《Two Before Dark》
Prologue
The Aether was a plane of infinite space separate and yet supporting the conventional realms of reality where many different dimensions existed, some far apart and others parrellel to each other. Each dimension was home to a constantly expanding universe that in turn housed the many different galaxies and celestial bodies.
The Aether was known to be the origin of existence, filled with vast amounts of a mysterious energy known as animus and the plane in which all primordial and supreme entities were native to. These Aetherius, which came into existence in the Aether, had the ability to shape and mold animus to their will within their designated realms created through experimentation by the primordial ones.
Over time these entities began to be influenced by their personal realms and ultimately lost much of their power being able to exert control over only a certain aspect and in some cases aspects of reality.
After that incident came to be, there were some Aetherius that stood out above the others in relation to their aspects. Namely the Aetherius of Space, Time and Matter. They became known as the Absolute Triumvirate. Not long after that there soon became a hierarchy based of off aspects among the entities with the Absolute Triumvirate obviously at the top.
The realms of reality were then connected to each other so that other entities would add what was requested of the entity that created that realm. Any entities wishing to create new realms needed the approval of the Absolute Triumvirate and any other aspects they wanted to add, the Triumvirate never rejected requests as long as it did not interfere with more than 2 other dimensions.
Although there was a hierarchy within the Aether it meant little to those Aetherius that idled by, as their aspects did not affect the Aether in the slightest. The Aetherius could only affect the realms created from animus yet could not affect the Aether at all. Most Aetherius in charge of higher aspects were able to manifest their conscience and aspects onto realms they had approval for. Once manifested they would be granted full power over their aspect and a basic control over certain aspects they had approval for, from their respective Aetherius via an Aspect Contract.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The Aetherius would often spend most of their time manifested in a realm directly integrated into the realms of reality. Unlike the Aether where they were nothing more than entities that communicated through vague thoughts and intention, here they had the ability to customize their appearance and commune directly. These realms were known as the Aetherial Planes. There were those that would decend even further to the worlds that they created within their dimensions.
There they would impersonate sapient races, sometimes represent in a lesser image of their manifestations. Although these races seemed to vaguely resemble their manifestations, the Aetherius did not in fact create them. They seemed to be formed out of residual animus, the amount of animus varied between these races. Non-sapient races that could only be described as animals seemed to have barely traceable amounts of animus when compared to sapient races that had fluctuating amounts depending on their home dimensions and race specifics.
The entities came to enjoy observing and interacting with these lower beings they called mortals, although some races seemed to have an infinite lifespan they ended up dying one way or the other, the mortals inevitably came to worship beings they called gods in relation to their worlds various phenomena. The Aetherius just observed and interacted under the guise of mortals, played games and continued enjoying their existence for the foreseeable eternity.
Our story begins as the Aetherius of Space and member of the Absolute Triumvirate visits a certain familiar planet by the name of Earth. He, as is his gender in most of his favoured manifestations, enjoys the new modern era and has some fun with a certain woman for several years before faking his death and visiting another dimension. Being an entity that had absolute control over space he could be in multiple places at once, the reason he didn''t stay was because he had some entertainment planned for the future and him being there would more or less ruin that.
The truth was, he had done this type of thing before, in fact many Aetherius had, being inspired by tales and various other fiction of lesser beings. Each time was a great way to fight boredom and something about this time felt different. He did do it differently this time as well instead of simple transporting and granting, this time it would different and that thought brought a smile to his face.
Chapter 1: Wide Awake
A boy around 17 years of age lay sound asleep in his single bed located perpendicular to a desk that had a digital alarm clock resting on top of it. An alarm clock that started to sound out a loud continuous drone for the next 30 seconds.
The boy continued to lie still. The alarm upped the ante and increased its volume adding periods of short pauses at random intervals in its song of discourse. The boy had enough, he hopped out of bed and threw the alarm clock at the wall.
''Another one bites the dust, well done.''
"Fuck sakes," he cursed as he picked up the now battered alarm clock. "That''s the ''I''ve lost count-time'' that''s happened this month, amazing it even lasted this long."
The boy recalled all the times he had to buy new alarm clocks, so much cash would have been saved if only he got up on time. Well part of the reason he was so groggy at being woken up early was the fact that he only went to bed an hour ago.
He would often stay up during those unholy hours of the morning either reading an interesting book or doing one of many things on his smartphone wether that was searching the dark web for some weird and graphic shit or watching the next episode of the latest series or anime he''d been following it was no wonder he went through alarm clocks like immigrants went through borders. Shots fired, bullets dodged.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and made his way to the bathroom. After quickly showering and brushing his teeth he got dressed into a pair of black denim jeens coupled with a plain black leather belt, a long sleeved v-necked maroon shirt followed by a black hoodie with dark red lining and pair of white soled black sneakers with faint grey stripes running along the side.
He checked his appearance in the full length mirror. He had a very striking visage some would call strange and others handsome and unusual.
His skin was pale although not too pale for one of his condition, he had stark silver-white hair and blood red eyes plus his facial features were sharp, symmetrical and refined.
It was no surprise his classmates called him Dracula. Although he didn''t really suffer from the usual ailments that plagued albinos, like bad eyesight and sensitivity to the sun.
He''s eyesight was perfect and for the most part he never really spent much time under the sun, but when he did go to the beach he wasnt really bothered by the sun and never received any serious burns even after refusing to apply sunlotion in order to see the results.
After combing through his slightly damp hair, he grabbed a chocolate croissant from the refrigerator. He exited through his apartments front door and locked up behind him.
As he made his way to school bag slung over his shoulder and hood up, he though about his life so far as he chomped down upon his chocolate croissant. He had grown up under the care of his mother with little knowledge of his father, apart from the fact that he died in some accident.
She raised him like any single mother who cared for their child would, she was extremely hard working and they didn''t seem to have any problems with cash, only later did he find out that they were being sent large amounts of money every month from an unknown contact. His mother read him stories and took him out to play and yet the boy seemed to show no strong feelings of love or attatchment to his mother.
It was only when she accidentally cut herself with a sharp knife and scream out in pain did the little boy feel happy. In fact it was the first time he had genuinely laughed.
His mother knew the boy was anything but normal. Aside from his uniquely rare appearance, the look that he had in his eyes at times when he thought she wasn''t looking was unnerving to say the least. Although he also seemed to behave like a completely ordinary child befitting of his age at other times.
When the boy was barely 10 he had discovered the dark web, after watching a few horror movies he had done some research on how to access it and downloaded the browser and vpn to his smartphone.
There he spent some time exploring the darker side of the web using links he acquired through various forums. He was extremely intelligent for his age and knew what he was witnessing was against society''s morals and ethics and yet still took pleasure in his indulgence of his new discovery.
3 years passed and the boy couldn''t hold it anymore. He had been planning this for the last 3 years and was excited to get started.
That night his mother came home late and slightly drunk after hanging out with friends. She trusted her son enough to leave him alone as he was much more capable than kids years older than him. She got to her room and half undressed before laying down utop her duvet.
She woke up around 3 hours later to see her naked son standing above her head. She was startled and didn''t know how to respond until she tried to move her arm which was cable tied to a poster of her bed, same for her other arm. Her head has tied with a thick rope to one of the columns that made up her head board and her raised legs were spread apart and each tied to a beam that connected the poster to the roof of the bed.
"What the hell are you doing!?" She demanded staring up at her son''s dangling flower. "Untie me at once and put some clothes on!"
