ã€ŠOrigin Of The Forsakenã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Darius groans as he wakes upwith an awful hangover. His eyes open a crack, causing him to wince from the bright light around him. That¡¯s strange, my room is never this bright. He thought before he slowly opened his eyes again. He finds that he is in a forest instead of his bedroom where he was expecting to be, which causes him to sit up quickly, looking around repeatedly.

    Where the hell am I? He thought as he looked around confused This can¡¯t be a dream, can it? It feels too real. He slowly tried to stand, finding that he had a hard time gaining his balance he crawled over to a tree. He used the tree to help him stand, shaking his head to try and clear it somewhat.

    <hr>

    Initializing System...

    <hr>

    Darius¡¯ eyes widened in surprise when the window appeared before him ¡°Oh what the hell?¡± He shouted as he shook his head. ¡°What kind of shit is this?¡±

    <hr>

    Welcome Darius Martin, to The System. You have been randomly selected to be a champion of your world. To this end you have been brought to another to learn of the threat that is coming.

    <hr>

    He watched as the window faded, taking some time to process the information he just read. ¡°Well, shit, I definitely can¡¯t dream up something like that.¡± He looked around again for anything interesting. Seeing nothing he decided to do a bit of testing. ¡°Well, if I have a system, hmm. Menu? Not that, uh Status.¡±

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 0(0%)Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Class: None

    Strength: 12

    Constitution: 14

    Endurance: 13

    Dexterity: 12

    Intelligence: 10

    Wisdom: 12

    Luck: 5

    Health: 60/60        HP Regen: 28/hr

    Stamina: 65/65 Sp Regen: 12/min

    Mana: 50/50  MP Regen:24/hr

    Skills: None

    <hr>

    Darius quickly read his Status screen ¡°Huh, that doesn¡¯t look too bad for a spread, looks like other then luck each attribute applies to a stat.¡± He shook his head and he started to walk before he was interrupted by another screen.

    <hr>

    You have been granted The Blessing of The Three: Health, Mana, and Stamina regen +2 per level, +25% exp gain.

    <hr>

    ¡°What? A blessing? Who the fuck are the three?¡± Darius said as he started to walk through the forest, keeping an eye out for anything he could use. ¡°I can¡¯t do much with this at the moment, I¡¯ll have to remember to ask someone about all this when I get to civilization. Right now I need some shelter, water, and food.¡± He walked for a while, trying to find either a cave or a cliff he could set up a base in or against.

    <hr>

    New quest: Basic Survival

    Objective 1: Find a safe place.

    Objective 2: Find water.

    Description: Finding yourself in a forest alone, do your best to survive.

    Rewards: Skill [Basic Survival], Basic Survival Knife

    <hr>

    ¡°Quests, huh, that¡¯s helpful at least.¡± Darius spoke as he continued to walk. After a couple of hours he manages to find an outcropping of rock that he thinks might make a decent shelter. He looks around for any signs of water. ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose track of this place, I wonder. Map¡± At the command a screen appears in front of him, showing a map of the area he is in, only showing the terrain that he had traveled.

    He hummed as he tried to figure out how to control the map, learning that he can lightly touch it to move and zoom the map. After a little bit of working at it, he figured out that he can set a small number of waypoints, setting one up at the outcropping of stone before he closed the map and started to walk through the forest again to try and find water.

 Chapter 2

    After around half an hour of walking, Darius noticed some movement in his peripheral vision. He quickly turned towards the movement, sighing in relief as he notices it¡¯s a rabbit which moves towards him. He looked down at it a bit confused as it continually hopped towards him, before he noticed some text above it.

    Darius frowned as he read the text. ¡°What am I supposed to fight this? It¡¯s just a bunny, why would I do that?¡± When the Hare got within 2 metres of Darius it suddenly jumped at him, biting his shoulder and scratching at his chest. He cried out in pain as he reached up and grabbed it, pulling it and a small chunk of his shoulder off of him. Darius quickly threw the Hare before it could do any more damage, managing to hit a tree with it.

    It hit the ground breathing heavily, clearly very injured. Darius walked over to grab a large rock, which he brought over to it before he dropped the rock on it.

    <hr>

    You have defeated a lvl 1 Brown Hare

    Gained 12 exp

    <hr>

    Darius sighed as he dropped to his ass, shaking his head. ¡°Holy shit, that was, just ow.¡± He looks towards his bleeding shoulder, wincing as he does. ¡°Right I should check my health, Status.¡±

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 0(12%)

    Class: None

    Strength: 12

    Constitution: 14

    Endurance: 13

    Dexterity: 12

    Intelligence: 10

    Wisdom: 12This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Luck: 5

    Health: 53/60  HP Regen: 30/hr

    Stamina: 58/65 Sp Regen: 14/min

    Mana: 50/50 MP Regen:26/hr

    Current Effects: Bleeding 1

    Skills: None

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    <hr>

    Darius frowned as he read his status. ¡°Right, let¡¯s see what exactly this does.¡± He said as he focused on the Bleeding effect.

    <hr>

    Bleeding: Causes HP loss every 5 seconds.

    Current effect: -2 HP/5s Lasts 1 minute

    <hr>

    ¡°Shit! I need to deal with this now.¡± He quickly took off his shirt, wincing as he did. He rips a strip off it, making a makeshift bandage which he quickly ties around his shoulder, making it as tight as he can. Darius¡¯ eyes widen when another screen appears.

    <hr>

    Gained Skill [First Aid lvl 1]

    Effectiveness of First Aid performed on self increased by 1%

    Effectiveness of First Aid performed on others increased by 2%

    First Aid is a good way to ensure you don¡¯t die after a fight, as long as you are awake to perform it.

    <hr>

    Darius looks at the screen a bit surprised. ¡°Huh, so I can get skills through quests, or just doing what the skill is?¡± He shakes his head slightly, before he stands and he starts to walk again, keeping an eye out for any more Hares. He encounters one more as he walks, dealing with it by running at it and kicking it before it can jump at him, and then killing it with a rock like last time.

    After around 30 more minutes of walking, Darius finally manages to find a stream, where he kneels next to it. He collects some water in his hands, drinking it quickly and greedily.

    Opening his eyes he looks at his Map again, setting his second waypoint at the stream. He starts to head back to the rock outcropping, following the path he came using the map to orient himself. Darius decides to pick up the second Hare he killed, knowing that he needs food and he shouldn¡¯t waste their bodies. He carries the Hare¡¯s body back to the rock outcropping, where he dropped it on the ground.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, so status opens my status, map opens a map, and i have a quest, so logically Quest.¡±

    <hr>

    Quest List

    Basic Survival

    Objective 1: Find a safe place. (Completed)

    Objective 2: Find water. (Completed)

    Description: Finding yourself in a forest alone, do your best to survive.

    Reward: Skill [Basic Survival], Basic Survival Knife

    <hr>

    Gained Skill [Basic Survival lvl 1]

    Ability to track increased by 3%

    Fire starting is 5% easier

    Increased Knowledge of Edible plants, and animals.

    <hr>

    Darius looks at the ground in front of him surprised where the Survival knife had appeared. He slowly reaches out and picks it up, looking over it before he nods. ¡°Well, this is going to be helpful at least.¡±

 Chapter 3

    Darius stands in front of a pile of branches and twigs that he had collected from the forest for the past couple of hours. ¡°Right, that might be enough, I think at least.¡± He says before he picks up a couple of the biggest branches. He carries them over to the side of the rock outcropping, setting them against it. He continues this for a while, trying to construct a simple lean-to against the rock wall.

    He manages to make a small structure, about 2 metres wide and 1.5 metres out, with a lot of holes in the walls and a roof mostly made of leafy branches. ¡°Well, it looks kinda shitty, but it¡¯s the best I can do at the moment.¡± Darius then starts to clear an area so that he can make a fire pit, making a rock circle from rocks gathered around the outcropping. He sets a couple of large rocks in the circle, planning on using them for cooking surfaces.

    Once finished setting the rocks Darius starts to make small pile of wood, using his knife to get some shavings to use as kindling. He then grabs some rocks he thinks may work as flint, bashing them together to try and light the wood. ¡°Right, fuck this.¡± He says after a few minutes of trying to use the rocks, he looks through the wood he has gathered, trying to find something he could use to start the fire using friction.

    After a few minutes of work, the fire actually manages to light, which caused Darius to yell with excitement. He tends to the fire for a while before he hears a sharp ding.

    <hr>

    Skill Level up [Basic Survival lvl 2]

    Ability to track increased by 6%Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Fire starting is 10% easier

    Increased Knowledge of Edible plants, and animals.

    <hr>

    ¡°That makes sense, using a skill levels it up.¡± Darius says with a shrug. He then goes over to the Hare picking it up before he carries it a bit away from his camp. He then starts to butcher the Hare as best he can using his survival knife. He cleans it¡¯s skin as best he can, taking all of the waste to bury it, before taking the meat back to the fire and setting it on the big stones to cook it.

    He tends to the fire as he waits for the meat to cook, as well as watching out for any movement out in the forest. After a while of this, he finally gets to eat his meal, enjoying it as much as he could.

    Once he finishes eating, he sits in front of the fire, reflecting on what happened to him during the day. ¡°Man, who would have thought that some shit like this would happen?¡± He shakes his head before he stands and goes to his lean-to. He heads inside and lays down, trying to sleep.

    That night, as he dreams, things start to get decidedly weird. His dream starts off normal enough, with Darius running late for work. Yet right before he can go in the doors a little old lady blocks his way, looking like she just came from a funeral. She is wearing a black shawl, a black dress, and a black veil. ¡°Hello Deary.¡± she says as she blocks him. ¡°Sorry ma¡¯am, I¡¯m late and I need to get by.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s alright, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll want to hear what I say, after all you are one of the chosen.¡±

    He looks at the old woman again, surprised ¡°And how would you know that?¡±

    ¡°Oh I many many things.¡± She says before she moves faster than Darius thought she could, placing her palm on his forehead. Images start to flash through his mind, people walking through his camp, animals laying dead and discarded, humans and what look like elves fighting with Darius stuck in the middle, and finally buildings from earth burning.

    Darius falls back from her outstretched hand, shuddering as he looks at her. He finally gets a glimpse at her face as his vision darkens. She no longer appears old, not looking a day over 25, brilliant golden hair, pale skin, and a cloth wrapped around her eyes. ¡°Restful Dreams Champion.¡±

    The rest of the night passes in the blink of an eye for Darius. When he wakes up he looks at the ceiling of his lean-to. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡±

 Chapter 4

    Sitting in front of the fire pit Darius is contemplating his dream from last night. ¡°It¡¯s strange, I¡¯ve never had a dream like that. And she called me a champion, was she referring to my blessing? And then there were those images, what was that about?¡± He mutters to himself as he shakes his head. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it, but I need to get stuff done, and hopefully find some civilization.¡± He stands and gathers his things.

    <hr>

    New Quest: Find Civilization

    Objective 1: Find another person.

    Description: Alone in a forest with what you need to survive. Find some people to help figure out what¡¯s going on.

    Reward: 10 silver coins and coin pouch.

