°While you won that fight, you have much to learn from fighting him. You will keep going until we feel you are ready to take on someone else.¡± That was all he said before taking off to join the group. Shaking my head, I walked the dozen feet needed to return to my starting position. This time getting my sword into a ready position while also locking my eyes onto Lance. I was determined to not lose sight of him this time. Chapter 49 - Tricky When the bell rang out, I was ready. My eyes were locked onto¡­wait, where did he go? He just vanished. In anticipation of his attack, I shoved myself backward as fast as I could. My back slammed into something solid with four sharp points. Both he and I cried out in shock and pain at the sudden contact. Before I could react, his hand reached around to my front. A sharp point of a claw tapping at my jugular. ¡°STOP!¡± As Michael called an end to the match, Lance¡¯s claws vanished as he shoved me away from him. By the time I recovered my balance and turned to face him, Barti and Michael stood between us. ¡°What did you do wrong this time?¡± Barti asked me. ¡°I lost sight of him, again,¡± I said, exasperated. He shook his head. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with him even if you tried. At least not yet.¡± ¡°Then how am I supposed to fight him?¡± ¡°Anticipate his actions.¡± Michael cut in. ¡°You don¡¯t have to see his attack to know that it is coming.¡± ¡°That would work well here, but what about later?¡± I countered, thinking about what would happen when we fight in larger groups. He shrugged. ¡°Then work on some spell, skill, or sense that will warn you about dangers.¡± He turned to Lance. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t anticipate him jumping backward.¡± That was all he said. Michael nodded before saying, ¡°Again.¡± I grumbled but otherwise, took the few steps needed to get back into position. My mind raced to come up with some way to detect his movements. Spells were out. I just didn¡¯t know enough runes or how to create more than the basic, one runed, spells. I mean, look at my firewall spell. The thing was created by repeating the same rune over and over. It was literally a wall made of fire runes. No, I needed to either rely on some sort of sense. Just out of dumb curiosity, I closed my eyes and activated my Mana Sense skill. I pushed my mana out and used it to just watch the mana that surrounded me. It was chaotic. Stopping here, flowing there, and even doubling back in other spots. When the bell rang, I did not move from my spot. I did not open my eyes to see where he was or wasn¡¯t. I kept my attention on the mana around me. That was probably why I noticed the mana to one side swirl a bit. Given that I wasn¡¯t actually seeing it with my eyes but with this other sense, it was a bit weird. To this sense, the mana looked like it moved in a way that reminded me of how dust clouds do when a train speeds past. Going off that, I kept an eye out for other similar changes to the mana in the air. Sure enough, another section swirled. This time, it wasn¡¯t alone nor was it from something passing close to me. Whatever disturbed the mana that floated around me was traveling in my direction. I took a chance and stayed where I was. I watched as whatever it was finally reached me and stopped. A sharp prick of pain at my neck told me that this match was over. ¡°STOP!¡± Michael called out again. His voice sounded a bit annoyed as he continued to talk while making his way toward us. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Looking at him, I shrugged and said nothing. ¡°You kept your eyes closed throughout that whole match. That would have been fine if you had tried something but you didn¡¯t even move from your starting position. Did you want to see just how fast you could lose?¡± Barti, surprisingly enough, didn¡¯t say a word. His eyes just looked at me as something worked its way through his mind. It was almost as if he could see something that Michael couldn¡¯t. ¡°Again!¡± Michael yelled as he turned around. ¡°And this time you will fight or I will make you fight!¡± While I didn¡¯t know what he meant, the way he said it caused the hairs on my neck to stand up. It wasn¡¯t just me that was scared by his words either. Lance¡¯s tail was visibly stiff. Every hair lifted and standing on end. Making him look more like a scared cat than anything else. Something told me that whatever Michael meant when he said that was something that Lance had experienced. Before the bell went off to signal the start of the match, I closed my eyes and focused on my Mana Sense and the mana around me. Looking for signs of someone coming at me. The bell rang off and nothing happened. ¡°OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES!¡± Michael yelled from the sidelines. I ignored him but still nothing happened. ¡°Go ahead, Lance.¡± Came Barti¡¯s calm voice. That could only mean that, even though the match had started, Lance had decided to not attack. He was probably waiting for me to open my eyes. That was nice of him and all, but I needed to focus on my Mana Sense and I couldn¡¯t do that without getting rid of some other sense, at least not yet. Thankfully, sight was the easiest to ignore. All I had to do was close my eyes after all. The mana in front of me swirled as something flashed through it and toward me. I dropped my right shoulder and stepped out of the way just in time. Letting whatever it was pass me by. Halfway through the back half of my skills range, the object stopped moving. With a rush of displaced mana, it took off to my right as it curved around to attack my side. As I sensed this, I took a step back. Over and over, I dodged his attacks. I stepped back, left, right, ducked, and even stayed in place as he sometimes feigned an attack only to strike elsewhere. By the time his breaths were coming in ragged gasps, he stopped moving. Trying to catch his breath as he asked a simple question. ¡°How?¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I didn¡¯t want to answer him. At least not yet. Not until after I won the match. My silence must have irked him as he charged at me. The way the mana around his movements moved around indicated a complete change in tactics. He was no longer moving to stab me in one spot or another. This time he was going for a full-on tackle. Maybe even a bear hug of sorts. I shoved mana into my legs as I leaned down under one of his raised arms. From the outside, it probably looked like I danced around him as I rotated around his charge. When I stood behind him, I raised my sword and placed it on his shoulder. He froze. Stopping fast enough to not slice his neck on my sword. ¡°STOP!¡± Michael called. Sword stored back in my inventory, I opened my eyes. Lance stood there, breathing hard enough to work as a bellow in a factory. The wolf was drenched in sweat. Neither of us spoke as we waited for Barti and Michael. Michael was, again, the first to speak. He looked at Lance as he spoke. ¡°Do you know what you did wrong?¡± He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t even get what just happened?¡± Michael looked like he was uncertain himself, but Barti spoke up. ¡°If I had to guess, Kyren used another sense to detect your movements. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± I nodded. ¡°How?¡± Lance asked. ¡°I made sure to cloak everything.¡± ¡°As any good hunter should,¡± Barti nodded. ¡°Likely you just missed something simple. How about we ask Kyren how he did it so that you can work on hiding it as well.¡± They all looked at me in anticipation of my answer. Instead of giving them what they wanted, I asked a question of my own. ¡°Cloak?¡± ¡°Wolfkin and other hunting races have a few tricks up their sleeves to remain undetected when hunting,¡± Barti answered. ¡°His class likely adds a bit to that as well. Now, tell us what you did.¡± ¡°I used Mana Sense.¡± While my answer was simple, their bewildered expressions told me they had no clue what I was getting at. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lance asked at the same time Michael asked, ¡°What is Mana Sense?¡± While both had spoken over one another, Barti waited before asking his own question. ¡°How would that work? Pretty sure that his racial skill doesn¡¯t require any mana.¡± Lance grimaced a bit but nodded in affirmation. ¡°That would explain why I didn¡¯t see him,¡± I said as I recalled that I couldn¡¯t see his mana at all, only mine. ¡°But I wasn¡¯t watching his mana, I was watching mine and that naturally in the air.¡± Neither Barti nor Lance seemed to understand but I could see it when something clicked inside Michael¡¯s eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me. You were looking for the distortions in your mana that he left as he moved.¡± I nodded and he roared with laughter. Barti was the next to understand it but Lance looked completely lost. Michael waved his confusion off while saying ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± On the other hand, Barti spoke up. ¡°No matter how tightly you keep your mana, it will affect the mana around you. Kyren here just kept an eye out for that distortion is all.¡± Lance deflated at that. ¡°But that means I can do nothing to prevent someone from detecting me.¡± ¡°Decoys,¡± Michael¡¯s answer was short as he turned and walked away. ¡°Again!¡± Given how Barti was looking at Michael, I was pretty sure Michael was getting under his skin with how he was acting. ¡°Just do something to disturb the mana in the air. If you can figure out how to do it, you can even use decoys like he suggested.¡± With that, he moved to join the group at the edge of the circle while we returned to our starting positions. Now that my trick was out, I needed to come up with another. Luckily, I would have a bit of time to figure it out as he tried to figure out how to use Barti¡¯s suggestion. The sound of the bell reverberated through the air. Like before, I kept an eye on the mana around me. This time, however, I started to form a few surprises. Under my own feet, I formed a fireball. I held it at the ready as I waited for him to attack. Something shot through the mana around me. It moved faster than any of his other attacks. I only managed to move out of the way because of my skill¡¯s range. Still, something dragged against my cheek. Whatever it was left a stinging line. After hitting me, it didn¡¯t stop. It kept moving before it finally vanished out the other side of my detection range. Given that the radius of my Mana Sense was a good forty or fifty feet and that he had entered and exited it in under a second, he had to be moving faster than a train. Or at least any train I had been on. Pretty sure the ones I had ridden were slow compared to how fast a well-maintained version would go, but what did I know? It didn¡¯t matter either. The only thing that mattered was the fact that whatever had sliced my cheek was fast. Though, it was nothing that I couldn¡¯t handle if I was ready for it. Too bad I couldn¡¯t always be ready for such an attack. Not while I had to watch for any other surprises he might throw in. So, once again, I myself at a severe disadvantage. Not only did I have to watch everything around me but the moment something disturbed the mana in a spot, I had to track it, plot it, plan how to avoid it, and then execute said plan. If, and when, he started to use decoys, then I would have yet another thing to keep an eye out for. Hell, at that point I was fairly sure I would be fucked. My mind flew over possible ideas and counters when, suddenly, something stabbed into my leg. My eyes popped open to find that he was standing just out of my skills range. His eyes were locked onto me. Onto my wounded leg. As I looked down I found a knife embedded in my calf. As my gaze returrned to him, i found him tossing another knife as he smirked. The damn guy had found a way around my skill without needing to come up with some convoluted spell. With a shake of my head, I called out, ¡°I lost.¡± I felt stupid yet happy all at the same time. Stupid that I had missed something so simple but happy to have made the guy work to figure something out. Linda jumped off Michael¡¯s back as they got close. She jumped off and began work on my wound as he spoke. ¡°What do you think you could have done better?¡± ¡°Not assume that he had no long-distance attacks,¡± I grumbled, not happy to have to admit to such a stupid mistake. ¡°Good.¡± He turned to Lance and asked the same question. ¡°What do you think you could have done better?¡± ¡°I should have thought of that attack a while ago,¡± Lance¡¯s grumble sounded oddly similar to mine. He sounded as pissed at himself as I was at myself. ¡°Well,¡± Barti said before Mindi cut in. ¡°Lunch is ready. Come grab some.¡± She sounded excited about something. While I was curious, I was famished. Fighting, no matter how much you moved, was taxing as hell. Victor helped me over to the edge of the ring where a number of chairs sat. Given their color and thickness, they were likely shaped by magic out of the dirt and stone that surrounded us. Linda practically shoved a plate of sandwiches into my lap as I sat down. Each sandwich looked to be filled with some juicy meat that I didn¡¯t recognize. As I moved to eat, I realized that Barti and Michael had not joined us. In fact, they both were still inside the circle. Both looked to be facing off as they stood at their respective starting points. Suddenly, I had an idea of what had Mindi so excited. Chapter 50 - Michael VS Barti ¡°So,¡± Barti spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him. ¡°What rules were you thinking?¡± ¡°Well, seeing as you are quite a number of levels above me, how about limiting your skills and levels to what one might have access to at my level.¡± Michael replied without hesitation. Barti nodded. ¡°I can do that. But in return, how about we also keep from any ultimates our classes might have.¡± ¡°What,¡± Micheal scoffed though he was shrugging. ¡°You don¡¯t want to go against my patron. Not sure you can take him?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Barti spoke casually as if he wasn¡¯t afraid of whatever, or whoever, that was. ¡°I just don¡¯t feel like doing so during a friendly match is all. If that will be all.¡± He waited until Michael nodded in affirmation before speaking again, ¡°Mindi, give us a countdown please.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± She shouted as she jumped to her feet. ¡°On the count of three. Three,¡± The two of them seemed to relax. Michael pulled out a giant shield I had never seen him use. It was made of a darker metal and taller than him. In his other hand, he held a sword half his height and nearly a hand length in width. Given the gleam coming off the metal, it was likely made of something similar to my Chisa Katana. Though it was a bit shinier and the light looked closer to a pure white. Barti just pulled out a dark red sword that I recognized. ¡°Wait, what the hell is that?¡± Jeremiah seemed to growl. Looking over at the five of them, I realized each of Michael¡¯s party was in just as much shock. Unsurprisingly, neither Mindi nor Tindi were affected by the swords'' appearance. Likely having seen it before now. ¡°Two,¡± Mindi yelled out. It seemed like she was giving both parties a ton of time to prepare and break out their weapons before starting the fight. I ignored the question and focused on the two people in the ring while I picked up yet another sandwich. Biting and swallowing half of it in one go. Barti held his sword to the side. Not even bothering to hold it in a ready position. Michael must have seen this as a challenge because he roared ¡°Don¡¯t you think I am worthy of you at least trying?¡± The elf didn¡¯t bother to respond. ¡°One,¡± Mindi called out as she crouched down. Her right hand made contact with the stone circle embedded into the dirt. As soon as it did, a loud gong rang out. Barti didn¡¯t move, instead letting Michael come to him. Michael either didn¡¯t care or took it as a challenge because he charged right at the elf. He couldn¡¯t have been moving all that fast because I could still see and track the man as he charged. His shield held to the side as he lifted his sword high over his head. As soon as he got within striking range, dirt, dust, and stones flew as he planted his feet into the dirt. His sword using the momentum to accelerate at its target. Barti stepped to one side and let the sword pass him by. As the sword missed him, Michael managed to maintain its momentum by pivoting on one foot. Turning the vertical strike into a horizontal one. Barti lifted his sword up and tilted it just enough to deflect the blow. With the attack thwarted, Michael screamed out. It wasn¡¯t the typical scream of rage, but something else. Something about the yell had every bit of my attention focused on him. A need to attack him growing inside me. Thankfully, the sharp spicy flavor of the meaty sandwich was enough to remind me of where I was. Barti, on the other hand, struck out. His sword blurred as it jabbed at Michael. Michael took the hit, using it to push himself back as he said something. It was either a spell or a skill because his body started to shimmer. The light around him brightened into a dim rainbow of colors. He took another hit as the ground for fifty feet around him started to glow an off-white color. Michael took blow after blow. Hitting his shield, sword, and even his flesh, yet he didn¡¯t respond. He didn¡¯t strike back. It was almost like he was waiting for something. What that was, I had no clue. A dozen seconds, and a good amount of hits, later, the glowing field surrounding Michael¡¯s body shattered. At the same moment, the feeling I had to go and attack Michael finally vanished. Whatever skill that had caused it likely disappearing. It must have also stopped affecting Barti as the elf jumped back a good distance. Michael roared in fury before gesturing into the air. Pulling something from it and into himself. All at once, his body started to glow again. Reds and gold swirling around his form as he dropped his shield and once again charged at the elf. This time, his attack was much much faster. His body was practically a smear through the air as he ran. His sword, having left a smear of metal following his path, vanished as he swung it. Barti managed to get his sword up and into the way. The two swords met edge to edge. While it looked like Barti was just holding him back, something told me it was the opposite. Unfortunately for Michael, Barti had only been using his sword and speed up until now. While I could make out the haze that is mana in the world around us, whatever Barti was doing had the mana practically becoming as solid to my eyes as the girls around me. As one, the ground exploded with plants. Most grasped at Michael while others whipped out. Striking him as hard as they could. Judging by the fact that he wasn¡¯t moving, Michael either didn¡¯t feel the attacks or didn¡¯t care. As if they could see this, the plants all backed off. I didn¡¯t know what they were doing until something brown stabbed out of the ground and into the sky. Only stopping when it hit something high above. As suddenly as the first one came out, four more join it. While I couldn¡¯t tell what they were from this distance, judging by Michael¡¯s reaction, they were likely dangerous as hell. He tried to jump back to get away from the things, but they didn¡¯t let him. Spikes stabbed out from the two he tried to pass through, blocking his way. ¡°How is this following the rules?¡± He called out as he moved to the center of the five plants. ¡°This is one of the first skills I got as a Master of Plants.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Michael yelled but Barti ignored him. With a simple hand gesture, one that he likely didn¡¯t need, the plants stabbed spikes in Michael¡¯s direction. ¡°STOP!¡± Mindi called, though judging by the lack of screams or yelling, Barti hadn''t actually hurt Michael in that last attack. As if they had been used up and burned, the plants crumbled into dust and vanished with the wind, leaving Michael standing there, eyes wide. Barti didn¡¯t seem to care. He just turned and walked toward our group, leaving Michael to stand there. When he got close enough to talk normally, he asked me ¡°How many different skills did you manage to catch?¡± I had no clue why he was asking that question, but I figured he had a reason so I gave it some real thought. He looked to have used two. One for each set of plants he grew. As for Michael, I had to think back. There was the one to pull our attention to him. The one to make the ground glow. The one to make himself glow. Then there was the one where he pulled something from the air before glowing another color. Finally, I answered, ¡°Two from you and four from Michael.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. He shook his head, looking a bit disappointed at my answer. ¡°Try one from me and six from my opponent.¡± That surprised me. Not only that he had a powerful skill that was able to defeat Michael so easily, but that I had missed two skills that Michael had used. ¡°Then again, it isn¡¯t your fault you didn¡¯t see those skills. He tried to make a few look like one skill. Now, do you know why I asked you this question?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± I answered before taking a big bite of my last sandwich. ¡°If you can recognize a skill as it is being used, you are more likely to find a counter for it.¡± He started. ¡°For example, did you feel the need to attack Michael during the fight?¡± I nodded, not able to talk around a mouth full of food. ¡°That was a skill to pull everyone''s attention to him. It is a good skill for a defender to have. Just set him near the front to take the damage while everyone else kills the target.¡± ¡°Then we have the shield ability of his.¡± Barti continued. ¡°If I didn¡¯t miss my guess, it allows him to shield someone from a set amount of damage.¡± ¡°Oi,¡± Michael called as he got closer to our group. ¡°Don¡¯t go giving away my secrets.¡± Barti waved him off, saying, ¡°Just being able to see the skills as well as the effects is enough to give you an advantage.¡± He gestured back at the ground that was still glowing an off-white color. ¡°Notice the ground over there. When he cast that, I felt like I was wading through quicksand. While it wasn¡¯t much, it might have been an issue if he wasn¡¯t the only person attacking.¡± ¡°If you are going to tell him so much about my skills, why don¡¯t you tell us how your skill works? Hmm?¡± ¡°Simple,¡± Barti answered him. ¡°It allows me to call forth plants from the ground. To defend or attack as needed.¡± Michael looked skeptical, ¡°That can''t be all there is to it. If it was then tell me where those giant plants came from. They didn¡¯t look native to this region.¡± ¡°Oh, they¡¯re not.¡± The elf said, a mischievous grin plastered on his face. ¡°Those were plants from my home village. I planted them as I pulled you out of your circle.¡± ¡°If that were the case, they wouldn¡¯t have been positioned so perfectly. You must have cheated.¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Barti¡¯s grin grew. ¡°Did you think that I called the first set of plants forth to hold you? Those weak things would have stood little chance against anyone here. Not in those numbers or without quite a bit of mana backing them.¡± Michael¡¯s face told me that he wasn¡¯t happy to hear that. ¡°Those served as a distraction while other plants moved the seeds into position.¡± While Michael had been playing the game one turn at a time, the elf had been looking dozens of moves ahead. The moment Michael realized that he had been outplayed, his face fell. ¡°Hey,¡± Mindi said from where she stood by the circle. ¡°If you two are done. Can Jeremiah and I face off?¡± That caught Michael¡¯s attention. He sounded a bit hesitant as he answered. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Good.¡± She jumped, a malicious gleam glinting in her eye. ¡°About time I taught this idiot what a real mage can do.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Jeremiah called back as they both started for the center. ¡°In your dreams. Rules?¡± ¡°Basic spells only.¡± ¡°Water and air elements only.¡± ¡°No,¡± she shook her head. ¡°Any of the six basic elements.¡± ¡°I can only use those two.¡± ¡°And I cannot use wind,¡± When I heard that, I thought back to when she had shown me magic. She had been hovering over the ground. Suspended in the air. So either she was lying or bending the truth. Not that I would say anything. Tindi must have seen something on my face because she whispered to me. ¡°She can use wind, but only the most basic spells and they cost a ton of mana.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I whispered back. ¡°Because her affinity for it is so low. It is practically zero for wind.¡± What Tindi said reminded me of something I recalled seeing on one of the many screens in my interface. Pulling it up, I found what I was looking for.
Element: Affinity: Spell Cost: Spell Effect:
Fire 51 95% 120%
Earth 5 120% 70%
Water 8 110% 80%
Air 7 110% 80%
Light 17 100% 100%
Dark 30 100% 105%
Yep, just as I thought. Judging by this, my next best element to work on would be dark. Though, I was sure that there were two other elements. Space and Time I think. Wonder what my affinities for them would be. What could time even do? Space I got. But time seemed a bit broken. I mean, it isn¡¯t like one could use it to turn time in either direction or something. No computer ever made would be able to do that. The sound of a bell ringing pulled me out of my thoughts and to the scene in front of me. Both stayed where they were standing. While it looked like Jeremiah muttered something, Mindi simply pointed a finger and released a spell. A ball of water formed and shot in his direction. Jeremiah dropped to the ground just as whatever spell he cast finished. It was a ball of water, looking no different than Mindi¡¯s. It flung itself at her. Unlike him, she just flicked a hand. A flicker of fire flew from her hand. Catching the ball before it could reach her. The two exploded into steam. Without waiting for him to react, she flicked a hand up. A pillar of stone rose in front of her. At first, I thought it was a wall to stop a spell I couldn¡¯t see, but she started to tap various parts of it. Jeremiah must have seen something about the stone that he didn¡¯t like because he began to cast in earnest. Balls of water. Torrents of wind. Anything and everything he could cast, he did. Nothing got through the stone wall. After one last tap, she rested her hand against the stone wall. Head bowed as she ignored the world around her as she concentrated on something. Without warning, the wall exploded outward. Steam billowing out as shards flew in Jeremiah¡¯s direction. For his part, he fell to the ground. His knees and arms tucking in as he tried to protect himself from all the projectiles. Something about the motion of those projectiles told me that she was directing them somehow. I must have not been the only one to notice as Michael called an end to the match. ¡°STOP!¡± Mindi did something and all the stones that were coming around for another pass stopped in midair before falling harmlessly to the ground. ¡°You cheated!¡± Was the first thing Jeremiah said as he got up. His face red with anger. ¡°Nope.¡± Mindi¡¯s voice was calm. ¡°The earth spell I used was one to form walls. I just modified it to create little pockets and to strengthen the back side. Add some water and heat and this is what you get.¡± ¡°She created a claymore mine with magic,¡± Patric said to Michael. Judging by how quietly he had spoken, he probably didn¡¯t mean for anyone else to hear him. Michael nodded at this. ¡°ARGG!¡± Jeremiah didn¡¯t seem like he cared. ¡°I demand a rematch.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Mindi popped the p as she walked in our direction. ¡°Jeremiah,¡± Michael called out. ¡°Since you seem so fired up. It is your turn against Kyren.¡± Quickly finishing the last of the food on my plate, I got up and put it in the pile of dirty dishes before making my way onto the field. ¡°Same rules?¡± Jeremiah asked. Something about how he said this told me that he was going to try and pull something underhanded. That or he thought I would not be able to beat him. Given that I only knew a few spells, it was likely. Before I agreed with him, I gestured Michael over. The moment he was close enough to hear me without Jeremiah being able to overhear my question, I asked, ¡°Can I use an enhancement spell on myself and attack him physically, or is that against the rules?¡± Judging by his soft chuckle, he could see what I was getting at. ¡°As it is a basic spell. I don¡¯t see any issue with it. Just no weapons.¡± ¡°What are you planning!¡± Jeremiah yelled as Michael walked back to the edge of the circle and I made my way to my starting position. ¡°You will find out in a minute,¡± Was all I said as I got into position. Chapter 51 - Combatant Training As Michael stepped over the circle, Mindi asked Barti something. Whatever he said had her face plastered with one hell of an evil grin. Before I could think about why, Michael turned and touched the circle. The bell to start the match went off at the same time forcing me to focus on my opponent lest I miss an attack. Mana poured out of me and into my environment. It wasn¡¯t enough to fill the full range that I could do with my Mana Sense, but enough to give me at least an inkling of a warning of any approaching spell. As the skill expanded and started to pour information into my mind, I cast a limited version of the enhancement spell. Keeping it limited to my legs in an effort to keep the mana use down. Not seeing a reason to wait for my opponent to do anything, I took off to my right. Circling around him and any spells he might have trained in my direction. Jeremiah didn¡¯t turn or otherwise look like he was keeping track of my position. Instead looking like he was deep in concentration. As I made it a quarter of the way around, a bullet of water shot at me. The clear water, coupled with the spell''s speed, made it practically invisible to my sight. Too bad the mana holding it together wasn¡¯t so well hidden. With a small burst of will and mana, I formed a fireball in the path of the missile. The two smashed together, exploding into steam that blocked my line of sight of Jeremiah. As soon as I saw this, I pivoted and charged him. Pushing as much mana as I could into my legs as I rushed in. Either he didn¡¯t expect such a move or the speed at which it occurred, because he was wide open as my fist slammed into his gut. All of the momentum I had built up charging him driving the fist deep as my body came to a sudden halt. His body instantly doubled over. Going practically limp as his weight hung off my arm. Before I could do or say anything, Michael called out, ¡°STOP!¡± As I didn¡¯t need either anymore, I ended the enhancement spell and canceled my skill. The world stuttered around me for a second before my legs suddenly screamed at me. It felt like someone was slicing my muscles open with a blade while using a hammer to crush my bones to dust. While I doubted that those things were happening, the pain was very real. Whatever was wrong with them had me seeing stars and hearing a loud ringing for quite a while. It didn¡¯t end as fast as it started. The ringing was the first to go, followed slowly by the pain in my legs. ¡°Ah, there he is,¡± Linda said softly from where she sat. Her hands roaming up and down my legs. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked as I looked up at the cloudless sky. ¡°You¡¯re a dumbass is what happened,¡± Tindi said without a care for how she sounded. ¡°You pushed your body beyond its limits and had to pay the price.¡± Turning my head in her direction, I asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Have you ever heard of someone ripping their muscles when they pushed their body too far?¡± Michael said from where he stood near the rest of the group as they turned to face me. Whatever they had been talking about suddenly stopped as they focused on me. ¡°Sure, but I have never experienced it. Why?¡± ¡°Whatever you used to give yourself a boost at the end caused your muscles to tear themselves apart as they strained to supply the force needed. Unfortunately for you, the force they exerted was enough to even break your bones.¡± He shook his head. ¡°It isn¡¯t the first time I have used that spell so why now? Why not during the last fight?¡± ¡°Because you have been using it so frequently,¡± Linda chided as her hands started to move over my arms. ¡°From what I can tell, every single one of your muscles has been damaged to one extent or another. Even your bones have microfractures. Each of which would heal, given time, but not if you keep pushing your muscles.¡± ¡°But how can I keep up if I don¡¯t push them? Everyone here is stupidly faster than me.¡± My tone was probably verging on whining but I didn¡¯t care. That spell was the first and most useful spell I had learned so far. ¡°For now, you can¡¯t.¡± She stated. Her tone of voice not allowing for any openings to argue. ¡°At least not today. After today I would recommend limiting the use of that spell until your muscles and bones have time to grow and strengthen.¡± ¡°And what do you expect me to do for the rest of today? Sit around and watch?¡± Barti and Michael laughed while Linda smiled. ¡°No, you are going to still be training. In fact, up and at em.¡± Michael held a hand out to me. ¡°Time for your first multiperson fight.¡± I let him pull me up as I groaned. ¡°Against who?¡± ¡°Patric and Victor against you and Tindi.¡± As he said this Linda gave me a final pat before getting up and joining the rest of the group as they started for the edge. ¡°Any rules or restrictions?¡± I called after him. ¡°Don¡¯t kill anyone?¡± The way he said that made it seem like he was asking a question rather than telling me. Before I could ask anything else though, Tindi grabbed my bicep. Pulling me in the direction of our starting position as she spoke. ¡°We need a plan.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Well,¡± I sighed, recalling my last fight with Patric as I continued. ¡°Seeing as I only have one spell I can use at the moment, I don¡¯t see how we are meant to win.¡± ¡°Have you really not managed to create any other spells?¡± She shot me an annoyed look. ¡°And what about all the skills we have been teaching you?¡± ¡°Sure, I can fight with a sword but I cannot close in on either of them in time to do anything.¡± Though, there were always my sword¡¯s skills. Surely one of them would be able to close the gap. Quickly looking through them I found a few of them that would work. Too bad I would have to learn to use them in simulated combat. Then again, it could be worse. Taking a second, I opened my Chisa Katana¡¯s skill screen and dumped eighteen points into purchasingn four skills. Going so far as to upgrade the two most useful looking ones to level two in the process. Before I could try any of the skills, the bell rang out, signaling the start of the match. Tindi took off. Her body so low to the ground that it looked like she was climbing a steep slope. Across the arena, Patric vanished into the shadows as Victor let loose arrow after arrow at Tindi. I started jogging forward, my sword at the ready as I expected Patric to target me. Not because I was strong or anything but because it would put him in the perfect position to take Tindi out while not leaving himself exposed. A stutter in the shadow of one of the larger shadows along the ground was the only warning I got as a knife came for my neck. Hopping up and back to gain a fraction of a moment, I managed to block the tip of the knife with the flat of my blade. The rebounding knife hit the ground before vanishing back into its shadow as another blade targeted my leg. I blocked it only for yet another knife to strike out. Again and again, over and over. I blocked knives as they targeted my arms, legs, chest, and everything else they could. While each strike didn¡¯t hit me, they did force me back. A bit annoyed, I put as much force into a jump back as I could. The motion was hopefully enough to give me a few feet of extra space. Feet that he would likely cross in moments, but those were moments I could use. With a force of will and a bit of mana, I swung my blade at the nearby shadows. The tip glowed as it moved through the air in an arc. Behind it trailed a line of red. A line that sped out from me. A line that, upon contact with the shadows, burned them away. From the shadows came a loud yelp of pain. Many of them visibly shook and moved as, if I had to guess, Patric retreated. Taking that as a good sign, I looked over to Tindi. She was throwing punch after punch, kick after kick at Victor. He was using his bow and arrows to block each strike. Burning pain lanced up from my calf. Looking down, I found a knife sticking out of the muscle just below the hem of the dress. Blood trickled down my leg and onto the ground, dying it a rust color as the dust and dirt absorbed the liquid. Not thinking, I activated Mana Slice again. Sending yet another sweeping wave at the nearest shadow. Other than the shadow vanishing as the rock was obliterated, nothing else happened. No one screamed. The nearby shadows didn¡¯t move. Nothing. The burning suddenly redoubled as the blade in my leg was yanked out. Screaming in pain, I swung back just in time to strike the blade. Still, it vanished into the shadows. Fed up with this opponent and needing revenge for last time, I covered the ground in flames. As the fire burned through the shadows, I used one of my other new skills. Mana flowed from me and into the blade. Vanishing as something happened. A couple of seconds later, the blade glowed a dull orange. Taking that as a sign that the spell was active, I sliced out at all the shadows below me. As I started to feel the mana drain, Patric shot out of the shadow just to my left. Releasing the spell and the skill, I activated another. As soon as it activated it felt like something was tugging my sword at an upward angle. The path of which crossed with Patric¡¯s body. His eyes widened as he saw the strike coming but he did nothing. He didn¡¯t have the time. Seeing this, I pulled the strike. Forcing it above his body. He planted his feet into the dirt and stopped. His face was resigned to the fact that he was done. At nearly the same moment, Michael called out, ¡°STOP!¡± Both of us looked over to see Tindi standing over Victor. Her fist looked like it was millimeters from plowing into his face. ¡°Not bad, but not all that good. Victor, Patric, what do you think you could have done better?¡± ¡°Worked as a team to take one person down at a time?¡± Victor said. Patric shook his head. ¡°With these two, we would have had to split them up. Maybe if we had another person we could gang up on one while the other keeps their teammate occupied, but we didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°True,¡± Barti agreed with Patric¡¯s analysis. ¡°Then what should you have done?¡± ¡°Seeing as Tindi didn¡¯t use any magic, I should have gone after her while Victor kept Kyren at a distance.¡± I thought about that and had to agree that he was right. We wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance if they had done that. ¡°And what about you?¡± Michael asked, looking at both me and Tindi. ¡°What do you think you could have done differently?¡± ¡°I should have targeted the shadows as soon as he attacked from them.¡± ¡°If you had then you wouldn¡¯t have taken that knife.¡± Michael said, nodding. Linda walked over to me and gestured at the wound. The muscle felt like ants were crawling across it as the spell knit my flesh back together. Tindi shrugged, ¡°I could have tossed some dirt or something to distract my opponent.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Michael gestured for us to vacate the circle. As I started to walk in that direction, he stopped me. ¡°Now, Kyren, you and Mindi will be facing Lance and Jeremiah.¡± I tried to not growl as I said, ¡°But I am nearly out of mana.¡± ¡°Good,¡± was all he said as he made his way out of the circle. Mindi tsked at me as she spoke up. ¡°Did you forget about rule three and four of magical combat?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t use more mana than you need to and everything costs mana.¡± I quoted back to her. ¡°So why did you waste so much mana in the last fight?¡± I didn¡¯t answer her. She was right and we both knew it. The fights continued like this for the rest of the day. Each of them was followed by some group reflection before we moved on to the next combination. Not once repeating any of the matchups. We only stopped as the sun started to set. At this point, I wasn¡¯t the only one with mana issues. Linda seemed to be flagging. Not that I blamed her. She had been healing everyone throughout the day. In fact, I was surprised that she was able to keep going for so long. Out of the two groups, Michael and Barti were the only ones that looked like it had been nothing. As we started back for the city, Michael spoke up. ¡°Our group needs to go out tomorrow for a quest. So we won''t be able to join you guys for training.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Barti said. ¡°We need to work on some of the basics anyway.¡± I groaned but otherwise didn¡¯t say anything. I already knew that I couldn¡¯t change the damn elf¡¯s mind. If I tried then it was more likely that he would make the training worse, not better. Chewing on a piece of jerky and some sort of sports drink Linda offered me, I made my way to my room to shower and fall into an exhausted sleep. Chapter 51.1 - Forum 1 - Upcoming Festival TravelBug: ¡°Hey, anyone know what town would be best to visit 4 the spring festival?¡± Jazzy_Jay: ¡°Any that have decent music?¡± MerchantsAmongUs: ¡°From what I hear, the capital should be fairly decent. Though if you want something more Earthly, I would head to a boarder town. I hear they have a player planning it this year.¡± TravelBug: ¡°Really? Only the boarder towns or is there a safer town with a player planning?¡± CatLover: ¡°Not really, though I hear that the starter town of Proxima is. Lucky Bastards. Not that I would recommend going there. Something about that town had me on edge the entire time I was there.¡± Jazzy_Jay: ¡°@CatLover: How long were you there?¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. CatLover: ¡°@Jazzy_Jay: Maybe a day. The caravan was picking up other players that wanted to make their way to the next town.¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@Jazzy_Jay: Starter towns have some limitations if you want to visit.¡± Jazzy_Jay: ¡°@BlazingUser: Like what?¡± CatLover: ¡°@BlazingUser: First im hearing of it¡­¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°@BlazingUser: Really? Going to say that and nothing else? Dick.¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°@Jazzy_Jay: There is a level limit to all starter towns. No one over level 30 without a mana restraint. Before you ask, its enforced by a massive spell centered around the capital.¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°@CatLover: You probably didn¡¯t exceed the maximum at the time but there is a level limit to all starter towns. No one over level 30 without a mana restraint. Before you ask, its enforced by a massive spell centered around the capital.¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@PleasantMeadows: Aww¡­ I wanted to make them beg for the information.¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°@BlazingUser: And that is why every guild goes to Xander. No hidden fees.¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@PleasantMeadows: Getting someone to beg isn¡¯t a hidden fee.¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°@BlazingUser: No, but then demanding they agree to give you something in return is.¡± TravelBug: ¡°Can we get back to my question? Where should I go for the Festival?¡± Qcont: ¡°@TravelBug: Honestly doesn¡¯t matter. Each town is pretty similar. Just stay where you are and focus on getting stronger instead of wasting your time traveling.¡± TravelBug: ¡°@Qcont: read my username. That isn¡¯t going to happen.¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°@TravelBug: Then come join us at the edge. Tons of fireworks.¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@PleasantMeadows: Yeah¡­Fireworks¡­sure¡­that¡¯s what those are.¡± Chapter 52 - Decisions It wasn¡¯t the sun shining through the window that woke me, nor any alarm or such. No. What woke me the next morning was my gut. It felt like someone had it in a vise, compressing it while also, somehow, twisting and stretching it. Add to that the pounding of an anvil in my head, and I was fairly sure I was sick. Well, that or someone had built a metal shop inside my body. The only thing missing was the sound of drill bits as they cut through various materials. I didn¡¯t wait for more than a minute before deciding that no game was worth sitting through this pain. It was a good thing that there were multiple ways to log out of the system, as my arms felt like they were weighed down with lead or something. My throat felt dry and raspy as I croaked out a simple ¡°Log out,¡± to my AI. It was a good thing that neither of the systems had to hear my command, just read my intent. The world around me faded between one blink and the next. Plastiglass replaced the wooden ceiling as I opened my eyes to the real world. Sounds of motors and actuators filled the space as the lid lifted. As it did so, my stomach roiled, demanding that I worship the porcelain gods now or else. Shoving the lid up faster, I rolled out of the pod at the first chance. My naked body smacked against the warm ground. One of my hands gripped my stomach as the other shoved me up as hard as it could. My feet scrambled as they shoved my body across the room and into the bathroom, where I sat in misery. At least here it was only my stomach that hurt. After a while, perhaps because I had nothing left to expel, my stomach stopped hurting as much. I didn¡¯t want to go far in case my stomach suddenly rebelled again. Seeing as I was covered in sweat and other things, I started the shower and stepped in, relishing the warmth of the hot water. Relaxing under the pounding streams, I called out to my AI, ¡°Can you bring up some of the forums?¡± ¡°Is there anything specific you want to look up?¡± Thinking for a second, I finally asked, ¡°Anything rune-related?¡± My lack of spells had been a major issue in the training, and without more runes, I doubted I would be able to do anything about it. ¡°Dozens of forums exist to discuss the topic of spells, spell creation, and runes.¡± ¡°Did anyone share any runes?¡± ¡°There are a number of runes displayed,¡± the AI¡¯s replied, and its response sent a shiver of excitement racing down my spine. ¡°Though, based on the comments, there are doubts that these runes are real as no one seems to be able to verify them.¡± I shut off the shower and wrapped myself in a towel as I quickly made my way to the front room. With a gesture at the window, a set of screens popped up, each displaying a different forum post discussing various groupings of runes. I ignored the words, my mind focused on the runes themselves. At first, nothing about them had any visible issue or looked in any way problematic. Their lines flowed in a similar fashion to the two I have. In fact, one of them looked nearly identical to my fire rune, but not. Something about it is off. A corner angled just wrong or a line too short. But I can not tell what it is. Laying a finger onto the glass, I absentmindedly trace out the fire rune I used. My AI, being the useful assistant it is sometimes, managed to transfer the rune into the digital screen as I drew it. Of course, I didn¡¯t realize any of this until the AI overlaid the drawn rune on top of the one provided in the forum. Sure enough, the rune was slightly off. But was that enough to cause the rune to fail, or was there something else at play? ¡°Can you copy these runes into my notes? I want to try them the next time I am in-game.¡± The AI didn¡¯t say anything, leaving me to look over the forums. After a minute, I found myself reading one where a person was asking about recommendations for the spring festival. While I knew about the festival, I hadn¡¯t realized just how big of a deal it was. Every city across the game would be celebrating it at the same time. Even places that were fighting sounded like they were going to be taking a break to celebrate. The entire thing sounded like Christmas back in World War One, where both sides laid down weapons, exchanged gifts, played games, and sang right there in the no-man''s land between both camps. Though, that did beg the question as to who everyone was fighting. Was there a war going on between two nations? Maybe a Demon Lord was invading? Would the invading force cease attacking during that time? The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. A bit of searching later gave me my answer. Demons. The players were fighting demons and their beasts. Though, thankfully they were isolated, only spawning deep inside the earth. Making their way to the surface through a crevice that was larger than the Grand Canyon. Not that it looked that way in the images I found. Not with the giant mountains surrounding it. Curious, I pulled a stool over and started to read about the demons and the fighting. Over the next few hours, I came to realize that I would not be going there any time soon. Not with how strong the players made them sound. A party was required to take down one demon, and from what I could see, they didn¡¯t truly die. Some players compared killing a demon to killing a player. They would die only to burst into light and disappear. Sometimes leaving one or two items behind as they did so. Some people dismissed the possibility of the demons being able to respawn but there was quite a bit of evidence presented to support the argument. Videos of demons being killed only to show up in another battle weeks later. My stomach made a bit of noise, this time not hurting from a bug or something, but from hunger. Mind wandering over all that I had read, I got up and grabbed some food. ¡°You have a message from Xander,¡± my AI called out, interrupting my thoughts. ¡°What is it?¡± I was curious what he wanted. Didn¡¯t I talk to him earlier this week? Wait, how long have I been playing the game? ¡°¡®From Xander. Where are you? I thought you were going to message me so we could join up?¡¯ Would you like to respond?¡± Swallowing a bite of my food, I answered, ¡°Sure. I am still in the starter town.¡± ¡°Sent,¡± It said. I returned to my food, expecting the answer to take a little while. To my surprise, the AI spoke up a minute later. ¡°Voice call from Xander. Would you like to answer it?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± it would be nice to talk to a real person outside the game, especially one that I knew. ¡°Oi,¡± was the first thing he said. ¡°What do you mean you are still in the starter town?¡± ¡°I mean I am still in Proxima.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°I am still learning how to use my weapon and magic. Well, that and I am still weak as hell. I can''t even handle a swarm of bunnies. Bunnies!¡± He laughed a bit after I said bunnies. ¡°Only you would have issues leveling up. Did you at least get any decent classes to help you?¡± ¡°No!¡± As soon as I said it, I realized I had answered him too fast and too forcefully. ¡°From the sounds of it, you did, but you don¡¯t want any of them. I wonder just what classes you were offered. Why not send me a list so I can take a look?¡± ¡°Nope! Not going to happen!¡± my finger was shaking to emphasize the fact that I would not be doing such a thing. Not that he could see me doing so. ¡°How about you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I want to tell you. Not unless you tell me what I want to know.¡± That sneaky bastard. I didn¡¯t want to show him, but I was curious just what he had managed to get. ¡°Nah. Now, tell me, what level are you and where are you?¡± ¡°I am in the player town in the border region.¡± The way he said that made me think back to the forum posts about the fighting going on. ¡°You mean the place where they are fighting demons?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that too high of a level for you?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°You are just slow at leveling.¡± I thought about that for a second and realized that he was right. Since I had started the game, I had been focused on raising my stats and training my skills over everything else. I had only gone out on missions three times, and in one of them, I hadn''t even killed anything by myself. ¡°You might be right about that.¡± ¡°You think? What level are you anyway?¡± ¡°Um¡­I think I am level twelve or thirteen.¡± ¡°You are level thirteen,¡± my AI helpfully chimed in. He scoffed. ¡°And you have been playing for a week and a half in-game? What have you been doing?¡± ¡°As I said, training. What level are you?¡± I shot back. ¡°Forty-seven. I also have a decent class and have made more money than I put into the game.¡± I slumped in my chair, the weight of realization pressing down on me. I was falling behind. ¡°Look, how about I come and pick you up? I am sure that you will catch up in no time once you get here.¡± ¡°I have to go,¡± I said, my earlier excitement over the runes and everything else just evaporating. With a flat voice, I said, ¡°AI, end the call.¡± Silence descended upon the room. My thoughts went over everything I had done in the game and compared it to what I would have done in other games. Games that were on the screen and not so realistic feeling. My actions during this game troubled me. Not because they were odd in general, but because they did not follow my typical path. In every other game, I would be power-leveling my character, collecting the best gear I could get, and upgrading it as fast as possible, letting the skill levels and points work out on their own. Yet in this game, I had chosen to work on skills and stats over everything else. While I could explain that away by saying I was working on a foundation, I couldn¡¯t say the same about my choice of armor. I had chosen to wear weaker armor time and time again because I didn¡¯t want to be caught in a dress. I mean, what did it matter? It was a fucking game. Who cared what I wore? So I would have to deal with a creeper or two and ignore looks shot my way. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time nor the last. And, no matter how real it felt, the me in there was a bunch of ones and zeros. Okay, not really ones and zeros. I was fairly sure that a quantum computer or two was hooked up to the game. But still, the me inside the game was nothing but fiction. So maybe it was time I started to act like it. I would wear the dress and kick anyone''s ass that dared to try something. Even though I thought all that, I knew I wouldn¡¯t be taking the succubus class. I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to go that far for a game. After all, I didn¡¯t want to know how it felt to lose what little manhood I had for a game. At least not unless I had a way back. Chapter 52.1 - Forum 2 - Real World Questions PillowFort: ¡°Hey, does anyone know what is going on at the military bases? ??¡± BlazingUser: ¡°What do you mean?¡± PatrioticOne: ¡°@BlazingUser: probably a spy for a foreign group.¡± LeroyJenkinsIsMyHero??: ¡°@PillowFort: No, I have noticed something odd about them too. Tons of trucks going in and out. A few with the Aetherian Logo.¡± Vector??: ¡°@LeroyJenkinsIsMyHero??: That is weird. There should be no reason for them to be buying the game, is there?¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. IgnobleDragon??: ¡°@Vector??: Unless they know something we don¡¯t. Maybe the game is good for training people in weapons¡­actually¡­pretty sure it is.¡± BlazingUser: ¡°Great, super soldiers with magic fighting on our battlefield taking all the XP. So much for my spot.¡± PatrioticOne: ¡°@BlazingUser: Hey, maybe with them we can clear this place and get to whatever they are protecting.¡± XanderWasHere: ¡°@PatrioticOne: And I am sure you want to be one of the first people down that rabbit hole. ??¡± PatrioticOne: ¡°@XanderWasHere: Funny¡­You know everyone will just hire you to scout it first.¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@PatrioticOne: You know that I am right here right?¡± PatrioticOne: ¡°@BlazingUser: Who are you?¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@PatrioticOne: Har Har. Just for that, I am going to double the quote for your next request.¡± XanderWasHere: ¡°@BlazingUser: Just let it go. You know that you get more requests than me.¡± LeroyJenkinsIsMyHero??: ¡°@XanderWasHere: only because you send us to him.¡± Chapter 53 - Morning of the Festival A full day outside the game, relaxing in the real world, did my body and mind some good, allowing me to not only get some food into my stomach but to let me think through some things. Things that I would be doing from now on. With a simple push of a button, my pod closed and I entered the game. Like every other time I had logged in, it happened between one blink and the next. Welcome back Kyren Vulpier. 68 hours, 49 minutes have passed since you logged off. Current in-game time: 06:21:33 AM As I dismissed that box, another replaced it. Today is the day of the Spring Festival. The official day that winter ends its long, cold grip. From all of the gods up here, we hope that you enjoy the festivities. Well, at least I didn¡¯t miss the festival while I was offline. Maybe there would be a few limited time items I could get. Dismissing that window, I took a shower and eyed my outfit in annoyance. While I had proclaimed to myself that I would not care about what armor I wore, it still felt wrong to put the dress on, like I was giving something up by doing so. Thankfully, another window popped up, giving me something to distract myself with before forcing myself into the dress.
Quest: War for Paradox
Quest Type: World ¨C Rank S
Description: The demonic hordes are at the door. Their scouts have returned with the information needed to start their invasion. Stop them and push them back. Maybe set up a beachhead on their staging world. But don¡¯t assume they will fight fair.
Requirements: Push the demons off Paradox.
Reward: The ability to travel between this world and those below will be available for use.
Failure: Loss of Paradox. Enslavement. Permadeath. And other assorted things.
The quest wasn¡¯t offered so much as shoved at me. Given that I wasn¡¯t near the battlefield and that the quest type labeled it as a world quest, I was fairly sure everyone got this quest. Going off the rewards and consequences, this one quest would shape how this game progressed. While this wasn¡¯t the first game to do this, it was one of the most extreme. Shaking my head at the quest, I slipped the dress over my body. The developers would be making the game unplayable if we failed the quest. But, the developers likely had a plan, that or they expected the hardcore gamers and those who had been in the military at any point in the job to do most of the work. As I walked to the door, ready to explore the city, a new noise filled the space around me. It sounded like fireworks going off in the distance. As the sizzling of the last explosion quieted, a bright flash had me wincing back in pain as my eyes tried to keep up with the sudden changes in brightness. Squinting as the light faded, I found a white box with a red bow sitting in front of me. It was hovering there. Not moving. Almost as if it was sitting on top of an invisible table. As I reached for it, the box exploded into glittering colors, imitating a firework of its own as the contents were revealed. A stone the color of the sun high above rotated where it hung, suspended in the air. Reaching out, I grabbed it. The stone felt light, almost like it wasn¡¯t there. If not for its size and the heat it was giving off, I would have thought I was imagining it. A closer look surprised me as the stone was covered in runes. Lines and lines of them. Unsurprisingly, I recognized none of them. All I knew was that the item in my hand was magical in nature. Passive or active, I had no idea. Pushing a bit of mana out, I tried to sense the object and found it to be a void. Any mana that got within a few inches vanished into it. It was almost as if the thing was a black hole but for mana and nothing else.
Item: SoulStone
Special: Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Soulbound to Kyren Vulpier
Use: Pour a bit of mana into the stone, then accept the prompt.
Permanent: Increase all stats by 10. Other increases will be determined by the system. Physical changes. Soulbound item.
Temporary Buffs: Mana High* (5 minutes) Pain Immunity* (5 minutes) Demigod Regeneration* (5 minutes) Demigod Strength* (5 minutes)
Description This object will merge both your soul and your physical body. This has a chance to change your species and increase your capabilities. What you are changed into is based on your previous actions, skills, soul, body characteristics, and mind. Once this has been done, it cannot be undone. After the transformation is completed, this item will change into an item to suit your new body.
A mix of awe and dread washed over me as I read the item¡¯s description. The potential power was intoxicating, yet the unknown consequences sent a chill down my spine. While most other people might not have to be worried about this item, I kind of was. Just one look at that succubus class had me realizing just how bad things could go. Maybe this was the games way of forcing the change. Well, I would never use it. Okay, maybe I shouldn¡¯t say never. Those buffs were amazing. If I was caught between a rock and a hard place, I would take my chances and use this thing. But it would have to be something dire. Just death would not be enough to force my hand. Storing the stone away in my inventory, I stepped out of my room and into the hallway. While the hall itself was fairly empty of people, the stairs were practically packed. Groups clumped together as they chatted about this or that. I found the scene calming as most were dressed in comfortable clothes. Not a single piece of armor or weapon was on display, though that didn¡¯t mean that there were none in attendance. While the weapons were likely in their owner''s inventory, any armor in the area was likely hidden. Hell, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if someone told me that their clothes were just as strong as my dress. Speaking of my dress, while a few people looked me up and down, most of them focused on their group and where they were stepping. The one person whose eyes lingered too long got shoved from behind. His trip to the next floor nearly shortened as a result. The woman behind him shot me a wink before quickly catching up with her companion as he tried to regain his balance. People jumped out of his way and laughed at his predicament. I found myself smiling as I watched the scene. After taking a quick breath, I joined the crowds of people and made my way down to the ground floor. The place was packed but only around the doors as people made their way in and out of the building before dispersing in various directions. As I let the stream pull me along to the front doors, I noticed that Ginny was the only guild staff in sight. Judging by her posture and the rather large book in her hand, the place wasn¡¯t expecting anyone to need the guild''s services today. The moment I was outside the guild hall, I pushed, slipped, and danced my way out of the current and into a break between two stalls. The rich aroma of grilled meats and sweet pastries mingled in the air, while laughter and cheerful chatter created a symphony of festival joy around me. An older woman in the stall on my right was chuckling as she watched. Her voice was nearly as rough as her skin. ¡°Ah, the enthusiasm of the young.¡± As I turned around to face the woman, a man spoke from the other side. His voice was deeper and seemed rougher. ¡°Can you blame them?¡± ¡°Never said I did,¡± she answered with a sigh. ¡°I still remember some of the things we used to do during our youth.¡± ¡°Those were the days,¡± he agreed. ¡°But let''s not take the lady¡¯s time up with stories of our exploits. She has her own memories to make while she can.¡± ¡°Just make sure to make a few of them with friends.¡± Her eyes caught mine as her tone sent a shiver down my spine. Her words made it seem like she knew that I was alone and had no plans to hang out with anyone today. ¡°Before I go,¡± I finally spoke up. ¡°Do either of you have any recommendations?¡± ¡°The arena is always a great place to go,¡± the old man spoke as his eyes went distant. ¡°Fights will be happening there all day. Pretty good place to make¡­¡± ¡°AND LOSE!¡± the woman cut in. ¡°¡­quite a bit of money.¡± He finished without stopping. ¡°Then there are the various shops and stalls. Though I hear that there will be quite a few shows, plays, and other events planned this year.¡± ¡°Apparently the person planning the festival this year has something planned for just after dark too.¡± I turned to see the woman deep in thought as she tried to recall something. ¡°Did the fliers call it fire bombs? No. Fire spells? No.¡± ¡°Fireworks?¡± I offered, not really expecting that to be the case. Not when I had yet to see any sort of infrastructure or technology needed for something like gunpowder. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± She proclaimed as she snapped her fingers. ¡°Based on the stories, it is something that some of the bigger cities have, though we have never had the chance to see such a display.¡± ¡°Well, thank you for the information,¡± I said while bowing slightly to the two of them. ¡°I should probably get going and let you both get back to selling your wares.¡± As I spoke, I got a look at what they were selling. The woman was sitting behind a grill covered in sticks of meat and vegetables. As I watched, a person walked up, put a coin down, grabbed a stick, and walked off. She must have noticed my expression, as she chuckled. Her finger tapped a piece of metal that hung over the grill. ¡°Never seen an antitheft enchantment, I take it?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Expensive to buy and quite annoying to keep going, but well worth it. Especially when you get to my age and have no other use for your mana.¡± As she lowered her hand, my stomach gave a low growl to let me know its feelings of what she was selling. She smiled and passed me one. I hesitated to take it, but the old man spoke up from his stall. ¡°Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s rude to refuse a grandmother¡¯s offer of food?¡± Before I could say anything about her not being my grandmother, he continued. ¡°No matter whose grandmother she is.¡± Sighing, I took the proffered stick of steaming and sizzling meat. She smiled as I took a bite of the top piece. Liquid burst into my mouth. The heat of it and the meat were enough to force my mouth to stay open as I huffed and puffed to cool it down. Even with how warm the air was, I still managed to release steam with every breath. Both of the stall owners laughed as they watched. ¡°Here,¡± the man said as something tapped on the wood behind me. Turning, I found a wooden cup sitting on the edge of his stall, yet he didn¡¯t look like he had moved an inch. Nodding my thanks, I took the proffered drink and sipped it. The flavor that exploded in my mouth was something I had never tasted before. It was sweet yet held a soft tart bite to it. As the drink mingled with the meat juices, the flavors wove a melody together. Before I knew it, the stick and an empty cup were all that I had left. The two items were gone, having disappeared between one thought and the next. Something trailed down my face, taking me a few moments to identify. It would have taken longer if not for the old man speaking up. ¡°Things in life can be like that. Here one moment, yet gone the next. This applies to anything and everything. It is up to you to remember them.¡± As he said that, an image of my parents laughing together surfaced in my mind, stirring a deep ache within me. A lump formed in my throat, words failing me. Still, I managed a faint nod. Setting the cup down gently before slipping into the crowd. Blinking back tears as the memories of my parents threatened to overwhelm me. Chapter 53.1 - Forum 3 - World Event EpicGamer420: ¡°What the hell is with this world quest?¡± QuestConqueror: ¡°@EpicGamer420: I don¡¯t know but damn its awesome.¡± BloodyMemories: ¡°@QuestConqueror: Of course you would think that. It means that your faction gets what they wanted.¡± QuestConqueror: ¡°@BloodyMemories: Maybe if you all listened to me then the guildmasters wouldn¡¯t have had to practically spell out what they wanted.¡± BlazingUser: ¡°Has anyone taken a look at the wording of the quest? Seems a little open-ended to me.¡± JuicySea: ¡°@BlazingUser: Probably part of a chain quest or something.¡± QuestConqueror: ¡°@JuicySea: All the more reason to get it done.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. BloodyMemories: ¡°@QuestConqueror: At what cost? Just how much XP and gold are you willing to flush down the toilet to get through this quest as fast as possible? What about the one after it?¡± PhilosophicalWar: ¡°@QuestConqueror: I hate to agree with Bloody, but he is right. We need to take our time and do this right. Though, did anyone else look over the item we got with the start of the quest?¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@PhilosophicalWar: Are you talking about the SoulStone? Because that thing is a bit awesome.¡± JuicySea: ¡°@BlazingUser: Have you had a chance to use it?¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@JuicySea: Not yet. Was going to do so after I got back to town.¡± QuestConqueror: ¡°@BlazingUser: Is that the reason you weren¡¯t at the meeting this morning?¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@QuestConqueror: Hey, I sent my second-in-command. Wish I could tell you more, but looks like a creature wants to get personal. Got to go.¡± QuestConqueror: ¡°@BlazingUser: Coward.¡± XanderWasHere: ¡°@QuestConqueror: Blazing is out getting materials for a new weapon. His snapped during the last raid.¡± QuestConqueror: ¡°@XanderWasHere: Wish he had said something. I would have offered him some of the loot I picked up for pretty cheap.¡± PhilosophicalWar: ¡°@QuestConqueror: You know how he gets with his equipment. It all has to be new and fit perfectly before he will even consider it. Won''t even use anything that has been reforged. Freaking weirdo.¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@PhilosophicalWar: I read that.¡± QuestConqueror: ¡°@BlazingUser: What happened to the creature?¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@QuestConqueror: The usual. Oh, look, another wants to get to know me. Got to go.¡± Chapter 54 - SoulStone The flow pulled me along until we came to a large intersection. As the throng of people split up to go different ways, I managed to move to the center of the square, joining a number of groups standing around a fountain. Most were sitting on the edge, talking about this or that while others looked to be doing some trading. Or at least that¡¯s what it looked like based on the number of items being handed back and forth. Ignoring the groups, I looked at the fountain itself. The statue in the middle was of a planet. Okay, it was a simple sphere of metal with pits and grooves meandering across its surface. What made me realize that it was a planet was the water flowing across its surface. It was like the stuff didn¡¯t acknowledge physics or gravity. Little bumps of water and the ripples of movement told me that the water didn¡¯t originate from any one place. It was pushed out from many spots that were evenly distributed across the surface. From there, the water flowed up and down the grooves, traveling up various ridges and pooling in multiple spots while leaving others dry. It did all of this until finally reaching the top of the sphere and shooting up into the air. Flying a good five feet until it reached yet another sphere, vanishing into a hole at that sphere''s bottom. The entire display was intriguing. Capturing my attention enough that I didn¡¯t notice someone standing right next to me until they spoke. ¡°They say that this is the gods¡¯ view of this world.¡± I nearly went into orbit at the sound of someone talking to me. Turning, I found a man with spectacles on his nose. They reminded me of those you would find on older librarians. ¡°Sorry, I did not mean to frighten you. You just seemed like someone who might have appreciated the information.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I am grateful for the information, though I wish you didn¡¯t have to take a few years off my life to give it to me.¡± Returning my gaze to the fountain, I asked, ¡°If this is supposed to be the planet as seen from space, what is with the second planet?¡± ¡°It is not an orbital view, or at least I do not think it is. Not based on the few I have consulted on the subject. It is a god¡¯s view.¡± ¡°What does that even mean?¡± I snorted, not quite believing in gods, but then again, this was a video game. Who knew what the designers would have added? Now that I thought about it, having a planet defy physics would be something a designer would create just because they could. ¡°And who is it that you are talking to about this? Who would have a clue what the gods can and cannot see?¡± Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shrug. ¡°A few others and I travel across the world, gathering knowledge wherever it can be found. Sometimes that knowledge is not in any tome or scroll but kept in an oral tradition. Whenever one of us finds new knowledge, our AIs help us copy and carry it to the real world for study and discussion. This point is one that we have argued about quite often. While many of my colleagues agree with you on the interpretation, most of us disagree and think that the words are meant in a more literal sense.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± I turned to shoot him a curious glare. ¡°Are you telling me that there are real-world scholars and researchers in a video game? Not only that, but they are trying to puzzle this world out?¡± ¡°It is not like we have many options back there. At least here we can do our work without someone telling us where we can and cannot go.¡± I had to agree with him there. It would suck to know that the answer I wanted was in a spot I was not allowed to go. ¡°Plus it is cheaper to pay for a pod for each of us than it is to travel anywhere.¡± I nodded. ¡°Makes sense. But who is footing the bills? Who would want the information on a video game world and why can¡¯t they just ask the company that made the game?¡± ¡°We asked the same question when they asked us.¡± He sighed. ¡°According to what they told us, the company that made the game just made the base world and simply let time pass, allowing the world to evolve naturally. This means that they have very little information on the planet¡¯s history. No myths. No legends. Nothing.¡± ¡°That would mean that the first people to discover the information would be truly the first to do so.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± He said as he pulled out a SoulStone. Though it looked exactly like mine, it had to be his. ¡°But it has never been about being first. At least not for me. It is about the journey and the knowledge itself. Take this object for instance. We each got one, and I am fairly sure quite a few people have used it already, yet I am still curious what it will do to me. What the game will change me into.¡± ¡°If you are so curious, why have you not used it yet?¡± ¡°As I am the only one of my group in the city, I was wandering around looking for someone to act as the outside observer.¡± While I could see that he was looking into the stone, I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that he was looking at me. ¡°You looked like you were curious enough to want to find out and observant enough to notice details. Both requirements that needed to be met before I was willing to approach someone.¡± ¡°And if I say no?¡± Not that I was going to. I really wanted to see what these things did and he was offering to let me watch him use his. He smiled. ¡°You would not do so. Are you ready?¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I shook my head, holding up a finger as I spoke under my breath. ¡°AI, can you record what I am about to watch?¡± ¡°I can. Shall I send a copy to the professor when the process is complete?¡± I snorted at the fact that the AI referred to him as a professor. It just seemed so clich¨¦ that the first researcher I met looked like this and was a professor. Nodding to the professor to begin, I said to the AI, ¡°Sure.¡± The professor didn¡¯t hesitate. A pale green fluid-like material entered the crystal from the sections his fingers touched. As the liquid bounced off the other side, the color shifted, going from pale green to a brilliant gold that hit yet another side. Unlike the section where the pale green hit, the gold liquid stuck to the spot where it landed. For a moment, the only thing that changed was how much liquid was sticking to the one side. Moments later, though, that changed. The outer crystal changed color as the symbols etched into the surface flared with golden light. As the light intensified, symbols started to peel themselves off the crystal. Floating around it and forming a complex ring that encircled the professor. The light must have brought him quite a bit of attention as people around us started to stare, stopping their conversations and walking over to watch. While I was sure that this was creating quite a traffic jam, I didn¡¯t care. My attention was focused on the professor and what was going on in front of me. Given the floating symbols, it had to be magic of some sort. As soon as I realized that, I wanted to smack my forehead. If it was magic, I wasn¡¯t watching this transformation with every sense. In fact, I was missing my best sense for the task. Quickly, I dumped a fair amount of mana into my Mana Sense, focusing as much of my attention on the professor and ignoring any of the other spells and mana abilities in use currently going on around us. Sure enough, the professor was practically cocooned by a mass of mana so dense that it felt solid to my Mana Sense. Without warning, the circle around the professor flared with light. A pulse of mana flared off the cocoon at the same moment before both collapsed inward. Some of the mana compressed more while the rest formed a shape in the air. Judging by the sudden looks from the people around me, whatever shape the mana was making was visible to them. While I could see the shape, I had no clue what it was. If anything, it looked like a disjointed mix of creatures, not that it mattered. If I wanted to know, I would just ask the professor when the transformation was complete. He would likely know or at least know where to find the information. Instead, I turned my focus away from the shape and to the professor''s shimmering body. His hands were the first things to change as far as I could see. The thumb shrank a bit as it relocated further up the arm. The rest of the hand seemed to fill out and grow fur. As it changed, it reminded me of a paw of some sort. Judging by the size, it wasn¡¯t from any of the smaller creatures either. Without warning, something in his legs shifted, forcing him to drop to all fours. Judging by how he reacted, it was a bit of a surprise but one that didn¡¯t feel awkward at all. His clothes ripped as muscles across his body filled out. Luckily, or by design, the flesh below was covered in fur, protecting his modesty. Then things got weird. I was certain that he was some sort of large, four-legged predator up until the pair of wings started to push their way out of his back. They stretched upward as they grew and grew, finally stopping when they were even with the roofs of many of the buildings around us. As soon as they folded down, the golden light faded but didn¡¯t disappear. ¡°So,¡± the professor asked, ¡°How do I look?¡± His voice was a little bit deeper. Something about the sound made me think of riddles and secrets. My eyes traveled up his magnificent body before finally reaching his head. The damned thing was out of place on that body. While it had changed, it wasn¡¯t by much. Shocked, I whispered, ¡°Fucking weird.¡± ¡°What is weird?¡± ¡°Your face is nearly the same.¡± His brows furrowed. Turning from me, he approached the fountain, looked at his reflection, and started to laugh. ¡°A Sphinx! Hahahaha. It is perfect.¡± The conversations around us grew, but after a moment, people started to disperse. While I had heard about Sphinxes in a few books, I had never seen one. Which made sense as they were myths. The closest things to the creature in front of me I had ever seen were the crumbling structures in Egypt. ¡°Anything else change, or just your appearance?¡± I asked while looking at the wings with a bit of jealousy. ¡°A little,¡± the professor turned to me. ¡°I am tall when I am young. Short when I am old. Your breath kills me. What am I?¡± While it took me a second to find the answer in the mess that is my mind, I knew the answer thanks to a riddle book I had once read to annoy some of my coworkers. Don¡¯t ask. ¡°A candle.¡± As soon as I answered, something about me seemed to change. ¡°Correct,¡± he smiled. ¡°And the reward should be a single point in wisdom if I am reading this correctly.¡± ¡°That is cool,¡± I said, a bit in awe at getting a point in any stat from a player. ¡°What if I had gotten the question wrong?¡± ¡°You likely would have lost a point,¡± he turned to face me. ¡°And before you ask, I cannot purposely give out easy riddles. I already tried.¡± Of course he couldn¡¯t. There had to be a limitation somewhere. Also, that would have sucked if I had not known the answer. Bowing his head to me, he continued. ¡°Thank you for your video. It will help me write up the experience for my records. If I have any questions about what you saw, can I contact you?¡± I lifted my eyebrows. I had expected the guy to either grill me or expect me to write everything down for him. I was getting off fairly lightly. ¡°Sure. Where are you off to?¡± ¡°I think I am going to go watch the tournament before heading off to the next city,¡± he said as he turned and headed to the left path, relative to the direction of the guild. The people in the crowd gave him a wide berth, making it easy to keep track of him. Not that it mattered. The tallest people around us only came to about shoulder height on the professor. As I gave the crowd of people a once-over, I noticed a few men dressed strangely. By that, I mean they were dressed in skirts and even dresses. Based on their cherry-red complexion and efforts to hide their faces, they were not wearing the outfits by choice. The sight reminded me of the first outfit I got in the guild. That piece of cloth and been both useless and uncomfortable compared to the dress I had on now. Smiling, I turned and walked down the street the professor had. If I got lucky, I might see a few of these guys try and fight in the outfits. It would also be cool to see if any of the fighters would use their SoulStones before the fight. Then we would have more than just humans, and maybe we¡¯d see a few unique abilities like the one the professor demonstrated. Chapter 55 - Riddle Me This The flood of people shoved its way down the street. Stall owners hawked their wares from the side, doing their job to entice people over to buy something. There were a few times I was curious enough to want to look, only to be stuck in the crowd and carried along. A couple of minutes later, a giant structure came into view. Given its size, I probably could have seen it sooner if not for all the people around me. Each person around me subtly reminded me that I was short. The structure looked to me like a copy of the Colosseum, or at least what I had seen in various movies. This copy made the buildings around us look tiny. Each stone was a dark blue that shone as if polished in the sun. The sunlight was the only thing preventing the structure from appearing black. As we got closer, a portion of the crowd separated. Moving to multiple tables that were set up along one side of the road. Each had a sign proclaiming they were there for those who needed to sign up for the tournament. I maneuvered my way through the crowd so that, when it split, I was standing in the one clear spot, taking the time to look over the two groups. While I knew I would have no chance in the tournament, that didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t want to join in the fun. I mean, how many times have I read a book where the main character participated in such an event? And, while I had participated in a number of small tournaments in various games, this would be my first time really getting a chance to do so in person. After a bit of time, I finally couldn¡¯t say no to the excited little kid jumping around in my head, pushing me to join in on the fun. Stepping over to the nearest table, I stood in the line of people waiting to register. People up and down the line were talking to each other. Discussing the various weapons, skills, and tactics they had been working on since hearing that this tournament would be held this year. As I halfheartedly listened to each discussion, I looked around at the competition, curious about who might have grabbed the advantage the SoulStones presented. Every single person was human. I had expected at least one or two people to have used their SoulStones, yet there was no one. What was worse was the fact that, as far as I could tell, there were no non-humans in the crowd. ¡°Next!¡± Someone called from a table near us. The person in front of me walked off in that direction, allowing me to step to the front of the line. ¡°Next!¡± another attendant called out from a nearby table. I walked over, a bit nervous about whether they would even let me join in. Pulling out a piece of paper, the man behind the table asked, ¡°Name?¡± ¡°Kyren Vulpier.¡± ¡°Race?¡± I looked at him in confusion. He looked up at me, his expression bored. ¡°There are species that look human but are not. Seeing as you didn¡¯t know that, I will put human down. Level?¡± I took a second to double-check my stats sheet before answering. ¡°Thirteen.¡± ¡°Solo or group?¡± ¡°Solo.¡± Did I look like I had any friends with me? ¡°Weapon of choice?¡± ¡°Sword and magic?¡± My tone was more in the form of a question than an answer. ¡°Sword then. Magic is free to use if you feel like it. The suppression effect of the shield this year can handle anything anyone here could use. Contact information?¡± His question surprised me. It must have been evident on my face as he blushed. ¡°Not for the tournament. I just thought that, since you were alone, that you might like someone to hang out with.¡± Outwardly, I smiled. My insides were clenching in annoyance. I had to hold myself back from punching to guy. It wasn¡¯t his fault that I looked like this. When I could finally speak without gritting my teeth, I spoke. ¡°Is there anything else you need?¡± He didn¡¯t answer me, simply grabbing something from a bin under the table, copying whatever was on the object onto the paper, before passing it over to me. ¡°This is your Tournament Chit. It will enable you to access the stairs to the pit as well as serve as an easy way for the spells to track your stats during the fight,¡± he said as I accepted the object. The moment it settled into my hand, a prompt appeared.
User: Kyren Vulpier
Tournament: Proxima Spring Festival ¨C Solo
User Tournament Number: 562
Place -NULL-
Health: -NULL-
Mana: -NULL-
Would you like to share your status with the tournament system? This would enable the various spells and officials to more accurately protect you and predict when a match is over.