He ignored her demands and picked up a pair of scissors which he uses to cut apart and remove her clothes. She continued to protest as he bent down and started to suck her nipple. Even though she knew this was wrong she still couldn''t stop herself from feeling slightly aroused, that is until he suddenly bit down on her nipple elucidating a short moan from her. That moan turned into a scream of anguish as he tore off the nipple from her breast.
"Aaaaaagh!! Fuck!! What the fucking fuck are you doing!?" she shrieked. This was the most pain she had ever experienced before. She glanced over at her son straining her neck and what she saw made her almost forget about the pain.
He had a twisted smile on his face made worse by the blood running down his mouth, his flower had turned into a branch and his eyes, his eyes had the look of a predator. Pupils dialated and staring intently at hers. She looked away but not before seeing a long object with wires taped around it. The boy had designed this after watching a few videos on YouTube.
It was a simple device, just an ordinary wooden baseball bat with the circuits of various arc lighters lined up along the length of the bat and connected to a single switch at the base. He turned it on before placing it on her thigh.
"Aaaaagh!" she screamed and spasmed as a jolt of electricity ran down her thigh. All the while the boy started laughing and as a look of primitive lust flashed through his eyes. He moved the bat above her folds and slammed it down holding it in place as she started rocking the bed uncontrollably in her spasms.
He couldn''t take it anymore and, ignoring the slight smell of burnt flesh, he positioned himself with his branch above her folds and began inserting it up till his limit then pulling back and repeating.
As he repeatedly thrust into her soaked sex, he placed the bat above her ruined breast and laughed like a maniac as she screamed even louder. He continued on for sometime before he climaxed and drained his hose before pulling out and and climbing off the bed to a table that had an assortment of tools lined up on it. She had been reduced to a sobbing crying wreck begging for him to stop but he wasn''t done yet, they had only just begun after all.
He picked up a needle, plastic thread and a can of deodorant coupled with a lighter. He returned sporting a huge loft-sided grin as he stared at the woman on her bed. The woman whose face was caked with dry tears and a mask of pure agony as he went to work.
Some time passed and the boy finally stopped. He got off the bed expression neutral from the moment she held her last breath.
For him there was no more fun to be had once she couldn''t scream, once he couldn''t hear her pain or see her face contort in agony. He was careful not to push her too far and tried to keep her alive, stopping when she began to reach the point of no return. But it seemed he got a bit too excited, one could hardly blame him as it was the first time he''d ever done this.
He looked at the unrecognizable figure on the bed. The body was burnt beyond recognition in several places, appendages were missing from her limbs and sowed onto random places over the body. There were various nails and pins sticking out of it and... The boy turned around and picked up a manual saw.
After the preperation he went to work and stuffed the remains along with the bloodied sheets into a tripled up black bag. He then piled it up with ordinary household trash and took it to the dump. He returned to the room and began the clean-up.
Weeks passed, then months and then years. Nobody asked questions about his missing mother, in fact nobody seemed to remember he even had a mother. The large sums of money were still being sent every month and no further questions were raised. Soon the incident became a distant memory that brought a genuine smile to his face every time he recalled it.
''Good times, good times haha.''
The adolescent finished his croissant with a gleeful thought on his mind as he crossed the street. Off to the corner of his eye someone waved to him and yelled at him to watch out. He was on high alert as he noticed a speeding truck coming his way. He started to turn but realised he was too late.
''Well fuck, hope I get reincarnated somewhere cool,'' he thought as he heard the loud horn of the truck as it smacked straight into him. For a brief moment everything went dark and he felt a tingling sensation in his body then light as he could see again.
He found himself still standing in middle of the street, the truck was directly behind him and still continued speeding before knocking some random teen crossing the road as it crashed into a department store at the end of the street. He looked on in a daze wondering what the hell just happened as the tingling sensation stopped and he was hit with a sudden exhaustion causing him to wobble slightly as he half stumbled towards the sidewalk.
''Hehehe well wasn''t that a close call?''
He took in deep breath, composed himself and started walking slowly to school.
The man who shouted at him, having momentarily forgotten about the teen in black who passed straight through the large truck, went to join the crowd of rubbernecks that were forming around the wreckage. Later he would recall that specific incident and in his memory there would be teen dressed in black quickly dodging out the way of the moving vehicle.
The person in question was pondering over what happened as he walked through the front gates to his high school. It seemed to him that he somehow managed to become intangible, like special abilities of characters he saw in games and movies, which enabled him to pass through solid objects. He didn''t know how it worked but he''d be sure to try some experimentation later. All in all he was pretty excited about this new development. So much so that he forget he was running late for class. After checking the time and quietly cursing, he quickly jogged to his first lesson of the day.
He stood outside the door to the classroom, knocked twice and entered while lowering his hood.
"Apologies for being late sir, there was an accident involving a speeding truck just two blocks away. I stopped to have a look and lost track of time," he said while looking at the middle aged man at the front of the classroom.
"Ahh Mr. Strider I was beginning to wonder where you were, you''re usually not one for tardiness but now I see. Have a seat and take out your books, you haven''t missed much," replied the teacher as he turned to continue writing down examples on the board.
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The teen sat down in a seat by the window and took out his books while ignoring the various looks from his classmates. He''d been going to school with most of them for the past few years and they still couldn''t seem to get used to his looks, not that he really minded but it was troublesome when he wanted to go unnoticed.
"Hey Dracula you saw that crash too right? I saw the wrecked shop while riding past on my bike, shit looked crazy man," said the boy sitting in the desk directly in front of him after turning to face him.
"Yeah I was there when it all happened, the truck driver''s breaks were probably faulty. I hope nobody got fatally injured though, else this would truly be something of a travesty," ''Dracula'' replied as he turned his head to stare out the window.
After attending a couple more lessons, the school siren rang, causing most of his classmates to jump in fright as it signalled the start of lunch break. His school had just added on a new wing to the main building for extra classrooms and facilities.
The only problem was that the school had yet to install a new bell into the extension, and temporarily opted for a siren that sounded uncannily like the annual warning siren from, ''The Purge''.
He stood up and began to make his way to the cafeteria which was really more of a private restaurant than a buffet style Taco Tuesday kind of place. While in the hallway he spotted two boys from his grade ''talking'' to a smaller boy from one of the lower grades.
The boy on the left was leaning up against a locker and every now and then discretely looking around the hallway. He was shorter in comparison to his friend on the right, but was undoubtedly stockier. He had short cropped blond hair and wore a black and white letterman jacket.
His companion on the right wore blue jeans and a white hoodie which contrasted with his dark skin and hair, which was styled to the back in cornrows. He had a confident smile resting on his handsome face as he casually rested his hand on the younger boy''s shoulder.
The younger boy quickly handed him something which he quickly pocketed before sending the kid off with a pat on his back.
The two older boys stopped and nodded at ''Dracula'' as he continued on his way to the cafeteria.
As soon as he entered the chatter quieted down slightly as he made his way to an empty table with four seats in total. He sat down and not long after that a lady arrived with a bunch of menus handing one to him, before asking what he''d like to drink.
"I''d like a dry lemon please, and I''m expecting some company so you can and a coke, a bottle of carbonated water and a fanta," he said as he looked through the menu and decided to add a large plate of ravioli pasta to his order.
''I''d like a good old cheeseburger myself''
He''d been feeling quite hungry in addition to the exhaustion ever since the truck incident. He might order more later but this would do for now.