    <hr>

    Darius heads to the stream, knowing that if he follows it he should hopefully find civilization. So he does just that, walking downstream. He looks around as he walks, keeping an eye out for any more hares, or even some useful plants. He does manage to find a couple of plants that his [Basic Survival] is telling him are poisonous, which causes him to avoid them.

    After around an hour of walking he spots movement, causing him to freeze and look at it. He sees that it¡¯s another hare, he examines it, finding it to be a <Black Hare lvl 2> ¡°Huh, well shit, it¡¯s level 2, so it¡¯s probably stronger than the other two I fought.¡± He slowly grabs his knife, crouching down. He slowly creeps past, not wanting a fight, but ready for it if necessary. He continues like that until he can¡¯t see the Hare any more, which is when he hears a ding.

    <hr>

    Skill gained [Basic Stealth lvl 1]You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    When active, user is 4% harder to detect.

    When active, user makes 6% less sound.

    Stealth is one of the basic ways to get past fights you don¡¯t want, it¡¯s also good to get the drop on your enemies.

    <hr>

    Darius had frozen when he heard the ding, but he sighs as he reads the screen. He shakes his head slightly, slowly standing before he continues to walk downstream.

    Shortly after he encountered the Hare, he hears something coming from his right. He stops where he is to listen. He can¡¯t tell exactly what it is, but in the hopes that it¡¯s a person he starts to walk towards it, crouching down to activate [Basic Stealth]. After walking for a couple of minutes he reaches a clearing, stopping when he gets close due to horror. It¡¯s a battlefield with dead bodies strewn all throughout the clearing.

    He slowly stands, looking around. He sees at least 20 bodies, most of them looking human and wearing white and blue armor, the rest looking to be humans, elves, and orcs wearing armor that has almost a rainbow of colour on it. He hears some coughs coming from someone sitting against a tree.

    He jumps from the sound, he looks over and sees a man dressed in the white and blue armor holding his stomach, with blood leaking between his fingers. Darius slowly walks towards the tree, looking over the dying man, knowing that he can¡¯t help him. ¡°W-what happened here?¡± Darius asks.

    The man looks up at Darius surprised, before he coughs again ¡°We lost¡± he says weakly. ¡°Lost? Against who?¡± The man laughs before he coughs, wincing ¡°Who else but The Enemy?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea who you are talking about.¡± The man looks over Darius coughing again as his skin becomes clammy ¡°Be careful kid, they¡¯ll kill us all.¡± He says before he leans back, his breathing slowing until it stops.

    Darius pales as he looks down at the man''s corpse ¡°Fuck, fuck, fucking fuck.¡± He says before he looks around again. He turns and he starts to run back towards his camp, hoping he can avoid whoever is out here with him. He trips a few times, and he has to slow when his Stamina gets too low, but he soon makes it back to camp, sighing as he sees that no one is there.

    He looks around, thinking of what he can do to prepare for the people who are coming. He goes over to the pile of branches, picking some up to start to sharpen them, trying to make some stakes. He works as quickly as he can to get through the pile, he gets half done when he decides to go around and plant the stakes in the ground. When he¡¯s finished he¡¯s set up a simple barricade around his camp, and with the last branch he¡¯s fashioned himself a simple spear.

    With a ding a screen pops up in front of him

    <hr>

    Skill Gained [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1]

    Knowledge of Weapon Crafting Gained

    Ease of Crafting Basic Weapons increased by 4%

    A good skill to have if you make easy to break weapons.

    <hr>

 Chapter 5

    Darius looks around his little camp, noting his lean-to, and the small barricades. ¡°Right, defences are as best as I¡¯ll get, I have a weapon, a shitty one, but I have a weapon. I don¡¯t know how much time I have, so I¡¯ll try to level up at least once. Status¡±

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 0(34%)

    Class: None

    Strength: 12

    Constitution: 14

    Endurance: 13

    Dexterity: 12

    Intelligence: 10

    Wisdom: 12

    Luck: 5

    Health: 60/60  HP Regen: 30/hr

    Stamina: 65/65 Sp Regen: 14/min

    Mana: 50/50 MP Regen:26/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 1] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1]

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    <hr>

    ¡°Wait, 34 percent? How?¡± He says as he looks over his Status. ¡°The only thing I can think of is that leveling up skills grants experience?¡± He shakes his head ¡°Nope, can¡¯t think about it right now, going hunting.¡±

    Darius then leaves his camp, heading out into the forest, being as observant as he can be, trying to find any Hares. It takes him a while, but he finds a couple together, which he uses his makeshift spear to kill.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    <hr>

    Skill Gained: [Basic Spear Use lvl 1]

    Spears deal 2% more damage.

    Knowledge of Spear use increased

    <hr>

    It takes Darius another hour, but he manages to kill 4 more hares, which allows him to Level up both his level and his [Basic Spear Usage]

    <hr>

    Level up

    Gained 10 HP, SP, and MP

    Gained 5 Unassigned Ability Points

    Gained 4 HP, SP, and MP regen.

    <hr>

    Skill Level up [Basic Spear Use lvl 2]

    Spears deal 4% more damage.

    Knowledge of Spear use increased

    <hr>

    Darius sighs in relief when he sees the screens, he reads the contents ¡°Huh, well that¡¯s useful. now I just need to think about what to use my points on, but first I should get back.¡± He says dismissing the screens before he picks up the two dead hares he had just fought and jogs back to his camp.

    He looks around when he arrives, sighing in relief as he sees that no one is there yet. He takes some time to start another fire, keeping it small. He cleans the cooking rocks, before he prepares the hares. He sets the meat on the rocks to cook while he cleans the skins, stretching them out with rocks, before he takes the offal away from camp to bury it.

    As the meat is cooking Darius hears a sound out in the forest, he stops what he is doing to look out towards the sound. He slowly reaches down to grab his spear and then he heads towards his barricade ¡°H-hello?¡± he calls out, looking around in the direction the sound came from.

    After about half a minute a figure moves through the trees, causing Darius to hold up his spear towards them, ¡°Stop right there.¡± He shouts. The figure thankfully stops in response. Darius nods ¡°Alright, good, come closer, slowly.¡± The figure looks back towards where it came from, before it slowly approaches Darius.

    Darius warily watches the figure, soon able to make out what they look like. The figure turns out to be an elven woman, wearing a set of colourful leather armor, without any weapons. She looks over Darius, seeming to size him up. ¡°That¡¯s far enough. Who are you? What do you want?¡± He says as he sizes her up as well, looking above her head which has {???, lvl 20}

    ¡°My name is Ashera, we are scouting the forest for any sign of The Enemy, who are you?.¡± As she says her name her identifier changes to {Ashera, lvl 20}.

    ¡°My name is Darius. Who are the enemy? I met a dying man who warned me about them.¡± Darius asks.

    ¡°The Enemy are The Enemy, it¡¯s that simple¡± Ashera says before she spits on the ground.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense, nothing is that simple.¡± Darius says as he raises an eyebrow, looking at her. ¡°Though I¡¯m not exactly from around here, maybe it is that simple here.¡± He mutters to himself.

    ¡°Wait, are you saying you are one of the Chosen?¡± Her eyes widen in surprise as she looks him over again.

    ¡°Uh, if by chosen you mean someone who was randomly teleported here, then yeah?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s strange, the Chosen are supposed to appear in the cities, not out in the middle of nowhere.¡± She frowns as she seems to think. ¡°Would it be okay if I go talk to my group about this, you clearly aren¡¯t one of The Enemy.¡±

    ¡°I suppose that would be fine, but uh, could you ask if any of your group have any spare wineskins or something? I have some hare skins I can trade.¡± Darius says with a nod, looking back out at the forest.

    ¡°That I can do. Do you have any problems with my group coming here after we talk?¡±

    ¡°As long as they keep their weapons away, no, there are no problems there.¡± Darius says as he shakes his head slightly.¡±

    ¡°Then I will most likely be back, it¡¯s been nice to meet you Darius.¡± Ashera says before she walks back into the forest.

 Chapter 6

    Close to half an hour later, after Darius had eaten some of the meat from the hares, he hears the sound of people approaching. He stands from near the fire, and he walks towards the area of the camp he heard people approaching. He looks out towards the woods, sighing quietly when he sees Ashera. He looks over the people she is with seeing a human, a couple of orcs, and a dwarf. ¡°So, this is your group then?¡±

    ¡°What is left of them, yes. This is Reeve, Vanbok, Vorbak, and Hlin.¡± Ashera says as she points at each of them in order. Darius nods as he looks at them, seeing they are all level 20.

    Reeve is a fairly plain looking human, as if he could blend into any crowd, with black hair, blue eyes, and also wearing strangely colourful armor. Vanbok and Vorbak are both orcs, Vorbak wearing hides and carrying a large axe on his back, while Vanbok is wearing robes and has a book on a chain hanging from his hip. Hlin meanwhile is wearing a chain shirt, carrying a warhammer and shield.

    ¡°I¡¯m Darius, it¡¯s nice to meet you all. Would any of you like some food? I¡¯ve cooked some Hares i killed.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s what that smell is, sounds like a good idea.¡± Vorbak says with a laugh. Vanbok agrees while Hlin nods. Reeve looks at Darius suspiciously, though he doesn¡¯t say anything as the group follows Darius to the firepit.

    Darius serves everyone a bit of the meat, before sits down in front of the fire. ¡°So, why don¡¯t you guys tell me what¡¯s going on? I¡¯m kinda lacking in an explanation as to well, everything.¡± He says as everyone else sits down.

    Hlin is the one who speaks up, somewhat surprising Darius. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say everything, only a high priest is given all of the information about the Chosen. What I do know is that the Chosen only come when the System is preparing their world for the coming invasion of The Enemy.¡±

    ¡°And what exactly is The Enemy? I¡¯m still not clear on that.¡± Darius says as he looks towards Hlin. ¡°Well, they usually wear blue and white, and their identification has these symbols around it.¡± Hlin says as she uses a stick to draw an example in the dirt. (??? lvl1) Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Wait, blue and white? The man I talked to was wearing blue and white and talking about The Enemy.¡± Darius shakes his head, looking very confused. ¡°Stop lyin¡¯ kid, everyone knows you can¡¯t talk to The Enemy, they don¡¯t speak. They¡¯re barely more than animals.¡± Vanbok says as he shakes his head while looking at Darius.

    ¡®That doesn¡¯t make sense, I know I talked to that man, why can¡¯t they.¡¯ Darius frowns as he looks at Vanbok. ¡°Okay, well, if that is how you identify The Enemy, what¡¯s mine like?¡± Hlin uses the stick to draw in the dirt again. [Darius lvl 1].

    ¡®Huh, So I¡¯m not considered an enemy because my identification is different¡¯ ¡°Well, I have a feeling I should go and talk to one of the high priests.¡±

    ¡°Then you should come with us, we are going to head back to town, it¡¯s better to travel in numbers.¡± Ashera says as she looks at Darius. ¡°I do have a quest to go to a town, and I should get some more supplies, so yeah I¡¯ll go with you guys.¡± Darius responds before he puts out the fire.