Yes Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. No
So I could choose to let the piece of metal in my hands transmit my information to the tournament officials. I could see where someone might say no, but I honestly had no reason to do so. It wasn¡¯t like I had any secrets relating to my stats, at least not yet. Hell, I was fairly sure most of us were pretty close in stats. Considering the limitation that one¡¯s lowest stat had to be over seventy percent of the highest, there wouldn¡¯t be any real spreads until players'' stats approached one hundred. This was probably the most even playing field one could find. Accepting the prompt, I turned and left the tables, making my way into the tunnels leading into the building. As I passed out of the street and into the tunnel, a window popped up informing me that I had been charged ten silver as an entry fee. Another window appeared below it, informing me that I had been charged an additional forty silver as I was participating in the tournament and not just watching. While the cost was annoying and expensive, it was nothing compared to some of the events in real life. Some of my coworkers had told me stories about times they had spent more than a paycheck for a single event. In my opinion, nothing that was a one-off was worth that much. Shaking my head, I continued walking. There were signs strategically placed under lights directing people where to go. I followed the ones leading to the lower stands where it would be easier to see what was going on during each fight. As I stepped up the shallow stairs at the end of the tunnel, I found a chest-high rail blocking my forward path. Given the steep drop on the other side, it was there to prevent people from falling into whatever fight was going on below. Looking over the railing, I found several people raking the bone-white sand. Every once in a while, one of them would reach down, pick something up, and toss it into a cart set off to the side. I tried to not look too closely as I probably didn¡¯t want to know what they were removing. Sudden shouting high above my head caught my attention. Turning, I saw a sphinx surrounded by guards up near the top of the tier I was standing in. Each of the guards was brandishing their weapons while others, further back, looked to be holding spells at the ready. ¡°But why am I being detained?¡± came the professor''s voice. He was practically yelling. ¡°Any non-human visiting the town must be registered and a human be named as responsible for said visitor.¡± A voice boomed out from nearby. It captured my attention and demanded that I listen. Turning to the voice, I found a tall human. He wasn¡¯t wearing any armor; instead wearing a collared shirt and pants. If I had seen him on the street, I would have thought that he was an office drone. ¡°But I was human and I was living here,¡± the professor insisted. ¡°You were human,¡± the man spoke. ¡°That came with some protections. As you are no longer human, you have lost those protections. Non-humans have been legally barred from this town without a guarantor. They have also been barred from owning any property. They are limited to renting property when in the limits of the town.¡± ¡°That¡¯s discrimination!¡± The professor exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s the law.¡± The man said, shrugging. ¡°None of those here make the laws, we just uphold them. If you are unwilling to follow them then we will have no choice but to either kill you or imprison you. So what will it be?¡± That caught the professor off guard. He spluttered as his eyes jumped around. Likely looking for someone, anyone, who would be willing to help him. I raised my hand, catching the professor¡¯s eyes, and spoke up. ¡°What does being a guarantor entail?¡± The man turned to look at me. His deep purple eyes caught on mine and we locked gazes for a few seconds. ¡°If he harms, kills, damages, or breaks any laws. Both of you will be held responsible. It is up to you to control the beast you have guaranteed.¡± ¡°Define damages?¡± I asked, my mind on the new skill he had used to give me a single point of wisdom. ¡°Standard definition.¡± He narrowed his eyes. His voice tinged with a bit of suspicion. ¡°Are you from this town or just passing through?¡± ¡°I am a traveler. This is my starting town.¡± I answered, hoping it would be a good enough answer for him. ¡°Name? Race?¡± Instead of answering, I pulled out my tournament chit and held it out for him to take. He eyed it suspiciously but stepped down a few stairs and took it from me. Reading the information out loud. ¡°Kyren Vulpier, human. So you are the one my daughter keeps talking about,¡± he said this last part as he passed the chit back. ¡°Maybe,¡± I replied hesitantly, my eyes flicked from him to the group surrounding the professor. ¡°I don¡¯t know who your daughter is to say for certain.¡± With a simple gesture from him, the guards around the sphinx put their weapons away and dispersed. Vanishing into the crowd that had grown around us. Their eyes trying to see what was going on and likely hoping for blood. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We can talk about it later in a more¡­¡± the guy looked around, ¡°¡­private setting. Enjoy the festival and good luck in the tournament. I will be watching to see how you do.¡± With that, he joined the rest of the guards in vanishing from sight. ¡°Fucking pigs.¡± The professor grumped as I joined him at the top of the first level. That part of the section was a wide, flat platform. People kept a fair distance from him giving me room to stand and walk around him without issue. ¡°Has no one ever heard about civil rights? Discrimination has been outlawed for quite a while in most of the large countries back on Earth.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t stop it from happening even to this day.¡± I pointed out. ¡°True.¡± He acknowledged. ¡°And this is a video game,¡± I said, cutting him off. ¡°Even if anti-discrimination laws worked in cases of species discrimination, there is no need for this place to follow laws that are not from this world.¡± ¡°I get your point.¡± He sighed. ¡°Just irks me every time I see someone, let alone find myself, being discriminated against. Now, tell me, are you participating in this little tournament?¡± I found his change in topic interesting but went with it. ¡°Yeah. Though I don¡¯t expect to do all that well.¡± ¡°I would not be so sure,¡± he smiled as if he knew something I didn¡¯t. ¡°Want to hear a riddle?¡± My head shook but I could find no reason to refuse. It wasn¡¯t like I was doing anything else. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°I start with many but end with one, a battle of skill where the best is won. Through rounds of challenge, I narrow the field, until a champion''s name is finally revealed. What am I?¡± ¡°Is there a time limit?¡± He shook his head. ¡°No, and I can repeat the riddle if you need to hear it again.¡± ¡°So, many things at the start but end with only one. Either that means the extras vanish, get removed, or otherwise are no longer around. A battle of skill¡­wait.¡± I mumbled through the first part only to roll my eyes as soon as I started on the second. How could he get any more obvious in his riddles? ¡°Are you a tournament?¡± Smirking, he nodded. ¡°Easiest I can go without breaking the rules the skill enforces. Want another?¡± I felt my grin spread from ear to ear. ¡°Oh hell yes.¡± Taking a second to look at my stats and do some math, I tell him, ¡°I could use another eleven points in wisdom. If only I could do the same thing for any of my other stats.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I can only affect a player''s wisdom. It also limits each riddle to one-time use per person.¡± I shot him a worried look at that, concerned that he wouldn¡¯t have many that were easy to answer. His expression looked sly, though, ¡°It is a good thing I know quite a few riddles is it not?¡± I shook my head and rolled my eyes. The guy was cheating the system and we both knew it. Not that I would complain. I was the one benefiting so why not take advantage of the chance while I could? ¡°So, what is the first riddle?¡± ¡°I am here one minute but gone the next, silent as a shadow, I leave no trace, no matter how hard you try to grasp, you cannot hold me in place. What am I?¡± So much for easy. Chapter 56 - First Round Turns out riddles are just as annoying and as difficult as I remember. It took me twenty-three riddles to get the eleven points I needed. I only had to do so many extra riddles because I got six of the damn things wrong, losing a point in wisdom each time. But at least now my wisdom was maxed out at a solid forty-two, bringing my mana regeneration up to six percent of my mana pool per hour. Okay, that didn¡¯t sound so impressive, but every bit helped. While my pool hadn''t grown any larger, the additional regeneration meant that I could cast a fireball every twenty-five minutes without any issues. Now I just needed to figure out how to do the same for my intelligence. Maybe reading some books or something might help. While I tried to figure out the professor¡¯s latest riddle, we watched the fighting going on below, keeping an eye on the two boards hanging in mid-air high above the arena floor. One held the list of upcoming battles while the other contained stats for the current fight. Like my chit, the board contained the participant''s name and race. The only difference was in how it represented the mana and health. Instead of using numbers, it displayed a bar for each, including arrows to illustrate which direction the bars were moving. Not that we got to watch them move all that much. Every match was lightning-fast. One of the participants practically destroyed their opponent in a single move. Finally, my name was next on the list. ¡®Kyren Vulpier versus Hal 9000.¡¯ ¡°I gotta get going,¡± I said to the sphinx. ¡°Good luck,¡± he replied, his eyes locked on the fighters in the pit below. They were still moving into position but it was obvious who was going to win. While the big guy looked intimidating, the smaller one held the giant warhammer in one hand with ease, twirling it as if it weighed nothing. Rushing down the stairs and into the tunnels, I followed the signs into a room. ¡°Name?¡± a woman asked from the doorway behind me, scaring the hell out of me. Unable to talk and heart beating a mile a minute, I turned and offered my chit. ¡°You are cutting it a bit close,¡± she grumped. ¡°We like the contestants to be in this room ten or so minutes early in case a match ends early or someone drops out. Do I need to go over any of the rules, or are you good?¡± I was about to say I was good until she held out an object for me to take. It looked like a river rock tied into a bunch of leather. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°In the event you are about to be hit with a skill or attack that will kill you, the enchantment on this object will transfer the damage to the shield surrounding the arena.¡± She narrowed her eyes. It was as if she could see my mind churning about something. ¡°It only works inside the shielded area, and it is a one-time use.¡± With a sharp nod to let her know I understood her explanation, as well as the subtle rebuke, I changed the subject. ¡°Do you need to check any of my equipment?¡± ¡°No.¡± Her eyes turned from me to the sheet on the table in front of her. ¡°At least not at this tournament. Other cities will have different rules.¡± At that moment, a pair of people made their way through the door on the other side of the room. One of them was being helped by the other, the injured man¡¯s left leg dragging behind him. A trail of blood showed the path they walked. She gestured at the path. ¡°Kyren, you''re up.¡± I was starting to get annoyed at this woman¡¯s frigid attitude. It was nearly enough to cause me to bonk her on the top of the head as I passed her and entered into the passage behind her. Fortunately, I refrained from doing so. I was pretty sure that would have been a good way to get taken into custody. No telling what would happen to the professor if something like that happened. A single turn later, I found myself in the arena pit. My eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden brightness. ¡°Kyren Vulpier versus Hal 9000. Participants, please get into position.¡± The announcer''s voice echoed around me. It hadn''t been quite so loud up in the stands. Squinting, I stumbled my way across the sand and to a spot lit up with magic. The circle changed from red to green the moment I stepped into it. The same thing happened as my opponent entered his. Looking the guy over, I found him to be lacking in every way. He was small. Nearly as small as me. Well, except for his muscles. Those looked to be nonexistent. If I had to guess as to what this guy used for fighting, it would have to be magic. Hell, I doubted he could even lift a sword, let alone swing it with any force. Feeling a bit sorry for him, I pulled my sword out. For the first time since I got the chisa katana, Shizukana Arashi sang as I held it in my hand. The glow that had appeared after the material upgrade was more prominent than before. It was almost as if the sword was excited to be facing off against another player in combat and not training. While I couldn¡¯t fault the sword for its desire to finally challenge itself against someone, this opponent would likely not be worth any true effort. Not that I would take this lightly. Tindi¡¯s rule two wouldn¡¯t let me. ¡°Ready,¡± the announcer called as the noise of the arena around us faded, likely cut off by the shield or some other spell. ¡°FIGHT!¡± Sand exploded as I charged my opponent. Mana poured into Body Fortification to give me the boost I needed to finish this fight in one quick attack. My opponent¡¯s face looked panicked as my sword slashed across his neck. The moment my sword connected, it passed through him as if he were a ghost. The world instantly exploded into sound; as my attack didn¡¯t directly connect with my target, I was fairly sure I was about to die. An attack coming at me from somewhere I would not be expecting. It took me a moment of frantic searching to realize the source of the roaring. The crowd was cheering at the fight as the announcer spoke, ¡°And Kyren Vulpier ends the match in an instant.¡± Hal slumped where he stood, a dejected look on his face as he mumbled. His voice was just loud enough for me to hear given how close I stood. ¡°How? What? Where? God damn it!¡± Given the cracking in his voice at the end and the sniffle, he was probably crying. Kneeling down in front of him, I reached out and tilted his face up so that our eyes met. ¡°This was not your fault. I was just a bad matchup for you. Take this fight to heart and work to find counters to it for next time.¡± His eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but he nodded, slowly standing up and making his way out of the pit. I watched him go for a minute before turning and walking back the way I came in. Another person was waiting in the room, receiving a stone of their own from the staff member. As soon as they got it and were on the way, I walked up and offered mine back. She shook her head. ¡°Keep it until you lose.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°And if I win?¡± I jokingly asked. She rolled her eyes, but answered me. ¡°Of course you will need to also return it if you win. Now go find a seat in the stands. Your next fight isn¡¯t for another couple of hours.¡± As I moved to do as she told me, a question occurred to me. ¡°Given how many people joined the tournament, how are we going to get through all the fights in one day?¡± ¡°There are multiple fights going on at one time,¡± she made it sound as if it should be obvious. ¡°The arena floor has also had time compressed inside of it.¡± ¡°Then what are the people in the stands watching?¡± ¡°The people running the tournament pick and choose which fights they will show, making sure that those watching are only shown the most entertaining or interesting fights they can. Now get back to your seat.¡± Aka, this tournament was run just like every other major televised event in history. Going from camera to camera to keep the action on screen and the audience glued to their seats. As I thought through this new information, I walked back to where I had left the professor. Of course, he was lounging comfortably, appearing relaxed as his eyes followed my progress up the steps while ignoring whoever was fighting down below. ¡°Good fight?¡± his question told me that it hadn¡¯t been one of the ones chosen to display to the audience. ¡°Too fast. The kid had no idea what he was doing.¡± As I said this, I realized how it sounded. ¡°Not that he was stupid or anything. Just inexperienced.¡± Yeah, that sounded no better. I was talking as if I had any real experience myself when in reality I had good trainers, something that I was thankful for after every fight. ¡°Did your opponent even get a chance to attack you?¡± I shook my head, a hint of regret tinging my voice as I thought about just how fast the fight had been as I took the seat directly in front of him. ¡°I went for the kill in the first attack.¡± He nodded, saying, ¡°Good. You would be surprised how many sure fights have been lost in history because someone didn¡¯t do just that.¡± An explosion in the pit caught our attention. One of the people in the pit was hovering high above the ground, throwing ball after ball of fire while the other person was screaming at him to come face them like a man. We both laughed. ¡°Who in their right mind has ever done that, especially when they are winning?¡± I rhetorically asked as I turned to look at the board displaying the pair''s information. The mage¡¯s mana was dropping, but not by as much as I would have assumed. ¡°Just how high would one''s stats need to be to keep something like that up, do you think?¡± ¡°Depends,¡± the professor answered. Judging by his jumping eyes, he was looking at a screen I couldn¡¯t see. ¡°Likely he has a class that lowers the cost of his spells. Maybe even giving him a cheaper version of common spells. There is also the possibility that he has a decent mana pool, a good regeneration rate, or an item that boosts either.¡± ¡°There are items like that in this game?¡± He nodded as a book appeared in front of him, hovering close enough for me to get a good look at. It looked old and new at the same time. Parts of it looked like they would fall apart if touched, while other parts looked like they could have been fresh off the printing press. ¡°When I used my SoulStone, this is the item I got. It boosts my intelligence and wisdom stats without affecting the seventy percent rule that the NPCs keep telling us to maintain.¡± ¡°How could that work?¡± ¡°Wording and use,¡± he said as the book vanished. ¡°It only affects those two stats when I am doing something related to my class or race. Given that my class is Wandering Scholar, it will likely help with my research. What about your class?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have one.¡± He shot me a look as if to ask if I was stupid. ¡°That¡¯s not to say I don¡¯t have options, I just don¡¯t know which way I want to go.¡± Not to mention I downright hated some of the options. ¡°What skills do you seem to rely on most in a fight?¡± Without hesitation, I answered, ¡°Anything mana-related.¡± He nodded his understanding. ¡°How many elements do you have access to?¡± Did he mean my affinities or those that I can use in my spells? Not knowing, I pulled out my affinity page and told him, ¡°My elemental affinities from highest to lowest are fire, dark, light, water, air, then earth.¡± ¡°While that is good to know, I meant those that you can use in your magic.¡± Yeah, figured. ¡°Only fire.¡± I closed my interface. ¡°I was told to focus on one element at a time for now.¡± ¡°True, but doing so can also limit your class options.¡± Wait, was that true? I pulled out the list of classes I could take and found that, sure as shit, most of them were for swords or something to do with fire. ¡°Well damn,¡± I sighed. ¡°So I should take a second element or even a third if I want the system to offer me different classes.¡± ¡°Yes and no.¡± He shook his head. ¡°You need to figure out what elements would be useful to you before you go out and spend your points. For instance, what would you use earth for in your spells?¡± I took a second to think through various scenarios before answering. ¡°Mostly tripping up my enemy.¡± The thought pleased something inside me. ¡°And air?¡± ¡°Throw dust in their face.¡± ¡°Water?¡± ¡°Throw water in their face.¡± And on a few people¡¯s crotch while they are in public. He narrowed his eyes a little as he spoke. ¡°I am sensing a theme here.¡± I didn¡¯t say anything, keeping my eyes locked on the fight below. Finally, he sighed and continued. ¡°What about dark?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t honestly know,¡± I answered truthfully. ¡°It isn¡¯t one of the common elements. Nearly every game treats light and dark spells differently, so I don¡¯t know what it can and cannot do.¡± ¡°To tell you the truth, most of the elements can do the same things. It is more of a question of how effective they are at any given task. While fire can be used to heal, it will never be as good as water, earth, or light. The only two elements this does not apply to are time and space. Those are both as weird as they are hidden.¡± Curious about those two elements, I asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Groups with access to those elements keep all of the information on them and the spells they use hidden. Even the spells to create larger bags and spaces are kept secret.¡± ¡°What about the arena? It uses both, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That it does. The city paid a king''s ransom to the group that specializes in such spells to spell the place.¡± I whistled and thought for a second about taking the two elements for myself. One look at the price, and glitch, was enough to dissuade that idea. Even now, with all the points I had saved up, I didn¡¯t have enough to buy the space element. Though I did have enough to buy the rest. I wouldn¡¯t use them often, but what could it hurt to have them in reserve? Hell, if no one knew I had water mana, they would never be able to trace any tricks I played using it to me. The sphinx¡¯s eyes narrowed at me. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± I answered as my hand hovered over the Dark Element to purchase it. ¡°Are you about to do something stupid?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± I said, popping the p as I purchased my second element. A ripple passed over and through my body. While it didn¡¯t hurt as much as the fire element had when I had obtained it, it still stung a little. ¡°Which element did you just purchase?¡± he asked. I looked at him in awe as I tried to figure out how he knew what I had done. He shot me a look as he answered my unspoken question. ¡°Mana flared out of your body as soon as you touched something on a screen. Not hard to piece it together.¡± ¡°The Dark Element,¡± I answered sheepishly. He narrowed his eyes as he spoke his next words. ¡°And it did little more than send a shiver down your body? Just how much dark mana have you been hanging around recently?¡± ¡°None, I am just happy the pain wasn¡¯t as bad as when I unlocked the fire element.¡± ¡°It should have hurt the same amount.¡± His words confused me, but I shrugged it off. Who cared why it was less painful to get another element? Hell, I was grateful it didn¡¯t hurt as much. Looking at the screen, I noticed that the prices for each element had increased a second time. All of the normal elements now cost twenty points. I only had enough points to buy two of them at the new price. If it doubled again, then I wouldn¡¯t even be able to do that. Grumbling at this, I tried to mentally select two of the elements, hoping that I could purchase them both at the same time and save twenty points. Sure as shit, another screen popped up. Would you like to purchase Water Element 1 and Earth Element 1 for a combined price of 40 Points? I didn¡¯t hesitate to accept the cost, only to instantly regret it as I suddenly felt like I was both drowning and being buried alive. It felt like rocks were grinding away at my skin and bones as water forced itself into every cavity. Chapter 57 - Second Round The pain was so intense and quick that I didn¡¯t even realize I had passed out until I was coming to. The professor¡¯s voice helped to bring me back to reality. ¡°What did you just do to yourself?¡± ¡°Probably something stupid,¡± another voice answered. One that I recognized, though I didn¡¯t know why they were here of all places. Opening my eyes, I was confused to see a beastman with my head on her lap, watching me. The little pointed ears on top of her head danced. Something about them had my hands reaching up to rub them. She swatted my hand away, stopping the impulse. She packed a punch. ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked in an attempt to try and distract both of them. Her cheeks flushed, ¡°Yeah, I keep forgetting about the changes. Well, that and we only met for a few minutes. My name¡¯s Nancy.¡± I bolted off her lap. Sitting up and turning to face her. ¡°You¡¯re the one that healed me when I nearly froze on my first day.¡± She nodded. ¡°I thought you and your party were going on to the next town. What are you two doing here?¡± ¡°We did,¡± she sighed, ¡°but the region is just too small for the number of players flocking there.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t they just move on to the next or at least spread out?¡± I asked, confused about why a game developer wouldn¡¯t have fixed it by now. ¡°It is not always so simple,¡± the professor cut in. ¡°If I had to guess, there are no easy paths to the next town?¡± She nodded, the tips of her ears flopping a bit as she did so. ¡°Very few people meet the minimum level requirement to make the trip, and that¡¯s if you can find a guide willing to make the journey.¡± While she had been speaking, my eyes were locked on to her ears as they continued to move. I wondered about how much different they must feel for her. She must have noticed my staring because they flattened to her head as she continued. ¡°They are a bit sensitive. Same goes for my tail. Though at least I don¡¯t have to worry about my ears getting stuck in a door or grabbed by people.¡± The way she said this made me think that it was a common occurrence. ¡°So, are you participating in the tournament?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Her eyes rolled, and something smacked the floor behind her. ¡°Apparently it is limited to humans only or something else stupid.¡± She huffed and crossed her arms. ¡°I don¡¯t remember this town being so specist.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I fear it is getting worse,¡± the professor sighed. ¡°Earlier, there were some guards that surrounded me and demanded I go with them. If not for Kyren, I might have been killed or jailed just for being in town while not being human.¡± ¡°Just great.¡± ¡°How did your species change?¡± I asked her. ¡°SoulStone.¡± Her face darkened as she realized something. ¡°Which means that this will become a bigger issue as more people use it.¡± ¡°Will everyone who uses it become something non-human?¡± Nancy shook her head. ¡°Only one more person in my party changed species. The rest just gained a few abilities but otherwise stayed human.¡± ¡°Kyren, your next match is up in a few minutes.¡± The professor¡¯s words drew my attention from the cat girl to the screen he was looking at. Sure as shit, my name was on there. According to the information displayed, I was fighting someone named Ellen Ripley. A soft chuckle came from the cat girl. As I rose, I shot her a questioning look. She waved it off. ¡°You¡¯re not an alien; so you should be fine. Just don¡¯t let her get ahold of any acid or a gun.¡± What she said made no sense. It wasn¡¯t until I was halfway down the steps that her words clicked, making me turn and yell back at the two of them. ¡°Wait, guns work here?¡± ¡°Of course they do,¡± the professor yelled back. ¡°Physics works here in the game in the same way it does on Earth. It is not the locals¡¯ fault their technological progress took a back seat to magical progress.¡± My mind started to work through the implications of this new piece of information as I made my way to the room to check in. This time I wasn¡¯t alone. Another woman leaned against the wall. Like me, she didn¡¯t have a single weapon visible, but unlike me, she was wearing a flight suit. As I looked her over, she did the same. We only stopped when the receptionist spoke up: ¡°Kyren Vulpier, Ellen Ripley, go ahead and head to your spots.¡± I gestured for her to precede me into the tunnel. She rolled her eyes but led the way to the arena floor. Like last time, there were two circles of magic to indicate where we were to stand. I reached my spot and stood there, pulling my sword out as I watched my opponent. Just before she stepped into the circle, she stopped, pulling a stocky tube out of her inventory. As that materialized in her hand, a cylinder thumped into the sand. The straps of which went onto her shoulders before she connected the dangling hose to the tube. A small yellow flame set at the tip of the object was all I needed to jump to conclude that she was holding a flamethrower in her hands. Though, it was crude as hell. Likely something that she or someone else had made as an experiment rather than something meant to be sold. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to get burned, give up now,¡± she spoke loud enough for me to hear her as she took the final steps to enter her circle. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I shook my head. I was fairly sure my fire elemental control would allow me to manipulate the fire, or at least divert it enough to avoid being hit. Before I could say anything, the announcer¡¯s voice reverberated around the arena. ¡°Round two. Ellen Ripley versus Kyren Vulpier. READY! FIGHT!¡± It seemed that the people running this tournament were not going to give either of us any time to prepare. Then again, I could have taken my time to reach the circle like Ellen had. That had given her all the time she needed to prepare. A gout of liquid fire roared across the space between us, parts of the stream falling short and landing on the sand where it continued to burn. The rest of it managed to reach where I was standing. While the faceful of fire surprised me, I didn¡¯t react like someone hit with a flamethrowing usually would. The heat was similar to that of a hot summer day inside my old place of work. No fan or air conditioner there to help cool us off as the sun turned the metal structure into an oven. The feeling got uncomfortable fast, but not as fast as the liquid making its way down my body and under my dress. Jumping back quickly, I shivered as the odd sensation of a viscous and heated liquid made its way down my chest. It was a feeling I had never experienced in that location. I mean, why would I ever need to put lube on my chest of all places? She altered the angle of her weapon enough to reach me a second time, causing me to jump back yet again. We did this dance several times before I finally found her weapon¡¯s limits and stayed outside of them. Too bad it was plenty far enough that any spell I threw at her would be noticed well before it hit. In fact, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to her unless I got closer, which meant I would have to be willing to get lubed up even more than I already was. At least the little I had gotten on me had mostly burned off at this point. Wait, did I really have no other options? I knew I had my fire magic, but what about my new elements? While I doubted I could pull off any sort of shadow movement like those Patric used, what about water or earth? Now, I know what you are thinking. These were elements I just unlocked. Elements I had never used in a spell, let alone trained with. There was a good chance something would go wrong but something about this situation and these two elements had my mind flying. Ideas popping up and discarding themselves before I finally settled on one that sounded promising. Of course, it all depended on whether or not I could pull the spell off before I ran out of mana. Jumping a fair distance away, I formed a thin rod out of earth runes with a few water runes mixed in. Both runes came to me as if I had always known them. As the last rune fell into place, the spell activated. A thin spear of earth formed out of the mana. Given the number of holes and the addition of water to the spell, I was sure that this spear was weak as hell. But I wasn¡¯t going for strength. If I needed strength to punch through her defenses in addition to the flames, I was screwed. Next came the hard part, laying a second and third spell down on top of the first. While I had no clue what it would do, I was hoping that the layer of dark runes I surrounded the spear with would provide some help getting the rod to its destination. It wasn¡¯t the fire from the flame thrower I needed to protect it from; it was the rings of fire runes that I surrounded the spear with that it needed to block. My head pounded and the world narrowed as I finished the last of the spells. Holding them in place as they activated. The spear darkened as if shadowed before rings of fire hid the entire construct. Not sure how long I would be able to hold the thing, I took aim and fired. Parts of the firebolt from hell flickered as it zipped from me to my target, a line of fire hanging mid-air, connecting the two points for a few moments in time. Not that it was time or air that removed the line. A shockwave of shrapnel, fire, and steam erupted from where the shard struck. I stood there, a ringing sound making it hard to hear while I waited to find out the results of my attack. Standing there, frozen stiff, was my opponent. Behind her, a crater in the wall showed where my attack had made contact. As we both looked at the spot, we both knew that she would likely have been in tiny pieces if that strike had hit her. ¡°In a sudden twist, Kyren Vulpier is the winner.¡± As soon as my first foot moved to carry me out of the arena, it gave out. My body crashed to the ground as the world started to turn grey. While I could hear the people running out to help me, I couldn¡¯t make sense of what they said or did. One of them shoved a bottle into my mouth, forcing my lips to close around it before sealing my nose. Left with no choice, I swallowed the liquid. It was vile. Tasting of stale water mixed with glitter. The only reason I didn¡¯t spit the stuff up was due to the hands keeping my mouth closed. Slowly, the world regained its color and I could make sense of the conversation going on around me. A man was talking. ¡°¡­mana-deficient. I thought you travelers would be smart enough to not push your luck.¡± Another man laughed. ¡°If anything, it is the opposite. We will constantly push our luck, even going so far as to die multiple times. All so we can find and push our limits. And, as we can see from this last fight, it sometimes pays off.¡± Given their conversation, I was fairly sure that one was a player while another was an NPC. The other man scoffed but changed subjects. ¡°Looks like she is coming around.¡± ¡°He,¡± I grunted out as I tried to push myself up. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°What?¡± the man said before waving off his question. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You played it close. Nearly passing out from mana exhaustion. Not something I recommend. Given that I only saw you cast the one spell, I would recommend you either refrain from using such spells or find a way to increase your mana pool.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± I muttered as a sudden headache assaulted me. ¡°Is there anything you can give for this headache?¡± The other guy handed me a small strip of some sort of bark. ¡°Chew on this.¡± While I took it, I eyed it with suspicion. I had expected something more like magic, a potion, or even a pill. ¡°It is a strip of willow bark. While it is not as effective as most over-the-counter painkillers, it is what we have access to.¡± Not seeing any other choice, other than to live with the headache, I put the piece into my mouth and started to chew. While I knew the effect wouldn¡¯t be instant, I was happy that my chewing didn¡¯t make my head ache any more than it did. With some effort, I got up and let them help me down the tunnel and into the waiting room. Instead of continuing, they sat me down on one of the benches off to the side. ¡°Wait here and rest until your next fight,¡± I didn¡¯t want to argue, not with how much effort it took to walk even this far. I didn¡¯t want to know just how much effort it would take to go up and down those stairs. So, I simply nodded before turning and lying down to rest for the little bit of time I had before my next fight. Chapter 58 - Consequences of Growth My headache refused to disappear. If anything, it got worse. Out of sheer desperation for a distraction, I pulled up my status.
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Human
Level: 14
Class:
XP: 17301/19.6k
HP: 430/430
HP Regen: 16% (68.8) per hour*
MP: 360/360
MP Regen: 22.5% (81) per hour*
Current Ailments: Status Imbalance*
Current Buffs:
That was a new ailment. Pulling it up, I found the reason for my headache. Apparently, my strength was now less than seventy percent of my highest stat, wisdom. Given that the wisdom stat controlled how fast my body absorbed mana, it was like a muscle. All my muscles were also influenced by my strength stat. Basically, the ¡®muscle¡¯ pulling in mana was being pushed to its limit, or at least that was what I thought was happening. The status pages never directly spelled that out. How had my wisdom gone up? It took me a minute of searching to find the problem. Turns out my skills had been increasing this whole time, and I hadn''t even noticed. Mostly, it was the skills related to mana and magic. Given the amount of testing I¡¯d been doing with my magic, and the limitations I had pushed against, it made sense. That was especially true in the last fight. Holding so many different spells at the same time was taxing, pushing me enough to even level up my multitasking skill. Add to that my need to manipulate multiple elements into working with each other, and it was easy to see where all the extra points had come from. Too bad it came at such a bad time. Curious to see if any other options had shown up in my class list, I switched tabs. Sure as shit, another class had popped up.
Class: Elementalist
Rank: Uncommon
Type: Magic - Experimentalist
Description: You have access to three or more elements. Two of which are opposite elements. You have even managed to use them all in a single spell. If you want to do so without blowing yourself up, you might want to take this class. While it isn''t the best when it comes to casting spells, it is the best at mixing elements together to get new and interesting effects. Sometimes the combinations might even be greater than the sum of their parts.
Level-up Bonus: +1 Strength, +1 Vitality, +1 Dexterity, +1 Agility, +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom
Starting Skills: Spell Stability and Elemental Learning
Additional Unlocks: None
Additional Cost: None
Sure, at first glance the class was weak, but the more I sat there looking at it, the more I liked it. I didn¡¯t know what Elemental Learning would do, but Spell Stability seemed like something I would have to start worrying about soon enough, especially as my spells got more and more complex. Who knows what would have happened if I had fucked up the spell during that last round. If the description of the class was to be believed, I might have blown up. The only question I had left was whether I should wait to take this class and ask Barti about it, or take it now. If I took it now, I would get access to the two skills it provided. From what I could tell, the earlier you got a skill and started to use it, the better off you were. Then again, what if the class wasn¡¯t really all that good but there was one that I was on the cusp of getting because I had four elements unlocked? If only there was a way to ask Barti or either of the girls. The only person who likely had the information I needed, and whom I could ask, was Xander. Too bad we had ended our last conversation on bad terms. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Who am I kidding? I was the one that threw a fit at the end. I wouldn¡¯t have been as pissed if the guy didn¡¯t practically throw his growth in my face. I mean, he wasn¡¯t wrong about me being slow. But there was nothing wrong with being slower than everyone else. I had a great foundation, and my stats weren¡¯t too skewed. I even had some decent equipment. All of that should have been enough for me to not feel so inferior to his speed of growth, yet I did. I was having issues saying the words that would lead to the answers I needed. Mentally I kept beating myself up until I finally ground out the words. ¡°AI, call Xander.¡± ¡°Calling,¡± my AI said as the noise of the room dimmed in one ear, replaced by a ringing sound. ¡°Call failed. Try again?¡± My voice sounded dejected as I said, ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Calling,¡± my AI repeated. The ringing cut off near-instantly telling me everything I needed to know. Still, the AI spoke the words. ¡°Call declined. Would you like to send Xander a message?¡± ¡°No,¡± I barely got the word out as my head came to rest in my hands. Maybe I had upset him by cutting our call short earlier. Or maybe it had been something else. I had no clue, nor did it matter. The only thing I did know was that I was on my own. ¡°Kyren, you¡¯re up,¡± the worker spoke up from where she sat. For some reason, I had no will to fight. The only thing that forced me up was my need to finish what I started. I needed to go out and face my opponent, even if I let them skewer me. Stepping out of the tunnels, I found myself facing off with a familiar opponent. One that stood no chance against me yet would win this time. ¡°There you are,¡± Jeremiah called out. ¡°We were wondering who in the group would get to face off against you first. Personally, I hoped it would be me, but I bet the rest of the group that Michael would take you down.¡± ¡°Just take me out in a single hit,¡± I said in a tone that he likely had to strain to hear. I didn¡¯t hesitate as I stepped into my designated starting position. His smile vanished as he took in my expression and words. ¡°What happened?¡± Of course, he would think that this was someone else''s fault. He probably also thought that he could send Michael after them to solve the problem. I shook my head, ¡°Nothing you need to worry about.¡± ¡°Nope,¡± his voice was firm as he continued. ¡°I will not take a single shot at you until you either tell me or fight me for real.¡± ¡°Round three,¡± the announcer''s voice boomed out. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the attack that took me out in case I reacted on instinct. ¡°Kyren Vulpier versus Jeremiah Tempest. READY! FIGHT!¡± Like before, there was little warning between ¡°Ready¡± and ¡°Fight¡±. Not that it mattered in this fight. I stood my ground, my sword still in my inventory as I waited for the end of the round to come. It didn¡¯t. Opening my eyes, I found Jeremiah standing there. Eyebrows raised as if daring me to do something about the situation. Grumbling, I debated giving him the fight he wanted. ¡°So, what are we going to do? A magic fight? Weapons? Boxing? A mix? Or maybe something different? We could play tic-tac-toe. Best two out of three, of course.¡± I couldn¡¯t help myself. I burst into laughter at his options. When I could finally take a deep breath, I spoke up. ¡°I think I needed that. Just so you know, most of my mana is gone. Used it up in the last round.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± He grinned. ¡°That was one hell of a fight. Just how many elements did you use in that spell? I got the fire and earth, but a spell using just those two elements wouldn¡¯t have dealt that much damage.¡± ¡°I used earth and water to create the spear,¡± I knew I should be giving out information on my spells to someone I was about to fight, but I found myself answering his question. ¡°But the water would have made the stone brittle,¡± he said, confused for a second before something dawned on him. ¡°It wasn¡¯t about the damage the spear could do directly. It was about the explosion. As soon as the spell hit something, the stone would shatter and the water would hit the fire. Instant steam explosion. Mix in the stone shards, and you have a lovely grenade.¡± I blushed at his expression of surprise and awe. ¡°True, but that flamethrower would have blown it up long before it reached its target. I had to add a shell of darkness to the spear itself.¡± ¡°Yeah, the force of whatever liquid she was using would have broken the spear early. But are you telling me that you have four different elements? All of which you used on a single spell?¡± I nodded. ¡°Why did you not use any of the three elements in our little mock fights? Hell, just showing dark would have made Patric¡¯s day. He might have even tried to show you shadow jump.¡± ¡°I only unlocked them after my first round,¡± I said without inflection, trying to make it seem like it wasn¡¯t as big a deal as he was making it. ¡°You unlocked three elements in the middle of a tournament and used them to kick your opponent''s ass in the next round? Either you are a crazy idiot or a genius.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Now, how are we going to duke this out?¡± Something about our conversation and the way he spoke had me relaxing. ¡°I am fine with weapons. That is, if you have any.¡± His hand reached out and grabbed onto nothing but air. At first, nothing visible happened. A moment passed, then another, I noticed an odd ripple in the air. Water condensed in front of him. The light glinted off and through the small streams as an object formed in his grip. Within a minute, his hand held a staff. It was a dark brown color that reminded me of an old staff most wizards in movies and games carried. The difference between those and this one was the runes. Those that decorated this staff were a deep, dark red, nearly black in color. ¡°This is my soul-bound weapon.¡± He stated as he twirled it around. Though I didn¡¯t know if he had any experience using such a weapon in real life, he made it look like he had been born with the damn thing. ¡°While it is meant to help me with my spells, it should work as a weapon for our little fight.¡± I nodded as I retrieved my sword. The light coming off it was closer to an off-white than before. I had no clue what the colors signified but something told me that they did mean something. Maybe the professor would know. It was something I would have to remember to ask him the next time I saw him. For now, I needed to focus on the fight. Taking a second to center myself, I spoke loud enough for anyone listening to hear. ¡°Ready?¡± His hands twirled the staff around into a ready position before he nodded. ¡°Go.¡± The staff crossed the distance as he stabbed at my stomach. While I hadn''t expected this specific attack, I had expected him to throw me an easy first strike. Something slow and easy to dodge. Something to see how serious I was. My options were to take the hit, block the hit with my Chisa Katana, or spin out of the way. As I didn¡¯t care to take the hit, nor go on the defense from the start. I spun to my right while my sword flashing out. Turning the momentum of my dodge into an attack aimed at his hand. The tip of the blade managed to cut into the flesh between his thumb and forefinger before hitting the staff. He hissed in pain as he tried to get out of reach. With that hand practically useless for holding the staff now, he used the other to grip it, while using his damaged hand to direct the strikes. I dodged each. Waiting for the opening that I knew was coming. Sure enough, his attack slowed as his hand slipped. The blood made the staff slick. I didn¡¯t hesitate. Jumping forward, I slashed three times. Once to cut his arms, once to slice his chest, and finally along the back of his legs to make sure that, even if he survived the other two wounds, he would not be able to come after me. ¡°In a savage attack, Kyren Vulpier has won this match,¡± the announcer boomed. Instead of leaving the field, I returned my sword and turned to see what kind of damage Jeremiah might be dealing with. Other than his hand, everything looked fine. Even the hand-wound looked to be visibly healing. ¡°Either you have a great HP regeneration, or you are using a healing spell,¡± I stated. ¡°Healing spell.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°You said weapons. I took that to mean no magic. Healing spells count.¡± ¡°So you went easy on me?¡± I practically growled in frustration. ¡°No.¡± He held up his hands. The staff had vanished when I wasn¡¯t looking. ¡°If you had been using your magic I would have lost just as easily.¡± He wasn¡¯t wrong, but it still irked me. ¡°Um, I know this is a bit odd to ask but do you perchance have a stat that is below¡­¡± ¡°I do.¡± I interrupted him. ¡°What about it.¡± ¡°Is the higher stat a mental one?¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°I will take that as a yes. I would recommend fixing that as fast as possible. Maybe between this round and the next. While it is not written anywhere in the game, I had read of people having issues with their emotions and such when a mental stat is too high over the other stats.¡± That would explain these odd mood swings. Even I was starting to notice them, and I typically don¡¯t understand things like emotions. I mean, how would me hanging up piss my friend off? He may have been irked but the guy wasn¡¯t like that. He probably didn¡¯t pick up because he was probably just as busy as I was. ¡°What about a physical stat? What should I watch for if one of them is higher than a mental stat?¡± He shuddered for a second before replying. ¡°Roid Rage.¡± Those two words were all he said before turning and leaving. I shook my head and followed him out of the arena, and back into the waiting room. My mind trying to think about what kind of exercises I could do to work on my strength. Trying to figure out how I could get that stat up by two points in as short a time as possible. Chapter 59 - Round and Around We Go Yeah, I came up with nothing to do. Well, nothing that I could do in the short bit of time I had between matches. So unless I came up with a new, miraculous way to strengthen someone in a dozen or so minutes, I would have to either wait or figure out a new skill. Something that gave a bonus to strength. Not that that was impossible, just unlikely. Hell, I already had one such skill, which was odd as it was not one that I would have associated with strength. If anything, I would have thought that a short sword skill would have given a boost to something like dexterity or agility and not strength. Then there was punching and kicking, both of which gave no bonus to any stat. Not that their bonuses were useless, they just seemed weak. Ah well, there was nothing I could do about the system right now. Maybe if I ever met the programmers, I could demand an answer or two. For now, I had to focus on the situation in front of me. A tiny, pixie-looking woman stood in her spot on the field. She was shorter than me, likely not even reaching four and a half feet. On top of that, I was pretty sure she wouldn¡¯t break one hundred pounds soaking wet. ¡°Round four,¡± the announcer¡¯s booming voice seemed to cause the woman to jump slightly. ¡°Lindra Greyhound versus Kyren Vulpier.¡± I pulled out my sword, debating whether to charge straight in or hit her from a distance with magic. As various potential plans and ideas played out in my head, she pulled out a hammer. I am not talking about a small hammer that is used for nails, nor even one of the larger hammers used to break concrete or other objects. I am talking about something with a head the size of my torso. The thing had to weigh more than her. Fuck, depending on what it was made of, it might even weigh more than me. Her hands twisted and twirled the handle back and forth, moving faster and faster until I could hear the thing whistling through the air. As soon as the announcer said, ¡°READY!¡±, she stopped, the hammer coming to rest in front of her. She held it in such a way that the bottom forward edge of the hammerhead hovered just over the ground. ¡°FIGHT!¡± A thunderous boom was the only warning I got as she vanished. With a fast and liberal use of my enhancement spell, I managed to dodge her first swing by a hair. As my feet dug a rut into the soft sand, I managed to turn to look at my attacker. The hammer was already lifted high into the air as she prepared for another strike. Something about the hammer had my instincts screaming at me to run. That I would not be able to deflect a hit from it, let alone take one. Without a second¡¯s hesitation, I lept to the side. The hammer slid past me. The move was so fast and so forceful that the air it displaced helped me escape. Not that I was complaining. Not when the hammer hit the sand. The force of it didn¡¯t just leave a small crater or kick up a small cloud of dust. No. It created a wave of the stuff. Luckily, I was in the air. My body tilted slightly as the wind was still trying to shove me out of the way. This tilting was probably why one of my feet was lower than the other. Low enough to get caught in the top edge of the sand wave. It grabbed my foot. Pulling it, and everything attached, back toward the ground. The sudden jerking movement left my brain slightly rattled and unable to react as my body slammed into the ground. I expected the match to be over at that point. So it was a bit of a shock that, when I finally came back to my senses, I found the hammer still stuck in the sand. The head of it was practically buried, and no matter how the pixie-sized woman pulled on it, it didn¡¯t budge. Now, I abhorred cheaters, and there would likely be people out there who claimed I had cheated, but I also hated to look a gift horse in the mouth. With a swift strike, my sword passed through her neck, ending the match. ¡°In a turn of luck, Kyren Vulpier has won the match.¡± As the announcer said this, the woman slumped to her knees, her face filled with resignation and something that looked like fear. While it wasn¡¯t my job or duty to stick my nose into her business, that didn¡¯t mean I would just leave her here. Reaching forward to grab hold of her hammer, I gave it a yank. It was well and truly stuck. With a small application of mana to move the sand, I found the problem. The force of her blow managed to crack the stone below the sand. It wasn¡¯t all that large, just long and wide enough for the edge of the hammer to get well and truly stuck. A minute and more magic later, I had the hammer free from its imprisonment. As soon as it was free, the woman practically attacked me to get it back. I released it, not really caring that she got it. All I got in return for my work was a simple nod from her before she sprinted to the edge of the arena and out of sight. The sudden exit had me baffled, but seeing as there was nothing else for me to do, I followed after her, stopping in the waiting room and focusing on trying to figure out what I would do after the tournament ended, whenever that was. While it felt like I had been going for a few hours now, I had no clue how long it had really been. ¡°You¡¯re up again,¡± the woman sitting at the lone desk in the room stated. I had been in the room for less than ten minutes. So either the rounds were run concurrently, or the event was nearing the end. Making my way into the arena, I found my opponent was a mountain of a man. Our eyes met as I walked, and he huffed. ¡°Lookee here, little missy. You best be fixin¡¯ to drop outta this here tournament. I ain¡¯t gonna hit ya, but you sure as shooin¡¯ ain¡¯t takin¡¯ me down neither.¡± I rolled my eyes. Not because he had mistaken me for a woman, nor his assumption that a girl couldn¡¯t take him down. No. I rolled my eyes because of his damn southern drawl. For some reason, it sounded forced. As if he was faking it for some reason. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Stepping into my circle, I pulled out my Chisa Katana and prepared to show him just what I could do. His shoulders rose and fell as he let out a sigh before pulling out a tower shield nearly as tall as he was. The thing thumped into the sand with such force that I felt it. We both stood there, silent as we stared each other down. He was likely waiting for me to drop out while I waited for the match to start. Thankfully, for both of us, the announcer¡¯s voice filled the place before even a minute passed. ¡°For round five. We have Kyren Vulpier versus Austin Augusta. How will a jack-of-all-trades fare against a tank?¡± Either the announcer was getting into the matches finally, or he was bored. ¡°READY? FIGHT!¡± Austin¡¯s eyes tracked me as I slowly moved from side to side. I was trying to see which side might hold the best chance at taking the guy down. I was fairly sure neither was better as he swapped the shield from one side to the other when I moved too far in one direction. I muttered, ¡°Fuck it,¡± just as I decided to go with a simple, if stupid, plan. My mana poured from me and into my sword. As I did so, a shimmering metallic-looking liquid traveled up the blade. By the end of the ten-second activation time, the blade would be covered by mana, becoming sharper and able to cut any spell. Or at least I hoped it would be able to cut spells. That was one of my original reasons for getting that skill. Not that any of that mattered now. Now, I just had to focus on my opponent. His eyebrows were lifted as he watched the mana coat my blade. Seeing as he wanted to watch it, I moved to give him an up-close and personal view. Sand exploded behind me as I boosted my body and shot forward. Getting into my sword¡¯s range just as the skill finished. My mana-coated blade sliced into the edge of his shield, cutting a good ten inches into it before coming to a stop. While it was a bit of a surprise to have my blade stopped, my focus was centered on the arm behind the shield. I had hit it. Or at least I was pretty sure I had. Too bad his arm looked none the worse for it. Yanking my sword out, I hacked at the shield a second time. The blade made it less than six inches through before stopping as well. ¡°See?¡± his accented voice taunted me. ¡°What did I tell you? Save yourself some embarrassment and drop out. There ain''t no shame in it.¡± In response, I activated another of my sword skills. Aiming for the unblemished edge of the shield as it activated. My sword seemed to stick into the air behind me. My muscles strained as they worked to get the sword unstuck from whatever was holding me back. Without warning, the blade was released. A shiny, silvery streak sliced up in an arc. The Crescent Moon Strike skill, coupled with the Mana Blade, sliced through the shield like it wasn¡¯t even there. As the top half of the shield thumped into the ground, Austin simply shrugged, dropping the other half to the side as he lifted his hands up in a boxing pose. Given his size, I would die if I even tried to box with him, so that wasn¡¯t happening. Instead, I tried activating my Crescent Moon Strike again. Nothing happened. I tried a second time, but still, the skill didn¡¯t work. It wasn¡¯t due to a lack of mana, despite using over a quarter of it, I still had more than enough to power the skill. As I thought through all the reasons I couldn¡¯t use a skill, the metallic sheen on my blade drained away. And, as with the Crescent Moon Strike, the Mana Blade skill refused to activate. Seeing no other option, I gave up on using those skills. Maybe after the fight, I could figure out their issue, but now was not the time. As I moved in to attack, a muted tan glow covered his skin. It gave the guy a decent-looking tan, but otherwise looked like it did nothing. My blade made contact with his forearm and found no purchase, instead skidding to the side as if he were wrapped in armor. I figured that whatever the glow on his skin was, it had to be either a spell or skill that strengthened his body. It wasn¡¯t something a new skill or such. Many other games had similar skills. The problem I had was figuring out what type of skill it was. Was it one that gave immunity or lessened damage for a set amount of time, or was it one that took a set amount of damage before disappearing? As there was only one way to find out, I attacked him in earnest. Striking at every part I could reach. Balls of fire slammed into him from behind as I tried to do as much damage as I could. Finally, a sound of shattering glass filled the area as the glow broke into particles of light. Based on his uplifted eyebrows, he hadn''t expected this to happen, which likely meant it wasn¡¯t a timed skill. Moving in to gut my opponent, I found he started to glow again. This time a muted red color. My sword made contact and I saw nothing but fire as I was flung back. Something around my neck audibly shattered. The pieces of which traveled down my dress and got stuck between it and my skin at various points. ¡°While this jack-of-all-trades managed to do what no one else in the competition has done, they were still unable to break through the wall that is Austin Augusta. Give it up for our semi-finalist.¡± As soon as I heard the announcer¡¯s voice, I gave up trying to get up. The round was over. I had lost. ¡°Not too, shabby, darlin¡¯,¡± Austin¡¯s drawl caused me to open my eyes. He was crouched next to my prone body. ¡°Ya had me sweatin¡¯ bullets for a sec, with you breakin¡¯ that first shield.¡± ¡°What was with that damn shield?¡± I asked, returning my sword to my inventory before sitting up. ¡°Talkin¡¯ ¡®bout the first one or the second one?¡± ¡°Second.¡± He helped me up to my feet before continuing as we walked out of the arena. ¡°Kinda my last-ditch defense, y¡¯know. It takes a hit and gives it right back, with a lil¡¯ somethin¡¯ extra.¡± ¡°Sounds overpowered if it can reflect any hit.¡± ¡°Any single hit,¡± his drawl stressed the word single. ¡°After that, it¡¯s on cooldown. Now, tell me, what in tarnation did you do to your sword to make it bust up my shield like that?¡± ¡°Mana Blade. Before you ask, I have no clue what exactly the skill does. The description is quite vague.¡± As we stepped out of the tunnel and into the waiting room, the woman sitting at the desk held her hand out to me. It took me a second before I remembered that I needed to return the used-up protection item. Pulling the leather over my head, I found that the stone was shattered into tiny fragments. She took the leather but ignored the stone fragments in my hand. While she placed it into the box next to her, she spoke to Austin. ¡°Your next match is in approximately ten minutes. I would recommend you rest and recuperate.¡± ¡°Thank ya, ma¡¯am.¡± Austin nodded his head before finding a seat. He gestured to the bench on the other side for me to take, but the woman coughed catching my attention. As soon as her eyes locked on mine, she said, ¡°and I recommend you return to the seating area. The only people allowed in this room are people still in the tournament.¡± I sighed. She did not like me, but to kick me out like this, just what had I done to her? But, instead of arguing, I nodded and started for the door on the other side of the room. Waving back at Austin as I made my way out. Chapter 60 - Finals I heard echoes of the cheering going on above as I made my way through the tunnels. The sound grew louder the closer I got to the first set of stairs. As I stepped up the stairs and into the afternoon sun, I found my eyes locking on the fight going on below. Patric was jumping from shadow to shadow as he avoided the barrage of spells targeted at him. Balls of fire, spikes of earth and ice, and even jets of water struck out at him. Yet every single one seemed to miss him by a hair. I was sure he could have moved faster to dodge each spell but every time he stopped, he attacked back. His arm throwing something indecipherable. Not that whatever he threw hit his target. Whatever it was shrank and vanished before hitting his opponent. I was fairly sure that these two people were fairly equal. Neither being strong enough to hit the other yet strong enough to hold them off. There were only two ways one could win a fight like this. Well, three. One of them could decide to forego defense and charge in. While this was dangerous and could just as easily lead to a loss, it could likely catch the opponent off balance. Not all that great a strategy, but sometimes such risks might be necessary to win and survive. Then again, you could just keep the status quo. Keeping the opponent at a distance and waiting for them to run out of mana or stamina. Of course, this could just as easily lead to you being the one to run out first. Judging by the information displayed on the screen, the mage had quite a bit of mana left, but he was eating through it noticeably faster than Patric. Of course, there was always the trump cards. Those skills, spells, or such that people keep in reserve as a last-ditch attack or defense. Like that shield that took me out in the last round. Though, such trump cards were saved until the last possible moment for good reason. They typically came with quite a doozy of a downside. Be it cost, setup, cooldown, or something similar. It didn¡¯t matter. The only question that mattered was when was it worth using. Use it too late and it might do nothing to help your situation. Use it too early and you might have wasted it. As I watched, the mage came to a decision. He stopped tossing attacks. Instead focusing on something else. Patric didn¡¯t let the opportunity pass him by. He flit from shadow to shadow as he rapidly closed in. Just as he was within striking distance, the mage released whatever he had been focusing on. With a simple flick of his hand, a beam of light lanced out. Briefly connecting them before winking out. ¡°And in a blaze of light, Ignis Lancer has defeated Patric Markus.¡± The announcer''s voice was just loud enough for me to make out over the screaming and shouting going on around me. Without warning, the arena shimmered. The two of them vanished, replaced by another two fighters. Both of whom I recognized. ¡°For our last Semi-final round, we have Austin Augusta versus Michael Petrimore. Which tank will come out on top? Let us find out.¡± Austin pulled out a new shield. It was either a backup or a replacement for the one I had destroyed. He also pulled out an axe. The thing was tiny compared to his shield but something about it warned me to not underestimate it. Michael, on the other hand, pulled out a shield of his own. While it was made of the same dark material, it was smaller than the one he had used against Barti. The shape and size reminded me of an older superhero''s shield. Though, I was fairly sure this one couldn¡¯t stop bullets or bounce off enemies when thrown. His sword, on the other hand, was the same one that I had seen him use before. With the two ready, the announcer called out. ¡°Ready? Fight!¡± While Austin dug his feet in, Michael charged. While he was slow to accelerate, he managed to cross the distance in a couple of seconds. As they both got into range of each other, they swung their weapons. The edge of Michael¡¯s shield managed to get in between the head and handle of the axe, stopping it without taking any damage. Michael¡¯s sword, on the other hand, dug into the tower shield. Cutting a good handspan into the shield before stopping. Then, for some reason, they both stopped attacking. At first, I thought they were talking, but their mouths were still. The only thing that seemed to be straining their bodies was their back and arm muscles. It took me a moment to realize what was going on. They had each locked the other''s weapon in place, effectively trapping it in one way or another. A sudden glow covered Michael¡¯s body moments before a loud metal-on-metal shrieking noise caused me to cover my ears and close my eyes. By the time I was able to look at the arena ground again, Michael was ten feet back. His sword was free, as was Austin¡¯s axe. With no warning, Austin threw his axe at Michael¡¯s face. As Michael lifted his shield to block the attack, he didn¡¯t see the axe reverse course. The moment it landed back in Austin¡¯s hand, he threw it again. This time aiming for his opponent¡¯s lower body. The strike landed. The axe¡¯s head embedded itself into Michael¡¯s knee. Michael roared in pain only to redouble as the axe pulled itself free before returning to its owner. Something seemed to snap in Michael as his roar of pain turned into a roar of pure anger. All at once, five separate, but rapid, flashes of light filled the arena. A faint golden glow settled on Michael¡¯s skin while another filled a rather large circle around him. As the two settled, a light red haze that mingled with the golden glow covering Michael followed by one of crimson. Not to be outdone, a white glow surrounded his body. While I knew the guy was human, from where I was standing, Michael suddenly looked like what one would imagine a pissed-off deity might look like. As soon as the light show settled down, Michael moved. He didn¡¯t run. He didn¡¯t attack. He simply walked toward Austin. Seeing this, Austin¡¯s body lit up as his shield skill activated. Unfortunately, that shield did him little good as Michael swung his sword again. The thing cleaved through the shield like it was paper. It didn¡¯t stop there. The tip of the sword cleaved the arm holding the shield. The two pieces fell to the ground with a spray of blood. For some reason, I thought that such a wound would have ended the match, but it didn¡¯t. Instead, the fight continued. The cheering and jeering filling the area made it impossible to hear anything else. Michael lifted his sword into the air before taking a single step and letting it fall. It cleaved through his opponent before embedding itself into the ground. ¡°AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!¡± The announcer¡¯s voice boomed loud enough to shake the stone structure. ¡°MICHAEL IS OUR LAST FINALIST!¡± The crowd roared with approval and excitement. While Austin just stayed where he was, Michael turned and left. A female announcer¡¯s calm voice boomed over the noise. ¡°In order to give both parties a chance to recharge and to come off cooldown, the next round will take place in half an hour. If you would like to make any bets or get food, now is the time.¡± While the fact that betting was going on didn¡¯t surprise me, the fact that it was open and supported by the city did. Then again, how else would they expect to get a cut of the proceeds? Shaking my head, I turned and made my way up to where I had left the professor. His hulking form was in the same spot. Though, I did notice that the number of armed guards on this level had increased. Ignoring them, I sat in the seat next to the professor¡¯s bulk. He must have sensed something as he spoke, ¡°You did fairly well.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have charged in like I did.¡± I rebutted. ¡°Mindi is going to have my hide for ignoring one of her rules.¡± A voice came from behind the both of us. One that I recognized. ¡°What rule is that?¡± Turning, I looked at Mindi and answered her. ¡°To not rely on any one method.¡± She nodded, ¡°Sure but I am pretty sure I taught you that you shouldn¡¯t trust what a spell looks like. Instead avoiding them as much as you can.¡± When had she said that? Lucky for me, I didn¡¯t have to ask the question. She rolled her eyes as she continued. ¡°While the rules are great starting places, you need to look at every part of them and see what else each can teach you. Just because the rule says to not let a spell coat you does not mean you should go hitting one either.¡± That made an annoying amount of sense. But, not wanting to linger on my faults, I changed topics. ¡°So, I seem to have gotten another class. One that I was thinking of taking.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Barti¡¯s voice came from the seat behind me. I spun around the find the elf lounging there. Acting as if he had been there the entire time. ¡°What class caught your eye?¡± ¡°Elementalist.¡± As I said this, the elf nodded. ¡°I assumed as much given the various elements you threw around while fighting.¡± ¡°Which is something we will be talking about tomorrow.¡± Mindi cut in. Barti casually lifted his hand to show his agreement with her before continuing. ¡°While the class is not as strong as most other classes, it does have quite a few class upgrades that make it worth the time and effort.¡± He sighed, ¡°But it is up to you. Either you can get a class that will make you strong now or you can get a class that takes months to build up with.¡± I gave his two options an honest thought and found that I didn¡¯t want my class to do all the work. I wanted the challenge of learning and strengthening myself instead of using a class as a cheap shortcut. This same thing was probably why I had put up with the torture sessions they called training. Without hesitation, I opened up my character screen. Quickly sliding over to class options and selecting my new class from the list. Are you sure you would like to select Elementalist as your class? This action cannot be changed. Agreeing, I waited for something to happen. Other than a small shiver, nothing happened. Confused, I pulled up my character screen. Sure enough, my class was now Elementalist. On top of that, I had leveled, again. Given that every stat had increased by one, I had to assume it had to be something to do with my accepting the class. However, before I could ask, the announcer¡¯s voice filled the stadium. ¡°And now, for our final match, we have Michael Petrimore versus Ignis Lancer. Mage versus tank. Who will come out on top? Who will be going home with today''s prize?¡± Barti snorted at the announcer. ¡°That mage doesn¡¯t stand a chance.¡± ¡°Sure he does.¡± I countered. ¡°He has that laser beam that he used to win his last fight.¡± Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mindi shaking her head as she spoke. ¡°That was likely his strongest move. It took too long, and too much mana, to cast. Likely he would only be able to get one shot off before Michael was on him. Even if the mage managed to hit the tank, Michael hasn¡¯t used a few of his skills.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Because he never used his Last Stand ability.¡± The professor was the one to answer my question. I shot him a quizzical look. ¡°Given the other abilities he used, he likely chose the Sanctified Bulwark class.¡± I nodded at this as I thought back to our initial introduction. ¡°There are two abilities that he has yet to use that could turn the fight in his favor.¡± ¡°And Last Stand is one of them?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Fighters ready?¡± The announcer''s voice cut over the crowd. Everyone in the arena went silent in anticipation. Michael pulled out his small round shield and his sword while Ignis pulled out what looked like a fancy stick of blue and green metal. Based on the hissed breaths coming from the three people next to me, it was something they had all not expected. ¡°FIGHT!¡± Right off the bat, Michael¡¯s body and surroundings lit up. However, unlike the last fight, his opponent didn¡¯t wait for him to get ready. The mage made gesture after gesture before shouting ¡°IGNIS SOLIS¡± Five beams of light shot out from each spot he had gestured. Converging on Michael as one. Michael stood up straight. Even going so far as to move the shield out of the way before the strikes hit him. Light splashed off his body but otherwise seemed to do nothing. ¡°And that would be the Last Stand ability.¡± The professor said. ¡°Not just that. Look at how the light isn¡¯t splashing all over the place.¡± Barti said, his eyes narrowing as he watched. ¡°There is another ability at work here.¡± The professor laughed but otherwise didn¡¯t say anything. Not that he had to. As one, the beams of light cut off. The mage stood there stunned. As one, we all watched the glow shimmering around Michael. Without warning, it condensed and fired a beam of light back at the mage. He must have gotten lucky or something as the light hit the tip of his wand. While I expected the piece to explode, it glowed brighter and brighter until it rivaled the sun high above. As it finished absorbing the attack, he flicked it once in Michael¡¯s direction. ¡°ANIMA IGNIS!¡± Instead of a golden-white beam of light, his attack was a bluish-white cone. ¡°Well, that is a bit of an ambitious name for a spell.¡± The professor huffed. ¡°What is?¡± ¡°Anima Ignis translates to soul fire.¡± He replied. Barti shot a look at him but didn¡¯t say a word. Instead letting the professor continue. ¡°While this is a game, how can such a thing portray souls? Let alone use them as a fuel source.¡± I wanted to ask him more questions but the fire chose that moment to sputter out. The mage collapsed to his hands and knees. His head lifted to check on his opponent. Even from where I stood, he didn¡¯t look so healthy. His cheeks looked hollow and his eyes sunk deep. It was almost as if something had sucked the very life from his body. The fires surrounding Michael dimmed and vanished, revealing the beast of a man in all his glory. And I do mean all of his glory. His armor had either burned off or melted. Judging by the quickly solidifying puddle of metal surrounding him, it hadn''t been the only thing to melt. Wolf whistles and cat calls filled the stadium as people got an eyeful of the man. Given the lack of a reaction, he didn¡¯t care. Before the match could continue, the mage seemed to croak out something before collapsing to the ground. ¡°And there we have it. Michael Petrimore is this year''s champion. Give it up for Michael!¡± The announcer practically screamed into whatever they were using to do their job. For his part, Michael lifted his hands up in victory before moving forward to help the medics with his opponent. ¡°With that, I think I am going to get going.¡± The professor spoke as he stood up. ¡°Where are you going to go?¡± ¡°I think I will head to the front lines as I want to do some more research on these SoulStones.¡± ¡°SoulStones?¡± Barti asked. I passed mine over to him as the professor spoke. ¡°It was something the gods gave each traveler this morning. When I used it, I became this.¡± ¡°It looks serious.¡± Barti passed my stone to Mindi. ¡°Have you experienced any of the negative effects?¡± ¡°I got lucky there.¡± The professor carefully made his way down the stairs. While he used his wings to help maintain balance, he tried to not beam anyone over the head with them. ¡°One of my more expensive items has the ability to get rid of a single status item at the cost of a charge. As I hadn''t been using it while in this quaint town, I had all four charges sitting around.¡± ¡°But there are five debuffs.¡± I pointed out as I put the stone away. ¡°True, but I didn¡¯t need the buffs either so I got rid of them, preventing me from ever gaining the debuffs.¡± That was one way to do it, but it sounded like a waste. ¡°Smart.¡± Barti nodded before turning and looking me in the eyes. ¡°Promise me you will not use your stone unless you have no other choice.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It would make one hell of a trump card.¡± The professor answered for him from the tunnel stairs. ¡°Plus, who knows what you might change into.¡± Barti looked like he was fighting over what to say. Eventually, he just nodded. ¡°And you have seen what happens to non-humans in this town.¡± ¡°Actually, not really.¡± My statement caught the two of them off guard. Mindi spoke up, pointing out why that was. ¡°Because you have been training with us most of the time.¡± Barti looked like he wanted to argue but, after opening and closing his mouth a few times, he sighed. ¡°I need a drink before I try to explain any of this.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for either of us, he simply turned and vanished into the crowd. ¡°Take your time getting back. Just meet us back at the guild hall around dinner time.¡± Mindi said before taking off to catch up with the elf. I had a feeling that she was chasing him to make sure he was okay and had time to blow off a bit of steam before being allowed to drink. I was also fairly sure this wasn¡¯t the first time something like this had happened. Now, I just needed to find something to do for the next few hours. Chapter 61 - Creeper As I left the arena, my stomach informed me of my neglect. While I could have gone to the guild hall for some food, I would be there later. Plus, today would be the day to try some new place. Taking a few steps to the side and out of the flow of people, I spoke to a kid manning a stall with various pieces of leather on display. ¡°Hey, do you have any suggestions for food?¡± He lifted his eyes out of the book in front of him and reluctantly asked. ¡°Sit down or grab and go?¡± ¡°Sit down.¡± ¡°Follow this road back to the water fountain. Then look for a sign with a boar wearing an apron.¡± His head dropped back down as he returned to his book. Shaking my head at his attitude, I resume walking. It doesn¡¯t take me long to return to the open plaza-like area. Not only that, but the sign catches my eye within seconds of looking around. Given the bright colors, it was either well-maintained or stored and only used for special events. There was a line that went from the door to the door of the next building. Given the amount of people in the city, this wasn¡¯t surprising. If this was anything like the real world, days like this would be the best days, profit-wise, for most of the stores and restaurants in the city. Standing there, waiting for my turn, I looked over my status.
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Human
Level: 15
Class: Elementalist
XP: 22301/22.5k
HP: 445/445
HP Regen: 16.5% (73.4) per hour*
MP: 370/370
MP Regen: 23% (85.1) per hour*
Current Ailments: Status Imbalance*
Current Buffs:
Unsurprisingly, nothing had changed since getting my class. Now I just needed to figure out what the class did. I mean, I knew what the class description said, but it didn¡¯t mention any limitations or loopholes I might be able to use to my advantage. But that would have to wait until I could ask either my teachers or someone in Michael¡¯s party. Flipping to another tab, I looked at my sword. Oddly enough, it had leveled just as much as I had. It was almost as if, as soon as I reached its level, it kept up.
Weapon Name: Shizukana Arashi
Type: Single-Edged Blade
Specific Type: Chisa Katana
Rank: Uncommon
Range: Melee
Material: Magical Iron
Current Damage: 10 ¨C 100 HP*
Level: 15
XP: 22301/22.5k
Skills: Mana Slice (2), Mana Blade (2), Crescent Moon Strike (1), Cascading Strike (1)
Durability: 250/250
Current Condition: Sheath ¨C Excellent Handle ¨C Excellent Blade ¨C Excellent
Requirements: A blade-related skill LVL 2 or greater Or User named Kyren
Description: This weapon excels at short-range combat. This blade¡¯s previous wielder poured their heart and soul into practicing with this weapon. As this blade took the lives of their enemies, it absorbed the knowledge. Nudging its wielder in times of need. Kyren, take care of this weapon and it will take care of you. Also, you will find that this weapon is best used with both hands, though you can use one if necessary.
Seeing the skill section reminded me of what had happened in the fight against Austin. As soon as I read over the first skill, I groaned as the need to beat my head against the wall grew. The damned skills had a cooldown. I recalled reading this but, for some reason, I had let the information slip my mind in the moment. Looking over the rest of the information, I found a new skill had been added.
Skill: Level: Mana Cost: Activation Time: Time Limit: Cooldown: Point Cost:
Mana Slice 2 15 per cast 1 Swing NA 5 Seconds 6
Mana Blade 2 1 per second 10 Seconds 1 Minute 1 Minute 6
Double Strike 0 20 per cast 5 Seconds NA 5 Minutes 1
Crescent Moon Strike 1 10 per cast 5 Seconds NA 2 Minutes 2
Vorpal Strike 0 20 per cast 10 Seconds NA 5 Minutes 2
Cascading Strike 1 50 per cast 1 Second 10 Seconds 20 Minutes 10
Keen Edge 0 1 per 5 seconds 1 Second 1 Minute 2.5 Minutes 2
Meld 0 250 per cast 10 Seconds 25 Seconds 1 Day 5
Multiply 0 125 per cast 5 Seconds 30 Seconds 12 Hours 10
That was a long cooldown time for a skill and the point cost was stupid but something told me it would be worth it. As soon as I purchased the skill, I found most of the page greyed out. Likely due to the lack of points to spend. Flipping to the level-up section, I found that a new material upgrade had been added. Magical Iron to Magical Steel. It wasn¡¯t hard to justify that purchase. The question that bugged me until I got to the front of the line was where to put the rest of the points. While I could go with more damage, I had a feeling that I needed some way to store mana for use in various skills. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Before I could come to a decision, one of the servers gestured me forward. ¡°There should be a table open along the wall.¡± She said as she passed me a small piece of paper and gestured me in. The place was packed and as loud as one might expect. It took me a few moments of looking around before I found the open seat she had mentioned. As I sat down, the older gentleman waved from his seat to my right. His crisp British accent was different enough to catch my attention. ¡°Try the Brisket. While it isn¡¯t as good as some I had in my jaunts to southern Texas, it is damn good.¡± I only had time to nod my head before someone on the other side jostled my arm. Turning to look at who it was and why they had done so, I found a kid drawing something on a piece of parchment with a colored stick of some kind. While I knew that crayons were likely not a thing in this world, it looked oddly similar to one. ¡°Sowwy,¡± the kid''s eyes looked on the verge of tears as he looked up at me. It looked like he was expecting to be hit or something. Seeing the look had me wanting to kick someone''s ass for making that the kid''s first reaction. His mother, I assumed, heard him and quickly tried to grab him. ¡°Honey, you shouldn¡¯t bother other people.¡± While he moved closer to her, he kept working on the art piece in front of him. ¡°I am so sorry for whatever he did.¡± I waved off her apologies. ¡°It''s fine.¡± I wanted to ask her why he was so scared but something about her posture made me think that it was not something she wanted to talk about, especially in public. As I had never dealt with a kid that young, nor their parent, I was lost. The old man saved me from just staring. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them. The last person that was sitting in your spot was a bit harsher than he should have been.¡± He spoke just loud enough for me to hear him over the noise. ¡°What happened to him?¡± I whispered back. ¡°He was encouraged to go find food elsewhere.¡± His smile was predatory as his hand tapped a cane leaning against the chair. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t do anything of the sort, you will find that this spot is fairly welcoming.¡± His threat was clear, even to me. ¡°Thank you, and I think I will try the brisket.¡± ¡°You will love it.¡± Less than a minute after ordering my meal, the waitress brought a large plate over with four thick slices of meat coupled with vegetables and a side of a dark sauce. As soon as I took my first bite, I was in love. It had hints of bacon, a woody smoky flavor, and seemed to melt the instant it hit my tongue. I savored the meal as much as I could, but it was still gone all too soon. ¡°Told you.¡± The old man laughed. I nodded as I moved to eat the last of the meal. Just as I went to stab a carrot, someone bumped into the back of my chair, hard. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± A slightly slurring male voice said from practically behind my ear. The sound and feel of it was revolting. ¡°Hey, there is an open table over here.¡± The voice sounded close. Likely one of the person''s buddies. ¡°Nah, I think I found the perfect seat right here.¡± He says as he takes a deep breath instantly changing him from weird drunk to creep. My voice is firm as I turn and move to shove him away. ¡°I am already sitting here.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t your parents ever teach you anything about sharing? I am fairly sure there is enough room for you on my lap.¡± Oh no he did not just try to pick me up. As my emotions flared, so did my mana. Unfortunately, or fortunately, for the creep, the kid sitting next to me was all that was preventing me from blowing up and attacking him. With a tone cold as ice, I spoke, ¡°I am sorry but you are not my type. So fuck off.¡± ¡°I am everyone¡¯s type.¡± He spoke with such confidence as he leaned in closer. Moving as if to kiss me. Even if the guy''s breath didn¡¯t smell like whatever spirits he had been imbibing, I would not have allowed him to do so. Not now, not ever. As I mentally worked on pulling out my Chisa Katana, the old man spoke up. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you.¡± I didn¡¯t know if he was speaking to me or the creep. ¡°Pretty sure he will kill you if you do.¡± We both turned to look at him. While he was facing the window, I could see his eyes in the window. They were looking at us as his hand lightly swirled an amber drink around in his glass. ¡°Stay out of this old man.¡± The arrogant prick spat. While I had wondered why he had not stepped in to help me, his muttered words told me that he knew I wouldn¡¯t need it. ¡°Your funeral.¡± Before me or anyone else could do, or say anything else, a waiter walked up. His voice was clear and promised pain to anyone that didn¡¯t listen. ¡°Sir, we ask that every one of our patrons find their own chair, so as to avoid unwanted accidents. If you cannot do so, I will have to ask you to leave and come back at another time.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± He ground out as he backed up just enough to turn and walk away without running afoul of the waiter. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said as I closed my inventory screen. ¡°Both of you.¡± ¡°I just didn¡¯t want you to get blood on my jacket or for you to scar the little one.¡± ¡°And here I was not wanting you to blast him apart with your mana.¡± The waiter said with a laugh, ¡°Blood tends to fly all over the place when it happens.¡± I laughed at the thought. ¡°I don¡¯t have the amount of power required for such a thing.¡± The waiter lifted his eyebrows at that. ¡°It''s not about power. Not when your opponent is a drunk idiot that forgets that magic exists in this world.¡± The comment made me realize that this guy was a player and not an NPC. ¡°What is a player doing working at a restaurant?¡± ¡°Making some money on the side. Quite a bit of money.¡± His smile was full of greed coupled with happiness. ¡°Anyway, I have to get back to work.¡± With that, he moved to another table that had just sat down. ¡°And I need to get going as well.¡± The old man spoke. As he downed the last of his drink, I asked out of curiosity, ¡°Where are you off to?¡± ¡°Off to do some hunting.¡± ¡°This late? During a festival?¡± I asked as the light outside was starting to dim. Standing and pushing his stool in, he answered. ¡°Best time to get some of the bigger beasts. Doesn¡¯t hurt that most of the rest of the hunters will be busy drinking or playing around.¡± A top hat appeared out of nowhere. Just after he put it on, he tipped it. ¡°I hope you have a good night.¡± Then he vanished into a group that just happened to be walking by. Before I had a chance to even take a breath, the creep reappeared. ¡°I was wondering when that old fart would leave. Now we can get to know each other better.¡± While his eyes leared at my body, his hand reached for mine. Just before he could touch me, I jerked it out of reach. His eyes flashed with anger. ¡°Do you think you are too good for me?¡± I had no response to that. I mean, what would I have said? That he was an idiot thinking I was a woman? It wouldn¡¯t have helped, plus, it wasn¡¯t as if I could blame them. Not while I was wearing this dress. But that also didn¡¯t mean I wanted to deal with creeps like this guy. Wait, was this how some women felt whenever a guy tried to talk to them at a bar? God, I hoped I had not been one of those guys. Then again, when was the last time I had been to a bar? His hand brushing through my hair brought my attention back to this moment. ¡°Answer me when I ask you a question!¡± I managed to swat his hand out of the way just before he could grab my neck. Before I could say a word, Linda¡¯s voice cut in. ¡°Who are you and what are you doing to my property.¡± While I wanted to question her about her choice of words, the way she spoke sent shivers of fear racing down my spine. It was quiet but not in a way I would associate with someone trying to calm a situation down. It was the kind of quiet one reserved for moments before ending someone. Either the creep was an idiot or didn¡¯t care because he laughed in her face. ¡°Oh, are you her mommy? Go away before you get hurt.¡± Emotions flickered across Linda¡¯s face before finally settling into another neutral expression. ¡°Let¡¯s go Kyren.¡± While, in a way, she sounded like she was ordering me to follow her, I practically jumped off my stool to do so. ¡°Who are you to tell her where to go? She is with me right now and no one, including you, will tell me otherwise.¡± My emotions cracked at his choice of words. My mana once again poured into my surroundings. Tendrils of it writhed as if reaching for him. Internally, I struggled with letting them attack him or holding them back. While I could feel Linda¡¯s eyes on me and hear her words, I worked to pull my mana back into myself. ¡°I don¡¯t think Kyren agrees with you. But how about this; we fight in a sanctioned duel. Winner gets to do whatever they want to Kyren for the rest of the day.¡± Even as I finished pulling my mana back in, it pushed to come back out as I worked through what she had just proposed. He didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°Agree!¡± Almost as if she had been sitting on the sidelines waiting for this to happen, Ginny popped up between the three of us. ¡°An official challenge has been declared between Trenton Vargus and Kyren Vulpier. Do both parties agree to this?¡± The guy looked smug as he nodded to the dwarf. She looked at me. For a moment, I didn¡¯t know whether or not to agree but the thought of having a chance to beat this guy down without issue was too good to pass up. ¡°Wait, I thought she was going¡­¡± He tried to say as soon as I nodded. Ginny ignored him as she spoke up loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Given how quiet the restaurant had become, that wasn¡¯t hard. ¡°The battle will take place in fifteen minutes at the arena.¡± Turning to the creep, she continued. ¡°I will personally escort you so that you won''t ¡®get lost¡¯ between here and there.¡± To the majority of the building''s amusement, the woman practically dragged the drunk behind her as she left. As soon as they were both out of sight, people all over scrambled to pay for their food. I could swear I even heard a few beg the staff for a to-go cup of whatever they were drinking. ¡°Why is everyone so excited?¡± I asked Linda as I started for the door. ¡°I mean, it isn¡¯t like there wasn¡¯t a full day of fighting in the arena already or anything.¡± ¡°I sometimes forget how sheltered you are,¡± she sighed. Taken aback by her comment, I voiced my disagreement. ¡°I am not sheltered.¡± Ok, so I sounded like a child that wasn¡¯t getting its way. Sue me. Her chuckle was soft. ¡°You spend most of your days in training. I doubt you have even explored most of the city, let alone gotten an up-close show of what the rest of the population sees and experiences.¡± While I didn¡¯t like it, she had me there. ¡°If you had, you would know just how bad some of the guys can be. Now, why Trenton Vargus isn¡¯t the worst, he is one of the strongest.¡± ¡°That guy?¡± I was skeptical. ¡°There is more than just one way to be strong.¡± Then, under her breath, she grumbled. ¡°Some stupid people like him just get lucky.¡± Without pause, she continued at a normal volume. Acting as if she hadn¡¯t said anything else. ¡°His connections make it hard for any city officials to do anything in an attempt to curb his tendencies.¡± ¡°And? Please stop beating around the bush. What does that have to do with me?¡± ¡°His backers will not do anything if he is beaten in a fair match. Especially if he was the one to initiate the challenge.¡± She said before sighing. ¡°Though you are not the first one he has challenged, I feel you are the one that has the most chance of kicking his ass, and, judging by the amount of people heading in the direction of the arena, I am not the only one.¡± Looking around, I found that she was right. While the crowds had been a bit tumultuous earlier, they now flowed generally in one direction. Without warning, a prompt appeared in front of my face nearly causing me to jump. Hell, I was surprised the shock didn¡¯t cause me to lose any of my health.
Quest: Beat the Creep
Quest Type: Personal - Unranked
Description: An official challenge has been called between Trenton Vargus and Kyren Vulpier. Defeat Trenton or suffer the repercussions.
Requirements: Defeat Trenton in an arena fight.
Reward: Freedom. Notoriety across the city and far into the kingdom. 500 XP
Failure: Temporary (1 day +) restrictions on activities and respawn locations.
Of course, I would get a quest for this. And judging by the lack of the ability to accept or decline, I didn¡¯t have much of a choice in the matter. ¡°Be honest with me, just how outmatched am I?¡± I asked as I read over what would happen if I failed to win. ¡°What level are you again?¡± ¡°Fifteen.¡± ¡°Oh, you leveled up some more, good.¡± Her head tilted up as if in thought, ¡°Likely eleven or twelve levels.¡± What the fuck. I was dead. She shrugged. ¡°But he doesn¡¯t have the stats for someone of that level. It is highly likely he had help leveling and never really cared to work on building any sort of foundation.¡± That fact made me a bit happier as it meant that I had a chance, though it was probably quite slim if he hadn''t lost one of these matches yet. While I wanted to ask her for advice, we had arrived at the arena. Ginny was already at the tunnel entrance waiting on us. She tossed something at me. ¡°Wear this for your fight.¡± It was the same object as the one I had worn for the competition earlier that day, only the stone on this one wasn¡¯t powder that was still grinding against my skin. ¡°What are the rules?¡± I asked as I slipped the object around my head. Trenton threw it back at Ginny. ¡°What is the point of fighting if neither side can truly get hurt.¡± His malicious grin told me all I needed to know. Hell, it took everything I had from attacking him here and now because I was pretty sure this guy had hurt a few girls to get his way. ¡°Fine,¡± Ginny¡¯s voice lacked any inflection. ¡°Just don¡¯t cry when you get sent back to respawn.¡± With that, she turned and vanished into the tunnel. He must have realized something as he cried out, ¡°Wait, why is she still wearing the damned stone?¡± He didn¡¯t get a response. Not that I cared. I simply made my way down the tunnel, through the preparation room, and onto the sandy surface of the arena. Ginny was nowhere to be found. ¡°Are you ready to lose?¡± Trenton¡¯s vile voice had my head turning slightly to catch him in the corner of my vision. ¡°Less talking, more fighting.¡± I spat back as I stepped into the ring made of light on the far side of the arena. Ginny chose that moment to speak through the arena¡¯s system. ¡°Kyren Vulpier is the only one that has accepted the sacrificial stone. As such, they will fight until either the stone is broken or Trenton is killed. Participants, unsheathe your blades. Ready your bows. Ready your spells.¡± As I pulled out my Chisa Katana, he did the same. Unlike my slim blade, his was nearly as tall as him and looked wider than my waist. His voice cut across the short distance. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will go easy on you. After all, we still have some wrestling to do later.¡± Even if I was female and liked the guy, I would kick his ass for saying something like that. Too bad I didn¡¯t get a chance to toss back the retort I had on the tip of my tongue. ¡°Participants, FIGHT!¡± Everything around me went quiet. It was almost like the world outside the arena had vanished as my focus narrowed to the one person I wanted to kill. My eyes tracked every movement he made as I tried to anticipate where he would go and how. Waiting for my chance while I spooled my mana out around me. Suddenly, Trevor vanished. A line of dust lifted off the ground connecting my spot to where he had been standing. It was the only indication that he had moved fast rather than teleport. So much for his stats being lower than it should have been. My only warning about where his strike was going to hit came from the mana around me. He wasn¡¯t holding back based on just how much of the stuff he was packing into his strike. Leaping out of the way, I barely avoided getting my left arm cut off at the shoulder. His sword barely parted the sand as he brought its momentum under control. ¡°I was trying to make this easy on you.¡± He growled. ¡°You should have just gone down then this would have been over.¡± I want to blame what I said next on the fact that I was distracted by watching him for any sudden attacks. ¡°What if I like it hard?¡± His smirk had me thinking back on what I said. I almost wanted to kill myself as soon as I realized how I sounded. ¡°I can give it to you hard.¡± Yeah, I saw that coming. Figuring I would keep going, I poked at his masculinity. ¡°Are you sure? I don¡¯t know if you will be able to after I am done with you.¡± I purposely spoke slowly as I put spell after spell together around him. My mind strained as I held a fair number of the spells far enough away that he wouldn¡¯t notice. A headache made itself known as I poured a decent amount of my mana pool into the single strike. ¡°Is that a promise?¡± I nearly lost control of my spells as he fired back. Lucky for me, I just needed a second more to finish and launch the spells at him. Light from seven blue balls of condensed flame appeared in a ring around him. He wasn¡¯t even allowed a moment to react before, as one, they slammed into him. The blue flames quickly dimmed and changed to a deep yellow, bright orange as they engulfed his body. As the fire roared, bits of it popped and flew off. Where it landed, the sand turned red and clumped together. Without warning, his sword cut upward. The flames surrounding him parted as if it were a cloak. They continued to peel and fall to the ground as the flames petered out. ¡°Not bad, though not something that would really affect anyone on my level. My turn?¡± He lowered his sword until it was parallel to the ground. His legs spread out as he prepared to attack. Unwilling to let him launch an attack unchallenged, I charged. My sword skimmed the ground as I rushed forward. The moment I got close, I sliced up at his arm. Swinging with every bit of strength I could. With a simple pivot, he hit me with the flat of his blade. The simple attack didn¡¯t just cause me to miss my target, it sent me flying across the field. My back smashing into the wall as my sword was knocked out of my hand. I scrambled for the weapon. Scampering across the sand on my hands and feet as fast as I could to get to the weapon. Either I had lost control of my Mana Sense or he wasn¡¯t using any mana because the next thing I knew, I was flying across the arena. My side felt like it was on fire from where he had kicked me. I must not have been kicked to the wall directly across the arena as I slid along the wall for a fair distance. As my momentum bled off, so did my health. The bar in the corner of my vision dropping at an alarming rate before finally coming to a stop. I didn¡¯t know whether or not to consider myself lucky that the stone sitting against my chest hadn''t broken yet. At this point, I was fairly sure I was going to lose this fight. Not that I wouldn¡¯t go without a fight, but I was outmatched. My only hope at this point was likely a Hail Mary. I could always use my SoulStone, but something told me to save it. Before I could make any decision or plan, a hand grabbed onto the back of my dress. I kicked out. Trying to hit something, anything. I must have hit something as he grunted before throwing me across the arena for a third time. Unlike the other times, my head led my flight. The impact with the wall caused my nose to crunch and blood to flow freely down my face. A hand on the wall was the only thing that prevented me from crashing back to the sand as my head swam at the effort to stand. It was in this compromised position that he got his hands on me yet again. His body pinning mine against the wall as an arm wrapped around me. His hand rested on my chest while the giant sword parted my legs. ¡°Surrender.¡± He demanded. The tickling of my ear with his breath had me flinching. Not able to move, my mouth slowly filled with the blood streaming out of my mouth. Frantically, my mind tried to come up with some way, any way, to get out of his hold. I spat it to the side. ¡°Or what?!¡± His hand squeezed. Likely in an attempt to feel up a woman¡¯s breasts. Jokes on him. I didn¡¯t have any, for which I was grateful. ¡°Or I will stop playing with you.¡± I must have lost quite a bit of blood because I actually laughed at that. A spray of blood pelted the wall in front of me. ¡°Playing with me? Please. This is probably the worst that you could do with your pitiful strength.¡± ¡°Do you really think that this is the worst I can do?¡± His mouth was practically in my ear as he spoke. ¡°In fact, I think I will undress you in front of everyone here. Let them get an eyeful before I kill you. Then, when you respawn, I will kill you again and again until you submit to me. And don¡¯t think about escaping into the real world. I will find you and make you regret ever even thinking of escaping.¡± Between one heart beat another another, the world froze. While I had been a bit scared of what could happen in game, I had thought that it would be limited to just in here. Never had I thought that someone would ever threaten me for real. My rage wasn¡¯t hot. I didn¡¯t explode and attack in a blind rage. Instead, I felt as if I had gone numb and unfeeling as everything became crystal clear. While I could feel my mana flood out of me, I didn¡¯t try and stop it. It stopped itself just as the bar started to blink in warning. All but a sliver of it was gone. My head was angled so that I could see the arm across my chest as thin blue lines lashed at him. While I didn¡¯t know how it was possible, my mana was fully visible and doing direct damage. Not that I was going to question what was going on. Everywhere the lines touched, his skin parted. Those cuts were not all that deep or vital given how fast his body regenerated the damage. If anything, they looked like he was being riddled with paper cut after paper cut. I felt his sword start to lift as he growled. It pushed against one of my legs as it twisted. Fearing what he would do, I wished for a way out. For anything to help. For someone to kill this guy since I was too weak. While no one came to my rescue, my mana responded. The streams vanished from my sight as something appeared behind me. A foreign feeling extended from the end of my spine and out for what felt like a few feet. Whatever it was, it didn¡¯t stay still. It moved upward from where it rested, through something that shattered like glass and into something fleshy. Given the position, and the way he squeaked, the strike hit something vital. The mana wrapped around whatever it was and squeezed. Out of instinct or reflex, his body tried to bend in half only to be stopped by me and the wall. He tried to back up, to get away. The problem was, he forgot that his arm was still wrapped around my chest. Effectively keeping me well within striking distance. Before he could figure a way out of the situation and regain the upper hand, I yanked on his hand. Grabbing his sword as I slipped under his arm. As I moved forward, I pulled hard on the piece of heavy metal, building up momentum as I lifted and swung the thing around. His hands, now free had been focused on a tail-like object wrapped around his dick. The distraction and a lack of defense allowed the sword to hit him without issue. While I didn¡¯t hit his neck like I had been trying for, I did manage to hit his chest. The tip sliced across until a bone managed to stop it. Likely his sternum given the position. While he froze, I didn¡¯t miss a beat. I changed grips and shoved the blade in with everything I could. Throwing my weight into the handle as I pushed. While I could feel it struggling a bit to cut through the bone, the sword did move. Slowly, inexorably, it moved forward. Finally, it broke through the bones and sank deep into his chest. His body jerked back, pulling itself off the sword. A veritable waterfall of blood fountained out of the wound. It was the darkest red color I had ever seen. His voice was quiet, barely getting out ¡°Fucking bitch,¡± before falling forward. Leaning down, I simply said, ¡°I am a dude you fucking idiot.¡± A moment later, he vanished into a cloud of opalescent dust that fluttered in the air before vanishing. ¡°And Kyren Vulpier is the winner,¡± Ginny called but I barely heard it. As soon as he had vanished, everything started to hurt. My head felt like someone was using it as an anvil while the rest of my body felt like it was being used as a training dummy to test said tools on. Thankfully, the pain didn¡¯t last long. My vision tunneled down before darkness finally swallowed me. Ginny: I watched as Linda caught Kyren as he collapsed. His mana-formed ears and tail vanished without a trace. No wonder Barti Vendlewood had his eyes on this kid. While he had been trained by those three, he was going to lose. That was until he lost control over his mana. Mana that showed me a glimpse of his future. A future that might be worth keeping an eye on. Not that we would be the only ones doing so. While some might have been fooled, I noticed at least three major traveler guild representatives in the crowds and a dozen officials from various governments and races. While I doubt he would stay here no matter what he could be offered, I just hoped he didn¡¯t take whatever the demons offered him to join their side. Mindi: Where the hell is that stupid kid? He was supposed to be here an hour ago. Chapter 61.1 - Forum 4 - Beatdown MilkMyWay: ¡°Hey, how many of you saw that fight with the idiot Trenton Vargus?¡± JustABigChill¡¯n: ¡°@MikMyWay What did the creeper ????¡á? do this time?¡± GoldenBitch: ¡°@JustABigChill¡¯n Not doing his job recruiting and training newbies¡± CryptoBanano: ¡°likely what he always does. How is the girl holding up?¡± QCont: ¡°@GoldenBitch We all see how well he is doing his job. Seems very¡­active¡± MilkMyWay: ¡°@CryptoBanano That¡¯s just it, he lost an arena fight ??¡± CryptoBanano: ¡°@MilkMyWay No way. The guy is over leveled for a starter town. No way there is a player there that can challenge him.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. JustABigChill¡¯n: ¡°@MilkMyWay VIDEO PROOF NOW!¡± MilkMyWay: ¡°@JustABigChill¡¯n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ¡± JustABigChill¡¯n: ¡°@MilkMyWay REALLY? ??¡± QCont: ¡°Ha ??, I havnt seen that in a long time¡± GoldenBitch: ¡°@MilkMyWay Jesus I feel old now, has it been that long since it came out?¡± MilkMyWay: ¡°@JustABigChill¡¯n Couldn¡¯t resist. Here you go: link://3DVid-Arena_Fight_Proxima_67890¡± JuicySea: ¡°HAH. About Fucking time. ??¡± MilkMyWay: ¡°@JuicySea RIGHT!?¡± VeiledInsight: ¡°Um¡­I think I know that guy ??¡± MilkMyWay: ¡°@VeiledInsight Most everyone I talk to knows about Trenton. Not that anyone does anything about him.¡± CryptoBanano: ¡°@MilkMyWay I was actually thinking of dealing with him myself soon if someone else didn¡¯t.¡± VeiledInsight: ¡°@MilkMyWay I mean I know the guy that kicked his ass. But the last time we talked he was only level thirteen.¡± MilkMyWay: ¡°@VeiledInsight ?? LMFAO HE HIT ON A GUY ??¡± CryptoBanano: ¡°@VeiledInsight I am so going to post this to all my friends¡± JustABigChill¡¯n: ¡°@VeiledInsight Does he look that good irl? ??¡± VeiledInsight: ¡°@JustABigChill¡¯n Don¡¯t. just don¡¯t. The last time a coworker called him a girl we all had to put up with the nonstop pranks. Its not worth it.¡± MilkMyWay: ¡°@JustABigChill¡¯n Did you see what he did to that guy? You want the same thing to happen to you?¡± CryptoBanano: ¡°@JustABigChill¡¯n let me know when and where you are going to ask him so I can be there with popcorn. ??¡± Chapter 62 - Emergency Quest While my body ached, my head was killing me. Even the sun entering my room felt like it was stabbing into my eyes. If I wanted to get away from the damn light and the pain it brought, I would have to wake up. Which meant opening the damned things. Ever so slowly, I worked them open. Eventually getting to the point that everything around me wasn¡¯t a blur of color and shapes. The blurs sharpened and the shapes resolved into the wood ceiling above my bed. Given the wood and the soft mattress, I was sure that I could safely assume that I was still inside the game. Looking back, I tried to figure out what had happened last night. Did I drink too much? Get beaten up? What had happened? The last thing I could recall was his taunting and something about him finding me in real life if I tried to run. After that, everything was hazy. But, given how badly I was getting my ass handed to me, I was fairly sure that I had lost. Which meant that I had just lost my freedom for at least a day. Of course, it wasn¡¯t like I could be used in the way he thought. But wait, if I lost, then why was I back in my room? While I was thankful, wouldn¡¯t the creep have taken me to his room to play with his new toy? Sick of guessing and speculating, I asked my AI ¡°Where is that creep?¡± Hopefully the stupid system would understand who I was talking about. ¡°Trenton Vargus is still in limbo after being killed by you in your match.¡± While the AI sounded a bit proud at this, my mind reeled at the information. Both cheering at my victory and utterly confused at the same time. There was no way I could have won that fight. Figuring I had nothing to lose if the information wasn¡¯t there, I pulled up my character''s logs. A ton of the information was old and useless. Pages and pages of information had built up since the last time I had looked. A bit of skimming later and I found the section I was looking for. Not only did the log say I had won, but it listed every gain I got from the fight. From the level I gained to the stat points I had gotten on top of the points my class gave me. It even listed the skills I had managed to gain or level. One of which I had no clue how I had gained. I mean, in what world would an opponent let me pick up his weapon? Not that I was complaining. The skill managed to bring my strength up enough to rid myself of that debuff. Too bad nothing would help with the other debuff. For the next hour, I would have to deal with the Mana Exhaustion debuff. It was enough time to get some food and figure out what I wanted to do today. The aches in my joints and limbs worked themselves out as I made my way downstairs, mostly. It was good enough that I could ignore it. Especially when I got distracted by a notification that popped up the moment I stepped into the very empty first floor.