He began to think about the incident and that feeling he felt but was interrupted from his thoughts by a voice coming from a person walking towards his table.
"Hey man, thanks for reserving the table this time," said a boy wearing a plain white shirt and blue denim jeans to match. He had short messy brown hair and eyes of the same colour.
"No problem, I was beginning to think you wouldn''t show up, Carter."
Carter sat down across from him while replying.
"Yeah well, Jenn said she was feeling sorta sick so I waited with her at the nurse''s before she went home, then I had to help Ms. Fowler carry some papers to the staff room while she gave me a speech on how more students should be like me. I didn''t really mind, as you know she''s quite young for a teacher and a real hot one that, don''t tell Jenn I said that," Carter said as he lowered his voice at the end to whisper.
"Don''t worry mate, I won''t tattle."
The waitress arrived and started setting down the drinks.
"You already ordered drinks? Thanks man!"
"Yeah thought I might as well order for us all while I waited," He then turned to face the waitress. "Sorry for the inconvenience but we won''t be needing the fanta anymore."
"Oh, no problem at all," the waitress replied as she picked up the fanta and asked if Carter was ready to order.
"I think I''ll have the 250g sirloin steak please"
The waitress left as Carter took a drink from the bottle. He then saw the extra can on the table.
"That coke''s for Christa isn''t it?" Asked Carter.
"That''s correct, why''re you asking?"
"Yeah, I forgot to tell you that she has a dance practice today so she won''t be available for both lunch breaks."
"That so? I''ll just ask the waitress to take it back when she serves my meal," he said while sipping on his dry lemon.
"So Cael, will you be coming to that gym session today? Tristan has a full core and leg workout prepared for today." Carter said as he looked at his friend.
"As much as I''d love to, I''ll have to skip today''s session unfortunately. I have some prior arrangements to complete." Cael replied as the waitress returned setting down his plate of pasta.
"Aw damn, oh well, be sure to stop by my house tomorrow. My sister has something she wants to give you for helping out at the shelter last week."
"Christa has something for me? Sure I guess I could if I have the time."
"Great" Carter said as looked around for the waitress with his steak.
The day went on and soon enough school came to an end. After saying his goodbyes to his friends and various acquaintances Cael began to make his way home but was stopped outside the school by the two boys from the hallway. The one with the letterman jacket''s name was Kevin and the one with cornrows was Chad. They lead Cael to an alleyway nearby.
Chad approached Cael and stopped as he reached into his pocket and produced a bundle of notes.
"Here''s our payment for the week, we''re around a couple bucks short but we''ll make that up by adding a few extra next week." said Chad as he handed Cael the bundle.
Cael said nothing as he counted the notes. Both Chad and Kevin were beset with an apprehensive silence as they waited for Cael to dismiss them.
"You know, I''m little disappointed," Cael drawled as he counted the bills. "I trusted you two would be able to provide the exact amount every week. Do you remember the last time this happened?" Cael asked as Chad and Kevin avoided his gaze.
"Do I need to remind you of what happens when I''m not in a good mood?"
"N-No sir," Kevin spoke up with a shaky voice.
Cael turned his attention to Kevin.
"Ahh Kevin. How''s your sister doing? Haven''t seen her these past two days. You know, I walked her home the other day, dunno what she was doing out so late. I mean there''s all kinds of dangerous people out at night and I just happened to be taking a stroll. We had a nice conversation on the way. She seems to have a crush on me, such a nice girl really," Cael paused and noticed Kevin''s fists start to shake, he place one hand in the pocket of his hoody.
"We passed quite a few dark alleyways much like the one we''re in now. It would be a considerable shame if she were to suddenly follow me into one for some hot and heavy one on one time only to never be heard from again."
That seemed to be last straw as Kevin cursed out loud and flung his fist in a rage fueled left hook.
Cael was ready for it, and proceeded to catch his arm with of his. He then pulled back his right fist, which was now wielding a steel a knuckle duster, and struck with all his force on the back of Kevin''s elbow.
There was a sickening pop as Kevin''s humorous dislocated from his ulna. He dropped to his knees but was hoisted up by Cael and pressed against the wall with Cael''s hand tightly gripping his neck.
"Why are you so mad Kevin? It was just a hypothetical scenario. Although she also said I should give her call sometime. Do you think I should listen to her?" Cael asked Kevin, whose face had turned completely red as tears stained his cheeks and snot ran down his face.
"You''re lucky I''m in a good mood today," Cael stated in a tone of indifference that matched his current facial expression.
Cael released Kevin who started gasping and sputtering for air. He turned back to face Chad who stayed in the exact spot he was in before.
"Congrats, you''ve managed to get a pass this time. I''ll be expecting that extra payment next time," He said as he pulled up his hood while passing Chad.
He walked out onto the mostly empty sidewalk feeling a semblance of satisfaction. He had first met those two a few years ago in the boys locker room, they and previously dissrespected him and tried threaten and extort cash from until things took a turn for the worst.
Now they were responsible for paying him a certain amount every week, or risk the consequences.
Cael eventually arrived outside the door to his apartment and instead of unlocking it he looked around to make sure no one was watching him and tried to call upon the sensation he felt earlier. After a few seconds he felt it. His body began tingling again. That was really the best way he could describe this feeling.
''Here goes'' he thought as he stepped towards, and amazingly through his closed front door. Cael started to get excited but calmed down as the tingling sensation started to fade and then shut down only to be replaced with an extreme exhaustion all in a couple of seconds. He fell to the ground and lay there for a while not moving before coming too, a few second later.
"Seems there''s a toll on my body based on the number of times I use this ability in a single day and how long I stay ''phase shifted'' for a certain period time," he said aloud as he carefully got to his feet.
"I''ll do some more experimentation tommorow to test this theory but as of right now I shouldn''t ''shift'' more than two times a day and stay shifted for periods longer than 4 seconds. Not bad for a birthday gift even though my 18th''s tomorrow."
''Shit, I think it''s time to go to bed early for once'' he thought to himself as he plonked his body on top of his bed and promptly fell asleep.
He slept through the afternoon and continued to sleep not moving a muscle, until sometime after midnight when something unusual happened.
''Time to wake up, Cael, or should I say son? It is your birthday after all and I have a few gifts to present to you.''
Chapter 2: New World, Old Rules
Cael''s eys shot open as he woke up and proceeded to quickly jump to his feet. He was on high alert as he looked around him and noticed several disturbing things at once. Cael was no longer in his apartment, in fact he was no longer in the city at all.
All around him for as far as his eyes could see were trees and other vegetation that he could not recognize.
He was still in the clothes he''d been in when he collapsed onto his bed, and as far as he could tell his physical condition remained the same as then. Although he still remained vigilant as he had yet to find the source of the voice he had heard a few seconds before.
''Quite quick to react aren''t you? Although I already knew that''
Cael suddenly stopped searching the forest with his eyes as he realized the source of the voice he had heard was in his very own head.
"Who are you, what are you, why are you in my head and why have you brought me here?" Cael immediately started to list his most pressing questions and waited for a response.
''One at a time, one at a time, all will be answered. Firstly, you may address me as Loque, that''s the name I use for most of my mortal manifestations. Secondly, I am your father and the Aetherius of Space, I''m capable of creating infinite amounts of space in various forms and manipulating it in whichever way I choose. I am currently projecting part of my consciousness into your mind in order for me to communicate with, explain some things and present a few gifts to you. I''ve brought you here because this is my idea of entertainment and I was board. That about sum it up?''