    Once the fire is out Darius goes around to gather his things, before as the rest of the group stands and chats. Once he has everything they set off, walking through the forest towards the west. ¡°So, where exactly are we going?¡± Darius asks as they walk.

    ¡°It¡¯s called Dravale, it¡¯s the provincial capital, we are in the province of Thinid, which is in the Husea Kingdom.¡± Vorbak says with a smile. ¡°You are probably going to want to keep your head down, with your level what it is.¡±

    ¡°And just what does that mean?¡± Darius says as he looks around. ¡°Well, the weak are looked down upon, after all it takes resources to protect them.¡± Reeve says with a smirk as he looks at Darius.

    ¡°So, what I should do some power leveling then? Get my level up quickly?¡±

    ¡°That would help, but it¡¯s not as easy as you would think, it¡¯s hard work to get your level high, and it can be harder depending on your class.¡± Vorbak say nodding. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask about classes, how do they work exactly?¡±

    ¡°You get your first class choice at level 5, based on what how you¡¯ve gained your levels. So if you fight with your spear, for example, you might get warrior, or spearman which is a more powerful class, but it¡¯s far more specialized. If you use spells you could get mage, or sorcerer depending on how you learned your magic.¡±

    ¡°Then there are a lot of things for me to think about.¡± Darius says with a nod before going quiet. He stays that way for the rest of the journey to the city, which takes a few hours. When they get close, climbing a hill, Ashera says ¡°Darius, we are almost there, we¡¯ll be able to see the city from the top of the hill.¡±

    Soon the group crested the hill, the city coming into view. It stretches across the landscape, with walls clearly visible. ¡°Wow.¡± Darius says, causing Varbok to laugh, hitting his back.

 Chapter 7

    It took an hour to get to the city from the hill the sun lowering in the sky by the time they do. The surrounding land being mostly farms, with a few orchards. Darius looks around at the farms ¡®It looks like wheat, so probably oats of some kind at least. But I have no idea what those animals are.¡¯ The animals in question are about half the size of a cow, with brown skin, with a snout like a pig and rounded ears. Darius continues to look around, and they soon get to the gates.

    Darius is a bit surprised that there are no lines or even seemingly guards at the gates. ¡°Why is there no one here stopping people?¡± The group looks at him a bit confused before Ashera says ¡°Why would there be?¡± The group continues to walk as they talk.

    ¡°Well, so no one brings in anything they aren¡¯t supposed to?¡± Darius says as he looks at her confused. ¡°Ah, the only thing that people aren¡¯t supposed to bring in is one of The Enemy, and that would be fairly obvious if they did.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t whomever is in control around here worried about assassins or something?¡± Darius asks. ¡°Not really, if the lord couldn¡¯t deal with something like assassins, he wouldn¡¯t be lord, whoever killed him would be. Except if it was one of The Enemy, in which case there would be a tournament to determine a new lord.¡±

    ¡°Huh, so lordship is based off of strength, neat. It was different back where I¡¯m from, it was largely passed from one generation to the next.¡± The group looks largely confused from this ¡°But, how would anyone get stronger from that? Wouldn¡¯t it just make people weaker.¡± Vanbok says while frowning.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it did, but this is also like 300 years ago on my planet, though there are a few countries that have lords, I don¡¯t think many are like they were when there were a lot of them.¡±

    Darius says with a shrug before he looks around at the houses inside the city. He then looks up towards the sky ¡°We should probably find a place to stay for the night.¡± He says. ¡°Oh, uh, right, I forgot that you don''t have a place to stay. There is an inn near here, it¡¯s called The Dapper Hound, it shouldn''t be too expensive. You have money right?¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Darius nods ¡°Right, yeah, I got a quest and the rewards are some silver coins, I think.¡± He then checks his quest log.

    <hr>

    New Quest: Find Civilization

    Objective 1: Find another person. (Complete)

    Description: Alone in a forest with what you need to survive. Find some people to help figure out what¡¯s going on.

    Reward: 10 silver coins and coin pouch.

    <hr>

    The coin pouch appears in his hand, before he puts it in a pocket. ¡°So, how many nights should I be able to get for 10 silver coins?¡± Ashera thinks for a couple of seconds ¡°Probably about a week, if you get food along with the room.¡±

    ¡°Right, sounds good, where exactly is the inn you were talking about?¡± Darius asks. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there, you guys head on to the barracks without me.¡± Ashera says before she leads Darius to the inn.  They don¡¯t talk as they walk, and they soon arrive at the inn. ¡°Thank you for bringing me here Ashera.¡± He says smiling as he looks at her. ¡°It¡¯s no problem Darius, I¡¯m sure I can come back tomorrow to show you around if you¡¯d like.¡±

    ¡°I would like that yes, thank you, anyway, good night.¡± He says before he heads into the inn, looking around it a little. Most of the people inside look towards him, but after that initial glance ignore him. He walks towards the bar, before the hostess comes over ¡°Hello dear, is there something you¡¯d like?¡± She asks him. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am, could I get a room for a couple of nights?¡±

    ¡°That will be 3 silvers.¡± She says with a smile, nodding as he hands over the coins. ¡°Your room is at the top of the stairs, to the right. You can get your food down here, or I can have it brought up.¡±

    ¡°Could I get it brought up please?¡± He asks as he looks at her, smiling. ¡°Sure thing dear.¡± She says with a nod before she goes back to the kitchen. He yawns before he heads up the stairs, going into the room. It¡¯s a somewhat small room, with a straw bed, and a small desk. Darius yawns as he sits at the desk. ¡®So, I need to talk with a high priest, find some way to get more money, and hopefully find some people from earth.¡¯

    He soon hears a knock at the door, so he stands to open it, smiling when he sees a waitress with his food. ¡°Thank you.¡± he says as he takes the plate and cutlery from her, taking it to the desk. ¡°If you need anything else, feel free to come down and ask any of us.¡± The waitress says before she closes the door. Darius sits down at the desk again, looking down at what looks like some kind of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. He quickly eats and once done takes his dishes downstairs he gives them to a waitress, before he goes back upstairs. He lays on his bed and he takes a while to go to sleep, not having any strange dreams as he sleeps.

 Chapter 8

    In the morning Darius wakes up to someone knocking on the door to his room. He groaned as he gets up, saying ¡°I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up.¡± before he walks towards the door. He opens it as he says ¡°Yes?¡±

    The waitress from last night is standing at the door ¡°There is a woman here to see you, sir.¡± She says before she turns to leave. ¡°Oh, uh, thank you.¡± Darius says before he stretches and leaves the room. He closes the door to his room behind him before he goes downstairs, looking around for Ashera.

    Darius becomes slightly confused as he looks around, not seeing her. He jumps in surprise when someone pokes him in the side. He looks towards the person, frowning. He¡¯s surprised when he sees that it¡¯s Hlin. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He asks, confused. ¡°Ashera is busy right now, and I have to go to the temple, so I was asked to give you a brief tour.¡± Hlin says as she looks around. ¡°So come on.¡± She then heads out of the inn, Darius following her.

    ¡°There are three districts of the city, Market Square, The Low district, and The High district. The temple is in the Low District, and I was told to bring you to the Market district, to show you around it.¡± She leads him through town, pointing out a blacksmith''s shop, a magic store, and an Armorer. They soon walk into an outdoor market ¡°You can find just about anything you would need here, though I¡¯d suggest going to one of the stores I pointed out for equipment, it will be much better quality then you would get here.¡±

    ¡°That does make sense, I¡¯ll have a look around, and then we can go to the temple.¡± Darius says as he starts to walk through the market, looking for anything that interests him. He walks through fairly quickly, seeing a stall with some small animals, another with books, and a few food vendors. He makes his way back to Hlin, and they head off towards the Lower district and the temple.

    They make it to the temple after about half an hour. As they walk into the square in front of the temple, Darius looks up at it surprised and confused. ¡°How does that even work?¡± He asks. The temple is a large building, with a few large blocks jutting out randomly from it, seemingly unsupported. The windows of the temple are mostly circular, though they also seem to end randomly, leading to lots of half circles and quarter circles.

    Hlin looks at Darius, and then the temple before she shrugs ¡°It¡¯s held up through divine magic.¡± She then leads him into the temple, going to talk to one of the priests. Darius looks around unsure of who he should talk to, when a middle aged man, with brown hair and green eyes, wearing a priests robes. ¡°Hello young man, you look like someone who needs help.¡± The priest asks. ¡°Well, you aren¡¯t wrong, I¡¯m supposed to talk to a high priest, I was told I¡¯m a chosen.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Ah, well you are in luck, I¡¯m the high priest of this temple, Father Renoldus. A chosen you say? Strange, the nearest town is a 5 day travel, and the others only arrived yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Well, I kinda appeared in the middle of the forest, and I have no idea why I appeared there and not a city.¡±

    ¡°Ah, well, Nouet works in strange ways.¡± The priest says as he looks at Darius. ¡°I¡¯m assuming Nouet is the god you follow?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Nouet is our patron god, the god of chaos. He has helped our people live and advance for as long as we¡¯ve been a part of the system.¡±

    ¡°Huh, interesting, is there a god of order? It would only make sense. How long has your people been a part of the system?¡±

    ¡°There are no other gods.¡± Father Renoldus says rather forcefully with a frown. ¡°And we¡¯ve been a part of the system as long as we know, we are the way we are because of the system.¡±

    ¡°Right, okay, no other gods, got it.¡± Darius says with a nod, frowning. ¡®I bet there are other gods, it just wouldn¡¯t make sense for a god of chaos to make something like the system, besides my blessing implies there are three gods.¡¯ ¡°Anyway, what exactly does it mean to be Chosen?¡±

    ¡°Occasionally the System expands and starts to assimilate a new world. It takes people from that world, and brings them to one that it has been on for a long time so they can learn about the system and The Enemy to prepare their world. The Chosen are those people, they usually stay on the world from anywhere between 6 months to a year.¡± Renoldus says.

    ¡°That makes some sense I guess. Another question I have for you is what are blessings?¡± Darius asks, while Renoldus looks at him surprised ¡°You have a blessing already? You must have done something to earn the favour of Nouet, he doesn¡¯t give out blessings lightly.¡±

    Darius shakes his head as he looks at Renoldus ¡°There isn¡¯t really anything that special I¡¯ve done that I can think of. Certainly not anything that would attract the attention of a god.¡±

    ¡°You must have done something, but I won¡¯t pry on that more, Nouet has his reasons after all. Is there any other questions you have?¡±

    ¡°Yes actually, I¡¯m wondering how to use magic. That and if I could get some help on what I should put my attribute points in.¡±

    ¡°Well, magic largely depends on what you believe in, it¡¯s possible to learn magic by exposing yourself to the elements. Or you could buy books on magic and study them. As for your attribute points, you could wait until you get your class. It will show you what would be best for you to focus on, or you could put your attribute points in something you want to focus on in an attempt to get a class that focuses on it.¡±

    ¡°Right, thank you for your help Father, I think that¡¯s everything I need at the moment.¡± Darius says with a small smile. ¡°Very well, if you need anything else you can come back and ask for me. Farewell.¡± Renoldus says before he walks away from Darius. Darius then looks around for Hlin, but not seeing her he leaves the temple, heading back towards the inn.