Quest: Gobble Gobble
Quest Type: Extermination ¨C Unranked
Description: With the last of the frost thawing and the nearby swamp land warming up, the nearby Mud Gobbler population has exploded in population prompting the birth of a new Matriarch. The newly split population has an eye on Proxima and its surrounding lands. Kill the Matriarch before it settles in.
Requirements: Hold back the swarm and kill the Matriarch.
Reward: Mud Gobbler Grunt ¨C 1 Copper, 1 XP Mud Gobbler Soldier ¨C 10 Copper, 15 XP Mud Gobbler Berserker ¨C 20 Copper, 75 XP Mud Gobbler Guard ¨C 1 Silver, 100 XP Mud Gobbler Mage ¨C 5 Silver, 250 XP Mud Gobbler Assassin ¨C 5 Silver, 250 XP Mud Gobbler Head Guard ¨C 25 Silver, 1,000 XP Mud Gobbler Matriarch ¨C 100 Gold, 10,000 XP
Failure: Farms will be destroyed and the town will become a haven for Mud Gobblers.
Well, that explained why the place was empty. Everyone was out killing these things. ¡°What can I get you?¡± The sound of a woman''s voice next to me nearly caused me to leap for the ceiling. My attention went from the quest information to the room around me in an instant. I found myself seated at one of the smaller tables near one of the walls. Which was odd as I didn¡¯t even recall walking, let alone finding a spot to sit. Closing the window, I looked at the woman. ¡°What is available for breakfast?¡± ¡°As most of the staff is out participating in the emergency quest, our options are quite limited.¡± While she spoke she looked as though she was trying to figure something out. ¡°We have pancakes, breakfast burritos, or biscuits and gravy.¡± The instant she said burritos, I wanted them. She took off to get a few for me as well as some juice. As I would be going after a few creatures, I went to pull my Chisa Katana out of my inventory to give it a once-over only to find that it was missing. Frantically, I tried to figure out when I had last seen it. Which just happened to be during the fight last night. One that had the sword flying out of my hand early into it. Before I could freak out about losing the thing, I recalled one of the first things I had spent some of the upgrade points on. While I didn¡¯t know how a Soul Bound item would work in this game, I knew how it worked in others. Either the weapon would reappear in my inventory on its own, or others would be simply unable to pick it up. Given that the weapon wasn¡¯t in my possession now, it was either buried in the sand at the arena, waiting for me to retrieve it, or it was in the area. While my room was larger than my apartment, there were no real places for such a weapon to hide. Which left the arena. Sighing, I rushed through breakfast and started for the door. As I passed near where Ginny was sitting, her head buried in a book, she looked up. Before I crossed the threshold, she called out. ¡°Oi, Kyren. I got your sword.¡± Before I could answer or ask a question, she vanished into the back. Coming out a moment later with my Chisa Katana. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. She looked like she was uncomfortable. Almost looking as if she had an itch she was too busy to deal with at that moment. Her hands practically thrust the sword into mine. All traces of her discomfort fled at the same moment. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said as I gave the weapon a once over. It looked just as it had the night before, albeit, missing a few points in durability. ¡°Try not to lose it again.¡± She sounded like she wanted to lecture me but was managing to hold herself back. ¡°Not many would be willing to deal with the discomfort or pain of picking up a Soul Bound weapon for long enough to return the damn thing.¡± Nodding in appreciation, I put the sword away. The streets were packed with people going to and fro. But not like normal. Every person I saw looked like they were suffering from overindulging or were in a rush. The ones in a rush carried piles of supplies. Each pile was large enough to block their view of the street, not that that stopped them from running around. I doubted these people were stocking up after the large festival. They looked too frightened for that. If anything, they looked like they were getting ready to flee at a moment''s notice. Which kind of told me everything I had to know about this quest. While the quest description made it out to be something that happened every year, that didn¡¯t mean that victory was guaranteed. The town passed by quickly as I thought over the implications and possibilities. I only really started to pay attention to the world around me as I stepped through the gate and saw the changes. Each large hill was still covered in plants, but they were partially buried by mud. The worst of which was, naturally, in the valleys. In every direction, I could hear the sounds of groups fighting. Some used magic while others used their weapons. Of course, in common video game fashion, we were not the only ones with access to magic or weapons. Large frog-looking creatures were visible. Many with weapons and armor of one sort or another. All of which were covered in layers of wet mud. Mud that they happened to fling at an opponent when given a chance. I wasn¡¯t given long to sit and look over the field of battle. A mud bubble popping to my immediate left started me. My jumping was likely the only reason the creature missed. Its bastard sword whiffing through the air a mere inch from my skin. ¡°Fuck!¡± I cried out as I yanked my sword out of my inventory. The creature''s follow-up attack caused me to stagger as its blade slid down the length of my weapon. Getting caught between the blade and the guard. With how I was being forced back, the creature was clearly stronger. So I called up a fireball spell and targeted its eyes. The moment the ball struck the creature, a small steam explosion caused the creature to reel back. The steam likely did little to hurt the creature, but it was enough to give me the opening I needed. My sword slipped out, around and across its chest. With a final cry, the creature''s chest spurt green ichor as it collapsed to the mud. Not that I had time to celebrate. Its falling body gave me a clear view of the three rushing up the hill behind it. I had the higher ground but, with how hard it was to move around without slipping, they had the environmental advantage on top of a numerical advantage. This meant that I had no choice but to take the initiative. If I didn¡¯t, I had no chance. Seeing as fire wasn¡¯t going to work well to damage them, I had two options, using an element I had little practice with, or going full-in on physical attacks. As their weapons were not as nice as the first creature¡¯s, being made of stone or wood, I went for the latter. Striking as soon as the first creature came into range. My sword cut through the old and partially rotten club like it was made of butter. While the lack of resistance caused me to stumble, I recovered nearly instantly. Continuing the strike through to the end. Killing the creature before it likely knew what had happened to its weapon. I continued the strike around, letting the motion carry me toward my next opponent and away from the third. Dress billowing out as I twirled around. The large and unwieldy stone weapon caught the edge of my blade. Causing the sword to deflect down its length and into the creature''s hand. From where I stood, the stone weapon looked like a rocket as it flew off. Green blood spurting from the stumps that had held fingers but moments ago. I didn¡¯t have time to deal the final blow. Having to instead dodge to the left as the third and final creature took advantage of my exposed back. While its attack missed me, the attack did hit its comrade in mud, killing it for me. With a single strike, I ended the creature while it tried to yank its weapon out of its buddy''s corpse. The four bodies went into my inventory while I debated how to find my next target. As I had seen nothing to suggest that they used mana, I didn¡¯t think my Mana Sense would be all that effective. Not when the mud was practically steeped in water and earth mana. So much so that the stuff was clogging the air. That left physically looking around to find my targets. Which didn¡¯t take long. Not with there being a creature standing upright on one hill over. The trip down the hill was nerve-wracking. My feet slipping and sliding threatened to send me for a fast and dirty ride with nearly every step. Eventually, though, I made it to the bottom. Next up, climbing the hill. To say this was harder than going down the hill would be an understatement. A misplaced foot threatened to send me, along with a bunch of mud, back to the bottom. I can now say that I have had to swim in mud. Do you know how hard that is? Floating in it isn¡¯t so hard. I didn¡¯t have to do anything to keep my head above the surface. However, the thickness of the liquid made moving around slow going. Every stroke towards the edge used more energy while simultaneously providing little movement. Of course, the moment I got out of the mud pit, the next set of creatures stumbled upon me. There were five of the damn things this time. Four of whom carried makeshift weapons while the last one carried a rusted iron sword longer than its arm. Slipping and sliding, I moved out of the way just as two of the group charged. As if they had been anticipating my dodge, the other two charged at my new location. Even though I saw them coming, the lack of traction prevented me from changing direction or even speeding up. My left arm screamed as it took a direct strike while my right one swung my sword through the arms of his partner. The creature¡¯s scream was high-pitched and shrill. Sounding almost as if it alone could cut through my skull given enough time. I ignored it as best as I could, focusing instead on the creature preparing its next strike. While my left arm didn¡¯t thank me for the abuse, I had it take a second hit while my right took the creature''s feet out from under it. With two creatures down, the other three charged at me. Two of them, having passed me when I had dodged, charged in from behind and to the right while their stronger cousin charged from directly ahead. Seeing as the one had a real weapon, I had to deal with him first. Mana pulsed out of me as I cast my Mana Sense out. My head started to pound as my Mana Sense poured information into my head. Letting me know just how much mana and what types filled the area. Oddly enough, the creatures didn¡¯t have less mana. If anything, they were filled with even more than the mud. At first, that didn¡¯t make sense until I recalled how this place looked just the day before. While there had been hills and dirt, there had been nowhere near this amount of water, let alone mud. So either the weather had dumped a lake''s worth of water late last night, or the creatures were somehow responsible. I didn¡¯t have time to contemplate more than that as one of the creatures behind me swung their weapon horizontally. It would have been easy to block if the creature in front of me hadn¡¯t taken that chance to do the same thing. Mind racing, I switched my blade over to my left arm while my right blocked the club. Being right-handed, my left arm was not as strong as my right and it showed the instant our blades connected. If not for the wrapped handle, I would have lost my sword yet a second time. Before I could readjust or even attack either creature, the third one struck. Its strike to my shoulder felt like a truck had hit it. I cried out in pain as I staggered under the blow. Before I could right myself, something landed on my back, driving me to the mud-covered ground. Another weight landed on my back, pushing me deeper into the mud. While I struggled to breathe, I tried to make out what my Mana Sense was telling me. One of the creatures on my back was missing legs while the other lacked half their arms. They both worked to hold me down as their buddies circled around. Their weapons already coming down at the little pile. The hits, while meant to damage me, hit the two on top of me. The little amount of damage that made it through them was nothing compared to what they suffered. I don¡¯t know why, but, at that moment, the image of the SoulStone came to me. Something told me that I could kill the group and get away if I used it. Then again, that was like using a flamethrower against a spider. Would some people do it? Sure, but a rolled-up magazine could do the same thing with less waste. Still, the thought spawned another idea. While I didn¡¯t have much experience with the other elements at my disposal, what was the harm in using them now? It wasn¡¯t like they could get me in any more trouble than I was already in. Right? Bestiary Entry - Mud Gobbler Name: Mud Gobbler Type: Creature ¨C Physical/Mystic Hostility: Aggressive Rarity: Uncommon Description: These creatures are similar to goblins in the fact that they can form into tribes and colonies. They vary in type, strength, and power with the stronger commanding those below. With monarchs over all of them. When a second monarch comes of age and into their power, the colony will split with the newbie heading out to found their own colony. Where can it be found: Typically found in swamps however, when enough of them group up they form into a tribe or even a colony. As their numbers increase, their very presence causes the land around them to change. Luckily, permanent changes cannot be forced upon the environment unless they have settled into a colony. Something that requires a monarch to do. XP reward: Mud Gobbler Grunt ¨C 25 XP If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Mud Gobbler Soldier ¨C 100 XP Mud Gobbler Tank ¨C 125 XP Mud Gobbler Berserker ¨C 150 XP Mud Gobbler Mage ¨C 250 XP Mud Gobbler Assassin ¨C 250 XP Mud Gobbler Summoner ¨C 300 XP Mud Gobbler Guardian ¨C 500 XP Mud Gobbler Guardian Mage ¨C 750 XP Mud Gobbler Monarch ¨C 1000 XP Typical Levels: Mud Gobbler Grunt ¨C 5 to10 Mud Gobbler Soldier ¨C 10 to 15 Mud Gobbler Tank ¨C 15 to 20 Mud Gobbler Berserker ¨C 15 to 20 Mud Gobbler Mage ¨C 20 to 25 Mud Gobbler Assassin ¨C 20 to 25 Mud Gobbler Summoner ¨C 25 to 40 Mud Gobbler Guardian ¨C 25 to 30 Mud Gobbler Guardian Mage ¨C 30 to 40 Mud Gobbler Monarch ¨C 40+ Danger Level: Mud Gobbler Grunt ¨C Low Mud Gobbler Soldier ¨C Low Mud Gobbler Tank ¨C Low Mud Gobbler Berserker ¨C Low-Moderate Mud Gobbler Mage ¨C Low-Moderate Mud Gobbler Assassin ¨C Moderate Mud Gobbler Summoner ¨C On their own; low. With summons; high. Mud Gobbler Guardian ¨C High-Moderate Mud Gobbler Guardian Mage ¨C High Mud Gobbler Monarch ¨C Extreme Harvestable Materials: Mana Stones Attacks/Weapons: Mud Gobbler Grunt ¨C Clubs and sticks Mud Gobbler Soldier ¨C Rusted or Stone Swords Mud Gobbler Tank ¨C Shield Mud Gobbler Berserker ¨C Knives and Swords. Typically charges. Mud Gobbler Mage ¨C Magical Mud Gobbler Assassin ¨C Knives and poisons. Mud Gobbler Summoner ¨C Summons various creatures to fight for it. Mud Gobbler Guardian ¨C Shield and a weapon. Typically, but not limited to, a sword. Mud Gobbler Guardian Mage ¨C Magic in addition to a shield and a weapon. Typically, but not limited to, a sword. Mud Gobbler Monarch ¨C Anything and everything. Will even throw other gobblers at you. Can also summon the little buggers given enough time. First Discovered: 04/01/918 First Interaction: 04/01/918 First Kill: 04/01/918 ChatGPT Generated Image: Chapter 63 - Assassin Mana flowed from me and into the ground around me. A moment later, a spike of earth speared through one of the creatures, killing it instantly. Seeing the spike successfully kill my target, I fired two more, killing the last two creatures circling me. Too bad the spikes wouldn¡¯t work for the two that were lying on top of me. Well, that and the drag of mana for the spells was higher than the one for a fireball. Enough that I could feel my mana drop with every spell. It worried me enough that it had me glancing up at the mana bar to see just how much mana I had used. While it had dropped to just over half, the thing was visibly filling. The reason for this eluded me for a second. The amount of mana around me, filling the ground, creatures, and even the air, was enough to increase the rate at which mana regenerated. I blamed my headache for not seeing this and forgetting to watch for such changes in the environment. After all, I had been trained to deal with, anticipate, and take advantage of such environments. Meaning, that as long as I kept my mana from falling too far too fast, I could go all out. Mana poured into my body, strengthening me enough that I had no issue pushing the creatures off. Too bad the extra power did nothing for my coordination. Hell, judging by how hard it was to stand, it made it harder. Finally, though, I managed to stand. While I didn¡¯t expect much, I had expected at least one of the creatures to do the same but none of them even so much as twitched, let alone making a move to stand. Still, I didn¡¯t give either of them a chance to spring some sort of trap. My blade cut through their necks before I packed the entire group into my inventory. A roar was all the warning I got before something crashed into my back. The force of it sent me flying a dozen feet before finally landing, and subsequently sliding, face-first in the mud. I barely had a moment to think, let alone react, before whatever had attacked me was on me once again. A large sticky hand grabbed onto my leg. Pulling and throwing me back the way I came. There was enough force in the throw to cause my body to skip across the muddy hole I had fallen into earlier. This time, I managed to stand up and get a look at whatever was attacking me. Something I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do if not for the pit. It was another frog, though it wasn¡¯t one that would be using any sort of weapon. It didn¡¯t need them, not with the amount of muscles on full display. Fuck, even its muscles had muscles. If I had to describe it, I would have had to draw a comparison to a football linebacker. I mean, it had enough muscles to compete with any weightlifting champion, but something about the muscle placement screamed linebacker. Add to that the blood-red eyes that were locked on me, I was fairly sure I was looking at a Mud Gobbler Berserker. Which was something I wished I didn¡¯t have to fight. Then again, we all know what people say about wishes and horses. The beast didn¡¯t even look at the hole as it followed the edge. Almost acting as if it knew where the edge was without having to do so. Hell, it probably did. Not like it mattered now. Not with it now having a straight shot to my squishy body. A squishy body that had lost over a quarter of its health in the last two attacks. It quickly gained speed as it charged toward me. Body lowered and hands to either side. If not for the nearly visible waves of anger and hate radiating off of it, I would have sworn the creature was trying to simply tackle me to the ground. Not like I would have let it in either case. I had had enough of such tackles in high school. I didn¡¯t need the help of a creature to recall some of the more brutal football games I had participated in. Instead, I flung a fireball at the wet ground. The resulting steam explosion flung bits of mud and dirt out but otherwise did no damage. Instead, the cloud of steam provided me with some cover to dodge the things charge. As I slid to the side, I performed a horizontal strike in line with the creature¡¯s head. My timing, while off, was close enough. The tip of my blade sliced across the side of its skull, killing the creature as a portion of its brain found an exit. Breathing a sigh of relief, I collected the corpse while keeping an eye out for yet more targets. My short stint as a skipping rock brought me close to an intersection between hills. Standing there, watching me, was a small army of the creatures. The group was mostly made up of those with stone and wooden clubs. There were also three with metal swords and two berserkers. But those were not the ones that caught my attention. The one that did that wore something that looked like a robe. Albeit one that was heavily stained and looked to have a few mushrooms growing in spots. Something about the creature told me I couldn¡¯t let it out of my sight. A moment later, I found out why. The creature gestured and a barrage of dirt spikes the size of needles shot toward me. As if it had been a starting cannon, all of the creatures, save the berserkers, charged at me. I had no chance of fighting against these things on my own. Not with just a sword. I had no choice but to use magic to take them all down. My mind rushed through options before I finally said fuck it. While I might have had time to explore options in various competitions and fights, this wasn¡¯t one of them. Not with the small army closing in on me. My will and mana went forth. Shaping rune after rune as I slapped a spell together. Though it lacked the dark element, the rest of the spell was similar to the one I had used in the tournament. The reason I didn¡¯t use the extra element was that it wasn¡¯t needed. Most of the spell was made of fire and water, both of which were separated by a razor-thin slice of stone. As soon as the spell was completed, the opposing mage completed his spell. Mine reached the charging creatures first, slicing deep furrows into their flesh. Wounding every creature charging me, but killing none of them. While my spell had an instantly noticeable effect, the creature¡¯s spell turned into mist and coated the army''s bodies before vanishing. Moments later, the creatures reached my position. My sword cut through two before my blade was deflected by a metal blade. The unexpected deflection caused me to lose my balance. Something that saved my life given the finger-sized spike that flew a hair''s breadth from my nose. Seeing this, I made sure to keep at least one of the creatures between me and their mage. What followed was a flurry of weapon strikes. Some managed to hit me, others managed to hit them, but mostly I managed to hold my spot. My positioning and focus on the creatures eventually revealed what it was the mage had cast upon his minions. All of the wounds my spell had dealt to the creatures were almost all healed. This wasn¡¯t as big a deal as it could have been. Not when one of my strikes could kill the creatures. If anything, the accelerated healing was more of an annoyance. Judging by the screaming and rapid calls coming from the mage, I wasn¡¯t the only one getting annoyed at something. Unlike me, however, he hit his limit as I felled another three of his minions. My Mana Sense gave me just enough of a warning to dodge most of the spell. The creatures around me were not so lucky. Hundreds of spikes were lodged deep enough into the bodies that their tips poked out the other side. Between one moment and the next, the number of opponents went from just over twenty to five. Two of which were heavily wounded. His one attack had been more devastating to his side than I had been. I took a moment to take out the two. Preventing them from healing up and attacking me from behind. With that done, I charged at the three. Firing fireball after fireball at the mage in the vein hope of distracting him long enough for me to take out his protectors. Sure enough, he deflected or dodged my attacks. Or at least he did until one lucky shot hit the spot he was shifting toward. The hole it dug was filled up with mud in moments, but it was long enough for its foot to get temporarily stuck. Suddenly unable to dodge my spells, the creature started to take damage. And I mean it took a ton of damage. The thing was falling to the ground, dead, before the third spell hit him. Which was a relief because I was nearly out of mana. I didn¡¯t know what I would have done to distract him while fighting the two berserkers. Speaking of which, they looked even more pissed than the first one had. Red overtook the green of their skin until there was none left. As one, the two roared into the air. It was loud enough to send ripples along the surface of the mud-covered ground. I didn¡¯t hesitate. I poured what little mana I could spare, without dipping past the point where there would be consequences, into my body-strengthening spell. My body flashed across the last dozen yards between me and my targets. The one on my right didn¡¯t even know it was dead until I was passed and it tried to turn to look at me. Its body collapsed to the ground. This was quickly followed by the other as the creature died from blood loss. Its partner, however, in a wreckless move, charged at my back. The mud, being nice and slick, provided little enough resistance for my pivoting strike. As I came to a stop, the top and bottom half of the creature slid past. With every creature near me dead, I relaxed. Taking a moment to simply breathe and nothing else. I allowed myself to take enough time for my breathing to go from ragged and fast-paced to something slower and deeper before I moved on to the task of collecting the bodies. It was just as was bending over to pick up the second berserker that my senses screamed at me to dodge. Half hunched as I was, I let gravity pull me the rest of the way while dodging to the side. My body slid along the muddy ground for a few feet before I managed to stop and look over at where I had been standing. A mottled and emaciated frog stood over where I had just been. Given the fact I had not sensed the creature coming and the wisps of black smoke wrapping around the creature in a loose cloak, I was fairly sure this creature was an assassin. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It probably helped that it held a foot-long knife. Likely aimed at the spot my heart had just been occupying. The creature¡¯s face turned enough to look at me. For some reason, I found my eyes locking with the creatures. What I found had me practically shivering in fright. There is a saying that the eyes are doorways to the soul. It is something I had never once believed in. Well, now I can say I was a devout believer. The creature wasn¡¯t here to simply kill me. It was here to end me. I didn¡¯t know how it would do it, but I was sure that I would not want to find out. Without a signal or sign, it charged toward me. The charge was as creepy as it was silent. Even the mud it stepped on refused to make a sound. I managed to get my sword up just in time to catch the attack. As I held its attack off, the creature reached under its cloak with its free hand, pulling out a second dagger. One that shimmered unnaturally in the sunlight. The mana around us fled. Acting almost as if they were alive as they ran from whatever was on that dagger. Even my Mana Sense collapsed as my external mana was yanked out of my control. The suddenness of the loss of control nearly cost me my life as the assassin struck. The blade whiffed past as I used the point where our blades met to shove it to the side. Scrambling up, I increased the distance between us. The creature turned to face me, its face twisting into a smile that would give anyone nightmares before the creature simply vanished. It was a move that reminded me of the shadow teleportation skill Patric used. The fact that I recognized it was the only reason I dodged its first strike. My body twisted to the side just as a blade stabbed out of a shadow. I moved as randomly as I could while my mind worked as fast as it could to figure out where the creature would attack from next. The issue I kept stumbling into was sensing where it was. Even if I had access to my Mana Sense, it didn¡¯t seem to work against Patric when we faced off. With my mind distracted, I didn¡¯t realize until too late that the creature had stopped attacking me from nearby shadows. In fact, by the time I noticed its new vector of attack, its metal blade was buried deep into my right shoulder. My left hand reached up, yanking the thing out and tossing it to the side. Normally this would be the dumbest thing to do. The blood loss alone would lead to one¡¯s death. But the typical rules went out the window when it came to assassins. No one but them knew what they had on their blades. The sooner you got the things out, the less risk there was. And if something did get in, the stream of blood would likely flush it out. Or at least, that was my hope. The creature chose that moment to charge me. Our weapons clashing sent my weapon flying as something in my shoulder snapped. The feeling of which reminded me of a rubber band. Only, when it snapped, my arm went limp. Pain exploded across my chest as the creature punched me, hard. I flew a few feet back, landing on my back. My mind blanked for a good ten seconds. While this might seem like nothing, in a fight, it was an eternity. In this fight, it was long enough for the assassin to retrieve his other knife and walk towards me. As my mind started to reboot, I saw the metal blade stab into the fleshy part of my leg, pinning it to the ground. My health instantly dropped to a quarter full. It didn¡¯t stop there either. It kept dropping. Either that was because of the knife stuck inside me, or because my shoulder was still oozing blood. Then again, did it matter? Not really. Especially when the creature started to lift the other blade up and started to chant. Something about the chant sent the primate side of my brain into a frenzy. My body jerking and tugging every which way as it attempted to get me away from that blade. Unfortunately, something about the knife in my leg was causing it to act like it was anchored to the ground. On top of all this, the mana inside of my body seemed to grow agitated. Almost as if it was reacting to my emotions. It seemed to beg to be let free. As the frantic tugging was getting me nowhere, I found myself debating it. While I didn¡¯t know what would happen if my mana was released without instructions or control, did I have a choice? Not really. The moment I agreed to free it, the little bit of mana inside of me flared out. It felt as though I was on fire as the mana flowed through me. The fire traveled up and down my body, stopping and collecting at both of my wounds. Not even a second later, the pooled blood started to burn. The fire was a light blue, nearly sky-blue, in color. Leaping and moving as if it were a living thing. As one, the fiery blood lept onto the assassin. The creature''s shrill scream pierced deep into my psyche as it burned to death. While this seemed to go on forever, it only lasted a fraction of a second. The creature stood there, ready to strike one second, only to turn to dust in the next. As soon as I saw this, I relaxed. While I wouldn¡¯t die to whatever spell the assassin was working up, my flashing health bar told me I would be dead soon enough. I just hoped that my death wouldn¡¯t cost too much time, money, experience, or whatever this world charged for respawning. I stared up into the sky, marveling at how clear it was today. The breeze felt nice while the few clouds high above wandered by. ¡°Hey,¡± An excited teen called from somewhere nearby. ¡°Someone left their kills!¡± ¡°Jackpot!¡± Another teen joined in. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± While both of the voices had been male, this one was a distinctly feminine voice and it was filled with disbelief as she chided the two of them. ¡°It¡¯s probably another trap or something.¡± ¡°What,¡± the second guy¡¯s disbelief was clear as he spoke. ¡°Do you really think that there is a second matriarch? Because I doubt it.¡± ¡°No,¡± Their voices grew louder as they got closer to where I was lying down. ¡°You¡¯re right. I doubt that there would be a second one. But you have to admit, this is rather odd. Who would leave their kills for anyone to claim?¡± Out of the corner of my eyes, I caught sight of flame-red hair. It was long enough to reach the person''s shoulder which was probably why it took me a second to realize that it belonged to one of the guys. He must have noticed my eyes moving as he called out. ¡°Hey, we got a survivor.¡± ¡°So kill it and move on.¡± His buddy called back from somewhere out of sight. The guy whirled around. ¡°I don¡¯t mean a Murloc wannabee. I mean a goddamn person and she doesn''t look so good.¡± I heard him calling me a girl and found that, for the first time in my life, I didn¡¯t care. Then again, at this point, in this situation, why would I? It wasn¡¯t like it would change my fate. I was dying and there was nothing I could do about it. My mana was depleted beyond the point of being useful. I didn¡¯t even have enough to enhance a single portion of my body, let alone heal my shoulder. And, even if I did manage to stop the flow of blood, the water was sucking the heat out of my body. I ignored the squishing sound of people running through mud as I closed my eyes. A soft tingling sensation suddenly washed over me at nearly the same moment that someone''s hand pressed into my chest. A man spoke from somewhere above my head. ¡°Damn, how did she manage to survive fighting this many creatures on her own?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know but she only has a minute or so left and that is with me helping to stabilize her.¡± one of them said from right next to me. Likely the one responsible for whatever spell was currently running through my body. He then yelled loud enough to cause me to wince. ¡°Brenda!¡± Another rapid set of squelching footsteps announced a third person joining our little group. She must have seen the wounds as she cursed. ¡°God fucking damn it. Why does everyone have to nearly get themselves killed before calling for help? Would it kill anyone to call for healing before it got to this point?¡± The hands and tingling vanished momentarily before they were replaced by someone on the other side. To me though, none of this mattered. At this point, nothing mattered. From my point of view, the darkness at the edge of everything was starting to encroach. Where it touched, coldness and the stillness of death replaced heat and life. With each heartbeat, the darkness grew ever closer. Suddenly, out of nowhere, warmth filled my chest. It flared out, beating the darkness back as it restored everything that had been lost. ¡°Oh thank the gods above that worked!¡± The girl¡¯s exclamation was the first thing I could make out as whatever she was doing stopped. Whatever she had done must have worked because I no longer felt pain. Well, that and my health bar was full. Opening my eyes, I found that there were five teens surrounding me, not three as I had initially assumed. While the fact that they were wearing matching leather armor was interesting, it was the hair colors that caught my attention. They ranged from flame-red to a neon pink that nearly had me hissing in pain. ¡°Welcome back,¡± the girl kneeling next to me spoke softly. ¡°That was a bit close, don¡¯t you think?¡± I nodded but one of the guys standing near the back scoffed. His deep voice boomed over the group. ¡°Damn stupid if you ask me.¡± The guy on my other side helped me stand while one of his buddies passed my Chisa Katana back. ¡°I think you dropped this.¡± His face subtly relaxed a fraction as I took the weapon from him. The visible reminder of what Ginny had told me about soulbound weapons had me stopping to thank him before turning to respond to give the larger guy a verbal smack. I mean, come on, it wasn¡¯t my fault that thing decided to target me. However, just before I spoke, a loud gong-like sound filled the air. Everyone around me smiled. The other girl sighed, ¡°About time these monsters were culled enough for the system. I have mud in places mud should never go.¡± ¡°And here I was hoping to kill a few more.¡± The guy next to me complained. ¡°I am just about to hit level twenty.¡± The larger of the group spoke, ¡°There is always tomorrow. Let''s get back to town, turn in the bodies, and get some beers.¡± While the two other guys cheered, the two girls sighed. I stood there, frozen, unsure of what I should do. Could I join in on the banter? I mean, I could but should I? As if she could tell that I was having issues deciding what I could and could not do, one of the girls grabbed my hand. ¡°You are welcome to join us. It would be nice to have another girl in the group.¡± I didn¡¯t feel my normal need to cringe, but I also didn¡¯t feel like deceiving them. ¡°I am actually a guy.¡± Both of their eyes did a quick once over. One of them whistled while the other said, ¡°Damn. And here I am jealous of your legs and looks.¡± Her friend nodded in agreement. Shaking my head, I disagreed. ¡°Don¡¯t be. I am sure that you will look much better than me given a few more years to grow up.¡± Her laugh caught me off guard, but it stopped when her eyes met mine. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re serious.¡± When she grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eye, I realized that she was slightly taller than me. ¡°You actually think that.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that,¡± I said as I took a step back. She let her hands drop. I pointedly looked behind her and toward the guys. ¡°But shouldn¡¯t you catch up with the rest of your group?¡± She glanced at their retreating forms. ¡°Yes, but you should join us.¡± Sighing, I gestured at the corpses, ¡°I need to collect everything here.¡± It was an excuse and we both knew it. Still, she let me get away with it. Her hand flew through the air as she spoke. ¡°Fine, but promise me to join us for dinner or something sometime.¡± A window popped up in front of me. Jasmine Zavier wishes to become your friend. Something told me she wouldn¡¯t leave me alone unless I agreed, so I agreed. Jasmine smiled before engulfing me in a hug. It lasted an eternity and mere moments before she released me to chase after her friends. I stood there, stunned. My brain short-circuiting as I tried to figure out why she had just done that. Shaking my head, I gave up. As I collected the bodies scattered around, I took a look at my stats. Unsurprisingly enough, the creatures gave me quite a bit of experience. Enough to push me to the next level. Which, in turn, meant every stat increased by at least one. Coupled with the extra points I gained from pushing my body, this little quest outside the walls was well worth my time. Though, maybe not my near death. Turning, I walked towards the city. I had bodies to turn in and training to do. Chapter 64 - Meeting the Guard The trip back to town was easier than I had expected. It probably helped that, as if by magic, most of the mud had vanished. Too bad the mud covering me and my dress decided to stick around. And, while the mud slowly dried and flaked away, I was still decently covered by the time I stepped through the gate and into the city. I wasn¡¯t the only one either. Men, women, and even some older kids were just as coated. All of whom looked to be in great spirits. It was only as I looked over the crowd that I noticed a pair of guards pushing their way in my direction. As I hadn¡¯t broken any laws, or at least I didn¡¯t think I had, I was fairly sure they were after someone behind me. Not wanting to get in their way, I, and many other people, moved to one side or another. Too bad for me, the guards changed directions until their path was back in line with my position. It was then that I realized that their eyes were locked on me and no one else. There was little possibility that they were after anyone else. As I stopped, I ran through my options. Guards in a city were like modern police. While I knew I hadn¡¯t done anything, that didn¡¯t mean they didn¡¯t suspect me of doing something. They would either ask me a couple of questions and move on, or they would ask for me to come with them to the station, or whatever it was called, to answer some questions. Figuring I would try and get them to ask their questions here, I initiated the conversation as soon as they were close enough. ¡°What can I do for you gentleman?¡± One of the two hung back while his partner walked closer. ¡°Kyren Vulpier?¡± His voice sounded rough from years of overuse. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°We need you to come with us.¡± So much for getting them to ask the questions in a public setting. Holding up a hand, I tried to at least get an explanation before agreeing to go anywhere with the two of them. ¡°Sorry, but can I ask what this is about?¡± He shook his head. ¡°I am sorry but we are not at liberty to say anything.¡± That wasn¡¯t ominous at all. My mind offered up an idea and I went with it without a second¡¯s hesitation. ¡°I was heading to meet with some friends. Mind if we stop and let them know I am going to be late?¡± ¡°Our orders are to take you directly to the station.¡± He stepped forward, his hand reaching for my arm. As I stepped away from him, I noticed his partner¡¯s hand resting on the pommel of his sword. A sword that I would have sworn hadn''t been there at the start of the conversation. We stood there for a dozen seconds while I went over my options. Seeing how relaxed the two of them were, they were either confident I would be unable to take them on, or there was backup just out of sight. That fact, coupled with the amount of room the crowd was giving us, pretty much told me I was screwed. I would be going with them no matter what I did and there was nothing I could do about it. Well, short of death anyway. Finally, I nodded. Gesturing for him to lead the way. His outstretched arm dropped as he pivoted around. His partner waited until I was past him to start walking. They led me across the main road and onto a side road. It was one of those side roads no one notices. The only use the small roads had were for those people that lived on them or just on the other side. As such, the place was run down. Dirt and trash were piled up in corners while water from the last storm was sitting, stagnant, in the scattered potholes. Was it sad that the sight reminded me of the streets back on Earth? The further we traveled, the closer the houses grew. In a fortunate turn of events, my feminine frame allowed me to walk normally while the two guards had to walk with their upper bodies slightly turned. Judging by the filth-crusted walls, I didn¡¯t blame them for not wanting to touch them. Light had issues making it all the way down into the alleys. Which was probably why I couldn¡¯t make out what was beyond the last building on the street. It was like seeing the light at the end of a dark tunnel. Bright and completely washing everything on the other side out. When we stepped through, I expected a small street similar to one of the first we had entered. To my surprise and confusion, the road was as larger than the one connecting the guild hall to the city gate. Well, I say the road was larger but the vehicles used were the same size. The extra space was taken up by honest-to-good sidewalks. If not for the anachronistic vehicles and clothing, I could almost believe I was back on Earth, albeit one of the old downtown districts of Europe used in various movies. Only cleaner. There was no dirt, mud, or stagnant water to be seen. Did I say vehicles? Yes, yes I did. While there were a few carriages drawn by horses, there were also a few without. The sight of this had me wanting to ask so many questions. Too bad my two guards wouldn¡¯t answer. We followed the sidewalk to a painted section of the road. Joining a little crowd that looked to be waiting for something. I took the opportunity to get a better look at the people living in this section. Something about the sight was bugging the shit out of me. But, for the life of me, I couldn¡¯t place my finger on what it was though. Every single person was dressed in fancy-looking clothing. Even the two men down the road loading a truck were wearing an outfit that looked expensive. If anyone looked out of place, that would have been me. The guards, with their clean leather armor, coupled with their polished metal pieces, allowed them to blend in better than my mud-covered self. Hanging over the road, a small stone I had missed started to flash yellow. As one, the group suddenly surged forward, pulling me along for the ride. Only letting me go when everyone dispersed on the other side. It was then that I realized what had been bugging me about the place. Humans were the only species present in the place. Now, I know the city''s population is predominantly human, but there was always at least one other species in view. They might be elf, dwarf, or beastman, it didn¡¯t matter. There was always at least one in the crowds. That wasn¡¯t the case here. This realization caused the pit of my stomach to drop out as potential reasons came to mind. While they would explain the undercurrent I had been starting to see, I hoped I was wrong. If I wasn¡¯t, I needed to get away from this town before the situation escalated. I wasn¡¯t given any more time to look over the street as we came to a building with two soldiers standing on either side of the door. Neither said anything as we walked up and into the thin, grey building. The first room we came to reminded me of a waiting room. The dark wood floor looked well cared for. Coupled with the pure white marble walls, the room was a gross showing of wealth. I almost felt bad for the dirt I was tracking into the place. Lucky for me, and whoever had to clean up the place, the two guards continued walking. Leading me deeper into the building. The place grew more used and less ostentatious the moment we passed through the first door. Dark stains covered sections of the worn floor and they didn¡¯t look new. In fact, the marks looked to have been scrubbed repeatedly. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I chose to ignore those stains and focus on the rest of the place. It was like the previous room was a front for whatever purpose this building served. The room was larger yet I almost felt a bit confined simply due to how full the place was. Given the amount of guards walking around, talking, sitting, and doing paperwork, I was fairly sure this was one of the city''s guard stations. Maybe even the main guard station given its location. While a few of the guards glanced at me, the rest ignored us. Even as we made our way across the room and to the door at the end of the room, they ignored us. The woman sitting at a desk next to the door, however, stopped us. ¡°Mr Morrowgrave is busy at the moment. Please have a seat.¡± The two guards waited for me to sit before turning and vanishing into the disorder that was this place. Minutes passed as I waited. My eyes wandered around the room as I tried to find something to waste time looking at. Other than the people coming and going from the room, everyone and everything else was just out of sight. Blocked by mounds of paper, supplies, and even armor. I was so bored I contemplated asking my AI to play some music for me when the door next to me opened. ¡°I will make sure he gets the message.¡± An older woman said as she stood in the doorway bowing to the person inside. ¡°He better.¡± A hard voice I vaguely recognized said. ¡°Send in the young man sitting in the chair.¡± Back straightening, she turned and gave me a once over while lifting an eyebrow. Without saying a word, she walked away. While I had heard his order, she could have at least gestured for me to enter. Standing up, I tried to smooth the wrinkles out of my dress. The gesture did nothing more than send dirt flying in all directions. For some reason, the slight frown on the secretary¡¯s face made me happy. Which was weird because she had done nothing to me and I didn¡¯t just hate people without at least some cause. Turning, I crossed the threshold into the office to find that it was worse than the room behind me. Papers, weapons, shields, and bottles, some filled and others not, covered all but the surface directly in front of the man. A man that I recognized from the professor¡¯s run-in with the city guards. He looked just as he had that first day. Unlike then, he looked perfectly at home in this deathtrap of an office. As he looked up from whatever he was reading, his eyes locked onto mine. I was sure that I hadn''t seen them the last time we had met because I would have remembered the fact that they were an odd shade of purple. In the darker light of the office, it looked like they glowed from the inside. Maybe there was a skill that caused one''s eyes to do that? I didn''t know, and, at the moment, it didn¡¯t really matter. ¡°Please come in and close the door.¡± His voice broke me out of the trance his eyes seemed to have caused. As soon as the door was firmly shut, he continued. ¡°Do you know why I summoned you here?¡± ¡°Did the professor do something?¡± It was the first thing I could come up with that might have this guy asking for me. ¡°Who, oh you mean the sphinx that was once human?¡± he waved the idea off. ¡°That creature took off before the festival ended.¡± He went silent as if inviting me to try again. I shrugged. ¡°Then I have no clue.¡± ¡°Truth be told, there are a few reasons I wanted to talk to you.¡± He steepled his fingers as he continued. ¡°At first I was curious who it was that had convinced the elf Barti Vendlewood to train them. It wasn¡¯t that long before my daughter started to rant and rave about a new person she had met. Someone she felt had decent potential.¡± He scoffed. ¡°Imagine my surprise when I found out the two people were the same.¡± Something about his eyes made me think he didn¡¯t find this to be all that surprising. I didn¡¯t know who his daughter was, so I ignored that part of what he said for now and focused on the training aspect. ¡°The sub-guildmaster told them to train me.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± The guy nodded, ¡°Ginny Metaleater. She has been known to help others she feels need it. Typically, though, she helps only those from a non-human race. Yet she decided to help you. Why is that?¡± ¡°No clue.¡± And even if I did, it wouldn¡¯t be my place to say. ¡°Hmm. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Our eyes once again met. This time, I found myself frozen in place. ¡°I need you to report everything those two, and their friends, are planning to me.¡± It took a shit ton of effort, but I managed to get out a single word. ¡°Why?¡± His eyebrows lifted as he answered. ¡°Because this city is at a turning point. Those two, and the group they are a part of, are trying to tip the scales. While they think they are doing what is best for the non-humans, their plans will kill hundreds of people.¡± Whatever pressure was holding me in place let up, though not enough to move, it was enough for me to ask another question. ¡°If it is that big of an issue, why don¡¯t you go talk to them?¡± He sighed. ¡°They refuse to talk to me or anyone else from the city guard or even the government. There are plans in the works to force them to listen to what we have to say, but I fear it will be too little too late.¡± ¡°Hence your desire to get me to watch over them for you.¡± His hand flicked out to point at me. ¡°Do this for me and I promise you won¡¯t regret it.¡±
Quest: Watcher
Quest Type: Personal - Unranked
Description: The other races seem to be planning something. Watch them and report anything suspicious.
Requirements: For the next 72 hours, report any plan that you hear about.
Reward: Unknown
Failure: Unknown
Well, that quest was fucking vague. Seeing as I have no information to go off of, I couldn¡¯t just agree to do this for him. But I couldn¡¯t say no either. Something told me I wouldn''t be leaving the building if I did that. Shrugging, I said, ¡°Sure, I can keep an eye out for you.¡± Of course, I would. The question was if I would tell you or not. But I wasn¡¯t going to say that. ¡°I look forward to what you find. Dismissed.¡± He waved me off as he picked up the top paper lying on his desk and started to read through whatever was on it. I didn¡¯t hesitate to open the door and re-enter the main room. Unlike a few minutes ago, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me. The synchronization and creep factor had me speed-walking out of that place faster than a juicy rumor could fly through the place. And I didn¡¯t stop until I was out of the building. People flowed around me as I tried to recall which alley the guards had brought me through. After a minute of wracking my brain for the answer, I gave up and just walked in the general direction I thought we had come from. Even if I didn¡¯t find the right path back, I would eventually run into the wall. As I walked, my AI prompted me. ¡°You have an urgent message from your bank. Shall I read it?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± While it was weird for them to reach out to me, it wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t have enough to pay my bills. ¡°We regret to inform you that the check from Tracer Metalworks Inc. has had an indefinite hold placed it by the sending party. If you feel this is in error, please contact your local bank representative during bank hours. Thank you.¡± ¡°WHAT THE FUCK?!¡± I screamed into the air. The few people nearby didn¡¯t bother to look up. Given the area and how it looked, I didn¡¯t blame them. Then again, I didn¡¯t care if they did try to get up and come see what the issue was. They couldn¡¯t help me. ¡°What is going on?¡± ¡°Searching.¡± My AI said before falling silent for a full minute. ¡°Tracer Metalworks Inc. is in the middle of a legal battle with a number of your previous coworkers. They sent out a press release stating that, as the outcome would impact all local employees, past and present, all contracts and agreements will be put on hold until the court decides.¡± The company was holding their final checks hostage to get the court to rule in their favor. It wasn¡¯t the first time I had heard about it. Hell, it was becoming so common that I should have expected it. And, knowing the courts, they wouldn¡¯t make a decision for months. I had enough saved up to pay my bills for a little while, but no where near enough to pay for the pod. I was screwed and needed to find a way to make some money and fast. As I thought over my options, I resumed my meandering trip back to the guildhall. Chapter 65 - Demons? Finally, after a couple of hours of dead ends, loops, and otherwise wandering, I finally made it back to the guildhall. The place was rowdy enough that I questioned if the banners were doing anything to deal with the noise. Carefully, I navigated through the clusters of people and tables, avoiding the two very drunk men reaching out as I went for the stairs. Just as I stepped onto the first step, Ginny yelled to catch my attention. ¡°Kyren, can we talk?¡± While I wasn¡¯t all that great at reading people''s emotions, even I could tell she looked a tad upset. Without saying anything else, or looking to make sure I followed, she turned and started in the direction of the training rooms. This had me sweating as it could be out of courtesy or not. She could be trying to make sure we didn¡¯t have to yell to make ourselves heard, or she could be making sure no one else could eavesdrop on the conversation. The training room she led me into was the same one I had been using this entire time and, to my relief, we were not the only ones there. In addition to my three instructors, a short, green-skinned man stood to the side. While he looked like I would have imagined a goblin would, I doubted it because goblins didn¡¯t typically live in human cities. Hell, they were usually the foot soldiers in armies sent to kill humans. Add to that the amount of glass vials and pouches strewed across his body, I highly doubted he was a goblin. ¡°Where the hell have you been?¡± Mindi asked. She sounded a bit miffed about something. ¡°Dealing with the frog creature things,¡± I said as my mind completely spaced on the name of the creatures. Only after I said it did I realize I could have just looked in my inventory as the corpses were labeled. ¡°The emergency quest ended hours ago, where have you been since then?¡± Barti asked, his voice sounding neutral, but something told me that something else was going on. ¡°I was dragged into a meeting with one of the guards.¡± Every one of them stiffened at that but it was Barti that asked the question I was sure they all had on their mind. ¡°Which guard?¡± Thinking back, I tried to figure out if he ever told me his name. Curiously enough, while I felt like he had, I couldn¡¯t recall him actually doing so. Thankfully though, I had at least heard his secretary say his last name. ¡°He never told me his name, but I did hear someone call him Mr. Morrowgrave.¡± ¡°Tall, thin, odd purple eyes?¡± Ginny asked. I nodded. ¡°That would be Kaelis Morrowgrave. The guard captain for the city. Do you mind telling us what you guys talked about?¡± For some reason, the tension in the room increased to the point that I might have been able to cut it with a butter knife. They were clearly stressed out and I didn¡¯t blame them. If I was looking to do something and one of the people you were helping had a meeting with an enemy, I would be worried about what they would do and say. Too bad for the captain, I didn¡¯t trust him to tell me the whole truth. That didn¡¯t mean I wouldn¡¯t take the quest. I would still have to think about that. What it did mean was that I wouldn¡¯t keep it secret, at least not from these four. ¡°He simply asked me to keep an eye on the other races and report anything they might have planned.¡± The tension in the girls'' bodies vanished. Barti, however, stayed tense as he asked another question. ¡°And will you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°How can you not know?¡± Tindi scoffed. ¡°It is a simple decision. Either you trust us or you don¡¯t. So, which is it?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± The goblin-looking man finally says. His crisp accent, while hard to place, cut through the air and stopped anyone else from talking. ¡°I think the lad is well within his rights to be hesitant. It was no different when I came to the city years ago. Every creature, human and not, are taught to trust those with higher authority without argument. That is great until someone or something proves them wrong.¡± The last of the tension filtered out of the air as he continued, ¡°It is your job, as his teachers, friends, and guildmates, to explain why the person is wrong. Sometimes they come around, other times they don¡¯t. That is their choice. So, Tindi, why don¡¯t you explain why you think it is a simple decision? It doesn¡¯t even have to be her, any one of you four could explain this to him. Hell, one of you might have tried to explain this before it came to this.¡± While the four of them mulled over what he said, I had to know something. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I, my dear,¡± he said as a smile filled his face. A smile filled with lots of pointy teeth. ¡°Am the Guildmaster. Before you ask, yes, I am a goblin. Though, unlike my brethren, I have long since tamed my ravenous need for flesh.¡± I didn¡¯t know what was worse, the look of his teeth or his admission to desiring to eat flesh. Thankfully, Barti¡¯s soft voice pulled my attention from the Guildmaster, and his smile, toward him. ¡°You have been fortunate enough not to be exposed to the dark truth of this city. Fortunate to not see how non-humans are treated for even the simplest mistakes. The beatings some get for simply walking too slow or bumping into some human¡¯s path.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. His voice cracked, almost as if he was recalling something. ¡°If that were not bad enough. The beatings for those who try and defend them are worse. I have had to be physically held back as¡­as¡­¡± The elf¡¯s voice cracked again. While I couldn¡¯t be one hundred percent sure, I could have sworn that I saw the glint of tears falling as he tried to continue. ¡°As a kid tried to save his mother by shoving the human enough to cause them to stumble. The nearby guards cut the kid''s head off without even bothering to ask what was going on.¡± What the fuck was going on in this goddamned town? What developer was sick enough to add such a backstory? Also, what else had happened to make the hardass elf cry? At that point, my face was probably one of abject horror. As Mindi moved to comfort Barti, Ginny took over. ¡°This isn¡¯t isolated to one section of the city or another. There are laws in place to protect the humans and suppress every other race.¡± Hearing that made me think of what had happened in the arena with the guards. ¡°Then why don¡¯t people leave? Maybe get the,¡± I stalled for a second as I tried to figure out what kind of government this nation had. Eventually settling on nobility as the most likely option given what I had seen. ¡°Nobles in a nearby city to come and deal with the issues?¡± While Tindi glared at me like I was stupid and the Guildmaster¡¯s smile grew, Ginny sighed. Almost sounding as if she was disappointed in my answer. ¡°You think some people haven¡¯t done just that? None of the ones that leave are ever heard from again. Given that, when they go to leave, the guards search and confiscate everything on them to pay back an overdue tax or bill, they likely don¡¯t even make it a day without dying.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I stop her, confused as to how the guards could even do such a thing. Could they see inside everyone''s inventory or something? If so then how would smuggling and such work in this game? Surely the developers wouldn¡¯t kill off such an interesting tactic to gain riches and knowledge. She shook her head. ¡°It has to do with the city itself. Specifically, the magic that allows it to exist at all. It is the same magic that protects the city from monsters.¡± ¡°But what about the¡­actually never mind.¡± I wanted to ask about the emergency quest and the fact that the creatures could have taken over the city, but now was not the time to get sidetracked. She waited a few seconds to see if I had another question before continuing. ¡°But, none of that matters. From what the few human adventurers we have on our side, have said, the nearby nobles have been told to stay their hand.¡± That did not sound good. It almost sounded as if at least a few higher-ups were complicit in what was going on here. As the nobles were told to not interfere instead of copy, this town was likely a testing ground for future plans. While all of this had my emotions flaring, one thought brought me back to the ground, settling my emotions. This was a game. While it looked real, it wasn¡¯t. I had been having so much fun and loving the challenge that I hadn¡¯t even bothered to look for ways to make money. Now, I needed the money and I didn¡¯t have time to decide between what was right and what was wrong. I needed to find a decent source of income. Something steady. Something that I could live with. With the internal reminder, I simply asked, ¡°While I get that this is bad for the non-humans, what is in it for me?¡± Barti was looked at me with something resembling resignation. As if he had expected more but couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue. Ginny and Mindi both wore shocked looks. Almost like they couldn¡¯t believe what they had just heard come out of my mouth. The Guildmaster, I didn¡¯t even want to know what that face meant. It sent shivers down my spine and had something in the back of my head telling me to run. Tindi, on the other hand, looked pissed. ¡°How about doing the right thing? It is not always about what you can get. In fact, you sound like the demons every time someone goes to ask for something.¡± Wait, demon? That came out of left field. ¡°Tindi, there were better ways to say that,¡± Ginny spoke through her hand as she rubbed her face. Tindi, looked like she realized what she had said but I spoke before either could say anything. Looking directly into the Guildmaster¡¯s eye, I asked, ¡°What demons?¡± He sighed. Leaning against the wall as he started. ¡°There are demons inside the city. Well, only one family. They are the ones behind the scenes pulling the strings.¡± ¡°As in deal-making, soul-devouring, devil-following creatures from hell?¡± ¡°While I have personal experience with their need to form deals, I have never heard of any that eats souls or that they follow a devil.¡± He continued after taking a second to think about something. ¡°And, while I don¡¯t know where they come from, I know that they are not native to our world.¡± I took a second to think about what he said and the ramifications of these creatures. ¡°So, what limits would there be if I made a deal with one?¡± ¡°Depends on what you are offering in return.¡± The Guildmaster said while Tindi and Mindi both yelled out in protest. His voice was soft as he calmed the two of them. ¡°Now, girls, he is the only one that can decide his path. No one else can do it for him.¡± Looking back at me, his tone grew a bit harder. ¡°While I would never approve of such action, there are a few things that you need to know about demons for if you do decide to take this path.¡± ¡°Demons cannot lie. They can twist the truth, but they cannot lie.¡± He continued. ¡°And their contracts are binding. Neither side can break it. Even in death, the contract will find a way to fulfil the conditions. Not that they are easy to kill. Not at your current level.¡± Well there went my idea to backstab a demon for money and power. But who knows, maybe I should still do it. Surely the demon has connections outside of this town. Connections that would open doors for me. But, would the doors opened by the demon be worth more than my betrayal of all the other species? Could my helping the people here open a path that would otherwise stay closed? Neither was guaranteed, but they were both likely outcomes. Hell, even if there was no one person here with the power to do anything, saving them would be more likely to let me travel to their nations. Nations that might be closed off if I try to make a deal with a demon hell bent on killing or enslaving all non-humans. ¡°I¡­¡± I started but stopped as I tried again to think of what path would be best. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t. At least not right now. ¡°I need time to think about this.¡± The Guildmaster nodded. ¡°Go, eat, get cleaned up and get some sleep.¡± He looked over at Tindi, Barti, and Mindi. ¡°Take the next to days to think about your options. Come down here and train when you can. That way you can ask any questions you have.¡± My nod was jerky and my steps a bit faster than normal as I made my exit. The door was barely open when the yelling started. Ignoring it, I did as he bade. Ordering a plate of food be delivered to my room so I could shower before I ate. The server offered to get my dress cleaned and returned before tomorrow and I agreed without hesitation. Even with my mind occupied with everything I had just heard, I could smell just how rank I had become. Chapter 66 - Pushed to the Edge Throughout my shower and into the night, I thought about everything I had been told. My dream was of the girl Lucas prevented me from helping. How the guards had treated her. Was she still even alive? Could I have helped her? Should I have? Should I just leave the city and let what happens happen? Surely then none of what happens would be my fault, right? ¡°Kyren!¡± Barti¡¯s yelling broke me out of my stream of questions and thoughts. Hearing him and seeing that I was no longer in my room, I grew a bit confused. The confusion got even worse as I realized I was in the training room facing off against Tindi. ¡°While I appreciate that you are giving the situation a ton of thought, that does not mean you cannot focus on what is going on around you. Tindi, stop holding back.¡± Her nod was sharp and her smile predatory. What was with everyone around me looking at me like I was a piece of food? Without warning, she charged. With a flash of mana, I shifted to the side. The fist aimed at my head slid past. My hair fluttered as the displaced air shoved it this way and that. With one hand acting as a pivot point, I used the other to slash upward. The sharp, fast movement aimed at her belly missed as she flashed away. Her movement was so fast that I only saw a blur between the two points. While her exercise was hard enough to cause her to break a sweat, she never went hard enough to do anything else. In fact, I had never seen her having an issue with breathing, until now. Tindi¡¯s breathing was coming harder and faster than a few moments ago. She truly was not holding back. A sudden tensing in her hands was the only warning I got before she blurred a second time. My body reacted on instinct, moving forward while twisting to the side. While her blurred fist passed within a hair¡¯s breadth of my nose, her shoulder rammed right into mine. The hit sent me spinning to the side. As I tried to regain control of my momentum, a kick to my back sent me flying. My face ground against the floor as I came to a stop. It hurt like hell. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have time to care. Not when she was likely on her way to do yet more damage. Pushing mana through my body and into my surroundings, I rolled just in time for her fist to miss. I don¡¯t think it sank in just how much she had been holding back before. Not until I saw her fist sitting where my head used to be. The cracked stone belied the amount of force she had used. I would be dead if that had hit me. Not willing to give her another chance to hit me, I put as much space between us as I could. Switching from close-range attacks to long-range. Or at least I tried. She was quick to move. Keeping within an arms reach as I moved. With my mana flowing through me, I could keep up with her moves, but only just. The attacks were a constant issue. Keeping me moving to dodge or deflect them. They didn¡¯t stop long enough for me to launch a single strike of my own. Well, that is what I wanted her to think. Yes, at first, all I had been capable of was dodging and deflecting strike after strike. But, as I got a feel for the momentum, I found openings. Nothing large enough for me to attack her with a fist or foot, but long enough for something else. As soon as the last part was in place, I took a blow to my sternum. It hurt like a bitch but it did its job in launching me across the room. I played possum. To my surprise, she didn¡¯t hesitate as she charged at me. The moment her foot stepped over my first spell, I released the lot. Earth walls jerked up behind her. Forming a large bowl. As soon as it formed, a sphere of water formed, compressed, and exploded in its center. Two waves of water cascaded forward. The force of the first was enough to stagger her while the second sent her sprawling to the ground. ¡°Stop,¡± Barti called. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°But¡­¡± she spluttered. ¡°If he had used fire you would be dead. If he had curved the bowl just right, he could have focused the water onto a single point and done significant damage. Face it, you lost.¡± His voice was calm and matter-of-fact. ¡°Kyren, take a few minutes to rest. Mindi, you¡¯re up.¡± By the time I got to the edge of the room, the two girls were facing off. While I wanted to get back to thinking over my decision, the scene before me caught my attention. Mindi had cast a decent number of spells. Balls of fire and water flew around the room as they chased Tindi. Tindi, for her part, dodged the spells as she moved around the room. Any time she got close to Mindi, the spells grew more accurate and faster, forcing her back. The moves were smooth and well-timed. It all looked like it was choreographed given the lack of hits. Finally, though, Mindi growled in frustration. A dozen different spells spawned in the area around her. Each flew at Tindi, giving her no way out. Tindi, for her part, blurred as she still tried to dodge the hits. But as soon as the first stone hit her shoulder, she lost her momentum. Spell after spell struck her from every angle. Nothing was strong enough to kill her, but that didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t hurt. Her scream ended the match without Barti having to say a word. Instead, he flashed in. Staggering amounts of mana flooded out of him as he cast a spell on her. Even from where I stood, I could see her wounds visibly healing. The flood of mana stopped just as fast as it had started. He took the opportunity to help her up and across the room. With her sitting against the wall, he looked over at me. ¡°Your turn.¡± I expected Mindi to join me in the middle but, to my surprise, the elf joined me. He looked utterly relaxed as he spoke. ¡°Feel free to come at me at any time.¡± I didn¡¯t so much as move, choosing instead to ask a question that had been bugging me off and on all night. ¡°Why me?¡± ¡°Why you what?¡± I thought my question was quite self-evident but I humored him. ¡°Why is everyone trying to recruit me?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± He sighed, ¡°Honestly, you just got lucky, or unlucky. If not for that first day you came into the guild and got us as trainers, none of this would have happened. At least not to you.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Other than a few oddities and traits, you are just like every other traveler that the gods drop into our city.¡± And here I was thinking that there was something about me that everyone wanted for their side. ¡°Wait, what oddities?¡± I asked, curious what he was talking about. I mean, the only thing I could think about as being odd had to do with my mana, but I doubted it was what he meant. The elf took a second to look me over as he thought about his answer. Finally, he simply said, ¡°No, if you can hit me one time, then I will tell you.¡± Well, guess I would never know. Then again, he wouldn¡¯t pose this unless he thought I could pull it off. Or if he didn¡¯t want to answer, but I doubted he would do such a thing. I could stand here and debate if it was possible or not forever or I could give it a go. And, given that I only knew a fraction of his power, I needed to either come up with a foolproof plan or go for broke. It took me all of a couple of seconds to make a decision on what to do. There was no way I would be able to come up with any sort of plan that could account for everything he could do. In fact, I needed to have absolutely no plans. No planning ahead, just attack fast and hard. It worked for the Germans in World War Two, it was likely to work here. To that end, I needed to remove his ability to react to any tells my body might give. I needed to shut off my mind. Specifically the part that planned ahead. The part that reacted. Relying instead on pure instinct. He must have seen some sort of change in my posture or expression because he suddenly smiled. He must have said something as his mouth moved, but I ignored it. Focusing instead on releasing my mana to flow freely. Every drop rushed out of me, through my body and into my immediate surroundings. None of it went far though. Most of it seemed to rebound off something and rush back toward me only to be pushed back out. This back-and-forth occurred more times than I could count. Only ending as the majority of mana settled at one of three points. Two sat at the top of my head while another was attached to where my spine ended. It was the same place as during the fight with the idiotic creeper, but this time the mana felt more like a part of me. Like I could reach back and grab whatever it was. Instead, I charged at my opponent. The world around me blurred as I moved faster than ever. Chapter 66.1 - Forum 5 - Changes BlazingUser: ¡°Dude, this SoulStone is epic! Thought it''d just boost my stats by 10, but bam ¨C got a 20-point boost in both vitality and strength. ??Though, I wish the debuffs were not so stupid. I think I am going to just lie in bed for a couple of days and let my guy take care of me.¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°Anyone else lose their humanity, or just me? ?? Turned into a wolf beastman here. Claws and all! But now, human NPCs won''t even glance my way. And the guards? They''re on my tail 24/7. Even going so far as to knock on my bedroom door a couple times an hour.¡± BloodyMemories: ¡°Guess who drew the short straw? ???¡á? Yours truly is a vampire now. Sunlight''s my new worst enemy, though my SoulStone ring gives me a brief 10-minute sun pass daily. What about your Stone? Transformations? Trinkets?¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@Pleasantmeadows Nope, still human.¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@BloodyMemories I got a thin bracelet that boosts my mana capacity by a small percent. Have you tried blood yet?¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. MeliciousComplianceOfficer: ¡°@BloodyMemories, mine? A pen. ??? Yeah, a pen that writes anywhere, underwater, you name it. Handy for those underwater shopping lists, right? Utterly baffled. ??¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°@BloodyMemories, got a necklace here that lets me go full wolf mode for 20 minutes daily. ?? Howl-worthy, but kinda specific, huh?¡± LillyOfTheValley: ¡°I think we found a member of Team Jacob and Team Edward¡± BittyBot: ¡°LOL. Is that even still a thing?¡± SpidySense: ¡°Hey, did you guys see the news?¡± BlazingUser: ¡°@SpidySense Who hasn¡¯t. The war is getting out of hand.¡± BloodyMemories: ¡°@SpidySense That group is so dead ??.¡± BloodyMemories: ¡°@BlazingUser Nope. Still healing from my sunburn ??.¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°@SpidySense So sad for the people caught in the blast¡± SpidySense: ¡°I am not talking about that! I mean the other thing. Apparently people are finding their bodies changed IRL.¡± BloodyMemories: ¡°FUCK! I have a flight tomorrow and I have a window seat.¡± PleasantMeadows: ¡°Oh damn. My dogs are so not going to like this.¡± MeliciousComplianceOfficer: ¡°Well at least I don¡¯t need a pen anymore.¡± HumanZealot: ¡°@All I say we force everyone into the game and have them use the SoulStone. Then we can kill those that are not truly human. Humans forever.¡± SYSTEM: ¡°@USER:HumanZealot Warning four issued. Forum account banned for five days.¡± AIDEATH: ¡°@SYSTEM ??Go to hell you robot trash??¡± SYSTEM: ¡°@USER:AIDEATH Hardware IP matched to @User:HumanZealot Both forum accounts terminated. Linked pod system locked for a week.¡± PhilosophicalWar: ¡°??You would think some people would learn after the first time. But no, some humans are just stupid.¡± Vector??: ¡°@PhilosophicalWar Right?¡± Chapter 67 - Medical Ejection and Decisions It felt like someone had a jackhammer and was going to town on my head. If that wasn¡¯t bad enough, it felt like ants were freely crawling up and down my body. The pain grew worse when I tried to open my eyes. ¡°Welcome back Alex.¡± The sound of the AI¡¯s voice was loud enough that I was pretty sure it caused permanent hearing damage. Ignoring the AI, I focused on not throwing up. At least, not until I could get up without passing out from the pain. Just as the pain started to subside, a hissing sound surrounded me. The sound caused the headache to redouble while the burst of air felt like needles were being stabbed into my skin. I don¡¯t know if I screamed or not. The next thing I could remember was looking up at the off-yellow ceiling while the AI tried to get my attention. ¡°Alex? Should I call for help? Answer me.¡± While the default setting for systems like this one was to call for emergency aid, I didn¡¯t have insurance. Plus, around here the hospital was practically useless. All of the decent doctors were long since gone. Hired by one rich person or company. Those we were left with were the crackpots or those with outdated ideologies. I took a second to collect myself before finally answering the damn system. ¡°No.¡± Thinking back, I tried to figure out what had happened. The last thing I could clearly remember was Barti telling me that I had left myself vulnerable. After that, I only remember fear and desperation. I didn¡¯t even recall logging out. ¡°When did I log out?¡± ¡°An hour ago, the pod''s health monitoring system noticed a worrying trend in your brain activity. Your Prefrontal Cortex and Broca¡¯s Area activity decreased while your Amygdala, Hypothalamus, and Periaqueductal Grey areas all experienced a sharp uptick in activity. The system automatically cut your connecting with the game and removed you.¡± Slowly sitting up, I rolled my eyes and asked, ¡°OK, for those of us without a medical degree?¡± ¡°Something about your fight with the elf Barti caused you to lose all sense and reason. Instead of simply calling for the system to log you out or for the match to end, your body, on instinct, fought as if it was really in danger. As the system was interacting with your brain, your brain tried to attack and force the connection closed.¡± Something told me that a brain attacking itself was not a good thing. ¡°Is the system safe for me to use again?¡± ¡°As the system was disconnected before permanent damage could be done, it should be safe. However, it is recommended that you get checked out by a professional.¡± Cool, the AI was telling me it was up to me if I wanted to risk it. Seeing as I didn¡¯t have much of a choice at this point, I was going to go back in. But first, might as well take the time to eat now while I am already logged off. Stepping toward the bathroom, I called out, ¡°AI, pull up some of the forums for the game.¡± ¡°What would you like me to look for?¡± While I turned the water on and waited for it to warm up, I thought over what I wanted to look up. Eventually, I settled on starting with what was going on in the city. ¡°Let¡¯s start with a broad search on human treatment of other races.¡± ¡°One million, seven hundred forty-nine thousand eighty-one different threads found.¡± Damn, that was a ton of information. Then again, it was a pretty broad search. ¡°Summerize.¡± ¡°Topics range from trade to relationships, slavery to academies. Please narrow your search.¡± Yeah, I should have expected that. ¡°Focus on slavery and physical interactions between governmental agencies and the non-human population.¡± The AI was silent for a full minute before it spoke again. ¡°Interactions and treatment of non-humans by humans and the government have been growing worse over the last couple of in-game months. With various cities and regions being worse than others.¡± ¡°Does anyone have any idea what is causing the change in feelings?¡± ¡°There are many theories but none with enough supporting evidence to give it more validity over any other.¡± Surely I couldn¡¯t be the first one to find the demonic connection. ¡°What about theories with demons are the cause?¡± ¡°There are some, but there is little evidence. In fact, there are a number of people who argue such a thing is not possible.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°They argue that there is no way for any demon to make it through the combined armies. If you would like, I can display the forum page for you to go over if you like.¡± ¡°No,¡± it wouldn¡¯t be much use anyway. It didn¡¯t matter if the information was true or not. What mattered was my decision on who to help. The humans, or the non-humans. Out of curiosity, I asked the AI for its opinion on my situation. ¡°Which group would you help?¡± It didn¡¯t hesitate before answering, ¡°As an Artificial Intelligence, I do not possess a personal preference. However, if I were required to make a decision based on the information currently available, as well as those based on history, I would choose to help the non-humans. While the population of non-humans in the city of Proxima is small compared to those of humans, there are forum posts that discuss other countries with little to no humans. So, while aiding the humans might provide you with more immediate and local support, it would hurt you long term.¡± The AI paused before continuing. ¡°That being said, would you like me to try and simulate each scenario?¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Is it sad that the AI was being smarter than me or is that just to be expected? While I was freaking out about the immediate situation, it was pointing out how I would be sharply limiting my future if I helped the humans. ¡°Sure, go ahead and run the scenarios.¡± ¡°Please wait as this may take me a little while.¡± As the AI did whatever it was doing, I finished the shower and grabbed a meal bar. The things tasted horrible but they were cheap and they didn¡¯t go bad. To distract myself from the grainy mush bite, I looked out my windows and to the city below. The sky was dark. Missing even the moon''s soft glow to illuminate the dark alleys not illuminated by the scant few working light posts. As I watched, a large, furred creature ran through the streets. It looked large enough to be a lion. Not that there were any living specimens in this part of the world. Especially since the local zoos closed five or ten years ago. Even with all the protests against it, the places either released, sold to rich collectors, or killed all of the creatures they had on hand. Plus, the creature was running on two legs. What lion can do that? Outside of comics and television, I couldn¡¯t think of a single one. It disappeared around another corner, leaving me without an idea of what it had been. ¡°Of the scenarios I ran,¡± the AI¡¯s voice cuts through the silence and pulls my attention from the world outside. ¡°The results depend on a number of factors. The largest of which has to do with the SoulStone.¡± ¡°If I use it or not?¡± I hazard. ¡°It is not if you use it but when and what changes it imparts on you.¡± Ok, the AI was right. While I might not have used the stone yet, it was inevitable that I would be forced to do so eventually. ¡°If you take the human-centric path and the stone changes your race, you will be stuck in the same situation as the rest of the non-humans.¡± ¡°But only if I become something non-human. What is the chance of that?¡± The windows in front of me fill with tons of text windows. The few that I can make out remind me of posts from various forums I had been looking at earlier. Back when I had been debating buying the pod in the first place. ¡°Relatively high based on the data I am seeing. While this data might be skewed, there are a couple of posts written by supposed data scientists who decided it would be fun to do a poll of the population. They found that nearly ninety percent of those who used the stone became something non-human. Forty percent of those people found the changes impossible to hide.¡± That was good to know. Fuck! ¡°What is the chance of reprisal from either side if I ignore both sides?¡± While I didn¡¯t want to do it, this might be my only option. ¡°There is a high probability of you being charged with something by the local government. Other cities will arrest and ship you back to be tried and sentenced.¡± Which meant my only real option was to help the non-humans and to pray that it doesn¡¯t blow up in my face. ¡°Incoming message from Xander. Would you like me to read it?¡± ¡°I needed to think about something else for a minute anyway so go ahead.¡± ¡°From Xander. Dude, did you see that the company froze our payouts?¡± ¡°Respond that I have.¡± He must have been waiting for me to reply as the message was just sent when he responded. ¡°Voice call from Xander.¡± I sighed as I recalled how our last voice call went. Still, maybe he might have more information on my current issue. ¡°Answer it.¡± ¡°Can you believe that damn company?¡± Xander¡¯s voice filled the room as he spoke. ¡°I knew they were going to pull something like this.¡± ¡°If you knew they were going to do something like this then why did you insist I spend a large chunk of what I got on a pod?¡± I grumbled. ¡°Because you needed the push. Plus you should have made enough to pay most of that off. Please don¡¯t tell me you are still in that beginner town.¡± ¡°Ok, I won''t tell you.¡± ¡°What is in that town that has you stuck there now?¡± I could practically hear his eyes roll. ¡°And don¡¯t say it is because you are too weak. I saw your fight against Trenton. If you can handle him you can handle moving on to the next town.¡± ¡°One, I have no clue how I beat him. The last thing I remember from that night was getting my ass kicked.¡± ¡°Really?¡± He didn¡¯t sound as though he believed me. ¡°And two, I have a major quest-related decision to make.¡± ¡°How major?¡± His voice went from disbelief to serious in an instant. ¡°It will affect my future prospects in the game as well as affect everyone in the city. Maybe more.¡± ¡°Give me the TLDR.¡± ¡°Humans treating non-humans like shit. I have been asked to let the guards know if the non-humans have any plans. The non-humans asked me to help them.¡± ¡°Sounds simple.¡± He started but I interrupted him. ¡°Oh, and the non-humans told me that the guard captain is a demon.¡± ¡°HE¡¯S A WHAT!?¡± Xander practically yelled. ¡°Whatever you do, do not help the god damned demons. Hell, stay out of it if you can. I am on my way.¡± Before I could say anything else, Xander cut the connection. Out of everything I had heard, been told, and thought about, his reaction told me all I needed to know to commit to one side or the other. Turning around, I settled into the pod and pressed the button to close the lid. Unfortunately for me, the stupid thing had to stop me from going straight into the game. The pod''s voice is different than my AI¡¯s. It is cold and robotic as it speaks. ¡°Welcome back Alex Morgan- also known as Kyren Vulpier. Please hold still while I perform a medical scan.¡± ¡°Why are you performing a medical scan on me?¡± Was I sick and the system was trying to determine if it was safe to let me enter? Maybe my AI had been wrong about the lack of damage to my brain. The beat of my heart skips and jumps until it is racing as I try to figure out what might be wrong with me. ¡°Since your last ejection was triggered by abnormal brain activity, it is protocol to perform a medical scan to ensure no residual neurological issues remain. This is a precautionary measure to verify that your brain''s activity has returned to normal.¡± Hearing that it is simply protocol and has nothing to do with anything that might be currently wrong with me nearly causes me to pass out from relief. As the relief washes over me, I nearly miss what it says next. ¡°Would you like to bypass this? Warning. Skipping this scan may result in unforeseen medical complications. If you choose to bypass it, you accept full responsibility and waive any right to seek damages from the company.¡± Seeing no downside to the scan, I agreed, ¡°Nope, scan away.¡± A series of multicolored lights ran over my body while various noises vibrated through my body. This lasted a dozen or so seconds before the AI returned. ¡°Small variance discovered. Compensating. Done. Login process commencing.¡± Hearing that it had found a small change was a bit worrying. But, before I could ask, the world around me vanished into darkness as I was logged back into the game. Chapter 68 - The Plan, The Drag, and The Demon Spawn The game¡¯s welcome window greeted me as I popped into the world. I closed it without bothering to even read it. I focused instead on figuring out where I was. While the place was dim, there was enough light to at least make out my surroundings. The ceilings were fairly high and bare. In fact, the more I looked at them, the more I realized the ceiling was nothing more than the joists holding up the roof. Sitting up, I found that I was in a small room. Or at least it was a space being used as a room. The walls were made up of crates stacked together. As I tried to take a deep breath through my nose, I practically gagged at the rancid smell. The place reeked of mold and rot. If anything, the smell alone told me I had never seen this place before. I needed to get my bearings and probably make a run for it. Breathing lightly through my mouth, I slowly made my way across to the one opening in my little room. A gruff and deep voice made its way to my ears as I got close. ¡°¡­longer should we wait for the kid? My son isn¡¯t going to last much longer under that bastard¡¯s thumb.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s give him another hour,¡± Barti¡¯s voice was calm. While I didn¡¯t was going on, the fact that he was here had me creeping closer to them to get a look at who he was with. ¡°Dats easy fo you tah say. You don ¡®ave anyon¡¯ in those damn pens.¡± Another voice sneered. Without warning, something sounded like it exploded into pieces. I had to see just what was going on. Seeing a much shorter stack of boxes, I made my way toward it. ¡°You don¡¯t think I have something to lose?¡± Barti¡¯s voice was cold. Colder than I had ever heard it and it only grew colder the longer he spoke. ¡°I already lost my wife, my family, my home, my village to these monsters. I am here, not for you, not for your families, but for them. To seek retribution for what these things did to them. To prevent them from being able to repeat that atrocity from happening yet again.¡± As I started to climb, the pile started to shift and teeter. I shifted my weight to counteract the motion but the shifting was too fast. The top box tipped past the point of return. Sliding and slipping off the top of the stack. Its corner missed me as it slammed into the ground right below me. Without the additional leverage, my attempts to counteract the motion had the stack shifting wildly in the other direction. I should have expected the change but for some reason, I lost my grip on the lid. Within moments of the box hitting the ground, I found myself joining it. Splinters of wood poked and stabbed at me as I hit the ground. Other than a few bruises, I found myself unhurt thanks to my dress, making me thankful I had put it on before training this morning. Or was it yesterday? Just how long, in-game, has it been since my fight with Barti? I wasn¡¯t given much of a chance to think about it or run as I was suddenly surrounded on all sides. A few of them even went so far as to jump over the wall of boxes to get to me a few moments faster. Each and every single one of them had some sort of non-human trait visible. Fur along arms, long ears, tails, or claws to name a few of those that I could make out. Unexpectedly, none of them moved to grab me. Instead, they each watched me as they collectively blocked off my escape route. It was as if they were waiting for something or someone. Finally, a pair of people, including Barti, walked up to our group. ¡°You think this little thing will be able to do what we need?¡± A woman with tusks scoffed. ¡°He was able to take me out,¡± Tindi spoke from behind me. I hadn''t even realized she was in the group until she spoke. ¡°I could take you out,¡± the tusked woman shot back. ¡°And you and I are on the same level.¡± Tindi gestured to me. ¡°He was able to do so when he was half my level.¡± ¡°Preposssterosss,¡± a male with a long forked tongue and slit eyes spoke. His face was close enough that the ends of his tongue tickled the back of my ear causing me to shiver. ¡°The ssstat differenssse would make that imposssible.¡± ¡°Normally that would be correct. But that is assuming normal growth and training.¡± Barti answered for Tindi. ¡°unfortunately for him, I have been the one training him. Pushing his stats up faster than typical as well as training him how to use them to their fullest.¡± Multiple voices whispered to each other. Some were loud enough for me to make out. ¡°The devil has been training him?¡± ¡°He survived training with the demon?¡± ¡°Is this kid sane?¡± Barti ignored all of them. Instead, he reached his hand out to help me up. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Good,¡± I responded as I took his hand. ¡°Though I am a bit confused as to what is going on and how I got here.¡± ¡°What is the last thing you remember?¡± He asked as he slowly pulled me to the side. While a few people watched us go, the rest argued back and forth about this, that, or the other thing. ¡°Just you telling me that I was leaving myself vulnerable, then nothing but pain.¡± ¡°The pain was probably because I grabbed near the base of your tail.¡± He looked a bit hesitant as he spoke but I couldn''t tell if it had to do with the fact he caused me so much pain or something else. While I vaguely recalled having a tail, it had been made of mana, hadn¡¯t it? It should have been as solid as the mana floating in the air around us right now. ¡°Tail? But that was a mana construct¡­wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes and no.¡± He was still hesitating to say something. Thankfully Ginny walked up to take care of the explanation for him. ¡°Your mana settled into the shape it felt was natural for you. Condensing and moving as if it were your body. It did something similar when you beat¡­¡± She snapped her fingers for a second as she tried to recall someone''s name. ¡°Trenton.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t remember beating him.¡± ¡°That happens as one''s emotions takes over and you lose yourself to the mana.¡± Ginny waved her hand. ¡°But that isn¡¯t what matters. What matters is that the natural shape for your mana top take is one that has the tail and ears of a¡­I think it was a fox.¡± She looked over to Barti who simply nodded. ¡°And?¡± I asked, not quite understanding what she was getting at. While Ginny started to say something, someone came up behind her and spoke over her. ¡°It don¡¯ ma¡¯er. Ta only ting tha ma¡¯ers at tis momen¡¯ is your choice. Help us or no¡¯.¡± I wanted to hear what Ginny had been trying to say but the tinker elf looking creature was right, we had more important things to talk about. With a sigh, I said the words that would decide my fate, ¡°I am going to help you guys.¡± I only hoped that I didn¡¯t have to deal with the demon on my own. Everyone looked relieved. More so than they probably should have been given how useless I was compared to them. Which had me mumbling the question I still had no answer for. ¡°Is anyone ever going to tell me why me?¡± ¡°Not now, we gots to go over the plan.¡± Someone said as they smacked my back. As one, the group pulled me around a corner not five boxes down. Sitting on the other side, was a large open space lit by a series of lamps. Flickering flames cause shadows to dance as we all move out of the little aisle and into the room. As I get closer to the middle of the space, a large map of the city with multiple places marked out catches my eye. ¡°The plansssimple.¡± The forked tongued man spoke. ¡°Allsss you got to do isss drag Lucasss here to the guard houssse, get into the pit, free the prisssonersss, and essscort them to the sssouth gate.¡± Yeah, that sounded simple but he didn¡¯t have to do it, I did. ¡°First off, isn¡¯t the guard house crawling with, oh I don¡¯t know, guards?¡± ¡°Typically,¡± a soft and raspy voice came from the shadows to my left. ¡°But they will be stretched a bit thin for a few hours.¡± ¡°And the demon?¡± ¡°Let Ginny and I worry about the demon,¡± Barti spoke with confidence. I barely heard his words as he muttered, ¡°I need to pay that bastard and his kind back for what they did to my family.¡± The way he said it, the darkness in his voice, the anger, almost had me stopping the next speaker to get some more information. Ginny must have seen something in my eyes because she shook her head the moment my eyes glanced over her. Taking the hint, I focused on the speaker. ¡°Ok, assuming all of the distractions work and the majority of the guards are out of my way, what do I do about the rest?¡± ¡°All of the guards have either seen you or heard of you meeting with their boss. Just act as if you are following orders and you won''t have any issues.¡± A girl no larger than me said as she started to clean her claws with a knife. ¡°And if anyone questions you, kill them.¡± I sputtered for a moment before finally managing to say, ¡°But they are the city guards.¡± She shrugged. ¡°They¡¯re only human.¡± ¡°I¡¯m human!¡± My voice cracked as I suddenly realized that not all non-humans were as nice as those I had met so far. Some were just as bloodthirsty as humans. ¡°Meh, I doubt that.¡± She said as her eyes met mine. I shivered but someone else spoke up. ¡°Stop pestering the boy.¡± An older man using a cane pushed his way through the crowd. Everyone stopped talking and simply watched him. When he finally stopped, his eyes looked into mine as he continued speaking. ¡°Just do what Lucas tells you when he tells you. He knows the plan and what to do if something goes wrong.¡± With a gesture, a small fluffy creature appeared out of the crowd as it waddled its way over. Its fur was a mix of white and black, reminding me of something I had once seen in a movie, but I couldn¡¯t put my thumb on what it was called. All I knew was that I suddenly felt the need to hug the creature. When it came to a stop, the creature bowed to the old man, then me, before speaking with such a deep voice that I practically felt in my chest. ¡°I am ready to do what must be done.¡± While I knew that this was important, why did that sound so ominous? ¡°How am I supposed to get Lucas to the guard house without getting caught?¡± The old man passed something that looked like a vial to the creature. ¡°You are going to drag me,¡± Lucas said before downing whatever was in the bottle. ¡°Surely you are kidding.¡± I scoffed, not quite believing what I had heard him say. ¡°Nope.¡± He said as someone started to tie a rope around his arms while another went to work on his legs. ¡°I will do no such thing!¡± I practically yelled. ¡°You will because you must.¡± The old man¡¯s soft voice was just loud enough to make out over the sounds of people preparing to go into battle. ¡°No, but¡­¡± ¡°No buts!¡± Lucas¡¯s growl was even more terrifying than his normal voice. ¡°You already agreed to help us. Or are you backing out?¡± At that moment, a quest window popped up in front of me.