"..." Cael was left speechless as he processed this new information. The voice said that it was the Aetherius of Space and his father. This would explain his ability to phase shift, he wondered if he had other abilities over space and if he would be given the freedom to use them.
"I have a few more questions I want answered," Cael stated as he sat down against the trunk of a large tree.
''Fire away.''
"If you really are my father that would make me part Aetherius therefore I should be able to have some level of control over space aswell assuming this is hereditary. I''m able to phase shift but not for very long and it drains a huge amount of my energy. My question is am I able to exert control over other aspects of Space or does it only apply to the one?"
''Yes you are quite right. As a Half-Aetherius you have already shown control over space through your ''phase shifting'' as you call it, in reality you were simply slipping into a different layer of reality whilst remaining in the same dimension and realm enabling you slip through objects in the physical counterpart. It''s actually supposed to be quite difficult to achieve, so you should be able to easily manipulate space in various other ways.''
This got Cael thinking of different ways in which to use space, he could steal abilities from characters in various sources of fiction that had spacial related powers and make them his own.
The fact that he was in what he assumed was a fantasy world only added to the excitement.
"Were you the one responsible for the monthly payments I received back on earth and for preventing any investigations regarding my missing mother?" Cael asked.
''Yes and sorta yes. During my time on Earth I managed to acquire quite a nice bit of wealth so yeah, I was responsible for periodically sending you money. As for the events regarding your mother, I had Ilyss the Aetherius of Time, erase the time she had spent with others and replace it with another''s. Except for you of course, thats why you''re able to remember her. As for the deed itself...I have no further comments...''
''But, while we''re on the subject of Ilyss, she''s taken quite the interest in you and decided to present you with a Contract.''
"What type of contract?" Cael asked with a mix of caution and curiosity.
''An Aspect Contract. It''s a contract formed between two Aetherius that entitles both entities to receive a certain amount of control over each other''s aspect. Ilyss has decided to gift you an Absolute Contract, this is the highest level of Contract there is and it allows full control over each other''s aspects. Of course you''ll have to experiment to learn how to use it and it won''t come as naturally to you as space but it shouldn''t be too hard. Time and Space has a very close relationship after all...''
Cael raised his eyebrows in what was a rare look of surprise on his face. Not only was he able to bend space to his will but he''d soon be able to have control over time as well. Cael grew suspicious as he''d be stupid not to think that there was some sort of catch and so voiced his suspicions to Loque.
''Oh, not to worry there aren''t any cons as far as I can see. She''s a member of the Absolute Triumvirate and therefore has an Absolute contract with all the members including me so she''s defenitly not after your aspect. The reason Ilyss is gifting you this contract is because she probably wants to contribute further to the entertainment I started, plus I guess it''s also her way of adopting you since in the future you''ll be able to access the Divine Plane and like I said before we have a very close relationship.''
"Alright then, before I start my journey I''d like for you to explain a bit more about this world like any language barriers and the nearest settlement and such."
''I''m way ahead of you. That was my next gift I''ll be transferring some general knowledge about this world like the topography and currencies and such, but not too much knowledge, as that would destroy the joy of discovery and be quite boring. The common tongue spoken here is in fact English, you can thank Ilyss for that aswell. This will give you slight a headache but bare with it.''
As he said that Cael could feel a gentle throb behind his eye and around his forehead. That throb turned into a pulse as images flashed through his mind. Eventually the pulsing stopped as his mind settled down.
''And now, for the Contract.''
The world turned grey and a falling leaf halted in the air as time seemed to stop. Directly in front of Cael a rip in the fabric of space appeared and widened. A glowing golden scroll with an insignia of a glowing hour glass appeared from the fissure as it closed behind it.
"This seems quite fitting. So how do I sign it," Cael asked as got up and stood before the scroll observing the golden material.
''Simply touch the Contract and pour your animus inside of it.''
Cael stepped forward and placed his open palm in the centre of the scroll. He didn''t ask what animus was as he had a vague understanding of it. He also knew that in this world some beings were able to manipulate a weaker, highly diluted form of animus called mana to perform spells and various other magic.
He focused on his body and felt a now slightly familiar tingling sensation in his chest. Cael willed it to travel up his arm and into the intricate glowing hour glass present on the scroll.
Cael witnessed the the insignia change from a bright glowing yellow, into a deep black with a faint purple glow.
The scroll broke up and turned into pure animus that was absorbed by Caels arm in a twisting vortex. Once it was done the world regained it''s colour and the leaf continued to fall uniterupted to the ground bellow.
Cael inhaled deeply and held it in for a few seconds before exhaling and refilling his lungs again. A small smile started to play across his features as he said, "I feel fucking amazing."
''Its a nice feeling isn''t it? Anyway I''ve got one more gift to give and then I''ll be leaving you to it. Just think of all this as making up for all the birthdays I never attended. Aren''t you one lucky bastard to have a pseudo-omnipotent and omniscient greater than godlike being for a father?''
Just as Cael was about to respond he felt his lower arm burn as a sideways 8 appeared on the back of his left hand. After it stopped burning he examined what appeared to be an infinity symbol and noticed that there was a certain empty feeling somewhere in his mind.
"Is this supposed to be some type of dimensional storage?"
''Yep you are correct. It''s just a little something to help you on your journey. With your spacial manipulation you would be able to create a smaller version, but that would exhaust quite a bit of your energy and like I said it would be small, where as this one is a constantly expanding empty dimension I created and linked to you. It also has the standard time stasis effect so no need to worry about spoiled milk. My only restriction is no living things are to be stored inside. Oh and the larger an object is, the more animus or mana it takes to store it.''
"Thats quite convenient. Although I have a question, if I create my own separate storage space can I use it store living things?"
''Sure, I dont see why not.''
"Alright, if that''s all then I''ll be on my way now," Cael said as he got ready to leave.
''Yep, I look forward to-''
''Wait just second now. I''ve been keeping quiet this whole time while watching that ungreatful fuck get all these awesome gifts that I''m starting to feel a little left out. So I would like to request one gift at the very least, that is if you don''t mind''
''Who are you? I should be the only foreign entity present in this mind,'' Loque asked with tone that portrayed confusion.
"Just ignore him, he''s been quite talkative lately but he stops if you dont talk back," Cael answered with a slight hint of exhaustion.
''How rude! That''s no way to talk to your brother Caly. Anyway, the names Rex and you''re quite right about being the only foreign entity present, as I was basically here for as long as we both can remember. So how about it dad? Will you honor my request?'' There was a slight pause before Rex continued. ''Haha, honor, makes me want to dance in my birthday suit while surfing on the moon listening to Rick Ashley''s ''Never Gonna Give You Up'' every time I say it. Haa~''
Cael''s face was a mask of indifference as he proceeded to traverse through the woods in order to find the dirt track that would lead him to nearest town.
''Uhh...Ahem, sure I guess, I didn''t expect this, but request away and I''ll see if I can present you with what you ask for.''
''Haha. Awesome, awesome. Weeell, I would like... Wait can we speak in private for a bit. I''d like for this to be, sort of a surprise to old brother dearest.''
''As you wish, I''ve created a separate space in his mind. Follow me. Oh and Cael, as I was saying before I was interrupted, I look forward to your future endeavors. Cheers for now.''
"..."
Cael silently continued his search and started to think of ways to use his spacial and temporal abilities as he inwardly face palmed at Rex''s antics.