 Chapter 9

    Darius makes his way towards the inn, looking around at the buildings as he does. He passes the magic shop that Hlin had pointed out, and he stops as he thinks about if he should go in or not. ¡®Well, I might as well go in, the worst thing that can happen is that I can¡¯t afford anything.¡¯

    Darius then walks into the magic shop, looking around a little as a little bell rings above the door. There is a large amount of books on bookshelves, as well as a few display cases with weapons and wands. He looks around as he walks towards the bookshelves, looking over the books. A man walks through a doorway in the back of the shop ¡°Ah, hello sir, is there anything you are looking for?¡± The man asks.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to learn magic, unfortunately I don¡¯t have much money at the moment.¡± Darius says while he looks towards the man. The man is fairly tall, with red hair, and purple eyes. ¡°Ah, well, there are a few books for those who have a budget. They are just over here.¡± He says as he walks over to a bookshelf, taking a couple of books off of it. Darius follows the man to the bookshelf, looking at the titles of the books the man is holding. ¡®Cheap Magic¡¯ as well as ¡®Magic for Beginners on A Budget.¡¯

    ¡°And how much would these cost?¡± Darius asks as he looks at the books. ¡°Well, Cheap magic is 2 silvers, and Magic for Beginners is 5.¡± The man says as he looks over Darius. ¡°Okay, right, I can afford either, which would you suggest is better?¡± Darius asks while he looks at the books.

    ¡°For someone in your situation I¡¯d suggest Magic for Beginners.¡± The man says as he holds out the book. Darius nods and reaches into his coin pouch, pulling out the 5 coins for him. Darius takes the book from him, and gives him the coins. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± he says with a smile as he turns to leave the store. ¡°You be careful now, Magic isn¡¯t a toy to play around with.¡± The man says as Darius does.

    ¡°Oh I have no plans to play around.¡± Darius shakes his head while he leaves. He heads back to the inn, planning to read the book as long as he can. He doesn¡¯t pay much attention to what¡¯s around him as he walks back, but he manages to avoid running into anyone. Darius quickly gets back to the inn, nodding towards the innkeeper as he walks up the stairs and back to his room.

    He sits down at the desk before he opens the book, when he is surprised by a screen popping up.

    <hr>

    Skill Book Acquired

    Would you like to use Skill Book [Magic for Beginners on A Budget.]?

    [Yes] [No]

    <hr>

    Darius looks at the screen surprised ¡®I didn¡¯t realize skill books were a thing, but that is good to know.¡¯  ¡°Yes.¡±

    <hr>

    Skill Book UsedThis book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    You have gained the skill [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 1]

    Knowledge of Magic Increased

    Mana cost of Beginner Spells reduced by 1%

    Casting time of Beginner Spells Reduced by 2%

    You have gained the Beginner Spells [Fire Bolt lvl 1] [Ice Shard lvl 1] [Rock Wall lvl 1] [Air Blade lvl 1] [Arcane Shield lvl 1]

    <hr>

    ¡°Holy shit.¡± Darius says as he looks at the screen, shaking his head from the number of spells he now has access to. He stands up, holding out a hand as he says. ¡°Arcane shield.¡± A small golden shimmering barrier appears in front of his hand, which moves up his arm as he thinks about where he wants it. ¡°Well, this is awesome, let¡¯s see Status.¡±

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 1(3%)

    Class: None

    Strength: 12

    Constitution: 14

    Endurance: 13

    Dexterity: 12

    Intelligence: 10

    Wisdom: 12

    Luck: 5

    Health: 70/70  HP Regen: 34/hr

    Stamina: 75/75 Sp Regen: 18/min

    Mana: 50/60 MP Regen:30/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 1] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 1]

    Spell list: [Fire Bolt lvl 1] [Ice Shard lvl 1] [Rock Wall lvl 1] [Air Blade lvl 1] [Arcane Shield lvl 1]

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    <hr>

    ¡®Okay, looks like using that spell cost ten Mana, which is good to know, I wonder how much damage it will mitigate before it gets destroyed. I¡¯ll have to do some testing.¡¯ He shrugs as he looks down at it, before he decides to go down to the bar. He leaves his room, walking downstairs before he looks around. He sees Ashera, Hlin, and Vanbok sitting at a table in the corner of the room. He walks over to the table as he says ¡°Hey guys.¡±

    The three look towards him as he walks over ¡°Well there you are, I figured you would end up back here after Hlin lost track of you.¡± Ashera says with a smile. ¡°Yeah, I just made a stop between the temple and here before I came back, so, where are the other two?¡± Darius asks as he sits at the table.

    ¡°Well, Vorbak wanted to train, and I have no clue what Reevee is doing, knowing that stick in the mud something boring.¡± Vanbok says with a shrug. ¡°By the way, what is that you have there?¡± Vanbok asks while looking at the Arcane Shield.

    ¡°Well, that stop I mention was to the magic store, where I bought a book. Through it I learned a skill and a few spells.¡± Darius says as he smiles a little. ¡°But, how? You couldn¡¯t have had enough time to learn anything if you only just got the book.¡± Vanbok says looking surprised and confused.

    ¡°Well, the book was a skill book, which means it probably should have been more expensive than it was.¡± Darius says as he thinks a bit. ¡°What exactly is a skill book?¡± Hlin asks looking at Darius.

    ¡°What do you mean? A skill book is you know, a book you learn a skill from instantly.¡± Darius looks at Hlin confused. ¡°That¡¯s not a thing, you can¡¯t just learn something instantly, it doesn¡¯t work that way.¡± She says shaking her head.

    ¡°That is strange, because it¡¯s exactly what happened, I opened the book, and a screen popped up telling me that I learned a skill, and 5 spells.¡± Darius says shaking his head. ¡°Well, you getting that is pretty good for you, but what are you going to use when you run out of mana?¡± Ashera asks.

    ¡°Well, I already have my spear use skill, so I think I¡¯ll get a spear, probably not a good one, since I only have 2 silver left, I was thinking of going and getting one tomorrow though. I had been planning to read my book for the rest of the day.¡± Darius says shrugging. ¡°We might as well go now, I can probably get you a deal.¡± Ashera says standing up.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really see why not.¡± Darius says as he stands with the rest of them. The group leaves the inn and walks through the city to the blacksmith.

 Chapter 10

    Darius looks around as he follows Ashera, Hlin, and Vanbok towards the blacksmith. He pays a small amount of attention to his surroundings as he practices controlling the Arcane Shield. They shortly arrive at the blacksmith, walking into the shop Darius sees a few racks of weapons and shields. As well as weapons hanging on the walls, there is a door on the back wall, leading deeper into the store.

    Darius looks along the racks, ignoring what¡¯s on the walls, before he finally notices the spears on a rack. He walks over to the rack as the rest of the group goes up to the counter to get the attention of someone from the back of the store.

    Darius spends some time examining the spears, picking them up to do so. He is surprised when a screen pops up.

    <hr>

    Skill Gained [Basic Identification lvl 1]

    Information gained from identification increased by 3%

    Chance of detection decreased by 2%

    Allows the user to identify objects and people.

    It¡¯s useful to learn someones deep dark secrets.

    <hr>

    Darius closes the screen, and looks around, he jumps when he sees someone standing right next to him looking at him intently. ¡°Uh, Hi there?¡± Darius says as he steps back from the woman.

    She looks over him, before she nods ¡°A spear user huh? Not a very good one If I had to guess.¡± Darius frowns a little, looking over her. She is just shorter than Darius, has blue hair, and bright sky blue eyes. ¡°And what makes you say that?¡± He asks as he steps back a bit more.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s obvious you¡¯ve never use a spear before. Sure you could just pick one up and thrust it at someone, but that¡¯s not using a spear properly, there¡¯s an art to it.¡± The woman says as she shakes her head.

    ¡°Well, what weapon would you suggest I use then?¡± He asks looking a little confused. ¡°Well, since you seem to be going mage first, I¡¯d suggest a longsword or another type of sword, sure you are going to need to train to use it, but you won¡¯t have to carry around a giant pole with a pointy end.¡±  Ashera walks up to the woman and pokes her in the side. ¡°I hope you realize you haven¡¯t introduced yourself yet.¡±

    ¡°Ah right, sorry about that, I¡¯m Aenwyn, Ashera¡¯s cousin¡± Aenwyns says as she holds out her hand. Darius cautiously reaches out to shake it, nodding a little. ¡°Well it¡¯s nice to meet you Aenwyn, I¡¯m Darius.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°So, you say a sword would be best for me, how about a short sword, like a Gladius maybe? Especially since I don¡¯t have a lot of money¡± Darius asks as he looks over towards the racks and racks of swords. ¡°I¡¯m sure we have something you¡¯ll like, you can have a discount, my cousins friends generally get a small one.¡±

    ¡°Well, thank you.¡± Darius says nodding as he follows Aenwyn over to the racks with the swords. He looks over them, unsure which to look at first before he is handed one by Aenwyn. It¡¯s close to a foot long, with a blue-green blade, and a pommel styled like a hawk. ¡°Identification.¡± Darius whispers as he looks at the blade.

    <hr>

    Gladius of the Storm Hawk

    +1 Constitution

    +2 Dexterity

    10% chance to cause people in 1.5 meters to become stunned.

    A sword created from a rare metal, stylized after a magical bird.

    <hr>

    ¡°And just how much would this sword cost me?¡± Darius says after he reads and dismisses the screen. Aenwyn seems to think for a few seconds before she says ¡°Let¡¯s say one silver and five coppers? That¡¯s including a sheath and sword belt¡±

    ¡°That sounds good to me, I¡¯m guessing you can make change?¡± Darius says as he reaches into his coin purse to take out his money. She nods as she takes his coins, heading back to the counter to get him a sword belt and his change. He follows after her ¡°Thank you very much, I¡¯ll be sure to stop in again when I need an upgrade.¡± He says with a smile. ¡°Well come back any time.¡± Aenwyn says as he starts to walk back to the group, leaving with them.

    Once they¡¯ve left the blacksmiths Ashera looks around ¡°Now, we are going to want to get you used to using that sword. Let¡¯s go to the training grounds.¡± Ashera says before she leads the group through the city.

    They soon find themselves at the training grounds of the city, a fairly large area with sand on the ground, a few training dummies, as well as a couple of sparing rings. ¡°Let¡¯s start you off with learning how to swing and stab with a sword, then you can try attacking the dummy a few times, and we¡¯ll end with a spar.¡± Ashera says as she looks at him, seeming to have become a different person entirely. ¡°Uh, yeah, that sounds like a plan.¡± Darius says as he looks around slightly, drawing his sword.

    He spends the next few hours alternating between swinging and stabbing repeatedly. He starts off sloppily, but he slowly improves. Ashera drives him to near exhaustion as she demands he speeds up his strikes. Mid swing Darius is surprised when a screen pops up in front of him.

    <hr>

    Skill Learned [Basic Short Sword Use lvl 1]

    Attacks with Short Sword Deal 2% more damage

    Attacks with Short Sword Cost 3% less stamina

    Grants Basic Knowedge of Sword use

    Finally learned how to use a sword huh? It¡¯s a good skill to have in the world you¡¯ve found yourself in.