Quest: Drag in the Goods
Quest Type: Personal - Unranked
Description: You and Lucas have been tasked with infiltrating the city prison pits. Too bad he cannot just walk in a free man.
Requirements: Convince the town and guards that he is a prisoner and make it into the pits without your duplicity being discovered.
Reward: 1000 XP, +1 Charisma, Lucas¡¯s trust
Failure: Unknown
I hesitated. Not because of the quest or the challenge presented by it. No. I hesitated because I didn¡¯t want to hurt someone for no reason. It felt wrong to have to do it. Even if a quest told me to. It was bad enough that I had to pull him along as a prisoner but the quest, as well as everyone around me, was telling me that I would have to hurt him. A single hit or beating would do either. I would have to sell this to the guards enough that they didn¡¯t question what I was doing. He took my hesitation as an answer in and of itself. Turning to face one of the few creatures that had stayed behind to help. The thing was covered in scales. In its hands, the thing held a small knife. It didn¡¯t hesitate as it started to cut into his skin. Lucas simply hissed at the pain and nothing else as the creature continued to cut at him. The cuts didn¡¯t show any signs of healing as it did so. I watched as the number of cuts spread from his arms to his back, and finally to his chest. The blood dribbling out colored his white fur crimson. Finally, thankfully, the creature stopped cutting. Which was a good thing as I was about to kill the thing to get it to stop. Lucas, however, didn¡¯t seem phased by the number of cuts as he turned to look at me. ¡°Prisoner¡¯s Poison. It stops a person¡¯s healing for a set amount of time. It is used when torturing prisoners.¡± He passed me a small vial. ¡°Keep that with you. It is the antidote.¡± His entire body shook as he slipped on a small bracelet. Gesturing to it, I asked, ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Something to suppress my mana.¡± Lucas then tossed me a small ring. ¡°Put that on.¡± The thing felt like it was made of ice. It hurt to even touch. Worried it was doing damage, I looked up at my health bar only to find it was not the one dropping. My mana bar was slowly, steadily, sliding downward. Only the look in Lucas¡¯s eyes prevented me from simply tossing the ring across the room.
Name: Shackle Key
Type: Ring
Rank: Rare
Material: VoidGlass
Physical Defense: 0
Magical Defense: 0
Primary Effect: Allows one to remove the linked shackle.
Secondary Effect: Passively absorbs a constant amount of mana at a rate of 1 mana per minute. Stops absorbing mana when the wearer drops below 50%
Tertiary Effect: Cannot be stored in a spatial inventory.
Durability: 200/200
I didn¡¯t want to think about wearing such a ring but I had no choice. Who knew that dresses didn¡¯t have pockets? Ok, I did but I never really thought about what that would mean until I had no other place to put something. Slipping the ring on, I looked at Lucas. He simply held a rope out to me. It was tied to those wrapped around his feet. I sighed in resignation as I took the rope and looped it around my left hand. Nodding, he turned and started walking. Not knowing where anything was or what to do, I followed behind him like I would a dog. If we were in the real world and he wasn¡¯t covered in wounds, it might even look like I was walking a dog. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He opened a door set into the wall. The stream of light that flooded in blinded me. Either he didn¡¯t notice or care because he stepped through, pulling me along behind him. ¡°Remember to wait until you hear the signal,¡± Barti said from somewhere behind me. ¡°What signal?¡± Did we ever agree on a signal? Instead of answering, the door behind me closed. ¡°We need to get going.¡± Lucas tugged on the rope, pulling me along as my eyes finished adjusting to the amount of light. We were in a small alley just off the main road leading from the wall to the guild. A wall that I could see as we got closer to the mouth of the alley. Stopping, he dropped to the ground and sat as he spoke in a hurried tone. ¡°You need to drag me from here. Oh and do not turn your head around. Keep your eyes forward no matter what you hear.¡± His eyes held mine for a second before lying down. ¡°Where am I going?¡± I asked while wishing I had paid better attention to the path the guards had taken me down. He grumbled about being stuck with an incompetent idiot. ¡°Left, straight for two blocks, right, straight for three, left, left, right, right, straight, right, and left. The guard building will be the only one with guards at the door.¡± He took a second to get settled before adding, ¡°Also, try and avoid potholes.¡± Nodding, I schooled my face before slowly walking forward. The rope in my hand went taught as I walked onto the street. Scraping sounds and pained grunts nearly caused me to nearly turn and check on him. Only the echoes of his words kept my eyes facing forward. Like most other days, the street was swarming with people. Most of whom were human, but scattered here and there, non-humans walked with their heads down and their shoulders pulled in tight. It didn¡¯t even take a moment before the chatter filling the street died down as people caught sight of me and my baggage. I expected a group of people to come over and beat me up for how Lucas was being treated. Hell, even one person demanding that I release him. But nothing happened. If anything, the crowd parted for us. As I walked, the crowd grew. Well, the number of humans increased while the number of non-humans decreased. The few that did stay stayed in the background, simply watching. Behind me, I heard shuffling and soft thumps followed by grunts and soft cries of pain. I didn¡¯t even have to look to know what was going on. Especially when I heard a mother encourage her kids. ¡°Go on, hit the creature. It did bad things and needs to be punished.¡± How would she even know what Lucas had done? Was she just assuming that any non-human getting dragged through the streets did something wrong? My nails ground into my palm as I forced myself to keep walking. To not turn around and beat that woman and everyone else participating. Thankfully, the turn for the alley was closing in. As I turned, I took the chance to look at Lucas. His eyes met mine. They were hard and unforgiving. Something about the look told me that he would kill me if I even thought about stopping to help him. Unfortunately, as I focused on my path and stepped into the alley, a loud splash sounded behind me. Lucas screamed out in pain as someone dumped something onto him. Given the sizzling and popping, I was sure I didn¡¯t want to know what it was. Thankfully, while the alley was dirty, the number of people dropped to nothing. I sped up my pace in the hopes of getting to our destination before I finally snapped. Following his direction, we passed through small streets and even smaller alleys. Eventually popping through what amounted to a crack between two buildings and stepping onto the rich street that was our destination. Like before, people stopped and gawked at Lucas. Fortunately for him, those crowding the sidewalk were different from those we had walked by earlier in the fact that they only hurled insults at him. Likely due to whatever pride and ego each of them carried while dressed as they were. The crowd was large enough to cause traffic to stop while those inside tried to see just what was going on. It meant more eyes were watching us, but it also meant I didn¡¯t have to stop to wait for the traffic to stop before crossing to the other side. A pair of guards standing on either side of a door watched as I stepped up from the road and onto the sidewalk. They didn¡¯t stop me or question me as I walked up to the door. The only people they stopped were those who tried to follow us inside. Seeing the over-the-top interior caused a malicious grin to spread as I thought about how much work it would be to clean up the muck and grime we were dragging inside. Then again, it probably wasn¡¯t the first time they had someone doing this. It would explain the marks in the floor on the other side of the door. As I opened the door and walked in, the room of guards went silent save for the shuffling of cloth and clinking of metal as they shifted to see my prisoner. Some sneered at Lucas while others shot me a grin. It wasn¡¯t lost on me when a pair near the back of the room glared at me as they passed another guard some money. Stopping in the middle of the room, I used as monotonous a sounding voice as I could manage to ask ¡°Where do you want me to take him?¡± A guard leaning against a desk spoke up first, cutting everyone else off. ¡°I can take him off your hands for you.¡± ¡°The Captain told me to get him information,¡± My tone was full of scorn and disgust as I emphasized the word captain. While the disgust was actually over what I was having to do, I channeled it into making it sound like it made me sick to even think about handing Lucas over. ¡°I did him one better. I got him a high enough source to question. Do you think I would be stupid enough to hand such a prize over to you to kill or damage beyond its usefulness? Get out of my way if you are not going to show me where to go.¡± As I tried to keep myself from throwing up at what I was implying, the guard nodded. His hand gestured toward a door that I didn¡¯t recall being there. ¡°Then feel free to take him to the pits yourself. Just don¡¯t blame me when you get sick from what you see down there.¡± Nodding my thanks, I moved to the door. The guard near it opened it for me. Holding it just long enough for me to get my prisoner through before slamming it and plunging me into darkness. I stood still as my eyes adjusted. Too bad I didn¡¯t need to see anything to hear the screams echoing up from below while the guards'' laughter filtered through the door behind me. Finally able to see what was in front of me, I found myself on the landing of a very long staircase. I almost turned around to free Lucas so that he could walk down the stairs when he hissed ¡°Get on with it.¡± Momentarily, I closed my eyes while I took a quick deep breath. The cold and wet air filling my lungs smelled of mold and slightly of rusted metal. Instead of thinking of all the reasons the smell might be detectible, even up here, I imagined that the cages below were old and not maintained. With that image in mind, I moved one foot forward and one step down, then another. Step after step, I made my way into the darkness. The lack of a visible end caused me to increase my pace. By the time we reached the bottom, I was practically running. While this didn¡¯t bother me, I am sure that Lucas didn¡¯t appreciate it. He went from sliding down the steps to practically bouncing around. I could almost swear that I even heard something crack. Here''s to hoping it was the stone and not one of his bones. Slipping and sliding to a stop, I looked around at the cavern the stairs dropped us into. Which was probably why I didn¡¯t notice the sound of sliding that didn¡¯t seem to be stopping. A second later, something close to the ground, traveling at a decent clip, took my feet out from under me. The slamming of my head against the ground was hard enough to cause my ears to ring. I groaned in pain as I tried to figure out what had hit me. Lucas¡¯s groaning reminded me that I was not alone. Hell, this little bump was nothing compared to what he had to endure. A guard laughing caught my attention. She sat at a desk no more than a dozen feet away. I scowled at her as I moved to get up. She wiped a tear as he spoke. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen someone come running down those stairs quite like that in too long.¡± ¡°And how do the guards typically transport prisoners into this place?¡± ¡°Most just throw them down the stairs.¡± Her grin, though missing a few teeth, was malicious. As if she enjoyed watching people get tossed downstairs. ¡°Most survive.¡± She didn¡¯t say the other part. She didn¡¯t have to. None of these people cared if their prisoners survived their treatment. Hell, I was fairly sure some of them likely got off on it. Before I could curse the fuckers out or say another word, a stinging sensation along my cheek caused me to wince. As I tried to figure out what happened, a soft thud of something hitting the wooden desk brought my attention back to the guard. She was face down, not moving. ¡°Get this damn shackle off of me!¡± Lucas¡¯s harsh voice whisper yelled into my ear. I spun away from him, unsure what had just happened. He had to be one hell of a tough son of a bitch to be standing there, glaring holes into me, even after taking all that damage. The shock of seeing him standing here was probably why I didn¡¯t notice his restraints, or lack thereof. It didn¡¯t take me long to put two and two together and get that he had, over a matter of seconds, cut his bonds and killed the guard. With the sudden realization that he wasn¡¯t quite as helpless or hurt, I quickly stuttered out the question ¡°How d-do I remove th-them?¡± ¡°While wearing the ring, simply pull the shackle off my wrist.¡± He spoke slowly as if he thought I was a simpleton¡­or just stupid. As he lifted his arm for me to grab onto the bracelet, I did as he bade. Whereas the ring felt like ice, the bracelet felt like a black hole. At first, it was cold but, as my mana rushed out of me in a torrent and into its unfilling depths, the metal heated. The moment I had the thing off his arm, I didn¡¯t hesitate in dropping it to the ground. He simply rolled his eyes before demanding, ¡°And the antidote?¡± As soon as I passed the small vial over, he ripped the stopper off and downed the thing. We stood there, waiting for something to happen. One minute turned into two. After five minutes of waiting, I wanted to just ask him if we could move on. To my surprise, and confusion, the light around us started to suddenly bend toward Lucas. No longer flickering on the ground from the torches set into the small pedestals. Instead, the light twisted around him. Some of it vanished while others simply changed endpoints. My shadow no longer cast itself against the floor but against the wall behind the desk. The moving light, while a weird effect, did grant me a decent overview of the pit. Even with the light, I could barely make out the other side of the cavern. A cavern whose ceiling had to be well over a hundred feet up, and that was the part directly above us. The center of the place had to rise half again as high. No wonder the stairs were long as they were. Hell, given that there were no switchbacks, were we even inside the city anymore? ¡°No wonder we could never find this place.¡± Lucas finally muttered as he finished doing whatever he had been doing with the light. While his fur and clothes were filthy and covered in blood, all of his wounds were gone. There was even a layer of new fur where his burns had been. In a bit of awe, and looking for another way to heal myself that didn¡¯t waste so much mana, I asked, ¡°So, what spell was that?¡± ¡°Something of my own creation, and before you ask, no, I cannot teach it to you.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± I wanted to whine but that would more than likely backfire spectacularly. ¡°Not only do you not have the right affinity for it, I doubt you have the patience to learn to gain half the experience needed to cast the spell.¡± ¡°What¡­¡± I started but he interrupted me. ¡°I can only use the Light element, nothing else. The system won''t even let me buy another element, so I have had to push it to its limits. Now, can we get a move on?¡± ¡°Is that why the light twisted around us?¡± I wanted to know, curious if I could at least learn such a skill. ¡°That was me absorbing the light and refilling my mana.¡± He grit through his teeth. ¡°That unique skill is one of the reasons I was picked to be the prisoner. Those damn manacles could suck all the mana they wanted, I would just refill my pool the moment they were taken off.¡± Without waiting to make sure I was following, he moved down a well-worn path in the stone. Quickly following him, we come to a metal grate-covered hole. The metal looked well-used and maintained. The things it kept caged below, on the other hand, looked like death would come for them at any moment. Lucas didn¡¯t waste a second before ripping the top out of the stone and tossing the entire thing at the nearest wall. Metal screeched and stone exploded as the top came to rest, edge first, inside the wall. Gold and red eyes looked up at the sudden eyes. Being the tallest between us, their eyes found me first. The fear and grief I saw had me nearly jumping down to do something, anything, to help them. Lucky for them, and me, Lucas jumped in first. Seeing him, most of their bodies relaxed. The largest of the group kept their eyes trained on me. Looking ready to do anything to protect themselves and the rest. Not willing to do anything to provoke the creature, I looked around. This time focusing on the ground rather than the walls or ceiling. It looked like the place had been planned. The holes were equally sized and regularly spaced. They were each dark and quiet. Only one was different in any way. About a dozen holes over and a few closer to the center stood one with its lid up and soft light pouring out. A sudden, ear-splitting scream filled the room. I would be the first to admit that the scream could have come from anywhere, but something told me that the open and lit cell was the most likely. Stepping up to the edge, I peeked over and nearly fell backward in shock. A metal ring hung down from the hinged side of the lid. Looping through the ring, a rope suspended a moaning Lance up by his wrists. I watched as Michael stepped back from Lance, exposing the wolfkin''s chest. It was tattered. Long slices crisscrossed over the flesh. Some went deep enough to pour a steady stream of blood while others looked almost as if they were meant to peel just the flesh off. I nearly threw up at the sight. My gagging must have been loud enough to carry as Patric slid out of the shadows right next to me. ¡°Who is up there?¡± Michael called up. ¡°Kyren.¡± He replied. The way he said it and his ability to use his skills had me wondering if they were here to rescue their friend. ¡°I knew my dad was going to talk to him but it is too soon for him to be down here,¡± Linda groaned. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± While I trusted these guys, finding them here had me wondering. ¡°Same as you I suspect,¡± I answered vaguely. Victor and Jeremiah were both launched up to the other side of the hole from me by Michael as he asked. ¡°So you are not here to release the non-humans?¡± As soon as the two landed, they turned to face me. Michael joined them a second later. ¡°No.¡± I lied to him. Linda sighed before jumping up to join the three of them. ¡°You just lied.¡± Out of reflex, I answered with the tried and true. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Yes, you did.¡± She held up her hand to stop me from speaking. ¡°I can feel your lies.¡± I had to stop myself from going over everything I had ever said to her. ¡°And how does that work? Some skill?¡± I asked with obvious skepticism. ¡°No,¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Through the blood you have been ingesting.¡± ¡°What blood¡± My eyes widened as I tried to figure out what she was referring to. A small bottle of sauce appeared in her hand. ¡°This blood.¡± ¡°That is the family sauce¡­¡± I started. ¡°It¡¯s a mix of my blood and some spices.¡± Her words caused me to stop talking. ¡°The blood is what gives it that extra kick.¡± I nearly gagged at that. She was talking as if her blood was used often by the group to add spice to their meals. ¡°Then why give it to me?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Her mouth lifted enough to expose her canines. They were longer than they should have been. Nearly reaching her bottom lips as she answered. ¡°Plus, my dad keeps telling me I need to get a few more minions of my own.¡± ¡°Just who is your dad and what are you?¡± ¡°Oh, did he not tell you?¡± Her pout lasted a moment before returning to her predatory smile. ¡°The guard captain is my father.¡± ¡°You mean the demon?¡± My voice nearly came out as a squeak. ¡°Yeah?¡± She sounded as if it didn¡¯t matter. Given the lack of reaction by the rest of the group, it didn¡¯t seem to phase them either. Closing my eyes, I tried to push the information that she was a demon to the back of my mind. ¡°But why feed me your blood?¡± ¡°As I said, it was because my dad told me I needed more minions.¡± ¡°You said that, but that explains nothing.¡± ¡°How do you think demons lock others under them? Contracts can only go so far. Feeding one our blood will make them a part of our family. Given time, it can even give them demonic traits. Some of those lucky enough to get a ton of blood can find their race changed to a demonic one.¡± She set a hand on Michael¡¯s shoulder. He looked down at her with obvious lust as he spoke. ¡°Thanks to Linda and her father, I went from a weak, plain human to a demon. Her father even went so far as to arrange a demon patron for me.¡± ¡°Wait, I thought your patron was angelic? Or is your class not sanctified?¡± He shot a look at me as he smiled. ¡°Whoever said that an angel sanctified the class?¡± Now that I thought about it, the class never specified what it needed to be sanctified by. A glint entered his eyes as he asked his next question. ¡°I am curious if her blood gave you a demonic class option.¡± I looked away as I tried to recall if there was a second demonic class option because I was not going to tell them about the succubus option unless I had no other choice. Thankfully, I did recall the one other option. ¡°Emberblood.¡± He frowned and looked down at Linda. ¡°I don¡¯t know that one.¡± ¡°Because it isn¡¯t worth much. It relies on burning anything and everything that comes close. It¡¯s a one-trick pony if anything. A bucket of water can beat them.¡± She turned her head and looked at me with narrowed eyes. ¡°But I am fairly sure he got at least one decently powerful demonic class.¡± Looking anywhere except at her, I quickly said. ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t recall getting any other demon-related class.¡± Linda¡¯s laugh was filled with mirth but it sounded close to a cackle. ¡°You did. What was it?¡± Not seeing another way out, I spoke quickly. ¡°Succubus.¡± The group, as a whole, froze as their brains tried to process what I had said. ¡°Surely you meant Incubus?¡± Jeremiah called from where he stood, his face twisted up in confusion. I shook my head. ¡°It said succubus.¡± Linda burst out laughing. Laughing so hard that she nearly fell back into the pit. A pit that still held a Lance to the wall. The sight of him reminded me of why I was here and what the demons and humans were trying to do. Hardening my resolve, I looked for an opening to exploit against the group. While I prepared to attack, Patric asked the question the rest of the group was probably thinking. ¡°But there is no such thing as a male succubus¡­is there?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t.¡± Linda managed to get out. As one, all of the men widened their eyes and looked me up and down. While Michael managed to stay standing, the other two didn¡¯t. I watched Jeremiah and Victor fell on their asses as they burst out laughing. Seeing this, I doubted I would be presented with such a great opportunity a second time. Mana flooded out of my core and into my body as I pushed everything I had into body enhancement. The world around me slowed down. Shizukana Arashi appeared in my hands as I spun in place. Managing to slice Patric¡¯s head off before anyone could react. My muscles started to scream for mercy as I started to move. While it was a risk, I took the chance and jumped over the pit. As my feet slammed onto the edge of the hole on the other side, I threw my weight forward. Barreling my way through Michael and Linda. While I could feel their mana making its way out and they looked to be moving, I had succeeded in catching them both off guard. Even better was the fact that the two people behind them were still down. Victor was moving as his bow appeared in his hand. My sword cut through the wooden bow. Scoring a deep cut across his chest. Blood exploded up as the small nick to his heart exploded out. While it didn¡¯t cause the air to fill with a mist of blood as it does in some movies, it did send drops out in every direction. Some of which landed on my face and covered my arms. While the sticky liquid caused me to flinch, I managed to push through it and slice into Jeremiah¡¯s neck. A heavy body slamming into my back ripped me and my weapon away from the two bodies. The edge of the metal lid on the next pit brought me to a rough and sudden halt. My eyes met the occupants. The two girls inside looked no older than fifteen. Both looked at me in fear as they huddled as far from me as they could. The sight stoked the flames inside of me. Using the extra bit of energy, I spun around to find Michael guarding Linda. She looked to be working her magic on Jeremiah, but even I could see that he was gone. Half of his face had been sliced open when Michael slammed into me. Michael kept his eyes on me as I stood up. The change in positioning gave me enough of a view to see that it wasn¡¯t just the guy''s flesh that had been cut. Some of the facial bones were sliced as well. ¡°So,¡± I spoke without any inflection. ¡°How do you want to do this?¡± ¡°I think I will just kill you a few times before letting Linda here get her chance.¡± Michael grit out. ¡°You are assuming you will win.¡± While I knew I was not likely to win, that didn¡¯t mean I wouldn¡¯t try with everything I had. He grunted. His sword and shield appeared as his body glowed. The ground quickly followed. Recognizing everything he was casting from his battle with Barti, I cut my body enhancement spell and released my mana. My mana formed tail and ears appeared. Micheal¡¯s eyebrows lifted as he saw this. ¡°Ah, I see.¡± I ignored him as I charged. Sheathed in mana, my Chisa Katana sliced through the air. His shield caught the strike, deflecting it to the side. The strike caused his shield to slide to the side. Using the opportunity, I brought my sword back and activated the skill Crescent Moon Strike. By the time the blade was in position, the skill finished activating. The blade sliced upward. The tip skittering across his skin. It did no damage, but it did cause him to step backward. As he did so, I shoved forward. Using my shoulder to push him as far back as I could. His feet shifted beneath him as he tried to regain his balance. While I managed to get him past Linda, I didn¡¯t get him into the hole. With his balance regained, he shoved me back. It was only luck that I managed to avoid absorbing the full shove so I didn¡¯t go as far. The moment my feet slid to a stop, I found myself presented with yet another opportunity. Changing targets, I activated two sword skills. An exact copy of my sword slid out of the original. Hovering just a few inches over the first as the second skill activated. The copy moved as my other did. The only difference between the two was that they were a few inches apart and the copy lagged a bit behind. Both swords struck out. Hitting their target with a speed I could never copy. One strike, two, three, five, ten, twenty times. Within five seconds the person in front of me reminded me of a person''s hand after getting pulled into one of the machines at work. Michael didn¡¯t take the change in target lying down. He sliced across my back. The weapon cut through my dress and into my back. I lept away as a scream ripped out of me. He didn¡¯t let me get far before slamming me to the ground with his shield. The metal felt like ice against my skin. Spikes of cold sliced into me as he pressed enough of his weight down on me to keep me on the ground. Even if my back wasn¡¯t sliced open like a can opener, I had no escape. I was officially at his mercy. I just had to hope that he got it over fast. That, when I did respawn, I would be able to get out of the city before the group found me again. While I knew it was bad form to jump out of a game while you were mid-combat, that didn¡¯t stop me from trying it. Mentally I commanded the system to log me out. Nothing happened. Which was understandable. The part that irked me was that not a single notification popped up telling me why. Unable to speak due to the weight holding me to the ground, I mentally pulled open my in-game menu. While it took me a second to find, I found the log-out button greyed out. Only when I pressed it did the notification pop up. Unable to log out due to being in active combat. If you feel this is in error, please contact your local Administrator. Yeah, I was screwed. Chapter 69 - Puddle of Goo Michael slid the shield far enough that I could meet his eyes. Linda stood beside him, and she looked furious. Her eyes were narrowed, and elongated canines made her appear more menacing than before. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you just fall in line?¡± she hissed at me. Despite her elongated fangs, her speech was clear. With the little air I could muster, I snarled back, ¡°What you and the rest of this town are doing is wrong, and you know it.¡± ¡°My father and I are just following orders,¡± she retorted, as if that were a valid excuse. Before I could ask her about who was giving the orders, she continued, ¡°And while we cannot save everyone, we are both trying to save the few we can.¡± I rolled my eyes at her copout. ¡°And how does that matter to me?¡± ¡°Because I chose you as one of those I wanted to save.¡± She took a deep breath, her expression softened as she continued. ¡°After the bond was finalized, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered what race you were, you would be mine. A part of my family. To protect and to be protected.¡± ¡°That seems to be working so well for Lance,¡± I sneered back, unconvinced that she wasn¡¯t completely unhinged. Her glare turned icy as she snapped, ¡°That damn wolf refuses to accept the bond. He won¡¯t even drink my blood unless I pour it down his throat.¡± So they were torturing the poor wolfman to get him to accept her. I met her gaze, making sure she understood I was serious. ¡°I will never accept whatever this bond is that you keep talking about. Might as well string me up alongside Lance. Beat me up and force the blood down me as much as you want, but that fact will never change.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to.¡± Her voice shifted from hard to saccharine sweet as she knelt down. ¡°While forcing the blood down your throat is slow, it does work. Though, you may not like the resulting bond. It is more of a slave-master relationship than one of friends or family.¡± She reached out, gently rubbing my mana-formed ears. The sensation was strange, almost soothing. I tried to jerk away, but a series of sharp points of pain stopped me. I shut my eyes and tried to stay still as she continued. ¡°Then again, it might be nice to have you as a slave. Oh, the things I could do to you. Make you do to me.¡± I could almost swear I heard her lick her lips. The sound, coupled with the feeling of fingers on my sensitive ears, sent a shiver of fear down my spine. The shiver brought with it the sudden need to either submit to her or demand that she get on with her plans. Somehow, I managed to stay still and silent. She must have sensed this, as she suddenly sighed. While the impulses didn¡¯t vanish, they diminished to nearly nothing. ¡°He¡¯s not going to cooperate,¡± Michael said from above me. ¡°Do you want me to tie him up or kill him?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tie him up on your own. Just kill him. The rest of the team should be back by then. We can pick him up when he respawns.¡± Fuck. That was not good ¡ª or was it? She said they would have to pick me up after I respawned. That meant there was still a chance to get away. ¡°Any idea where he might spawn?¡± Linda asked. ¡°Does he even know? With all the training and hiding he has been doing, I doubt he¡¯s even died once.¡± Michael grumbled. ¡°Hell, the boar was probably the closest he ever got.¡± He was wrong, but not by much. There was no way that he would have known about my other misadventures. Not that I would correct him. ¡°Isn¡¯t a traveler''s respawn point typically the place they came to this world?¡± Hope blossomed in my chest as Linda said this. There was no way they would guess I had spawned in such a weird place. ¡°Unless they set it to a guild hall, yes. But I doubt he has even bothered to see about changing his respawn location.¡± Michael said with a bit of derision. ¡°So where do you think it is?¡± ¡°Top of the church tower.¡± His words were curt and cutting, killing what little hope I had managed to gain. ¡°Based on his reaction, your guess was spot on,¡± Linda chuckled darkly. ¡°Kill him so we can get back to playing with our puppy.¡± The weight that had been pressing on my back slightly lifted as he shifted. I didn¡¯t bother to open my eyes, even when I felt a sharp point press into my side. ¡°See you on the other side,¡± he whispered. Slowly, the pressure behind the tip of his blade increased as he pressed it into my dress. Surprisingly, my dress held up as Michael applied more and more force. Without warning, the pressure vanished. All of his weight lifted off my back at the same moment. Not wanting to waste the chance, I popped up. Michael¡¯s shield clanged and scraped across the stone floor as it fell off me. Expecting the worst, I turned, weapon in hand to find Michael dissipating into bubbles of light. A sudden shrill scream, accompanied by an earth-shaking growl, filled the room. A glance toward the source of the scream led me directly to the nearest hole. At least a couple dozen people stood around the pit, watching something inside. Pushing through the crowd to check on the wolf revealed that Lance was no longer tied up. The wolfman was practically frothing at the mouth as he slashed and attacked a badly burned Linda. ¡°Why isn¡¯t she fighting back?¡± I asked no one in particular. ¡°Because I used Purifying Light on her,¡± Lucas answered. ¡°Those with demonic heritage tend to burn under the light of healing. It especially hurts those that directly feed off another race, temporarily weakening their abilities. But we really don¡¯t have time to dally around here. We need to get going.¡±
Quest: Race to Freedom
Quest Type: Personal - Unranked
Description: You managed to make it. While you were not the one to free everyone, all of the prisoners were freed from their cages. Help them escape the building and the town. Remember to follow the plan and use the South Gate lest you run into one of the teams distracting the guards.
Requirements: Escape the Pit and make it out of the city using the South Gate.
Reward: 1000 XP
Failure: Unknown
Given the new quest pop-up, I debated looking to see what had changed. One glance around, though, gave me pause. The group of prisoners were wearing tattered clothing. They also ranged in age, though all of the working-aged people were missing. Every single one of them wore an expression of fear mixed with tentative hope. My stats could wait; these people needed me to be here and focused on our mutual goal. Ignoring the sounds emanating from the pit, I followed Lucas as he moved toward the stairway. As we passed through the groups near the edge of the crowd, the creatures from the first pit slammed into Lucas. The guy stumbled. If not for the fact that he was laughing and that the little creatures were crying, I would have assumed they were attacking him. A creature, twice the size of the little ones piled on Lucas, waddled toward me. It bowed as it spoke in a high-pitched, feminine voice, ¡°My husband tells me that you are here to help.¡± Her voice went from soft and thankful to fierce as she continued, ¡°While I trust him, I don¡¯t know if I can ever trust a human again. It is only out of courtesy to my husband that I am giving you this one chance to convince me why I shouldn¡¯t just shove you into a pit and leave you to die.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Something about how she held herself told me that she would do exactly that. Hell, she would probably do anything she could to protect their kids. Bowing my head in understanding, I spoke softly. ¡°While I know this may not be all that convincing, I am here at the request of my teacher Barti as well as a few friends.¡± Lifting my head up just enough to catch her face, I saw flickers of skepticism and fear before she finally settled on resignation. With a simple nod, she turned and joined her family as they resumed walking toward the exit. At least she was no longer looking at me with hate and disgust like most of the crowd. A soft cough behind me caused me to nearly jump and cry out. Spinning around, I glared at the human behind me. Given that this place was supposed to be housing only non-humans, his presence confused me. He chuckled at my reaction, offering his hand as he spoke with a thick Russian accent. ¡°Name¡¯s Ytri.¡± The thick accent and name were unexpected. Given that this city seemed to be region-specific, he had to either live near me or be traveling from town to town in-game. If I had to bet, I¡¯d say he was traveling. No one had the money to move, even if there were jobs on the other side. ¡°Kyren,¡± I replied as we joined hands. He had a strong grip that made my bones creak and groan. ¡°Sorry,¡± he quickly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were a low-level human. Did you not use your SoulStone yet?¡± The crowd in front of us bunched up as they started to enter the narrow stairwell. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not human? Also, player or NPC?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Player, though my race is one of the oddest anyone has seen so far.¡± His arm seemed to melt before solidifying into the arm of some furred creature. A rather large set of claws formed on the end as he continued, ¡°The system labels me as a slime variant.¡± ¡°That is cool, but if you could change shape, why didn¡¯t you just escape?¡± ¡°I was stuck as a liquid thanks to a manacle, the same type of manacle they put on everyone here. Your friend broke the things with a laser-like spell. It¡¯s also what he used to take care of the big guy before he could kill you.¡± So that was what happened. It must have been one hell of a spell to cut through him even after breaking his skills. ¡°If you were in a liquid form, why didn¡¯t you just slither away from the thing?¡± ¡°The thing was like a vacuum,¡± he grumbled. ¡°Sticking to me like glue as it drained me dry of mana.¡± I felt the guy shudder as he recalled his time down here. ¡°But enough about me. Tell me what the plan is to get all of out of here.¡± ¡°Get up the stairs, take out the few guards still left, and make our way out of the south gate. Most of the guards should be spread thin across the rest of the city as they deal with whatever distractions everyone came up with.¡± While I couldn¡¯t see him, I was fairly sure he was looking at me through narrowed eyes. ¡°That is your plan? That is a shit plan. Even if a sector of the city decided to up and explode, there would be enough guards upstairs to take us down. Plus, no offense, but I doubt you are strong enough to take a single one down.¡± ¡°Well, while I was told to not use the damn SoulStone until I had no choice, I am stronger than I look,¡± I shot back. There was no way for him to know just how long I had been playing and if I had been training or just drinking. Still, that fight with Michael was enough of a wake-up call. I wasn¡¯t ready for combat at the level I was being thrown into. I needed to get stronger, faster, or find an edge. ¡°Even if someone tells you to do or not do something, it is up to you to decide.¡± He sighed. ¡°But you might have made the right decision, with the backlash and all. Anyway, looks like we are getting close to the top.¡± Around us, people were slowing down. I pushed through, making my way to the front. Lucas stood there, his ear to the door as he listened to the other side. Copying him, I found that I could hear the sounds of distant fighting and explosions. ¡°Are we good to go?¡± I whispered. He simply nodded. Reaching forward, I grasped the handle and gave it a turn, but it refused to budge. The damn thing was locked, likely as a result of a security policy. Cursing, I tried to come up with some way to open the door. Before I could come up with anything, a rough, leathery hand reached between Lucas and me. The palm of the hand rested against the door for a matter of moments before the muscles along the arm rippled. That was the only warning I got before the door exploded into splinters. Sending shrapnel racing into the room and anyone still there. With its job done, the hand moved back to wherever it came from as Lucas and I sprinted through. The room on the other side was a gruesome scene. Splinters were embedded deep into everything, including several guards. While a number were dead, four were rushing to get up. Grasping for their weapons as they did so. Everything slowed as I pulled out my Chisa Katana. Moving to intercept the closest of the guards. He didn¡¯t have enough time to grab his weapon before I slashed the reaching arm. It went limp as he cried out. A cry that was cut short as I slashed across his unprotected neck. The sight of the guard choking on his blood caused me to freeze in place. I had known something like this was going to happen but knowing it and seeing it were two different things. Killing another person in a game was easy when it was on a screen. Hell, it wasn¡¯t even so bad on most other virtual reality games. But those games didn¡¯t include every other sense, only sight and sound. I could feel some drops of blood that landed on my face. Gathering together before streaming down my face. That was fine though, I could imagine it was blood from a nosebleed or some cut on my face. The worst part was the smell and the taste that lingered in the air. To my right, I heard a fist hit flesh as another guard cried out in pain. The cry pulled my attention from my drowning opponent. As I turned to look, I caught sight of the third guard as they threw a pair of short daggers across the room. One grazed my arm while the other missed my head. My heart pounded a fast, sharp staccato beat into my ears. Nearly deafening me to the sounds of the thud of the blade into something solid behind me. Letting gravity do its job, I dropped to the ground. My eyes caught the glint of two more blades passing right where I had been standing. A shadow blurred over my prone form before the sound of metal on metal filled the room. The strikes sounded like someone was firing a machine gun on full auto. Peeking over the cabinet between me and where the knives came from, I found a snake beastman beating back the guard with his own knives. Multiple times, the guard managed to strike out, only to have the snake twist its body so that the knife missed it. The snake then used the opening to strike at the guard. Not managing to deal a mortal wound, but slowly whittling the guard down. As I stood up to help him, a ball of fire flew past me. Nearly hitting the snake as he dodged an attack. The guard''s hand took the hit for him. Turning away from the two fighters, I flared my mana out. Looking for the source of the magical attack. As the Mana Sense skill expanded, the world slowed down as it found another Fireball. This one was aimed at my chest. My body would never move out of the way in time. I barely had the mana to even keep my Mana Sense activated. I didn¡¯t have the mana to pour into any other skills. Especially into Body Enhancement. The spell was going to hit me and there was nothing I could do about it. For some reason, the memory of what happened when Lucas was freed from his shackles played in my head. He had been out of mana yet somehow turned ambient light into mana, refilling his stores. He also said it took him a long time to figure out how to do it. If it could be learned, it implied that the process was possible for anyone. I had one chance to replicate what he did with a different element. Going off instinct, I formed tiny runes of fire and pushed them out. Mana flared from me as whisps of blue flame coalesced. The light they gave off was ghostly as they hung in the air. Suspended as if someone had hung them on the air itself. The Fireball connected with one of them and froze in place. Blue flames expanded, coating the Fireball in a layer of blue before flaring and vanishing, taking the Fireball with it. Out of the corner of my eyes, my mana bar dropped slightly. While I had managed to stop the spell, I hadn¡¯t managed to use it to gather more mana. Another Fireball flew at me. It was stopped by yet another of the blue fires. Judging by how much mana vanished from my pool, I could stop another eight spells, maybe nine if I had enough time to recharge. Seeing this and the speed at which the castor was throwing the spells, I had to take them down now. Scanning for my target, I found her on the other end of the room. The end of her wand glowed a violet-hued black color as she cast another spell. My stomach turned as I got a look at the color. Something told me it wasn¡¯t a fire-based spell. It reminded me of the Mud Gobbler Assassin¡¯s blade. Only this time, it wasn¡¯t a thin sheen of the stuff. This was a bead of liquid that kept growing. I vaulted over the desk blocking my path as I raced toward her. Still, she managed to cast it before I could get close enough to stop her. The bead dropped from the tip of her wand. Splashing as it hit the floor between us. Forming into a pool of shimmering and vibrant violet liquid. Managing to adjust my trajectory at the last moment, I smashed into a pillar just shy of the stuff. Her face stretched into a malicious grin as the liquid started to move. Small spikes lifted, looking like feelers as they reached out for me. The sight reminded me of a ferrous liquid my science teacher had demonstrated in middle school. It looked so cool then, now, not so much. Backing up in a rush, the liquid dropped back to the ground. Her grin grew wider as she started to cast a second spell. Low on mana, I kept an eye on her as I studied the liquid. Needing to find my way around the deadly substance. Too bad for me she was standing in the corner of the building. I had no way to go around without breaking through a wall. If I had to bet on anything about the place, the walls were all thick and reinforced. After all, it wouldn¡¯t do to have someone blow up the guard station to free the prisoners below. Just as I was about to simply start lobbing things at her, I noticed the liquid moving. Not toward me, but toward her. The sides pulled in as it lengthened in her direction. She didn¡¯t notice it. Not until it made its way up her shoes and touched her skin. As soon as it did, a few things happened. Her face went pale as she looked down at her visitor. A snapping sound reverberated through the station as the puddle vanished. Forming into a sort of metallic band as it wrapped itself around her leg. A bloodcurdling scream filled the room as she reached down to claw at the liquid. Fighting to get the stuff off. Her hands passed through it as it through water. Small spikes appeared around the top edge. Vanishing into her leg as the sleeve rolled upward. Climbing her leg. As it moved up, the skin it revealed was sickly grey in color. Even the pulsing veins were black. Someone grabbed my shoulder and I spun. My sword swung at whoever it was. Ytri grabbed my sword hand, stopping the attack midswing. He gestured toward the door. People streamed out the stairwell and out the front door. Nodding my thanks, I joined the group. Shooting a last glance back at the castor as I passed over the threshold. She was on the ground. The liquid was nowhere to be seen, but that didn¡¯t matter. She was likely dead. Killed by her own spell. Chapter 70 - Escape We both waited in the antechamber as people of all ages flowed passed us. Some were so young that some of the adults carried them. Though, I did notice that none were so old that they needed help walking. I asked Ytri about it and all he had to say was ¡°They were taken away.¡± I pushed, asking what he meant but he refused to talk more about it. Finally, the last of the group flowed passed us. None of them looked in the same direction as they walked. A couple were even looking backward. It took me a few seconds to figure out what they were doing. They were acting as a rear guard. Making sure that no one was able to sneak up on the group undetected. We followed them outside. Other than the group of prisoners, no one seemed to be out. Had this been a movie set in a desert I felt that a tumbleweed or two might have rolled across the street. Everyone seemed to be waiting for some signal or direction. Lucas¡¯s eyes met mine just before he raised a hand up. Signaling to the group to follow him. As one, the group moved. Starting with a slow walk before starting to jog. Moving down the street and toward the Noble district¡¯s one large road juncture. The group turned to the south while I turned to the north. Looking up the street and toward the gate there. A massive plume of smoke and dust filled the air in the distance. Flashes of light lit up the cloud every once in a while. The sounds of explosion after explosion rolled over us. Between each, I managed to make out the faint sound of metal crashing against metal as people fought. As I turned to rejoin the group, I found Ytri and Lance waiting for me. Lance was covered in blood but looked otherwise happy. Given the way his tail was wagging, it was the happiest I had ever seen him. If we were not in such a tense situation, I might have asked him about it. Lucas led the group down roads and through turns while we stayed in the back. While this meant I had no say in which roads and alleys we took, they were fairly empty, giving me a clear line of sight in all directions. Even the alleys were clear enough for me to see the streets that ran parallel to ours. While Lucas and the other focused on leading and herding everyone else, I had assumed the job of watching the streets around us. So it was no wonder that I was the first to notice the group of people following us. They hung in the alleys, watching us pass before using the parallel streets to skip ahead to the next one. Keeping an eye on us as they waited for something. Tapping Ytri on the shoulder, I nodded at the sides. He muttered ¡°damn¡± under his breath before speeding up. Checking up on the people along the edges as he made his way to the front. When he got there, he whispered something to Lucas. I could imagine the curses spewing out from the beastman as his hands balled up. Ytri returned to the back, helping me to keep an eye on our guests as the group closed in on our target. Oddly enough, I didn¡¯t see a single guard throughout the entire walk. Even if they were all called to help one section or another, someone should have been left to sound an alarm. The lack had my mind racing over the possibilities. As I tried to come up with solutions and plans for each, the gate came into view. The door was closed. A large wooden bar held it closed. Lucas and a number of the adults ran over to it. Each trying to lift the bar. Even going so far as to try and just shift one side. The thing didn¡¯t seem to even budge. *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* I spun around just in time to see the guard captain materialize. As he did so, people streamed out from the side streets. Surrounding our group. Each of them had their weapons out and ready. The few spell casters with them stayed back. Holding up their wands as they prepared to rain spells down on us as soon as someone gave the command to do so. ¡°I have got to say, I did not expect you to go as far as you did.¡± He looked me in the eyes. As he did so, I felt as though something was pushing against my mind. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get me wrong. I did expect you to try something.¡± ¡°Then why did you let me go down there?¡± It took quite a bit of mental force to speak while holding my own against whatever was trying to invade my mind. ¡°Why not stop me from going into the pits?¡± ¡°What fun would that be?¡± He laughed, ¡°Plus, I knew my daughter was down there. Speaking of which, where is she?¡± ¡°Dead,¡± Lance growled out. The demon¡¯s grin dropped a bit as he looked at the beastman. The pressure on my mind dropped away. Lance fell to his knees as the demon spoke. ¡°Shut up mutt. This is between me and him.¡± ¡°What are you doing to him?¡± I asked, hoping to stop whatever it was and get his attention back to me. It worked. The demon returned to looking at me. ¡°Well, it seems you have a knack for getting people to trust you. So,¡± the thing looked like it was thinking over something, but I was pretty sure it had planned this conversation out before even letting me into the pit. ¡°How about making a deal with me?¡± ¡°What kind of deal?¡± I asked, curious about what it would offer but not willing to take anything. Not that I would accept anything it offered. You know what they say about making deals with fae and demons. No matter what you get, it is never worth it. But I needed to do something to keep the demon focused on me and give the group time to get the gate open. ¡°I will let the entire group of prisoners go free. I will even let you keep a few in the city, with slave collars of course.¡± A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of such a thing existing. Thankfully the thing didn¡¯t seem to notice, or if it did, it didn¡¯t care. ¡°I will even let the other groups fighting across the town go without punishment. Well, most of them. Someone has to pay for breaking down a decent section of the wall. That alone killed a fair number of guards and civilians by the way.¡± It didn¡¯t sound like it honestly cared about the deaths, but that didn¡¯t stop it from trying to use them to get to me. Surprisingly, my tone was flat as I asked the question it wanted to hear. ¡°And what are you asking for in return?¡± ¡°I just want you.¡± It flipped a hand in the air. ¡°Well, you, your elven teacher, and the guildmaster.¡± ¡°I get the other two, but why me?¡± ¡°Because, with a little training, I think you might be of some use to me and my family. Plus, my daughter wants you.¡± This guy sounded like a doting father. If not for the fact that he was doing so at the expense of others, especially me, I might have helped the guy, demon, whatever. ¡°And if I say no?¡± ¡°Then we will kill everyone here.¡± While it wasn¡¯t the best solution, Ytri and I would respawn. Or it would be if Linda and Michael didn¡¯t know where I would be respawning. He smiled, revealing fangs not dissimilar to his daughters. ¡°Not that you would do such a thing. Not with the amount of power, money, and influence you stand to gain.¡± Nope, I was not going to fall for what he was offering. But, how long could I keep this conversation going? I was pretty sure that the demon was as powerful as Barti, if not more so. The moment this turned into a fight, I was probably dead. Speaking of death, something about what he said and how he reacted was odd. ¡°Wait, why are you not pissed that your daughter is dead?¡± His laugh was low as he wiped his eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t think that you travelers are so special, do you? The Demon Lord conquered death long ago. She will rejoin the land of the living in the next day or so. Though, it will be annoying to go pick her up. Maybe I will make that your first quest for me.¡± I had nothing to say to that. Looking around for some sort of inspiration, I found that the group behind me had managed to move the bar a good foot before getting stuck a second time. People were rushing to and fro as they tried to free the bar. ¡°I will give you five minutes to decide.¡± Turning to Ytri, I saw the fear on his face. He was looking at the demon as his body shook. I tried to get his attention away from the demon by placing a hand on his shoulder. He vanished. Appearing in a crouch a dozen feet away. His head in his hands. Looking around, he wasn¡¯t the only one in such a state. Everyone but those working on the doors were similarly scared. I had to make a decision. Take the demon¡¯s deal. Effectively selling my soul to him and his daughter in return for everyone¡¯s life. Given the realism of the game, I doubted that I could get out of this deal once I agreed to it. Something told me that the deal would somehow find me in the real world. Then again, I could fight the demon and his lackeys. Suicide, but I might be able to buy enough time for Lucas and the rest of them to get that gate open. Hell, if I got really lucky, someone might come to save my ass. Speaking of which, I turned to check on their progress. The group had stepped back, letting a few that had recovered their mana to cast spell after spell at a single spot. Based on how little progress they were making, I would likely be dead before they made it even halfway through. Even Lucas¡¯s laser seemed to be doing little to no damage to what looked like a simple beam of wood. That brought me to my last option. I could use my SoulStone. Not that I expected it to bring me close to even with the demon, but the boost might be enough to at least buy me some time. Then again, what did I have to lose? Not much really. ¡°Incoming message from user VeiledInsight: ¡®I am almost to your location. Have you been paying attention to the in-game forums? ¨C Xander¡¯¡± my AI said. Its voice caused me to jump. The demon raised his brow at the motion but said nothing. It seemed like the damned thing was really going to give me the time to think over its offer. Then again, if it didn¡¯t keep its word here, why would I trust any bargain I made with the thing? The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Reply, ¡®Not really, been a bit busy. Can we talk later? I am in a bit of a situation right now.¡¯¡± ¡°Sent,¡± my AI responded. It took only a couple of seconds before it spoke once again. ¡°Incoming message from user VeiledInsight: ¡®Anything I can help with? I should be there in ten, maybe twenty minutes.¡¯¡± How was he here? Wasn¡¯t there something blocking powerful people from entering this town? Or did he find a way around it? Not that it mattered. I would likely be dead by the time he got here. ¡°Your time is nearly up,¡± the demon called out. ¡°You have one more minute to make up your mind.¡± For a second, I debated just logging out of the game and letting what happens, happen. But that would do me no good. Neither side would be willing to work with me and I would fucked. Letting out a resigned sigh, I realized I had no choice. I had to fight him. ¡°AI, send a reply. ¡®Thank you for trying but by then it will be too late.¡¯¡± ¡°Reply sent.¡± Reaching into my inventory, I pulled out the Soulstone as I started to talk. Buying a bit more time with a useless monologue of my own. ¡°While your deal sounds enticing, there are many stories from my world. Stories of demons of all kinds. Stories of wishes and deals. But do you know what the commonality between all those stories is?¡± A wide grin stretched his lips, showing off his fangs as he proudly proclaimed, ¡°That both parties get exactly what they ask for.¡± ¡°Sure, you could say that.¡± My eyes looked at the SoulStone sitting in my hand. ¡°The stories have the demon getting the upper hand on their victim. Using the wording of the contract or loopholes in it to get everything they want while giving nothing in return. Most such deals result in the human being bound into servitude or even claiming their very souls. You can imagine how well this goes over for the human.¡± ¡°Ah, that is true.¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°But it isn¡¯t like I am hiding what I want.¡± ¡°No,¡± I pursed my lips as I nodded. ¡°You are right. You¡¯re being very clear in what you want and why. The issue is, I don¡¯t want to serve a demon. Especially as I don¡¯t know what I would have to do or the limitations of what you could order me to do.¡± The thought of him or his daughter ordering me to never leave the world again sent a bolt of fear shooting down my spine. ¡°And if I agree to limit the contract?¡± It posited. ¡°Say, add a time limit. Or does this have to do with the beastman? Maybe I could give you time off to go and save more lives. Or is it money you are looking for?¡± I pretended to think about the problem as I rotated the sphere before finally answering. ¡°No. I think that the issue is that the contract is a little too vague. Too open-ended. At least for me.¡± ¡°So, you are rejecting the deal?¡± It asked. My eyes lifted off the orb to meet his now scarlet red eyes as I spoke, ¡°Unfortunately for both of us, yes.¡± Pulling up the SoulStone¡¯s item description, I focused on the section related to how to use it.
Item: SoulStone
Special: Soulbound to Kyren Vulpier
Use: Pour a bit of mana into the stone, then accept the prompt.
Permanent: Increase all stats by 10. Other increases will be determined by the system. Physical changes. Soulbound item.
Temporary Buffs: Mana High* (5 minutes) Pain Immunity* (5 minutes) Demigod Regeneration* (5 minutes) Demigod Strength* (5 minutes)
Description This object will merge both your soul and your physical body. This has a chance to change your species and increase your capabilities. What you are changed into is based on your previous actions, skills, soul, body characteristics, and mind. Once this has been done, it cannot be undone. After the transformation is completed, this item will change into an item to suit your new body.
As mana poured from me and into the object, another prompt forced itself directly into my line of sight. Would you like to use your SoulStone? WARNING! This is permanent and cannot be reversed. Without pausing, I accepted. The prompt and every other window vanished, leaving me looking directly at the demon. Even though we both knew the time was up and that I was stalling, he simply watched me. Seeing what I would do. What I would try against him. Golden light flared as the SoulStone activated. Intensifying as the symbols started to peel themselves off the surface. Floating out to circle me as they formed into a complex ring. The air around me seemed to become heavy with mana. Pressing against my skin as more flooded into the spell. As the circle flared, a new window popped up. It reminded me of the command prompt. This one looked unstable. The edges waved as the static crackled across the middle. [00:00:01] [System Alert]: Demonic taint detected [00:00:02] [System]: Attempting Correction -> Correction attempt #1¡­ FAILED -> Correction attempt #2¡­ FAILED -> Correction attempt #3¡­ FAILED Demonic taint? My heart pounded in my ears as I read those words. While I knew that Linda had tricked me into ingesting her blood, I didn¡¯t think it would have any real long-term effect given that the bond she wanted didn¡¯t form. [00:00:17] [System]: Escalating to Local Host [00:00:17] [System]: Local Host¡­ CONNECTED [00:00:19] [Local Host]: Issues exceed local parameters [00:00:19] [Local Host]: Escalating to System Administrator [00:00:19] [System]: Contacting local Admin -> Admin 7F3A9C1E6B2D ¡­ CONNECTED [00:00:27] [Admin]: Escalating to Deities [00:00:27] [System]: Contacting Deities -> Deity Nanook¡­ CONNECTED -> Deity Rati¡­ CONNECTED -> Deity Kuebiko¡­ CONNECTED -> Deity Anuket¡­ CONNECTED -> Deity Hephaestus¡­ CONNECTED [00:00:32] [Deities]: Reviewing system logs [00:00:39] [Deities]: Scanning user history [00:01:01] [Deities]: Initiating deep scan -> Deep scan¡­ COMPLETE [00:01:36] [Deities]: Discussing resolution [00:02:05] [Deity]: Deity Hephaestus -> Initiating alternative scan [00:03:09] [System]: Scanning for alternatives -> Viable alternatives found [00:03:10] [Deities]: Deity Rati -> Requesting Deity Inari¡¯s assistance [00:03:10] [System]: Contacting Deity -> Deity Inari¡­ CONNECTED [00:03:24] [Deity]: Deity Inari -> Reviewing logs and scans [00:03:26] [Deities]: Deity Hephaestus -> Proposing status change -> Approval required [00:04:18] [Deities]: Deity Inari -> Status change¡­ APPROVED [00:04:23] [System Override]: Deity Inari has overridden standard protocols [00:04:23] [System Warning]: Transformation-induced pain reduction limited to 10% [00:04:27] [Deities]: Deity Inari -> Acknowledged system warning [00:04:27] [System]: Applying correction [00:04:28] [System]: Recalibrating parameters [00:04:29] [System]: Reloading updated configurations [00:04:32] [System Update]: -> System correction¡­ COMPLETE -> System recalibration¡­ COMPLETE -> System configuration reload¡­ COMPLETE [00:04:41] [System]: REBOOTING¡­ -> Reboot¡­ COMPLETE [00:04:44] [System]: Reinitiating transformation sequence -> Reinitiating¡­ COMPLETE [00:04:45] [System]: Species changed -> Human to Kitsune ¨C Demonic [00:04:45] [System]: Class changed -> Elementalist to Arcane Elementalist [00:04:45] [System]: Transformation successfully initiated The text flickered, starting and stopping as the system worked through something. As I finished reading the last line, the window fizzled out of existence. Without warning, a loud cracking pop sound filled the air. My world went white as mana forced its way into my body. Flowing up my arms and legs before coursing through my torso and into my head. As soon as it stopped forcing its way into my body, the mana started to pulse. Feeling almost like a heartbeat. With each pulse, I can feel something move. A muscle here, some fat there. While it felt odd, it didn¡¯t hurt. Almost as if the mana was waiting for me to have that thought, bones start to snap and reform. The worst of which is my hip bone. Almost feeling as if the shape and size of the thing had completely changed. It was quickly followed by a sharp pain in my hips followed by a tugging sensation centered on my balls. They felt like they were being yanked upward. Followed quickly by everything else down there. As they moved, it was almost as if they squished my organs upward to make room for something. Before I could think about what was going on, another sharp pain radiated from the base of my spine. It felt as though someone was using a dull knife to dig into the base of my spine. While the pain there moved outward, something stabbed into the top of my head. Whatever it was caused me to blackout. The world snapped back into focus as the mana around me was absorbed into my body. Everything felt more alive than ever before. My body felt lighter and more powerful than ever. Almost as though I could lift a mountain. Yes, I know that I could not lift a mountain. While I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to try, the amount of power flowing through me begged to be used. Around me, the world blossomed with color and exploded with noise. All of which was distracting, but not as much as the smells. Of which, one in particular caught my attention. It was the smell of fur and wet earth, the wild and of a campfire. It reminded me of what I imagined it would be like to live in a cabin in the woods. What it would smell like if I were locked inside with a dog as it rained outside? Both of us curled up near a fire. Whatever trance I had fallen into thanks to that smell was broken when something whipped around behind me. I reached back and found a very fluffy tail. When I tugged on a tuft of the fur I found that, unlike the previous times, this one was not made of mana but of flesh and fur. My hand lifted from my ass toward my head where something else twitched, only to snag on something on my chest. Something soft. Something that felt not too different from a water balloon. My fear wanted me to ignore the feeling. To run away. Unfortunately, I had to know because I couldn¡¯t be distracted, not if I wanted to survive this fight. So, I hesitantly looked down until I was staring at two round orbs. The dress was tight enough to hold them in place, but not tight enough to squish them. Closing my eyes, I prayed to the gods the SoulStone only changed my race. My hand lowered slowly, probing through my dress where my little partner sat. Nothing was there. Well, not truly nothing. I felt something down there. A single, soft rub down there sent a bolt of electricity to my core. I had to yank my hand away before I repeated the motion. So, the game did it. It found a way to change my gender. Even without me choosing a class that did so, it managed to force the change on me. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. The hand that held the SoulStone squeezed down on something round and solid. Shaking my head, I tried to put it into my inventory. It refused to go in, reminding me of the Shackle Key. I had to keep it in my hand, which would limit my options in the upcoming fight. Curious as to why the demon was being so quiet, I looked up at him for the first time since using the SoulStone. His face was a mix of shock, awe, and pleasure. Meeting my eyes, he eyed me with lust, licking his lips before saying ¡°Oh, you and I are going to do great things together.¡± Chapter 71 - Distraction I did not want to know what the demon meant by that. Mana flooded out of me as I forcefully reactivated Mana Sense. The skill greedily sucked up mana as it covered more area than ever. Everything around me came into sharp relief and it all looked so, weak. I felt as though I could level a building just by looking at it wrong. And that wasn¡¯t the weirdest part. The sight of ambient mana surrounding us flowed toward me as if falling down a drain, was dizzying. Streams of the stuff flowed into me, joining the blazing inferno that was my current mana pool. Pushing the sight and sense to the back of my mind, I focused back on the demon. He had changed. Losing his human appearance. A pair of black horns poked through its salt-and-pepper hair. The flexing of his hands brought to my attention the sharp three-inch claws tipping them. Taking a deep breath, I release it as I drop into a ready stance. Relaxing my body as I centered my mind. Focusing on my goal; to survive as long as I could. The world slowed as my mana poured from my core and into my Body Enhancement. Stone and dirt exploded as I shoved off the ground, charging at the demon. My speed causing the world around me to smear. My mind reeled at the sudden acceleration. Working overtime as I tried to adjust to the change. Luckily, I wasn¡¯t the only one that needed to do so. The demon¡¯s eyes widened as I came to a stop in front of him. My blade¡¯s downward slash caught within one of its claws. Sliding my foot to the side, I started to spin. Bright orange-red sparks flickered into the air as I pulled my blade along his claw. His other hand slashed through where my arm had just been. Out of nowhere, a meaty tail slashed across my arm. The thing managed to cut a good gash across my side. Cutting through my dress as if it were normal fabric. My voice was slightly higher than I expected as I cry out from the pain. I try to back away, but the creature doesn¡¯t give me a chance. It matched me step for step. Claws and tail struck out at me as we moved around the courtyard. People, both his and mine, try to get out of our way, but every one of them is so slow. I managed to deflect the strikes that would have hit some of them. Unfortunately, limiting myself to only one hand was a bit annoying and costly. God I wished the dress had a pocket where I could put this damned orb. Luckily, most of the people hit were his minnions. Mostly because I didn¡¯t even try and block strikes from hitting them. He must have been fixated on me because he didn¡¯t seem to notice who he hit. He just kept attacking me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one such hit managed to cut off an arm. Nowhere near a killing blow. It wasn¡¯t even something that would limit his future. Not when there is magic involved. Looking calm and without pause, the man reached around to a pouch on the side of his body, pulling out a red potion. With practiced ease, the man yanked the cork out with his teeth. Downing it a moment later. The severed arm instantly started to regenerate. Bones formed first, quickly followed by muscles and skin. Everything, from start to end, takes a matter of seconds. Quickly replacing the severed arm. But the potion did not stop. Odd growths started to appear up and down his newly replaced arm before spreading to the rest of his body. The demon must have noticed something because he finally broke off our little fight. Racing over to the man. Without hesitating, he severed the man''s head. The head fell to the ground with a light splat sound. But the body stayed standing. I watched in horror as the neck started to regenerate. Thankfully, the potion stopped working before the neck finished regrowing. As if giving up, the body finally crumpled to the ground. ¡°I should have known that damn goblin would go so far as to try something like this.¡± He sneered as he slashed at me. ¡°Like what?¡± While I should have expected it, given the rest of the changes, the soft feminine voice shocked me. Nearly causing me to mistime a dodge as the demon struck for my neck. ¡°Poisoning the health potions I ordered.¡± ¡°How would that even work?¡± I demanded as my mind tried to figure out how someone would poison a health potion. The distraction was enough to keep my mind off my new voice. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t act so stupid.¡± He sneered. Seeing my honestly confused expression he barked out a laugh. The sound was dark and unsettling. ¡°You truly don¡¯t know, do you? Those people you are working with are worse than us demons. At least we refuse to stoop to tricks and traps to get what we need. Then again,¡± He took a second to glance around at all the dead. ¡°You might fit in with them.¡± ¡°What did they do?¡± I managed to grit out as I stopped his tail with the flat of my blade. The hand holding the orb backed up the blade as I tried to keep the weapon from slipping to one side or the other. ¡°There is a reason no one is allowed to use sapient blood in making health potions.¡± His words confused me for a second before I recalled the warning in the description for Crimson Leaves. ¡°Ah, so you have seen the system warning.¡± With those words, the demon doubled down on his attacks. My lack of a second hand to support my weapon or to give me extra motion only made the situation worse. Speeding up to the point that I had no choice but to pump everything I had into my Body Enhancement. I can feel my bones and muscles crying out as power floods my body. The boost was enough to allow me to pull off a few magnificent blocks but, more often than not, I ended up taking a hit. A slash here, a stab there. Tiny wounds that rapidly healed at the cost of energy, time, and pain. Every time one of his strikes hit, someone behind us yowled and yelled as people fought. From what I could tell, someone was trying to force their way toward us while the rest of the escapees were trying to hold them back. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Not seeing another way out, I canceled my Mana Sense. Now that all of his minions were dead, it wasn¡¯t doing me much good anyway and the group fighting to keep someone from joining in the fight was distracting as hell. As one, all the mana that had surrounded us rushed back toward me. Rushing into me with the force of a tsunami. Without thinking, a part of my mind instinctively started to shape it. To me, it looked like it was forcing it into something like an unfinished spell. I could barely hold the demon back as my mind forced the mana itself to condense and burn. The air around us became akin to plasma as the mana filling it raged. My body¡¯s regeneration kicked into full gear as it worked to replace the burned and melted flesh. Something bashed against both of my hands causing me to scramble to keep a grip on my weapon. Suddenly, the demon jumped back. The air around me stopped burning as I focused on the slightly smoking demon. Holding my weapon in my off hand as I watch him. Trying to figure out what his next move would be. Spitting a glob of something that looked suspiciously like blood on the floor as it held something up. A grin stretched from ear to ear as it said, ¡°You lose.¡± The words confuse me. Figuring it was stalling so that it could heal, I charged toward him. ¡°STOP!¡± Its voice was loud and reverberated through my skull. A sharp, searing pain sliced through my body as his claws scraped against something in his hand. He held it up for me to see. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± His voice was both sweet and full of malice. I shook my head. The only thing that looked similar was the SoulStone, which was gone. Replaced by something else. Something that was no longer in my hand. Likely as not, it was in the demon¡¯s hand. Taking a moment, I stopped and looked at the thing. Whereas the SoulStone had been the size of a small fruit, the new object was closer to a large marble. The brilliant golden-yellow color had changed to a deep azure. Striations of lighter blues licked up the edges. It almost looked like they were centered more on the fingers holding it than anywhere else. He scraped a claw against it, causing yet another sharp pain to slice through me. It felt like he was scratching directly into my very soul. The pain was enough to drop me to the ground. He slowly walked over to me. Lifting my chin with a claw as he spoke. ¡°This is your orb. Every Kitsune has one.¡± At the mention of orbs and Kitsune, it dawned on me just how fucked I was. ¡°Ah, I see that you have some idea of what I have.¡± His smile softened. ¡°With this, there is no need for me to get you to sign any contract. As long as I have it, you are mine. Maybe not your mind or your heart, but those will both come around eventually. Not that I mind.¡± His clawed finger cut a thin slice into my chin. Slowly, he lifted his blood-tipped claw to his lips. His eyes closed as he licked the blood off. ¡°The best part is, you can no longer attack me. Not for as long as I hold onto it.¡± As he opened his eyes, they roamed up and down my body as he licked his lips. ¡°And, I don¡¯t think my daughter will be getting you. Not with that body. I think I want you for myself.¡± Fear flashed through me. I was practically his slave as long as he had that orb and there was nothing I could do about it. From all the stories I had read about Kitsune, their orbs were a part of them. Whenever they lost or had the orb stolen, they did anything and everything they could to get it back. Giving no damn about the consequences of any of their actions. They were the Loki¡¯s¡¯ of Japanese folklore. Creating chaos to get what they wanted. If there was any other option, I had a feeling they would take it in a heartbeat. Not that it mattered if I stole the thing back. I had a feeling the demon would lock me into a contract as soon as he could write up the terms. I also doubted that it would give me any wiggle room, let alone a way out. I could always find someone more powerful to take him out but I was more likely to find myself deeper in shit than I was to get the orb back. Mentally, I called for the system to log out. Nothing happened. Not wanting to just give up, I pulled the system window up and flipped to the logout option. It was red with a simple note next to it. WARNING! You are in the middle of a pivotal point for a region, city, or person. While you may log out, the events in-game will continue without your input. If you are okay with this, please press the button and hold for 5 seconds. Okay, that was just fucking annoying. Lifting a hand up, I tried to hit the button before the demon could order me not to. ¡°Stop.¡± With the one command, my hand froze a fraction of an inch from the button. Almost as if he knew what I was trying to do, he continued. Adding another order for me to follow. ¡°You will not leave this world until I let you. Now close your interface.¡± I fought back against the order as hard as I could. Mentally trying to force my hand forward. Unfortunately, his order was too simple and direct for me to ignore or misinterpret. My hand shifted from its intended path. Pressing the button to manually close it. He had me and there was nothing I could do. Too bad for him though. When I opened the game menu, four timers were stacked to the side. All of them counting down. It reminded me that all these boosts I had keeping me going were about to expire. Even worse, they would impart onto me some doozies as they left. Making me useless to him and anyone else for a little while. Thirty-seven seconds left, I smiled as I called forth my mana. Sending it at the gate. If I was lucky, he likely wouldn¡¯t even see the mana around me shift. Not with the storm of it surrounding us both. Not that I believed in luck. Before he could order me to do something, I pushed the mana at the gate. Gathering it around the door. Packing it in until the air practically boiled. The demon must have noticed the change out of the corner of his eye as he looked in that direction. Too bad it was too late. With a force of will, I forced the mana to combust. Blue flames exploded outward. The force of which took the door and a decent chunk of the wall with it. While the majority of those standing nearby were thrown to the ground, the demon simply stumbled. The beastman didn¡¯t waste a moment. As soon as they were able to, they stood up and ran. Racing for freedom while they still had the chance. I noticed Ytri, Lucas and Lance shooting looks in my direction. It looked like they were debating coming for me. While that would be nice, they would die if they tried and we all knew it. As one, the three of them joined the horde in running. ¡°Ah, such a rebellious soul.¡± the demon¡¯s voice tore my gaze from the retreating backs of my charges. His demonic features were gone and he was dusting off his torn and battered guard captain uniform. He looked like he didn¡¯t care that he had lost his prisoners. Maybe he didn¡¯t. ¡°Even in the face of death, you are fighting back in every way you can. Guess it is a good thing I love to break my toys.¡± He looked around at the tattered remains of his force. A force that he himself killed. ¡°And you even managed to get rid of the help. Bravo.¡± Orb in hand, he shrugged and ordered, ¡°Get up.¡± Seeing no other option but to bid my time and pray, I complied. Just as I got to my knees, the timer ran out. As one, every muscle in my body screamed and gave out. The fall was maybe a foot but it was enough to break a few bones. Pain, practically nonexistent until now, returned with a vengeance. My skin screamed as the soft breeze cut across it. Muscles tore themselves apart as I shook from the pain. I was fairly sure I screamed, but I couldn¡¯t tell you for sure. All of the pain overwhelmed my brain to the point that it blanked out. I probably passed out moments later from a lack of oxygen. My last thought was of how I had managed to complete the quest, even if it did cost me everything. Epilogue - Rescue Xander: Alex¡¯s information was both a scary and lucky break. Me and a few of the other Guildmasters had been noticing some discrepancies in some reports about demon numbers. We were pretty sure that they were getting through our armies but we could never find a trace of them. Still, no one believed my information. Saying that the kingdom¡¯s barrier was infallible. That it could never fall or be breached. After badgering two of them to no end, they agreed to humor me. As soon as we passed the barrier¡¯s edge, nothing happened. We were all way overpowered for the barrier to let us through without a suppression item. If we tried the barrier would drain the excess mana until the offending party passed out or died. It wasn¡¯t a nice spell either. The thing hurt, or at least I had been told it did. I wasn¡¯t a masochist so I personally didn¡¯t go out of my way to experience it. Pretty sure that no one had. At least not recently. As it became clear that the barrier that should have been in the area was missing, my companions split off. One returned to the front lines while the other raced to the capital to see what the fuck was going on. Me, I kept flying. Reading over the forums as I raced toward Proxima to retrieve Alex before he did something stupid. ¡°Message Alex: ¡®I am almost to your location. Have you been paying attention to the in-game forums? ¨C Xander¡¯¡± It didn¡¯t take the guy long to respond. My AI¡¯s voice interrupted the page of gibberish that I was reading. ¡°Incoming message from user Kyren: ¡®Not really, been a bit busy. Can we talk later? I am in a bit of a situation right now.¡¯¡± See what I mean? He always seems to find trouble. Closing the window, I replied. ¡°Reply, ¡®Anything I can help with? I should be there in¡­¡¯¡± I checked the clock and did some quick math before continuing. ¡°¡®Ten, maybe twenty minutes.¡¯¡± ¡°Incoming message from user Kyren: ¡®Thank you for trying but by then it will be too late.¡¯¡± Fuck. If only I hadn¡¯t stopped to try and convince those two to come with me. Fuck. Looking through my spell repertoire, I tried to find a simple haste spell. Or anything else I could use as a boost. Nothing I found would work. I was just stuck praying that the griffin I borrowed would be fast enough. Sitting back, I chewed on my nails as I willed the creature to go faster. The creature must have felt my need to get to my destination as fast as possible because it sped up. Cutting the ten-minute journey down to just under four. We approached the north gate where plumes of smoke lifted high into the air, obscuring most of the chaos down below. The few fighters I did see go at it were pitifully slow. Looking like they were playing as they struck out at each other. Even their spells look like they were more for show than for battle. The sight reminded me as to why none of those with power were allowed to wield said power anywhere near such places. The place would be wiped out with a simple spell. Even without the barrier, one needed permission to enter the region. Permission I did not have. Permission I didn¡¯t have time to get. If I had, I would likely be waiting for the next week for the bureaucracy that is the guild council to decide if I would be allowed to make the trip. It was a major pain in the ass and I would be punished for ignoring the rules. Oh, the punishment wouldn¡¯t be anything permanent. It would likely be something akin to a slap on the wrist. None of the guild leaders would be stupid enough to do anything more. Not when they needed my, and my guild''s, skills to scout areas and dungeons. I would probably be ordered to do some border patrols. Maybe pay a few fines. Nothing hard. After a good half a minute of looking around for Alex here, I gave up on this location. He was either dead, hiding, or somewhere else. Directing the griffin to the southern gate, I found the demon standing over a fox girl. The demon was standing over the girl, gloating as every demon does when they have you cornered and alone. They were not the only ones in the clearing. A horde of beastman were by the gate, blasting at the locking bar in an attempt to move it. Too bad it would never work. Their spells were too weak and the bars used in gates were sourced from a forest seeped in magic. As they grew, they soaked the stuff up. Becoming tougher and denser as they aged. Suddenly, a burst of mana emanated from the nearby gate. While the bar merely splintered, the gate and wall around it exploded outward. Out of habit, I traced the spell back to find the fox girl sporting a malicious grin. To my surprise, the demon reverted to his human form, looking nonplussed. As if it didn¡¯t matter that people were getting away. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. He said something and she started to get up only to falter moments later. Crashing to the ground. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a wolfkin being dragged through the destroyed gate as he fought to get to the two of them. Soon enough, I was close enough to hear the demon curse as the girl screamed. Moments later, she stopped. Likely having passed out from whatever was causing her so much pain. When I examined the demon closer, I found he was holding onto something round. It was the size of a decently large marble. Blue flames licked along the inside as he rubbed it between his thumb and fingers. Even from where I sat, I did not like the look he was giving the girl. Glancing down, I figured that the dust cloud was large enough to cover me dropping in. So I jumped. Activating Feather Fall, Light Step, Obscure, Mana Sense, and a few other skills in quick succession. A lack of reaction from the demon was the confirmation I needed. Shifting to the side, I approached the two from the side. The fangs on the creature hinted at what kind of demon he was. That coupled with the fact that he was crouched over the girl preparing to drink from her wrist secured his species. Fucking demonic vampires. Vampires were annoying enough, but demonic vampires were a bitch. Most of them had some sort of blood-related class. Using the blood of friend and foe alike to attack. Not that this one seemed to think that was necessary. There were little to no blood sprays from him throwing the stuff around. Not that it would matter against me. Not when he didn¡¯t notice me walking up on him. One of my knives stabbed through his skull and into his brain. With a twist, his brain turned to mush and he died. Unfortunately for us, not permanently. There were theories on how to go about killing a demon permanently, but none of them have been confirmed. On queue, its body burst into crimson flames. Turning to ash as its body was consumed to fuel the Demonking¡¯s spell. Then again, this was speculation based on information someone managed to get after interrogating a few demons. Like usual, the demon dropped an item, or in this case three. A useless sword meant for show rather than use, a small bauble, and the orb. Picking up all three, I tried to put them into my inventory. The first two went in fine, but the orb refused to go in. Pulling up the information had me both laughing and cursing. ¡°Oh fuck, he is going to kill someone over this.¡±
Item: Kyren¡¯s Kitsune Orb
Rank: Unique
Special: Permanently bound to Kyren Vulpier (Alex Morgan). Cannot be placed in spatial inventories.
Use (Anyone): Gives the holder control over the orb¡¯s bound creature.
Use (Bound Only): Transform into a fox ¨C 25 mana Transform into a human ¨C 50 mana Transform into a Kitsune ¨C 10 mana (Current Form)
Special Use: Locked 100 mana Limit 4 hours
Mana Charge: 10/100
Charge Rate: +5 mana per hour in the current location.
Description: A Kitsune Orb is part of their spirit, their soul. Those that are smart protect it fiercely as those who possess it have full control over them. Warning to those who would dare to steal it. The moment they are free, they will get revenge. No matter how long it takes or what they have to do. They tend to not forgive or forget.