I hummed a merry tune as my horse drawn carriage trudged along. I looked to my side to see my son Dyrk, turned to face a young mercenary I hired giving him tips on how to wield a sword.
These were Iron plate adventurers I hired to guard my carriage and protect my wares. As a moderately successful peddler, I could easily afford to hire a party of 6.
They had done their job and warded off many would be thieves as well as protecting us from the local Barghest packs.
We had been traveling since Aunrise and were still a couple of hours away from our destination, Shadebourne.
Shadebourne was a town located in the Tiren Empire, a nation in which a numerous amount of different races coexisted. We were on our way to sell our wares aswell as acquire some exotic goods from the town and sell them for a higher price back in the predominantly Human Kingdom of Grialith.
I was actually really looking forward to our arrival in Shadebourne. To try out those delicious local delicacies and although exotic I would end up getting some great experiences.
I adjusted my seating position. My arse was starting to ache again, even with padding these long trips were a nightmare.
Oh well. It would be worth it in th-
"Aahk..."
My eyes widened as I looked towards the lead adventurer. She was gurgling blood as an arrow shaft jutted out of her throat. She fell to the ground as more arrows were fired at the other adventurers who now had their shields raised.
I raised the horses reigns in an attempt to snap them but several more arrows were released into the horses that proceeded to collapse, foaming at the mouth.
I heard a loud cry as around six men, in various pieces of mismatched steal and leather armor, swarmed the adventureres who began to meet their confrontation.
"Dyrk, stay back!" I yelled towards my son as he went to help the adventures in the skirmish.
"I can''t father! We''ll all die if we don''t help them!" He yelled back.
"Shit!" I cursed. This was not looking good there were only two adventurers left and although they managed to take down two of the bandits, they were all exhausted and worn down from the battle.
One of the remaining adventurers tried to parry a sword slash but was knocked out by a mace, which hit the side of his helmetted head.
The last adventurer let out a scream and managed to impale one of the bandits just bellow the collar bone, with her spear, before been dispatched by an axe repeatedly hacked at the point where neck meets shoulder.
"Shit...shit...shit...shit..." It was all over. They started to advance on my son next. Taking their time, taunting him, laughing. The bastards.
I wanted to kill them, I wanted to be the one laughing. But I was too scared to do anything. My hands were shaking, my heart was pounding and I was frozen in fear. I couldn''t even move to help my son. Pathetic.
The bandit with the mace raised his spear and was about to bring it down, when-
"Alright guys, that''s enough."
Out of the woods appeared a young man dressed head to toe in black accentuated by red. His clothes were of superior quality and even in my current state my merchant mind tried to place an estimated value, but thats not what drew my attention.
The young man''s most eye catching features were undoubtedly his unusual silver-white hair, handsome and refined facial features and his blood red eyes. Especially the eyes.
I knew immediately that he was vampire of noble birth. Probably of the Vampire Lord bloodline. As an elven merchant I had aquired quite a bit of random knowledge during my travels you see.
"Who the fuck are you?" Asked the bandit with the mace.
I watched him pick up a sword that was laying beside a dead adventure, but dropped it shortly after testing it''s weight and replacing it for a sheathed dagger before answering.
"Who I am doesn''t really matter. The question you should be asking is, ''what am I doing here?''. And to answer said question in advance...forget it, no need to waste words on a dead man anyway."
"Cocky bastard!" Shouted the mace wielding bandit as he began charging towards the young looking vampire while readying is mace for a downward swing.
I watched as the bandit brought down his mace and thought that it was the end of the white haired vampire, but to my astonishment he quickly evaded and slashed towards the side of the bandits throat with the now unsheathed dagger.
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It happened so fast I could barely believe my eyes. Vampires weren''t supposed to be able to move that fast in the daylight. If this was his speed during the day, I shudder to think of how fast he''d be during the den of night.
The bandit had a look of shock on his face and tried to raise his mace again for a second strike, but fell to the ground as he clutched his rapidly bleeding neck.
The other bandits barely had time to react as he appeared in front of another after a rush of movement. The vamp in black struck with his dagger but it was blocked by the bandit''s shield.
The dark elf bandit right next to him slashed with his sword, cutting a gash in the vampire''s left arm. The vampire continued to display an indifferent expression, as he once again moved even faster and stabbed the dagger through the sword wielding bandits arm.
The dark elf bandit dropped his sword and jerked back, but the silver haired vampire had already removed his dagger and once again moved faster than the dark elf could react, slashing open the dark elf''s throat before quickly dodging the swing of an axe.
I watched on as he moved at an astounding speed finishing off the third bandit and then promptly taking out the fourth and final, who was engaged in battle with my son.
Everything suddenly became quiet as the battle came to an end, save for the heavy breathing from both my son and our savior.
My son seemed to be in good shape with the exception of a few shallow cuts and bruises, I was glad he was still alright. I looked towards the vampire who''s left arm hung limply at his side, blood trickling down.
I was about to assist him by giving him one of my minor healing potions but, to my complete astonishment his wound began to close before my very own eyes. I thought I saw faint traces of a golden light, but it couldn''t have been healing magic as vampires weren''t compatible with it.
I knew vampires were also known for their incredibly fast healing rate, but this was a bit too fast. A large gash completely closed up in a matter of seconds, with no traces of blood being spilt. Not to mention he was standing in direct sunlight and yet he was still this strong.
I decided to take the initiative to speak to avoid insulting our savior.
"Th-Thank you very much for saving us your lordship, w-we are extremely grateful and we owe you our lives."
I proceeded to jump down from my cart seat and bowed slightly to the man in front of me.
My son did the same, although his mood looked to be slightly void, probably after seeing the adventures die, though he none the less was still thankful.
"Please raise your heads, I simply stumbled along here and decided to take advantage of the situation," The vampire who looked to be around 80 or 90 elven years spoke.
Ignoring the last part of his rather peculiar statement I raised my head and found my self staring at his blood eyes. I couldn''t help but avert my gaze as he continued.
"There actually is something that I need though."
"And what would that be-"
I started to say but an intense fire began spreading from a single point through my stomach. I let loose a loud scream at what felt like molten metal burning my insides.
I looked down and saw what appeared to be a dagger''s hilt sticking out of my belly. I collapsed on the ground still screaming and noticed my son lying besides me, his throat slashed open trying scream while he drowned in his own blood.
Tears ran down his face as he stopped looking around frantically, but his body still twitched. I cried out, my voice filled with anguish, both from my pain and my dead son.
"Aaaagkh!" I let out a wail as a pool of blood formed around me.
I looked up, as a shadow appeared over me, to see the face of the vampire who was our savior. His indifferent expression had been replaced by a slight smile, that seemed to convey genuine happiness as his crimson eyes glowed with malice. It was the most hidious thing I''d ever seen.
That was the last image I saw before the world faded to black.
Cael looked at the looked at the dead and bloody elf before him. He was in a great mood today, the best he''d been in for a long while.
He had discovered and been granted great power. Without the responsibility. He had also got to do something he had not done in a long while, and although he wished it wasn''t over so quickly he wasn''t particularly complaining. Besides his prefrences laid most with the opposite sex.
After travelling through the woods for some time, practicing his aspects every few minutes or so, he had come across a group of people, who he assumed were bandits of some sort judging from their actions and the way they spoke, waiting in ambush for an oncoming cart.