    <hr>

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve finally gained the skill, now we can move onto the dummy.¡± Ashera says after she notices his pause from reading. She has Darius use his sword on the dummy for the next couple of hours to improve his stance and to show him common weak points that he could exploit.  He levels up his sword use a few times, getting it to level 3.

    Ashera looks up towards the sky, seeing that it¡¯s getting fairly late. ¡°Right, I think we¡¯ll push off the spar until the morning, let you rest after training today.¡± She says as she nods, looking at Darius. ¡°Thanks.¡± He says, have been sweating buckets for most of the afternoon. ¡°You best get back and sleep early. After all, we¡¯ll be getting you up bright and early for the spar and more training.¡±

    Darius thanks Ashera again before he leaves the training area and makes his way back into the inn, asking for some food to be brought up to his room before he goes up. He lays on his bed, groaning as he closes his eyes for a moment.

 Chapter 11

    Darius groans as he wakes up, he looks out the window to see the sun starting to rise. He stands from his bed and stretches, yawning as his back cracks a few times. He picks up his book from the desk, putting on his sword belt, before he heads out of the room and downstairs to the main room of the inn.

    Darius gets a quick breakfast to go, before he heads out and goes towards the market, planning on getting a backpack and some supplies he could use. He gets to the market square, finding that there are a few stalls set up here and there. He walks over to one that has backpacks and buys the cheapest for 2 coppers. Darius then goes and gets a tinderbox as well as a waterskin, using his final 3 coppers.

    After putting everything into his new backpack, Darius walks over to the training grounds, seeing he is the first from the group there, he starts to practice his magic on the dummies, mostly using [Ice Shard], or [Air Blade]. He finds that Ice shard uses 5 mana and makes a 2 inch long shard of ice that fires at the dummy, and that air blade uses 1.5 mana per second but is essentially another sword he can use to attack with.

    Once he runs out of mana he practices with his sword normally, not even realizing that Ashera has shown up and is practicing next to him, having seen him practicing his spells. They spend the next two hours practicing, Darius keeping a somewhat calm pace, with some frantic bursts of energy, to allow himself to regen stamina. He gains another level in [Basic Sword Use] getting him up to level 4.

    Once Darius sees his mana has regenerated, he finally looks around and is startled by Ashera standing next to him. ¡°Okay, I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you there, I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t want to interrupt my practice?¡± Darius asks.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I didn¡¯t feel a need to, since you made very few mistakes, and now looks like a good time to have our spar.¡± Ashera says before she walks over towards one of the sparing circles. Darius follows her, looking around a little, but is relieved when he sees that the others aren¡¯t here. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit dangerous to spar with everything? Especially if I use my magic?¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Well, due to your level and only just having gained access to magic you won¡¯t be doing too much damage with it yet, I just have to be careful not to hurt you too much.¡± Ashera says with a shrug as she grabs the sword at her side, unsheathing it. Darius unsheathes his own sword before he gets into a proper stance. ¡°Right, well, let¡¯s get started, shall we?¡±

    Ashera nods ¡°I¡¯ll let you have the first blow.¡± He nods as he looks at her, squinting before he points a finger at her whispering ¡°Ice Shard¡± A shard of ice forms in front of his finger at first slowly but growing quicker. He points it at her, before it blasts towards Ashera, it hits her shoulder shattering completely and seeming to have done nothing. ¡°Well shit.¡± Darius says as Ashera suddenly runs towards him.

    Darius raises his sword to block casting [Arcane Shield]. The shimmering golden shield appears in front of his sword while Ashera brings her sword down to hit him. It crashes against the Arcane Shield, quickly draining another 10 from his mana before shattering the shield. He deflects the blow away from him, finding it easier than it would have been otherwise.

    Darius goes for a stab, but Ashera quickly dodges to the side and in return slashes at Darius with her sword. He is unable to get his sword in position to block, trying to dodge out of the way but only managing to fall to the ground while getting a cut across his arm. He winces as he glances at his arm, but he raises his other hand to point at Ashera ¡°Fire Bolt.¡± The bolt of fire blasts from his hand, hitting Ashera¡¯s chest. It lightly singes her armor, otherwise doing nothing to her. She puts her sword to his neck with a smirk. ¡°Looks like you need some more work.¡± She says with a nod before she pulls her sword back and helps him up.

    ¡°I could have told you that, I¡¯m still only level 1, and you are level 20.¡± Darius says shaking his head. ¡°That¡¯s true, but levels aren¡¯t everything, you did get a few hits in, though they would have done more if they had been with your sword.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, I¡¯ll have to work on both my magic and my swordplay, especially if I want to use both.¡± Darius says with a shrug. ¡°We can keep working at it, I have time before I have to go back out.¡± Ashera says with a nod.

    They spend until noon sparing and having Darius practice his swordplay and magic. After they finish their last match Darius says ¡°I should probably go if I want to make it back to my camp before nightfall. It¡¯s been nice meeting you Ashera, thank you for all of your help.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a pleasure Darius, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again.¡± Ashera says with a nod, smiling. ¡°I¡¯m sure we will.¡± Darius says as he puts his sword back in its sheath, leaving the training field.

    Darius makes his way out of the city, looking around a little as he heads back towards the forest. It takes him a few hours, but soon he gets to a point that he has to use his map to guide him back to his camp.

 Chapter 12

    Darius eventually arrives back at his camp, finding it to be more or less how he left it. It looks like some animals had come through it, but other than that nothing has changed. Darius goes to hunt a hare for food, which takes him half an hour. He comes back to camp and gathers some wood so he can start a fire.

    He starts a fire quickly, butchering the hare. He sets some meat on the rocks to cook, before he cleans the skin and stretches it with some rocks. Once the meat finishes cooking Darius eats it quickly before he sits in front of the fire for a while, just looking at it. He soon douses the fire, covering it with dirt. He then goes into the lean-to and lays down to sleep.

    In the morning Darius slowly wakes up, looking around a little. He frowns as he hears sounds coming from outside the lean-to. He slowly and quietly gets up and goes towards the door to it. Darius peaks outside, his eyes widening in surprise when he sees men and women in white and blue armor outside looking around his camp. He slowly goes to grab his sword belt, putting it on before he goes back to the door, looking at the identification above the peoples heads. (??? lvl 15)

    ¡®Well shit, I can¡¯t fight them, it might be best to just talk with them if I can.¡¯ Darius looks around, seeing that there are 5 of them, he slowly walks out the door, holding up his hands. Darius is immediately noticed by one of them. ¡°Who are you?¡± A human woman says as she holds her bow, not yet drawn, but pointing at Darius.

    ¡°My name is Darius, as you can see, I¡¯m quite harmless.¡± He says as he gestures above his head. The rest of the people in white armor are looking at Darius now, frowning as they look above his head. They gather together and start to whisper to each other leaving the woman to watch him. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    After about half a minute of discussion they turn and walk towards him ¡°Right, you are going to be coming with us.¡± The man wearing the fanciest armor says, presumably their leader. ¡°Wait, what? Why?¡± ¡°You are an unknown, so we are taking you prisoner.¡± The man says as he grabs some manacles from his side. ¡°Are you going to come along calmly or are you going to cause trouble?¡±

    Darius frowns as he looks at him, but he sighs as he holds his hands out in front of him. ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to cause trouble, I¡¯m not an idiot.¡± The man nods as he puts the manacles on Darius¡¯ wrists. He then takes Darius¡¯ sword belt off him, putting it in his pack. ¡°Can I at least get your word I¡¯ll get that back once this is all cleared up?¡± Darius asks while he frowns, looking at the man. ¡°Very well, you have my word that if you are not deemed a threat to everything you can have your weapon back.¡±

    The group soon starts to walk through the forest, heading directly opposite the way to Dravale. No one talks as they walk, leaving the forest in a few hours and walking across the plains. The group continues to walk through the day, only stopping at night to sleep. They set up a watch, but the night passes uneventfully. In the morning they have a quick breakfast before they continue walking. ¡°Prisoner, today we are going to be reaching the city of Aflita, there you will be judged and your fate determined.¡± The leader of the group says as he looks at Darius. ¡°You say that as if I¡¯m guilty of anything, I haven¡¯t done anything wrong.¡± Darius says shaking his head. ¡°That may be, but you will still be judged.¡±

    Darius continues to frown as they lead him towards the city, which after another couple of hours of walking comes into view. It has large walls, made of some white stone, with blue banners hanging from it. It takes them half an hour to get to the city, where they are stopped by some guards. ¡°What is your business in the city?¡± A guard asks the leader of the group. ¡°Sir, we are returning from patrol where we found an unknown¡± ¡°An unknown huh, take him to the church, they will know what to do with him.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    The group is let into the city, Darius looks around at the buildings confused, finding that they all look the same. He is lead through the city soon finding himself in front of what he guesses is the church, but it¡¯s strange in that it looks to be laid out in a spiral pattern.

 Chapter 13

    The group leads Darius into the church, walking along the spiral until they make it to a door towards the back of the main chapel. The leader of the group knocks on the door, and they wait as they hear a chair move. The door soon opens and a priest says ¡°Yes? What is it?¡±

    ¡°Sir, we found an unknown in the Lunenset Forest, we brought it here right away.¡± The priest nods and opens the door ¡°Well, bring it in and we¡¯ll see what you¡¯ve found.¡± The leader of the group grabs Darius¡¯ arm, pulling him into the room with the priest before the priest closes the door.

    Darius frowns as he is brought over to a chair in the room which he is forced to sit in. He looks around the room a little before he looks towards the priest. ¡°So, what now?¡± Darius asks. The priest looks at him surprised ¡°Well, that is interesting, an unknown that can actually speak. That is very rare indeed.¡±

    ¡°Well this ¡®unknown¡¯ has a name.¡± Darius says while shaking his head and frowning. ¡°And what might that be?¡± The priest asks. ¡°Darius, my name is Darius.¡± ¡°Interesting, quite interesting, and what exactly are you?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean what am I? I¡¯m a human.¡± The priest laughs at that. ¡°If you were a human you¡¯d have the same identifiers as the rest of us.¡± ¡°What, so you think because my identifier is different I¡¯m not human? Would me being a Chosen change anything about that?¡±

    The priest looks surprised. ¡°Well, that certainly could change things, but that doesn¡¯t explain why your identifier is different.¡± ¡°Well, what does change them exactly?¡± ¡°If you manage to change your race somehow, blessings, curses, and even some diseases.¡±

    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    ¡°So, a blessing could change it? I do have a blessing. It¡¯s called The Blessing of The Three.¡± ¡°That would most likely explain it, though that is a blessing I¡¯ve never heard of, how did you gain it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know, I got it shortly after I woke up, which was out in the forest.¡± ¡°Very strange, especially because Myrdou wouldn¡¯t send a chosen out into the forest, but you are speaking the truth.¡± ¡°Wait, you can tell I¡¯m not lying?¡± ¡°Yes, all priests of Myrdou are given a blessing that allows them to know if someone tells a lie in their presence.¡±

    ¡°So you know that I¡¯m not lying when I say I¡¯m not a threat and that I don¡¯t want to hurt anyone?¡± ¡°Yes, you are telling the truth, your blessing must be what has changed your identifier, so I think we can remove you as an unknown.¡± The priest grabs a piece of paper and writes something on it, before using magic Darius can¡¯t identify on it. ¡°This will is your identification, it¡¯s to let people know you aren¡¯t classified as an unknown.¡±

    ¡°Right, that¡¯s certainly a good thing to have, but I do wonder what magic that was?¡± Darius says as he takes the paper from the priest. ¡°Ah, yes you probably haven¡¯t seen much if any divine magic, it¡¯s magic given by Myrdou to his followers, there are five forms of divine magic, just as there are five types of elemental magic. It¡¯s usually based on your class, Clerics, Paladins, and Priests each have different forms. The last two classes are Holy Summoners, as well as White Mages. Of course there is some small crossover between classes at lower levels, but each are separated as they are due to what they gain at higher classes.¡±

    ¡°Well, that is certainly great to know, but with there being divine magic, isn¡¯t there also dark magic as well?¡± Darius asks, before he pauses as he looks at the priest. ¡°No, there is no such thing, and it is foolish to ask such questions.¡± The priest says, looking angry as he looks at Darius. ¡°Now, I think it is best if you leave¡± Darius nods slightly as he says ¡°Right, uh, thank you for all of your help.¡± While he walks out the door, following the leader of the group that brought him here.