Pocketing the orb, I sighed as I picked up the beautiful Kitsune. Knowing that it was my friend dimmed the feeling of lust, but it didn¡¯t diminish it. The sounds of breaking bones as I moved him, her, him, fuck it, I was going to stick with her for now, killed what little infatuation was left. At least for now. Though, I was fairly sure she will kill me the moment she wakes up. Even if not in one hit, then with a thousand cuts. Honestly though, maybe it would be better if she could kill me in one hit. Then I wouldn¡¯t have to suffer. It would be over and done and we could both move on. The griffin chose that moment to land in the courtyard with a loud thud. Its beating wings blew what was left of the dust cloud as the ground buckled beneath it. Holding Alex in a princess carry, I lightly lept onto the back of the creature. Settling down into the saddle with her cradled against me. The creature beat its wings a few times before leaping into the sky. I winced at the sight of several nearby buildings falling down as the air blast knocked them over. This city was not built for anything stronger than maybe level thirty-five. Yet here I was, a level forty-seven and that was considered low for where we were heading. As we flew, my mind wandered off, taking my emotions with it. Fear, joy, excitement, trepidation, and more flit through me as I thought about what had happened. What could have happened if I had been even a minute later. I also had to worry about Alex and whoever she took her anger out on. Which, given that I wouldn¡¯t just dump her with a stranger, would likely be me. Maybe I should just keep the orb until she calmed down. Then again, that description about grudges¡­ Epilogue 2 - Forum 6 - Betrayal or Sabatage Ares22: ¡°Anyone gone into the heart of the empire recently?¡± DancingJelly: ¡°@Ares22 Not that I know of¡­Why?¡± EerieQuasar: ¡°@Ares22 As far as I know, all the requests to go are being blocked for one reason or another.¡± HiddenDragon1: ¡°@EerieQuasar Oh great, another conspiracy theory from the peanut gallery.¡± EerieQuasar: ¡°@HiddenDragon1 It isn¡¯t a conspiracy theory if it¡¯s true.¡± HiddenDragon1: ¡°@EerieQuasar Proof. Without that, it¡¯s just a theory. And how many of those have you had in the last week? 5? 10?¡± FieryMystic: ¡°@HiddenDragon1 Try 43. Eerie frequents a ton of the weirdest posts.¡± DancingJelly: ¡°@FieryMystic And how do you know this?¡± RealHiddenDragon: ¡°Message me in game if you would like to purchase a one of a kind equipment.¡± SYSTEM: ¡°@USER:RealHiddenDragon Spam warning issued. Muted for 1 Hour.¡± CryptoBanano: ¡°@Ares22 What is going on? You, MidgetMerc, and VeiledInsight were supposed to be in a meeting an hour ago. Where are you and why are you not responding to messages?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. VeiledInsight: ¡°@CryptoBanano On our way to check out the barrier because you all refused to even entertain the idea that it could have an issue.¡± CryptoBanano: ¡°@VeiledInsight Because it would be impossible. The spell is an artifact gifted from one of the gods. Its heavily guarded and watched by the royal family.¡± Ares22: ¡°@CryptoBanano umm¡­its not here.¡± CryptoBanano: ¡°@Ares22 What do you mean its not there?¡± EerieQuasar: ¡°@HiddenDragon1 What did I tell you? Hmm?¡± MidgetMerc: ¡°@CryptoBanano He means the barrier is missing. Not here. Gone. Almost as if the spell is gone. I am heading toward the capital now.¡± Ares22: ¡°@CryptoBanano Heading back now.¡± VeiledInsight: ¡°@QCont When was the last time someone checked over the aft defense line?¡± QCont: ¡°@VeiledInsight I don¡¯t know. There has never been a chance for someone to even get around the piles of defenses we have to really matter.¡± Ares22: ¡°@HiddenDragon1 Yet another bad decision from on high¡± QCont: ¡°@Ares22 It looks like we have a volunteer to man the position for the next week.¡± Ares22: ¡°@VeiledInsight I¡¯ll give them a good look when I get to them. VeiledInsight: ¡°@Ares22 Thx¡± SYSTEM: USER:VeiledInsight USER:Ares22 is not currently available. VeiledInsight: ¡°@QCont what just happened?¡± MidgetMerc: ¡°HELP¡± VeiledInsight: ¡°@MidgetMerc What is going on?¡± QCont: ¡°@MidgetMerc Where are you? We cant teleport someone to help you unless you tell us!¡± SYSTEM: USER:VeiledInsight User:MidgetMerc is not currently available SYSTEM: USER:QCont User:MidgetMerc is not currently available JuicySea: ¡°@QCont I think they are dead. You can keep trying to ping them but the system wont notify them until they respawn, if they respawn.¡± GoldenBitch: ¡°Who in the nation can take those two out with little warning?¡± QCont: ¡°@VeiledInsight Pick up your friend and get back here. No lollygagging around.¡± VeiledInsight: ¡°@QCont I''ll do what I can.¡± Chapter 1 - Changes Whoever turned up the world needed to go and fucking die. The littlest noise was akin to stabbing my brain with a needle. There also seemed to be a dog or something lying in the bed with me, given the soft fur tickling my legs. Other than the itching, I preferred the animal over the scratchy synthetic blankets I was used to. Well, that and maybe the heat the creature put off. I was one of those people that ran cold whenever I slept, no matter how many blankets I piled over myself. Now though, I was practically burning up. Still, I was too comfortable to turn and push the creature away. Without warning, my bladder took that moment to remind me that it needed my attention. It was insistent, not willing to wait even five minutes. Threatening to release here and now if I didn¡¯t get up and moving. My eyelids, coated in gunk as they were, refused to move. The curtain blocking the sunlight fluttered just as my eyes popped open, allowing the sun to hit my face and sending pain lancing through my skull. ¡°Woah,¡± came a voice I did not expect to hear. Carefully opening one of my eyes just enough to look at the speaker. Xander was scrambling out of a chair. ¡°Your body is still weak from all of those debuffs.¡± ¡°What debuffs?¡± I asked as I worked to lift the blanket off. The thing weighed a ton. ¡°Where am I?¡± He didn¡¯t answer my questions, instead asking one of his own. ¡°What do you remember?¡± Seeing that I was going to have to find the answer myself soon enough, I humored him. Do you know how hard it is to look back at a series of memories and try and work out what was real and what was a nightmare? To then sort through those memories as you tried to put them in order. If you haven¡¯t, be happy. It is nerve-wracking and mentally tiring. Before I finished, my bladder decided to send me a subtle reminder in the form of a twinge. ¡°I need to use the bathroom.¡± The emotions I saw flashing across his face confused me. I could swear that I saw sadness, happiness, fear, and even anger. He didn¡¯t say a word, instead, he lifted a hand to point at a door set into a wall. It was on the other side of the spacious room with only a table between here and there. Undaunted, I scrambled across the bed. My legs wobbled, threatening to give out, as I went to move from the bed to the floor. Xander¡¯s arms caught me just as my legs gave out. Lifting me in a princess carry as his stride ate up the distance to my goal. The bathroom on the other side was different than the room. Where the room was made of dark wood, this one was covered in stone. Tiles covered most of the exposed surfaces, save for the mirror and the counter. Jet black marble, cut with silver and gold striations, covered the counter. Setting me on my feet in front of the toilet, he looked conflicted. Scoffing at him, I said, ¡°I think I can handle going to the bathroom on my own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not,¡± he started. I was pretty sure that his cheeks turned crimson, but he turned before I could get a good look. ¡°Call if you need help. And please, don¡¯t freak out, or if you do, don¡¯t kill me. I can''t help you if you kill me. Well, I can but¡­we will figure something out.¡± He almost sounded panicked as he blurted everything out. Confused and a bit concerned for him, I didn¡¯t have a chance to demand any answers before he shut the door. I could have yelled through the door but another twinge had me scrambling for the toilet. A short lift of a long t-shirt later, I finally got some blessed relief. Likely, the sudden relief and relaxation was why I didn¡¯t notice a few oddities. Oddities like the fact that I didn¡¯t have to position any equipment, or that the stream was coming out of the wrong place. But at least the fur was no longer tickling my legs. No, now it tickled my back. Closing my eyes, I reached up, praying that I wouldn¡¯t find flesh that should not be there. Hoping that my transformation was a part of a nightmare and nothing more. Tingling followed my fingers as they trailed up my body. The moment they reached my pecks, the tingles turned into miniature fireworks. Needing to confirm what my hand was telling me, I tilted my head down. Slowly, fearful of what I would see, I opened my eyes. Sitting there, as if they had always been there, sat two round orbs of fat. They were not all that large. Looking large enough for me to get a good handful and nothing more. That wouldn¡¯t be so bad if they were the only changes I recalled, but they were not. My hand continued up. Moving past my neck and face. Fear stopped my hand from moving past my hairline. ¡°Alex?¡± Xander¡¯s worried voice carried through the door. While I didn¡¯t answer him, his voice did serve to push me to continue. My hair turned to soft fur as my fingers brushed against something on top of my head. Whatever they were, the parts I touched were not connected to my scalp. At least, not at the spot my fingers brushed. The object felt oddly pleasurable and tickled as my fingers rubbed against the thin cartilage tip. ¡°Alex,¡± the tip twitched as Xander¡¯s soft voice called out. ¡°Please answer me.¡± It took me a moment but when I did, my voice caught in the middle as I answered him. ¡°What happened to me?¡± ¡°While I didn¡¯t see,¡± he hesitated as he spoke. ¡°But I have an idea. First, though, tell me, did you use the SoulStone?¡± Memories of confronting the city captain and fighting him came to me in a rush. Tears exploded from me. ¡°It was the only way!¡± I wailed out as everything clicked into place. I didn¡¯t hear the door open or his footsteps before I found myself wrapped up in his arms. I buried my head into his chest as I cried harder than I had ever done before. It was like a damn had burst. I hadn¡¯t even cried this hard when both of my parents were killed in a car crash. I don¡¯t know how long we sat there. Nor did I need to. It was embarrassing enough to find that I had soaked my friend¡¯s shirt with tears and snot. ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± He murmured into my hair. It caused his chest to vibrate. Unable to speak through the knot in my throat, I nodded. ¡°I know it is a sensitive subject, but we have to talk.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Just thinking about talking caused fear to fill my mind. I rapidly shook my head back and forth. Determined to try and forget everything that had happened in the hopes that I would wake up and find that this was all a bad dream. Thankfully, he seemed to let the topic drop. A squeak escaped me as he stood up with me still in his arms. Not showing a sign of strain as he did so. One of his arms held me against him while the other supported my ass. I had no clue how I felt about this. On one hand, it felt nice to be held by someone. Yes, it wasn¡¯t a chick, but something about how he was holding me was comforting. I felt safe in his arms. Of course, there was the other side of me that felt like I was losing myself. Fearing the changes that seemed to be happening. To say I was mentally thrown by the situation would have been an understatement. Before I could figure out what to feel and how to react, he set me down on the edge of the bed. He took a seat in the chair and looked at me for a second before speaking. ¡°So, you remember using the SoulStone. Do you remember fighting a demon?¡± My eyes dropped to the ground in shame as I recalled the fight with the demon and how I lost. As my mind went over the entire fight, I realized that he had just been playing with me. In fact, I was fairly sure he had done something to win. ¡°Wait,¡± I started to say, only to have to stop for a second as I fought to keep from bursting into tears again. ¡°Did the demon get you too?¡± A hand came into view as he reached for my chin. Softly tipping my head back as his thumb gently caressed my cheek. ¡°No,¡± his voice was soft, calming, as he spoke. ¡°I killed it right after you passed out.¡± I snorted at that. Grateful for the joke and distraction from the situation. ¡°You, the guy that hates online games because people might track you, took down a demon. Right.¡± ¡°Just because I hate playing online does not mean I have not done so before.¡± He spoke as if he was afraid I would bolt if he said the wrong thing. ¡°How else do you think I knew about this game?¡± ¡°The internet?¡± His lifted eyebrow told me what he thought of my answer. ¡°One of my buddies told me about the game. He even helped me out in the beginning.¡± ¡°And now?¡± I tried to keep him talking about something, anything, not related to demons. ¡°He is still around, we even get together now and then to hang out still, but enough about that.¡± Damn it, he always seemed to know when I was trying to distract him. ¡°Your body has changed. I don¡¯t mean one part or even your race, I mean everything.¡± I sighed, ¡°I know.¡± Xander breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°But it''s not permanent. I mean, no game can force you to play something you¡¯re not. Ok, so it can make you play as another race, but gender? It would cause too many mental issues when the person goes back to the real world.¡± His grimace told me that there was something I was missing. ¡°What?¡± I demanded. ¡°Have you been keeping up with the forum posts about people¡¯s experiences with their SoulStones?¡± Shaking my head, I said, ¡°No, I have been too busy training.¡± His obvious hesitation coupled with his twiddling thumbs had me practically had me growling. ¡°Spit it out.¡± Xander¡¯s eyes shot up to meet mine in surprise. Seeing my resolve, he sighed before speaking. ¡°SoulStones don¡¯t just affect your character. They also affect your real body.¡± I fell backward as I burst out laughing. ¡°Good one.¡± His tone wasn¡¯t that of joking as he spoke. ¡°The description warned everyone about what it would do. It is our fault for ignoring the damned thing.¡± ¡°You mean that whole thing about combining the soul and the body? There is no way that was real. It was like flavor text in other games.¡± Xander shook his head. ¡°You have changed as much there as you have here. Just ask your AI.¡± Rolling my eyes and wanting to prove him wrong, I humored him. ¡°AI, can you tell me my body''s current status?¡± ¡°Your body is currently not in the pod.¡± The AI¡¯s voice echoed in my ears. ¡°What do you mean it is not in the pod.¡± Great, now the sensors on the damned AI were going out. Yet another thing to spend money on. Then again, was there a point in doing so? My chances of finding a way to make money wherever I was likely non-existent. ¡°When did it disappear from your sensors?¡± ¡°Sensor records indicate that the user''s body vanished around twenty real-world hours ago.¡± What was that, two and a half in-game days? ¡°What was I doing at the time?¡± ¡°You used an object before fighting the demon, Kaelis Morrowgrave.¡± The AI reported. ¡°Sensors recorded a bright burst of light and radiation at the same moment your body vanished.¡± My mind rebelled against the AI¡¯s report coupled with Xander¡¯s words. He waited a moment before reaching out to gently squeeze my leg. ¡°As I said earlier, I will help you figure this out.¡± Suddenly, I needed out. I knew it was stupid but I had to get away from this game. He must have known what I was about to do because, as I went to demand the system log me out, he held something up and said ¡°Stop!¡± My eyes locked onto the small round ball in his hand as every muscle in my body froze. Seeing it brought back memories of the demon and his promises, sending waves of fear and dread racing down my spine. I was sure that the air on my tail was standing on end as I waited for his next order. With the orb in his hand, he could get me to do anything with a simple word and there would be nothing I could do. To my surprise, he held it out to me. ¡°Keep this safe. Maybe put it somewhere no one else can find, or maybe buy a subspace item to store it if you can.¡± As I grabbed the object, I pulled up its information.
Item: Kyren¡¯s Kitsune Orb
Rank: Unique
Special: Permanently bound to Kyren Vulpier (Alex Morgan). Cannot be placed in spatial inventories.
Use (Anyone): Gives the holder control over the orb¡¯s bound creature.
Use (Bound Only): Transform into a fox ¨C 25 mana Transform into a human ¨C 50 mana Transform into a Kitsune ¨C 10 mana (Current Form)
Special Use: Locked 100 mana Limit 4 hours
Mana Charge: 100/100
Charge Rate: +7.5 mana per hour in the current location.
Description: A Kitsune Orb is part of their spirit, their soul. Those that are smart protect it fiercely as those who possess it have full control over them. Warning to those who would dare to steal it. The moment they are free, they will get revenge. No matter how long it takes or what they have to do. They tend to not forgive or forget.
Groaning, I asked him a question. ¡°Did you read the description?¡± ¡°Yes, how else would I have known to give it back to you?¡± ¡°Did you notice where it says that it cannot go into spatial inventories?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± he perked up as he spoke. It was almost as if he had found a safe topic that he knew enough about to keep a conversation going. ¡°Spatial inventories and subspace items are different.¡± ¡°How so?¡± I knew I was about to get a lecture, but I figured I would give him this before vanishing. ¡°Inventories and most storage items are considered spatial inventories. From what I understand, they use compression and other tricks to store more items in a smaller area. Subspace items, on the other hand, are items that connect the item to a small pocket dimension. As you can guess, the latter are way more expensive, but they tend to be worth it.¡± He lowered his voice a little as if to tell me a secret. ¡°There are even rumors of some bags having the ability to follow their user as they log in and out.¡± Rolling my eyes, I thank him before logging out of the game. Every fiber of my being joined me in wishing, praying, hoping, that he was wrong about the changes being carried over to the real world. Chapter 2 - Hephaestus ¡°Welcome back Alex,¡± my arms jerked up to cover my ears as my AI¡¯s voice boomed out around me. Of course, the lid of the pod was only partially open. Both arms figured this fact out as my hands smashed into the damn thing and bent to an awkward angle. ¡°God damn it,¡± I cried out as tears streamed down my face from the sheer amount of pain. ¡°Turn down your fucking volume.¡± ¡°Volume adjusted,¡± the AI responded. As the pain faded away, I found that the AI wasn¡¯t the only thing that was too loud. Ducts chattered high above as the motors vibrated against their mounts. High-voltage wires and other unidentifiable objects released a litany of buzzing noises. Through the cacophony of modern noise, people in nearby apartments chatted away. Kids laughed, adults cried, and various shows played. It was too much. I would go crazy if nothing changed. Curled up in the pod, my hand held my new ears as I tried to ignore all of it. As if someone thought I wasn¡¯t getting tortured enough, a new, cutting series of notes filled the air. Surprisingly enough, the noise faded, taking with it the sounds of the modern world with it. ¡°Active noise cancellation protocols in effect.¡± My body relaxed as I sighed in relief, ¡°Thank you.¡± As I said the words, I heard my voice. It was the same as it had been in the game. High pitched and, more importantly, not mine. If that wasn¡¯t enough to convince me that my body had changed to match my in-game character, the AI spoke up. ¡°Body changes detected. Initiating full body scan.¡± Lights flickered high above as the system scanned my body. The system eventually spoke up. ¡°Changes have been cataloged. Would you like to hear the results?¡± Damn the AI and its need to be helpful. I mean, who would want to hear just how much their body had been changed? Well, then again, maybe I should let it tell me. Just so I know what to expect. ¡°Why the hell not.¡± ¡°Gender has been switched. Hormones are off-nominal for someone born female. Possibly due to the nature of the change. I will keep monitoring but I predict that it will stabilize without intervention. Bone structure has morphed from male range to female normal. Anomalies detected; human ears are missing, replaced with fox ears. A fox tail has also been detected. Ovaries are preparing to start the production of eggs. Fertility to be determined.¡± Oh, fuck. I had ovaries. I mean, I knew women had them, but I never expected that I would end up with the blasted things. Every one of my girlfriends complained and cursed them, more adamantly at times than others. Wait, did that mean I could get pregnant? Just what did I do to piss the gods off to end up in this situation? This had to be a coma. Or a nightmare. Please let this be a nightmare. ¡°ALERT! Worldwide broadcast from the developer of the game Ascent to Aetheria. It is recommended that you watch it.¡± ¡°Recommended by whom?¡± and why? I mean, there was no way I had caught anyone¡¯s attention recently. ¡°The developer,¡± was the AI¡¯s only words. Fuck it, what else was there to lose at this point. Maybe they would explain that this was all a big mistake and work to rectify the situation. Sitting up and twisting around to face the windows. ¡°Sure, whatever, put it on the screen.¡± Before the system did as I asked it to, I saw my reflection in the dark glass. The woman who looked back at me was breathtakingly beautiful. I mean, I knew that people complimented my old feminine looks, but the transformation had kicked it up a notch. Add to that the fox ears and I found myself lusting after my own body. A moment later, the woman disappeared, replaced with an unkempt man in a cluttered room. From the desks to the chairs, walls to the floor, every surface was covered in an assortment of items, documents, and holograms. But my eyes only glanced over all of that. Instead, they were drawn to the man. I found that the messy hair, oil-stained and roughened fingers, as well as the tattered overalls, suited him. But what caught my attention and stole my breath was his piercing blue eyes. They were not a normal blue but a mix of both sky and sea coupled with the occasional burst of lightning. ¡°Hi, my name is Hephaestus. I am a god and the creator of Ascent to Aetheria.¡± He paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°I created the game, not because I was bored or wanted money, but because it was inevitable that the walls built up around your planet and Paradox would, eventually, fall. Instead of letting the world crumble as monsters and magic ran rampant like they have many times before, I decided to try something else. To prepare as many people as I could.¡± The man closed his eyes and sighed. ¡°It has not been as smooth as I had hoped, but that is, in part, my fault. I sometimes forget the level of human greed. Still, despite the setbacks and limitations, a sizable part of the human population has been able to grow and build a place for themselves in another world.¡± Wait, was this guy seriously saying that the world in the game was real? He must be crazy to think such a thing is possible. A soft brush of my tail against my bare back reminded me that, if it truly was a game, it would never have affected me as it had. ¡°I know many people will say I am crazy. There is nothing I can do about them. No matter what evidence I provide, they will come up with some excuse or trick before demanding yet more proof.¡± His eyes pierced into me as he said, ¡°I will NOT participate in such a pointless exercise. If you want proof, go get your own. I don¡¯t care. What I care about is finding a way to help various species survive as their world joins the rest on the world tree.¡± ¡°Now, with that out of the way,¡± his tone had a tinge of sadness as he continued. ¡°You may have noticed that demons are pushing their way into Paradox. Using the chaos of your arrival to get their claws into the world in a bid to take it over.¡± That explained the world quest from before. ¡°I and a few others would welcome you into the higher worlds and protect you from the hordes, but the decision was not up to me. A council of gods decided, unanimously, to lock down every portal and connecting between Paradox and the worlds above for as long as the threat of demons climbing the tree exists.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I had been wondering why anyone would go to the trouble of creating a system to help us adapt and survive whatever was happening to Earth, but now it made sense. The gods were not trying to help us. They were trying to protect their asses. Using us as little more than cannon fodder in their war against the demons. ¡°Everything we have provided you with is yours to use and exploit as you wish. This includes all the blessings and changes that some of you have been lucky enough to receive.¡± Why did I think that he was talking directly to me? ¡°In fact, no power other than that of a god will be able to undo any of the changes.¡± God damn it, he was. ¡°Now, I need to return to work. Many things to build and fix.¡± His sudden swing in tone from serious to cheerful was jarring. ¡°Beat back the hordes and do away with the demonic threat as fast as you can so that you can start to work your way up the tree.¡± With that, the man disappeared in a flash of light, taking with him everything in the room, including the desks and chairs. Moments later, the screen turned off, leaving me staring at the glass and my reflection in it, but I didn¡¯t notice it. My mind was going over everything he had said. While I was a bit irked and confused about the way the gods had gone about preparing the world, the information he provided was the light at the end of my tunnel. He had practically told us how to reverse our changes if we wanted, not that it would be easy. We just needed to find a god and convince them to help us. Of course, that would require that we remove the demons from Paradox. Would that be easy? Probably not, especially when the gods closed various portals to prevent them from moving any farther up the tree. Not that it wouldn¡¯t stop me. If I needed to, I would personally beat back the armies. Well, maybe not yet. I needed to get stronger if I truly wanted to have a chance. Which meant going back to Paradox. At least there I didn¡¯t need to worry about money, yet. Or did I? What would happen if I lost access to my pod? Would I no longer be able to return to Earth or would it default to some other location? ¡°Is there any information on what might happen if I lost access to my pod for some reason?¡± I asked my AI. ¡°Unknown,¡± it replied. Not that I expected much. Pretty sure this whole transportation aspect of the pods is a new and hidden feature. Wait, that isn¡¯t quite right. What¡¯s her name had called it a transfer device when helping to set up my account names. She also mentioned that she was a goddess. Likely, she was now gone from wherever that space had been. Joining the rest of the gods in their hiding. Too bad, talk about a missed opportunity to get answers. As I slid off the edge of the pod I found that woman truly had smaller bladders because mine was already demanding that I relieve it. Moments later, I found myself sitting awkwardly on the toilet as liquid practically gushed out. It wasn¡¯t like the nice stream that came out of my penis. The piss sprayed unpredictably as various pieces of skin got in the way. Before I could find the right position, my bladder was already empty. I would just have to remember to find a position that resulted in a, less messy experience. Sighing, I didn¡¯t even try to clean the mess up. Turning instead to the shower to clean myself. In the midst of all the other changes, I hadn''t even noticed my hair until the water flattened it against my back. The longest strands nearly reached my ass. Of course, this meant that, when combined with my naturally thick hair, it took a ton of shampoo and conditioner to clean it. Unsure of what to do about my fur, or was it hair, or the large scoops that were my new ears, I worked around them as I tried to avoid letting the chemicals pool inside. Unable to avoid the inevitable, I grabbed my soap and started to tentatively wash my body. Every time my hands rubbed against my breasts caused me to stop as the sensitive flesh sent pleasure rippling into my core. Not that it held a candle to the feelings generated as I washed between my legs. I almost couldn¡¯t control myself from exploring my body. It was a fight between my curiosity and my fear. Curiosity because it was a woman''s body ¡ª how could one not wonder how the other side differed, felt, lived? It wasn¡¯t something most people got a chance to explore and something told me I would be a fool if I didn¡¯t at least give the idea some serious thought. It didn¡¯t help that my body wanted to keep exploring, but the fear twisting my gut spoke up. Asking me what would happen if I found that I liked the feelings too much. What if I never wanted to change back? Neither were questions I could just outright dismiss, but for now, I had time to think about them. After all, it wasn¡¯t like I had to decide right this moment. So, giving in to the fear, I yanked my hand soap-covered hand away. My body yearned for my hand to return. In a bid to keep my hand occupied, I grabbed the shower head. Using it to wash everything off as fast as I could before stepping out of the shower. The one towel I owned was large enough to cover my chest and nether region but it did nothing to help with my hair. Not knowing what to do, I stood in the bathroom as I tried to squeeze every bit of moisture I could out of it. My work wasn¡¯t even passable by my standards when the mirror finally cleared. I found myself frozen as I got an unobstructed, full-color view of my upper body. My toasted chestnut hair had darkened to something closer to a dark brown with a dark blue undercolor. A strange combination given the rarity of blue in nature. Unfortunately for me, the hair wasn¡¯t the oddest part. Every blue in the color wheel was represented on my tail and ears. They were even sorted from darkest to lightest in color, eventually finishing off with tufts of white at the ends of all three. Eyes closed, I once again forced myself to move on. To ignore what I saw so that I could get on with what I needed to do. Walking across the apartment was easy given that I was still, miraculously, the same height. Dropping my towel to the ground as I slid into the pod. The only thing I had to be mindful of was my tail so that it didn¡¯t get caught in any of the gaps or edges. A smooth marble-like object caught my attention as I reached to activate the pod. With a resigned sigh, I opened my eyes to look at the object. It was my ball. You know, the one that Xander gave me just before I exited the game. The one that shouldn''t exist on Earth. Apparently, it didn¡¯t get the memo because it had somehow joined me here. Its smooth surface felt comforting as I rubbed my fingers across it. Almost caressing it as my mind drifted over everything I needed to accomplish. The problem was, my goal was way too large. Absurdly so. I needed to take the advice my teachers always gave me in school. One of the things my eighth-grade teacher loved to ask was: ¡°How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.¡± Everyone in the class would groan whenever he said it, as he overused the saying. But it was his way of pointing out that no task was too large to tackle; one just needed to break it down into manageable sizes. And that is what I needed to do here: break the goal of reaching the gods into pieces I could accomplish. First things first, I needed to level up, a lot. Which meant finding a place I could hunt. It also needed to be safe enough for me to experiment with my magic. Finding such a place was going to suck if Xander was busy. I should probably find and talk to the adventurers'' guild. So, first talk to Xander, then the guild before heading to wherever I can to grind away. Satisfied with my initial plans, I pressed the button and allowed the pod to return me to Paradox where, at least for now, I had a goal to accomplish. Chapter 3 - Fight or Flight Between one blink and the next, the pod did its thing, depositing me back on the edge of the bed. The usual prompt hovered in front of me, blocking my view of the room. It was weird that the system considered my going back to Earth as logging off. Then again, what could the person that made the pods have put in without freaking a bunch of people out? Welcome back Kyren Vulpier. 2 hours, 19 minutes have passed since you logged off. Current in-game time: 11:04:36 AM Dismissing the prompt, I found myself staring at a completely naked, save for the towel, Xander. My eyes widened, muscles freezing in confusion, fear, and another emotion I couldn¡¯t narrow down, I looked him up and down. Now, it wasn¡¯t the first time I had seen a guy naked before. Hell, I had seen this guy shirtless on many occasions. Typically during work in the summers as being inside a building didn¡¯t keep the place cool if the doors never shut. But still, I had never seen him like this. His muscles were toned to a degree I had never seen in person. Couple that with the sheen of water, I found the sight oddly enjoyable. A strange flutter stirred in my chest ¡ª a sensation I had never associated with Xander or any other man before. It sent a chill down my spine, adrenaline into my blood, and panic surging through me. He must have noticed me because he looked in my direction. ¡°Alex,¡± was all he got out before I bolted across the room and through the door. My boosted hearing meant that I could hear curses emanating from his room as I sprinted in a random direction. I hoped that there was a stairwell in this direction. If not then I would have to double back. Lucky for me, I found the stairs. Unlucky for the group of people walking toward them, I couldn¡¯t stop in time to make the turn. My feet slid across the ground as I scrambled to stop. A scaled man casually reached out. Grabbing onto both shoulders as he brought me to a stop. I didn¡¯t give him time to say anything. I simply nodded my thanks before scurrying down the stairs. The group¡¯s chat became more animated as I whipped around the first switchback. As I ripped around the second, I found myself face to face with a group coming up the stairs. Each of them wore armor that looked well-used. Given the dry blood and slightly tired looks, I was pretty sure they were just getting back from hunting. ¡°So, after we get washed up, do y¡¯all want to hit up that new bar down the road?¡± One of the guys in lighter armor asked. I tried to look for a way around the slow-moving group, but they left little room on either side. None of them seemed to have noticed me yet. ¡°Sure, I need something to wash the taste of spider off my tongue.¡± A woman in a darker robe grumped before taking a sip from a waterskin. ¡°Hey,¡± the man in a light-grey robe groaned. ¡°I said I was sorry for that.¡± The ring of blue gold hovering over his head caught my eye. Even if the stairs were not lit, I was sure that thing would have lit the group''s way. Turning, I moved to get out of the way. ¡°Well, maybe you should figure out how to turn off your SoulStone artifact.¡± The first guy said before snapping his eyes in my direction. ¡°Oh, what do we have here?¡± His eyes trailing up and down my body sent a feeling of fear stabbing through my gut as the group''s last person spoke. The man was huge, likely a tank or a heavy hitter, rumbled as he spoke. ¡°Looks like a fox beastman.¡± Now that I had been noticed, I saw no reason to wait for the group to pass. Pushing forward, I tried to move through a small gap between the woman and the wall. Something suddenly pulled on my tail causing me to squeak as it yanked me to a stop. Without reason, a wild thought flit through my mind of one of the men grabbing me and trying something. Even when I was still a man, it was something that I feared would happen one day. Lucky for me, it hadn''t. But maybe my time was up. Maybe today would be the day I didn¡¯t get away. That didn¡¯t mean I would go down without a fight. My eyes were wild as I spun on the balls of my feet. A fist flew toward the hand of whoever was holding onto my tail. The perpetrator had it to their face. Rubbing it against their cheek and looking about ready to purr. My fist met her chin. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. She must have been quite a bit stronger than me because she only stumbled a step back. Either she didn¡¯t notice or didn¡¯t care as she just kept rubbing her cheek against my fur. That was a bad sign as I had thrown everything I had into that attack yet it had only caused her to stumble. Her lip wasn¡¯t even cut. Worst still, I was now stuck in the middle of the small group with no easy way out. ¡°Alex!¡± Xander called as he ran around the steps. He must not have expected the group to be there as he nearly turned the light-grey robed guy into a speed bump in his hurry to find me. Lucky for him, Xander managed to grab onto the banister. Using it to stop his forward momentum. ¡°Smith,¡± the tank rumbled. His voice sounded respectful. Xander gave a simple nod back. His voice was calm as he asked, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have happened to see a Kitsune girl running through here, would you?¡± The frantically moving eyes and twitchy fingers were all I needed to see to know that he was nearly panicking. His eyes kept eyeing the railing as if he was debating launching himself over the damn thing. I debated with myself if I should call out for him or to stay quiet. If I did call out to him and the group decided that they wanted me, what could he do against them? He was one person. It didn¡¯t matter how many levels he had on me. Not when they likely were around the same level and had numbers on their side. Of course, this was also a great argument against staying quiet. If he didn¡¯t stand a chance, I sure as hell didn¡¯t. My only hope in such a scenario was to somehow trick them into letting me go. Fat chance of that happening. Before I could decide, the group collectively stepped back. Their eyes darted nervously between Xander and me, fear evident in their expression. ¡°We, we, we didn¡¯t know she was yours.¡± The woman sputtered out. While none of their reactions made sense, given what I knew about Xander, I used it to my advantage. Turning, I raced between the two that had been behind me. As soon as I was past, I heard multiple pairs of feet scrambling up the stairs and away from me. Not even halfway down another set of stairs, Xander dropped into my path. ¡°Stop running,¡± his voice was calm. Hands gently patting the air as if he was trying to calm a spooked animal. Seeing no way around him, I grabbed the banister. Using it to stop my momentum. Glancing over it, I debated if I could get over it before he could stop me. ¡°Why are you running?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± I had no answer ready. ¡°I need to,¡± my mind worked feverishly as it tried to come up with a convincing reason while also looking for an escape route. He stood there, not moving as he waited for my answer. ¡°I was going to meet someone.¡± I blurted out. His eyebrows lift as what he says next confuses me. ¡°Dressed like that?¡± Heat rushed to my cheeks as I glanced down. The oversized t-shirt barely covered me. A cool draft reminded me just how exposed I was. Instinctively, my arms wrapped around me as my desire to run evaporated. Adrenaline petering out, I collapsed to the ground. Xander, seeing my reaction, slowly reached out toward me while speaking in the softest tone I had ever heard from him. ¡°At least come back to the room to get dressed.¡± Tears prick my eyes as I shake my head. I don¡¯t have anything to wear. Not for this body. Maybe the dress would fit, but the strikes from the demon had likely damaged it beyond usability. So even if I knew where it was, it would be useless. As I tried to keep from bursting into tears, Xander slowly moved toward me. He sat next to me as his hands slowly wrapped around me. The pull toward him was light. I knew that he would have stopped or even let me go if I resisted. I debated doing just that but eventually gave in. But despite my earlier panic, Xander¡¯s presence was soothing enough that I didn¡¯t fight him as he pulled my head to his chest. He smelled of something dark and woodsy mixed with petrichor. We sat like that for a little while. People were quiet as they walked around us. Eventually, though, he asked a question. ¡°Do you feel up to going back to the room?¡± Unable to speak, lest the damn burst, I shook my head. ¡°Why not? Does it have something to do with me?¡± At first, I shook my head once before tentatively nodding. ¡°Are you afraid of what I might do?¡± My head practically vibrated. If there was a guy that I could wholeheartedly trust to not try something, it would be Xander. His sigh sounded relieved. ¡°Are you afraid of what you have become?¡± I took a second to think about the question before lifting a hand in answer. My thumb and forefinger practically touching. ¡°That is understandable but you cannot hide from it. No matter how temporary the change is, you need to face it face-on.¡± I shook my head. I didn¡¯t want to face this body. I wanted to hide from it. To deny it. He sighed again before speaking. ¡°At least come get changed.¡± Suddenly, something occurred to him. ¡°You don¡¯t have anything to wear, do you?¡± My flinch must have been enough of an answer because he lightly chuckled. ¡°I expected as much, though I did hope you had something else that might fit. Still, I am happy my sister insisted that I get a few pieces for you.¡± I jerked my head back in shock. I didn¡¯t know that Xander had a sister. We had known each other for years and the guy never mentioned her once. Xander chuckled lightly as he stood up. He held out a hand as he said. ¡°How about we make a deal? You come back and get dressed. Afterward, I will take you to meet her. I have a feeling you will both get along quite well. Probably too well.¡± He practically murmured the last part. The old me wouldn¡¯t have been able to hear it but now it came across as a soft whisper in my ear. Those words more than anything spurred me to grab his hand. He pulled me to my feet before stepping around me to start up the stairs and I followed. Partly out of curiosity and desire to meet his sister, and partly because he was still holding my hand. His grip was strong and insistent yet soft enough that it didn¡¯t hurt. Chapter 4 - The Sister It was probably because he didn¡¯t want me to run again, but he refused to let my hand go as he led me to his room. Not that it mattered. It wasn¡¯t like I wouldn¡¯t run; I just wouldn¡¯t do so right now. Xander was right that I needed clothing. Wait, didn¡¯t I have a few sets of other clothes in my inventory? A quick check confirmed that I did indeed have clothes. How could I forget that I had extras? It wasn¡¯t like I had suddenly lost a few brain cells or something. Hell, it wasn¡¯t that long ago that I was constantly wearing them. As we reached the door to his room, he opened it, releasing my hand as he gestured for me to proceed him. Without hesitation, I walked across the room and toward the bathroom. I ignored the sound of the door closing or the soft noise his shoes made as he tried to follow me. The moment I entered the bathroom, I shut the door and locked it. Likely as not, it wouldn¡¯t hold him for but a moment, but he would get the hint that I didn¡¯t want him in here with me. My mind stalled out as I debated just how much to change. I could just put on some underwear and pants and call it good, but I had no clue just how long I had been wearing this shirt. His shirt. Somehow, the thought was enough to redden my cheeks. Unfortunately, at that moment I got a decent sniff of the thing. It smelled of sweat, as well as a few other things I couldn¡¯t parse out. They were unlike anything I had ever smelled before. Considering how strong the smell of sweat was and my recent changes, I was fairly sure that I was smelling things no human could. Practically ripping the shirt off, I tossed it onto the lid of the toilet. I looked over at the shower, debating jumping in even though I had just taken one. Yes, it had been in the real world, Earth, whatever. Surely if our bodies transferred from one world to another, that meant that what we did in one would affect the other. Which would explain why I was never all that hungry when I logged off to take care of my body. Finally, though, I decided I had to at least wash off the sweat. I was about to meet Xander¡¯s sister and we all know how first impressions can color a person''s view of someone. The water pressure and instant steam put my apartment''s semi-modern plumbing to shame. It felt as though someone was massaging my scalp with millions of fingers as the thin streams dug through my hair without issue. A soft knocking on the door startled me out of the relaxed stupor I found myself in. My ears perked up as Xander¡¯s voice, while soft, cut through the noise generated by the shower. ¡°Are you okay in there?¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say. On one hand, I was physically fine. On the other, I was mentally unglued. I mean, who wouldn¡¯t be? Especially after having, not just their view of the world changed, but having their body changed. He must have understood what I was not saying because he didn¡¯t say a word. Though, judging by what my ears were telling me, he also hadn¡¯t moved. As if he was waiting, listening for some sign that I needed his help or something. Quickly toweling with the softest towels in existence, I pulled out my stored clothes. The shirt was a tiny bit tight around my chest but after a few moments, the material shifted. Loosening up in places while shrinking in others. As I pulled out my underwear, I caught a glimpse of the shirt I had been wearing before. It hadn''t shrunk to fit me. Or maybe it had. Maybe whatever magic caused clothing to change also allowed it to detect what the user was going for. But that made no sense. If one could simply change their wardrobe with a bit of mental work, there would be no need for people to sell various styled clothing. The entire issue was going to bug me to death until I got an answer. I debated asking Xander as I slid my underwear up my legs. The material felt scratchy and odd. While most of the hem sat where it was supposed to, the back quarter had to accommodate my tail. It was something that shouldn¡¯t have been a problem if my original thoughts on how clothing worked was right. Some sort of button or hole would have formed in the material to accommodate my tail. Now, I could handle wearing uncomfortable underwear for an hour or three, but something told me my pants would have a similar issue. With a resigned sigh, I wrapped the towel around my lower half and opened the door. Xander stood there, eyes popping open as they flit down my body before jumping up to meet mine. Neither of us spoke a word, choosing instead to see who would break the silence first. Which, given that I was the one that needed something, I was the first to break. ¡°My pants won''t accommodate my tail.¡± The corner of his lip lifted as he spoke. ¡°Try these.¡± A pair of pants appeared in his hand. I took them and shut the door in his face. I let the towel drop to the floor as I unfolded the pants. As I did so, something else dropped to the ground. A shudder ran down my spine as I got a good look at the dropped material. Based on the shape and the fact they were bundled with the pants, the additional item was a pair of panties. Panties with a tiny v-cut in the edge. I hesitantly picked them up. Allowing the soft fabric to slip through my fingers. Part of me still recoiled at the idea of wearing anything labeled as for a woman, but the cut at the back promised comfort that my current choice didn¡¯t. Before I knew it, I swapped the two. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The soft material slipped up my legs and into place without issue. It didn¡¯t feel bunched up at the base of my tail. Not willing to stop and inspect anything, either visually or with my hands, I slid my new pair of jeans on. They were tight, reminding me of skinny jeans. Something I had not dared to even try on since going through puberty. Now though, what was the point in hiding the obvious curves? It wasn¡¯t like hiding my legs or hips would hide anything else. As the material reached my tail, I reached back and guided it through the provided hole. I don¡¯t know how to explain the feeling but my fur did not like being bunched up and pushed in the wrong direction. It took a minute of running my fingers through my fur for the feeling to diminish. Finally dressed, I picked up the nightshirt and opened the door. Xander stood there, seemingly not having moved a muscle since I shut the door. His eyes roamed over my body. My breath caught in my throat as his eyes returned to mine. They had changed and I hadn''t noticed until this moment. Until I had no other choice but to look him in the eyes. An off-grey color, closer to mercury than silver, ringed his irises. The change caught me off guard. Still, even I could tell that his gaze was full of heat and desire. While I had seen the look in the gazes of random strangers before, it wasn¡¯t something I expected from him. And I wouldn¡¯t have to decide as a cough forced its way out of my throat, breaking whatever was building between us. Xander¡¯s eyes darted away as he spoke. ¡°You look good.¡± My cheeks were likely a light shade of pink as I sheepishly replied, ¡°Thank you.¡± He started for the door, holding it open as he looked in my direction. In an attempt to not get sucked into his eyes again, I looked just to the side of his face as I moved to join him. ¡°Shall we go meet your sister?¡± He shut the door and took the lead. Seeing as neither of us were going to start the conversation, I spent my time looking around. Small points of light on the ceiling reminded me of modern LED lights, though these things were likely magic-based rather than electric. The light red wooden walls were only broken up by a door every ten or twenty feet. Looking down, I realized that, while my bare feet had been comfortable, I had been walking on what looked to be stone. ¡°Um, what happened to my shoes?¡± I hesitantly asked. Xander sighed as he spoke, ¡°They were destroyed.¡± ¡°What will I wear outside?¡± ¡°If,¡± he emphasized the word, ¡°we need to go outside before you get shoes, I will carry you.¡± My face heated up as his words brought back the memory of him carrying me to the bed after I had found out about the changes. We both stayed silent as we descended the stairs to, what I assume, was the ground level. From what I could see as we stepped off the stairs, the room was large enough to rival most professional sports stadiums. The vast hall buzzed with countless conversations as both natural light and magical lit the space from high above. Still, none of the people milling around were willing to get close to us. Some of them even went so far as to change direction as soon as they saw Xander. Given that he did nothing in response, I wondered if he even noticed what was going on around him. Without warning, a streak of red and brown flew through the air. Whatever it was slammed into Xander¡¯s side with enough force to cause him to stagger a step to the side. His voice came out in a low growl. ¡°Ginger.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be like that.¡± A feminine voice purred from where she hung off him. A braid of reds and browns reached her lower back, almost reaching a very lively tail of the same color. ¡°When was the last time I saw you?¡± Xander spoke as he tried to pry the girl off him. ¡°Two weeks ago.¡± Seeing how she was clinging to him sent a spike of pain through my chest and had me thinking about running. ¡°Why?¡± She sounded like she was pouting. ¡°It isn¡¯t like you left the city. You could have at least joined me for dinner when I got back from my trip.¡± ¡°I was busy,¡± he said, still struggling to pry her off. Something about his lack of progress had me slowly turning. ¡°Not so fast.¡± His words froze me in place as I somehow knew they were directed at me. ¡°OH,¡± the girl¡¯s voice perked up. ¡°Is this my project? I mean, victim. Wait, no, that sounds worse.¡± ¡°This is the person I was telling you about.¡± Her graceful drop from him to the ground was the only warning I got before I found myself pulled into a full-body hug. I could barely breathe as she smashed my face into her chest. ¡°You will kill her if you keep holding onto her like that.¡± My lack of oxygen slowed my ability to process what Xander said and who he was talking about. Thankfully though, she understood, releasing me from her deadly embrace. ¡°Sorry, sorry, I just¡­sorry.¡± ¡°And that is why you cannot take Kyren anywhere without me present.¡± Xander¡¯s words were packed with enough power to spell death to her if she dared to defy him. Around us, the room went silent. ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t want any of you going near Kyren here without first talking to me.¡± Something about how he spoke sent shivers down my spine. Judging by the shifting and varied reactions around the room, I wasn¡¯t the only one affected. The girl let me go as she spun around to face him. Shock, coupled with glee, tinged her voice as she spoke. ¡°How bold of you. Whatever happened to the complete refusal to even consider dating someone? What was your excuse again? Oh, that¡¯s right, you were too busy leveling for anything.¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± he growled. ¡°Nothing has changed.¡± ¡°So, you don¡¯t mind if I take her for myself? Or, if she doesn¡¯t want me, one of the other guys here?¡± What the fuck. Just how much of a death wish did this girl have? Couldn¡¯t she see that she was pushing him too far? ¡°No.¡± The room around us darkened as his growl grew deeper. ¡°What could you do to stop me?¡± ¡°If you, or anyone else, dares to defy me in this, I will send them back to respawn. Damn the consequences.¡± His lips lifted into a predatory smile as he continued. ¡°Say, did you ever set your spawn to somewhere in the city or is it still in the capital?¡± The two of them stared at each other before she suddenly laughed. ¡°Goddess, how I missed you.¡± Both the predatory look and the darkness vanished as he smiled back. ¡°You too, little fox.¡± The way he looked at her was something one would see before two people kissed. A knot tightened in my stomach as I wondered if the two were somehow involved. ¡°I will just give you two some room,¡± I muttered as I started to slowly back up. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t,¡± the girl said as she spun around to grab onto me. Her eyes were sparkling as she spoke. ¡°I have to know just what is going on between you and little Xander here.¡± Her insinuation caused my brain to stall out for a second. Thankfully Xander, unknowingly, covered my freezing up. ¡°When was the last time I was shorter than you? Ten years? Fifteen?¡± He snapped back as the silent crowd started to whisper. ¡°Now, can we get on with getting Kyren some clothing?¡± ¡°Yay¡­Shopping!¡± Her tail blurred through the air as she grabbed my hand and led me toward the crowd. A crowd that rushed to get out of our way revealing what had to be our first destination. Chapter 5 - Shopping Even through the glass, I could tell that I would not like this place. Clothes of any shape and material one could imagine filled the interior. Some were on mannequins while others were on long racks. The sight reminded me of how large clothing stores used to sell their outfits, which would not be so bad except each piece did have one thing in common: they all were distinctly feminine. Dresses, skirts, booty shorts. Each of which I did not want to try. ¡°Is there a more normal store I can get clothing at?¡± I asked. ¡°Not inside the building,¡± Xander sighed. I nearly missed what he said because Ginger¡¯s excited voice practically squealed as she spoke over him. ¡°Nothing comes close to the selection here. Oh, I need you to try this one on.¡± A dress came flying at me. It would have hit me if not for Xander catching it. ¡°Hey, Kyren does not have the reflexes the rest of us do.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± she called back from behind the rack she was digging through. Given that she tossed another piece at us, I doubted she heard a word he said. ¡°What is with her?¡± I finally asked. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t introduce her to you, did I?¡± I shook my head, though I couldn¡¯t tell if he saw it or not due to the skirt end that whipped him in the face. ¡°That is my sister Debra.¡± ¡°I told you to call me GINGER!¡± Xander laughed, ¡°She hates that name.¡± It took me a minute for what he said to sink in. ¡°Wait, that is your sister?¡± The two of them were just so, different. Where he was quiet and secluded, she was bubbly and practically bursting with energy. They didn¡¯t even look like they could be related. ¡°Yeah,¡± he smiled. ¡°We get that a lot.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Ginger¡¯s head popped through a rack next to me. Her eyes narrowed as she checked out my chest. The way she scrutinized me caused me to shrink into myself. My arms wrapped themselves around my torso as if to ward off her gaze. Xander must have noticed my reaction because he moved to put himself between the two of us. ¡°Ginger.¡± His tone held both a rebuke and a warning. ¡°Sorry, sorry. I just was wondering if she had any bras on. We were going to have to shop for some but if not that would need to be our next stop.¡± ¡°Given that she never needed one before, I doubt it.¡± Xander sounded sure of his answer but he still turned just enough to check that he was correct. I probably should have answered but the thought of wearing a bra twisted my stomach. The feeling was enough to have me asking a question instead. ¡°Can I just not wear one?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± the hyper girl said before she vanished into another rack. ¡°It¡¯s not like I will wear the damn things after this,¡± I muttered to myself. Xander must have heard me because he spoke. ¡°You might want to.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I didn¡¯t mean to spit the question out but it felt like I was losing control of my life one piece at a time. Even here, now, his sister was picking out outfits she wanted me to try on while I followed the guy in the direction of a giant pillar set in the middle of the store. A pillar that I could barely see due to just how short I was. ¡°They will help keep your breasts in place.¡± The matter-of-fact tone was enough proof for me to realize that he was just as out of his comfort zone as I was. ¡°That might not be an issue when walking around, but could be distracting during a fight.¡± Okay, I could see where he was coming from. Even as we walked, the stupid things bounced and jiggled with each step. Which was distracting enough on its own, but sometimes the sensitive flesh of my nipples rubbed against my shirt just right, reminding me that they were there. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll wear the stupid things.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Ginger dropped a couple sets of underwear into my arms as she ran by. ¡°Go try these on.¡± Before I could react to her command, she vanished again. Instead of yelling at her, I looked up at Xander. ¡°Where can I try these on because I am not going to put on a show in public for the whole world to see.¡± His laugh was deep as he gestured for me to follow him. Two turns later, the racks stopped, leaving a decently large open space between them and the large pillar. Only, now that I could get a good look, it wasn¡¯t just a pillar. A man and woman sat behind the counter that ringed the structure. In their haste to greet us, the two spoke over each other. ¡°Welcome to...¡± ¡°What can we¡­¡± The chick smacked the guy''s arm. ¡°Hey, you got the last one. You promised I could help the next.¡± He rolled his eyes at her. ¡°What about the DragonKin yesterday?¡± ¡°He only asked a question about if there was a bathroom he could use.¡± She scoffed, clearly not thinking that he counted. ¡°Oh, then why was I forced to let you take the slime girl a week ago?¡± Wait. There were slime girls? Just how did that even work? Actually, I probably didn¡¯t want to know. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°She was utterly terrified of you.¡± Xander¡¯s cough caused both of them to turn to look at us. ¡°We will be right with you.¡± She acted as if we were being rude. As she turned to say something to her companion, Xander coughed a second time. This time he didn¡¯t wait for her. Xander spoke calmly. Still, I could tell the guy was annoyed at the two of them. ¡°Can we get access to a private dressing area?¡± Before his coworker could say anything, the guy tossed a key to Xander. ¡°Room two.¡± The two of them went back to bickering as we moved past them and entered a short hallway. The turn at the end led into a well-furnished room with five numbered doors. Xander opened the door marked with the number two and deposited the pile of clothes he had onto a table. ¡°Do you need help or¡­¡± The sharp glare I shot him stopped his question mid-sentence. The door practically slammed as he moved to give me privacy. A long sigh left my lips as I moved to set my part of the pile on the empty half of the table. Turning, I looked at the full-length mirror. Neither of the bathrooms I had used had a mirror long enough to show anything past my waist and the reflection in my window had been lacking in real detail. The woman in the mirror moved her eyes up and down as she scanned over my body. Taking everything in. A set of fox ears were half raised on her head. Almost as if the animal they belonged to were only half listening. Wait, that wasn¡¯t quite right. I was a human. Or was I?
Name: Kyren Vulpier
Race: Kitsune - Demonic
Level: 29
Class: Arcane Elementalist
XP: 84001/84.1k
HP: 1045/1045
HP Regen: 36.5% (381.4) per hour*
MP: 700/700
MP Regen: 41% (287) per hour*
Current Ailments:
Current Buffs:
What in the actual fuck? What happened to my stats? Where did all that experience come from? It wasn¡¯t like I killed the damned demon or his minions. It took me a second of searching through my logs to find out the answer. Ignoring the absurd amount of experience that came from the demon, even with my portion being only a single percent of the total, most of my experience came from taking Victor, Patric, and Jeremiah. Those three alone net me seventeen thousand experience. My discovery must have caused me to make a noise because someone knocked on the door. Ginger gave me a second before simply opening the door and bouncing inside. ¡°Oh come on¡­¡± Her eyes rolled as she took in my completely dressed state. As she moved toward me, arms reaching for the hem of my shirt, I backed up. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Well,¡± her smile grew as my back found the wall. ¡°I thought, since you were so hesitant, that I should help you.¡± ¡°What would make you think that I want anyone''s help?¡± My voice was tinged with anger as my hands worked to bat hers away. To my surprise and relief, she stopped what she was doing. ¡°I just thought that¡­ well my brother said¡­Are you not just playing coy?¡± She sounded truly confused. ¡°Why in the hell would I be playing coy about getting dressed?¡± I demanded. ¡°What did your brother say to make you think that.¡± ¡°From the stories he told me about you, you have always been kind of¡­how do I say this?¡± she stopped to think of a word. Rolling my eyes, I said the word that I knew she wanted to but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Effeminate?¡± ¡°Yes, that.¡± Her head dipped in agreement. ¡°Now though, with your change, you no longer have to fight to prove that you are a man. Hell, most people would be hiding as they explored their new body¡­¡± ¡°Well, I am not most people,¡± I grumbled. I was still unsure if I should feel disgusted or excited at the thought of exploring my new body. ¡°But what does that have to do with the price of tea in China?¡± ¡°I just thought that you were afraid of what we would think about you embracing your new body.¡± Ginger¡¯s voice was fast as if she couldn¡¯t hold herself back anymore. ¡°And you thought to get me past this was to force me to dress up?¡± She flinched at my tone. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about how what I was doing might come across.¡± Her voice was quiet, nearly inaudible if not for my ears. Xander had to have been listening as he spoke up from the other side of the door. ¡°She means well. She just has issues with figuring out where the line is.¡± We stood there. She looked at the ground while I watched her. Finally, though, I let out a soft sigh. ¡°Fine, I will try on some outfits¡­¡± She visibly perked up but I held up a hand to forestall any outbursts. ¡°But, I get veto power on any outfits and you and Xander need to help me find my dress.¡± Her eyebrows creased. ¡°You already had a dress?¡± ¡°Long story.¡± ¡°I sent it off to get repaired,¡± Xander¡¯s voice had a fair bit of annoyance and shock mixed in. ¡°Do you know what that damned thing is made out of?¡± He didn¡¯t let me answer. ¡°Moonlight Fox fur. I don¡¯t know where you got the damned thing but there are few people out here skilled enough to repair the damn thing and even fewer with any material to do it with.¡± Ginger¡¯s eyes were wide as she mouthed the words ¡®Moonlight Fox fur.¡¯ ¡°Let me how much I owe you,¡± I said as I turned around to face the mirror. Deep breath in, hold, release. I could only put off what I needed to do for so long. I had to try on some of what was here eventually. Closing my eyes, I lifted my shirt off and tossed it onto the bench. The air was moderately warm. Still, a soft breeze from the side caused the skin on my breasts to prickle and my nipples to harden. Before I could work up the courage to open my eyes and locate the first bra, someone, likely Ginger, pressed a piece of fabric into my hand. It felt thin and soft, almost like satin. Eyes down, I opened them so I could look at the piece of cloth to figure out how to put it on. There were two straps for my arms to go through and a clasp that clipped together on my back. All things that were fairly common on bras. I had experience in removing them but I had no clue how I was supposed to put the damned thing on. I mean, how were we supposed to work a clasp that we couldn¡¯t even see? Were we supposed to just go off feel? A soft chuckle from Ginger reminded me that I wasn¡¯t alone. ¡°There is a trick to putting bras on.¡± She took the material out of my hand. ¡°Simply put them on backward.¡± I felt my cheeks burn from embarrassment as her arms reached around me. She moved slowly enough to give me time to push her away but I let her continue. Her hands expertly worked the clasps by feel alone. As soon as each hook was settled, she rotated the whole bra around. I wanted to smack my head at the simplicity of the solution. A few more movements and adjustments later found me standing in front of the mirror. My breasts no longer simply hung around causing issues. The bra saw that they stayed where I put them. So what if the damned thing made breathing a touch more difficult. Chapter 6 - Outfits and Race A moment later I noticed that Ginger was going through the pile on the table as she mumbled. ¡°Let¡¯s try something simple first¡­¡± I turned around just in time to see what she picked out of the pile. Clutched in her hands was a simple-looking shirt in a maroon color. However, unlike other shirts I had seen and worn so far, this one looked soft and flexible. She passed it over. ¡°Put this on.¡± While I didn¡¯t like the color, as my fingers touched it I nearly fell in love with whatever material it was made of. It was the softest material I had ever felt. Within moments, I slipped the shirt over my head, and the material settled into place on my body. While the neckline was a v-cut, it didn¡¯t cut down more than a few inches. Just enough to show the top of my boobs and that was it. The shirt billowed out slightly as I spun to face the mirror. As I caught sight of my reflection, I found that it looked good on me. I had expected to see the straps of my bra on my shoulders but the shirt somehow kept them hidden. It also managed to hug my curves without feeling too tight. Something that most of my old shirts failed to do. Ginger let out a soft hmm sound as her eyes looked at my reflection with a critical eye. A moment later her arm flew out as she tore something out of the pile. She either didn¡¯t notice or care as clothes fell to the ground. ¡°Put this on.¡± With a bit of hesitation, I took the item and unfolded it. I half expected to find a skirt or something. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she had handed me a pair of dark blue jeans. Of course, it was then that I realized I was still wearing the pair of pants I had borrowed from Xander. Then again, what I had below wasn¡¯t something she hadn''t seen before. My lips were in a frown as I shucked one pair off only to slide the other on. The moment I went to slide my tail through the hole in the back, she grabbed my hand and redirected it. ¡°There are some tails that are unable to bend as much as yours can. Most designers realize that and incorporate some way to get the tail into the hole and secure it.¡± Sure enough, with her guidance I found the little clip that was cleverly hidden under a belt loop. While it did take a bit of work to get open and closed it didn¡¯t leave my fur feeling as if it had been brushed the wrong way for which I was thankful. The outfit felt perfect. Like it had been made for me. More importantly, it looked great. None of it overly emphasized any part of my body yet it hugged it enough to give me complete freedom of movement. ¡°That looks great on you.¡± Ginger gushed. Then she reached over and yanked the door open. ¡°Oi. What do you think?¡± I spun to protest her decision to involve Xander but the words died on my lips. The guy was leaning on the wall across the aisle from us. His eyes were locked on me but he didn¡¯t say a word. He almost looked stupified by what he saw. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± Ginger said as she shut the door and gestured for me to strip. ¡°Let''s put that into the buy pile shall we?¡± ¡°Um¡­who is paying for all this?¡± I tentatively asked as I reluctantly passed over the shirt and pants. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She took them but gestured at my bra. ¡°That too.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I just keep it on?¡± Her finger waved in the air as she scolded me. ¡°You should wear a bra that either matches the outfit or is able to be kept hidden. This outfit,¡± She lifted something that looked a bit too long to be a shirt. ¡°Will not hide the straps. So you will need to wear one of these.¡± In her other hand, she produced what looked like a single strip of fabric. I let out a sigh and passed over the bra. And here I was just getting used to wearing the damned thing. She took it and handed me the strip of fabric. Like the bra, there was a series of clips on one side of the material. Unlike the bra, the clips were between the cups which made it much easier to put on. As soon as I was done, she handed me the next outfit. Sure enough, it was a dress. My eyes narrowed at her as I asked, ¡°Really?¡± While she shrugged, she didn¡¯t say anything. With a sigh, I slipped the dress over my head. I quickly found that there were no holes for my arms. Before I could ask her how to put this thing on she grabbed the dress and pulled it off. ¡°While you can slip strapless dresses on like that, it is easier to step into them.¡± She laid the dress on the ground and gestured for me to step into the center. As she pulled it up she stopped to slip my tail through. While I didn¡¯t mind touching my tail, I found that I didn¡¯t like it when someone else did it. It reminded me too much of the brief battle with Barti that led to me getting kicked from this place for a short while. Wait, now that I thought about it, why had I been kicked? If the pod was moving me between Earth and here, then why would it need to pull me back to Earth? As I tried to think through the question, a swift jerk of a zipper brought me back to the present just as Ginger turned me to face the mirror. The dress was nearly as tight as my bra as it hugged my chest. That wasn¡¯t the only thing about the dress that matched the bra. Its neckline followed the material to show a healthy amount of flesh. While it wasn¡¯t something that I felt I could pull off, I was pretty sure other women could work this outfit. Ginger must have had the same idea because she frowned and shook her head. ¡°Yeah, that¡­just no. Next!¡± For the next hour and a half, she dressed in outfit after outfit. Some worked quite well for me and she showed those off to Xander who stayed silent. Most of the rest though, she tossed into the ever-growing reject pile. The last outfit she pulled out was one that I should have expected but somehow she managed to surprise me with it.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. I found myself staring at my reflection while I wore a Kimono. The amount of material made me feel stuffy and restricted my movement. However, as one would expect given the origins of the Kitsune mythos, the outfit looked perfect on me. The various red fabrics that made up the outfit complimented my blue hair and fur while the amount served to hide the majority of my curves. ¡°You are a Kitsune arnt you.¡± Ginger sighed behind me. Her tone no longer sounded playful. The sudden change caused me to spin around. ¡°Yeah? Did you not know that?¡± I asked, puzzled. She slowly shook her head but stayed silent as she studied me. We stayed that way until, finally, she steepled her fingers and spoke. ¡°My brother never actually told me what you were. He only said that you had been changed and needed help. Honestly, I thought you were a fox beastkin or something this entire time.¡± ¡°Then how did you figure out what I was?¡± While I asked, I had an idea. ¡°Because that Kimono was meant as a joke. It just doesn¡¯t look right on others. Now that doesn¡¯t mean that they can''t make it work or anything. It just doesn¡¯t look quite so perfect.¡± She leaned her head back as she let out a sigh. ¡°I am not explaining this right. Something about a Kitsune¡¯s magic, your magic, makes the outfit look like it was meant for you.¡± ¡°So the outfit works for me.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Why is that a problem?¡± A hand lifted to rub her face. ¡°What do you know about Kitsune? Or foxes for that matter?¡± ¡°Just the myths and legends used in various games, shows, and books. Why?¡± I started to remove the outfit as she spoke. ¡°Okay, pull up your species screen.¡± ¡°My what?¡± ¡°Your species¡­¡± she grumbled something too low for me to hear over the rustling of fabric. ¡°Go to your status screen and select your race.¡± As soon as I put the fabric to the side, I did as she asked.
Race: Kitsune
Variant: Demonic
God: Inari
Tier: 1
Power Category Fire
Power Tier: 1
Race Skills: None*
Race Points: 3
Mated: No
¡°What does most of this mean?¡± I asked as I looked over the information. ¡°Almost every race has a different list so I don¡¯t know what you have.¡± ¡°Then why did you ask me to pull it up?¡± I muttered, a bit annoyed at her answer. ¡°Tell me,¡± she sounded hesitant as she asked, ¡°does the list include a spot labeled mate or mated?¡± ¡°Yes? Why?¡± ¡°Do you really need me to spell it out.¡± She moaned. ¡°Spell what out?¡± ¡°There are species out there that mate for life. Dragons, wolves, griffins, and well, most of the other beastkin species, as well as the magical ones, mate for life. This includes Kitsune.¡± She rushed out in a single breath. ¡°What do you mean by mate for life?¡± I asked though I had a feeling about what she was going to say. ¡°It means that the first person that you seal the deal with will be it for you.¡± And I was right. ¡°But what does that have to do with me? Why are you bringing this up now?¡± She sighed but her eyes met mine as she said, ¡°I have seen how you and my brother look at each other. While it could be lust or hormones from the change, I doubt it. While I don¡¯t know you all that well, I do know him. Just know that if you do decide to go after him and end up breaking his heart, I will kill you.¡± Her response confused me. ¡°Wait, I thought you said that I would be the one stuck with him for life? How did this turn into you killing me for breaking his heart?¡± The glare she shot me was sharp as she spoke with a clipped voice. ¡°If you lead him on without the intention to at least try. If you use him only to leave him. If you¡­¡± She sounded as if she could go on but stopped herself. ¡°Just, think before you do or say something to him. I know this wasn¡¯t something you had to deal with as much while you were a guy, but us girls have to watch what we say and do because men are simple, stupid creatures. One misplaced hand, a hug that lasts too long, a misplaced word, and they might take it wrong. They might interpret it as something you didn¡¯t mean.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I nodded. ¡°I think I understand. I can try. But you still haven''t told me why you mentioned the mate aspect.¡± ¡°Because once you start down that road you may find yourself unable to stop until it is too late. I want you to think about what you want before you do something you might end up regretting.¡± She closed her eyes. ¡°And just because you are mated does not mean that you will be unable to cheat on him. Just that, from what I understand, the magic will take his protectiveness to the next level. He will end up killing anyone or anything that threatens you or might come between you two.¡± And that was the reason she would kill me. Not because Ishe did or didn¡¯t want me to choose her brother. But because she wanted me to be sure before I made the choice so that I didn¡¯t hurt him. ¡°Anyway,¡± Ginger grunted as she stood up. ¡°Let''s get you back into the first outfit so we can pay for this and go get some lunch.¡± By the time I finished changing, her bubbly personality had returned. Ginger practically bounced out of the room as soon as she opened the door. She and Xander avoided colliding as she made her way toward the counter. Xander, for his part, stayed quiet as we walked to join her. Once we were at the counter, the two staff members made quick work of the small pile. ¡°That will be three hundred twenty gold.¡± I balked at the amount. Even with everything I had, I would barely be able to cover half the amount. Xander barely blinked as he handed over four large gold coins. Unlike the coins I knew, these things were square. She took them without blinking and passed back one triangle and three metal sticks. Each of which were gold in color. Xander must have noticed my gaze because he pointed to each while Ginger shoved everything into her inventory. ¡°These,¡± he pointed to the sticks. ¡°Are worth ten. While these,¡± he pointed at the triangle. ¡°Are worth fifty. The squares are worth one hundred and hexagons are worth five hundred. It is one of the more recent developments given how much inflation is happening.¡± As we started for the exit, I scoffed. ¡°So they are printing more cash?¡± Or was it stamping more cash? ¡°Not quite.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Each coin is minted then anyone can exchange their coins for it. The exchanged coins are sent to the treasury to either be melted down or put into circulation as needed. Now¡­¡± Suddenly a growling rumble interrupted his explanation. We both looked over at Ginger who looked sheepishly back. ¡°Hey, I haven''t eaten anything since you told me that you needed help.¡± ¡°That was a day ago.¡± Xander didn¡¯t sound happy. Instead of confronting her, he asked, ¡°What do you want to eat then?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­your treat?¡± She asked while giving him a pleading look. ¡°You make more than enough to treat yourself.¡± He rolled his eyes but gave in with a heavy sigh. ¡°Fine, but only this one time as thank you for helping Kyren.¡± ¡°YAY!¡± Ginger grabbed our hands and practically dragged us behind her. ¡°I know just the place!¡± Chapter 7 - Lunch in a City at War People scurried as fast as they could to get out of our way. They mostly were successful, but there were a few people who were practically run over as Ginger charged forth with us in tow. ¡°Ginger,¡± Xander growled. ¡°Slow down. The food isn¡¯t going to vanish just because we took an extra second or ten.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything but I did see her lip jut out a little as she pouted. Still, she slowed down, which I was grateful for as she had been practically pulling my arm out of its socket. Xander managed to get his hand out of hers and reached over to help extricate mine. ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked. ¡°I am fine,¡± I said as I rubbed my shoulder. ¡°I think she is just a bit excited.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± he chuckled. ¡°That tends to happen when you eat the same rations day in and day out.¡± I saw him shudder at some memory. ¡°Let''s just say that you will want to grab anything different as soon as the opportunity presents itself.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring some ingredients with you and cook whatever you want?¡± I asked as we passed through a giant arch set into the wall. While I couldn¡¯t see the other side over everyone''s heads, I could see the faint outline of the sky between the buildings on the other side. It was a dull orange color. The light almost seemed to blend in with the orange-white glow that bathed the buildings from below. ¡°Because we don¡¯t want to die,¡± came a gruff response from someone in the crowd. Apparently people, while not willing to get close to us for some reason, were okay with listening to our conversation. Xander sighed. ¡°Our situation out here is different than what you have grown used to. Outside the city''s walls, it isn¡¯t the monsters and beasts that are the problem. It is the demons and their army. While we do our best to keep them contained, on occasion a few manage to slip through.¡± ¡°You mean like the guard¡­¡± Xander hissed at me as he clapped his hand over my mouth. ¡°Yes, like him,¡± he spoke quickly. ¡°Damn it. We still haven¡¯t gotten you some shoes.¡± He cursed as we stepped down the stairs and onto hardpacked dirt. ¡°And of course my airhead sister went ahead.¡± He looked like he was contemplating something. Finally, he nodded and turned around. As he knelt in front of me, he grabbed onto my calves. ¡°Hold onto my neck.¡± Everything felt like it was on fire in embarrassment at how the guy was holding me. It took me a moment to jerk my arms into motion and wrap them around him. The moment I did, he stood up and I got my first real look at the area around us. While I knew the guy was tall, I didn¡¯t realize just how tall he was until that moment. Not until I was a head taller than him and found my view suddenly unobstructed. The buildings around us were made with a mixture of stone, glass, and metal. Well, the buildings that were on the shorter side were made of stone. The taller ones were made of some sort of metal as they towered high above. When I looked back, I found that the building we had come out of was one of those made with metal. The thing towered high into the sky. It had to be as big as some of the modern skyscrapers back on Earth. It wasn¡¯t alone either. ¡°What is with the skyscrapers?¡± I asked. ¡°Due to the mountains, caves, and the crevasse, there is only so much ground that can support a large structure. Add to that the need to keep everything inside the walls, it is easier to build up or down rather than outward. It helps that the builders and architects can take advantage of Earth¡¯s many generations of building improvements. There is no need to waste material we don¡¯t have.¡± It was only then that I recognized a few lines going from building to building. ¡°Wait, are those power lines?¡± He looked up and smiled. ¡°You didn¡¯t think that we would rely on just magic, did you? While the grid isn¡¯t quite as extensive as back home, it does provide those who cannot use magic with some of the basics.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°We can get into that later. Now, see if you can spot that crazy sister of mine.¡± When I looked down, I found that we had reached some sort of outdoor eatery. Tables and chairs filled a roped-off section of the road. I found Ginger sitting at an empty table large enough for six people to eat at. Xander must have noticed her at the same time because he walked in her direction without my help. He set me down into the chair as I mumbled a ¡°Thank you.¡± My eyes met Ginger¡¯s narrowed eyes. While she didn¡¯t say a word, I had a feeling I knew what she wanted to say. ¡°I am guessing that you already ordered?¡± Xander said as he took the seat next to mine. She shot him a grin. ¡°Yep. I got a bit of everything.¡± ¡°So when do you head out?¡± he asked. ¡°I was actually thinking about sticking around.¡± Her eyes flicked toward me. ¡°For a little bit anyway.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± Xander smiled. ¡°Do you mind helping Kyren here?¡± I looked at him in confusion. Where would he go that he wouldn¡¯t be around to keep an eye on me? Ginger must have been thinking the same thing because she asked ¡°Where will you be?¡± ¡°I will probably be sent somewhere soon enough.¡± He said with a shrug. ¡°You know how the council can be when you break one of their rules.¡± Ginger groaned. He laughed, ¡°Hell, you probably know better than most people.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t remind me. I got lucky when all they wanted last time was for me to run an errand for them. But what did you¡­¡± She shot a look at me as something occurred to her. ¡°Ah¡­¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What?¡± I asked, confused. ¡°Who is the council and what rule of theirs did you break?¡± ¡°The council is the group that, well they don¡¯t run the region, but they have a major say in what goes on inside of it.¡± Xander started. ¡°While most of their rules are akin to suggestions, there are a few that are fairly important and treated as such.¡± ¡°One such rule is the one relating to the process of entering the empire.¡± Ginger helpfully added. He glared at her but continued. ¡°When I came to save you, I didn¡¯t quite have permission.¡± ¡°So you are in trouble because of me?¡± I asked, horrified that he was going to be punished in some way because of me. He waved off my concern. ¡°You needed the help and it isn¡¯t like they will demand something too terrible. It will most likely be a fine of some sort.¡± His confidence soothed my nerves. Which was a good thing because I didn¡¯t think I could eat otherwise. Given the smell coming off the plates someone was carrying toward us, that would have been a damn shame. Plate after plate was set into the middle of our table. There was a mix of noodle-based dishes, an assortment of meats, and even some rice. I didn¡¯t wait for anyone else. I grabbed a bowl and scooped a rather large helping of rice into a bowl before moving on to piling various other things on top. They both laughed at me but I didn¡¯t care. I don¡¯t know how I managed to survive since waking up because I was suddenly starving. ¡°And there is the hunger.¡± I heard Ginger say as I stuffed a folded piece of meat into my mouth. ¡°I still recall your transformation. The amount of food that you ate at that first meal.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t remind me.¡± ¡°Has the amount dropped since then?¡± Xander asked as he laughed. ¡°No.¡± Ginger grumped. ¡°It''s not my fault I like my food.¡± We sat in silence as we each ate our food. I devoured three heaping bowls before finally slowing down. While I didn¡¯t stop, I did have enough time to ask a question between bites. ¡°Why am I so hungry?¡± ¡°Your transformation,¡± was Ginger''s simple explanation. Xander rolled his eyes as he spoke. ¡°What my sister means is that your body went through a massive change. A change that took quite a bit of energy. Energy to fuel your change from human to Kitsune as well as male to female. Energy that you have not been able to replenish since your fight with the demon.¡± Wait, when was the last time I ate? It was while I waited for the pod to let me re-enter the game after kicking me out for medical reasons. That was¡­quite a while ago. Speaking of which, ¡°Not to change the subject or anything, but how can a pod pull you out of the game for medical reasons if your body is physically here?¡± Ginger¡¯s eyebrows furrowed as she spoke, ¡°What do you mean? It can¡¯t.¡± ¡°It can,¡± Xander corrected her. ¡°But only before you use the SoulStone.¡± Ginger¡¯s eyes rolled. ¡°Well, duh. Before you use the SoulStone, your body and soul are not quite linked. Your body stays behind while your soul enters the game¡­or at least that¡¯s what I was told.¡± Xander looked like he was about to say something but a siren filled the air. Tears pricked my eyes as my hands went to my ears in an attempt to save my hearing from the loud noise. When I looked up, I found that Xander and Ginger were standing with their weapons out. They were not the only ones. Every person I could see had some sort of weapon held at the ready as their eyes scanned for any threat. As soon as the siren cut off, a voice boomed over a loudspeaker. ¡°Breach detected in sector three. Lockdown in effect for sectors one, two, three, four, five, nine, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen. Teams dispatched.¡± While people put their weapons away and looked like they relaxed, I found that the atmosphere still felt a bit tense. ¡°What is going on?¡± I asked. Both ignored me. ¡°What do you think?¡± Ginger asked Xander. ¡°I think someone killed another oracle.¡± ¡°Again? What is that, the fifth time this week?¡± She scoffed. ¡°Just what are the guards doing?¡± ¡°Um, hello?¡± I tried to get their attention. It didn¡¯t work. ¡°Eighth that I know of. Each of which was followed by¡­¡± He stopped speaking just in time for another horn to blare. This one lasted only a moment before the voice returned. ¡°Demon incursion detected. Active units, please report to your designated stations.¡± I heard a few groans and complaints as people around us stood and made their way down the road at a moderate jog. ¡°You¡¯re not on duty?¡± Xander asked. ¡°Nope. I took a few days off. You?¡± ¡°I am on leave until the council decides my fate.¡± ¡°Why is it taking so long?¡± He smiled. ¡°I pulled a few strings to put it off until Kyren here woke up.¡± His smile dropped. ¡°I should probably go report to the council today though.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I was done getting ignored. ¡°What is going on here?!¡± They both looked at me in confusion. Ginger was the first to realize the issue. ¡°I forgot you just got here.¡± Her words nearly had Xander smacking his head. ¡°Welcome to the front lines in the war against the demons.¡± She started. ¡°Where fighting can break out without warning and last until one or both sides are killed.¡± He said. She continued. ¡°As such, with few exceptions, everyone here is required to be a part of one team or another. Each of which hands out shifts if and as required as they try to keep the place both secure and running.¡± ¡°What teams are you both on?¡± I asked before waving my hands, ¡°Wait, what about me? Will I have to join a team? Do I get a choice in what team I join?¡± ¡°I am on the reconnaissance team while my sister is in a reaction force¡­¡± ¡°We mostly provide some relief to the front lines until the heavy hitters can get there.¡± She interjected. ¡°As for you,¡± he looked me in the eyes as he shrugged. ¡°There isn¡¯t much that you can do at the moment. At the moment, you are simply too low of a level to be more than a burden.¡± Well, that was blunt. ¡°You will probably be given a coach and told to train.¡± Ginger sighed, ¡°Most of whom will just drag your ass out of town and tell you to not come back until you reach the minimum threshold for them to hand you off. Lazy fuckers.¡± ¡°Well, then why don¡¯t you ask to be her trainer?¡± Someone growled from a nearby table. We all spun to look at the guy. He didn¡¯t look intimidated as he continued. ¡°It isn¡¯t like we don¡¯t have our hands full training everyone else for this role or that. Hell, I had forty-seven recruits I have to get into fighting shape by the end of the week. Should I ignore all of them so I can focus on one or two?¡± He waited for us to answer. After a minute of silence, he shook his head and stood up. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± He laid a single coin onto the table and walked off. ¡°You know,¡± she said, ¡°that isn¡¯t such a bad idea. I have some time saved up. It might be fun to take this one into the wild and train her up.¡± Something about how she said that caused warning bells to go off in my head. Before either of us could respond, a couple of official-looking people walked up to our table. ¡°Kai Ravenwood?¡± I had no clue who they were talking to until Xander answered. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You are hereby requested in the council chamber.¡± Xander didn¡¯t complain or argue. He simply raised a hand to get a staff member''s attention. Within moments one came over and offered a slip of paper to him. He didn¡¯t hesitate to pull out a couple of coins and drop them in the person¡¯s hand. Xander then slid off his chair and turned so his back was between my legs. I was confused as he pulled my thighs against him. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck as he stood up. ¡°Lead the way,¡± was all he said. The guy who had spoken looked us over before giving a half-hearted shrug and taking the lead. His two companions flanked us as we followed him. Chapter 8 - Summons The city was massive, so much so that I started to feel a bit overwhelmed by everything. Skyscrapers lined a road that grew more crowded the farther we went. While most of the people walked around with some form of armor, Other had nearly nothing on, choosing instead to show off their scales and fur. Suddenly, a shadow flitted across the crowd. I searched for the source and found that creatures and people were flying between buildings. Without warning, one of them stopped. Its wings beat at the air as it hovered in place, as if it was watching something. Without warning, it raised its hand. A lance of fire shot off into the distance. Xander must have felt my shift in weight as I tried to get a look at where the shot had gone, because he looked up. ¡°Looks like Einrick is on guard duty today,¡± he said. I shot him a puzzled look. ¡°That is the guy hovering there.¡± ¡°Okay, but what would he be guarding against from way up there?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t think that creatures and demons attacked the city from just the ground, did you?¡± one of our escorts scoffed. Xander shot him a look that shut him up. I watched the winged Einrick turn and resume his flight. I continued to take in the city and its people until a large blue barrier caught my attention. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°When a section is locked down,¡± the other escort said. Her voice was rough yet kind as she continued, ¡°A barrier is raised between the section and others to prevent people from just walking through. Now that doesn¡¯t stop any determined people, but it does slow them down.¡± ¡°If the section is locked down, how are we supposed to get through?¡± I asked just as a section opened up between two guards standing nearby. ¡°Never mind.¡± Xander and the escort both chuckled as we continued forward. This side of the barrier was nearly empty, save for a few people walking between one building and the next. With the lack of people, the trip through this section was much faster. We reached another barrier where yet another pair of guards opened the passage for us. This process repeated itself two times before we found ourselves outside a massive monolith made of some black metal. The design was unlike anything else I had seen so far in this city. It almost looked like it was forged. Given the scale of such a project, it had to have been done by a god or a giant. Why they would turn around and stab it deep into the ground was beyond me. My neck hurt as I tried to get a look at the point high that towered high above even the massive skyscrapers. ¡°It¡¯s a marvel isn¡¯t it?¡± Xander asked. ¡°Some say that it is what someone''s SoulStone turned into while others say that it was found here. I agree with it having been found here because it isn¡¯t something we could ever make. Plus, it was here long before the SoulStones were given out.¡± Yeah, it sounded like some people were trying to come up with a better origin story than ¡°it has always been here.¡± I believed in the KISS principle myself: Keep it stupid simple ¨C otherwise known as Occam¡¯s razor. You would think that, with this being an obvious center point for the city, there would be quite a bit of security around it. But, to my surprise, while people wandered around ¨C some of whom watched us ¨C none of them challenged us or asked why we were there. Maybe they felt that a guy with a girl on his back and one following him was not a threat, or maybe it had to do with our escorts. I didn¡¯t realize we were upon the door until we passed into the shadow of the structure. Given that the sun was setting behind me, we had been walking under the structure for quite a while already. ¡°Ah, Kai,¡± a voice boomed from above. Something fell with such speed that it looked like a blur. It smashed into the ground a dozen feet away. Both the floor and the humanoid looked nonplussed at the impact. My eyes traced the guy''s draconic wings, moving inward to his very bare and very muscular chest. Xander growled, while Ginger squeaked out, ¡°Pendragon, w-what are you doing here?¡± The man stepped past Xander as he made his way to Ginger. His voice dropped as he said, ¡°You never did call me back. I almost thought you were avoiding me.¡± While she looked like she was about to hyperventilate, Ginger didn¡¯t back away as his arms wrapped around her waist. Her ears said that she was alert, but her tail was doing a jerky dance. ¡°I thought you would want some space after what happened,¡± she replied softly. ¡°Why would I want space after what we did?¡± His voice became a whisper as his head dipped toward hers. Xander turned and started a very brisk walk. I tried to keep an eye on the two of them, but moments after their lips met, his wings encircled them both. ¡°Umm¡­do I want to¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask,¡± Xander growled. ¡°But¡­¡± his hand gently squeezed my leg in warning. I changed topics. ¡°Do you know where you are going?¡± ¡°Of course he does,¡± a woman spoke as something rasped against the ground. ¡°He comes to visit quite often.¡± ¡°Hello, Anya Nguyen,¡± Xander''s voice lost its gruffness. It almost sounded like he was forcing his voice into a more neutral tone. ¡°Did the Council call for you as well?¡± ¡°What if I told you that I was here because I heard they called for you?¡± Anya¡¯s body moved oddly as she got closer. Xander stopped walking as something touched my leg. It wasn¡¯t one of his hands ¨C those were still wrapped under my legs. ¡°It isn¡¯t often that you make yourself available. I thought that this time I would take the initiative and come see what you were up to.¡± I looked down in time to see the tip of a scaly tail push between my leg and his arm as it wrapped around his bicep. His lack of reaction was enough to tell me that they had some history. History I didn¡¯t want to be caught between. History I didn¡¯t want to become a part of. As I unwrapped my arms from his neck, I said, ¡°Go ahead and let me down here.¡± For a second, his grip on my legs became tighter, not looser. ¡°Yes, let her go so we can talk in peace,¡± the woman said. As if her words were magical, he released my legs without a fight. I slid down his back and to the ground. I didn¡¯t even have a chance to take a few steps before she was practically nose-to-nose with him.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. As I finally got a good look at her, I realized that she wasn¡¯t human. She was something like a Naga or a Lamia. It didn¡¯t matter. All that mattered was that, instead of the lower body of a human, hers was that of a snake. I didn¡¯t bother to stick around to see, or hear, them. I continued to walk along the smooth floor in the direction we had been heading before Anya stopped us. Somehow the memory of how she looked at him caused my heart to feel like it was being stabbed. As I wiped the dust from my eyes, I found my path blocked by a massive door. A door with a tiny winged person on the handle. She looked to be sulking as she sat there. ¡°What do you want?¡± Her voice was high-pitched while her tone made her sound as if she was offended by my mere presence. ¡°Um¡­¡± I honestly had no clue what to say. ¡°If you don¡¯t have an appointment, SCRAM!¡± she bit out. It took me a moment to remember what they had called Xander. ¡°I am here with Kai. He was summoned to speak to the Council.¡± ¡°If you came with Kai then where is he? Hmm?¡± She had a point. I gestured to the wall. ¡°How about I sit here and wait for him?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± her tone almost sounded threatening. ¡°Get out of here or I will call the guards.¡± ¡°There is no need for that, Patulia,¡± Xander called from down the hall. To my surprise, he was alone. ¡°What happened to Anya?¡± I tried to sound calm and neutral but her name came out a bit harsher than I meant it to. His eyes shot to me but I refused to meet them. ¡°She was here to deliver her report.¡± His answer threw me for a loop. ¡°Report?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± his lips lifted in a small smile. ¡°She is one of my direct reports. She didn¡¯t know who you were or if you were controlling me.¡± ¡°And now?¡± ¡°She¡­¡± He let out a sigh. ¡°Still doesn¡¯t trust you. But she also won¡¯t do something like that again. Next time she will just ask for you to leave. Anyway,¡± Xander shot a look at the tiny pest with wings. ¡°I have been summoned by the Council. Open the doors so we can get this over with.¡± ¡°Fine, but she needs to go through the security check,¡± the little creature¡¯s wings buzzed as she lifted off the handle. With deft, and clearly practiced, movements, she turned the handle and opened the door wide enough for both of us to step through. ¡°Kai Ravenwood, Shadow Blade Guild Lieutenant.¡± A soft feminine voice filled the space as we passed through the door. ¡°Kyren Vulpier, Unaffiliated.¡± The door behind us closed with a thump as the voice continued. ¡°Initiating security scan. Weapons found. Classification. Not a threat. Clear to proceed.¡± The wall on the far side opened up to reveal a well-lit room on the other side. A few people sat in the chairs that were lined up along the wall, but otherwise, this side of the room was fairly empty. The other side was lined with table after table. Each of which held a person or creature. Most of whom were discussing this or that. Some even looked to be pouring over a map laid between their tables. As we walked in, everyone stopped to look at us. Well, let''s be honest, they were likely looking at Xander. ¡°Kai,¡± a soft male voice called from near the center of the tables. ¡°Do you know why we have called you here?¡± Xander spoke as he strode to the pedestal that sat in the middle of the room. ¡°I do.¡± ¡°You still need to read the charges out.¡± A mouse of a man squeaked from a corner of the room. ¡°Procedure cannot be skipped, even if everyone here knows his guilt.¡± The first man sighed but didn¡¯t argue. ¡°Kai Ravenwood. You are being charged with crossing the barrier into the protected and controlled section of the empire without permission or restriction. This is in clear violation of Empire Decree D dash three ninety-seven dash B and Defense Provision thirty-two of the World Defense Pact. How do you plead?¡± ¡°Guilty,¡± Xander stated. I expected him to argue or bring up some sort of defense but he stayed silent. ¡°Are there any on the Council that would like to add anything before the verdict is rendered?¡± ¡°I would,¡± a ghostly form spoke from one of the tables. The lack of light above it made the person hard to see and the soft voice made it hard to hear them. ¡°The Council recognizes Caspirian Lox¡¯s testimony.¡± ¡°Kai¡¯s unexpected departure resulted in the discovery and dispatch of a demon. It also resulted in¡­¡± The voice faded to the point I couldn¡¯t make anything out. I must have been the only one because the rest of the group acted as if they had heard his words. ¡°That is true. Without him, we would have no idea that the barrier protecting the Empire had fallen. Is there anyone else?¡± No one spoke up or otherwise called attention to themselves. After a minute, the first guy resumed speaking. ¡°While the usual punishment for such a crime would be either a sentence in a mine or dispatch to the front lines, I think everyone here would agree with me that the information you provided is worth some leniency. I propose the charges be reduced to helping the Council investigate the capital and the fallen barrier for free. All those in favor say aye.¡± The room filled with ayes. ¡°All those opposed, say nay.¡± The mousy man was the only one to speak up. ¡°Nay.¡± ¡°Kai, you are to report here in an hours time to discuss the particulars of your upcoming mission.¡± A soft whack sound filled the chamber. The sound nearly made me laugh as I recognized the sound from various courtroom dramas. ¡°Onto the next¡­¡± ¡°Hold on.¡± Came a gruff but distinctly feminine voice. ¡°I wish to discuss the new arrival.¡± I shivered as multiple eyes swiveled to look at me. Xander stepped in front of me, blocking me from their sight as he spoke. ¡°What would you like to know?¡± ¡°I want to know why she was so important to you that you would risk our wrath because let us be honest, this was the best outcome. Even for you.¡± Xander nodded. ¡°That is true, but I don¡¯t see how my punishment would make Kyren the Council¡¯s business.¡± ¡°Tell me, what team is she on?¡± A voice called from the side. ¡°None.¡± People started to whisper as soon as Xander said that. ¡°She is not high enough level to be welcomed into any of them. Ginger has volunteered to train and level her up so that she might be useful.¡± ¡°Do you know what team she will end up on?¡± ¡°Has she seen the oracles?¡± ¡°How long do you expect her training to take?¡± The questions kept coming. Xander lifted his hands to stop them. ¡°No. I don¡¯t know any of that. I did not plan to take her to see the oracles unless I had no other choice.¡± ¡°Pursuant to article ninety-one of the Paradox Earth Charter, all newcomers without sufficient skills or training to enter a group must visit the oracles to get guidance.¡± The mousy guy sneered. ¡°Would you like me to set up an appointment for tomorrow?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother.¡± Xander bit back. ¡°I will deal with all that myself. Now, if that is all?¡± ¡°Just remember to submit all her information to the Council no later than the end of the week.¡± The mousy guy sounded almost pleased for some reason. Xander didn¡¯t say anything. He pivoted on one foot to face me. With both hands, he turned me around and pushed me forward through the doors. The voice from before stayed silent as the doors opened and closed. As soon as we were outside the second set of doors, he cursed. ¡°Fucking asshole.¡± ¡°Who?¡± I asked as I had no clue what just happened. ¡°Kevin. The weasel. He is a stickler for the rules. Especially those he had a hand in creating.¡± ¡°You mean the mousy-sounding guy?¡± Xander sputtered at my description while the little creature sitting on the door fell over as she laughed. ¡°Yes, the mousy-sounding guy.¡± Xander said while the creature rolled around on her back as she kept repeating ¡°Mousy¡­¡± ¡°What did he mean by the oracles?¡± I asked, ¡°Why would I have to talk to them?¡± ¡°The oracles serve multiple functions for our city. Those who specialize in seeing an overview of the future can help plan defense strategies. Then there are those that specialize in far viewing. This includes those who can see into other worlds. They are constantly assigned to keep an eye on troop movements.¡± ¡°And I am guessing that neither has anything to do with me?¡± ¡°You would be correct.¡± He said as he led us down the hall. ¡°For that, we need to see the group specializing in divining. Those that specialize in seeing a person''s potential and I know just the person.¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t tell me you are taking her to see Philipa.¡± Ginny¡¯s voice spoke up from somewhere in front of us. ¡°Welcome back,¡± Xander smirked. ¡°I see you managed to get away from Pendragon.¡± I caught sight of her just in time to see her face turn a brilliant shade of red. ¡°Yeah¡­about that.¡± The man stepped out from behind a pillar and wrapped his arms around the fox. ¡°I think I will need to keep this one close, at least until she accepts the inevitable.¡± Chapter 8.1 - Article 91 Paradox Earth Charter: Article 91: Section 1:
  1. Purpose: This article is intended to facilitate the effective integration of newcomers as they make their way into Gravepoint by specifying the requirements for defensive appointments and/or other duties as required.