He stood by and waited until both parties numbers began to reduce before wading into battle. He had made use of his control over time and used it to slightly slow down the world around him. It was just enough for him to dodge most of their attacks and strike easily due to their delayed reactions.
He had slipped up a bit with his control near the end, earning him a gash on his arm but he later used his control over time to reverse the damage by a few seconds.
It was still incredibly draining, but not as much as phase shifting twice in one day. Cael was quite pleased with himself and proceeded to repair his torn sleeve with his temporal manipulation.
He stumbled a bit, due to the slight light headedness he felt, as he made his way to the merchants cart.
Cael proceeded to go around the back and pushed aside the cloth covering the cart. He peaked inside and saw an assortment of cloths, leathers, necklaces and a small arrangement of various other goods.
Stepping inside Cael found a chest with a keyhole. He tried opening it but unsurprisingly it was locked. Cael went back to the elven merchant''s body and after some searching, found a key in one of his pockets.
With the key in hand he used it to open the chest and found the items he was looking for. Inside the chest were several pouches of different size. Two contained a large amount of copper coins, while another a little bit smaller contained some silver coins and finally the last one contained three gold coins.
Cael knew that the currency in this world went as follows, 100 coppers equals 1 silver, 100 silver equals 1 gold and 100 gold equals 1 platinum. Cael had acquired 220 coppers, 35 silvers and 3 gold coins in total. Add that to the other goods he planned to sell and the future was looking bright.
Cael waved his hand over the pouches pouring mana into the mark on his left hand as he did so. The coins disappeared and entered his infinite storage. He did the same for the other items in the cart and decided to take a 10 minute break, snacking on some jerky and drinking from a waterskin he found.
After his short break he went back to the bodies to retrieve some weapons. He decided to store two daggers and a bastard sword which appeared to be in good quality. After taking what he wanted he began to walk in the direction the carriage was going.
After about a couple of hours of walking he could finally see the outer walls of a large town in the distance. The walls were around 40 feet high, and looked to be made out of some type of black stone. There were guards situated on top of wall and at the large gates which had several people and a cart lined up outside of it.
Cael pulled up his hood as he got closer and noticed an assortment of odd looking people. The two at the front had skin that was a dark grey in colour, black hair and a set of long pointed ears similar to the elves he killed earlier. Behind them was a humanoid cat with braided hair and a large green man with tusks pointing up from his bottom lip. The two on the carriage appeared to be human.
It was obvious to Cael what they were even without the knowledge he acquired from Loque. One of his favorite games of all time had races exactly like the ones he was currently observing. Although he knew that in this world they were probably called Dark Elves, Beastkin and Orcs respectively instead of Dunmer, Kajiit and Orsimer.
He waited for a bit until he was the last one left outside the gates, he then approached the entrance and waited for the Orcish guard to speak in a monotonous tone.
"Welcome to Shadebourne Ire, one of the larger towns of the Tiren Empire. Please produce an adventurers/mercenary plate if you have one. Otherwise the entrance fee is 10 coppers."
Cael stuck his hand inside his pocket and summoned the exact amount, handing it to the guard in front of him.
"Thank you very much, enjoy your stay."
Cael entered the city as the guard turned to attend to a man on a cart, who had just arrived, frantically telling the guards about a bandit attack further down the road.
Inside the town, Cael was met with a sight many would expect when thinking of a medieval fantasy town. There was a large road running though the centre of the town, with shops lining the sides, it was wide enough for two carts to ride past each other with little struggle. The road came upon a plaza surrounded by market stalls and merchant carriages selling their wares.
Surrounding the plaza were three other roads heading to different parts of the town, the furthest of which, led to a large mansion that sat utop a hill.
The only thing slightly unusual was the lack of humans. Everyone else was some other type of humanoid race. The only humans Cael could see were either selling wares at a merchant stall, walking about with plaques strung around their necks much like some of the bodies he saw from earlier, or wearing rags and bearing a thick metal collar.
The thought of owning slaves slightly piqued his interest, he''d make sure to do some research at a later date.
As Cael walked around, he noticed some people give him a few sidelong glances. He was used to being stared at and could tell that it was probably because of his clothing which must have appeared top quality in a world like this.
He would make sure to buy a cloak tommorow but for now he needed find some kind of inn as it was getting quite late and he wanted a place where he could rest for the night.
Cael found what he was looking for, on the side of the main road was a triple story building with a wooden sign that read, ''Sleeping Witch Inn''. He entered through the large wooden door and made his way over to a bench that had some people waiting patiently on it.
He sat down and waited for a bit before he was called over to the desk.
"Firssst floor rooms are 20 copperss a night, ssecond floor is 25 copperss with the top floor being 35, meal pricesss are included and served at the Desperate Oyster tavern just across the road." Said the Lizardman inn keeper behind the desk. "Pricess are higher due to being close to the commercial district and main entrance, if you want ssomething cheaper there''ss another inn about a half a mile to the left of the town ccentre."
"No it''s quite alright, I''d like a room on the third floor please." Cael said in response to the inn keeper. He wasn''t too worried about money as from his copper alone he could afford to stay her for six days, not to mention his gold and silver and all the other items in his storage he could sell.
The inn keeper let out a smile, which looked strange on his reptilian snout.
"How many nightsss will you be s-sstaying with us ssir?"
"Two will do for now" Cael said and brought out a pouch containing 70 copper coins.
"Thank you for your patronage, here''ss the key to your room and please allow my assssisstant to show you where it iss. A wash bucket will be brought every night and the waste bucket replaced at the same time." The inn keeper said as a smaller female Lizardman started leading him up a flight of stairs and showing him to his room on the third floor.
He thanked her and entered his room. It was smaller than his apartments room back on Earth but it felt cozy and was furnished modestly with a bed that looked warm and comfortable with an end table holding a lantern beside it and a small wooden table with 4 chairs above a warm looking rug. There was also a wardrobe with an oval shaped mirror and a window with shutters overlooking some of the town and the street bellow.
Several candle holders holding candles lined each wall of the room and a small metal bucket, probably for waste sat in the far corner.
Cael locked the door behind him and went over to the window, only to close the shutters and drop the latch. He sat on the bed and took a quick breath. It was time to focus on the two of the things he''d been practicing ever since he arrived on this world.
He had been working on two different variations of spatial transportation. The first being the shortening of distance between two points connected by a portal.
It was actually quite simple when placed into practice. Cael opened up a window in space directly in front of him. It was ovular in shape and about 26cm in length. He then created an identical window 3 metres away on the table, just in front of a wooden fruit bowl that rested utop it.
He imagined the two windows connecting and coming closer together without actually moving, and just like that the windows in space became a gateway or portal.
Cael summoned a large piece of dried meat from his storage and tossed it through the portal hovering in front of him. It appeared with a soft pat in the fruit bowl, and upon closer inspection it seemed to be in the same state it was before he tossed it into the portal.
Cael went back to the first portal and stuck his hand through. It appeared out of the second portal and retrieved the jerky before retreating and placing it back into storage.
He was satisfied with his portals, they didn''t beset him with exhaustion like the phase shifting and it only took about 3 seconds to create and connect two of them.
Of course there were some downside like, the current maximum distance seemed to be 3 metres and the length was shorter than your average ruler, plus the fact that he wouldn''t be able to concentrate on summoning and connecting them in close combat, but he was sure that with practice and familiarity all these creases would be smoothed over.