    Darius looks at the leader as he says ¡°Do you happen to know a way I could make some money fairly quickly? I¡¯m kinda broke.¡± ¡°Well, you could try the adventurers guild, they probably have something you could do.¡± ¡°That sounds great, but where is it?¡± ¡°Follow the street we brought you through until you find a large building that has a sword and shield sign on it¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Darius says with a nod before he leaves the church.

    Darius walks back down the street, looking around as he does. He takes a while to finally find the building with the sword and shield sign on it, but he walks inside.

 Chapter 14

    Darius looks around the adventurers guild, finding the main hall to be similar to a tavern. There is a large number of tables and chairs, as well as a bar against one wall. Against another wall there is a receptionist''s desk, as well as some bulletin boards. He notices everyone is staring at him, so he quickly walks to the receptionist¡¯s desk. He looks over the woman at the desk, she has brown hair, grey eyes, light skin, and she is wearing something similar to a suit.

    ¡°Hi, uh, I¡¯m new around here, I was hoping I could become a licensed adventurer if possible.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll need you to fill out some paperwork before I can let you do anything else.¡± She says as she reaches under the desk, coming back with a small stack of paper for Darius to fill out. ¡°It¡¯s mostly waivers and such, what¡¯s important is your level, class if you have one, skills, and spells if you have any.¡±

    Darius looks over the paper, nodding as he picks it up ¡°Uh, do you have a pen or quill or something I could use?¡± The woman grabs a pen for him, handing it to him. He then walks over to a free table and starts to fill out paperwork. He reads through the wavers, frowning slightly ¡°Possible dismemberment, disintegration, exsanguination, beheading, and parasitic control? Well those are all pretty shitty ways to die.¡±

    He shrugs as he finishes off the rest of the paperwork, getting up from the table and heading over to the desk. ¡°I think I¡¯ve finished everything.¡± He says with a smile as he hands over the paperwork. The woman looks over it ¡°Everything looks in order, though, are you sure you want to do this at your level? I¡¯m not even sure how you could be that level at your age.¡±

    ¡°Yes I¡¯m sure, and as for how, well, I¡¯m a chosen.¡± The woman nods as she looks over Darius. ¡°That would do it, knowing magic at your level is slightly impressive, it¡¯s very rare. Since you are new I should probably explain how things work. You will be given your adventurer badge, which depending on your level and your reputation will be a certain material. The materials are ceramic, lead, copper, tin, bronze, iron, steel, silver, gold, and platinum. Every ten levels you move up a material. If you are viewed favourably you could become a lead before your level gets to that point. If your reputation is bad, at your level, you could be banned from being an adventurer.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Right, that makes sense to me, so at my level I am a ceramic adventurer, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, I have a badge for you here.¡± She says as she reaches under the desk again, pulling out a small badge of a sword and shield, which she hands to Darius. ¡°Now, you can take any contract from the first board, those are all ceramic rated quests. The second board is split between lead, and copper. The third between tin, bronze, iron, and steel. And the fourth between silver, gold, and platinum, there are rarely quests in those grades.¡±

    ¡°Right, is there anything else that I need to know at the moment?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s everything you need to know right now, there is the adventurers guild rule book you should look over at some point, but if you¡¯d prefer you could do that later.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll do that, thank you for your help.¡± Darius says with a nod as he walks over to the first bulletin board.

    Darius takes some time to look over the papers pinned to the board. He sees a lot of cliche quests, like killing 10 slimes, or gather 5 herbs. He shrugs after a little while and he grabs a quest to clear a farmers field of rabbits, which causes a screen to pop up.

    <hr>

    New Quest: Clear the McRoy farm

    Objective 1: Kill the 12 rabbits infesting the McRoy farm

    Description: Franklin McRoy posted a quest in the adventurers guild to clear his farm of rabbits threatening his livelihood.

    Jeez you must like killing poor defenseless rabbits.

    <hr>

    ¡®Well, that is kind of strange, but nothing too important.¡¯ Darius shrugs as he opens his map, finding that there is a waypoint leading to a farm outside the city. He nods as he walks out of the adventurers guild. He walks through the city again, keeping an eye out for anything interesting as he does. After a little while Darius makes it to the gates of the city, looking around as he starts to walk out, seeing rows and rows of fields.

 Chapter 15

    It takes Darius a little while to find the McRoy farm, but he soon does and he looks around as he walks up the road to it. Someone walks towards Darius, presumably Franklin McRoy, as the man is wearing overalls and a large hat. ¡°Franklin I¡¯m guessing?¡± Darius says as he stops in front of the man. ¡°Tha¡¯s right, you are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Darius, an adventurer.¡± He then pulls out the badge he got in the guild.

    ¡°Tha¡¯s good, if ya follow me I¡¯ll show ya the little bastards.¡± Franklin turns around and walks back down the road towards his farm, with Darius following him. After 5 minutes of walking Franklin turns into one of the fields, leading Darius through it, they soon arrive at a patch of barren land that has a large hole in it. ¡°Tha bastards are down there, I¡¯ll let ya work.¡± Franklin then turns around and walks back through the field.

    Darius nods as he looks down at the hole, frowning slightly. ¡®I want to be smart about this, I¡¯m thinking of putting up a few earth walls, but that will get rid of my mana real quick. Since I want to focus on magic, I need more mana, or more regen. Right now the problem is mostly regen, so let¡¯s go with regen.¡±

    Darius opens the status, and puts his attribute points in wisdom. An unexpected screen pops up in front of his status screen.

    <hr>

    Trait gained: [Patient]

    Double mana regeneration gained from wisdom.

    Patient huh, I wasn¡¯t expecting you to get something like this. Seems a bit too forward thinking of you.

    <hr>

    Darius then shakes his head ¡®Well shit, I guess increasing your attributes to a certain point unlocks traits then? That¡¯s good to know about.¡¯

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 1(18%)

    Class: NoneThis content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Strength: 12

    Constitution: 14

    Endurance: 13

    Dexterity: 12

    Intelligence: 10

    Wisdom: 17

    Luck: 5

    Health: 70/70        HP Regen: 34/hr

    Stamina: 75/75 Sp Regen: 18/min

    Mana: 60/60 MP Regen:72/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 1] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 1] [Basic Identification lvl 1] [Basic Sword Use lvl 4]

    Spell list: [Fire bolt lvl 1] [Ice shard lvl 1] [Rock wall lvl 1] [Air blade lvl 1] [Arcane shield lvl 1]

    Traits: [Patient]

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    <hr>

    Darius nods as he looks around a little ¡®Well, that makes it a bit better, I now gain a little over 1 mana a minute.¡¯ He then looks back down at the hole, before he looks around and walks a bit to one side. ¡°Rock Wall¡± As he casts the spell the ground in front of him shakes slightly before a 10 metre long section lifts up to 3 metres in height. He does this again behind the hole and on  the other side, paying enough attention to see that nothing has left the hole yet.

    Darius walks around to look into the hole again, waiting for his mana to refill to full. After 25 minutes, his mana is finally full again, before he looks down into the hole. He points his hand at it before casting ¡°Fire Bolt.¡± The fire blasts into the hole, ripping through the ground. Darius draws his sword while he waits in front of the hole, and soon he hears something coming up it.

    He blasts a few more Fire Bolts into the hole, hearing some quiet screams from inside it. He soon runs out of mana, stepping back from the hole as a few rabbits come running out of it. It takes Darius some time, but he manages to kill all of the rabbits that have come outside. He then checks the quest screen.

    <hr>

    Quests

    Clear the McRoy farm

    Objective 1: Kill the 12 rabbits infesting the McRoy farm (12/12)

    Description: Franklin McRoy posted a quest in the adventurers guild to clear his farm of rabbits threatening his livelihood.

    <hr>

    Darius sighs, nodding as he looks around a little. He then turns to walk back through the field, leaving the den and the bodies of the rabbits to go look for Franklin. It takes him a while to find Franklin at the farmhouse, but when he does he says ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve killed them all, the bodies are still there if you want to use them for something.¡± ¡°Ah tha¡¯s good, I¡¯ll get ya pay. I¡¯m sure I can use tha bodies for something.¡± Franklin says as he walks into the farmhouse, he comes out a little while, holding a coin pouch. ¡°Here¡¯s ya pay, 10 silver.¡± Franklin takes the coins from the pouch and hands them to Darius.

    Darius nods as he takes the coins ¡°Thanks Franklin.¡± He says while he puts the coins in his pouch before he turns and starts to walk back towards the town.

 Chapter 16

    Darius soon makes his way back to the town, finding himself in the line leading through the gates. He waits in line, which goes fairly quickly, until he gets to the guard letting people in. The guard looks over him, pausing when he sees his identifier, he frowns as he says ¡°Identification?¡± Darius nods as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his adventurers badge as well as the paper the priest had given him. ¡°Here you are sir.¡±

    The guard looks over everything, making sure it¡¯s all in order, before he nods and hands back the paper and badge. ¡°What¡¯s your purpose in Taset?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to report to the adventurers guild, and then I¡¯m going to find a place to stay for the night.¡± ¡°Very well, welcome to Taset.¡± The guard says as he steps to the side to allow Darius to pass.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Darius says as he walks past the guard, looking around as he heads towards the adventurers guild. He soon walks into the guild again, and he walks up to the receptionist desk. The woman from before is still there ¡°Hello again.¡± Darius says as he looks at her, smiling softly. ¡°Ah, I was wondering if I¡¯d see you again today.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just coming in to report that the quest I¡¯d accepted was completed, and also if you know of any place that I can stay for the night?¡±

    ¡°Well, that was very quick, good job. And yes, I do know of a place you should be able to stay, It¡¯s called The Stone Crossbowman, it¡¯s just down the street, you¡¯ll recognize the sign easily. Tell them Jannet sent you and you should get a good deal.¡± ¡°Well thank you Jannet, I think I¡¯ll do that. Have a good evening¡± Darius says with a nod as he turns and leaves the guild.