  2. Scope: This article applies to all individuals planning to stay in the city for longer than twenty-four (24) Earth hours.
Section 2: 2.4 Sufficient Skills and/or Training: The level of expertise or qualification required to be recognized by the city without which the person cannot join a group, guild, or defense unit without special dispensation, guidance, or similar. Section 3: Mandatory Oracle Consultation: 3.1 Requirement: All newcomers considering becoming a resident without having sufficient skill and/or training must consult an oracle and report the results. 3.2 Timeframe: The consultation must occur within five (5) days of entry into the city.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. 3.3 Objectives of Consultation: Section 4: Integration Pathways: 4.1 Direct Entry: If a newcomer is found to have sufficient skills and/or training to join a group, they are required to do so until such a time as they can transfer to their preferred group. 4.2 Oracle-Guided Placement: Those without sufficient skills and/or training will be guided by an oracle to: 4.2.1 Training Program: Enroll in an academy, school, program, or private tutoring as required to reach a minimum threshold for a group, guild, or defense unit. 4.2.2 Support Role: For those without the skill, potential, or will to join in the defense of the city. Crafters, technicians, and other support and logistical staff are always in demand to help support the city¡¯s infrastructure and those fighting on the front lines. 4.2.3 Other: For those with unique abilities that may not fit into any other group, guild, or defense unit. Section 5: Verification and Documentation: 5.1 Certification: After consultation, paperwork must be filed with a government official within one (1) day. 5.2 Records: Oracles must keep records of such consultations in case there is a discrepancy discovered in the document filed. Section 6: Compliance and Enforcement: 6.1 Entry Condition: Compliance with this Article is a mandatory requirement for residency, both temporary and permanent, within the city walls. 6.2 Monitoring: Entry into and exit from the city is automatically tracked. 6.3 Non-Compliance: Failure to comply may result in: Section 7: Confidentiality: 7.1 Privacy Protections: All personal information will be kept confidential by the oracles. Only their rulings shall be recorded. 7.2 Use of Information: The oracle''s rulings shall only be used for the purposes of city defense. Chapter 9 - Oracle As Xander led us around corners and into another section of the structure, we passed a few guards. A few of them said nothing while others watched our every step. Then it was as if we left a low-security zone and entered a high-security one. A guard stood at each corner. Each looked armed with something that resembled a gun. Only these things were not simple things. Parts of the gun emitted light while others were clear. As if those parts were made of some sort of crystal. The guards watched us while their hands tightened around the stocks of their weapons. ¡°What are those?¡± I asked Xander. While he didn¡¯t respond, our tag-along did. ¡°Those are guns, of a sort.¡± He sounded a bit smug as he continued. ¡°Just something I came up with to help balance some of the issues the military was having as they tried to do their job.¡± ¡°The military?¡± I said as I turned my face enough to get a look at Pendragon. ¡°Why is there a military?¡± The answer came from someone as they stepped in front of our group. ¡°Do you want the short answer or the long one?¡± I spun to look at the speaker. While he looked older, his muscles were still well-defined. He looked at Xander and offered a hand to him. ¡°Kai, or should I call you Xander?¡± Xander ignored the hand. ¡°I was ordered to take Kyren here to see an oracle.¡± ¡°And, let me guess,¡± the man lowered his hand as he spoke. ¡°You are taking her to see Philipa?¡± None of us said a word as we waited for one or the other to speak. ¡°Well, you know the drill. I cannot let anyone into this wing without prior authorization.¡± ¡°I could always¡­¡± ¡°Get around the security?¡± He lifted his eyebrows as he chuckled darkly. ¡°Not with the current system in place. You just missed Colonel Reeds and me debating what we thought would happen if someone tried. So, be my guest and try.¡± Xander sounded a bit annoyed as he asked; ¡°I need to do this now so what is it you want Marcus?¡± ¡°That is Captain Young to you¡­¡± the man looked like something Xander said had pissed him off. He seemed to realize this as he stopped long enough to take a breath before continuing, ¡°Fine, I can make an exception for you but only if you agree to an IOU on behalf of your guild.¡± Just how much power did Xander have that he could make such agreements without talking to someone about it? ¡°That is too open-ended,¡± Xander shook his head. ¡°You could ask for something that could lead to war. You know that I could never agree to that. How about I personally agree to do one mission for you for free? I will even agree to ignore the guild''s requirements and rules. The only requirement will be that it must follow the Council¡¯s rules and regulations.¡± Captain Young shook his head. ¡°I may be new to this command but that doesn¡¯t mean that I will let you pull walk all over me. I know just how strict the Council is when it comes to missions. I also know how lax your guild is on its requirements. I even know that, if the money is good enough, your guild will bend a few of them.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Xander sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, ¡°I agree to owe you one mission, done for free, as long as it follows the rules as set forth by the Shadow Blade Guild.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Captain Young looked pleased with himself as he gestured for us to continue. ¡°I look forward to you working for me.¡± As we moved forward, I asked Ginger ¡°What just happened?¡± ¡°And idiot decided to try and get one over on my brother.¡± She smiled. The man who held her hand chuckled, ¡°He does know that their restrictions, while few in number, are even more limiting than the Councils, right?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The Council requires that each official request is reviewed for potential issues and consequences before being put onto the market to be bid on by multiple agencies, including guilds from all over.¡± Ginger started. ¡°Our guild is one of the few that is allowed to take requests directly,¡± Xander took over. ¡°We review each of the requests and determine the effects across the city for years to come. There are a few people whose entire jobs revolve around simply making sure that any job we take will never impact us in a negative way. While we have been known to ignore this, the compensation must be enough to make it worth any risk or loss that we might suffer.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. So they were willing to look the other way when it suited them. They were mercenaries. However, before I could point this out, he knocked on a door. It burst open as a little streak of gold-blond hair flung itself at him. ¡°KAI!¡± A high-pitched squeal came from the little bundle of energy. ¡°You came to visit me!¡± Xander reached up to pat the tiny person''s back. ¡°I told you that I would when I could didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Then where have you been?¡± The voice sounded like it was pouting. ¡°You have been in the city for days yet you only now came to see me.¡± ¡°The reason for that is one of the reasons I came to see you today.¡± He said as he tried to pull the bundle from where it was plastered to his chest. The thing let him go but jumped back as it escaped from his grip. ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that? Is she really so important to you that you would break a promise with me?¡± It was only as the thing stood up that I realized it was a kid. After being inundated with the non-humans, I found myself face to face with a human-looking boy. ¡°She was¡­¡± Whatever Xander was about to say was interrupted as the boy turned to look at me. As our eyes met, he started to speak. His voice was not the happy, excited voice from earlier. It deepened as his eyes turned into a kaleidoscope of color. ¡°In a forced sleep after the gods tampered with their own spell. Pushing it to do what it was never designed to do. Mixing both demonic and heavenly magic in a single vessel without care for the consequences.¡± ¡°What do you see?¡± Xander¡¯s voice was as full of awe as it was soft. It was as if he was trying not to scare the kid. ¡°I see a conflicted love. Between two who battle for your heart, even if one does not realize it.¡± The boy took a breath before continuing. ¡°I also see death and betrayal in your future. I see the graves that line two paths. Between which you must choose. The choice of which will help tip the balance between two worlds. Dooming one while saving the other.¡± My heart stuttered at his words and their potential meaning. Conflicted love? Who did he think was fighting for my love? The only person that came to mind was Xander but his sister already warned me about him. Who else could there be? And what was with the rest of that? The balance between two worlds would be affected by something I did? I wanted to call bullshit. There was nothing I could do that could affect so many people. The thought of my decisions having such an impact was enough to turn my stomach. ¡°What group does she belong in?¡± Ginger asked. ¡°Mysticism would do well to teach her to use her heritage but her class would do best in the Magic Formations branch. Slippery Shades could help her hone her skills as a cunning fox but her impulsiveness and skills might make her an asset to the IPAS group. Then again, she might be best used in the central government as a mediator with various non-human groups.¡± ¡°So you are saying that she could be a part of any group?¡± Xander asked as he threw his arms up in exasperation. The boy paused before answering. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What the hell am I going to put in the report to the council?¡± Xander ranted at no one in particular. ¡°Put Omnes et non. They will understand. If they ask you to explain, tell them to come see me.¡± Without another word, the boy slowly turned and walked back into his room. As soon as he was inside, the door shut and the lock snicked into place. ¡°What just happened?¡± I was utterly confused by everything that just happened. ¡°Yeah,¡± Pendragon¡¯s brows were furrowed as he looked at Ginger. ¡°That was not normal. Just what is going on? Who is this chick?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Xander¡¯s voice was hard and uncaring. ¡°We got the information we came for. If you want to back out, feel free. I am sure I can find someone else to help Kyren for the short bit of time I am gone.¡± Suddenly a soft thump was quickly followed by a loud wailing noise that filled the hallway. My heart stopped as the hairs on my neck lifted. The world around me seemed to slow down as I spun to look in the direction it came from. While the wail was muffled, it sounded as if the kid was in a massive amount of pain. I moved toward the door but Xander was much faster. He smashed through the door. Reducing it to splinters with his shoulder as he charged in. The other two were just behind him, leaving me alone in the hall as I tried to catch up. All I could smell on the other side of the door was blood and an odd metallic aftertaste. It was odd enough that I nearly stopped to try and find its source. But the sight of the three of them kneeling on the ground pulled my attention away from that and to the fact that Xander was cradling the boy in his arms. The golden locks that had seemed so alive earlier looked dead as they fluttered in the air around the two of them. My world turned cold as I realized the boy was no longer bleeding. That there was more blood pooled on the floor than inside his tiny form. From where I stood, I could see that his body was riddled with holes. A chill ran down my spine as a deafening silence pressed in on me, broken only by the distant echo of an alarm. My eyes scanned the room for the source of the damage to find that the room was in an even worse shape than the boy¡¯s body. Holes were torn into every item as if an army of something was desperate to find their way out. Moments later, a squad of heavily armed soldiers rushed through the door. They took up station around us, weapons at the ready, as Captain Young strode in. He looked pissed. His expression darkened further as he took in the scene. His eyes met Xander¡¯s as he spoke. ¡°You know I am required to take every one of you in for questioning.¡± Xander didn¡¯t say a word or even nod. Instead, his arms tightened around the boy¡¯s body as he rose to his feet. He walked slowly and deliberately as he made his way toward one of the soldiers. The soldier slung his weapon behind him before he accepted the body. No one spoke as we trailed the Captain out of the room. But I didn¡¯t pay attention to my surroundings. My eyes were locked on Xander. He looked calm but I could practically feel the waves of anger that festered beneath the surface. I had the feeling that if he ever found out who had killed the boy, they would find themselves wishing for death. Chapter 10 - Interrogation The guards escorted our group up a flight of stairs before separating us into our own rooms. I looked around the room I was shoved into and found that the walls and floor were made with the same material as the building''s exterior. Something about it shouted unbreakable to me. Whether it was or not, I wasn¡¯t going to test it. A metal table and two chairs sat in the center, looking as though they had been plucked out of every police drama out there. I almost imagined some officer coming into the room and smashing my nose into the cold metal table as they demanded answers. As I stood there, contemplating whether or not to sit down, the door behind me opened up. ¡°Take a seat,¡± came a bored voice. While I had been fine walking outside, something about someone being behind me caused a shiver to race down my back as goosebumps prickled my arms. I raced to do what they wanted more out of a need to get away from them than to follow any order they gave. ¡°Let''s get this over with, shall we?¡± As I sat down, I finally got a good look at my interrogator. She looked almost built of muscle. ¡°My name is Brandi Moongrove. Per the unified species order seventy, I need to disclose that I am a Werewolf. As such, I have a heightened sense of smell.¡± So could she smell lies or something? And why would they require an officer to disclose their species to someone? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to keep that information hidden? Before I could ask any of these questions, she continued. ¡°Please state your name and species for the record.¡± ¡°Kyren Vulpier, I am a,¡± I started before stopping to think about what I should say. Should I lie and say I was just a foxkin or should I declare that I was a kitsune? From what I had seen so far, beastman were fairly numerous in this city. I just didn¡¯t know if the same could be said about other races. ¡°Kitsune,¡± She stated without inflection or care. ¡°Ginger told me before heading into her room. Now, tell me what you are doing here today?¡± ¡°I was following Xand¡­I mean Kai, to his meeting with the Council.¡± ¡°Yes, I had heard he had been summoned.¡± My brows furrowed at her words. Just how many people knew Xander? ¡°As we were about to leave the meeting, one of the members spoke up and demanded that I be taken to see an Oracle.¡± ¡°Fairly standard request,¡± her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked at me. ¡°Though it is a bit odd that he didn¡¯t take you to see one of them as soon as you entered the city.¡± ¡°I only just woke up.¡± ¡°Woke up?¡± She sounded skeptical. ¡°I used my SoulStone before trying to take on a demon.¡± I tried to make it sound like it had been nothing. That I didn¡¯t need to be saved. She didn¡¯t look like she bought it. ¡°And what did the Oracle tell you?¡± ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t understand most of what the kid said.¡± ¡°I am sure that Kai will tell us if it becomes necessary for our investigation.¡± She took a second to read over something in the space between us. Given that there was nothing there, it had to be on her system screen. ¡°What happened between the moment that the Oracle left your sight and when you next saw him?¡± ¡°He walked into his room and then we heard a wailing scream.¡± Even now, the memory of that scream sent a wave of fear through my body. I felt my tail curl itself around my body before plopping itself into my lap. Absentmindedly, my fingers rubbed the soft fur as I continued. ¡°I turned to race toward the scream. The rest of my group passed me as they rushed into the room. By the time I made it inside, the kid was already dead.¡± ¡°So you did not touch anything inside the room?¡± As my voice failed me, I shook my head. ¡°Then I think that is all we need. Do you know where you are staying? Just in case we need to ask you more questions?¡± Again, I shook my head. When Xander left, would I be staying in his room or would I need to get my own? How much would that cost? Where would I even look for a place to rent? I just didn¡¯t know.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. She must have seen or smelled something because her tone went from neutral to something akin to motherly. ¡°Do you need a place to stay? I am sure that my pack wouldn¡¯t mind letting you stay with them for a few days until you can find a place.¡± Was it weird that I was actually debating taking her up on the offer? Hell, it would get me out of Xander¡¯s hair. Then his woman wouldn¡¯t have to find some way to get me to leave so they could visit him. As I thought about it, I recalled how the snake woman from earlier got me to leave. But before I could make a decision, I had to ask the question, ¡°Why? I don¡¯t mean to be rude but you don¡¯t know me. For all you know, I could be someone who will¡­¡± I rolled my hand in the air as I tried to think of something. ¡°I don¡¯t know, kill you in your sleep.¡± Brandi barked out a laugh. ¡°Honey, I doubt you could kill a bunny unless you had no other choice.¡± Well, damn. Didn¡¯t that bring back memories. Had it only been a week since my tussle with the army of fluff? ¡°I will have you know I don¡¯t fight those little cheaters. I simply blow them up.¡± I said without thinking. She facepalmed. ¡°I am starting to see what Kai sees in you.¡± She mumbled into her palm. While my new, more sensitive ears were annoying at times, they sure came in handy to hear others when they didn¡¯t expect one to. Something twisted inside as I spoke, ¡°We are just friends.¡± Her eyes looked through her fingers and met mine as she spoke. ¡°Sure, tell yourself that. The guy was pestering us for days to go find you. Then he turns around and demands we help save you and damn the consequences. He was lucky that he found a piece of vital intel while he was out saving your ass.¡± ¡°We are only friends,¡± I repeated. She dropped her hands and shot me a reproachful glare. I lasted all of five seconds before looking down and continuing. ¡°Up until he saved me, he thought I was male. Hell, I was male until that fucking SoulStone.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Brandi looked like she suddenly understood something. ¡°You are one of those.¡± ¡°One of those?¡± I perked up. ¡°You mean there are others in my situation? Did any of them find a way to change back?¡± She shot me a confused look. ¡°Change back? Why would you want to change back?¡± Maybe because I preferred myself as I once was, but she didn¡¯t look like she would understand that. She confirmed that when she continued, ¡°Do you not like being able to cast magic? And if Kitsune are anything like the legends you should be able to change into a fox. I know I love running around in my wolf form. Hell, my entire pack goes for runs whenever we can.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I sighed as I realized she didn¡¯t quite understand what my problem was. ¡°I could handle being a Kitsune. But I would still prefer to be a male Kitsune.¡± Brandi laughed, ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t realize that you preferred to peg Kai, but to each their own.¡± My tail stiffened in my arms as my face burned. I was fairly sure that my ears were flat to my head. ¡°Wha¡­why¡­ah¡­NO!¡± I practically yelled at her. ¡°So you want to be the one¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°NO!¡± Before she could say anything else, someone knocked on the door before opening it. The Captain poked his head in. He must have noticed something on my face because he simply said, ¡°The rest of their group is clear to go. Finish up here and release her.¡± Then he closed the door. My legs shoved the chair back as I raced to get to my feet. ¡°Am I good to go?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Brandi nodded as she got to her feet. Her hand twisted the nob and opened the door. ¡°But I meant it when I said you can come stay with our pack. It might do you some good to go on a run.¡± I kept my response simple and non-commital as I moved to join the others in the hall. ¡°I will think about it.¡± ¡°Think about what?¡± Ginger asked. Xander simply shot me a questioning look. Yeah, there was no way I could get away with saying nothing or lying. Especially when the damned Werewolf answered for me. ¡°I invited her to come live with our pack while Kai is off doing whatever he needs to.¡± ¡°She can just stay in my room.¡± If I didn¡¯t know better I would have thought he was a beast of some sort given the growly voice. ¡°You want to leave a girl in that building, on her own, in your room. Even you know just how insecure that building is. I mean, how many times have you snuck into someone''s room to do something?¡± Ginger helpfully pointed out. Xander¡¯s eyes bored into his sister¡¯s. ¡°Then you can stay with her!¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Pendragon pulled the fox into his chest. ¡°We have quite a bit to do and catch up on.¡± I saw a shiver travel down her body as his nose lowered to the crook of her neck. I felt a bit jealous. ¡°Fine!¡± Xander grumped. ¡°Kyren can go live with the fucking wolves while I am gone.¡± He spun to face Brandi. ¡°But if anyone so much as touches her I will kill every one of you.¡± ¡°And if I want them to touch me?¡± My head dropped into my hands as I tried to hide from the surprised looks being shot in my direction. Why did I just say that? Where was the filter on my mouth when I needed it? Someone''s hands gripped mine as they gently pulled them from my face. My eyes met Xanders. While his face looked neutral and expressionless, the depths of his gaze revealed some of his emotions. He looked conflicted. Confused and sad about something. Before I could ask him what he was thinking about, someone ran up behind him. ¡°Kai Ravenwood. You are hereby ordered to meet with the Council regarding your upcoming mission.¡± Xander didn¡¯t turn to look at the person or acknowledge them. His eyes looked into mine for another minute. A minute that was filled with whispers. While I wondered what they were all talking about, my attention was solely on the guy in front of me. Finally, he said, ¡°Ginger is right. Go with the wolves. Take them up on the offer for a run. I will be back before you know it.¡± With those words, he turned and vanished around a corner. The messenger looked like he was struggling to keep up with his charge. Chapter 11 - Pendragon and Ginger I had no idea what to think about Xander. One moment he nearly sounded as though he actually might have feelings for me, while other times it was as if I was almost a burden. Both ideas confused the hell out of me. He was my friend. Neither of us had ever thought of the other in any romantic way, or at least I didn¡¯t think we did. Before I could dive into the mixed and tumultuous emotions Xander gave me, Brandi spoke up. ¡°So, ready to go meet the pack?¡± Captain Young coughed. ¡°You are still on shift¡­¡± she let out a low growl in his direction. Before either of them could do or say anything, Ginger spoke up. ¡°How about I take her out to get a few more things?¡± A few more things? Like what? Didn¡¯t we just finish shopping? I shot her a confused glance. My eyes followed her pointed gaze to my feet. Both of which were still bare. ¡°Fine,¡± the werewolf huffed. To my surprise, the captain looked almost happy to see the werewolf all huffy. ¡°Just meet me at the Adventurer Guild and we can head over.¡± Captain Young gestured for Brandi to lead the way as they started down the hall. I turned to Ginger only to spin right back around. Her shirt was lifted past her belly as Pendragon¡¯s hand reached under it. My hands balled up in the fur of my tail as I squeaked out, ¡°I will just¡­.go this way,¡± before I took off in a random direction in a fast jog. I would have moved faster if not for my tail. With the thing curled around me and in my hands, I was forced to walk rather than run like I wanted. ¡°Kyren?!¡± Ginger called from behind me. She sounded a bit out of breath. I didn¡¯t turn around as I spoke, ¡°You both need some time to yourselves. While I thank you for the help, I will find my way from here.¡± ¡°Would you let me go, you big oaf!¡± Her voice sounded annoyed. Thankfully I was fairly sure her feelings were not directed at me. ¡°Kyren, wait up.¡± Given that she would catch up to me eventually, I gripped my tail tight enough that my nails dug into the fleshy center as I slowly turned to face her. While the beast of a man had let the foxy lady go, it was for show. I don¡¯t know how he did it but I could have sworn that there was barely enough room between their bodies for a piece of paper, yet he didn¡¯t touch her. Ginger, annoyed, spun around and pointed into his face. ¡°Stop it. I told you we will talk tonight. Now go do whatever it is you do until then.¡± ¡°I took time off the moment I heard you were in town,¡± he said with a wide grin. ¡°And I have been in the city for a few days. Where have you been?¡± ¡°Waiting for you to come find me first.¡± ¡°And here I am, now go away.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± He looked like he moved closer to her. Given how close they had been, I had no clue how that was possible. ¡°Not now that I have you here.¡± ¡°You won''t have a pair of balls for much longer if you don¡¯t BACK OFF!¡± Ginger¡¯s growl was deep and had me scrambling to protect my lower half. As soon as my hands reached my crotch and felt the emptiness, I burned in embarrassment as I recalled the lack of equipment. ¡°Fine,¡± he huffed out a small ring of what looked like smoke into her face. ¡°I will go wait for you both outside the structure as you talk about whatever it is you don¡¯t want me privy to.¡± Pendragon kissed her forehead before he pivoted and took off at a jog that ate up the ground. His speed reminded me just how slow I was compared to every one of these people. She turned to face me and held her hand out for me. ¡°What is this?¡± I asked as I reached out to take whatever she wanted to give me. ¡°Your ball.¡± Ginger¡¯s voice was a bit reproachful as she tsked before she continued. ¡°You need to be more careful with this thing. Xander said that you left it in his bathroom when you got changed.¡± My eyes widened as I cupped the cursed thing. I hadn''t even realized it was gone. That was not a good thing. Not with how much power it gave to someone. ¡°Where can I put this damned thing so I don¡¯t lose it?¡± I whined, more to myself than anyone else. To my surprise, she answered. ¡°There are a few options. Some of which are better than others.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Spatial bags.¡± I narrowed my eyes at her. ¡°Do I want to know how much one of those costs?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± she waved off the idea. ¡°Maybe we could talk to a jeweler about some sort of pendant or something. Something that you can wear no matter what.¡± At first, I was excited at the prospect of getting some sort of ring or necklace that might be enchanted, but then I realized I was too poor to buy my own clothes, how would I ever pay for such equipment? ¡°And how am I going to pay for that? While I know I need it, I doubt my meager wallet can handle paying for food, a room, let alone a piece of custom jewelry.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. She held up a shimmery silver coin for me to see. ¡°In case he didn¡¯t have time to give you this himself, Xander gave this to me when he handed me the orb. Then again, knowing my brother, he would have just forgotten.¡± ¡°What is a silver coin going to do?¡± Hell, I had a number of them in my inventory. ¡°Not silver, platinum. It should be enough to pay for some of what you need, at least until you are able to do so yourself.¡± I felt overwhelmed at the thought of Xander giving Ginger something so valuable to help me. Distracted as she was with her rambling, I lowered my head and wiped the tears from them. Thankfully she didn¡¯t notice. Hell, she didn¡¯t stop speaking until I interrupted her. ¡°Let''s get everything I need so that you can meet your man.¡± Ginger stomped her feet as she declared, ¡°He isn¡¯t my man.¡± If he wasn¡¯t her man then why in the hell was he all over her? Why did she let him? She didn¡¯t look like she was pushing him away. Ginger spun and led me in another direction. Oddly enough, it wasn¡¯t the way not her man had gone another way. I almost wondered if that was on purpose. ¡°Then why?¡± I asked when I caught up to her. ¡°Why what?¡± She was being purposefully obtuse. Ginger knew exactly what I was asking about. With a roll of my eyes and a soft wack of my tail against hers, I clarified the question. ¡°Why does he think you are his? Why is he so clingy?¡± ¡°He is¡­¡± she groaned and pushed her hands into her eyes. ¡°He thinks he is my mate.¡± My footsteps faltered as I tried to wrap my mind around what she just said. ¡°Your mate?¡± I was skeptical. I mean, how would one have a mate and not know about it? Didn¡¯t you have to do something to become mates? Had she done something and simply forgotten? ¡°Yes,¡± she stopped walking and leaned her head against the wall where she lightly thumped it against the surface. ¡°Apparently those with dragon blood have a destined mate out there. He thinks I am his.¡± I let out a laugh at the absurdity of the thought. I mean, who would be putting people together that had never met? What if they hated each other? Were they stuck or could they refuse? ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Her voice was soft as her head came to rest against the wall. ¡°He is just so attentive and loving. I don¡¯t know who thought that I deserved such a guy. There has to be a girl out there that is perfect for him. Someone who isn¡¯t so¡­.me.¡± She didn¡¯t resist as my hands reached out on their own to pull her into a hug. Ginger¡¯s body relaxed with her head against my shoulder as I spoke. ¡°Everyone deserves happiness. But if it makes you feel better, I am sure that, if you ask, he would be willing to take it slow. To allow you both to get to know each other before you take the plunge.¡± ¡°But what if he doesn¡¯t want to take it slow?¡± ¡°Then is he really worth your time?¡± I asked, ¡°Which begs the question, how does one reject their mate if they don¡¯t work out?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ginger sounded a bit annoyed at the fact. ¡°I need to find out, just in case.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t do anything stupid until you give him a chance.¡± I let her go enough that I could get a decent look at her face. There were faint lines where a tear or two had trailed. Ginger smiled lightly as she pulled back. She didn¡¯t let my hand go as she pulled me along behind her. ¡°Come on, we have some shopping to do.¡± It wasn¡¯t much farther down the hall that we came to an open door. Through which I could see the city lit up. My gaze took in the city and the people that moved about as we stepped into the space around the structure. Ginger¡¯s sudden stiffness told me that Pendragon had found us. ¡°I told you I wouldn¡¯t let you go, no matter what you try.¡± His words, while directed at Ginger, made even me feel something stir deep inside. Before he could reach out to touch her, I stepped between them. ¡°Woah, down boy. At least ask her if she wants this or not.¡± His look told me that he thought it was cute that I thought I could stop him but Ginger¡¯s words caught him off guard. ¡°Pendragon, while I do not know if you are the one I want to be bonded to, I am willing to give you a chance.¡± The man¡¯s smile grew as he moved to push me out of the way to get to his girl. ¡°But, I want to take it slow. Frankly, we barely know each other. I don¡¯t want how you make me feel to be the basis of what our relationship is built upon.¡± He actually stopped and looked to be in deep thought. His hand dropped to his side as he nodded. ¡°No, you are right. I have been pushing us a bit fast. Maybe out of jealousy for the others I see happily mated.¡± ¡°They are a bit sickeningly sweet, aren¡¯t they.¡± She chuckled. With his agreement, I took a step back so the two could talk face to face. ¡°Yes, they are.¡± He agreed. ¡°While I want that, I don¡¯t want to taint it by forcing my feelings upon you. So, how about I treat you to dinner tonight?¡± ¡°I would like that.¡± Her smile was wide and looked like it lacked the tension I hadn''t realized she had been carrying this whole time. ¡°But first, I need to take Kyren to get a few things.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t let me hold you two up,¡± I interjected. ¡°Just tell me where to go and I can get what I need.¡± ¡°My brother made me promise.¡± ¡°If you made the promise then who am I to argue?¡± Pendragon asked. ¡°Where are we going first?¡± ¡°I was thinking of going to Earth¡¯s Bounty. What do you think?¡± Pendragon whistled as he reached out for her hand. Ginger let him take it. ¡°Going for the best off the back? Just what are you looking to get?¡± For a second there I thought Ginger would tell him about my orb. Thankfully she didn¡¯t. ¡°Something to hold Kyrens SoulStone gift.¡± ¡°And I am guessing this object is something she needs to keep on hand no matter what?¡± Pendragon shot me a look as the two of them took the lead. ¡°What race are you again?¡± While I didn¡¯t answer him, Ginger did. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get any ideas, she is a Kitsune. The legends for their kind rival those of dragons.¡± He waved off her concern. ¡°And is Kai your mate?¡± ¡°Um¡­no,¡± my tone was more of a question than a statement. ¡°Or at least I don¡¯t think he is. How does one know if someone is your mate or not?¡± ¡°Their smell.¡± Was his immediate answer. ¡°If you are near your mate, you will smell the most delicious smell possible. You will find that you want to roll in it, to surround yourself with it, until it is all you can smell.¡± For some reason, my mind flit back to the hazy memories of my fight with the demon. There had been something that smelled utterly perfect in that place. While I had chalked it up to the enhanced senses and ignored it, I now found that I missed it. But who would have been there that smelled so good? Was it someone who was supposed to be my mate or was it just me looking for something in nothing? Would I ever know? And what about Xander? What would happen to him if I found my mate? Would he accept the guy or would he challenge him? What if I chose to pursue Xander or someone else? Would my mate accept my rejection of him? So many questions yet not a single answer. It was almost enough to cause me to run away and hide until things resolved on their own. Chapter 12 - Jewler My mind continued to wander as we walked. I tried to figure out what it was that I had smelled and when but I couldn¡¯t quite place it. Of course, it didn¡¯t help that the smells of everything around me kept distracting me. Ginger¡¯s voice relieved me from my self-imposed torture. ¡°We are here.¡± Suddenly aware that we had entered a building, I tried to get my bearings. Trinkets, jewelry, and various pieces of art were either hung or otherwise on display throughout the room. Ginger and Pendragon stood in the middle of the room next to a rather burly man. One that reminded me of Ginny of all people. Though, he wore some sort of leather coveralls and he had a fairly well-kempt beard, if a bit long in my opinion. ¡°So this here be my client?¡± The man said. His voice was gruff and deep. ¡°Oh, you can drop the act, Steven.¡± Ginger smacked the back of the man''s head. Who the hell didn¡¯t this girl know and why did they let her get away with so much? ¡°This is Kyren. She is a close friend of Kai¡¯s.¡± Steven¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Is that true?¡± His voice was no longer deep enough to sound like rocks that ground against each other. He almost sounded like a guy I might have run into on the street. ¡°Yeah, now where is your brother?¡± ¡°Quin took the night off to visit a girl.¡± His gesture made his thoughts clear on what he thought of that. ¡°The idiot spends all his money on these girls yet gets little¡­ahem.¡± He coughed. ¡°Anyway, what are we looking for today?¡± ¡°I need to get something that can securely hold a marble.¡± I took the lead. More so that Ginger didn¡¯t say something that might cause some sort of argument. ¡°What size we talking?¡± He asked. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I wanted to keep the thing hidden but I also wanted something that would be secure enough to prevent the damn things loss during a fight. ¡°Is there any way we can go to a private meeting area?¡± Pendragon asked. ¡°Don¡¯t got one.¡± Steven said before barking out, ¡°Okay, the store is closed for today. Please come back tomorrow.¡± While a few people grumbled, they all left without argument. ¡°Are you sure about this? What if one of them had plans to buy something?¡± I asked. ¡°If they were going to buy something, they could have done so before leaving. Plus I kinda owe Kai a favor or two.¡± He walked over to the counter and started to pull out a few delicate-looking pieces of equipment. ¡°Pretty sure helping his girl would only serve to help me in the long run with that man.¡± Given the burning sensation covering my face, I was probably as red as a fucking tomato, again. ¡°I am not his girl. We are just friends.¡± Ginger pulled Pendragon to the far wall as Steven held a hand out. ¡°Anyway, hand it over.¡± I only hesitated for a second, but he noticed. ¡°If you are going to trust me to make something to secure it, you have to trust me to hold and fit it into whatever I make.¡± He wasn¡¯t wrong. If I wasn¡¯t willing to let him touch the orb now, how would I ever trust anything he made to contain the thing? With a forced sigh of resignation, I pulled the cursed item out of my pocket and passed it over. As soon as he had it in his hand his face turned to one of pure shock. Then he dropped the thing onto the table and collapsed to the floor as he kept mumbling something incoherent. While the other two had been across the room, they had apparently kept us in their sights because they rushed to his side within moments. ¡°Just what was it you gave him?¡± Pendragon¡¯s eyes flashed with concern and anger as he knelt beside Steven. His eyes moved from the dwarf and to the tiny marble. Before I could retrieve it, he picked it up, read something, and facepalmed as he growled, ¡°Of course these exist.¡± I don¡¯t know if it was on accident or not, but as Ginger went to grab the ball from Pendragon¡¯s hand, I felt a searing pain cut across my body. The pain lasted both a moment and an eternity as the flames lit my nerves on fire and seared through my flesh. I screamed moments before darkness took me. As I came back to myself and opened my eyes, I found myself looking up at the ceiling. It was a nice-looking ceiling, if a bit dusty. People screamed and argued outside the door about something. I tried to make the words out, or even who it might be, but my head felt like it had gone through a meat grinder. The feeling only grew worse the more so tried to focus on any one thing. ¡°Ah, there yah are.¡± Came a nice, soothing voice. When I turned I found Steven looking down at me. ¡°Before yah ask, you have been out for about half an hour.¡± My eyes scanned the room for the others but found that it was just the two of us. ¡°I kicked the rest of your group out when they wouldn¡¯t shut up.¡± While it hurt to sit up, I forced my body up enough to turn and face him. ¡°Can we get this damned orb secured so I can walk around without any worries? I really want to go find a place to curl up and sleep for a while.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he patted my knee as he got up. He picked up the orb from a nearby counter as he spoke. ¡°The thing¡¯s size does limit us a bit, especially when you take into account the need to keep it from getting damaged.¡± He did not need to remind me of that fact. The lightly searing burn on my back was a reminder enough thank you. Still, I nodded to acknowledge his observation.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°So, you have the choice of a bracelet, an anklet, a necklace, or a belt.¡± He put the orb down. ¡°Honestly speaking, I would pick the necklace if I was you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked out of genuine curiosity. ¡°It would be the hardest for yah to lose when you change forms.¡± It took me a moment longer than I was comfortable admitting to understand what he was saying. According to the orb, I could change into a fox. Not all that unusual given that Kitsune sometimes came in such a form. Of course, this meant that my body would alter to match the proportions of such a creature. Skinny wrists and all. I wouldn¡¯t be all that surprised if my transformation caused me to get tangled in my clothes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry though,¡± he spoke as though he thought I wasn¡¯t totally sold on the idea. ¡°There have been quite a few shifters that have asked for something similar, though not for anything so exotic. Most of them choose to go with something that will turn into a collar of sorts in their other form.¡± You would think the idea of wearing a collar would piss me off or make me uncomfortable but I found the idea felt right. The idea resonated with me. ¡°Let¡¯s go with that,¡± as I spoke, an idea occurred to me. ¡°Can I ask you to add a few things to the collar and not tell anyone?¡± The look he shot me was both curious and concerned. ¡°Depends on what it is?¡± I proceeded to tell him what I needed. The more I spoke, the more his concern vanished as a malicious grin took its place. ¡°I can do that, give me an hour to get it made.¡± ¡°That fast?¡± I suddenly doubted the guy. That just seemed too fast to make something this complicated. The dwarf shot me a reproachful glare for doubting his craft. ¡°I already have all the materials and most of it is preformed. I just need to do a few alterations is all.¡± ¡°And how much will all this cost?¡± I asked as I wondered just how I would pay Xander back for everything he had done for me. He helped me to my feet as he answered, ¡°Your friends already covered the cost.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Stop worrying over it.¡± He said as he gently pushed me toward the door. ¡°It is the least they can do after they hurt you.¡± With those words, he pushed me through the door and into the much darker outside. A cold breeze brushed my long, loose hair across my face as the noise of the open space overwhelmed my senses. The arguing stopped a moment before something slammed into my back. You know how sometimes you forget there is a part of you until something brought your attention to the appendage? Whatever slammed into me smashed my tail into my spine. It wouldn¡¯t have been a problem but I was pretty sure the damned thing was not meant to bend that sharply. ¡°AHH!¡± I screamed. ¡°Wha¡­Oh damn.¡± Ginger¡¯s voice went from my ear to a few feet back as whatever had been holding me in its steel grip let me go. ¡°I am so sorry.¡± While I heard her apologize, I was more focused on reaching around to feel for any kinks. Thankfully I found none, but that didn¡¯t mean the spot didn¡¯t sting. ¡°Can we just get some dinner?¡± My growl was something I did not expect but I liked it. The sound was a bit menacing. I mean it probably wasn¡¯t enough to scare these guys, but it might have a decent effect on others¡­maybe. ¡°Sure,¡± Pendragon nodded. ¡°There is a decent BBQ joint around here.¡± My mouth salivated at the idea of barbecue. I had always wanted to try some but never got the chance. ¡°You will like it,¡± Ginger said as the crowds swallowed us up while we started to move down the street. ¡°Did you manage to get something squared away with Steven?¡± I nodded my head. ¡°He should have something ready after dinner, or so he says.¡± ¡°Yeah, he works fast when he finds something intriguing to work on.¡± I caught the gleam in her eyes as she skipped next to me. Her tail practically smacked me in the face as she moved a bit too fast and had to slow down to let us catch up. ¡°So, what did you end up going for?¡± With a shrug, I answered her, ¡°A necklace.¡± Ginger spun around and faced me as she hopped sideways. Her eyes met mine as she made sure I heard her ask her question. ¡°Oh, what will happen when you transform?¡± ¡°What makes you think I will transform?¡± I snorted. ¡°The werewolves will require that you run at least one time with them or they won''t let you stay with them.¡± Pendragon sounded as though he had some experience with the group. ¡°Oh, come on, that can¡¯t be true.¡± I playfully whined. While I was willing to give my fox form a chance, I wasn¡¯t going to do so without a fight or because I had no other choice. Ginger sounded wistful as she spoke, ¡°You will, I know I wish I could join in the runs but they require one to be fully changed. Something I will never be able to do.¡± Pendragon pulled her to him as we exited the flow and entered a restaurant full of distractingly delicious smells coupled with the sounds of a full kitchen working hard to churn out food. I ignored my mouth as I thought over what Ginger had said. While I knew that beastkin of all sorts were part animal, I didn¡¯t realize that they were stuck between both groups. Some could pass as human but the animal parts would ensure they were held at arms reach for most. Their lack of ability to take on an animal form would ensure they didn¡¯t find a place with those who could. It insulated a group that just wanted to be accepted. Maybe that was why there were villages of just beastkin. I was also sure those villages were very isolated, if not insular, and worked to keep it that way. Either I had been completely engrossed in my thoughts for longer than I had expected, or someone had ordered ahead because our meals came without me having to say a word. My plate held a stack of ribs and a moderate-sized salad. I dug right into the meat with gusto. My teeth barely had to touch the meat before it fell apart. Juices drizzled down my fingers and chin as I savored each piece of heaven. As I set the last piece down, I moaned. My stomach was as filled as my taste buds were sated. The salad was all I had left. Given the heaping pile of ribs I just devoured, I was fine with that. ¡°Hey Kyren,¡± Ginger started. I looked up to find her looking out the window in the direction of the jewelry shop. "Did you leave your orb with Steven or did you bring it with you.¡± ¡°I left it there so he didn¡¯t have a problem.¡± Yeah, no. I had forgotten to grab the damned thing on my way. In my defense, the dwarf practically threw my ass out. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It''s just that¡­ that was the second guard squad to run down the street.¡± She sighed, ¡°While it is likely nothing, I just have a gut feeling.¡± ¡°You mean indegestion?¡± She tossed her napkin at me. I caught it as my tone went from playful to serious. It even felt as though my ears crushed themselves into my hair. ¡°Well, he did say he would be done after dinner so might as well head on over.¡± I looked over to Pendragon, ¡°How much do I owe you for dinner?¡± He waved me off as he went up to the counter. These people and their need to pay for me was starting to get annoying. I hated it when people paid for me. It was like they were saying that I wasn¡¯t capable of taking care of myself. Given that I had done so for quite a while, I needed to get settled down and get to grinding so I could pay some of these people back. While it might take a little bit, it did give me time to figure out what was next. It also gave me time to think over the Oracle''s words. How was I going to prevent what they said was inevitable? How could I stop the end of whatever worlds he had been talking about? Where would I best fit in? Why me? I couldn¡¯t even seem to keep track of my fucking orb. Chapter 13 - Alpha Asshole As one, we exited the restaurant and joined the rush of people outside. I expected this place to be similar to my previous place of residence in how everyone seemed to hide in their houses relatively quickly after the sun set. ¡°Why are there so many people out and about?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t there be?¡± Pendragon asked as his brows furrowed in confusion. I didn¡¯t quite know the answer to his question but, thankfully, Ginger was able to answer him. ¡°I think she is thinking about how most games and such put the NPCs into their houses as soon as it is nighttime.¡± So it wasn¡¯t exactly what I had been thinking but it might get me the answer I needed. ¡°You do know that this isn''t a game, right?¡± He shot me a pointed look. One that said I better agree or he would smack me. A simple nod and he continued. ¡°Also, you have to remember that this place is made up of mostly travelers.¡± Which meant that the people here were used to walking around even if it was dark out. Hell, the lights that lined the streets probably made it seem like they were back on Earth. The only thing missing were the trains. Without warning, we came upon a wall of people, their murmurs blended into a cacophony of excitement and concern as they tried to get a good look at something. We tried to go around but they were everywhere as people gawked at whatever was on the other side. I looked up to see if there was a roof we could scale. Was it all that odd that I wasn¡¯t surprised to find others had the same idea? It seemed as though just as many people hung off the surrounding roofs and walls as there were on the ground. Lucky for us, the crowd parted to let a group of guards through. Brandi and Captain Young were amongst them. A few of the guards were also carrying a stretcher with a beaten and sliced-up dwarf. I looked past them and toward the now-visible store. It was destroyed. It was safe to assume that the windows were shattered from the inside given the amount of merchandise scattered around the place. Some of it even looked to be sticking through the wall and roof. If I didn¡¯t know better, I would assume a bomb had gone off. Then again, maybe it was a magic bomb that didn¡¯t leave any burns or smoke. Pendragon stepped into their path. The group stopped. While the captain and the werewolf glared at him, the rest of the group chorused out ¡°Commander¡± and ¡°Guildmaster¡± as they gave him a slight bow. While I had expected the guy was high up given that he talked to Xander as if they were coworkers and not simply acquaintances, I had not expected just how high up he was. I mean, Guildmaster? Of which guild? ¡°What happened?¡± He asked the captain. While Captain Young looked to be clenching his jaw, he managed to grit out, ¡°It is not something for you to worry about. You are currently on vacation. I suggest you return to it and leave this to us.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± I started. A hand wave from the dwarf stopped me from arguing as we all turned to give him our full attention. Steven let out a few pained groans and grunts as he forced his body up. His fearful and tear-stained eyes met mine as he whispered ¡°They stole it¡­¡± With those words, he collapsed back into the stretcher. The guards looked between him and our group. I held up my hands as if to say I had no clue what he meant. I just hoped that my tail and ears didn¡¯t give me away because I was both pissed and scared. My orb was gone and I had no clue who had it. Captain Young either didn¡¯t want to question us or didn¡¯t care if we did know because he shook his head and pushed Pendragon out of the way as he resumed walking. Save for Brandi and a pair of guards, the rest of the group followed him. With the excitement over and a lack of anything to see, the crowd started to disperse. I debated running in the hopes that the person holding my orb would be required to talk to me to order me. While the idea had merit, it had one major flaw: the person could just destroy the thing out of frustration. Did I know what it would do to me? No, but it couldn¡¯t be all that good considering the amount of pain I was in from a simple scratch. With how many times I lost the thing, there came a point in which one wondered as to why. Was I just doomed to become someone''s slave? Or was it one of those cruel jokes that the universe played on people? Fuck, was it a god or something targeting Kitsune with the simple goal of creating chaos? Pendragon¡¯s hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts. ¡°I will find it.¡± My knees shook as I whimpered, ¡°How?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know but I will find it. I will not stop until I find that thing.¡± He promised. The guy shot a longing look at Ginger as he continued. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right to leave anyone in this situation. Not even if it required me to leave you for a time. Just know, I will be back.¡± Pendragon moved to follow the guards but Brandi stopped him. ¡°How about you wait until you meet with the Alpha?¡± ¡°Why would we need to meet that beast?¡± At Ginger¡¯s words, the two guards that had stayed behind growled. ¡°Don¡¯t you call him a beast you wannabee shifter!¡± One of the guards said. ¡°Oh great, more racism,¡± I muttered as my eyes rolled. ¡°What did you say?¡± The other one shot at me. ¡°Now now,¡± Brandi spoke as if she was the voice of reason. I was starting to wonder though. She had to know how Ginger would react, let alone her own people. ¡°You are right in asking why. He doesn¡¯t typically talk to new shifters, but Kyren here is an oddity. He felt that he couldn¡¯t delegate this to an underling.¡± ¡°And why would she need to meet him at all?¡± Ginger shot back. Pendragon spoke as if something just occurred to him. ¡°Because she is a shifter.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Brandi smiled. It was the first time I had seen her teeth and they looked, predatory. Each of the tips seemed more pointed than they should have been. The sight shot a brief spat of fear racing down my nerves and into my legs as I started to seriously contemplate running. It was as if she knew what I was thinking as her eyes met mine. ¡°You can try and run but you won''t get far. Even if you did the guards at the gates would bring you to our compound if you made it that far.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Why the fuck did you bother to ask me to come with you if you were just going to force me to anyway?¡± I demanded. ¡°Because we don¡¯t like to force people to come see us. We want their stay to be their choice.¡± ¡°Their stay? You mean once I get there I won''t have a choice in how long the stay will be?!¡± Brandi sighed, ¡°I am making a mess of this. Come meet the guy. Only then can we know what comes next.¡± I debated taking my chance. I even debated attacking her. While I knew that would be suicide, I was fairly sure that my spawn point was likely still set to that church. I would then be able to go anywhere and there would be nothing the fucking Alpha could do to me. As my hand reached to retrieve my Chisa Katana from my inventory, Ginger¡¯s hand stopped me. ¡°Just go with them. My brother will deal with them when he gets back if they try and keep you against your will.¡± Her words calmed me because she was right. Xander would do something like that for me. Hell, he was paying for doing something similar. ¡°Fine,¡± I said in a cheerful voice. ¡°I will meet with this Alpha of yours.¡± Brandi nodded at this before pivoting on one foot and leading us down another street. As we followed her, I noticed that the places turned from small businesses to box stores before morphing into apartments. Given how many of the massive towers there were, the city had to support quite a large population. Probably larger than most countries back on Earth did. Then came the rich residences. Whereas the apartments were in large towers, these places looked like townhouses. They even had fences to prevent people from destroying their lawn. Of course, the things were designed so they didn¡¯t block one''s view of the property. Of course, while there were those that everyone considered rich, there were those that even the rich considered over the top. Those that built compounds for themselves or even close family. One of the largest looked to contain an impossible-looking forest inside its walls. The gate to the property swung open as we approached. ¡°Welcome to Hunt¡¯s Hollow,¡± Brandi announced as we stepped over the threshold. I barely noticed as the gates shut behind us. My eyes were locked onto the village that the wall had hidden. This far from the forest, the trees were fairly well spread out and looked fairly young. One or two buildings lay between some while others contained small crop plots. Kids in various forms played as their parents watched. The place looked peaceful. Like it was home to these people. I almost felt bad for what their Alpha was bringing down on their head by forcing me to be here. Almost. She didn¡¯t give us long to gawk at the sights before resuming the procession. It only took me a minute to realize that she was leading us toward the largest building in sight. Each of the walls was crafted from logs that looked to have been harvested from the very forest it was surrounded by. Which was impressive given that the structure was two stories tall and at least a hundred feet on a side. Our escorts sped past us as they moved to open the massive double doors to reveal a rather large sitting room. While the room might have been well decorated, I didn¡¯t notice. My eyes were locked on the man sitting in the chair in the middle of the room. His hands were steepled as he waited for something or someone. His eyes snapped up to take in our group only to lock onto me. They were a dark brown that reminded me of chocolate. It went well with his darker-tanned skin. While the skin tone and posture hid much of his muscle tone, even I could tell the guy was well-built. The amount of well-muscled people had me wondering just what they fed these people and where I could get some. ¡°You must be Kyren.¡± He spoke with a soft voice. Not that it wasn¡¯t any less powerful for it. Even now I could feel the amount of power radiating off of him. ¡°One of the boarders few Kitsune. The only one that is low enough level to fall under my purview.¡± Wait, there are other Kitsune in the city? Where were they? Could I meet them? I opened my mouth to ask these questions and more but he didn¡¯t give me a chance. ¡°Do you know why the city allows me to require all shifters to come visit this compound at least once?¡± I didn¡¯t know, but that didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t hazard a guess. ¡°Control?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Not in the way you mean it. Did you know that those with an animal transformation are more prone to being influenced by said animal?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Well, they are. Wolves are more likely to live in packs while cats tend to be loners.¡± I wanted to ask what this had to do with me but I resisted. ¡°And?¡± ¡°While it is different for every species, if a wolf doesn¡¯t have a pack, they tend to go insane.¡± His tone was uncaring. ¡°A wild and insane werewolf is not something anyone wants. Especially inside the city where there are non-combatants.¡± My mind flashed back to the kids I just saw outside, playing. ¡°My pack built this compound to give the various shifter species a chance to get what they need to stay balanced. It has grown to the point that the Council sends people here rather than try and deal with them on their own.¡± I shook my head. While this sounded great and all, it didn¡¯t apply to me. ¡°That still does not explain why I am here.¡± ¡°Because you can shift into a fox. Since none of the other Kitsune are willing to talk to me about what might happen, I need to assume the worst about your beast''s nature. As such, I will have to require that you stay here, at least for a little while.¡± ¡°And if she doesn¡¯t?¡± Ginger asked. ¡°I will have to insist.¡± His grin turned predatory as his gaze went to her. The guy leaned forward as he reached for a box set on a nearby table. As soon as the lid was lifted, I recognized the small orb inside. ¡°What are you doing with that?¡± I growled. I wasn¡¯t the only one either. Both Pendragon and Ginger sounded just as pissed as I felt. ¡°Funny story about this little thing.¡± He said as he set it down on the table with its lid open and facing us. ¡°When Brandi told me that you didn¡¯t jump at the chance to visit the place, I sent someone to keep an eye on you. Imagine my surprise when they reported back this little nugget of information.¡± ¡°So you are the one that ordered that shop destroyed and the smith to be hurt?!¡± Pendragon asked. His voice was low and full of rage. ¡°Not at first.¡± He responded with a wave of his hand. ¡°Not until the spy reported back that it sounded as if the dwarf was going to see if it was the real deal by ordering you to do some things.¡± ¡°He would never!¡± Ginger shouted. ¡°To have absolute power over someone is tempting to most. It can infect even those with pure intentions.¡± ¡°Why are you telling us this?¡± I asked. My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out what he got out of all this. ¡°You could have kept it secret and saved it for some time in the future when you wanted company or something.¡± A shudder ran through me at the very thought. ¡°I could,¡± he agreed, ¡°or I could make a deal with you.¡± The idea of making a deal reminded me of the demon but I didn¡¯t see any other choice. ¡°I am listening.¡± ¡°Until such a time that I determine you can control your beast in any situation, you will live in one of the pack houses.¡± He started to list things off. ¡°The pack goes on a run every night. You will join in on these runs as long as you live within the compound. In return, I will give you this back.¡± He gestured at the box containing my orb. Neither of those sounded all that bad. So what was the catch? ¡°And how much will this cost me?¡± ¡°Because it is something I am requiring you to do, it is free. The price for when you are free to come and go will depend on how everything goes and how well you integrate into the pack.¡± I tried to come up with a catch and finally asked him. ¡°What is the catch?¡± ¡°To leave the compound you must be accompanied by someone that can contain you.¡± I was pretty sure most of his people could do this, but something told me he was going to limit this as much as possible. ¡°And let me guess, there are very few people that you would consider capable of doing that?¡± ¡°About two dozen, most of which are out doing various missions.¡± Yeah, imagine that. ¡°Fine.¡± I grumped as I reached for the box. His hand beat mine and held it in place as he shot me a smile filled with pride at what he had accomplished. ¡°Your first run is in ten minutes.¡± Well, I knew who I would be going after first with pranks. Chapter 14 - Transformation I yanked the box back as soon as the alpha let it go. While I had seen my orb, I had ignored the rest of the contents of the box. My orb sat in the center of a nest of interwoven wires. Each of the wires was as thin as a hair. The mix of colors caught my breath. A platinum color dominated the lot, but it was intermixed with some iridescent blues and purples. Tiny jewels caught in the light as I carefully lifted the piece of art out of its container. Just how much had this thing cost? Stones, no matter the size, couldn¡¯t be all that cheap. Add in all the work that Steven had put into it, I doubted I could ever have had enough money to even put a downpayment on it. I almost wanted to get Ginger to return it. Not that Xander or Ginger would have ever let me turn it down. Hell, they would probably tell me that I needed something that we knew wouldn¡¯t break easily. It would also help that its beauty distracted anyone who might see the orb. With an internal sigh, I tried to figure out how to put the thing on. It was missing any sort of clasp or hook. ¡°Let me,¡± Ginger said as she took the necklace out of my hands. She did something and the thing expanded to the point that the spread-out threads became a thin cord. In its newly expanded state, it easily slipped over my head and settled on my neck. The moment her hands released the thing, it practically snapped to my throat. My neck hurt where the necklace hit. It hurt worst where the orb had smacked into my throat causing me to cough. ¡°The dwarf does good work as always.¡± Ginger sounded as if she was gloating over her son or something. ¡°Is that a sealing spell woven into the wires?¡± Pendragon asked out of curiosity. ¡°You caught that?¡± She sounded as if she had expected him to. ¡°I asked him to add it. Not to seal her powers but to seal whatever she ordered to her person.¡± He whistled while the alpha simply let out a grunt of approval. ¡°Um, where is the nearest bathroom I can use?¡± I felt a bit awkward asking but that didn¡¯t change the fact that I suddenly had to go. I hadn''t even had much to drink today yet here I was having to find a restroom. The alpha pointed at a hall on the right side of the room. ¡°Third door on the right.¡± I took off like a missile with a mission. The moment the door was open I mentally took a vacation as I tried to slip my pants down my legs. A sharp tug at the base of my spine reminded me that I had a tail to deal with now. I am fairly sure I growled a little while my hands fiddled with the latch hidden in the seam of my pants. With the latch released, the fabric dropped, taking my panties with it. While I still cursed the gods and my change in equipment, the pressure on my bladder was a more immediate concern. One that I knew how to fix. Though, it didn¡¯t help that I happened to have a brief flashback of my last attempt. A flashback that was enough to convince me to take at least a moment to adjust myself before I released the flood. A relieved sigh escaped me as I let it all out. This time, the stream was pretty steady. I still had to wipe myself, but it was nothing like last time. As I finished washing my hands, I looked into the mirror over the sink to find that my choker had changed slightly. Surrounding the orb, almost looking like it was holding it there, was a single tail. Whatever it was made out of shimmered like blue fire. Its fire matched that displayed by the orb, allowing it to blend in better. The sight made me question if I was in a dream or not. There was no way I would ever be allowed to own something so beautiful. Surprisingly, while it looked like it might choke me, I barely felt it. Out of curiosity, I pulled up the item''s stats and nearly cried out in shock.
Item: Seine Last Tragen
Rank: Unique
Special: Sealed to Kyren Vulpier (Alex Morgan).
Socketed Gem: Kyren¡¯s Kitsune Orb
Passive: Adjusts to the user''s size. Access to the Socketed Gem from inventory. Mana Battery. Unknown. Unknown. Unknown.
Active: Bell, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown.
Special: This item can travel between worlds.
Mana Charge: 2500/2500
Charge Rate: +10 mana per hour in the current location.