The second variation he''d been working on was naturally, teleportation, instant transportation from one point in space to another. He called forth that familiar sensation of animus, and instead of allowing it to encompass his being like the phase shifting, he focused on the other end of the room several meters away.
Now this was the part where he had to be careful. Earlier, when he was practising in the forest, he managed to successfully teleport himself several meters in front of him. The only problem was that when he teleported, he left an empty space in his original position which had caused a massive suction effect and an incredibly loud banging noise.
To counteract the creation of a vacuum and smoothly teleport, not only did he have move his position in space, he also had to replace the vacuum he left behind with particles from the point he teleported to.
Continuing his focus on transporting himself, Cael imagined the space he wanted to teleport to switch with the space he currently occupied.
He had tried this a couple of times before and was feeling quite confident for the third try and therefore was not worried about startling the others. Besides if anybody made a fuss he''d just say he was practising some type of magic and pay for any damages as a result of the spell.
Without further adieu Cael promptly disappeared and reappeared with a slight pop in his desired location.
He smiled slightly at his achievement, sure there was still some empty space left behind as evident by the pop, but it was a massive improvement from before and like with all other types of self improvement, it could only get better through practice and time.
With that thought in mind Cael plonked himself on the bed in preperation for a 2 hour power nap. He wasn''t done with the day just yet and still wanted to explore the town''s nightlife.
After all how often do get the opportunity to get transported to some fantasy with filled with exotic and old charm as the son of a pseudo-omnipotent being?
Chapter 3: Night is Life
The sun set as two silver moons, in the shape of waxing crescents, ascended to replace the celestial ball of burning gas. Cael stretched and let out a yawn as he got up from his rest.
He made his way over to the wooden shutters, walking slowly so as not to stumble in the dark room. He pushed open the shutters, letting the silver light of the moons accompanied the orange light of the street lanterns flood into the dark room.
He looked at the street bellow and noticed that there were more people outside than during the day. Things also seemed to be a litte bit busier at night.
Focusing on a dark alleyway not too far away, Cael disappeared with a soft pop and reapered between the two buildings forming the alley.
Stepping out into the illuminated street, he noticed an increase in the amount of dark elves wandering around. Not only that, there were also tanned, muscular human-like people with lots of hair aswell as a few very pale, lithe people with red eyes similar to his own. The only difference was his eyes were a shade lighter.
Cael walked towards the building opposite his inn. He was feeling quite hungry and wanted to know just what kind of food was served in a tavern located in a city of unhuman races.
Entering the Desperate Oyster tavern Cael was greeted with a large room filled with round tables and chairs of various sizes providing dinning for bigger and smaller races alike. At the end of the room was a long black wooden bar table with bar stools lined up along it.
There were quite a few orcs here and there having drinking contests with short bearded men. Cael went to sit by an empty table near the far wall on the right from the entrance.
He waited for a bit before a short girl that would look very much like a human, were it not for the pair of floppy dog ears on top of her head and a tail hanging out of her uniform.
"Here''s the meal list for tonight sir." She handed him a sheet of parchment with meal names and prices on it.
"If you''re renting a top floor room at the Sleeping Witch Inn across from us, the first meal''s already been paid for. Just show us your room key. Adventurers Guild members also get a discount depending on their rank."
Cael produced the key to his room and continued to browse the menu options.
"Excellent! If you would like anything to drink we have some Sapien Blood Wine available or perhaps you''d like some ale or mead?"
"Meads fine. I''d also like a plate of this ''Sweet and Sour Bristle Back Ribs'' with a shot of ''Godrik''s Dwarven Ale''."
The girl nodded and walked off in the direction of the bar table. Cael leaned back in his chair and pondered over what he wanted to do. In truth, he was a very quiet and kind hearted guy, who wanted to help as many people as he could. Perhaps he''d meet some comrades he could trust, go on many adventures with them while sharing hardships and victories in the face of numerous life and death struggles.
He would receive fame, glory and recognition. Going on to become a hero to save his kingdom from some obvious foe.
After all the adventuring, he would finally settle down and live a normal mortal life with his true love and kids. Watching the sunset and the curtains close on a happily ever after.
Yeah... that''s what he''d tell you if you asked him what his dream was. In actual fact my son could care far less about any of that. All he wanted to do now, was to enjoy himself. Back on Earth, he always felt restrained and cooped up, often unsatisfied with most things around him. He got off to the suffering he caused others.
It was something that allowed him to feel blissful and free, it made him feel...something powerful for the first time. That euphoric rush when he ravaged an eye inside a socket with rusted staples, or pierced an eardrum with a sharpened pencil followed by the scream emanating from strained and calloused vocal cords.
He loved it.
It was the only thing he truly loved and obsessed over. In this world, he could do what he wanted, within reason of course.
If he wanted to do more he would have to become strong, strong enough to make sure no one could oppose him. Maybe he''d found a hitman organization. Assassinating and/or torturing those that they received contracts for. Alternatively he could become a serial killer. Popping in and out of existence creating massacres left and right.
Either way he needed to start small, he needed more battle experience. He needed some influence since that was usually a good thing, but not always. Signing up with the Adventureres Guild he''d been hearing about would be a good start. He could also build up his fame to some, and infamy to everyone else along the way.
The waitress arrived carrying a plate of ribs, a tankard of mead and shot of ''Godriks Dwarven Ale''.
"H-here you are, s-sir," The girl said as she set down the items with arms that betrayed her nervousness.
He would look for the guild after his meal. Perhaps there were more benefits he could uncover.
"Thank you."
The girl perphormed a quick, sloppy curtsey and briskly walked off to the bar table.
Cael dismissed the odd behavior and looked at the appetizing meal before him. The tender looking ribs were quite large and covered in a sticky coating that had a mouth watering, delectable aroma.
He picked up one of the ribs and bit into the juicy soft meat covered in sweet and sour sauce that made it all the more tantalizing and addictive.
He finished two more ribs before washing it down with a sip of golden honey liquor, flavoured with notes of exotic fruit and spices he''d never tasted before. This truly was a delicious meal.
How he loved good food.
Almost as much as he loved his external hard drive filled with stuff it was not supposed to be filled with. Gang bang scat porn and tentacle ahegao hentai would look like an episode from Barney or the Teletubies in comparison to what he had on that baby.
Finishing the rest of the ribs and downing the mead. He gave himself a few minutes to rest as he saw several orcs passed out on one another. He reached for the shot of ''Godriks Dwarven Ale'', brought it to his mouth quickly downing bronze coloured booze.
His throat burned as the liquid descended down his throat. He immediately felt a fire spread through his veins as a pleasurable warmth encompassed his body. He had a nice buzz going now. Which he enjoyed seated for a bit before taking to the streets in search of the Adventureres Guild.
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"I don'' kno'' wha'' a noblesse was doing in ma tavern but I''m proud of tha way ya handled him lass," An unusually short man with long curly ginger hair who sported an equally long ginger but alternatively braided beard said.
"Thank you uncle Rogdar, I was little bit scared after you told me what he was but he didn''t seem to take any particular interest in anything but his food," replied the dog eared waitress.
After she had passed on the white haired man''s order she had been called in and pulled aside by the owner who had proceeded to tell her to be very careful with how she handled that particular customer. It was rare to see such a peculiar looking Vampire in a tavern, what with his fine looking but inconspicuous attire and the fact he did not order any blood or bloodwine.
Rogdar suspected the man of being a noblesse, a group of higher class vampires that could walk in daylight without suffering severe ailments. They often belonged to the nobility and generally never left the capital or their massive mansions. The man who had dined here earlier was either a runaway or a bastard.