    Darius walks down the street, soon seeing what looks like a stone crossbow hanging as a sign. ¡°Well that must be it.¡± He mutters to himself before he walks into the building, looking around. He sees that it is in fact the inn. He walks towards the bar, saying ¡°Hi there, I¡¯m looking for a room for tonight, Jannet sent me.¡± to the man standing behind it.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Ah, a new adventurer are you?¡± ¡°Yes, I am, I¡¯m guessing Jannet mostly recommends this place to new adventurers?¡± ¡°Mostly those she thinks are going to end up big.¡± ¡°Well, how much for a room for tonight?¡± Darius asks with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll take 5 copper.¡± Darius pulls a silver coin from his pouch, handing it to the man. ¡°Here you go.¡± The man then hands Darius his change. ¡°Your room is at the end of the hall upstairs on the right.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Darius then goes up the stairs and to his room.

    He yawns as he lays on the bed. He closes his eyes and quickly falls asleep. After an unknown amount of time he finds himself in a black void. ¡°W-what¡¯s going on?¡± He says as he tries to look around. He hears a woman''s laughter before the void changes, becoming the main room of the adventurers guild. ¡°You are doing quite well for yourself, meeting both of my childrens people, though you could be doing better.¡± The woman from his last strange dream appearing behind the bar.

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean by that? Your childrens people?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve met two seperate groups of people who follow gods of course.¡± ¡°Wait, are you saying Myrdou and Nouet are your children?¡±

    She claps as she says ¡°Ding, ding, ding, you¡¯ve got it. They are my boys.¡± ¡°So, if their followers are their people as you¡¯ve put it, what am I?¡± ¡°You my boy, are mine, I chose you, you need to grow strong if you want to protect the earth, and you are lucky enough to have drawn my interest. What you need to do right now is get people to follow you, and by extension me, to increase both of our strength¡±

    ¡°That seems like it won¡¯t be an easy thing to do.¡± ¡°Oh no, it certainly won¡¯t be, especially among Myrdou¡¯s followers, but if you look in the little cracks that they don¡¯t want people to see you will find the discontent and the broken. They will be the easiest to start with, besides I wouldn¡¯t ask something like this without giving a few gifts.¡± She appears in front of Darius, putting her hand on his head again. This time it feels like something flows into him, causing him to feel bloated.

    ¡°What did you just do?¡± He asks with a groan. ¡°Oh I just gave you a gift, you¡¯ll see when you open your status, now Sleep.¡± And with that Darius blacks out.

 Chapter 17

    Darius groans as he opens his eyes, looking up at the ceiling. He slowly sits up with a hand on his head. ¡°Urgh, that hurts.¡± He slowly shakes his head with a frown. ¡®I should probably check my Status.¡¯ ¡°Status.¡±

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 3(0%)

    Class: None

    Strength: 12

    Constitution: 14

    Endurance: 13

    Dexterity: 12

    Intelligence: 10

    Wisdom: 17

    Luck: 5

    Unassigned Points: 10

    Health: 90/90  HP Regen: 42/hr

    Stamina: 95/95 Sp Regen: 26/min

    Mana: 80/80 MP Regen:80/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 1] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 1] [Basic Identification lvl 1] [Basic Sword Use lvl 4]

    Spell list: [Fire bolt lvl 2] [Ice shard lvl 1] [Rock wall lvl 1] [Air blade lvl 1] [Arcane shield lvl 1]

    Traits: [Patient]

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    <hr>

    Blessing Update: Blessing of The Three

    Health, Mana, and Stamina regen +2 per level, +25% exp gain

    Increased chance of convincing the discontent to follow you.

    Ability to determine the loyalty of those you talk with.

    <hr>

    New Quest: Gain a Following

    Objective 1: Get 10 people to follow you.

    Objective 2: Set up a base in neutral ground.

    Description: You¡¯ve been asked by Teqraura to start your own following.

    Reward: Access to settlement control system.

    Oh look, a god has given you a quest, how lucky for you.

    <hr>

    ¡®That probably explains this headache.¡¯ Darius says while he shakes his head. He then puts 5 points into Wisdom, and 5 into Intelligence, bringing his mana up to 105, and his mana regen up to 100. He shakes his head a little, before he heads out of his room. He heads downstairs, looking around a little, before he heads out of the inn. ¡®Now, where would I find the discontent. A place like this probably has some slums, so I guess there.¡¯

    He looks around before he starts to walk through the city. After a while of searching he finds a beggar. He walks up to the man saying ¡°Excuse me, do you happen to know where the slums are?¡± The man looks up at Darius ¡°And just what would someone like you want to do there?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, how about I give you these to tell me?¡± Darius says as he holds up two copper coins.

    ¡°Make it three and you¡¯ve got a deal.¡± Darius nods as he takes another coin from his coin pouch and hands them to the man. ¡°Head down the road until you can see the wall, and then turn east and keep going.¡± ¡°Thank you¡± Darius says with a nod as he turns and starts to walk.

    Darius soon notices the buildings becoming more dilapidated and run down. He enters a small square, with something of a market in it, full of people in poor clothes. ¡®Right, I¡¯ve found the slums, now what? Maybe an inn?¡¯

    Darius looks around the market, before he notices a sign on a building that says The Rabid Rat with an image of a rat drinking from a tankard on it. He walks over to it, and heads inside, looking around a little. He finds that it¡¯s a fairly run down place, with mostly standing tables, though a few normal tables and chairs. He goes up to the bar and asks for an ale, before he asks the bartender. ¡°So, would you happen to know anyone who isn¡¯t happy around here, and would like to go out and build a life?¡±

    The bartender looks at him strangely, before he says ¡°I might know a few people like that, but it¡¯ll cost you.¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°A silver.¡± Darius nods a little as he takes a silver from his coin pouch and hands it over. The bartender nods before he points towards a corner of the tavern where there is someone wearing a heavy cloak. ¡°Talk to Rinar, he¡¯ll be able to help.¡± ¡°Thanks¡± Darius says before he walks over to the corner with Rinar.

    Darius sits down across from Rinar ¡°So, Rinar right?¡± The person nods. ¡°I¡¯m looking for people who don¡¯t like it here, and want to build a new life, know anyone like that?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can get you a few people like that. But why do you want them?¡± ¡°Oh just a quest I have, besides, there¡¯s nothing wrong with helping people out somewhat.¡± ¡°Huh, a new settlement quest, it¡¯s been a while since there¡¯s been one of those. But why come look for people here, if people knew Myrdou wanted a new settlement they would flock to you.¡±

    Darius shakes his head as he says ¡°Keep it quiet, but this isn¡¯t for Myrdou, so if possible, get people who are discontent with him, and I only need 10 people, alright?¡± ¡°Huh, well, I can get some people together, for lets say 3 silver.¡± Darius sighs, but he nods as he takes out the silver. ¡°Well, have them meet me outside the gates, heading east. I have a spot in mind to build the settlement.¡± ¡°Will do. I¡¯ll have them there in three or four hours.¡± Rinar says as he takes the coins from Darius. Darius then nods and then turns to leave the tavern.

 Chapter 18

    Darius spends the next three hours gathering what supplies he can, mostly rations, but also some tools for construction. He then heads out of the city, looking around for the people Rinar said he would get. Darius is surprised when he finds a group of 20 people, including Rinar waiting a bit away from the city. He walks up to Rinar as he says ¡°Well, this is more than I was expecting, including you.¡± ¡°Well, I felt like a change of pace would be good for me, and the families of the people I told of course want to come along.¡± ¡°Right, well I hope a few of these people can work as hunters, I don¡¯t have enough food for everyone.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, everyone brought what food and possessions they have, and a few of the men are hunters.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, I should probably address them then.¡± Darius says as he walks up to the group, before he speaks up. ¡°Right, hello everyone, I¡¯m Darius, I¡¯m the leader of this little gathering. I know I¡¯m asking quite a bit to have you all pack up and come out to somewhere you don¡¯t know, to build something. But if we all work together we can build up a new town, where people can be safe, and free to do what they want. It¡¯s going to take a lot of work, but I know we can do it. So let¡¯s get going, we have a somewhat long walk ahead of us.¡±

    Darius then starts to walk, as the people start to follow behind him. They walk back to Darius¡¯ camp in a day and a half, finding that it is basically how he had left it. ¡°Alright, this is where I am planning on setting up the settlement, so we will need to start clearing the trees to build houses, as well as have some people out hunting. The main animal I¡¯ve seen around is hares, but there are probably others as well.¡±

    The group splits up into a few smaller groups, one of which is going out to hunt, another going to gather herbs and plants. Sending any children to gather firewood, while the rest are starting to cut down trees. Darius checks his quest screen to see if the quest has been completed.

    <hr>

    Quest: Gain a Following (Completed)

    Objective 1: Get 10 people to follow you. (20/10, Completed)

    Objective 2: Set up a base in neutral ground. (Completed)

    Description: You¡¯ve been asked by Teqraura to start your own following.

    Reward: Access to settlement control system.

    <hr>

    ¡®Right, I have access to the settlement control system, how do I use it?¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s try Settlement Control¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    <hr>

    Settlement Control Screen

    Name:

    Type: Homestead

    Population: 21

    Settlement Points: 100

    Resources:

    Buildings: Makeshift Lean-to, Firepit(Small)

    Defenses: Makeshift Barricade x3

    Settlement Upgrades:

    <Upgrades> <Build> <Technology>

    <hr>

    ¡®Huh, well that¡¯s interesting, it keeps track of population, the buildings, so let¡¯s see¡¯ ¡°Upgrades¡±

    <hr>

    Settlement Upgrades

    Building Upgrades:

    Upgrade Firepit(Small) to Cooking pit. Cost 5 Settlement Points.

    Upgrade Makeshift Lean-to to Lean-to. Cost 5 Settlement Points.

    Upgrade Makeshift Lean-to to Medium Shed. Cost 10 Settlement Points.

    Upgrade Makeshift Lean-to to Small Log Cabin. Cost 15 Settlement Points.

    Defense Upgrades

    Upgrade Makeshift Barricade to Small Log Wall. Cost 10 Settlement Points.

    <hr>

    Darius nods slightly as he reads over the information. ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly good to know, I should probably upgrade the Lean-to to a cabin, that way at least the kids have some good shelter for tonight.¡±

    Darius Selects the Small log Cabin upgrade, he is surprised as he sees a faint outline in front of him of a log cabin. He walks around, seeing how far away he can place it. He finds that he can¡¯t place it farther than 5 metres from where the Lean-to is, so he places it further away from the rocks.