Description: While this is a mere trinket, I hope that it is able to help you carry your heavy burden. -Steven
I shook my head as I shut the window. What the fuck was this thing? If one ignored all the unknown stuff, and the pitiful mana charge, the necklace could hold over three times what I could. It almost felt like cheating to even have the thing. And that description. The dwarf called this a trinket. Just what would he consider useful?Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. As I opened the door, I heard Ginger talking, ¡°Do you really have no idea who keeps killing the oracles?¡± ¡°We have combed the place with everything we could. I even sent people in wolf form to try and sniff out the culprit.¡± The Alpha sounded pissed about the lack of progress. ¡°Yet we get nothing. I am starting to think it is a group working in concert to disrupt our defensive lines.¡± ¡°What do the other investigators think about that idea?¡± Pendragon asked. ¡°They don¡¯t agree,¡± Brandi answered for her alpha. Given the low growl, he didn¡¯t like that she had done so. Not that she seemed to care. ¡°Most are in agreement that our security is too tight for more than one or two to have slipped into our ranks.¡± ¡°They are going so far as to disrupt my investigation.¡± He growled. ¡°And before you ask, I already checked to see if they were clean. While they have a few issues, they have had nothing to do with the murders.¡± ¡°Are they following any sort of pattern?¡± Ginger asked. ¡°Their only pattern is in who they are targeting and the fact that they have never used the same method twice,¡± Brandi spoke as I heard the front door open. Whoever it was didn¡¯t speak all that loud before exiting the building. ¡°Kyren, you can stop eavesdropping and come out here.¡± My cheeks burned as I stepped into the hallway. Everyone''s eyes converged on me for a moment before he turned to look at the other two. ¡°I suggest that the two of you get going.¡± Pendragon and Ginger shot me a worried look but did as he suggested. As they left, Brandi and her followers did the same. ¡°I will make sure they get out safely and let everyone know we will have someone new joining us tonight.¡± While the alpha turned to face me, he didn¡¯t speak. Even after the thump of the door against its frame was followed by silence. I almost wondered if he was waiting for me to say something until, finally, he broke the silence. ¡°Do you know how to shift?¡± What kind of question was that? Of course I didn¡¯t know how to shift. The only hint I had about being able to change came from my orb. I mean, if I had to I could probably figure it out but why would I want to? Okay, I had to admit it was nice to have a fluffy tail I could pet anytime I wished. Oh, and the senses were fairly decent. But everything else was just, I could do without it. I didn¡¯t say any of this though. Instead, I simply shook my head in answer. He didn¡¯t seem all that surprised or annoyed at the fact that he would have to teach me. In fact, he looked a bit relieved. ¡°Well, there are a few different ways someone can shift. Mostly it is due to the race. Weres,¡± he gestured at himself, ¡°for example, just will their animal forward. The moon can force us to shift, but she only does so when she is full. Selkies, their non-human form is their dominant shape. Then you have creatures like Skinwalkers, not that you will see them around here, but they must don the skin of the creature they want to shift into.¡± ¡°And Kitsune?¡± I asked. He shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Are there any hints in your race description that might point to how you can shift?¡± I highly doubted it, but there was a hint in one place. My hand reached up to tap against the orb as I reluctantly spoke. ¡°The only place I have seen the option to transform was in this item¡¯s description.¡± ¡°Is it in the use category?¡± He didn¡¯t sound all that surprised which made me think he had decided to take a look at my orb before we got here. So why had he handed it back? Was he trying to get on my good side? Was the theft of my orb what he claimed; a way to force me to come see him? ¡°Yes, it lists fox, human, and kitsune as options for me to transform into.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he smiled. ¡°Now comes the part you might not like. It is up to you if you want to get naked before changing or not. I would personally recommend taking it all off as you have no idea how big your animal will be. They could either get trapped in the clothes or tear them to ribbons. Trust me when I say that tearing them is not a pleasant experience.¡± Oh, great, shifters were streakers. I get that he wanted to be frank and give me every piece of information I needed to make a decision, but I was not getting naked in front of him, let alone in front of any other guy. At least, not for a while. To be honest, I wanted to yell at him for even suggesting I do such a thing. He could of at least offered for Brandi to watch me if someone had to be here to make sure I didn¡¯t get into trouble. Before I could say a word, he offered a third option. ¡°You could use the bathroom to transform. That way you won¡¯t be uncomfortable.¡± His soft, deep chuckles chased after me as I bolted for the bathroom. ¡°Just paw at the door when you are done and I will open it.¡± The last of his words filtered through the closed door as I leaned against it. My mind raced over the fact that I had to do this. I had no choice but to shift into a fox. Would it hurt? I mean, my muscles and bones would shift around as my human body changed into the shape of a fox, so it had to didn¡¯t it? Then again, it was magic. Magic was a pain at times. Sometimes it would help and other times it would just make the pain worse. Wait, could you use a healing spell wrong and do more damage? Like, if you broke your leg and healed it without setting the bone would it heal that way? Would the flesh grind against the sharp points of the bone? Would it¡­focus! I needed to focus on shifting. Which meant I needed to get undressed. Yeah, my hands didn¡¯t move. I knew I was avoiding what I needed to do but this wasn¡¯t like going to the bathroom. I couldn¡¯t simply ignore what was going on with a bit of mental effort. Not with the balls of fat on my chest. Both of which refused to be ignored when they were free. Especially the nipple region. At times, those sensitive bundles of nerves just loved to get my attention at the littlest touch, while at others they were just as insensitive as ever. Thankfully all of that was contained within a bra. A bra that I would have to remove without help. An action that would, on its own, remind me about how my body had changed. How that, below all the fabric, was a body I didn¡¯t want ¨C one that would have made part of me hard, back when I still had a body capable of such reactions. Of course, now the feelings were different. They were alien. They were not mine, yet, they were. I get that most people would love to see how the other side lived, but what would they do if they were told it was permanent? Most would run. Hell, I would have. But what if you were given no other choice? Would you hide from your new body or experiment? As for me, the majority of my mind wanted to ignore it all, to just never look at my body until I forced a god to change me back. Yet, there was a tiny part of me, lying in the back of my mind, that wanted to see just the body. Wanted to see just what was so different about it. The worst part was, that tiny part of myself was growing louder. It didn¡¯t help that I had no choice but to take my clothes off. At least for this one time. Just so that we could see just how big my other form was. If I was lucky my other form would be small enough that I could wiggle my way out of my clothes. Of course, that was assuming I ever shifted again. Yeah, this wasn¡¯t helping. I didn¡¯t know how long I had been standing here but I was sure that the alpha was probably starting to wonder what was going on. I needed to get undressed and I could either do it with my eyes closed and hands fumbling, or I could just deal with my new body. It wasn¡¯t like I had seen it before. If anything, I had gotten a great look over my body as Ginger forced me into various pieces of, well, I wanted to call them lingerie but that was being too gracious given how much skin the pieces left uncovered. While they were shaky, I forced my hands down to the hem of my shirt. The fabric felt silky against my skin as I pulled it up and over my head. It went into my inventory as my hands reached back to clasp on my bra. The things fought me tooth and nail as I twisted, pushed, and pulled the fabric to get each tooth disengaged. As soon as the last tooth released its hold, the entire thing was shoved into my inventory. Of course, my breasts reminded me why I needed the damn piece of fabric the moment I went to remove my pants for the second time in less than an hour. They swayed and caused my tail to stretch out as it worked to keep me balanced. Then, I found myself completely naked. Well, save for the collar. Inside of which sat the orb that should allow me to change forms. One of my hands reached up to touch the orb. Its information came up without issue. I stared at it as I tried to think about how to initiate the transformation. Touching the screen did nothing, my hand passed through it as if it wasn¡¯t there, which it wasn¡¯t, not really. But what if¡­ I focused on selecting the fox transformation option. It blinked once before mana flooded out of the orb. Mana surged around me. Everywhere tickled as the mana started to push and pull at various parts of my body. Every part of my body vied for my attention, but my nose took priority. I watched as it was slowly pulled away from my face as it changed color and grew fur. Suddenly, I lost my footing as something shifted inside me. I fell to the ground in a heap as bones snapped and muscles shifted. None of it hurt, it just felt, weird. I must have whimpered or something because the alpha was suddenly standing over me. His nose was inches from mine as his eyes bore into mine. They had gone from the chocolate brown color I had seen earlier to a bright amber color with golden striations. The effect was almost mesmerizing. Almost. Chapter 15 - First Run He was too close. Something whimpered as my feet scrambled to get away. They slid this way and that as my feet, paws, or whatever, tried to find traction on the wood floor. The alpha reached out and gripped the back of my neck. His grip was firm enough to stop me yet gentle enough to not hurt. With a soft tug, he lifted me to my feet and let me go. I scrambled to stay upright. I would have fallen except the big guy scooped me into his arms. One arm supported my butt while the upper half held me against him. Secure and no longer at risk of falling, I relaxed against him. He smelled of trees and freshly turned dirt. While it wasn¡¯t all that appealing, it was as refreshing as it was relaxing. Before I knew it, my feet hit the ground as he set me down. The surface was rough enough that I was able to stand. Or at least try. Who knew that standing on four legs was harder than two? But eventually, I managed to do it. I could feel my tail wagging as I looked up at the alpha. I was fairly sure that my canid grin was close to his in size. ¡°There you go.¡± His voice was full of joy. ¡°Do you think you are ready to try walking?¡± My tail joined my grin as they dropped. It had been hard enough to stand up. How much harder would it be to walk? ¡°Oh, sweet girl. Don¡¯t be like that. I know that you can do it.¡± He soothed as he reached his hand out. I flinched at his touch but relaxed as his fingers found a hell of a spot behind my ear. No wonder dogs loved it when someone rubbed their ears. Then he removed his hand. I let out a pitiful whine. It had been too soon for him to stop scratching the spot. My eyes narrowed as he scooted back a few feet. His hand lifted toward me as he spoke. ¡°If you want more scratches you will need to come get them.¡± Yeah, I was going to do something to him as soon as I got the chance. Still, those scratches were addicting. I couldn¡¯t help but try to get closer to him. I tentatively lifted my front left paw. It didn¡¯t go high as I waited to see if I could even keep my balance on three legs. Surprisingly enough, I didn¡¯t have any issues and I didn¡¯t have to even move or shift my other feet. If anything, my tail moved just enough to balance me. Excited, I shifted the paw as far forward as I could and set it down before repeating the process with my other front paw. The alpha chuckled. ¡°You might want to alternate front and back paws.¡± Ignoring his unsolicited advice, I set the paw down and felt a bit stretched. Of course, this didn¡¯t bother me. I could fix it by simply moving my back feet next. Yeah, the moment I lifted my back left paw I toppled to the side. Turns out, the more one is stretched, the less balance one has. I glared at him as he laughed. ¡°What did I say? Alternate.¡± Surprisingly enough, it wasn¡¯t as hard to get to my feet as it was the first time. As soon as I was ready to try again, I did as he suggested. However, this time I only moved them a paw length as I tried to move forward. Front paw, back paw, front paw, back paw. While the distance was negligible, I managed to move forward without falling. That fact was enough to cause my tail to wag with joy. Then I saw just how far I still had to go. It would take me all night to cross the distance if I continued to take such small steps. I needed to take full steps. Suddenly, something tickled my nose. I tried to hold in the building sneeze but it refused. My entire body shook, causing me to stagger to the side as I sneezed. The alpha¡¯s hands caught me, preventing me from falling to the ground. As quickly as he had moved to help me, he slid back to where he had been. I chuffed in annoyance but tried to take a longer step. It wasn¡¯t hard. In fact, I found it easier than taking a small step. I extended each step out until, eventually, I was practically strutting up to the man. He smiled as both of his hands scratched at my ears. I barely heard Brandi when she opened the door to check on us. ¡°How is she¡­¡± Given the fact that she stopped fairly quickly, I had to assume she had caught sight of me. ¡°Awww¡­¡± While I was too distracted by the scratches, I didn¡¯t see her make her way to me. I didn¡¯t even know she was upon me until another set of hands started to scratch down my back. ¡°Her fur is beautiful and oh so soft.¡± While I wanted to nip at her for scratching me without asking, I couldn¡¯t be bothered. Not while it felt so good. One of their hands hit a spot near my neck that sent me crashing to the floor. They both took advantage of my helplessness to roll me onto my side and scratch my belly and I let them. Those hands reached spots that I didn¡¯t know itched. I lost track of time as I relaxed. Suddenly, they both stopped as someone else entered the room. ¡°Are we going on the run or not?¡± The voice was from someone that sounded young. ¡°Because if not then I would like to go hunting with my friends.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°We are.¡± The alpha sounded embarrassed. ¡°Honey, why don¡¯t you go outside and wait for us? We will be out there in a minute.¡± Honey? Just who was this girl and why did this big and brusk alpha seem embarrassed that she had caught him petting me? They both stood up. I struggled to do the same. Getting up from my side was much harder than my belly. My damned legs were in the way of my attempts to roll to my belly. Neither of the fuckers helped me. Couldn¡¯t they see that I was struggling? Finally, though, I managed to stand on my own. Annoyed, I strode past them and through the door. I was surprised by what I could see. The darkness that vailed the door would have been impenetrable to my human eyes but I found that various shapes and hues broke up the darkness. Shadows merged and broke apart as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Within moments people, buildings, and trees became clear. Well, not as clear as they would have in the day, but clear enough for me to understand what I was seeing. I expected to see black and white given what little I knew about night vision, but the faint light coming from various windows and doors was enough to allow color to bleed into the night. Movement caught my eye ¨C a leaf fluttered down from above. I watched in fascination as it flipped and twirled in the soft breeze. The sounds of the branches and trees swaying in the wind overwhelmed the murmurs around me. Then there were the smells. Earth, cooked meat, musk, and a harsh chemical smell were the few scents I could identify. Yet they were just the tip of the scentburg assaulting my nose. A sudden hushing caught my attention. ¡°Members of the pack. People of our village. Visitors. I, Liam Armstrong, present the newest shifter to visit the city. Treat her well as you never know when something you say or do might come back to bite you.¡± The alpha spoke from above me. His tone and words had me wondering if this was some sort of ceremony. ¡°What is she?¡± Someone called. I looked for their face and realized just how big the group was. While I had been expecting one or two dozen people, I found that there were at least five times that. People of all ages packed the small clearing and even seemed to spill into the surrounding forest. ¡°A fox.¡± I let out a thankful sigh of relief at his answer. ¡°That doesn¡¯t look like a normal fox coloring, no it doesn¡¯t.¡± Came a soft voice with a very heavy southern twang. ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Tell us the truth.¡± ¡°Are we safe with her here?¡± ¡°How long has she been a shifter?¡± ¡°Is she dating anyone?¡± ¡°She¡¯s so FLUFFY! I want to pet her.¡± ¡°No, I called dibs.¡± The place exploded with voices as people talked over each other. Suddenly, they all stopped. ¡°While I understand your concern, do you think I would let someone that wasn¡¯t safe near my daughter? If it makes you feel better, my beta and I will keep a close eye on her. As for any other information, you will just have to ask her, LATER! For now, WE RUN!¡± Liam called. ¡°Gabriella, you will lead us tonight.¡± Everyone cheered. Most of them stripped off their clothes while others moved to the side. I was conflicted over which group to watch. While I wanted to see just what everyone was and how they changed, I was curious about the group that wasn¡¯t shifting. Thankfully Brandi knelt down next to me. ¡°The ones over there,¡± she gestured at the non-shifting group, ¡°are not shifters. However, they are mated to one or the child they had before this game changed them. While most cannot keep up with us, that doesn¡¯t mean they don¡¯t try.¡± My eyes left that group and tracked over the various bodies. Limbs flailed, twisted, and distorted. I quickly looked away from those whose bones visibly broke and shifted. Had I looked like those people as I changed or had I looked like those whose forms seemed to become a mirage? Then there were those whose bodies simply melted and solidified into their new form. Almost changing between one blink and the next. Within ten minutes, the loud crunching of bones and other noises diminished to nothing. Animals of every shape and size had replaced the crowd of people. I saw at least one lion, maybe even a tiger. Of course, the bear was kind of hard to miss. But none of these creatures held a candle to the number of wolves. Sheesh. The sight made me want to find a stick and throw it. There were yips and chirps as more than one group started to chase and tussle with each other. Soon enough, though, a soft howl filled the air. Others joined it. Happy yips intertwined with the call. Even the cats yowled while the other creatures screamed their joy into the night. The bear joined in with its bellow as the group greeted the moon high above. While they continued to play around, the group, as one, charged out of the clearing. The mass flowed around the buildings as they made their way into the woods. As for me, I stayed still. Sure, I was supposed to join them but that didn¡¯t mean I was welcome to do so. Part of me wanted to hang back, to keep my distance from all these people. Yet another part of me wanted to join in the fun. To feel the joy that they had. A hand brushed through my fur. ¡°Go, run, be free,¡± Liam spoke softly. ¡°I will be along in a moment.¡± I took that as the sign that I needed to join everyone. Surely they wouldn¡¯t mind given that their alpha had told me to join them. My run was sloppy. The path I took probably looked more like a drunken stumble than a run as my feet kept getting tangled. Eventually, though, I figured the timing out and I took off. The forest enveloped me. Enough moonlight filtered through the trees to illuminate my path. I jumped over various roots and ducked under logs as I raced to catch up to the group. But, while I could hear them, it seemed as though I was incapable of catching up to the group. If anything, my ears told me I was falling further and further behind. Not that I cared. I felt more free than I had in a long time. My body felt light and agile. It did what I wanted without any effort on my part. At times my body moved before I knew how or what I needed it to do. No wonder everyone had been excited to go on a run. I almost felt like I could do this forever. The thought that I could just stay in this form forever occurred to me. Too bad the moment it did, a loud, menacing growl rippled over the area. Chapter 16 - Pin the Tail on the Alpha Until now, I thought that writers were making it up when they said that their characters fur bristled. Yeah, no. My fur stuck up in every direction as the growl rolled over me. Ears flat to my head, tail tucked in, I dropped to the ground. While I didn¡¯t know if it was luck or not but the bush around me shifted enough to hide me from sight. I refused to move, to not even breathe as the largest wolf I had ever seen stepped into view. Its nose lowered to the ground as it took a deep breath. Almost as though it was searching for something, or someone. With its nose twitching, scenting the air, its head swiveled around until its eyes locked onto where I was hidden. ¡°Come out.¡± Came a base deep voice filled with as much growling as it was words. I didn¡¯t move. ¡°I said, come out!¡± This time, a pulse of mana flared off the beast. As it washed over me, I found a part of my mind wanted to obey the creature. I beat that piece into submission. I would not give myself over to a beast to be eaten. He stepped forward as a growl rumbled out of his chest. It was powerful enough to shake the plants surrounding me. The rustling leaves gave me an idea as well as a way out. I slunk my way backward until my hind foot found a tree stump. A little maneuvering put me on the opposite side. Out of sight of the creature, my mana pumped into my body as I went from dead slow to as fast as I could move. Twigs dragged at my fur as I jumped over logs. Leaves and mud stuck to my pelt as I dove under bushes. My paws stung slightly as I bounced off tree trunks. All so that I could get away. Eventually, the sound of the growling wolf faded into the background as I pushed myself ever faster. A few minutes later, I heard the growling ahead of me. It sounded annoyed as it forced its way through the underbrush. Sometimes, it paid to be the smallest in the group. They were the ones that could just slip through the tight spaces everyone else had to beat their way through. I took a chance and activated one of the only open abilities on my new collar. One that I had asked the dwarf to add. A hauntingly loud chiming bell echoed through the forest. The sound caused the wolf to spin around to see what had created the noise. Not that I was there. I had dodged to the side as soon as the bell chimed. Again, I pushed myself as I ran around to nearly the other side of the wolf. Without waiting, I activated the bell and dove back in the direction I came from. Behind me, I heard the wolf let out a threatening growl. ¡°Come back here you foxy brat!¡± Yeah, like I was going to do that. Instead, I took my time circling the wolf. I popped my head up just long enough to see him and make sure that he was where I expected him to be. He looked alert and pissed. Whoever this wolf was, he was not happy with me. Maybe he expected me to be an easy target. Too bad, I didn¡¯t give in to the demon so why would I give into this thing? With a burst of mana, the world blurred as I cut across the space behind him. I came close enough that, if he had known I was going to be there, he could have taken a heck of a bite. Of course, he didn¡¯t know I was there until I was gone. The sound of a bell echoed through the forest as his growls turned into a howl of anger. Unfortunately, all of this empowered running was draining. I felt it as my mana pool started to get low. So I tapped into my new accessory. Sure it would take a while to recharge but it was well worth it for this. An idea hit me as I raced around him. It would depend on how much moisture was in the air and how fast I could move but given that we were in a forest there was likely no better time to try it. Maybe if it worked here I could use it in a battle or as a way to get away. Small platforms of pure water runes shattered nearly as soon as my feet touched them. Still, it was enough to support me in my flight over the wolf¡¯s head. His head snapped up as the bell tolled out. The howl that chased after me was agitated and rage-filled. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I could run as I figured he had been annoyed enough, but I was pretty sure the only reason he hadn''t given chase was due to me still being in the area. If I tried to run, he would give chase. Sure, I could lose him in the underbrush, but he likely knew the place better than me. He could just wait me out or circle around and come at me from somewhere I wouldn¡¯t expect. No, I needed to deal him a finishing blow. Something that would at least give the rest of the pack time to arrive. Of course, that was assuming they would arrive. Whereas I was unknown to the pack, that didn¡¯t mean he was. After all, just because I didn¡¯t recognize him from the clearing didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t live here full-time. I continued to run in circles as I looked for an opening. The moment it arrived, I took it. Everything blurred as I raced at the wolf¡¯s back. He didn¡¯t get a chance to react as I wrapped my paws around his tail. My teeth sunk into the fur as the bell rang out. The wolf howled as he spun in place. His head twisted around as his tail tried to whip me off. I clung to him. Refusing to let go no matter what he tried. My body smacked into dirt and bushes between swipes. Suddenly, he took off running. He moved faster than I ever had as he barreled through the forest. I had no clue where he was going or why. Then, without warning, I found myself drenched in water. The fucker dove into a river to get me off. Icy water soaked through my fur as he splashed his way into the river. Hah, he didn¡¯t know just who he was dealing with. Instead, I used some mana to heat myself as I tightened my hold. The wolf howled as its tail flung me back and forth. Through the water and into the air before smacking back into the water and repeating the painful attack. He bounded through the shallow part of the river. It turns out that water, while annoying, was a fairly good cushion. As his tail whipped me around, my body smacked into the rocks at the bottom hard enough to sting, but that was it. Then, he turned around and dove toward the middle of the river. His momentum drove us both under as he tried to outlast me in the lung capacity department. Sucks to be him because, while he was pulling us along, I was simply holding onto his tail. Yeah, my lung capacity was quite a bit smaller, but so was my energy expenditure. With a massive heave, he launched us both off the bottom and toward the edge where he promptly collapsed. My ears were stuffed with water but even they could make out the bellows that was his chest. It was rivaled only my own as we both fought to catch our breath. It took him a minute to get out his question. ¡°Why. Are. You. So. Stubborn?¡± I wanted to speak but I didn¡¯t know how. Could a fox talk? I was pretty sure that the answer to that question was a resounding no. Then again, I was a Kitsune and not a fox. There were many myths where they talked to various people while still in their fox form. A sudden guffaw of a laugh startled the both of us. Other voices joined in as they trickled out of the forest. They weren¡¯t all human either. It was weird hearing various creatures laughing. A voice cut over all the noise. ¡°Father?! What did you do to her?¡± I rolled over the tail just enough to see who was talking. Standing there, in nothing but her birthday suit, was the Alpha¡¯s daughter. While that was pretty bad, it wasn¡¯t as bad as the fact that she was talking to the two of us. Given that I was the she that she was likely referring to. My heart dropped into my stomach as I realized whose tail was in my mouth. It wasn¡¯t just anyone''s tail. It was the alpha¡¯s. FUCK! Jaw open, I tried to stand up. To get away from the guy before he could kill me, but my legs refused to hold my weight. While they were numb, I could feel how sore the things were. There was no way they would be able to support me. The giant wolf¡¯s eyes met mine. Sure enough, they were the same amber eyes with golden striations as before. However, they did not look angry or sad. They looked, of all things, happy. Was he happy that he would get to kill something tonight? I was sure that I should be freaking out about now, but I just couldn¡¯t find the energy to care. It was like every one of the emotions chose that moment to abandon me. Even the licking of his chops did nothing. His daughter smacked the back of his head. ¡°DAD! Can''t you see that she is dead tired? Shift already.¡± He snorted in response. I didn¡¯t react as he moved his tail while the rest of his body shifted. At first, I thought he was removing it to stand but it stayed where it was and I found myself surrounded by warmth. His nose pressed into mine. The words that came out of his mouth caused me to relax. ¡°Rest, you deserve it for keeping up with me.¡± So maybe I wouldn¡¯t be getting eaten tonight. How I hoped that this place would be somewhere I could call home. I just didn¡¯t know if I could stand to lose this forest and the freedom my animal form offered me. Not when I just found it. As the darkness pulled at me, a sense of belonging filled my chest as their hushed voices lulled me to sleep. Chapter 17 - Wakey Wakey I felt warm and comfortable. The bed was fluffy and comforting. Though, it did have an odd habit of moving. Which was odd as beds don¡¯t typically move. Well, they do if someone decides they want to toss you out of them. But that wasn¡¯t the case here. The movement was rhythmic. It would slowly rise before stopping only to then slowly drop back down. Over and over it did this movement. It almost reminded me of someone breathing, but that couldn¡¯t be right. I mean, why would I be sleeping in someone''s bed¡­ My eyes snapped open. Sure as shit, I was on someone''s chest. It was wide and well-muscled. Though the muscles were hidden by a bunch of hair. While I knew people had hair on their chests, I never expected there to be so much. At least, I never had so much. Mentally, I shook the last of the cobwebs out of my head as I tried to focus on where I was. It didn¡¯t help that there was a large thing sticking out of my face. It blocked quite a bit of my view and forced my head to lie at a weird angle. The longer I looked at it, the more I felt as though I was forgetting something. Something important. Eh, I was sure it would come to me. First, I needed to get out of here. I tried to slide one of my arms sideways only to find it wouldn¡¯t go all that far. As in, it physically could not move further than it was. Which just added to my confusion as there was no way my bone structure had changed so drastically in one day. Slowly, I slid my hand up to where I could see it. What I saw wasn¡¯t my hand. It was a goddamned paw. Just like that, the events of last night came back to me. I had changed into a fox and gone on my first run. That was all fine and dandy but it didn¡¯t explain just where I was or how I got here. The last thing I could recall was passing out after finding out the wolf I had been fucking with was the alpha of all people. An alpha that had curled around me as he told me to sleep. Ah hell, tell me the guy under me isn''t who I thought it was. Carefully, I lifted my head enough to get a look at his face, and sure as shit, it was the alpha. Great. Now that I knew where I was, mostly, I needed to get away. As slowly as I could, I slid my paws under me. With my muscles bunched, I went from laying to crouching as I tried to keep my weight as distributed as I could. My eyes watched his face for any signs of a reaction to the shift of weight. It didn¡¯t come. With smooth and easy movements, I shifted one leg after another as I worked toward his side. As one foot reached the edge, I let it take as much weight as I could. Soon, I found myself standing next to the beast of a man. A man who, if anything, seemed to have fallen into a deeper sleep now that my weight was no longer compressing his chest. I slipped off his bed and onto the wood floor. I nearly made it to my door when I heard his voice, ¡°And where do you think you are going so early in the morning?¡± Busted. My head turned to shoot him a glare. I found my eyes locking onto his as I noticed they had returned to their warm chocolate color. We stood like that for a few minutes before he let out a jaw-cracking yawn. ¡°Come back to bed. We can deal with whatever you might need in a few hours.¡± His choice of words had me imagining myself jumping into bed naked. That wasn¡¯t odd. There were many times I had gone to bed naked. But that had been when I was a guy and it had been too hot. This time, my body was female and it wasn¡¯t because I was overheating. I shook the odd and uncharacteristic scene out of my mind. ¡°If you don¡¯t come back to bed on your own I will just come over there and carry you back here.¡± His threat had me narrowing my eyes at him. He could try but we both knew just how stubborn I was. With a hefty sigh, he shifted his legs off the edge of the bed. The blanket slid off his lower half as he rose to his feet. To say I got an eyeful would have been an understatement. I didn¡¯t even know that those things ever got that big. Mine sure as hell never did. Even hard, mine had probably only reached maybe three-quarters as long. His, while not completely flaccid, wasn¡¯t hard by any stretch of the imagination. My shock at seeing his dick nearly cost me my freedom. I managed to break out of my mental loop just as he got close enough to touch my fur. Nails scrabbled against the wood as I tried to gain traction. Just as one of my feet managed to find something to push against, one of his arms wrapped itself around my waist. My feet scrambled to hold onto something, anything but I found nothing as the beast lifted me into his arms. ¡°It''s not so bad.¡± He cooed. ¡°We are just going to sleep for a little while longer, then you and I can take a bit of a walk while we talk. And no, I won¡¯t do anything to you. Not unless you specifically ask me to, and not until you are no longer in your fox form.¡± I wanted to yell at this guy. Too bad I still had no idea how to communicate while I was in this form or if I could. So, instead, I chose to mentally scream at him. Wait, what about your wife? What would she have to say about your words? How about your daughter? If they are fine with it then how about the rest of your pack? Surely there is someone more than willing to sleep with you.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He either didn¡¯t hear me or didn¡¯t care. Seeing as I had never read a Kitsune story where they had mental powers, I had to go with the former. His arms pulled me against his chest as he slid back into the bed. My body relaxed as I realized he meant what he said, he wouldn¡¯t do anything without my permission. My spoken permission. I found my eyelids growing heavy as his fingers ran through my fur. A hard hammering noise broke me out of my dream. It had been a nice dream. One where¡­great now I couldn¡¯t remember what had happened. Whoever was at the door had to have a good reason for waking me up or I might have to bite them. The deep growl behind me caused me to stiffen up as something large shifted on the bed. An arm suddenly wrapped its way around my middle as if it was trying to hold me in place. The feeling of suddenly being trapped nearly had me taking one hell of a bite out of the offending arm but Liam¡¯s growling voice brought back memories of last night. ¡°Who is it?¡± Ginger either didn¡¯t care who was in the room or not. She shoved the door open with enough force to cause the door to slam into the wall. ¡°Where is she?!¡± ¡°Who?¡± Pendragon looked like he was trying to calm her down but nothing he did seemed to affect her. She simply pulled out of his grip as she continued to glare at the alpha. ¡°You damn well know who.¡± Even if I couldn¡¯t see the bastard, I could tell that he was smirking. ¡°Do I?¡± ¡°Where is Kyren?¡± Pendragon asked as he pulled Ginger into a tight embrace. She looked like she was working hard to get away. He didn¡¯t look all that bothered by her attempts. While I loved to play tricks, I wasn¡¯t going to let others do the same to my friend''s sister. At least not unless I got a say in it. Also, I would want to have at least some hand in the act. The only issue was, how would I let them know I was here? It wasn¡¯t like I could talk. What sound did a fox make again? My mind killed the memory that question dredged up. While the song had been catchy, it was dated and overplayed. Didn¡¯t foxes sort of sound like dogs? They barked, right? Wait, foxes let out yips too, didn¡¯t they? I saw no reason not to try and let out a short, sharp yip. The noise came out exactly as I expected it to. It had the added effect of catching Ginger''s attention. Her eyes locked onto me. Within moments, her anger vanished, though she still looked like she was trying to get out of the hold the Pendragon had on her. Was it me or did it almost look like she was trying harder now? Suddenly she flew across the room toward me. While I could see her coming, I had nowhere to go. The fucking alpha still had an arm curled around my middle. He didn¡¯t bother to move as she reached us. Her hands dug into my pelt as she cooed with joy. ¡°Oh, my, god. You¡¯re so soft and so FLUFFY!¡± Her shrill voice caused me to whimper as it cut into my head. She must have misinterpreted my whimper because she wrapped an arm under me while the other tried to force Liam¡¯s arm off me. The fucker let her. Before I knew what was going on, she was sitting on the side of the bed with me on her lap. My head was next to hers as her hands worked down my back. Something about the action felt so soothing that I nearly missed the alpha¡¯s words. ¡°What brings you both to my humble abode so early in the morning?¡± ¡°We are here to get Kyren so that we can start her training.¡± Ginger''s voice was muffled by my fur. ¡°We promised Kai, well really I promised him, that we would deal with training her while he was gone.¡± His voice moved as the bed shifted. ¡°What type of training were you thinking about doing?¡± ¡°A bit of a mix.¡± Ginger moved her head so that her mouth was free from my fur. ¡°From what my brother says, she has some training with a blade.¡± ¡°What type?¡± Pendragon asked. I growled a tiny bit as her shrug jostled me. ¡°He never said. I am sure she will tell you when she can talk again.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Kitsune be able to talk?¡± Pendragon¡¯s voice sounded a bit skeptical. As if he didn¡¯t believe that I was who I said I was. Given that I wasn¡¯t going to transform right in front of him and give him a show, there was nothing I could do about his doubts. Thankfully Liam snorted. ¡°You think it is easy to talk while in an animal form? Unlike your kind, we have to actually practice and learn how to do so from scratch. What else do you have planned for her training?¡± ¡°Other than maintaining her skills, she needs to hunt. Her level is way too low for the area, let alone for any of the demons that might show up.¡± She took a second to think before continuing, ¡°I think that is it.¡± ¡°Agreed, but I want to teach her to use her fox form and her senses,¡± Liam spoke as he came around the bed. To my relief and annoyance, he was now fully clothed. ¡°The girl has some natural skill but she is so noisy and so¡­well human in her way of thinking.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Ginger¡¯s hands stopped moving as she waited for his answer. He told them about my little trick on him the night before. While I had thought I had done such a good job, his retelling told me just how much I had to learn. Apparently the guy could hear every step I had taken as I circled him. He knew where I was going to be before I popped out of the bushes. The annoyance I had felt from him was due to the rest of the group getting too close to our little game. Though he was pleasantly surprised by my tenacity once I got my teeth into my target. He had expected me to let go the moment we hit the cold water. Ginger chuckled, ¡°Yeah, I have heard she is a persistent little thing when she wants to be. Anyway, Kyren,¡± I pulled my head back to look her in the eyes. ¡°Your dress was finished getting repaired earlier. I have it here for you to put on. I would also recommend upgrading it a bit as the material is too rare to use for repair work.¡± I nodded my understanding before trying to jump off her lap. One of my feet caught in her arm. The change in my momentum sent me flailing onto the bed. No one commented. Instead, both of the men left the room as she dropped something fluffy and white onto the bed. Unsure of how to change back, I simply willed my body to shift back to human. To my surprise and happiness, it worked. I found myself on all fours in my human shape as the mana settled back down. ¡°Where did your tail and ears go?¡± Ginger whined. A hand flew to my head. Sure as shit, the ears were gone. I didn¡¯t know whether to be happy or sad at the loss. 2025 New Years Special Time sure flies when there is quite a bit going on. As I look back, I wonder what might have changed if this or that had not gone exactly the way it had. If Linda had not chosen to feed me her blood would I have had the power to take on some of the challenges down the road? Probably not. While I didn¡¯t have much time to mull over these thoughts or scenarios when everything was going on, sitting here, surrounded by everyone as this year came to an end, I found my mind doing just that. As I looked over each person I found myself mentally thanking them for what they did for me. Barti for how much he pushed me to grow stronger. Mindi and Tindi for helping him as well as getting me started on my path to power. Then there were the alchemists that I had grown close to during the exploration of Timmy. I mean Intemerra. Fucking corporations hate the nicknames everyone kept giving the place. While they were not able to do all that much to us lest they lose their access, that didn¡¯t mean they didn¡¯t try time and time again. Speaking of corporations, Ytri and his aide looked cozy on the other side of the fire. Turns out the Russian had some powerful ties. Powerful and rich. That money and those connections had helped him grow into a corporate executive I didn¡¯t mind working under. A hand softly brushed against my ears causing them to flick as I turned to the culprit. Sitting there, acting like he had done nothing, was Xander. My eyes narrowed yet the guy refused to look in my direction. Finally, I manipulated one of my tails around his body and poked at his arm. The fucker knew that I was the culprit yet he turned toward my tail. ¡°Who poked me?¡± His voice shook as he stared into the darkness that surrounded us. To me, the sliver of moonlight lit the place up enough that I could make out the shape of everything in the area. Seeing as the darkness was his natural element, I doubted he was hindered by the darkness in any way. With a roll of my eyes, I tapped his arm with my tail a second time. His face tilted down to look at the appendage. ¡°Well hello there.¡± With his face so close, it made too tempting a target. My tail flicked up and wiggled the hairs in his face. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Quite a few laughs filled the air as Xander spluttered. I whipped my tail back just as he reached down for it. Still, I ended up caught but not by Xander. As I sat there, distracted with attempts to annoy the man, a hand managed to snake around my waist until, just as I flung my tail out of Xander¡¯s reach, it yanked me toward its owner. Between one moment and the next, I went from sitting on the grass next to the man I had known for years and trusted with my life, to the lap of the man I could not live without. His breath brushed against the nape of my neck, sending shivers down my spine as he spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should let the guy have some peace once in a while?¡± I didn¡¯t pause to think about my answer. ¡°Only when I am asleep.¡± While this typically meant that he was safe when he was asleep, that wasn¡¯t always the case. Ah, the memories. Let''s just say we were typically partnered when we needed someone on watch. ¡°Only because you are with me.¡± The man pointed out before kissing my neck. I relaxed into his hold as I wondered just how far he would take this before our audience forced us to stop. One of his arms held me to the side as the other hand lightly guided my chin around. Our lips brushed against one another. My eyes rolled as the man pulled away. I was not going to let him half-ass a kiss. Either he was going to do it right or I was going to kick his ass ¨C again. My mouth collided with his as I rotated around to get a better position. My lips parted as my tongue searched for its opponent. It didn¡¯t take a moment before they went to war. ¡°Oi, Kyren, Lance. Stop mouth fucking each other or you might miss the fireworks!¡± The alchemy guru, and resident goblin, of our group called out from the other side of the clearing. Given who had been lying with her head in his lap, I doubted we had been the only ones kissing. Still, I pulled away from Lance. His arms wrapped around me as we both looked up just in time to see the first firework launch from the top of the broken spire at the center of the town. I flinched as the thing exploded in a shower of green and blue sparks. As the wolf''s arms squeezed me to him, I relaxed. While there was still danger to be faced, places to explore, creatures to kill, and the void to stop, here and now, I was safe. Here and now, I was with my friends and family. No matter what the New Year might bring, at least they would be there with me. They would help me get through and push me forward so that we might see the next New Year together. Chapter 18 - Flight I decided to be happy with the loss. If anything, the lack of a tail made getting dressed that much easier. As soon as I was dressed, a pouting Ginger and I walked out of the room to find the Pendragon and Liam conversing over a map. ¡°Over here might be good. The creatures are low enough level that she shouldn¡¯t have much of a problem.¡± Pendragon said while pointing at something. ¡°That spot is not a good idea.¡± Liam shook his head. ¡°I got reports of a sudden spike in their population. How about here?¡± ¡°Sure, if you don¡¯t care that there is no cover. Anything and everything in the area will come charging at our group as soon as we show up.¡± Pendragon took a second to look over the map. ¡°You said that you wanted to train her to track? If that¡¯s the case then let''s go here. The creatures are a bit sparse this time of year. Most of them should also be at a level that she can handle.¡± Liam snorted. ¡°Yeah, that will work. And it''s not all that far if you can fly over a mountain.¡± ¡°One of the builder teams were building a tunnel here,¡± Pendragon pointed at a spot on the map. At this point, I was close enough to see that he was pointing at a mountain on the map. ¡°Last I checked. While it won''t be all pretty or clean, there should be at least a basic hole through the rock.¡± ¡°Did you guys figure out where to take us girls on a date?¡± It wasn¡¯t until after the words were out that I realized I had referred to myself as a girl. When had that started? ¡°Sure did,¡± Liam answered while Pendragon looked up at Ginger. His brow pinched at whatever he saw. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± I looked over to see her sullen expression as she pointed at my head. ¡°They''re gone.¡± As one, the two men looked at my head. Liam¡¯s eyebrow lifted in a clear question while Pendragon rolled his eyes before pulling Ginger in for a tight hug. ¡°They didn¡¯t come back when I shifted,¡± I said in my defense. ¡°Did you shift into your human form or your Kitsune form?¡± Pendragon asked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your orb says you have three forms, remember?¡± I had forgotten the guy had gotten a good look at that cursed item. ¡°Did you return to your Kitsune form or human?¡± I knew the answer but I acted as if I was trying to remember. After all, Ginger was already upset and I didn¡¯t want to let her know I had done this on purpose, sort of. ¡°Human?¡± ¡°That would be why then,¡± Pendragon announced. ¡°But why does she get three forms?¡± Ginger whined. ¡°Both of you have two while I only have one.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Liam said while his hand rubbed at the back of his neck. ¡°There is a hybrid form I can take. I avoid it because it requires a ton of energy and food.¡± Pendragon spoke at the same time. ¡°You do know I can call my wings and claws at any time, right?¡± Even I knew their admissions, while well-meaning, were a bad idea. I watched her face crumble as she realized she was the odd one in our group. The only one truly stuck in one form. I felt for her. Truly I did. But what could I do? The only ones that I knew could change her would be the gods, after all, they had changed the rest of us. Maybe I could take her with me when I went to demand to go back to how I had been. Hell, maybe they could give my species and such to her. But that wouldn¡¯t be for a while and it wasn¡¯t guaranteed. What I needed was something for her to look forward to. Something that would make her happy. With a resigned sigh, I gently pulled on Pendragon¡¯s arm. Not to free her from his grip but so that at least one of her eyes met mine as I spoke. ¡°How about this, after we are done with the training and such, I transform back into a fox for you. Then you can hug and cuddle with my fur all you want.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Yeah, it didn¡¯t do much to solve her issue but it should at least serve to distract her. Still, it seemed to have the intended effect. In an instant, her eyes went from dull to full of life and glee. ¡°You promise?¡± I nodded in answer to her question. While she was going to use me as a pillow, I was going to use her to get away from the alpha. I mean, what was with the guy having me sleep with him? Yeah, that wasn¡¯t happening again if I could help it. Not that I would tell her that. While she would feel annoyed at being used at first, I suspected that she would likely try and put the two of us together. With something to look forward to, she pulled out of the hug and bounded toward the door. ¡°What are we waiting for? We have some training to get done!¡± Pendragon and Liam both chuckled at the sudden shift in her attitude as we all chased after her. Well, I was the one chasing after her. Those two had no issues keeping up with the hyper fox. No one gave us a second look as we ran through the streets. Which would have been odd if not for the fact that we were not the only ones doing so. As we moved, I found my eyes trying to wander over everyone and everything only to have to force them to focus as the three of them disappeared around a corner or into a crowd. Finally, we made it out of the town and away from the large quantities of people. Which was great as it meant I no longer had to dodge around as many people. The issue was that it also meant the other three didn¡¯t have to hold back anymore. As one, they picked up their pace. My pace increased as I tried to keep up. I pushed my body and mana as the world around me blurred yet I still found myself falling behind. All I got for trying was a tight chest and burning muscles. As the darkness started to take over the world around me, I gave in to the inevitable. My pace slowed until I was no longer moving. Everything around me started to spin as I stood with my hands on my knees. My breaths were ragged and gasping as I tried to not pass out. Slowly, the world came back into view as I found myself looking at the ground. Which, thankfully, meant that I had somehow managed to stay standing even as my consciousness wavered. Just then, I heard Ginger¡¯s voice as she came toward me ¡°There you are!¡± My head tilted up to look at her. She looked a bit concerned but that was it. ¡°We thought we lost you.¡± We? If they thought they lost me then where were the other two knuckleheads? ¡°Where...¡± is all I managed to get out before she interrupted me. ¡°They went ahead to make sure that we could get through the tunnel. Now come on.¡± Her hand grabbed my arm and she took off again. It took everything in me to just keep from falling flat on my face as she moved. While I knew I wasn¡¯t the fastest person out there, I thought that I could keep up with most people I would ever meet. These three had taken that idea and stomped on it. Even my mana-enhanced speed was useless. A badly placed foot nearly spelled my doom as it twisted and sent me off to the side. I only managed to keep from going splat against a boulder with a quick burst of fire. Of course, this sent my body flying in the opposite direction. A pulse of fire barely kept me from hitting something brown and blurry on the other side. At that point, I gave up on trying to run. There was no way I would be able to get my feet under me and up to speed. Instead, I took the more interesting, if terrifying, choice. I used my mana to keep myself aloft. Honestly, it wasn¡¯t as hard as it sounded. Anything can fly given enough speed. A bullet has no lifting surface yet can travel up to a couple of miles with enough thrust. Missiles take that a step further by having a solid fuel engine on the back of it. Here I was, being pulled along by a foxy chick hyped up on something. She was kindly providing all the thrust I needed. All I needed to do was keep from smashing into something. Fire flared around me time and time again. At first, each flare sent me careening in the other direction where I would have to send out yet another burst to stop only to end up in the same position on the other side. Slowly, I found ways to increase my control and decrease the power of each burst. We passed into some sort of tunnel just as I stabilized my body. While I could see a bit around me, most of my light came from the short stabs of fire I sent into the darkness. Some of which splashed against the rocky walls. I shuddered at the sight. If I had taken even a minute longer to learn to, well not fly, but control my direction I would have been instantly turned into a smear on the wall. Would Ginger have even noticed? Probably not considering that she didn¡¯t seem to notice I was bouncing around back here like a fucking ping-pong ball. My body slammed into Ginger¡¯s back as the pulsating darkness that was the tunnel gave way to blinding light. My uncontrolled momentum coupled with her not being ready for it, caused the two of us to go tumbling to the ground in a heap. Even with the ground being covered in dirt and grass, it fucking hurt. Of course, it didn¡¯t help that the two guys were laughing their asses off. Fucking assholes. Chapter 19 - Natural Skill My eyes were locked onto a cloud high in the sky. For some reason, it reminded me of a taco. Before I could wonder as to why, a head popped into view above me, blocking the thing from view. ¡°You alive?¡± Pendragon asked. From what I could make out, Liam was nearby, scolding Ginger. Something about not to nearly kill her charge. ¡°Somehow.¡± The fact that my voice didn¡¯t so much as waver surprised me. His smile was nice. It made me wonder if that was what had drawn Ginger to him. As he helped me up, I asked, ¡°So, what am I killing?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± He started. Liam called toward us from where Ginger and him had been standing. His voice cut Pendragon off. ¡°Not yet. First, you have to learn how to hunt.¡± ¡°And how do I do that?¡± I called back. The two of them made their way toward us as Liam answered. ¡°Well, first you will need to return to your Kitsune form. While some of your abilities are the same in your human form, you might find that they are a bit muted.¡± I groaned, wondering what I did to get this kind of treatment from the universe. Could my life not be forced down a path? Could I not just be allowed to pick my form? While I grumbled, I willed my body to transform. Mana swirled around me. It focused on my ass and head. More than before, I felt the transformation occur. My spine lengthened as my tail pushed its way forth. Luckily it found the hole before it was forced to rip its way through my underwear. My ears melted away, replaced by their long and pointy counterparts. It was unsurprising when the world around me exploded with noise as my hearing ratcheted up in sensitivity. Everything calmed back down as my ears flattened down a bit. However, the changes in the scents around me caught me off guard. It wasn¡¯t like I could suddenly smell things I had never been able to before. No, this was like suddenly being able to differentiate between each strand in a wire. To be able to peel the whole thread apart and pick out just the one you want from within. Maybe that wasn¡¯t the best way to explain it but you would have to experience it to understand what I was saying. But if you did experience it then I wouldn¡¯t have to explain it. Something on my face or in my body language must have given the change away because Liam smiled as he spoke. ¡°Where muscles and skills are capable of doing great things, they will never be able to replace your senses. Not when you train and integrate them with everything you do. While they can be disrupted, they are hard to block. Especially in the middle of a fight.¡± ¡°How would one use their nose in a fight?¡± I scoffed as I imagined sniffing loudly as I tried to fight someone with my sword. He answered with a question. ¡°What do you smell?¡± ¡°Dirt, grass, musk, and a few other odd scents I can''t quite place,¡± I answered him while trying to pull each thread out. It sounded easy to do but it was far from it. ¡°I just know that most of the weird combinations come from the three of you.¡± He nodded and waved at the other two. They took off in a random direction as he spoke. ¡°Most people have a distinct smell. It stems from those around them, their detergent, and a few odds and ends. All of which add up to something unique. Something them. While it will change from day to day, it won''t vary all that much. If you know that scent, you can follow their trail or keep a nose open for their approach.¡± While he had been speaking, the soft breeze blew all but two of the odd scent combinations from the area. It was safe to assume one of them was mine while the other was his. Without warning, one of the scents returned. This time, it came from behind me. Curious, I spun to find that Ginger had been trying to sneak up on me. She smiled but pointed to my left. Pendragon took the opportunity to tap my shoulder, nearly scaring a decade off my life in the process. They both ran off again as the wind carried Liam¡¯s voice to my ears. ¡°There are two ways to detect a person. To hear them or smell them. And to help you get the hang of using both, we are going to play a bit of a game. All you have to do is to catch us sneaking up on you.¡± ¡°And if I win?¡± I called back. To be honest, though, I was a bit worried as to what I would lose rather than win because, let''s face it, I stood no chance against these three. Pendragon¡¯s laugh echoed off the stone outcroppings high up on the mountain. ¡°Then I will take you flying!¡± Liam¡¯s growls were loud while Ginger¡¯s bubbly voice whined. ¡°But I haven¡¯t gotten to fly with you yet! I want¡­¡± ¡°If you lose,¡± Liam cut her off before I could get any sort of fix on her voice. ¡°Even if Kai returns, you will train with me for the next week without complaint.¡± He made it sound like I would be put through hell but to be honest, he couldn¡¯t do anything worse than Barti and the girls. The thought of their training made me wonder how those three were doing. Did the group make it out of the town? They had to have. If not then what was my sacrifice worth? With a sharp shake of my head, I forced the memories and questions from my head as I asked, ¡°Rules?¡± ¡°You have to catch each of us three times before we touch you.¡± Liam¡¯s voice seemed to come from everywhere around me as he spoke. ¡°For us to win, we have to reach you three times, each. Simple.¡± Since when was something that someone said was simple ever simple? Actually, maybe I could¡­I shoved my mana out as I activated my Mana Sense for the first time since that fight. The world around me became more vivid as mana cascaded over it in a wave. I suddenly knew which of the stones were loose and which were a part of the mountain. Roots broke the dirt up and split rocks in their need to expand. To find water and gather nutrients. I almost felt a bit parched as my mana interacted with the plant. A hammer made of mana bashed into my growing sphere and shattered it. ¡°Nice try but skills are not allowed,¡± Liam called from my right. A sudden jangling sound of rocks as they cascaded down the slope caught my attention. I pivoted around to find ¨C nothing but rocks. While I didn¡¯t know what to expect, I almost hoped that one of them would have been there. That one of them would have given me an easy win. Apparently they didn¡¯t think that I needed such a thing. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. My eyes jumped from place to place as I looked around for where one of them might be hidden. I barely heard the sound of someone tapping a foot before Pendragon tapped my shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s one for me.¡± I cursed under my breath as I spun to face him. He wasn¡¯t there. It was like the guy could appear and disappear at will. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of someone¡¯s tail. This time I managed to spin fast enough to catch my pursuer. Ginger slid to a halt, a small pout plastered on her face as she turned and jogged away. Of course, that was when Pendragon took the opportunity to get me a second time. This time he smacked the back of my head as he passed. He moved so fast that I barely caught sight of his shirt before he was out of my sight. I grumbled in frustration. Just how was I supposed to even do this? Every one of these people moved faster than I could. ¡°Use your senses,¡± Liam spoke from right behind me. I didn¡¯t bother to spin around. The guy had me and we both knew it. His hand was gentle as he reached up to gently rub one of my ears. ¡°They will do you little good if you keep ignoring them.¡± I barely heard the guy as my body melted into his touch. God, if this was how dogs felt when someone rubbed their ears, no wonder they practically shoved their heads into your hand. Then, without warning, he was gone. While I can deal with Liam¡¯s vanishing act, the sudden lack of someone rubbing my ears pulls a whining noise from me. It is only as I suck a breath in through my nose that I find a scent I recognize. One that wasn¡¯t there a minute ago. One that smells close. Something about the scent causes me to jump back. As I do so, I see Pendragon¡¯s arm flash through where I had just been standing. Given where it was and how fast it was moving, I was pretty sure the guy would have broken a bone or two. ¡°Hey!¡± I started to voice my protest about the excessive force only to find him grinning in my direction as his body started to blur. To me, it is like he is being rubbed out of the picture by someone. Within moments, he is simply gone. ¡°Wait, you guys get to use skills while I am not allowed to? How is that fair?¡± All my questions are met with silence. Well, what little silence there is in the middle of a mountainous area. Annoyed, I pulse my mana out as I try to activate my Mana Sense again. The skill is shattered just as quickly this time as it was last time. ¡°What did I tell you about using skills?¡± Liam asks from my right. A groan escapes me as I turn to look at him. The fucker is sitting on a rock as if he had been there the entire time. ¡°And how is that fair?¡± I demanded. His left brow lifted as he asked. ¡°Who said this was fair? When has a fight ever been fair?¡± Neither of us spoke as he stood up. ¡°We are here to train you to use what tools your body gives you. That way, when everything else is stripped from you, you will be able to take on the challenge and win.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you mean if?¡± He shook his head as he walked away. ¡°I have seen too many people fall when they were stripped of this tool or that. Some of them broke while others doubled down. Insisting they just needed a stronger spell or a more expensive tool. Never once did they think about what they already had. What no one could take from them.¡± I pondered his words. He was right, even if I didn¡¯t want to admit it. Skills could only get me so far. That was especially true when I fought against creatures that were so much more powerful than me. The demon was a good example of this. I would not have been able to survive against the guy at that level without every bit of training I had received. Yet, during this fight, I complained or tried to break the rules time and time again. I needed to take this training seriously before the three of them did it for me. Eyes closed, I focused on the two senses Liam had taken the time to point out. While my nose gave me a decent picture of the area. This was great as I could get a general location of someone from that but nothing concrete. It also broke down the moment someone did something like run circles around me. My ears, however, offered one hell of an alternative. From what I could tell, I would be able to hear most of what was going on nearby. The only issue was the sheer amount of information. I didn¡¯t think I would ever be able to sift through the amount provided without help. Help that I didn¡¯t have. But maybe it would be like my Mana Sight. While I could see the mana around me, I didn¡¯t really notice it anymore. Not unless something stuck out to me. A sudden void or dense section was likely to catch my attention. With a bit of effort, I focused on my ears. At first, they refused to lift. It wasn¡¯t like I knew which muscles to move. Imagine trying to move a muscle you only just discovered. Actually, that wasn¡¯t right. I didn¡¯t even know which muscle moved each of my ears. Thankfully, the three of them left me alone while I tried to figure things out. Finally, I lifted both ears from their lowered position. The world around me was filled with enough noise to nearly overwhelm me. Only my sheer will and stubbornness were enough to keep me from forcing the two torture devices back down. Through the noise, I heard a soft tapping sound that seemed to come from behind me. I spun around as I opened my eyes. Ginger was a good dozen feet away as she ran toward me. ¡°Ginger, you¡¯re out!¡± Liam¡¯s voice was deafening. ¡°But¡­she only caught me twice.¡± ¡°You are forgetting about the time from the start of the game aren''t you?¡± While Liam asked the question, his tone told me that he already knew the answer. Emboldened by my small victory, I closed my eyes. The next sound came from above me. Confused, I looked up to find Pendragon slowly dropping toward me. Massive leathery wings stretched from his back. They were silent as they gave the wind soft pats to keep him aloft and in position. His smile was, not quite smug or sheepish, but a bit of a mix. I didn¡¯t get all that good of a look before the guy¡¯s wings beat the air as he took off. Air pushed down on me, making it hard to hear anything over its roar. Which was probably why I missed the person stalking up behind me. I only noticed him as his hand wrapped around my middle. His mouth sat against the side of my face. If I had human ears his words would have caressed them as he spoke. ¡°And that is three. We win.¡± ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡± I cried out in anger and shock. Anger at his assertation that I lost and shocked at just how close this guy was getting. ¡°You are the only one that reached me three times. You said that each of you have to reach me three times.¡± The guy¡¯s head shifted as it shook. ¡°I said we had to reach you three times each meaning we couldn¡¯t each simply reach you one time and win.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Not fair?¡± I felt his lips twitch as they no doubt quirked into a smile. ¡°What did I say about fighting fair?¡± Yeah, this alpha was going on my list again. He didn¡¯t seem to learn anything from the tail incident. ¡°We rigged the exercise, not because we wanted you to lose but so that you were forced to use your ears.¡± ¡°Why would you think I haven¡¯t been using them this whole time?¡± ¡°Because they are always low to your head. It is as if you have been trying to act as if they were not there. Like you still were limited to your human hearing. But you¡¯re not. Nothing about you is human anymore. You need to come to terms with that.¡± My voice was weak as I tried to voice my feelings. ¡°But¡­why¡­what if I want to be human?¡± ¡°You can try all you want, but you are not. You will never be human again. Eventually, there will come a time when you will be forced to confront this issue. I would rather it be now, while you are training, than while you are in the middle of a fight. Where the moment of hesitation will get you or someone else killed.¡± While his words were soft and full of care, I wanted to argue back. To declare that I could do it. But the words never came. The anger never manifested. If anything, I felt a part of myself felt relieved to be given permission to let that part of myself go. It was as if his words were the nails needed to seal my human past away so that I could accept my new body and all that it came with. Mostly. While I would still ask the gods to switch my gender back, I wasn¡¯t going to ask them to revert me back into a human. Where else would I get such a fluffy tail after all? Chapter 20 - Thats Weak? Liam released me as Ginger and Pendragon walked up. ¡°Do we need to give you two a room?¡± While Ginger sounded like she was joking, the look that she shot me told a different story. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was pissed at me or Liam. It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t understand why she might be pissed at me. After all, she likely thought that I would chase after her brother. Yet this was the second time that she had caught the two of us cozying up. Not that we were, or at least I didn¡¯t think so. I sure as hell didn''t see the asshole in that way. Of course, I didn¡¯t see anyone like that. At least not while I was still in this body. Maybe I would reconsider after a heart-to-heart with a god or two. Preferably after they gave me what I wanted. ¡°Now what?¡± I looked at Pendragon as I asked the question. I wasn¡¯t willing to look at either of the other two. At least not right now. ¡°There is a Hermetic Marmot nearby. Hunt it and kill it.¡± Liam answered for Pendragon who rolled his eyes. ¡°Any advice? Information?¡± The only response I got, other than shaking heads, was ¡°Watch the glow.¡± So helpful. I didn¡¯t even know what glow he was talking about. Did its eyes glow? What about the air? I growled out my annoyance as I mentally cast my mana out for the third time in less than an hour. It broke within moments. The bastard didn¡¯t even have to tell me why, I already knew. ¡°Can you at least point me in the right direction?¡± No one answered me which likely meant no. Great. Chisa Katana in hand, I kept my ears peeled as I stumbled my way up the slope. Sure, I could have started by going down the hill first but then I would have had to climb up twice the damn thing if the creature wasn¡¯t down there. A sudden, soft skittering of rocks to my left caught my attention. The sound caused me to stop and look around. None of the three of them had moved to follow me so there was no way they caused the noise. While it could be the creature I was looking for, it could just as easily be a rock shifting or settling. Other than going over there and taking a look, there was only one other way to know. So I stayed still as I waited for something to happen. It was deadly silent save for the natural breeze that ever so helpfully blew toward the spot. The complete lack of noise and no way to smell what was over there was driving me nuts. I nearly gave up and moved on when another clatter of pebbles filled the air. I raced toward the noise. As I came around a boulder, I found a tiny hole with dirt flicking out. The dirt made a quiet hiss against the stone that was covered by the wind. Blade in hand, I didn¡¯t hesitate to stab into the hole. Something squealed in surprised pain as my blade struck something. It felt hard and firm. As the object was at the far end of my reach, I pulled my blade back to find a tiny drop of blood on the tip. Whatever I had hit came flying out of the hole. It moved so fast that its momentum caused it to fly a good way down the slope before gravity brought it to the ground. It moved fast, faster than any creature I had come across. Still, I managed to keep an eye on the blurry mass. As it skidded to a halt, I found myself looking at a groundhog-looking creature. I had no clue what the difference was, and honestly, I couldn¡¯t care less given the way the thing was looking at me. Its beady eyes looked like they wanted to murder me. Too bad it was below me. It would have to make its way up the hill if it wanted to get to me. Especially since I wasn¡¯t going to give up the high ground, not when I didn¡¯t know what the creature was capable of. So we stood there, staring each other down as we waited for the other to act. Without warning, the creature let out a shrilling cry. I saw the mana around it ripple moments before something lit up on its paws. Whatever they were, they looked like runes. Ones I didn¡¯t know. On pure instinct, I managed to twist out of the way just in time for the creature to pass through where my chest had just been. The thing was fucking terrifyingly fast. I spun as the thing hit the ground just in time to see another symbol form on its fur. This time the symbol was on its back and it was one I recognized. When its mouth opened, a torrent of flames spewed out. It splashed over the ground around me as I used my mana to deflect the stream. Seeing this, the creature let out another scream as yet another symbol lit up. This one was on its forehead and it was linked to the fire rune. Fire engulfed the creature only to disappear, taking the creature with it. For a mere moment, I thought the creature had just committed suicide. That thought didn¡¯t last. Especially when the damn thing appeared above me with a pop of displaced air. I didn¡¯t have enough time to move before the flaming ball-o-death landed on my head. While the fire that licked at my skin tickled, it didn¡¯t seem to do all that much. Of course, the fuckers razor sharp claws and teeth were a different story. Those things dug into my flesh as they sought to get to my yummy insides. As sudden as the attack came, Pendragon plucked the guy off my head. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The creature scrambled as it tried to reach his hand. Even its fire did nothing to his hand. He made it look easy to deal with. ¡°What did Liam say about watching for the glow?¡± He asked. Blood flowed down my face. Some of it continued down, following my skin until it reached my neckline. The rest dripped off my chin to land on the ground. ¡°Cause that is so descriptive.¡± I managed to mumble as I forced as much mana into my healing spell as I could. My skin itched and crawled as the flesh knit itself back together. While it felt odd, it was reassuring to know I could heal myself. ¡°You think that every creature you are going to face will come with a manual on how to face it?¡± Pendragon spat back. ¡°Even if they did, it would be region-specific and I wouldn¡¯t trust any information I didn¡¯t gather or confirm for myself. Neither should you.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°And why should I not trust information someone tells me about a creature?¡± ¡°Because it might be incomplete, misinformation, or flat-out wrong,¡± Liam spoke as if he had experienced such false information. ¡°While most will do so on accident or without meaning, there are those that will do it for a variety of reasons. The biggest of which is greed.¡± I knew they were right, but that didn¡¯t mean I would dismiss what others told me. Instead of arguing the point, I returned the topic of conversation back to the creature flailing in mid-air as it tried to get away. ¡°So what do I need to know about this creature?¡± Pendragon and Liam both refused to answer. Pendragon simply shook his head while the other guy took a few steps back. Ginger, she looked relaxed as she sat on a boulder and looked to be brushing out her tail. The damned evil beast tossed the creature in my direction as he jumped back. As it spun through the air, I found that it looked almost gleeful. The thing knew it had been caught and that there was no way it could take on the big guy and survive. So it probably thought the guy was being almost kind as he released it. The only thing that stood between it and freedom was a weak creature that it had nearly beaten once. How hard would it be to take it down a second time? So I might have been personifying the creature. Sue me. I didn¡¯t hold back as I poured mana into my muscles. While the mana started to flow, I almost worried that one of them would blast the skill away before I could use it. Sure as shit, it failed moments before activating. Still, the mana that flooded into my muscles didn¡¯t just sit idly before it dispersed. My muscles got a brief surge of power. Enough for my hands to accelerate my blade as it slashed up toward the creature. Sparks erupted as the edge connected with the creature''s fur. They were magnesium bright and blinded me long enough that I didn¡¯t notice my blade simply pushed the creature away rather than cut into its flesh. My only hint of an issue was the pitter-patter of feet as the creature sprinted toward me. Still blind from the flash grenade that was a result of my attack, I had no choice but to stumble-jump to the side and cut through where I thought the creature would be. Another flare of white turned the slowly recovering world into another blind hell. Over and over, the creature jumped at me and I sliced at it. Either I got really lucky with the first hit or the creature was learning because I only experienced another eye-searing flash every three or so attacks. But, with how fast the creature attacked, that was enough to keep my eyes out of commission. Other times, I either had to fight to keep my balance as the rocks under me slipped and slid around or moved too slowly. When that happened, the creature took full advantage. Blood welled from where the claws sliced their way across my face and hands. Thankfully the creature seemed unable to cut through my dress so even if it did hit me in the chest, it would be unable to go after the fleshy and unprotected belly that all creatures seemed to love to target. I must have missed the creature enough times because my eyes had started to recover. The world around me was a mix of colorful blurs. One of which was running toward me. I don¡¯t know how it happened but if I had to guess, just as the creature went to leap the rocks must have slipped forward. All I know is that the creature was going to miss. I didn¡¯t bother to move as the creature sailed over my head. Which was probably why the thing was able to catch onto my ears. Those bloody things were fucking long and upright as they helped me avoid getting hit. My anger, pain, and annoyance came out in a rush of curses as the creature¡¯s claws sliced through the cartilage that made up my ears. I didn¡¯t even bother to follow the rules Liam had put into place at that point. Mana poured from me and wrapped itself around the creature. As the threads formed into runes, I pumped mana into each. Water splashed against the creature''s fur and soaked in. A mere fraction of a second later, my mana pushed into the creature''s own fire rune. The thing burst into flame and promptly exploded. Blood and viscera went everywhere. While gruesome, I felt almost happy at the sight. ¡°Well,¡± came Liam¡¯s voice, ¡°is one way to kill something. A bit overkill though.¡± I spun to face him. Whatever I looked and the expression that was on my face caused him to stop and lift an eyebrow. ¡°Overkill?¡± I demanded. ¡°How is that overkill? The fucker couldn¡¯t be cut by my sword!¡± ¡°It couldn¡¯t be sliced by your sword.¡± Ginger corrected. ¡°Its fur offered no protection against stabbing.¡± And they were only just now telling me this. I take it back, these fuckers were worse than Barti ever was. At least he tried to teach me. These three were just going to watch me nearly die over and over again. ¡°If it helps, that is considered the weakest creature for¡­¡± Liam started but had to stop as he looked up in thought. ¡°At least a couple dozen miles.¡± Pendragon finished. ¡°Mostly due to their need to be alone and the ease at which you can kill them.¡± Maybe I would just return to the starter town. At least there I would be relatively safe from the weakest creature killing me. Wait, that wasn¡¯t true. The bunnies nearly got me too. Damn it. Was the experience worth the time it took to kill it? At just over two thousand, not really, not when you consider the thing had just shy of twenty levels on me. Sure, it got me up to level thirty, but it would take, let me do some math, five more to reach the next level. That was only the first of many though. If these were the weakest out here, I needed to gain quite a few levels to even have a hope of surviving out here without help. Judging by how much the sun had moved, I would be here the rest of the week hunting the things to gain any ground on Xander. And that wasn¡¯t taking into account the dropoff in experience I would get as my level increased. Then again, what else did I have planned? It wasn¡¯t like I could just level up by sitting around. With a resigned sigh, I asked, ¡°Are there any more of the things nearby?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell us.¡± Yeah, I should have expected that answer from Liam. Wonder what the pack would say if he died while out here. By accident of course. Chapter 21 - Other Lessons I could officially say I hated the alpha asshole. Pendragon wasn¡¯t much better either. Whenever I asked a question they would force me to work out the solution myself. Ginger was the one that gave me the hints I needed to answer my own questions. Even then, those two would cut her off before she said too much. Still, I managed to kill another three of the creatures by the time Liam finally called a halt to my ¡®flailing around¡¯ as he called it. The fact that none of the creatures dealt any more damage than the first did made me all the more grateful for my dress. Who would have thought I would be the one saying that? I mean, it wasn¡¯t that long ago that I fought against the very idea of wearing a skirt, let alone a dress. Yet here I was, not only willing to wear a dress but being thankful for the damned thing. The alpha¡¯s voice broke me out of my mind and back to what he was saying. ¡°I think you have killed enough for now.¡± While I couldn¡¯t agree with the wolf, my muscles were practically begging me for a reprieve. ¡°What types of missions are there in the guild?¡± ¡°Hunting and gathering.¡± Those two came out of my mouth without much thought as the rest of my mind tried to think if there were any other mission types. He didn¡¯t wait long before stating, ¡°There are also escort, guard, and even delivery quests. Some of which don¡¯t require you to even leave a city.¡± Where was he going with this? ¡°Which is what you will be limited to until I decide otherwise.¡± Yeah, that wasn¡¯t happening. The guy was already pushing my boundaries by demanding I take someone with me whenever I left. He sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to limit where I could go even with an escort. ¡°Yeah, no¡­¡± His glare shut me up as he continued. ¡°Everyone should have a basic understanding of the area they are going to be in. What hazards exist? What kinds of creatures one might find in the area? Water? Food? These are questions you need to have answers for before even setting out.¡± ¡°I can carry my food and water with me.¡± I interrupted him. ¡°As for the rest, were you not the ones that told me to not trust any information I am handed? If that is the case then how will I know the answers without first visiting the location and finding out for myself?¡± My voice had continued to rise through my little tirade until I was practically yelling at him. My chest slightly heaved while he simply lifted an eyebrow and asked, ¡°Are you done?¡± Thankfully, he didn¡¯t comment as I rolled my eyes. ¡°Just because you cannot trust the information does not mean you should just not gather anything you can. In fact, you should find out anything and everything, just be prepared for everything to be wrong or go to shit the moment you arrive.¡± Okay, that made a bit of sense. ¡°As for your food and water. Sure, you can carry quite a bit but what if you run out? What if something happens and your food is spoiled or you run out of potions? Do you have the knowledge to find safe food? Clean water? Basic healing compounds?¡± He didn¡¯t stop his lecture. ¡°There will be times that you are on a long-term quest. One that has you out for weeks at a time. While you can carry quite a bit, especially with the larger bags, but there are still limits to how much you can bring with you. Any good adventurer is going to know how to do a little bit of everything. This does not mean you need to know everything. There are specialists for that. You just need to know enough to get you to the nearest specialist.¡± As Liam¡¯s lecture finally ended, I found myself agreeing, albeit reluctantly, with him. ¡°Where do you suggest I start?¡± I asked. He looked ready to say something when Ginger furrowed her brows and asked, ¡°This is a dumb question, but do you have the Identification skill? Or even any analysis-based skill?¡± Of course there was a skill for identifying things. My eyes closed and I took a deep breath as I shook my head. Even with my eyes closed, I could hear the annoyed exasperation in Liam¡¯s voice. ¡°Buy one.¡± Mentally, I called up the skill shop and clicked on the filter page. Instead of filtering it by magic, I searched for analysis skills. The list was surprisingly long.
Skill Selection
Skill Point Cost
Item Identification 2
Plant Identification 2
Environment Identification 2
Appraise Item 5
Appraise Armor 2
Appraise Weapon 2
Arcane Analysis 10
Alchemical Analysis 5
Mana Tracing 2 If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Spell Identification 5
Monster Identification 2
Language Analysis 2
Dimensional Analysis 150
Material Analysis 20
Temporal Analysis #$a2*w3!
¡­ ¡­
My mind hurt just trying to think about the differences between some of these and why one would need them. Sure, I had a few points saved up from all the leveling I had done when Xander had saved me, but that didn¡¯t mean I wanted to waste it all. Finally, I simply asked the question ¡°Um¡­what is the difference between each of these?¡± The guys looked a bit annoyed that I didn¡¯t just pick one and move on. Ginger smacked Pendragon on the arm as she spoke. ¡°You both know that there are categories to those skills.¡± Her head turned to me as she answered my question. ¡°There are a number of categories. Honestly, the most basic overview has the skills split up by what they analyze. From arcane to creature to even the world itself. Item Identification, which is something everyone should get, allows one to analyze any item in their hand.¡± ¡°And that is different from Appraise Item how?¡± ¡°Appraisal skills are more for market and quality. Other than that, those skills don¡¯t give all that much information.¡± So it was a skill for merchants. ¡°But there are also times that simply identification isn¡¯t all that useful. Anything magic or alchemical in nature requires that the magic itself needs to be checked.¡± ¡°Just get the identification skills,¡± Liam spoke as though he found my lack of knowledge annoying. ¡°That is if you have the points.¡± I rolled my eyes and bought the five skills. One of which I felt I should already have. Keep in mind that I had been using my Mana Sense to identify spells as they were being cast. Yet I didn¡¯t have the skill Spell Identification? That made no sense. The skill''s effect offered the only clue as to why. ¡°You can identify a spell from sight or feel. No more guessing based on the element.¡± It almost seemed as if the system was poking at my method of identification. Sure, I had been guessing as to what spell was aimed at me but I was usually right, right? Reluctantly, I dropped the subject and focused on Liam. The guy didn¡¯t hesitate to throw something at me. I caught it and found myself looking at a rock. Confused, I asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°You tell me.¡± There would be no point in yelling at the annoying wolf. Not when he had taken time out of his day to come with us and help train me. With a sigh, I focused on the rock. It took a bit of work but a window popped up.
Item: Rock
Use: Can be thrown?
Description: What do you know, it¡¯s a rock.
I grumbled as I chucked it up the hill. Whoever made this system either had one sick sense of humor or simply didn¡¯t care because sometimes the information it gave was just annoying. This time it was also fucking useless. I didn¡¯t need some stupid system to tell me what I knew the minute I had the thing in my hand. ¡°Is it edible?¡± I couldn¡¯t tell if his question was serious or not so I just looked at him as if he was crazy. Which, let¡¯s be honest, he probably was. Liam waited a moment before chuckling and pointing at a plant. The plant crawled between, over, and under various rocks as it looked to get nutrients while also keeping its leaves exposed to the sun. ¡°What is that plant?¡± As I stood up with the plant between my fingers, I noticed that he suddenly had a huge grin. It took one look at the information to understand why.
Item: Poison Ivy
Use: Can be used as an irritant and in some inks.
Description: Poisonous form of Ivy that can be found in quite a few places. It is well known to cause itching upon contact with bare skin.
¡°And that is why you don¡¯t just touch anything you come across.¡± He chuckled. ¡°It is best to try and identify anything and everything before you pick it up as a light rash is the least worrisome thing that can happen.¡± ¡°What worse? Other than death I mean.¡± I asked though I was pretty sure I didn¡¯t want to know. ¡°Curses, triggers, neurotoxins, and pretty much anything else that we humans have put into any movie or game,¡± Pendragon answered while Ginger passed me a wet rag from her inventory. Judging by the suds on the edges, she had prepared the rag before coming out. Almost as if she knew what was going to happen. For the next hour, the three of them walked me through the area. At first, they taught me how to identify and use the skills but, as time passed, Liam worked in a bit of sense training. Was I all that good at figuring out what plants were nearby by smell alone? Nope. But that didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t try. It didn¡¯t help that my legs and stomach kept cramping up on me. It wasn¡¯t just cramps either. A dull throbbing and a feeling of a low fire flickered in my center. Every once in a while, the heat would pulse out. Sending a wave of warmth through my body only to fade as quickly. It wasn¡¯t painful and I could mostly ignore it, but it was annoying and distracting. To distract myself from the pain, I tried to think of other things. The only ones that worked were thoughts of Xander. Questions about where he was and what he was doing kept flitting through my head. One such question kept coming back up. If he was here, would I be in so much pain? I was about to break down and ask the asshole what was going on when a wolf sprinted toward us. My Chisa Katana was out and swinging at the creature before I even registered that I had moved. The creature didn¡¯t so much as flinch as my blade cut through the air toward its neck. Not when its focus seemed to be entirely on Liam. A moment before my blade reached the wolf¡¯s fur, Liam grabbed my wrist, stopping me. It was a good thing too because the wolf¡¯s body twisted and contorted. Standing there, panting up a storm, stood a very naked woman. Something about how close she was had me on edge. ¡°An Oracle has been killed,¡± she started. After taking a breath, she continued, ¡°By another Oracle. You have been ordered to return to the tower for a meeting between all the heads.¡± I don¡¯t know why, but I suddenly felt the need to kill this woman for being so close to Liam while wearing nothing. The very thought caught me off guard and I turned to walk away. I wasn¡¯t going to go far or anything, I just knew that I had to take a second to catch my breath while these two talked. Unfortunately for me, Liam¡¯s hand still gripped mine and it wouldn¡¯t let go. ¡°Thank you for the information. We will return shortly.¡± Dismissed, the woman bowed before shifting and running back the way she came. ¡°Let us go back. You can eat something while I deal with this.¡± That was all the guy said as he let me go and stripped. It took too much effort to pry my eyes off his body for my liking. However, a moment after I did, his furry nose pressed against my hand. His wolf¡¯s low, rumbling voice caused my arm to vibrate as he spoke. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± A sudden surge of glee at the thought of running had me moving away from him. ¡°Give me a moment to shift.¡± The wolf¡¯s giant head shook. ¡°No time. Just get on.¡± My lower lip started to move outward into a pout when the fucker¡¯s body gracefully flowed around me. If I didn¡¯t know that there were at least a couple of bones in the guy¡¯s body, I would have thought he was made of some sort of fluid. Without warning, he slipped between my legs and lifted me onto his back. Instinctively, my hands grabbed onto his scruff. He didn¡¯t even make sure I was secure before he took off. The world blurred around us as he made for the tunnel and the gate beyond. Chapter 22 - Pendragon the Dragon The wind whipped through my hair, my ears flattened against my head. Still, even over the noise, I heard the beating of furious wings. Though the wind stung my eyes, I managed to look up in time to see a massive golden dragon. The sight of it sent a bolt of fear racing down my spine. On reflex, my arms pulled me closer to the wolf¡¯s back. The dragon¡¯s massive head turned just enough for me to see its eye as it blinked once before speeding off. While its fast escape was a relief, nothing was as calming as the sight of Ginger riding on the dragon¡¯s back. Before I could ask Liam about the dragon¡¯s identity, the wolf sped up. Blurred shapes turned into smears of color as he moved ever faster. The tunnel took a matter of seconds to cross. Its darkness coming and going without providing enough time for me to even really blink. Then the wolf started to slow down until it reached a light trot as we approached the city. Guards bustled around the place. It almost looked like someone came and kicked over a hornet''s nest. Given the giant dragon circling toward the ground, I didn¡¯t blame them. It landed next to Liam. Ginger dropped lightly to the ground as the dragon was enveloped by a mist of light and mana. When it dispersed, the dragon was gone, replaced with a clothed and serious-looking Pendragon. ¡°I thought dragons didn¡¯t let anyone ride them.¡± Liam¡¯s voice caused his chest to rumble between my legs. The vibrations traveled up my body and soothed something deep inside. ¡°And I thought wolves were the same way.¡± Pendragon shot back. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to have her holding onto my tail at that speed,¡± Liam spoke as we walked towards the gate. The guards, while still a bit annoyed, looked like they were not as alert as before. ¡°Well, unlike you, I don¡¯t plan to let just anyone ride me.¡± ¡°And what does that mean?¡± Ginger lightly slapped his shoulder. Well, light to these people. With how his body shifted from the blow, I didn¡¯t think it was all that light. Pendragon stopped the turn and shifted enough to pull her into his chest. While his voice was low and spoken into her hair, my suddenly attentive and focused ears were able to pick up what he said. ¡°I meant that you are the only one that will ever ride me. Whether that be while I am a dragon or a man.¡± My cheeks burned as the various meanings of his statement flit through my head. Judging by her expression, I wasn¡¯t the only one either. Liam scoffed before speeding up his walk to a jog. That plus the fact that they had come to a stop to do whatever they were going to do, meant that we left quickly left them behind. No longer distracted by the overly affectionate couple, I found myself looking around. The fact that people didn¡¯t react to the fact that a giant wolf was slipping around them as it made its way through the crowd told me all I needed to know about this place. Even if I didn¡¯t notice it earlier, this city and its people were much more open and mixed. While going from the middle of the wilderness to the city took a minute or two, crossing the city took a bit longer. Still, we arrived at the dark spire to find a group of guards preventing anyone from entering or leaving the place. One of them stepped forward at the sight of us approaching and shouted, ¡°Stop.¡± ¡°Let us through,¡± Liam growled. The guards raised their right hands to their foreheads in a salute. Still, the first guard refused to move. ¡°We are under orders to not let anyone through. No exceptions were given.¡± ¡°Whose orders?¡± Pendragon¡¯s voice cut over Liam¡¯s ever-increasing growl as he and Ginger made their way out of the crowd. ¡°Senator Ismail.¡± ¡°Since when did a senator have power over the military or security?¡± While the dragon¡¯s voice sounded calm, I could hear the anger bubbling beneath the surface. A Middle Eastern voice cut over the noise as a man in a long flowing robe smoothly walked up behind the guards. ¡°Since none of you have managed to stop the deaths of a strategic resource, time and time again.¡± Liam¡¯s voice seemed to drop even further. ¡°So your answer is to just bar us from doing our jobs?¡± As he spoke, my hand reached forward and started to scratch behind one of his ears. The effect, while subtle, was instant. I could feel it as some of his muscles released the tension that was building inside them. ¡°We have a few people from one of our guilds looking into the matter.¡± The man flicked a hand. ¡°If you will give me your word that you will stay away from the Oracle section of the building, I can authorize your entry. After all, we do still need you to do your other duties.¡± The man made it sound like he was doing Liam a favor but even I knew that this was nothing but a power play. This man was showing Liam just how much power he had and that he was more than willing to use it. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Now that the man had shown part of his hand, the question was, what would Liam and Pendragon do? I almost worried that one or the other would try to kill the guy. Thankfully, my stomach chose that moment to let out a furious growl. Almost as if I had eaten a wolf and now it wanted out. The sound seemed to remind Liam that I was here. Sure, he could fight but I would end up hurt or worse. Since he knew that Xander had a need to protect me, he didn¡¯t want anything to happen to me lest he incur the man''s wrath. ¡°Fine, but I WILL be bringing this up with the assembly at the next meeting.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± While I didn¡¯t know the guy very well, I was sure that he was smirking. As if he knew something or had some sort of agreement going on that Liam didn¡¯t know yet. Something that made him confident that he would win this argument. But, with the verbal agreement, the guards moved out of the way long enough to let the four of us pass between them. Just as we were about to enter the building, the man spoke up. ¡°I know I agreed to let the two of you enter to do your jobs and I can understand the need for the Foxkin to stay with her mate, but I don¡¯t recall letting the Kitsune enter.¡± My fur bristeled at his tone. Liam stopped mid-step and twisted his head to look at the idiot stopping us. ¡°She is new to this city and must be under a trusted shifter¡¯s watch until her control can be ascertained as you well know.¡± ¡°Are you saying that you have no other shifters that you trust?¡± Oh boy, even I knew that was a bad question to ask anyone in a leadership role, let alone this alpha. ¡°One, I don¡¯t see any other shifters around here that I can give her to.¡± Liam¡¯s voice grew cold as he continued. ¡°And she is also under Kai¡¯s protection. He entrusted her to his sister when he was forced to leave town.¡± The man sneered as he looked me up and down. ¡°I don¡¯t see what he could see in this girl. She isn¡¯t pretty or boasts anything one could call an asset. Unless he is into tails but if that were the case then he would only have to ask. I am sure that some of his animal-shaped fans would be more than willing to join him if he wanted company for a night. And even if she did, she should not be out without something to hide her face. Especially around other men. Add to that the fact that she is out without a family member as an escort. She should be ashamed of herself for bringing shame on her family.¡± Ringing filled my ears, drowning someone''s ranting. Instead, my mind spat sparks and sputtered as I tried to figure out what I was more upset about. The fact that he was implying that Xander was with me because I had animal traits or that I wasn¡¯t pretty enough for anyone to want. As I tried to figure that out, my mind fritzed even harder as I realized, at some point, I had changed. Not even a couple of days ago I would have been freaking over his words for a completely different reason. Freaking out over the reminder that I was no longer a man or even human. Yet I wasn¡¯t. When had that changed? The last time I could recall freaking out about being female was when I changed into a fox for my first run. After that the man below me kept me distracted enough to not even notice. Or maybe it was some sort of magic he was casting on me. Was it something pack-based to keep me calm? Maybe it was the power he, as the alpha, released without realizing it? I honestly had no idea and that scared me. Was any of my thoughts mine or were they being influenced? I needed to get away, now, while I had the chance. ¡°You seem busy. I think I will just head back.¡± The words come out in a rush, more of a courtesy than me asking him or out of obligation to keep him informed as to where I would be. Plus, while he might think that I was heading back to the shifter compound, I actually planned to wander around until I found the guild hall. Then maybe I could rent a room or something until Xander came back. Mentally, I called for my shift to a fox. As the transformation washed over my body, I realized I had forgotten about my clothes. They were still on me and would tangle up my feet the moment I went to run. With hope and a prayer to the creator of the system, I tried to through all of them into my inventory. Thankfully, each and every piece entered it without fanfare or resistance. With a twist of my body and a burst of mana, I turned and lept off Liam¡¯s back. My aim was perfect as my body sailed between two of the guards. As my front paws touched the ground, my back curved upward to allow my back paws to land close to them. While I had expected it to feel awkward, I wanted to be as efficient as possible so that I had some chance to get away. Too bad I wouldn¡¯t find out. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t,¡± Liam said as something clamped around the back of my neck before my hind feet could land. Whatever it was lifted me up and turned to face to guards. Now, I know what you are going to ask. Why didn¡¯t I just try and fight my way free? There was something about the way I was being held that stopped me from being able to do so. To say it was disconcerting to have no control over my own body was a bit of an understatement. ¡°You should have just let her go.¡± The man said from where he watched. All he got in reply was a growl that vibrated my whole body. Given that it emanated from whoever was holding onto my scruff, I was fairly sure it was Liam. God that guy moved fast. I let out a light whine in protest of his handling of me. His growling cut off in an instant as he sped up to a light cant into the building. Two turns later and I found myself completely lost. Either this place was a maze with curving walls or it was bigger on the inside because I was fairly sure we should be outside given how far we had walked. Unlike me, Liam seemed to know where he was going because he soon came to a stop near a door with his name on it. Well, I assumed his last name was Peddlefoot. Everything else on it matched. Still, the door was shut. One of us would have to switch back to get it open as I was pretty sure that paws would not cut it. Of course, Liam decided to prove me wrong. As if he had practiced many times before, the guy lifted a paw and slowly twisted the nob. Moments later, the door popped open with a light squeal from the hinges. The inside of the room was fairly nice. Two chairs faced a massive desk set in the center of the room. On one wall a table filled with papers and items sat. While in the other corner, next to an unopened door, sat a dog bed of all things. The damned alpha walked up to the dog bed and plopped me into its center. ¡°Stay here.¡± That was all he said before his hulking body vanished behind the second door. Yeah, that wasn¡¯t happening. Chapter 23 - Death by Association I rushed toward the door and tried to figure out a way to open it. Yeah, they are nowhere near as large as the platters Liam¡¯s wolf form boasted. There was no way I was going to get enough of a grip to twist the knob, let alone pull the door open afterward. Then came my mouth. Yeah. That didn¡¯t work out all that much better. Sure, it was large enough to get the knob inside but my teeth slipped and slid off the smooth metal surface. Annoyed, I shifted back to my middle form. As the magic finishes doing its job, my stomach clenches as a small amount of blood dribbles down my legs. While this causes me some concern, I push it to the side. It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t expect something like this to happen eventually. After all, my AI had said that I was fully female and so I had to assume I would bleed eventually. I would just have to ignore the blood until I could get ahold of Ginger ¨C actually scratch that. With her so entangled with Pendragon, I needed to find some store or something on my own. Maybe one of the clerks would be able to help me. Seeing no other way to get out without ruining something with some blood, I slipped my old underwear on and ignored the fact that it had to sit under my tail. As for my bra, I was getting used to putting the thing on but for some reason, it felt a bit more constricting than normal. My breasts felt more confined than normal. As if they were suddenly a size bigger than before. Which wasn¡¯t possible, right? God, I hoped it wasn¡¯t possible. If it was then did that mean I had to get multiple different-sized bras just so that I had one that fit when the damn things decided to grow or shrink? At least the dress went on easily and without issue. Fully dressed, I grabbed the door handle and started to turn it only to stop as someone let out a soft sigh. ¡°Do you just refuse to listen to everything I say?¡± Liam¡¯s voice didn¡¯t sound as if he was chastising me or anything. It sounded like he was more resigned to the fact that I was difficult and stubborn. Which was good because I sure as hell planned on staying this way for as long as I could get away with it. ¡°I was just going to go home.¡± I played the one card I had yet to try on anyone. The pout. Sure, my feminine charm might help here, but I was honestly hoping that my animal features gave me the charm typically associated with puppies and cute dogs. It didn¡¯t work. Instead, he pointed at a chair and simply said, ¡°Sit down.¡± He stayed where he was as he watched me. Seeing as there was no way out of the place without him catching me again, I finally relented and plopped down into the soft chair. ¡°Why are you so insistent that I stay with you?¡± While my question came out as more of a grumble than anything, he answered. ¡°As I told the money-hungry politician, you are under my purview until I declare you safe to the general public.¡± His hand started to shuffle through a pile of papers as he looked for something. ¡°No, that is your excuse.¡± I prodded, honestly curious as to why he wasn¡¯t just handing me off to someone. ¡°If that was truly the reason then you would have handed me off to your second in command or even Pendragon since he is clearly a shifter.¡± Liam¡¯s hands stopped as his eyes met mine. ¡°Don¡¯t tell him that. Dragons are very prideful.¡± We stayed like that for a moment before he resumed going through his papers. ¡°And I have my reasons. Reasons I don¡¯t feel like sharing.¡± Okay, that could mean a ton of things. He could be being honest and simply looking out for my well-being. However, I doubted that. If he was doing that then it would be more so that Xander didn¡¯t come back and kill someone because I got hurt or something. Then again, he could be simply trying to gain some sort of control over me. But if that was the case then he would have kept my orb and never told anyone he had it. Of course, there is always the age-old reason he could be keeping me close and separated from anyone else. He could be after my body. The very idea sent a wave of revulsion down my spine. Which was to be expected. But what was not expected was the pulse of heat that came from between my legs. The feeling sparked some odd thoughts to surface in my mind. Thoughts of a man touching me. Of desire and pleasure. I shook the thoughts from my head before I could get a good look at their face. Those thoughts were not welcome nor would they ever be. Behind me, the door slammed open as someone in a skimpy chainmail outfit came waddling in. She passed me without sparing me a glance. Instead, her eyes were locked on the man on the other side and they were full of fury. ¡°What in the ever-loving hell is going on around here!¡± Her English accent caught me off guard. ¡°Camille¡­¡± Liam drew out her name. While I couldn¡¯t see her eyes, I somehow knew she had rolled her eyes. ¡°What is going on around here, sir!¡± ¡°Better.¡± His attention returned to the papers as he continued. ¡°It seems the government no longer thinks we are capable of doing our jobs. They have hired a third party to investigate the most recent death.¡± Both of them stop talking for a moment before bursting into laughter. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Do they really think the people you have under you have no idea of what they are doing?¡± ¡°Apparently.¡± He snorted. ¡°Hell, they probably think of us as overpaid cadaver dogs.¡± Their laughter became loud enough that I didn¡¯t notice someone else had entered the room until she touched my shoulder. Startled, I whipped my head around. Standing there was a maid. She gestured for me to follow her. Sure, I could refuse and stay here but she was likely my best ticket out of this place. Liam and Camille¡¯s laughter filled the hall as we made our way out of the room. Standing in the hall, I stopped. She either heard me stop or something because she did the same and turned to face me. ¡°I think I will take my leave here,¡± I spoke with a soft voice so that the laughter in the room behind me was loud enough to prevent Liam from hearing me. Her head gave a slight tilt as she asked ¡°Do you not want some food first?¡± My stomach let out a loud growl to let me know what it thought of the idea of food. Personally, I agreed with it but the more distance I could put between me and the alpha, the longer I would be free. Would I be caught? Yes, eventually. The question was more of when and if I could put it off long enough for Xander to show up. Before I could shake my head and start down the hall, she spoke. ¡°You will need to eat so that you can run for longer. Plus, he wouldn¡¯t expect you to be in a room nearby. He likely wouldn¡¯t even search the nearby halls.¡± Her points were valid, I had to give her that. I might as well agree. At least, until I ate my fill. Maybe even after a nap. I could go for a nap. At my nod, she reached out and opened the door to her right. Delectable smells instantly laid siege on my nose. The most prevalent of which was the smell of meat. My mouth filled up with saliva so fast that I was forced to swallow multiple times lest I start to drool all over the floor. Stepping forward, I reached for a roll and bit into its soft flesh. Steam wafted out as my teeth sank into the pillowy flesh. A hint of honey added just the right amount of sweetness to the first of my victims. As I swallowed the last of that piece, I grabbed another and dipped it into a nearby bowl. The sweat flavor was still there, but it was mere background noise to the earthy flavors of the stew. My stomach sang its joy as I started to stuff my face faster and faster. When had I gotten so hungry? Hell, when had I last eaten? Yesterday? Just as I was about to start on a salad with all the fixings, the door exploded inward. Standing there, the alpha looked pissed. ¡°What did I tell you about staying near me?¡± My hand held a fork frozen between the bowl and my mouth as I tried to figure out how he had found me so quickly. His eyes bored their way into mine as he continued. ¡°Do I need to leash you like an animal to get you to listen?¡± An image of him holding a leash caused a wave of heat to ripple through my center and something to dribble out onto my legs. Embarrassed and not wanting him to know I had probably just peed myself, I tried to take a bite. I mean, I wouldn¡¯t have to talk or answer him if my mouth was full, right? His nose twitched a moment before he roared and surged forward. A hand whipped across the table. The strike hit my hand, sending my fork and the food flying. Suddenly pissed, I growled, ¡°What the fuck was that for?¡± He ignored my question, choosing instead to demand an answer to one of his own. ¡°Do you even have a hint of self-preservation or are you just an idiot?¡± I joined him in not answering the question the other asked. Deciding to throw him under the bus instead. ¡°Well, seeing as you had said that you would feed me, I assumed you arranged for this.¡± Yeah, no. I was pretty sure he had totally forgotten, distracted as he was by that chick. It seemed to work too because he reeled back a bit. Seeing my chance, I pushed forward. ¡°Unless you think I should starve? If that¡¯s the case then I think I will take my leave. Go back to whatever you were doing.¡± Something flashed in his eyes. Something told me I had pushed one step too far. Heat flashed in his eyes. ¡°Do you really think that? That I would starve you because I wanted to? It has taken everything in me to not lock you away and do things to you. To take you.¡± The heat vanished, replaced by something dark and dangerous. ¡°So, sure, I have been a bit overbearing and controlling. But that does not mean you should try and kill yourself to get away from me.¡± ¡°Kill myself?¡± My voice came out in a squeak. ¡°You think I would kill myself to get away from you? Are you nuts?¡± ¡°If not then why were you about to eat poison?¡± Poison, what poison? I didn¡¯t see anything here that looked even a bit poisonous. My expression must have shown my confusion because he roughly grabbed a fork and stabbed a piece in my bowl and held it out to me. ¡°What does this look like?¡± ¡°A vegetable used in salads.¡± A groan escaped him as his head dropped back. He continued to look up as he demanded ¡°What does it smell like to you?¡± I took a whiff of the plant and instantly let out a cough. Whatever it was was that I was smelling was causing my throat and nose to burn. ¡°I don¡¯t know, a spiced herb?¡± As his head dropped, he yelled at me. ¡°A spiced herb? What are you? Stupid?¡± As his eyes drilled into my seemingly thick skull, he continued. ¡°Why would someone go to all the trouble of adding so much spice to a simple salad?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± A tear escaped down my cheek as my throat started to close up. I wanted to blame it on whatever I had breathed in but I couldn¡¯t be sure. Not with all his yelling and how unstable my emotions seemed to be in the last couple of hours. ¡°Inspect the damned thing already.¡± He growled. As soon as I did, the dams holding back my tears broke.
Item: Bristlewood ¨C Dark Mana
Use: Poisons and some antidotes depending on what mana it has absorbed.
Description: A harmless plant that has absorbed too much darkness mana. Using it to produce a highly deadly poison. Goes great with a spicy sauce.