"Just watch out ya hear? Them vamps are a dangerous lot an'' tha noblesse are tha worst of em!"
"Yes uncle, I''ll be careful," she said while bending over to clean up the mess they made on the floor.
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Before Cael stood a large stone building with a sign above the entrance that read [Adventurers Guild], next to that was an emblem depicting 4 weapons divided into 4 sections. The weapons were namely a short sword, a staff, a dagger and finally a mace.
Cael pushed open the saloon styled doors and entered the building. Inside it was very similar to the tavern in design, multiple round tables positioned on a wooden paneled floor. Save for a large board with pages pinned onto it and an even large reception desk being manned by three receptionists.
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He made his way across the floor drawing a few stares as he did so and stood in line behind a queue of people, all waiting to see the receptionist.
The line progressed until he stood before the receptionist in question.
A young woman wearing some sort of receptionists garment. She had her hair braided back and sported a pair of curled goat horns just above her ear.
"Hello and welcome to the Shadebourne Adventurers Guild. What may I help you with today?" she asked.
"I''d like to apply for being an adventurer if that''s alright," replied Cael in response to her question.
"Sure thing. I''ll first need you to fill out a form and pay the initiation fee, we will then have you take a placement exam to determine your intitial rank from either Copper, Bronze or Iron. Ranking will be explained in further detail during the exam," she said as she handed him a two page written document.
Cael moved to the side and began filling in the document with the required information. Once he was done he went back to the receptionist during an opening.
"Name: Caelus Vladimir Strider, Gender: Male, DOB: You can''t remember?, Race:Human..." the young receptionist read out loud suddenly pausing on one word.
"Is there something wrong?" Cael asked.
The receptionist audibly gulped before clearing her throat and saying.
"Umm, sorry sir but it''s against guild policy to lie on our documents."
"But I did not lie, I truly can''t remember when I was born you see-"
"Oh, It''s not that sir," interrupted the receptionist. "It''s just that... you are quite obviously a vampire and yet you wrote human here..."
Cael''s face remained impasive as he looked at the document and then at the receptionist. Below the counter his left hand twitched slightly but apart from that he remained the picture of cold harmony.
He honestly should have thought about that more when he arrived in this world. It was not the same old world he knew where people labeled him as Dracula or vampire for fun.
In this world vampires were real and he was apparently seen as one of their crowd. He had one of two options to choose from. Either fight against it, make a scene and draw the wrong kind of unwanted attention or, simply roll with it and try to find ways to take advantage of this in the future.
"Ah, my bad I was recently in Grialith and like you know they don''t like my kind very much so I had to try and pass of as human using spells and potions. Guess I haven''t gotten it out of my system yet." lied Cael smoothly.
"No worries sir, I''ll just have you correct it and after your exam we''ll have an adventurers plate designed for you."
"Now that that''s done please head out back for your placement examination."
Cael walked towards a hallway on the left of the reception desk and followed until he can to a large area outside that looked like some sort of training grounds. It was a large sandy clearing surrounded by a high wooden fence.
There were a pair of people sparring in a corner and archers shooting at targets. Some benches were arranged against one of the walls where some adventures were speaking to each other and trading tips on battle with beasts.
On one side of the benches was a small group of what looked to be other examinees, judging from their lack of plates. They were being lectured by two adventurers near the centre of the training ground. A man and a woman.
He made his way over to the small group and stood next to the benches with his hood up. As usual he still drew stares, his clothing was probably too fine or clean to be seen as inconspicuous. He really had to look into buying some sort of cloak somewhere.
"-that is why you always need to be prepared for all circumstances," said the dark elven woman near the centre of the training ground.
She was kitted out in light leather armor for ease of movement and sported two daggers on her hip and two different types of bows on her back, strapped just bellow a quiver full of arrows. One was recurve bow and the other a long bow.
"Now I know you''ve probably all heard this before but it''s my duty to make sure you''re all properly informed. The ranking is as follows: at the bottom of the pyramid we have Copper followed by Bronze and then Iron. We then have Steel, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Adamantite and finally the utmost rank reserved for those who may even oppose and triumph over heroes, Daedrite."
It seemed to Cael that he had a long way to go on his path to power. Hopefully it wouldn''t be too long before he reached the top. As long as he developed his litterall god given abilities he shouldn''t have too much trouble.
"In total that''s ten slots on the pyramid. Make no mistake when I say this but the difference between two corresponding ranks is great indeed, both in terms of skill and talent," she gestured to the yellow eyed man with short brown hair and a stubble beard standing next to her.
"This is our resident instructor Rufus, a silver ranked adventurer just like myself. He will handle all those who favour close to mid ranged combat, those who prefer long range combat please follow me.
Cael waited until some of the other adventurers got up and followed them over to where Rufus was waiting.
"Okay is that everyone? Good." he spoke in a slightly gruff voice you''d get from smoking too many cigarettes.
"Here''s how we''re going to do this. Each one of you are going to take turns fighting me one on one with a weapon of your choice, it can be with your own weapons or it can be with the blunted training weapons supplied by the guild. Despite being silver ranked I am also first and foremost a Lycanthrope, as I''m sure you noticed. Under the moonlight we have increased speed and strength with good regenerative capabilities so please don''t hold back," he cleared his throat before continuing.
"The goal of the fight is for you to display your skills, depending on how good you are I will decide weather you are fitting of a bronze plate. If you are able to break through my defense and land a hit on me, you will be granted an Iron plate aswell have the opportunity to take the magic exam for free. Any questions?" Rufus finished as he looked over the group.
That last part perked Cael''s interest. As he understood it some people in this world were born with the ability to wield mana pertaining to a certain element. Of course it was probably a bit more complex than this but he''d find out more about it after he passed this exam.
"Nobody? Alright then who''s up first?" Rufus asked after confirming there were no questions.
"I''ll go!" said an orc as he unslung the war axe on his waste.
"I guess we''ll be using regular weapons then. Alright, attack me when ready!" Rufus shouted.
"Raaarrggh!" bellowed the orc as cloud of dust appeared behind his muscular hind as he charged like a ragging blind bristle back boar, mace in hand. He was the boar, he smelt the boar, he licked the boar, he touched the boar...
He kept repeating his internal boar mantra over and over in hopes of it granting him divine piggy power. It was time to show this wolf for all the world who really stood at the top. They all thought vampires were their rivals, they were wrong.
The orcs would have their spotlight and he Greg would make sure to be the one to give it to them.
Thus he finally appeared before Rufus, who had left his sword sheathed and brought down the full pigtastic power of his treasured Orcish mace and...
What happened next utterly astounded poor Greg. The Instructor had caught his mace in one hand. All his pigliness was completely evaporated before this Silver plate adventurer.
Nonetheless Greg would not give in so easily. He released the mace and decided to switch to his fists but a woody sound near his face made him stop.
Before him was his mace mere inches from colliding with his face.
"Never give your weapon to the enemy. Not only did you practically give me your weapon, you also recklessly charged at me despite knowing my ranking. You should have assessed the situation and made use of the fact that I would be on the defensive," Rufus said as he ended the match.
"You failed"
A failure meant you would receive nothing more than a copper plate. Rufus looked over the group before settling on a man wearing a black hood. His clothes seemed to be quite high class and he had no visible weapons on him.
"You there with the hood, yeah you, you''re up next."