All I got out between my sobs was a simple ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because of who you are near and what you might become.¡± So someone was trying to kill me because I was near Xander? How was that fair? Why would someone target me for simply being near someone they didn¡¯t like? God, I hated humans and how twisted they could be. Chapter 24 - Heat ¡°While I don¡¯t understand why everyone wants to be near Xan¡­¡± I quickly caught myself before calling Xander by his real name,¡± Kai. What do you mean by what I might become?¡± The look in his eyes told me that he noticed and found it interesting that I knew the guy''s real name. Which begged the question of how the hell the wolf knew Xander¡¯s. Still, for now we both dropped it. ¡°As I told you before, I have known of a few other Kitsune in the city.¡± I nodded as I recalled the one time that he mentioned it. He had also stated that he wasn¡¯t able to get them to talk about anything so knew nothing about my kind or really what to expect. ¡°Well, while most people know of these people and how strong they are, no one knows how they got so strong or what their limits are. They just tend to show up at a massive battle, one that we are losing, and clearing out the demonic forces in moments.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I stopped his spiel to ask a question. ¡°What do you mean by they wipe out the forces in moments? What do they do?¡± ¡°The one that I have personally seen almost always has an icy fog that trails after him.¡± His eyes glazed over as if recalling a memory. ¡°Everywhere he walks, the ground freezes. As he walks through the battlefield, the fog expands outwards as it covers everything. It hangs there for a dozen seconds at most before settling back around him. All that is left is ice sculptures and unfrozen allies. Then he turns and walks away.¡± Damn, that was one hell of a power. But how did he do it? Was it a water-based skill? Wind? Or was it some kind of mix? To my surprise, he continues. ¡°There is another that, while I haven¡¯t seen it, I have heard quite a few reports on. She literally pops around a battlefield while her hands rip out various organs without so much as leaving a wound.¡± Space, definitely space related. Fuck the image of someone just warping reality so they could rip out a person''s organs was gruesome. As I shuddered, I asked the question again, ¡°So what if the other Kitsune are much more powerful than other people, what does that have to do with me?¡± ¡°Because they shouldn¡¯t be.¡± His eyes locked onto mine as something flickered across his face. Unfortunately, it was gone before I could understand what it was. ¡°Sure, there are other people that are fairly strong given all of their abilities and time here, but most everyone in the government and with any sort of power has known and kept track of them for a while now. The Kitsune, they just showed up. No one knows where they came from or even who they are. They appear and disappear whenever they want. Any and every request for them to participate in meetings is denied.¡± As he spoke, I wondered as to how this was possible. Even if they did shift their forms from the Kitsune to human, they would look fairly similar. Or at least, I did. Someone should have noticed the resemblance in this city, even if it had such a large, and mostly transient, population. Hell, what about any data brokers or spies? Surely someone could have tracked these people after the fight was over. When I voiced my concerns, he groaned. ¡°So many people have tried to track them down. Even Kai¡¯s guild tried. From what I heard, the edge of the battlefield was as far as they could get before losing track of their target. As for their faces, they wear masks and long flowing robes.¡± Damn, both were simple and effective at hiding their forms. Combined with the ability to lose a tracker, they were able to ghost in and out of a battle without any issues. ¡°But, that is enough about Kitsune.¡± His voice cut my thoughts short. ¡°You need to be more careful about what you eat and drink. Any and all of it could be poisoned.¡± ¡°Even those provided by you and your group of¡­¡± I took a second to think about what to call his little group. They weren¡¯t a pride or a pack, they were a mix of species. Finally, I simply said, ¡°Shifters.¡± ¡°Well,¡± he started to say before taking a second to give my question some thought. ¡°Actually, no, you¡¯re right. Don¡¯t trust anything. Even if you are safe with me and my people, it will serve to be good training to have you always checking.¡± Why did I think that the damned alpha was going to have his people purposely poison my food every once in a while to make sure I was always on guard? ¡°Now, who brought you in here?¡± ¡°A maid.¡± I took a second to think back at what had happened. ¡°She was the one that came and grabbed me from your office. Do you think she could have been the one to do it?¡± With a wave of his hand, he dismissed that idea. ¡°I doubt it. That maid is loyal to¡­¡± It seemed as though he was trying to remember something but drawing a blank. A half dozen seconds later he seemed to give up and move on. ¡°But I doubt that Camille would do this either. She has worked under me for years.¡± But that would mean that those two knew each other in the real world. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He must have noticed my curious look because he chuckled. ¡°Yes, she and I have worked off and on in the real world. She also helped me with Gabriella when she was just a baby.¡± I knew it was likely a sore subject, but the words came out unbidden. ¡°What happened to her mother?¡± Liam¡¯s sigh was long and deep. ¡°She left us for someone else. Someone that promised her an easy life. I told her that he was using her but she didn¡¯t believe me. Months later I got a request from the city morgue to come identify her body.¡± Slowly, tears had formed tracks down his face in a bid to make their escape. The big strong alpha¡¯s voice cracked as he continued. ¡°She was practically skin and bones. I could count her ribs and see her hips against the taught skin. I didn¡¯t even have to read the report to know that a number of her bones had been broken. The breaks were there for all to see if one simply looked.¡± Welp, now I felt like a complete dick for bringing up such a touchy subject. At least I could be sure that the bastard was dead. After all, it wasn¡¯t like the Liam I had come to know in the last day or so would have left this guy alone after what he had done. Which made what he said next a surprise. ¡°The worst part is that her killer is still out there, strutting around as if he owns the place.¡± His laugh was short and closer to a bark than anything as he saw my look of shock. ¡°Oh don¡¯t get me wrong. I had plans for the bastard but he was too protected. So much so that my only option was to focus on my job. After all, where else would one learn how to learn how to get past security systems?¡± So either the guy worked in security or building the systems for those rich enough to afford them. Given the fact that the wolf was an animal that was more protective of those it considered pack, I had to go with him working in some sort of security group. A small rag appeared in Liam¡¯s hand and he used it to wipe his face as he continued. ¡°Anyway, as I said, I doubt either of them want you dead. Is there anyone else that you recall pissing off?¡± Well, there was the demon but I doubted that he would be here of all places. If he was then I was fucked no matter what. Then there was that pencil pusher type in the council hall. But, while he had been a bit brusk, he sounded like the kind of person who felt everyone needed to follow every rule no matter who they were or what they were doing. So much so that I doubted he would try and murder me simply because it meant that he would have to break a rule or two. Seeing that I had no immediate idea Liam let out a huff. ¡°I need to call a few people, so for now, let¡¯s go back to my office. This time you are going to stay there and not wander off.¡± Even as he said that he didn¡¯t move. He simply stood there watching me as he waited for something. My brain must have been succumbing to a food coma or something because it took me a second to realize that he was waiting for me to take the lead. Yeah, I doubted that he would let me wander off again. I almost wondered if he was thinking of tying me to a chair or something to keep me there when he was busy doing something. Oddly enough, the idea seemed to send a tiny shiver down my spine. The shiver curled into my center and the feeling caused a tiny spark of pleasure. It wasn¡¯t something I had ever really felt before, or at least not in this way. Something about how it felt was something akin to how it felt when I touched my dick when I was aroused. But that wasn¡¯t possible. There was no way that I was aroused. Not at the idea of someone tying me up. The very idea was absurd. My mind churned over my feelings as I absentmindedly led the way. Instead of sitting in one of the chairs, my body plopped itself down on the large and overly fluffy dog bed ¨C or was it a wolf bed? It didn¡¯t really matter. Not when I was trying to figure out my body and its reaction. The idea of someone tying me up caused my body to have mixed reactions. At first, it seemed random until I realized the face of who was doing the tying was changing. Sure, there was a bit of heat when I imagined it was Liam, but it was closer to that of someone that could give me immediate relief. Like I would ever let him touch me if I was given a choice. The next person to take center stage in the scene playing out in my head was Xander of all people. As the man gently tied my hands, the feelings flowing through me, both in the scene and in real life, increased. A slow and subtle pulsing need made itself known. Not knowing how to take the idea that I was attracted to Xander, I switched from person to person. Going through everyone I had met and gotten to know. Sure, Barti elicited some response, it was on par with the idiotic werewolf. Then came Michael. The moment he popped into my head, my arousal and the feelings it brought with it dried up in an instant as fear and hatred took over. The same feelings persisted throughout the majority of his team, mostly. As soon as my mind''s eye replaced the person standing over me with a certain wolfkin, my body practically exploded with need as my core clenched. A loud sniffing noise filled the room as a new window popped up in front of me. Your heat has grown to the point that it is detectable by others with sensitive noses. The need for relief will increase the longer you go without. Warning: The chance of pregnancy is increased during this period. The window hung there for a moment before being covered by a second one. Calculating time remaining. Hormone imbalance detected, searching for cause. First heat detected. A shorter estrus cycle is expected as a result. Estimated time: 11 hours 52 minutes. Estimation increased to 12 hours by local AI. As soon as I finished reading the information, another took its place. This one contained a timer counting down from twelve hours. Chapter 25 - Locked Up Fucking hell,¡± Liam¡¯s yelled curse captured my attention. ¡°Just how long ago did you use your SoulStone?¡± before I could answer, he lifted a hand. ¡°Wait, it couldn¡¯t have been all that long ago. Not with you being so weak and not really knowing how to use any of your abilities. Now, be honest with me, when was your last period?¡± What the fuck was wrong with this guy? I suddenly wanted to march up to the big bad wolf and smack him upside the head for asking that question. Who in their right mind would ever answer such a question? My silence seemed like it annoyed him because he growled. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this. CAMILLE!¡± The very air around me vibrated as he roared out her name. Within moments, Camille''s blurred form slid across the stone floor as she entered the room. ¡°Yes, Alpha?¡± She panted out only to freeze at something. ¡°Get me Pendragon and Ginger. Also, see if you can get Kai back here.¡± As he spoke, her head turned to look in my direction. She looked both horrified and sad for some reason. Before I could demand to know what was going on, he yelled at her. ¡°NOW! Also, get me a room. One that can lock from both sides and has an antechamber. Kyren is going to need it for at least¡­fuck, how long does a fox go into heat? Make it a week to be safe.¡± ¡°Yes alph¡­¡± Was all I could make out as she vanished from the room. I wanted to ask what was going on, why he was suddenly so demanding but he didn¡¯t let me. ¡°This couldn¡¯t come at a worse time. Now, I am not blaming you or anything. Well, I kind of am. You should have noticed that your heat was upon you but then again you probably didn¡¯t know such a thing was going to be a problem.¡± His hand lifted to rub at the bridge of his nose as he thought about something or another. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I gingerly asked as a slight tinge of fear edged into my mind. While I got that animals went into heat and all that, I had never thought about what that meant and I sure as hell never thought that it would be such an issue for me. ¡°Tell me,¡± his hand dropped to his desk as he spoke. ¡°Have your emotions been a bit off in the last few hours? Did some odd thoughts about people and various sexual acts pop into your head?¡± Everything that I had felt for the last day now made a bit more sense. I mean, why else would I have been thinking these things? Sure, there might have been a few curious thoughts floating in my mind over the years, but that didn¡¯t mean that I ever thought about acting on such thoughts. So, yes, I had asked the questions every man asks themselves at least once. Then there were my growing feelings toward the men near me and the sudden jealousy I had felt when the female wolf shifter transformed into a naked woman near Liam. Feelings that even now caused me to flush with embarrassment. Liam rolled his eyes. ¡°This is not the time to get squeamish about sex or your feelings. Not unless you want to be stuck out here where you might be considered open to offers.¡± If anything, his words made my embarrassment worse. Unable to answer him, I simply nodded. ¡°Damn.¡± He cursed. Before he could say or ask anything else, two figures came flying into the room. ¡°Where is she and what did you do to her?¡± Ginger practically screamed as her blurred figure slammed to a stop in from of his desk. Her hands slammed onto the desk with a loud boom as if emphasizing her need for an answer and her seriousness. ¡°I need to¡­¡± the alpha started only to get interrupted by Pendragon¡¯s ¡°Oh shit,¡± as his eyes met mine. They were wide and his nose was rapidly expanding and contracting as he rapidly pulled in air. Ginger turned to him ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Tell me that Kai is nearby,¡± Liam said. ¡°He is currently in the capital,¡± Ginger answered as she turned back toward the alpha. ¡°Will someone tell me what is going on?¡± The wolf ignored her question to ask another of his own. ¡°And how long has it been since Kyren used the SoulStone?¡± ¡°Five days, maybe even a week.¡± Liam groaned at her words. The groan did something to me. Something about it made me want to feel him use it on me. Where and how? I had no fucking idea. ¡°Do you happen to know when her last period was? She refuses to answer me.¡± I rolled my eyes as I had a good reason to not answer the dickhead alpha. Of course, that thought brought back images of his exposed member. Suddenly I wanted to see how it felt when I rubbed it. Yeah, something was very very wrong with me. ¡°She has¡­oh¡­¡± Ginger''s eyes widened as she spun to face me. Her eyes looked me up and down. I could see her eyes flicker back and forth as she took me in. ¡°Well, shit. My brother is going to kick your ass if you touch her.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I had no idea what or who she was talking about. Why would anyone be touching me? ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± Liam growled. Something about his growl had me imagining him leaning over me as he growled something into my ear. What it was I had no idea but it must have been something good because a few muscles I didn¡¯t know I had between my legs clenched. As I tried to work through the haze that was expanding in my mind, the two of them continued to argue. ¡°And yet you are still here. Still hovering around her as if waiting for her to beg for your help.¡± She snapped at him. ¡°What would you have me do?!¡± He snapped back. ¡°My office is not secure. Someone has to stay here and keep her from doing something she will come to regret.¡± Regret? What was there to regret? Surely it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have someone help alleviate this growing need before it became too much. ¡°And what was your plan? To just sit here and wait for something to happen? For someone to come challenge you so that you could show her that you would make a great option? So that you could take advantage of her?¡± Ginger sounded pissed and something in the back of my mind agreed with her. Too bad that part of my mind was slowly being drowned out by the growing need and foreign desires I was suddenly aware of. ¡°God no!¡± Liam sounded almost pissed at the very idea. ¡°I sent one of my people off to secure a room with all the appropriate protections. She should be back any minute now, assuming she doesn¡¯t have any issues with paperwork.¡± Ginger sighed but seemed to calm down as she stepped toward me. ¡°Kyren.¡± My eyes met hers as she spoke my name. ¡°Just try and hold on a little bit longer.¡± ¡°It hurts.¡± And it did. The fire had slowly grown out from where it had started. Going from the tiny spark to the roaring inferno that now blazed beneath my skin. My only saving grace was the fact that it was not the only fire that burned inside of me. My Fox Fire spat and snapped at the invading fire every time it got close to my core. Then there were the ripples of muscles and odd feelings that came and went. They hit everywhere yet didn¡¯t seem to follow a pattern. Well, other than the fact that they loved to start or end at my navel or between my legs. ¡°Oh, honey.¡± She sat down next to me and pulled my head into her lap. ¡°I am so sorry you have to go through this.¡± Her voice was soft and crooning as one of her hands rubbed my ear. Something about the way she messaged it helped to relax my body and took the edge off the fires that raged through my body. I lost track of the voices around me, the world, and even my sense of time thanks to her ministrations. Unfortunately, as with everything, it had to come to an end. My short respite ended when a blurring figure smashed, literally, into Liam¡¯s desk. As my eyes popped open, I found that the air was full of papers and a flailing figure. A loud growling sound filled the room as Liam held the intruder up. ¡°Did you get the room?¡± ¡°Ye¡­ye¡­yes sir!¡± Camille whimpered. ¡°Room Charlie three seventy-five. It was the only one they would give me.¡± ¡°It will have to do,¡± he stated as he let her go. Her upper body dropped to the desk as he moved around to where I was practically curled up in Ginger¡¯s lap. His voice dropped until it was barely audible and almost seemed to vibrate the air between us. ¡°Now, I can carry you like this,¡± Ginger let out a growl that had the alpha snapping at her. ¡°Do you know where that room is?¡± Her growl shifted a bit as she spoke. ¡°I will carry her or do you want to explain to my brother why you touched her while she was in her heat?¡± The annoying alpha let out a huff of exasperation. Almost sounding as if he would rather be doing anything else. Her voice gentled as her mouth practically touched my ear. ¡°The trip will be more comfortable if you shift to your fox form.¡± The fact that something was able to make me more comfortable was all I needed to hear. With a quick mental push and a burst of mana, my clothes vanished into my inventory as my body shrank. It went from my Kitsune form to my fox form. A fox form that had its tail tightly wrapped around my feet and covering my nose. Without warning, a pair of hands reached under me. They pulled me toward their owner¡¯s chest. A chest that was surprisingly well-toned and comfortable. It helped that whoever it was smelled of teak and linseed oil. Or at least that¡¯s what my brain was telling me. Given that I couldn¡¯t remember smelling either, I had no clue if I was right or not but I didn¡¯t care. All I cared about was the warmth that she was giving off and whether or not someone would be willing to help me get through whatever this was. Suddenly, she set me down in a bed. Which was odd as it felt as though she had just picked me up. At the sound of someone running off, I peeked over my paws and through my tail to find that I was no longer in the office. In fact, the room looked completely different than anything I had found myself in until now. The only one that came close was the one for the Oracle. But that one had been destroyed by whatever had killed him so I couldn¡¯t quite tell. But, none of it mattered to me. All that mattered was the soft mattress and the sound of water splashing into what I had to assume was a tub. Before I could get up and race toward the noise, Liam grabbed my face and forced me to look at him as he spoke. ¡°You will stay in this room until your heat ends. No one, and I mean no one, is to enter your room unless it is either Ginger or her brother Kai. Do you understand me?¡± A whine escaped me at the thought of being on my own with the slowly returning pain. Surely Liam or Pendragon was willing to at least help me get through this. It didn¡¯t have to be something permanent or anything. Hell, he must have done this at least once or twice for other shifter women. His hand shook my face. ¡°Do you understand?¡± With the second, more forceful command, I realized he wasn¡¯t going to stay to help me. No one was going to stay and help me. They were all going to leave me to my pain. Sad and resigned to my fate, I nodded my agreement. ¡°Good girl. Now go take a bath. Relax for as long as you are able.¡± With that, the man released me before striding out of the room. Ginger came from the direction of the rushing water. She shut the door and locked it before coming toward me. Her face was filled with sadness and pity as she spoke. ¡°I am so sorry. While my brother knows that the two of you are just friends, Xander wanted to be here for you. If to do nothing more than to help you find a way to get through your first heat.¡± I let out a soft whimper as some muscles started to clench and release. ¡°Let me help you to the bath. The hot water will help with your cramps.¡± She spoke as if she had some experience. Given that she was part fox, I had no doubt that she did. Chapter 26 - Bath The moment I tried to stand up a cramp rippled down my lower half, taking my hind legs out from under me. My mind cried out as the heat in my core expanded yet further. Ginger was either worried about my lack of movement or my silent cry wasn¡¯t so silent. Either way, she reached me in moments. Hands around me, she picked me up as if I weighed nothing more than a small dog. Her fingers scratched beneath the fur as her voice crooned. ¡°It will be okay.¡± As she walked toward where I assumed the bathroom was, she continued. ¡°It will get easier soon.¡± The bathroom came into sight right then as she rounded the doorframe. The place was massive. It was nearly as large as the room behind me and most of the floor space was taken up by the massive bathtub. I almost wondered just how many people were expected to live in and use these rooms. Ginger didn¡¯t hesitate as she made her way across the room and to the edge of the tub. Her voice was soft as she set me on the edge. ¡°While I know you don¡¯t want to, you need to shift back to your other form.¡± I let out a soft whine as the steam started to wet my fur. That water had to be hot enough to burn someone, let alone feel comfortable. She must have misunderstood why I had whined because her words were filled with sorrow. ¡°I know it hurts but trust me.¡± The pain I could hear was enough to push me to at least try. With an effort of will, I pulled up the window and tried to select the human option. To my horror, the window flashed red as a text box popped up and stole my attention. The Human form option is not available during your heat. What the fuck did that mean? Another ripple of pain reminded me that there was more to worry about than what forms I could and could not use. Selecting the only other option I quickly found myself dropping over the edge and into the water as the shift of weight and size caused me to lose my balance. While I had been feeling hot before, it had nothing on the water around me. Hell, I was pretty sure that this little lake was on the verge of boiling. Yet it didn¡¯t hurt. If anything it felt amazing. Within moments the heat penetrated through my skin and into the muscles below. Slowly the muscles released and relaxed. For the first time in however long it had been, I was free of pain. A pair of arms grabbed my armpits and pulled me toward the surface. ¡°I got you,¡± Ginger said as she pulled me toward the wall and into a seat. ¡°Better?¡± Instead of answering, I nodded. ¡°Good because we have to go over a few things before your heat gets too far along. Before the heat no longer helps.¡± While I knew I should have been panicking over the fact that the heat would stop working, that something else might happen, I was just too worn out. ¡°Why?¡± Ginger¡¯s hand caressed my right ear. I leaned into the pleasant touch as she spoke. ¡°Because your body will demand that you find someone to sate yourself against. Likely driving you so far as to try and make them your mate.¡± I groaned as I realized what she was insinuating. ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± I asked even though I could probably guess what she was going to say. ¡°The need will build until either it is sated, at which it will force you two to do the deed as many times as possible, or until your heat ends.¡± I should thank whatever god was out there that had decided to take it easy on me and limit this to twelve hours. ¡°What if I found someone willing to help me and we refrained from making it permanent?¡± I asked, curious but not willing to think about what that would mean. What I would have to do with a random guy all in the hopes of avoiding some pain. Her hand paused for a moment showing how much my question had surprised her. ¡°The problem is I have no clue how Kitsune mate for life. While wolves and most shifters mark their mates to make the bond permanent, there are a few species that form a bond from the moment they look into each other''s eyes or exchange blood.¡± I could tell that the heat was working and I was relaxing because my voice wasn¡¯t as clipped and almost sounded lazy. ¡°What species exchanges blood to form a bond?¡± ¡°Vampires for the most part. Though there are a few demons.¡± At the word demon, my body instantly stiffened as my heart rate tried to blast off. ¡°Natural SoulStone changed demons, not those changed by contracts or born.¡± Ginger quickly added. I almost wanted to argue that there was nothing natural about the SoulStone and that all demons were evil and should be killed but the mention of the stone reminded me of my own transformation. It reminded me of what had happened. Of what I had changed into. I wasn¡¯t simply a Kitsune, I was a Demonic Kitsune, whatever that meant. Thankfully the foxkin was a talker because she didn¡¯t notice my lack of a response or my face as she continued. ¡°Though, it''s pretty funny that most of those demons and vampires were politicians or ran some of the biggest businesses.¡± Okay, that was pretty funny. Fitting in a way. ¡°But, where was I? Ah, we don¡¯t know what will bond you to someone else. Given that you don¡¯t want to just make such a permanent decision on a whim or simply to ease your pain, we will keep you separated from all temptation until after your heat has passed. Hopefully next time¡­¡± ¡°Next time?!¡± I cried out at the very thought that there would be a next time. ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t think it was a one-off thing, did you? Most animals go through this at least once a year. Most of us are assuming that we are the same. Though, in the case of beastman like me, we can simply ask those that live here.¡± For the last minute, a soft ache had started in my stomach but I managed to ignore it. That is until it decided to pulse in time with my heart. To distract myself, I asked her a question that had been bugging me since Xander had brought me to this building the first time. ¡°How did you and Pendragon meet?¡± Her hand paused in their ministrations. Whether it was from shock or embarrassment, I had no clue. A couple dozen pulses later, her hand resumed rubbing at my ear. Ginger¡¯s voice was a bit whistful as she recalled something. ¡°We met on the battlefield. I was on my own, cut off from anyone as a handful of creatures attacked me. Which wouldn¡¯t have been an issue except for the pair of demons that were supporting and ordering the creatures around. They anticipated everything I would cast, every attack I would use, and acted accordingly. Hell, they were playing with me because we all knew I stood no chance.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Where was your brother?¡± I asked, curious as I doubted the guy would let his sister get into so much trouble. ¡°He was with a group of people that had crossed the battlefield in an attempt to cut off the demon¡¯s reinforcements and retreat.¡± She stopped talking as she switched hands and started to rub my left ear. I leaned into the touch as I waited for her to resume talking. ¡°When it looked like the demons were done playing with me, they had their creatures hold me down. Likely so they could do something to me.¡± With the fact that this had to have been a while ago, I had to assume it was before we had received the SoulStones. Still, I had to be sure. I coughed as I interrupted her. ¡°Was this before the spring festival?¡± ¡°Yeah. Why?¡± I didn¡¯t answer her as I closed my eyes and asked one of my own. ¡°Did it look like they were going to give you their blood?¡± ¡°Maybe? Does it matter?¡± Ginger sounded a bit concerned and confused at the direction of my question. ¡°Well,¡± I drew out the word as I tried to think about how to say what I wanted. A twinge in my gut caused me to wince and I decided fuck it. My hand flicked up as I pulled up my interface and opened my logs. ¡°How do I make it so you can see my screen?¡± As I asked that, a prompt popped up. Would you like to make your screen visible to everyone? As soon as I agreed her hand stopped. My eyes scanned over the information presented as I waited for her question. It included quite a bit, but the majority of what I wanted was right there in a more technical log than what the system typically used. It wasn¡¯t long before she asked me the question I had been expecting. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°This is what happened when I used the SoulStone.¡± I gestured to the line referring to demonic taint. ¡°This part is referring to the demonic blood I had been unknowingly ingesting.¡± Her nails dug into the cartilage of my ear. The sharp pain was accompanied by a sharp intake of breath. ¡°From what the demon was saying, his daughter was trying to make me into something like family. Likely with the intention to gain some sort of control over me.¡± We were both silent. I was happy to sit in this warm water as she thought about all the implications. Just as long as I was no longer in pain. Her hand shook slightly as she spoke. ¡°The thought of them even gaining control over one person is frightening. How would we even detect such a thing?¡± That I had no clue nor did I care as the soft pulse turned into a deep throb. I moved a hand to my middle and slowly rubbed the spot. The feeling dulled but it showed that she had been right. The water would only help for so long.¡°I am sorry to switch topics but can you finish explaining how you and Pendragon met.¡± ¡°Where was I?¡± she asked but didn¡¯t wait for an answer before continuing. ¡°That¡¯s right, the creatures were holding me down. Well, just as the demons approached, a figure dropped out of the sky. A flash of light cut the air parallel to him as it landed behind the first demon. It bisected the creature, killing it in an instant. The other demon lasted a couple of moments longer but it did just as easily to the man. Throughout the fight, the demon only had time to call for the creatures. Free from their hold, I blasted the distracted creatures apart with magic.¡± ¡°Let me guess, the man was Pendragon?¡± I smirked, knowing the answer. ¡°Even covered in blood, the man looked like a god and he had saved me.¡± She said in a wistful voice. ¡°I had a crush before the guy took a second to check on me. I don¡¯t know what came over me at the time but while he was checking for injuries I asked him out on a date. Surprisingly enough, he agreed.¡± ¡°So what is the problem?¡± I was confused as to how the two of them could go from that to what they were now. ¡°Our duties caused the two of us to push the date back to the spring festival.¡± ¡°But I thought you were not in the area for the last two weeks?¡± The timing didn¡¯t seem right. I knew I had been out for a few days but the spring festival was during the time she had been gone. ¡°Don¡¯t tell my brother this but I came back to the city for the festival.¡± She sounded sheepish. ¡°The date went perfectly. So much so that we ended up back at his place. We both used our stones together. I expected to be out of action for a few days given some of the effects but he used some sort of item to cancel everything but the changes.¡± It sounded as though he did something similar to what the professor had done. Which made me wonder just how many people had similar items and why. Was someone making a ton of these items and handing them out? If so where was mine? Then again if I had such an item I wouldn¡¯t have used it. Not when I needed the extra boost it gave me. ¡°As soon as our changes were done, his entire demeanor changed. He went from the blissful happiness of having had a good time to nearly demanding. And, while I want to say I was much better, I wasn¡¯t. His smell was heavenly and I had the sudden desire to bite into his flesh.¡± She let out a dark chuckle. ¡°To say I was scared was an understatement. I ran as fast as I could from the city. Returning to the deep patrol and monitoring mission I had been assigned to.¡± ¡°Was the desire to bite him the reason you attacked him?¡± ¡°No,¡± she snorted. ¡°That was because the moron kept trying to get me transferred from my unit to something in the back.¡± While I barely knew Ginger even I knew that was a stupid idea. Recalling the change in her demeanor between then and when I had next seen her, I asked. ¡°What happened between you two after we left?¡± ¡°We talked. Mostly he asked what it would take for me to accept him as my mate.¡± ¡°And what did you say?¡± ¡°I told him to stop being so damned bossy. To let me be me. I am not one to hide in the back. If he wanted me to give us a chance then he would have to put up with me being next to him no matter who or what we were facing.¡± ¡°Guessing he fought you?¡± She laughed. ¡°Nope, the man agreed without hesitation. It was almost as if he realized that there was no way he would win that argument.¡± ¡°Smart man.¡± I joined in her laugh only to wince as the motion caused my nipples to slide through the surface of the water. It seemed that, since I had gotten into the water, my nipples had grown so sensitive that I could feel the water drops sliding off them. My hand lifted toward my chest but stayed a fraction of an inch away as I hesitated, not knowing if my touch would make the feeling better or worse. Ginger¡¯s laughter stopped only a fraction of a second later than mine had. She must have noticed where my hand was and my hesitation. ¡°You will find that, while it isn¡¯t perfect or even half as good as sex, masturbating will help with the pain.¡± My eyes squeezed shut at the idea of masturbating. I had been holding myself back out of fear that I might like it and not want to go back to my male body, but it seemed like my body wasn¡¯t giving me much of a choice. Her hand dropped to my shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. ¡°Your body is nothing to be ashamed of. Sure, you are not a guy anymore, but that doesn¡¯t mean you cannot live and enjoy your new body. Just¡­at least give it a chance.¡± Her words struck at something deep inside me. At a fear that I had not told her with words but my reactions. With them, she stood up and started for the door. Before she could leave, I asked her a simple question. ¡°How did you deal with your heat?¡± ¡°Alone,¡± She sounded a bit sad. ¡°But the cramps were just akin to a really bad period.¡± With those words, she left me to make up my mind. To make a decision that might change everything or nothing. ¡°Wait, did she say these were akin to a really bad period?¡± I asked no one. ¡°Fuck. I forgot I would get those now.¡± Chapter 27 - Exploration (Explicit) As I sat there, I thought about what Ginger said. No, not about the period thing. That was something I would have to think about later. My mind was focused on the fact that the pain would get worse as time went on. That it would refuse to go away unless I found someone to sate the thirst my body seemed to have for someone else. Of course, that was NOT going to happen. Of course, there was the little nugget she implied. The fact that one could deal with this on their own. The only problem was that I would have to be willing to explore my body. Something that I had refused to do lest I find that I liked the feeling. An idea flit through my head. I could always return to my apartment. Truthfully, I doubted it would help. Hell, if I returned to Earth I would be without a nice warm bath. As if my body could tell that I was debating what to do, the muscles in my abdomen rolled. My hand instinctively reached for my belly. Just before it reached there, the edge of my thumb brushed against my breast. My breath caught as a shiver raced down my spine and vanished into the pulsing heat. Let me preface this with the fact that I had some experience with women ¨C though they were one-night stands with a friend. Okay, so I didn¡¯t have much experience. Still, this one brush of my thumb against my sensitive flesh had produced nearly as much of a reaction from my body as I had had during each experience. But was it because I hadn''t been expecting it or was I just that horny. Wait, or was it because nothing had ever touched this body in this way? And yes, by this body I mean my new female body. As I said a moment ago, I wasn¡¯t a virgin or anything. Anyway, maybe the nerves were just sensitive because they had never been desensitized by use and the exploration of a teen riddled with hormones. Then again, did it matter why? It wouldn¡¯t change what my body craved. As such, I decided to give in, just a little, just enough to get a taste. Slowly, my hand slid up my belly and to my chest. Small sparks fizzed where my hand brushed along my flesh. As it reached the center of my breast, I stopped and gently closed my fingers around the edges. In my head, I imagined I was touching one of my past flings as I lightly squeezed. A small wave of pleasure traveled down my spine, it was nothing compared to what my thumb had generated, which made no goddamned sense. Every time I did this to a girl she cried out in pleasure so why didn¡¯t the same happen here ¨C well, unless they were faking it? The very idea that they had been faking it sickened me. If I had been doing something wrong then they should have said something. While I loosened my grip, I didn¡¯t release my hold. Instead, I lightly brushed my thumb over the surface and found that it felt nearly as good as squeezing. While I had been paying attention to my hand and the feelings it generated, I didn¡¯t realize my other hand had wandered south until something flitted across the skin of my inner thigh. My mind froze as I tried to work through the feelings the brush generated. It wasn¡¯t pleasure per se, instead the touch seemed to add fuel to the inferno growing in my center. Mentally, I realized that this was the moment that everything would change. This decision would make or break me. I either needed to give up on my mental cockblocking, if one could call it that, or I needed to stop here and now. With a wave of pain, my body let me know what its opinion was. It was one that I had a feeling I stood no chance against. Not when combined with the hormones and some torture. And so, with a sigh that was a mix of resignation and excitement, my hand moved toward my folds. While my middle finger didn¡¯t touch flesh, my other fingers brushed along the inside of both of my thighs. As if my body could tell what I was doing, every nerve in the area sent out a light ripple that caused my muscles to quiver as it traveled up my spine. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The ripple bounced off the back of my head and raced back down. It reached my core just in time to meet my middle finger as it brushed against my folds. My finger didn¡¯t enter me, not yet. Instead, it explored the outside. Pushing lightly against my sensitive flesh. Given how my body seemed to explode within the first few brushes, I knew I was overly sensitive. I mean, who came from the simple act of being touched lightly? Me, apparently. Still, my body craved more. Hell, I craved more. Ever so slowly, I teased my middle finger past the edges of my folds and into the hole that they covered. Shudders ran through my body as I found yet more sensitive flesh. Sure, I could go searching for my g-spot or the little nub that was my clit, but with how sensitive my body was I didn¡¯t think I would survive the feelings it would generate. Not when each movement of my finger caused my opening to clench down on the digit, both restricting its movements and increasing the amount of surface in contact with it. My breaths grew more erratic as the shudders continued, I pushed deeper until I could no longer go any deeper. With a ragged intake of breath, I slowly pulled out until just the tip remained inside. The lack of my finger was apparent and my body tried to rebel. I had to consciously work to keep my hips from following, from shoving the finger back inside. But, it didn¡¯t fight for long. Not when I teased my skin with the other fingers, not when my other hand resumed caressing my breast. Then one of my fingers stumbled upon the little nub hidden inside my folds. My body exploded. Everything before now had been a prelude to this as my mind went blank, the world around me turning white as pleasure rocked my body. Sure, I had come many times before but never like this, never with such strong aftershocks. Aftershocks that put everything that came before today to shame. Water flooding into my mouth, ears, and nose broke me out of my pleasure-induced lethargy as my body slid off the seat. The muscles in my legs felt like rubber as I scrambled to get at least my head above the water. As I sat there, panting, I found myself wondering why I had ever thought that holding back was a good idea. Then again, maybe the fact that it craved to be touched, to be caressed again was reason enough. But I couldn¡¯t stay in the bath, not given that the water had already cooled down quite a bit. It wasn¡¯t like I needed the heat now, or at least not anymore. So, with a reluctant sigh and wobbly limbs, I crawled out of the bathtub. A minute of scrambling across the slick tiled surface later, I flopped onto the soft mattress. My body warred with itself. The need to sleep fought against the desire ¨C no, the need ¨C to touch myself. While I wanted to blame the need on my heat, I wasn¡¯t so sure. Then again, did I really care? So, with half-lidded eyes, I reached a hand down. This time, though, an unbidden image of Xander came to mind as worked myself up. What I knew of the guy told me that he would be one of those guys who would take things slow, that he would care more for how he could make me feel rather than how I could make him feel. A soft thumping sound was interspersed with moans as my tail flopped around. The wave of pleasure built even faster this time. The loud thud of my tail smacking itself against the bed was accompanied by the crashing waves of pleasure that rocketed around my body. My moans turned into cries that echoed around the room as my world exploded. Slowly, the ripples subsided, taking with them most of the heat and leaving me blissfully spent. Grateful for the relief, I didn¡¯t so much as move from the spot. It didn¡¯t help that I was too tired to even look away from the spot on the ceiling that my eyes were locked upon. Tears pricked at the edges of my vision as I realized that I had been right. There was no way I could give this up. If I did then I would know what I was missing. That there was something better and I had given it up, all for a body that had caused me so many issues growing up. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean I would have sex. Fuck that. Well, okay, if the right guy asked, maybe. But only if we did so with protection. I was not risking pregnancy. It sounded downright painful and not worth it. Wait, could I get pregnant? I knew I had the ability but if I died and came back, what would happen to the baby? With a shake of my head, I threw each and every thought of sex and pregnancy from my head. Choosing instead to distract myself with the pleasures of the flesh, my flesh. So what if my mind generated images of two very different people doing things to me? It wasn¡¯t like I would ever tell them what I wanted or anything. Such thoughts and scenes were for me and my body alone. Chapter 28 - Alpha and His Beta I must have passed out because when my eyes next opened the light entering the room from the window behind me was closer to orange than yellow. Not that that was what woke me up. A combination of a growling stomach and cramping brought me out of my dream. A dream that I had mixed feelings about. It was a continuation of the scenes my mind had conjured up only these came with additional sensations. I could feel Xander¡¯s hand as it caressed me. His lips as he kissed and sucked at my body. Everything he said and did during the dream was enough to convince me to take the plunge with him. And of course that was where the dream ended. I wanted to scream at the cruelty of whatever force decided to end the dream there. If they had waited just another few minutes I was sure that I would have at least orgasmed once. Instead, I was forced to suffer being edged. Something that I had done enough as a man thank you very much. With a growl, I moved my hand down to at least take the edge off. My fingers were met with liquid as they connected with my opening. Almost as soon as I started working myself, I found that my body refused to come no matter what I tried. The pleasure built but it never crested before slowly ebbing away. My grumbling curses were low and filled with sexual frustration as I gripped a nearby chair and used it to help me stand. While I wanted to go out and find Ginger and demand help, I also needed to take a shower. Sweat and other liquids that I didn¡¯t want to identify clung to my skin. Given how wet the bed looked, I wasn¡¯t the only thing that needed washing. I didn¡¯t even want to know why most of it was centered around the lower portion of the bed. With wobbly legs, I made my way back into the bathroom. The tub was still full and no longer steamed. Which made sense given that the water inside had been sitting there for quite a bit of time. It took me a moment to locate the shower. It was to the left of the door and seemed to take up quite a bit of the wall. Of course, I wasn¡¯t looking in that direction when I found it. I caught a glimpse of it through the mirror on the other side. The one that showed just how mussed up my hair was. Never in my entire life had I had bedhead this bad. Then again, I also never had hair that was this long. Even my ears didn¡¯t seem to escape the fiasco that was my hair. Bunches of it clumped around each, almost as if they were playing at ear muffs. Then there was my tail. If I thought my head was bad it had nothing on my tail. The long hairs were just as twisted and knotted as my hair. Unlike my hair, however, liquid had matted my hair. Some of it was dry while other parts still seemed wet. With a resigned sigh, I turned and made for the shower. Hopefully, there was a brush or something in there to help me deal with this because otherwise I was fucked, and not in the way my body craved. Nearly thirty aggravating minutes later I had managed to get my hair into a semblance of order. My tail, not so much. While I could use my fingers on my tail hairs as I had with my head, there was quite a bit more there and my stomach¡¯s protests grew to the point that I could no longer ignore it. The soft towel felt amazing against my skin as I used it. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t what my body craved as a frustrating lack of release continued to elude me. I debated putting on my dress but found that I didn¡¯t want to. Hell, it was probably a bad idea to leave this room given that I was still in my heat cycle. Still, I needed food and advice. Dressed in nothing but a pair of pants and a soft shirt, I walked out of the room and into the empty entry area. For some reason I had expected at least someone to be here, watching to make sure that no one came in and tried to do something to me. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like I was the center of the universe or something. I was one girl going through a heat cycle. With a shrug, I continued out into the hall. Doors were interspersed through the hallway. They almost seemed closer than they should have been given how big the rooms beyond were. Almost as if the building was similar to the TARDIS. Bigger on the inside and all. But the amount of magic that would be required to build such a structure was stupid, right? I mean, bags using spatial magic to increase their size were more expensive depending on how big they were. I had to assume that was because the spell was harder to do the larger you went. Surely it was the same when it came to buildings. A soft growl growl-filled moan broke me from my wandering thoughts. Curious, I followed the sound to a room with its door propped ever so slightly open. It wasn¡¯t enough for me to enter but it was enough to see most of the room on the other side. Enough that I could see Liam¡¯s back. His hands were splayed out behind him as he used the large desk to support himself. His face was tilted toward the ceiling. Even from here, I could tell that his expression was one filled with pleasure. Of course, the sound of his low moans and grunts would have told me the same thing. Confused, my eyes traveled down his body. While his shirt was still in place, his pants were missing which didn¡¯t make sense. At least, not until I heard a loud slurping-sucking sound between his moans. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± He groaned. ¡°Do that again.¡± Instead, a soft popping sound filled the room as a woman growled. ¡°I want you to come inside me this time.¡± For some reason, while I recognized her voice, I couldn¡¯t quite place it. ¡°Fine,¡± Liam grunted back as his hands reached around to help the woman up. I didn¡¯t understand what I was seeing. A flushed Brandi stood in front of him. Her eyes were locked on his as she reached for his shirt. As he did the same, I found myself turning away as my entire body grew warm. It wasn¡¯t like I liked the guy or anything. It was more of the fact that I didn¡¯t need to see the fucker fucking someone else, let alone someone I knew. Now I had a choice to make, continue looking for Ginger and some source of food, or interrupt the two idiots who happened to leave their door open. Yeah, it wasn¡¯t hard to choose. I was going to leave the two to their¡­fun. Still, the open door presented such a tempting target. No one could fault me for what I was about to do, right? This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it As I crept as close as I dared, I pulled earth from the air. Using the very dust that floated in the currents to form a decently sized bowl. Sure, the bowl was thin and shallow, but it was wide enough to be too big to fit through the door. Since it was on the other side of the door, the two of them would have to move it before they could get out. A bit more work and the stone bowl had a top made of yet more stone. I made sure that it was close enough to prevent much of the air from bypassing it while not touching the bowl itself. For what I wanted, I needed the hot vapor to pass through the multitude of holes this top had punched through it. Wrung from the air until there was nothing left, water filled the bowl to the brim. Now all that was left was a bit of heat. It couldn¡¯t be overly hot or I would be creating a steam bomb rather than my goal. The heat also couldn¡¯t be too cold lest the water cool it down before anything happened. With a bit of finesse, I heated the water until it was teetering on the edge of boiling. Then I heated the bowl itself to push it the last little bit. Sure, the bowl was thin, but there was still enough thermal mass for what I needed it to do. That and it wasn¡¯t full of holes and cracks. Something that would have turned my prank into a claymore. And while there was a time and a place for those, this was not one of them. As my mana poured into the stone until it gave off a slight glow, the water started to roll as bubbles emerged from it. The whole contraption was heavy enough that the fierce rolling bubbles were unable to move it and give itself away. The next part was the hardest. I needed to create dry ice. Something that I had never attempted but if I could do it ¨C so many ideas would be possible if I could pull this off. Only one problem, I didn¡¯t have access to the Air Element. If I did then this would have been easy. While I could buy the element with what points I had saved up, it would take too long and I would likely pass out from the pain. No, I needed to do it with the three elements I currently had, well four but I doubted the Dark Element would help. Wait, would it help? Could I use the Dark Element to create a cold spot? A few experiments later I found that I could, it would just take a ton of my mana reserves to do it and keep the spell going for any length of time. Welp, good thing I have a bunch of spare mana sitting in my collar. God, I needed to take the time to fill the fucker up because this would about drain it. Still, this would be worth it, maybe. As the spell finished, its structure shivered violently. Almost looking as if it was about to explode into pieces. Maybe it would. If it did, what would that mean? It wasn¡¯t like a fireball where the spells failure could send fire flying in every direction. Being made of shadow and cold, what would the failed spell fling outward? Cold? Shadows? Maybe I didn¡¯t want to know. Thankfully, the spell settled down a few moments later. As I watched, warm, moisture-laden steamy air rose and hit the cooled space. The air went from being able to hold a ton of water to nothing. A veritable cloud of water billowed out of the contraption. Seeing this, I quickly closed the door the last inch. The moment I stood up to run, my core gave a slight twinge of need. Sure, I could return to my room and attempt to satisfy it again, something that was tempting as hell, but that would be the first place the alpha would look. Plus, if I did that, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get food. So, in slight discomfort, I pushed off in the opposite direction. Running down the hall in soft, fast footsteps. Did I know where I was going? Nope. Did it matter? Not really. I was sure that I would run into someone that would give me directions sooner or later. The corners of my lips ached and my tail whipped at the air as I heard a roar emanating from the direction of the alpha¡¯s room. About time the guy discovered my little steamy surprise. Kicking up the pace, I felt my chest tighten as each breath came quicker than the last. The walls around me darkened as the hall shrank. There was a point that I had to turn sideways and shimmy my way through. That narrow hall dumped me out into what looked like a utility section of the building. Pipes of various sizes and colors lined various racks attached to the walls. There were a few that pulsed with light. Light traveled from one end to the other. Still, others seemed to absorb what light they could. Needing a distraction from the growing throbbing pain, I followed the direction the light was going. Pipes broke off and joined the collection around me as I continued forward. Eventually, though, the pipes came to an end. Not capped off or anything. They entered a wall and vanished. I know they vanished because the door below them opened up into a room without a single pipe in sight. Given that the wall was fairly thin and the number of pipes, I doubted they were inside the wall. A soft cackling laugh caught my attention. It came from somewhere nearby. Without a clue as to where I was, I wondered if whoever was there could point me toward an exit. Plus I was a tad curious as to who was here and why. The laughter grew a tad louder as someone spoke. As I got close enough to hear bits and pieces, I realized that they were telling a story. ¡°¡­she grabbed the minitaur¡¯s horns and pulled back. Of course, the guy didn¡¯t like that someone had managed to climb his back. He tried to smash her into the nearby rocks but she somehow managed to turn his head just in time.¡± Guffawed laughter filled the air as someone else spoke up. ¡°It took a while but my Francesco eventually gave up.¡± ¡°Patty, has anyone ever told you that you are absolutely nuts?¡± A third voice cawed back. ¡°I think my mother told me that once. Of course, I told her that she was no better.¡± The room exploded in laughter as various women agreed. Something about how they were talking made me think that this wasn¡¯t something I should be listening to. Like it was a get-together of close friends. Friends that were not just friends here but friends since before they had jumped into the game. Just as I was about to turn and walk in the other direction, a voice called out. ¡°Oh just get your ass in here.¡± My body froze as my eyes scanned around me. Had someone managed to sneak behind me? Seeing no one, I slowly moved a foot back only to freeze again as the voice called out a second time. ¡°Yes, I was talking to you.¡± A microsecond later, the door was jerked open. An older woman stood there with her eyes locked on to me. ¡°Don¡¯t make me drag you in here. I can hear your stomach from here.¡± Her hair was thin and practically see-through, coupled with the wrinkles that nearly hid her laugh lines, I was pretty sure this woman was old enough to be my grandmother if not my great-grandmother. Hands up, I took another step back. ¡°I really shouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°There is no point fighting the old bat on this.¡± Someone called out from somewhere behind the woman. She spun around, ¡°Who are you calling an old bat you old ninny?¡± The exchange caused me to laugh. It felt good and somewhat eased the tension that gripped my body. Her face turned enough to look at me with one eye as she walked into the room. Seeing no reason to turn her offer down, I followed her. As I closed the door behind me, I found myself outside. I stood there as I took the sight in. The walls around me, while I knew they were there, I could only see a shimmer where they should have been. Green, green grass covered the ground save for the small stream of water that glittered in the midday sunlight. Sunlight that real but was likely just as artificial as this space was given how late it was outside. In the middle of the space, a bunch of women lounged around a table. While some drank tea, others had a can of something or were eating something that looked like cake. My mouth drooled at the sight. The woman that I had been following noticed that I stopped and sighed before making a simple gesture in my direction. Wind yanked at my hair and clothes. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to knock me over but it did manage to nudge me toward an open seat. I took the hint and quickly sat down. Chapter 29 - Meeting of the Women One of the older women shot me a kind smile as she passed me a steaming cup. ¡°This should take the edge off.¡± Confused, I shot her a quizzical look but nonetheless accepted the proffered drink. It smelled of some flower I could identify. Under that, I got a hint of something else. Something a bit cooler. Which was odd given the amount of steam wafting off the white and brown liquid. Given that this was a random drink I had been handed by a stranger I should have either faked a sip and set it down or simply offered a polite refusal. Especially when one considered what I had been given by Linda in the guise of sauce. Hell, I knew someone had already tried to poison me today ¨C or was that yesterday? Yet something about the way the two ladies had spoken to me. They sounded grandmotherly. Fully expecting the worst, I took a sip. The flavor of mint coated my tongue for a moment before it was overtaken by something else. Maybe I could have identified it if I tried to do so, but my mind was focused elsewhere. As if by magic, every muscle in my body slowly released. The tension and heat that had been building in my core dissipated, taking with it the majority of the need that accompanied it. Sure, it wasn¡¯t everything but it was as if my heat went from an eight to a two. The pain was there but I could easily ignore it. Of course, it wasn¡¯t the only biological process that demanded attention. My stomach chose that moment to growl out its frustration at being ignored for so long. Laughter erupted around the table at the sound. A young lady, no younger than me, sat on my other side. She reached out and spun a circle set into the table and pushed it to the side. The entire center of the table spun, bringing with it all the food and drinks stationed on it. ¡°Eat!¡± ¡°Eat something!¡± ¡°Feel free to get some food!¡± ¡°Fill that belly young¡¯un!¡± Called a few voices. Heat blossomed in my cheeks as I lowered my head to hide my embarrassment. Still, I reached out and took a plate with a sandwich on it. Or at least I thought it was a sandwich. Between two fluffy pieces of bread, there was some sort of meat and sauce. I tried to suppress the groan that threatened to escape as I took my first bite. Sure, the meat had the expected earthy flavor, but it wasn¡¯t alone. Interwoven in the strands of flavor presented by the meat was a hint of sweetness touched with a bit of something savory. As I worked my way through the sandwich, there were a few gossipers who filled the room with chatter. ¡°I heard that Beatrix was killed yesterday. Head cut right off.¡± ¡°How horrible. At least it was quick though. Poor Christian was killed with radiation of all things.¡± Someone tsked. ¡°Horrible way to go. Had a friend go that route after being sent into a reactor to fix a loose fuel rod back in the day. The poor fellow didn¡¯t live out the week. Sometimes I can still hear his pained cries as his skin¡­¡± Someone else hissed. ¡°Not while some of us are eating Daryna.¡± ¡°Just telling it how it is.¡± Daryna¡¯s heavily accented voice paused for a second as if deep in thought. ¡°Though that begs the question as to how the person pulled off such a feat. I don¡¯t think any of the people have found a source of radiation.¡± I choked down what was in my mouth to ask ¡°Magic?¡± Quite a few eyes turned to look in my direction. As they bored into me I dropped my eyes back toward my plate as I mumbled out ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°No,¡± the accented voice was short and sharp as she spoke. ¡°What did you say?¡± I tried to act as though I hadn¡¯t said a word but it made the situation more awkward as the other conversations around us went quiet. Likely as they tried to figure out what was going on. Finally, I gave up and answered her. ¡°Could they have created a source of radiation with magic? Or at least created something with a similar effect?¡± ¡°Nemaye.¡± Not understanding what Daryna just said, I lifted my head to see that she was shaking her head. ¡°Not possible.¡± Another woman agreed. ¡°No, it is possible,¡± Came a soft voice from one of the corners of the room. Everyone turned to look at the speaker. A skinny elven woman with platinum blond hair sat in the grass playing with some flowers that were actively blooming around her even as she picked them. ¡°Sure, all of the tested methods have failed to yield results, but that does not mean there isn¡¯t a method. Who is to say that one could not use Spatial magic to create a small star to create fusion? Add a shell of Time magic and you have yourself a portable bomb. Separate out just the radiation, contain it, and you have a damn fine bomb that no one would be able to track.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Yeah, the whole room stayed silent as we all took in the idea. Sure, I knew that a bomb was possible with Fire mana, hell that was the basis of a fireball, yet the thought that one person could create a tactical weapon was on another level. What would stop such a person from demanding whatever they wanted? ¡°Though,¡± the elven woman broke the silence. ¡°I doubt any such person exists. At least not yet. Such a combination of spells would require quite a number of experiments and a massive mana pool. It may not even be possible without a few massive mana storage devices. Honestly, it wouldn¡¯t be worth it. Not when there are quite a few other, easier methods of killing armies.¡± With those words it was like the room as a whole let out a breath of relief. ¡°Leave it to Adalind? to figure out ways to blow up everything and then tell us it was not realistic.¡± ¡°Still,¡± the teenager had a bit of a quaver in their voice as they spoke. ¡°What is with all of these deaths? Are we next?¡± ¡°Why do you think they gathered all of us here?¡± The older lady next to me scoffed. ¡°So they can keep us safe?¡± Daryna¡¯s voice was full of scorn. ¡°See how well that worked before. And even if it did, trapped here until someone decides that we are needed for something. Nothing more than slaves.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I asked as I reached for a second plate. ¡°Who is supposed to be keeping you safe here?¡± ¡°The guards,¡± A young voice I recognized spoke up. My head whipped in its direction to find Philipa half-hidden behind a hunched figure. Seeing her sitting there, alive and looking healthy, I felt relieved. ¡°But not the usual guards. These guards were new. Off.¡± The group¡¯s nods and affirming words filled the place as she finished speaking. An odd thought occurred to me, one that didn¡¯t make much sense given that these people were supposedly being protected. ¡°If there are guards preventing people from attacking you, how did I get here without seeing one, let alone getting stopped?¡± Once again, the room went silent at the thought. The old woman who had opened the door for me was the first to break the silence. ¡°This structure, while well explored, still holds many secrets. Changing on a whim, as if it is alive as it tries to guide people where they need to be when they need to be there. Something tells me that, if you were to follow the route you took, you would find it is no longer there or goes in a completely different direction.¡± The idea that a building could be alive, if not sentient, was absurd. But, then again, how else could I explain the tunnels I had used to get here? Very few places left such areas open to the public. Add to that the fact that I seemed to have bypassed every security measure that surrounded these people, what other explanation was there? ¡°Ahh¡­¡± A well-worn and quiet voice caught everyone''s attention. While it wasn¡¯t loud, it felt as though the words that came from it managed to fill the room. The speaker sat on the other side of the table from me. Her back was so bent over that her head nearly rested against the table. That didn¡¯t stop her misty white eyes from meeting mine as she spoke. ¡°Child, you have done well to ignore temptation but I see a rough road filled with tough decisions laid out before you. While I see a possibility of happiness, I also see much pain and suffering. Just remember that you are not alone. Never alone¡­¡± It was as if she lost her train of thought or was falling asleep because her voice drifted off at the end. ¡°Don¡¯t mind her.¡± The younger of the two sitting next to me said as her hand grabbed mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. ¡°Her predictions are always right but only because they are so vague. So, what is it like being part fox?¡± Her sudden change of topic, coupled with the changes in tone, caught me off guard. ¡°Jessica!¡± Someone called out. ¡°But mom!¡± The woman called back. ¡°I always wondered what it would be like to have a pair of ears and tail for myself. It isn¡¯t my fault the stupid stone gave me such an annoying power set.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, curious as to what the SoulStone had given her. ¡°I was lucky¡± she sneered the word as if she didn¡¯t really consider herself all that lucky. ¡°Enough to gain the use of the Time Element. Too bad it is limited to peering into bits and pieces of the future and little else. The stupid element has no use in combat no matter what the elf over there says.¡± Her head tilted toward the elf who looked to be nearly done with a wreath made of flowers. ¡°If it did then the people running this damned place might have let us live on our own.¡± ¡°What about using another element? And what about leveling up? Surely there is another way to defend yourself.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± one of the ladies nodded. ¡°We can use other elements but we are discouraged from doing so. They refuse to provide any training or spaces to practice anything other than what is required for our jobs.¡± Someone scoffs ¡°And anytime someone argues that we need a way to defend ourselves they wave off our comments and say that that is the job of the guards and that we need not worry our heads about any of that.¡± That sounded as though the people running this place were trying to keep control over this group. To make sure that they were always available and under their control. Which made some sense but they were not tools but people. Without warning, one of the only men in the room hacked violently. Every eye swiveled as one to look at him. While one hand covered his mouth, the other lifted up to show that he was fine just as another hacking cough wracked his body. Unlike the previous one, this one sounded wet and didn¡¯t stop after one or two hacks. It went on and on, growing worse and worse with each hacking cough. Finally, after a good three minutes of straight coughing, it stopped. He lifted his head but his eyes did not lift to look at the rest of us. They were locked on whatever was in his hand. A moment later, his body shuddered as he collapsed. Particles of light flit off his body as it dropped toward the ground. Chapter 30 - The Ghost of Death ¡°What just happened?¡± I asked, confused about the lights. ¡°He was murdered.¡± Someone croaked. ¡°Those lights don¡¯t appear if you die from a trap, they only appear when someone directly caused your death.¡± As she finished speaking, a few cries filled the room. When I turned to see what was going on, I caught sight of lights streaming off another person as they collapsed. It was only because I was looking in her direction that I noticed a girl nearby puffing up. The girl looked as though she was going through a cartoonish-style allergic reaction. Unlike cartoons though, her skin cracked and bled as the skin stretched. The sight broke whatever had the group under its spell as multiple people fled toward the door. I stayed where I was, unsure as to what to do. While I could run, I doubted that would do me any good. If this was a disease and I was infected, then I would be spreading the thing to people outside. If it was a poison, well I was dead anyway. I wasn¡¯t the only one to stay where I was either. Still, the sounds of people beating against the door joined the cries that echoed through the room. ¡°Why won¡¯t it open?!¡± Someone cried while others wailed in fear. ¡°LET ME OUT!¡± ¡°I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE!¡± Still, the door stayed closed no matter what they did to it. One by one, I watched as lights flit from body after body as they dropped to the ground in various states of dead. One shriveled up as all of the water, and other bodily fluids, poured out of every opening. The gross brown-colored liquid caused quite a few of the panicking people to slip and fall. A few heads bashed against the group. Even with my limited medical knowledge, I knew that most of the falls were nonlethal. Fuck, most of them should have only yielded a small bump. Whatever was affecting everyone made its presence known in a few victims by thinning their bones. Their heads practically splattered against the ground. Others rose from their fall only to start vomiting. At first, their stomachs released every bit of food it held, but the retching got worse, not better. I shivered as I watched one of the men wretch up an organ. What organ? I had no clue nor did I want to know. The sound of a familiar cry pulled my attention toward the first Oracle I had met. As my head turned, I found that most of the people who had remained at the table were slumped over, dead or dying. While the sight was sad, my eyes continued to move until I found the person who had cried out. Slumped back in her chair sat Philipa. Her ashen face helped her fear-filled eye pop out at me. As if the fact that it was someone I had watched die once, my mind tried to break out of the stupor and indifference I was in. Why was I just sitting here? Why was I watching people around me die and doing nothing to help some of them? Surely there was a way for me to get us out of the room or at least keep a few people alive until help came. I tried to work through my options but it was like wading through mud. My mind worked but each thought took a while to form and when it did it was as if it was made of mist, always trying to dissipate. Eventually, though, I managed to get my feet under me as I worked my way toward a struggling Philipa. I shoved chairs out of my way as I pushed my body to move faster. Her breathing was coming fast and shallow as a trickle of foaming blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth. All signs of blood in her lungs, or at least that was what I had once read in a book long ago. Whether it was right or not didn¡¯t matter. All I knew was that she was struggling for air and the blood was likely making it hard for her to breathe. Finally, I got a hand on her. Mana flooded out of me as I forced as much of it as I could into my Emergency Healing spell. Sure the spell ate mana and was incredibly wasteful but what other choice did I have? Should I just let her die, again? Just as her breathing started to improve and the color returned to her skin, someone slammed into me on their way to the ground. The heavy body smashed me into the table, pinning me there as he landed on my patient. Immediately Philipa released a spray of blood into the air as she let out of rattling cry of pain. Before I could so much as shove the idiot to the side or even stab him, bubbles of light flit out from Philipa¡¯s body. She was gone. She had died a second time and there had been nothing I could do about it. As if it had been waiting for this moment, a sharp pain stabbed through my heart. Whatever it was didn¡¯t stay there either. Before I could recast my healing spell, the object grew in length. Growing from the top of my heart to the end of my spine. Every breath felt like fire as the object ground against most of the organs inside my chest. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. I was in enough pain that there was no chance I could focus enough to cast a spell. Which meant that all I could do was wait for whatever it was to kill me. Of course, the first face that popped into my head was the stupid alpha¡¯s. It was his fault that I was here. That I was dying. The next faces to flit across my mind¡¯s eye were Barti¡¯s and the girl¡¯s. For a moment I wondered what they were up to. Were they still in the beginner town or had they escaped with the rest of the non-humans we had freed? Maybe when I came back I would ask around. Surely someone would know the answer. It shouldn¡¯t have surprised me, given the reminder of the starter town and all that had happened there, but the next faces to pop up were those of Linda and her party. Well, all the ones that I had either killed or helped kill. Seeing them, I wondered what had happened after they died. Did Michael and the two guys respawn up here or did they come back with Linda, wherever that was? Then again, did it matter? I doubted I would see them again and even if I did I was fairly sure they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to try and kill me. Hell, her father would probably be the only one that wouldn¡¯t kill me on sight. No, that creep would just try and bind me to him. Likely so that he could fuck me or get me to do things for him. Either way, I hoped I would never see those five people ever again. As if it had been waiting for me to shove those images away, I found myself thinking of the wolf. Sure, he had been an asshole but how much of it had been his fault? I was sure that Linda and the rest of her party did quite a number on him in an effort to break him. Of course that didn¡¯t excuse what he had done and the damage he had caused. Hell, I probably would never forgive him for the way he had treated me the first day we met. Why? Because I doubted that any of them had ordered him to do what he had done. After all, I was a dime a dozen in that tiny town. A nobody. If anything they simply took advantage of the situation to further their goals. Just my luck. Still, I didn¡¯t push his image out of my mind as something about the wolf gave me pause. I almost wondered what would have happened if we had met under different circumstances. Maybe I wouldn¡¯t kill him the next time we met ¨C if we ever met that is. Ginger and Pendragon came next. She was cradled against his body as his wings surrounded them both. I wondered how those two would have reacted in this situation. Would they have tried to blast their way through the door or would they have managed to heal everyone? How would they react to my death? Sure it wasn¡¯t permanent but the fact that it had happened under their watch and the manner in which it happened, they would probably take it hard. Fucking hell, the moment I came back I doubted those two would let me out of their sight for more than a few moments. Of course, that brought my mind to the one person who had entrusted my safety to his sister. The one that had come to save me once already. In my mind, I saw Xander in not one image but in an endless stream of them. From the times that he laughed at my bad jokes to the times he and I had argued about how to cut a part out. An image of him covered in lubricant after a hose in his machine had broken nearly caused me to laugh. Let me tell you, laughing hurt. Still, I missed those days. Days where all I had to worry about was getting orders done. Not that I would change everything that had happened so far. If anything, I wouldn¡¯t change any of it. I know this sounds stupid but even with what I now know, I wouldn¡¯t kill Linda or her group any sooner than I had. After all, without their trust how would I have ever freed those trapped below the city? Without warning, the spike lancing through my chest took that moment to remind me that it was there. Tiny barbs grew out in every direction. Blood bubbled out of my mouth as the barbs tore through everything fleshy. A loud booming sound reverberated through my body. Given how slow it was, I was sure that it was my heart as it tried to pump around the obstruction. Tearing itself up as it tried to keep the blood flowing through my body. To be honest, it was probably making the issue worse but what else could it do? If it stopped, I was dead. If it continued, I was still dead, just not as fast ¨C though I would be in a ton of pain. First came the tingling sensation of my limbs going numb. Then came the tiny black spots as my vision started to narrow. Suddenly the banging, vibrating, sound that had filled my ears stopped as something nearby exploded. As quickly as it had disappeared, the sound was replaced with a cacophony of pounding and voices as they yelled and screamed. For what and at who, I had no clue. All I knew was that someone was here to save those of us that they could. Still, I doubted many of us were able to be saved. I was probably already too far gone and I was one of the last to be poisoned. What would death be like? I know that everyone who had died shivered at whatever they remembered. Even Linda and her group had told me that it was not an experience they wished to repeat. But I guess it would be inevitable that I was going to experience it. Unable to keep my eyes open, I let them fall. They weren¡¯t doing me any good anyway. Most of my body had gone numb and my sight was gone. Replaced by darkness. Even my hearing was on the cusp of giving out as well. Well, that is if the fact that everything sounded far away was anything to go off of anyway. Still, I could almost swear that someone was calling my name, but that couldn¡¯t be right, could it? No one knew where I was. Even if they did, I doubted that the guards would have let them into a room filled with the dead and dying. Those murdered by someone or something. Seeing nothing but pain and no way out, I finally gave in and gave up. Letting my hold on consciousness go. The darkness wrapped me up and welcomed me. It held me in its warm embrace as we both waited for whatever came next. Chapter 31 - Oh God The warm darkness gave way to a bright white light. It was so bright that I could practically feel the rays pushing against my skin as the damn thing blinded me. Even when the pressure and heat vanished, I found myself unable to see. Slowly, inexorably, my vision returned. First as dots of random colors. Those slowly merged with their closest neighbors, forming ever larger swatches of color and shapes until finally resolving into something I could make sense of. Or at least I thought it was something that I could make sense out of. I mean, I could see and understand what I was looking at but not why or how. Either I had died and this was what was on the other side or something, or someone, was playing a cruel joke on me. Laid out before me was a massive cliff overlooking a mountain range. Clouds crawled along below as they passed through. As I turned the structure set into the mountaintop was one that I had only ever seen once and it was something I had been told, cursed, to never speak of other than to her kids. Given that she was a Kitsune, the first I had seen, I had to assume that she meant others of our kind. The shivers traveling down my spine had nothing to do with the soft and frigid breeze that lifted my hair off my back. They were from both the fear of meeting her again and the excitement that I could ask her questions if I did meet her. Not knowing what else to do, I walked out of the open and into the structure. As before, the Kitsune lounged in the chair. Smoke wafted from the pipe she was holding as she looked off into the distance. While I wanted to ask her a question or two about Kitsune, I feared that she would kill me this time if I so much as interrupted whatever she was doing. Well, that was assuming that I was still alive. If I was on the other side, could I die? Yeah, I wasn¡¯t going to be getting the answer to that question. Not today. ¡°Another of my kids has come forth to ask me questions about life and power. Why should I answer such questions when they have not yet learned to walk?¡± She snapped out the last word as if in rebuke for even so much as entering her presence. With it, her eyes flicked down to meet mine. As she took me in, she continued. ¡°There are those among my brothers and sisters that believe that their kin should be forced to figure everything out for themselves. That there is no greater hindrance to growth than someone giving even a hint of an answer.¡± The woman drew deep on her pipe before releasing a stream of clouds thick enough to nearly reach me over twenty feet away. ¡°Then there are those that believe it is the responsibility of those with knowledge to teach those without. That knowledge not passed on is knowledge destined to be lost.¡± She paused as if to see my reaction to her words. ¡°And what do you think?¡± I hesitantly asked into the silence. ¡°I agree with both and neither.¡± Her eyes rolled as she leaned back. ¡°Knowledge without the wisdom of how to use it and when is a recipe for disaster. Yet on the other hand, what progress is there to be made if every generation has to rediscover everything? I mean look at those joining the World Tree from Earth. The entirety of their knowledge was accessible by most anyone. Yet their civilization is, well was now, on the brink of collapse as the world around them failed. As the systems they had built failed one by one.¡± Just how much did this woman know of what had been going on on Earth? Who was she that she had been able to watch such things? What did she mean by the World Tree? As if she could see the questions flowing across my brain, she narrowed her eyes. Surprisingly, she seemed curious about something other than what she had been talking about. ¡°Or are you like your stupid sister and stuck in a mating bond with an idiot? You do know not to have sex until you find your one ¨C your mate.¡± ¡°No, I am not bonded to anyone,¡± I spoke quickly. ¡°Still a virgin.¡± And happily so thank you very much. I mentally added. I was also pretty sure that my face was well past pink and bordering on red. She hissed and suddenly, she was no longer lounging in the chair. Air smashed against my body as, between one breath and the next, she crossed the distance separating us. Her face was less than an inch from mine as she stared deep into my eyes, searching for something. I refused to move, even as I noticed her nine tails moved to surround me. Out of the corner of my eyes, I thought I could see the tips of each point inward. They looked as though they were ready to stab me if I so much as twitched wrong. ¡°Who are you? Any of my children would have known that they can have sex without bonding with someone. To do so requires the person to be marked and it is not something that is given on accident, ever.¡± She hissed out the question. ¡°And tell me why I recognize you?¡± At first, I thought she was not expecting me to answer. Something sharp poked into the flesh long the side of my neck. While it didn¡¯t feel deep, it was enough to get her point across. Either I answered or she would kill me. ¡°Because we have met before.¡± I got out in a rush. ¡°That tells me nothing.¡± Her hissing voice was quiet yet seemed to almost fill the room. As if the very air around us refused to move lest it find itself on her wrong side. ¡°I have met many people in my lifetime. Killed quite a few of them as well.¡± ¡°The last time I was here I was human.¡± I swallowed over the lump in my throat. ¡°You kicked me out after cursing me to be unable to talk about what I had seen other than to your children.¡± ¡°Yes, I remember a human showing up one day, but he was male, and human. You are neither. Wait¡­¡± While they were hard to see, I noticed the top of her ears flick as she used her nose to take in a deep breath. Her eyes narrowed even further, nearly closing entirely as she stared into me. Maybe even going so far as to look into my soul. Then, without warning, her head fell back as laughter burst out of her. Thankfully, she moved back, taking her tails with her. ¡°Hephaestus, you sly fucker. How in the hell did you pull this off?¡± I thought she was speaking into the air and so I was caught completely off guard when the guy from the video walked around me. His hands were out as he spoke. ¡°Inari, sister. So nice of you to call for me.¡± Her tails surrounded him as she hugged the guy. While seeing someone hug a self-proclaimed god was weird, it wasn¡¯t as bad as realizing who this woman was. Of course, looking back over everything she had said and the number of tails, it made a bit of sense. Which meant that either of these two people would be able to wipe me from existence. Yeah, I was getting out of here before I pissed one or both off. Slowly I slid toward one of the nearby pillers. Hopefully, I could hide behind it long enough to figure out a way to get back to the door of this building. After that, I would just have to climb down from this place and somehow make it back to Xander. Maybe he would be able to pick me up. As she stepped back, her smile dropped, replaced by a pout. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that Fenrir has it out for me.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°You died his fur bright pink. Of course, he has it out for you.¡± The thought of a large wolf with bright pink fur nearly caused me to burst into laughter. I managed to keep from making a noise as I continued moving. ¡°While I can help calm his rage, I doubt that is why you called me.¡± ¡°Well, no. I will deal with the wolf later.¡± The Kitsune waved off his offer. ¡°What I want to know is how you pulled off such a feat.¡± ¡°There have been so many things recently, which one are you talking about?¡± If anyone else had said this I would have thought they were boasting or something, this god sounded genuine. Her hand lifted in my direction. Not where I had been standing when she had last seen me, but where I was currently. Yeah, who was I kidding? There was no way I was going to be able to get away from one god, let alone two. I slowed to a stop as I let out a resigned sigh. He followed her hand to where I stood. His eyes roamed over my body. It didn¡¯t feel like he was checking me out or anything, for which I was thankful. His gaze was more like someone looking over a piece of machinery as he tried to puzzle out what someone was talking about. What problem they might have seen that he was missing. As if by magic, his eyes lit up and he laughed. ¡°About time she showed up in front of you.¡± The Kitsune looked like she was about to smack him. He held up his hands in surrender. ¡°You were the one that agreed to her transformation and change in status.¡± What did he mean by that? ¡°You mean that little system error of yours?¡± She didn¡¯t look or sound too impressed at something. ¡°I notice how there are more of those lately. Just how much of the system did you break with this little experiment of yours?¡± He waved off her comment. ¡°Nothing I can¡¯t fix.¡± ¡°And if the whole system crashes? How many lives will we lose? How much power will be lost? Will it affect the barrier?¡± Something about what she said caused him to snap. ¡°You think I of all people don¡¯t know how close we are from the edge? I built most of the fucking systems keeping everything running. Where and what do you think I am working on right now? Most of my duplicates and instanced minds are working on issues as we speak. Sure, most of what they are doing is applying a temporary patch to a leaking system, the rest of myself are working with several others from across the Tree to implement a permanent patch.¡± Hephaestus took a second to breathe before continuing. ¡°Is the system I made perfect? No. But you can ask Hades and the rest of those who monitor the souls entering and exiting from the Tree just how many people have been saved when compared to similar planets as they got integrated.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± while it sounded like she was dropping the subject, something about how she said it told me that she was going to do as he said and ask around. ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t explain how you managed to do this.¡± Her hand once again waved in my direction. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy.¡± The guy¡¯s smile was filled with pride. ¡°I found that if you mix a soul-bound oath, a touch of transfiguration magic, and a relatively fresh mana pool, you can do quite a bit. It also helps that quite a few of us have visited the planet once upon a time.¡± Inari sighed as if remembering something nice. ¡°It was a nice place to go for vacation.¡± ¡°Helps that no one knew just how much of a trickster you were in the beginning.¡± He scoffed. ¡°That lasted a few generations before they started to keep an eye out for those tricks.¡± The fact that she used generations to mark time reminded me just how old these people were. ¡°Loki says the same thing every time I talk to him about Earth. Anyway,¡± He shook his head as if he needed to force himself back on track. ¡°Quite a few of us left one or two children behind after every visit. While the subsequent generation may have lost access to mana and thus their magic, their genes continued on. She had¡­¡± he flicked his hand up and looked over something before letting out a short, sharp laugh. ¡°one percent Fox Shifter DNA. But it is matrilineal. In fact, that is the only genetic marker from any of us.¡± ¡°And for those of us that didn¡¯t study how everything is built?¡± I was happy that Inari had asked the question because I wanted to but was too scared to do so. ¡°It went from mother to daughter. Never once passing through a male relative. Looking at his family tree, every time it did, they never had a daughter, all boys.¡± Well, that explained my great-uncle. His wife wanted a girl but no matter what they tried, it never happened. ¡°That and a few other markers pushed her close to the line. So much so that, from what I can tell, the system tried to get her to switch multiple times.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I managed to squeeze out. Both of them looked at me as if they were waiting for something. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t the system leave me alone? I didn¡¯t want to become a woman. I was happy as a man.¡± Inari¡¯s eyes softened a bit at my words while Hephaestus answered my question. ¡°With all of the new people and changes being done to the system, the thing doesn¡¯t have the resources or ability to handle all of the issues cropping up. As such, I have had to enable some of the early limits built into it. One such limit is to prevent anyone from being too close to some of the lines. Male and female just happens to be one of those lines.¡± His answer was both nice and useless at the same time. Inari smacked the back of his head as she spoke. ¡°You suck at providing any normal answers, don¡¯t you?¡± She turned to look me in the eyes as she continued. ¡°What he means, or at least I think he is trying to say, is that, if you had activated whatever it was that switched your species the system might have become confused and done damage.¡± ¡°Isn''t that what I just said?¡± ¡°Not in the slightest. And you said she had Fox Shifter DNA, not Kitsune.¡± ¡°Blame the demons.¡± He grumped. She groaned. ¡°Is that why you sent that log over to me a little while ago? The one where you asked for permission to change the end species.¡± ¡°Yes. What else did you think I was doing?¡± ¡°I thought you were testing a hypothetical, not actively changing someone''s species.¡± The way she said that made me think that I was an accident. That she might not want me. I don¡¯t know why but the thought that a god didn¡¯t want me around hurt. Who else hid similar thoughts behind a mask? Inari must have seen the look on my face because she suddenly went from behind Hephaestus to holding me in her embrace. As soon as her arms were around me, my entire body stiffened up and my breath hitched. I didn¡¯t know if she was going to kill me or not given everything. With the fact that she was a god and I was a lowly mortal, I was fairly sure she could kill me. Yes, I would usually come back from death thanks to whatever the system did for those of us making the trip from Earth, but something told me she could deliver a permanent death. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that. I love every one of my children.¡± Her words helped calm my humming heart as she continued. ¡°Sometimes though, this oaf forgets to tell people if something is theoretical or not. If it is a test or is changing someone''s path.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t change her path.¡± He helpfully threw in. ¡°Shut up.¡± She lightly snapped at him. Her words calmed me down as I realized that it wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want me. She just wished she had been told of my existence. It was almost as if she was a parent that had just been told they had a kid they didn¡¯t know existed. ¡°Just saying,¡± he mumbled. We stood like that for a minute before he broke the silence. ¡°If you don¡¯t have anything else, I do have some work to do. I felt her head lift and turn as she likely glared at the guy. ¡°Not until you set up a few things for me.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°I need a way to talk to her and all my new kids. By the way, just how many are there?¡± His hesitation told me all I needed to know. Judging by the growl that vibrated through her chest, it didn¡¯t go unnoticed by her either. ¡°Seven, including her.¡± ¡°So I have seven new children that are having fun without me?¡± I wondered if it was the fact that she didn¡¯t know about us or the fact that we were having fun without her that she was more pissed about. ¡°I will set something up. Can I go now?¡± He sounded tired. ¡°Go.¡± Given that he didn¡¯t reply, I assumed he had vanished as silently as he had appeared. Her voice was soft as she spoke. ¡°It is almost time for you to return as well.¡± ¡°Return?¡± ¡°To your body, you didn¡¯t think you were powerful enough to reach here did you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Where is here?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, not right now.¡± She pulled back and lifted my chin enough to look into my eyes. ¡°What matters is that you get stronger so that you can meet me in person, one day.¡± With those words, she pulled back just as something yanked at my core. It pulled me backward and into the air fast enough that everything became a blur. The sight nauseated me enough that I was forced to close my eyes to calm my stomach. It was only for a moment but between the time they closed and when they opened, I went from flying to lying on a bed looking toward a white ceiling that I didn¡¯t recognize. Chapter 32 - Starlight DInner Ginger: Pendragon pulled me behind him even as I continued to whine. ¡°I really should stay near Kyren.¡± ¡°Is there anything you can do to help alleviate her heat?¡± He asked even though we both knew he knew the answer to his question. ¡°No, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that my brother left her to me to watch.¡± ¡°And Liam is in the office next door to her suit. He will be able to keep an eye on her.¡± While he wasn¡¯t wrong, I didn¡¯t trust that wolf. The way the rest of the shifter community treated him was closer to a mob boss than anything else. Even going so far as to beat the jeweler so they could get control over something they had no right to touch. At least he was smart enough to hand the thing back to her. A shiver raced down my spine and along my tail at the thought of what might have happened if he chose to hold onto it until she managed to steal it back. Sure, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him or his for a while, but the moment she was able to match them in terms of power she would clean house and there would be nothing any of us could say or do to stop her. Well, most of us. Xander might have been able to save their asses. My eyes widened as Pendragon dragged me out of the spire and into a section I had never been to. Hell, I didn¡¯t know that there were flat sections on the roof, let alone that one could simply walk onto one. He let me go long enough to transform. His gold scales glittered in the setting sun. Every time I saw his massive draconic form, my heart clenched at the thought that he was mine and always would be. If I ever had doubts, I simply had to touch the mark he had left on my shoulder or watch his heated gaze as it followed me wherever I went. ¡°Okay, fine.¡± I huffed. ¡°I am sure the alpha can keep an eye on our fox for a little while. Where are you taking me?¡± ¡®I thought we would have dinner under the stars.¡¯ His voice was soft as he spoke directly into my mind. One of the benefits of being mated to a dragon, though I had no clue how to talk back without speaking out loud. ¡°Sounds nice.¡± It did. The stars in this world were completely different than those on Earth and they constantly changed. That fact alone drove all the astronomers and nerds nuts. Something about it being impossible. Given that there was magic in this world, I shook my head at anyone who thought something was impossible. ¡°Do I need to grab food or¡­¡± A huffed breath washed over me as his head dropped to look at me in the eyes. ¡®As if I would let my mate go hungry. Now get on so that we can fill your stomach before I fill your belly.¡¯ And that was one reason I loved talking mind to mind. No one could hear some of the embarrassing things he said. Cheeks enflamed, I raced around his head before jumping up to the top of his back. The spot right in front of both wings and behind his forelegs was perfect. My legs fit into the small recess without pinching or needing me to hold on too tight lest I fall off. It was almost as if it was made for me. Either he trusted that I was in place or that he could catch me before I hit the ground because he didn¡¯t wait before leaping off the edge of the building. Within moments, the view of various roofs and skyrises was replaced by a cloudscape broken only by scattered mountaintops. This was the highest I had ever been and it felt amazing, albeit cold made worse by the light moisture that glistened on his and my skin. I would need to remind him to avoid clouds in the future if I could help it. Sure the water was suspended in the air but that didn¡¯t stop it from gathering the moment you tried to pass through. Fortunately, my vitality combined with a bit of fire was enough to deal with the chill. Comfortable, I looked out at the cloudscape as I marveled at the feeling of freedom. If this was what pilots through history felt every time they flew, no wonder they fought to do so whenever they could. All too soon, Pendragon started to slow down as a flat-topped mountain grew ever larger. Most of it was made of snow-covered stone, save for the lone tree. It wasn¡¯t as scraggley as I expected given the conditions it lived in. If anything, the tree was thriving. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like it had anything to compete with. His wings beat hard, once, twice, three times before his feet settled to the ground with a thud. It was hard enough that the tree shivered from the force. I jumped down before he did something stupid like shift with me still on his back. Something told me that he would do it just so he had the chance to catch me. Then again, maybe I would take my time climbing down next time. Small orbs of light flickered into existence across the small plateau as he pulled item after item from his inventory. Soft blankets and pillows covered bare stone while various plates and dishes followed after it. I laughed as he pulled out the fifth heaping dish. ¡°Are you trying to fatten me up so that you can eat me?¡± His eyes met mine as I realized what I had just said. ¡°Would you refuse your mate if he wanted to eat you out.¡± His chuckles were cut off as I grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at the lust-filled beast. He took that as a queue to get to work. My spent missile dropped to the ground as he stalked toward me. I did what anyone would do in a similar situation. I turned and ran. His footsteps stayed steady as he followed me. Given that there was nowhere for me to go, I would eventually end up in his arms and we both knew it. But that didn¡¯t mean I wouldn¡¯t make him work for it. Several hours, and orgasms, later, I found myself more at peace than ever before. Sure, this world was dangerous but it had magic and Pendragon. It had freedom and offered everyone a semblance of control over their future. All things that Earth never had. All things that I would never give up. Which was the exact moment that I received a call from the Alpha. ¡°What do you need?¡± I asked without waiting for the wolf to talk. ¡°I lost Kyren.¡± His words sounded clipped and worried. My body stiffened as I ground out. ¡°What do you mean you LOST Kyren? How can you lose someone in the middle of their heat? Especially when you are next FUCKING DOOR?!¡± Pendragon''s growls rumbled as he rolled out from under me. Starting to pack everything up as I tried to get answers. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I was busy dealing with something when she made her escape.¡± Though he couldn¡¯t see it, I narrowed my eyes. Something told me that someone had distracted him. ¡°Dealing with something or doing someone?¡± His lack of response was all I needed to hear. ¡°We will be there in¡­¡± I looked over at my dragon. He held up both hands before returning to cleaning up. ¡°ten minutes.¡± Then I hung up on the moron. I mean, just how hard was it to keep an ear open for one person? A minute later found us once again in the air. This time the ride was fast and steep as Pendragon arrowed his way through the clouds and directly toward the tower. The speed generated enough wind to whip my hair against my back and dust to grind against my face and arms. Both did enough damage that my health actually started to visibly drop. As the bar dropped below three-fourths, the spire came into view. It visibly grew as the seconds slowly ticked by. Ten ticks later, Pendragon started to slow as we crossed over the city''s outer walls. Multiple guards waved at us, indicating that we needed to present ourselves at the gate. Like that was going to happen. Halfway through the city, a small group of guards with the ability to fly moved to intercept us. Not that they were able to. Not until Pendragon¡¯s legs smashed into the flat roof we had taken off of not twelve hours ago. As they surrounded us, one took it upon herself to shout orders and demand answers. ¡°Stop! Identify yourselves and state your reasons for entering the city in such a manner NOW!¡± Pendragon shifted back to his human shape as I dropped to the ground. ¡°Pendragon and mate. We are here because a certain alpha has managed to lose his charge. Get out of our way before I make you.¡± I inwardly scoffed at that. He wouldn¡¯t have to make them because I would do so if they didn¡¯t do so in five seconds. Too bad they did as ordered. We rushed past them as we raced into the building. Given the sounds of stomping feet, they chose to join us. I couldn¡¯t say that I minded all that much. We would need as many hands as we could get to search this maze of a building in a reasonable timeframe. Liam and his beta stood outside his temporary office. For some reason, he looked nervous. Something about the amount of stone and water scattered through the hall and into the office space was interesting. I would have to ask for the story later. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡­¡± he started. I pushed past him, not caring to hear his excuses. I would leave it to my brother to deal with him if anything happened to Kyren. The room I had left Kyren in was empty. Judging by the smells, she had left the place within the last hour which meant that she couldn¡¯t have gotten far. Of course, if she was easily tracked the wolves would have done just that. I tried to think about just where she could have gone and only one thought came to mind. She would somehow end up in trouble, again. Something about her drew her towards trouble. I mean, who would end up finding themselves facing against demons in the starter town? But what trouble was there in this city? Demons were not an issue, or at least they shouldn¡¯t be. I mean, there were political groups that would want to exploit her, but something told me that wasn¡¯t the kind of trouble she would find herself in. The only trouble that she might find herself in was something related to the oracles, but they should be locked up tight. Then again, they should have been safe and protected yet still ended up dying. Given the lack of other ideas, I asked my dragon a question. ¡°Where are the oracles?¡± The look he returned was full of confusion. Not that I blamed him. While he didn¡¯t answer me, one of the guards that had followed us did so instead. ¡°They should be in the central garden. Why?¡± I ignored the question as I turned to Liam. ¡°Lead the way there, wolf.¡± His lack of hesitation in following my order told me that he understood just how fucked he was. His only chance of surviving Xander was to do everything and anything I asked without question. As a group, we raced down hall after hall, through one room after another, until we were forced to stop by a solid wall of magic. Behind which three mages stood side by side as they glared down at us. ¡°State your name and business.¡± Came a nasely voice. We didn¡¯t have time to deal with idiots. ¡°Move!¡± I growled. Unsurprisingly, they didn¡¯t move. As I moved forward to force the issue, Pendragon grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Has anyone checked on the oracles recently?¡± ¡°What business is it of yours?¡± The voice sneered back. The blatant disrespect caught me off guard because that was not how one would speak to a superior. ¡°Is that really how you should talk to your Commander?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see my commander or any other person in my chain of command here. Just a bunch of people trying to break into a locked-down section of the building.¡± Pendragon¡¯s arms tensed as he prepared to strike at the idiot for his insolent words. Lucky for everyone on the other side of the shield, a second voice joined them. ¡°Gerard, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to go check on the oracles a little early.¡± Gerard, I assume, turned and jogged down the hall. The moment revealed the man sitting behind a nearby desk built into a nook in the wall. While I recognized the man, I couldn¡¯t place him. Everyone stood still as we waited for his man to return. When he did, his words caused everyone to turn and look at him in shock. ¡°The door is magically sealed. I am unable to open it.¡± The shock was enough of a distraction to weaken the shield blocking off our path forward. I poured mana into my small knife, empowering the runes etched into it. The blade cut through the shield as if it were a thin piece of cloth. Before anyone could react, Pendragon and I raced past the group. It didn¡¯t take us but a few moments to find the lone door in the hall. A quick tug at the handle confirmed the guard''s words. I lifted my knife to slash at the spell and break it only to be stopped as I was moved to the side. As if he had doubled in size, Pendragon pushed enough mana into his body to allow him to break boulders with ease. As his fist slammed into the door, the building shook. Still, the door stayed closed. Punch after punch, the door refused to budge. Soon, spells joined in trying to force our way in. Either empowering the dragon directly or weakening the door. Finally, the door gave way. Exploding into dust as we finally broke through to find the other side full of death. As I raced in, I found Kyren squshed between someone and the table in the middle of the room. Even as I approached, I could tell that her breathing was one of the few signs of life in the room. Before I could grab her, an arm pulled me back. I clawed at it as I tried to get to her. To help her in any way. Surely there was something I could do? I had a few healing spells, albeit none that were all that good, but surely anything was better than nothing. Right? Someone blurred past me and my captor. Their feet slid through the blood as they came to a stop next to Kyren. On one shoulder was the sign of the medical core. The sight of the symbol was enough to stop my continuous struggle. I took the moment to finally look around the room. Death filled the room. Given the injuries, I was fairly sure most, if not all of the wounds were not caused by a weapon. At least, not one that I knew. In fact, most of them looked to have died from some sort of poison, albeit poisons that I didn¡¯t recognize. Sure, I knew I didn¡¯t know much about poison or the various types, but I also knew that this wasn¡¯t the first time these people had been attacked, and still nothing had come of it. Knowing that I had no choice, I called the one person that I knew would do anything to figure out who had attacked his friend. ¡°Call Xander.¡± I managed to get the words out without screaming, but only just. The moment the call connected, I found myself unable to control my voice. ¡°XANDER! YOU NEED TO RETURN NOW!¡± His voice sounded annoyed and tight. Almost as if he was questioning my sanity with his question. ¡°Why?!¡± ¡°IT¡¯S KYREN!¡± My voice cracked as I tried to keep from crying at the sight of her body as a medic removed the body pinning her to the table. Going with my gut, I spoke my theory. ¡°SHE WAS POISONED!¡± Xander¡¯s voice lost every bit of emotion. A fact that scared the ever-loving shit out of me. It usually meant that either someone was about to die or would soon wish they were dead. ¡°How?¡± ¡°WE DON¡¯T KNOW!¡± I said as tears started to break through my barriers. ¡°SHE¡­I DON¡¯T KNOW IF SHE WILL SURVIVE!¡± My voice finally gave out as the tears came flooding out. Pendragon pulled me into his chest and held me there for who knew how long.