    The lean-to starts to glow before it vanishes, and a log cabin appears where Darius had been looking with a flash. He winces and blinks, having been slightly blinded by it. When he opens his eyes again he looks around, seeing some people have gathered and are looking at the cabin with surprise. ¡°Based on those looks this isn¡¯t something that happens often, is it?¡± Darius asks as he looks at the people. ¡°N-no sir, I¡¯ve never seen anything like it.¡±

    ¡°I wonder how many people have access to the settlement system then¡± Darius mutters to himself. ¡°Anyway, who here is most knowledgeable about building?¡± One of the men speaks up ¡°That¡¯d probably be me sir, Bernard sir, I¡¯ve been building things for most of my life.¡± ¡°Well in that case I¡¯d like you to check over the cabin, make sure it¡¯s entirely safe, if it is, then the children are staying there tonight. The rest of you, keep working, maybe we¡¯ll get enough wood for me to put up a few more cabins so the rest of us can sleep in good shelter.¡±

    The people get back to work as Darius starts to examine the rest of the Settlement system, finding that right now he can only build Makeshift Barriers, Makeshift Lean-tos, Normal lean-tos, Small and Medium Sheds, Fire pits, and Small cabins.

 Chapter 19

    Darius looks around the clearing, trying to decide on what to build. Everything having a cost in either settlement points or resources. He finds that each tree ends up being worth 3 units of wood resources. He quickly checks how much it will take to build a small cabin, finding it will take 6 wood resources and 5 settlement points or 20 settlement points alone.

    Darius nods slightly as he looks around, he walks over to one of the men. ¡°We are going to need to build something to store the logs, it looks like we will be able to build a few cabins today at the rate we are going.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll gather a few men to build a stockpile.¡± The man says with a nod before he walks off to do so. ¡°Sounds good.¡± Darius says as he watches the man walk off.

    He then starts to look through the tech tree. The tech tree shows the currently unlocked buildings as well as what can be researched to unlock the next tier. Darius finds that he could unlock things with only settlement points, but the cheapest costs 100 points that way. He also finds that it¡¯s possible to unlock things by building them without researching things.

    Darius spends the next few hours helping to cut down trees, it soon getting around time to eat. Everyone who has been working has gathered around the firepit. ¡°Good job today everyone, we¡¯ve got a lot of work done, and a decent amount of space cleared. Now I¡¯m going to prepare places for everyone to stay.¡± Darius opens the settlement menu and starts to buy small cabins using the wood resources they have.

    He ends up buying 5 cabins and placing them around the first one. With flashes of light the new cabins appear. ¡°Right, everyone can choose a cabin, there are enough for most cabins to have 4 people and two to have 3.¡± After eating the groups sort themselves into their family groups, with there being 5 families, excluding Darius and Rinar.

    Darius walks into his cabin, which is the first one he had made. He looks around, a bit surprised to see it¡¯s furnished with a table, chairs, a wood fired stove, a couple of normal beds, and some cots against a wall. ¡°Well, this isn¡¯t a bad place.¡± Darius says as he looks around. ¡°That¡¯s true enough¡± he hears from behind him. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    Darius turns around to see Rinar still covered by his cloak. ¡°Right, you are I are sharing the cabin.¡± Darius shrugs as he walks over to one of the beds, sitting on it. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been wondering just what you are under there. I have a feeling it¡¯s something that most people back in the city wouldn¡¯t like.¡± Rinar snorts ¡°You could say that again. They don¡¯t like anything that¡¯s not human, except for the royal family of course.¡±

    ¡°Well, in case you couldn¡¯t tell, I¡¯m not exactly like they are.¡± Darius says while motioning above his head. ¡°To start I¡¯m a chosen, and not one of Myrdou or Nouet.¡± Rinar freezes and looks at Darius ¡°Nouet? How do you know of Nouet?¡± ¡°The first people I actually talked to were followers of Nouet, I¡¯m in a unique position as far as I can tell. Since apparently neither side can understand each other. So how do you know of Nouet?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that even among Nouets people there are some forbidden things.¡± Rinar says as he removes his hood, revealing dark skin, pure white hair, and pointy ears. Darius looks at him, nodding a little ¡°Huh, so you¡¯re a dark elf, what did you do that¡¯s forbidden?¡± Darius says a bit confused. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t start out like this, people generally don¡¯t start out like I am. I¡¯ll show you what I mean.¡± Rinar says before he points above his head, where his identifier looks like it¡¯s glitching. ¡°What?¡± Darius says as he watches it change from (Rinar. lvl 10) to <Rinar. lvl 35>

    Darius blinks as he looks at it confused. ¡°What? How did you do that? And why is your identifier different?¡± ¡°I have a skill that lets me change my identifier, it¡¯s part of my class, and is a very rare skill. As for why it¡¯s different, well, these symbols identify those who are the enemies to all. It¡¯s impossible for a normal person to have them. The only way for a person to get them, is to practice black magic, it doesn¡¯t matter if they use it for good or evil. As soon as they gain a skill involving one of the black magics they are considered enemies to all.¡±

    ¡°Well, shit, I knew there was black magic, I didn¡¯t know it would do that though.¡± ¡°You know of black magic?¡± ¡°More like I know of the concepts of black magics, I¡¯m guessing they are Necromancy, Blood magic, and something to do with Demons?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, there is also Curses and Dark magic. I can use Dark magic, I got unlucky while adventuring and found a book of Dark Spells.¡±

    Darius shrugs as he looks at him ¡°Well, frankly as long as you don¡¯t hurt anyone who is one of my people, I don¡¯t care what you do, I don¡¯t know that my god does either.¡± ¡°And just who is your god?¡± ¡°Teqraura, I know next to nothing about her, other than she is apparently the mother of Myrdou and Nouet.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of her.¡± ¡°I have a feeling no one on this world has.¡± Darius says with a shrug. ¡°Anyway, we better sleep, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.¡± Rinar shrugs as he sits on his bed while Darius lays down and closes his eyes, eventually drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

 Chapter 20

    Darius wakes up to a blinding light in his eyes. He frowns as he opens them, seeing a new screen in front of him.

    <hr>

    Settlement Taxes

    Taxes set at 5% automatically

    XP: 750

    Currency: 0

    100 Settlement points gained.

    <hr>

    Level up

    You have reached level 4

    HP, SP, and MP increase by 10

    All regen increase by 4

    5 Unassigned attribute points gained

    <hr>

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s interesting, I didn¡¯t realize the system taxed people, but it¡¯s certainly useful for me.¡± Darius says as he sits up and stretches before he gets up from his bed. He looks over and sees that Rinar is already out of bed, so he walks out of the cabin.

    He sees that everyone else is up already, and is eating breakfast. He goes over and gets some to eat as well, and once everyone finishes he speaks up. ¡°Okay everyone, I think you all know what to do, same as yesterday, we need to get some more wood, and food. I think a team should set up a well, so that we have clean water, if anyone would like to volunteer for that.¡± After a few people volunteer to build the well, everyone gets to work.

    It continues this way for a week, during which the identifiers of the people living under Darius change to be similar to his, and he finally names the homestead, calling it ColdMist. He also levels up a few times to level 7, putting 6 points in constitution, getting it to 20 and getting him the [Hearty] trait which doubles his health regen. He also put 8 points into his Dexterity and getting him the [Tireless] trait, which doubles his stamina regen. The final 6 points he put into Strength. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Darius checks out how everything is going among his people, having had a well, palisade, and a storehouse built. He checks his status screen.

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 7(48%)

    Class: None

    Strength: 18

    Constitution: 20

    Endurance: 13

    Dexterity: 20

    Intelligence: 15

    Wisdom: 22

    Luck: 5

    Unassigned Points: 0

    Health: 160/160       HP Regen: 116/hr

    Stamina: 135/135 Sp Regen: 96/min

    Mana: 145/145  MP Regen:116/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 4] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 2] [Basic Identification lvl 3] [Basic Sword Use lvl 7]

    Spell list: [Fire bolt lvl 4] [Ice shard lvl 1] [Rock wall lvl 3] [Air blade lvl 1] [Arcane shield lvl 6]

    Traits: [Patient] [Hearty] [Tireless]

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    <hr>

    As he is checking his status screen he hears what sounds like a scuffle going on outside of the wall. He frowns as he starts to run towards the gate, heading out. He looks around confused, frowning before he sees a familiar person, though they are standing off against one of his people. He runs towards them as he shouts ¡°Stop, stop, they¡¯re okay.¡±

    Both people turn to look at him, seeming to relax a little as he runs up to them. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you back this soon Ashera, nor was I expecting you to try and fight one of my people.¡±

    ¡°Your people?¡± Ashera says as she looks at him confused. ¡°Well, yeah, this place is mine after all, welcome to ColdMist. We are small right now, but just you wait, we will be big sooner than you think once we get people moving in.¡± ¡°And you are the leader of these people? You aren¡¯t that strong though.¡± ¡°Ah, well, here it isn¡¯t really too much about strength, I got a quest to start this place, so I did, I¡¯ll be getting a lot stronger once more people are here too.¡±

    ¡°Huh, and how exactly does that work?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not something I should say. Say, you wouldn¡¯t happen to know anyone who isn¡¯t happy back in the city would you?¡± ¡°I might, why?¡± ¡°Well, you can let they know that they can come here, I¡¯ll get some cabins set up for anyone who comes.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like there is much room in there for any more cabins.¡± Ashera says as she looks around the inside of the palisade. ¡°I can just move it, I have enough points to do that.¡± ¡°Points?¡± ¡°Part of the secret.¡±

    ¡°Well, I can probably find a few people.¡± ¡°Thanks Ashera. Though what brought you out here anyways?¡± ¡°Well, I wanted to check up on you, and also give you a warning.¡± ¡°A warning?¡± ¡°Yes, There was a change in leadership recently, and the new lord is gathering an army.¡± ¡°Oh, oh crap, they are going to have to come through near here, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes, the path does lead near here, so I suggest you build up your defenses, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if a few units decide to try and raid this place.¡± ¡°Thank you for your warning.¡± Darius says as he nods ¡°I¡¯ll get to work. You can go in and look around, stay for supper if you¡¯d like.¡± Darius then turns and starts to walk out into the forest.

 Chapter 21

    Darius spends the next few hours travelling through the forest, practicing his magic as he walks. He tries to find anything that he could fight to get experience. He does occasionally find low level enemies, which he quickly kills. He does start to notice stronger and stronger monsters, going from hares to eventually level 5 wolves. He follows the trail of wolves, eventually finding a cave in the side of a hill.

    ¡®Huh, maybe this is their den?¡¯ He looks around as he slowly enters the cave before a screen pops up.

    <hr>

    Tunnels of the Cursed Wolf

    Rare Dungeon

    Recommended level 15

    Rewards: 1 [Rare chest]

    <hr>

    ¡®Okay, a dungeon, that¡¯s not something I want to face. Not yet at least¡¯ As Darius turns to leave the earth starts to shake, causing him to grab one of the walls of the cave to stabilize himself. ¡°Oh what the shit.¡± Darius says before he hears cracking coming from the stone in front of him. He quickly moves back as the tunnel collapses. ¡°Fuck, shit, fuck.¡± Darius says as he looks at the new pile of stones blocking his way out.

    He shakes his head, trying to clear it before he turns around, looking down into the darkness. ¡°Okay, okay, so I¡¯m trapped in a dungeon, with an unknown number of wolves that are at least 8 levels above me. I¡¯m so fucked.¡± He sits down against the wall, shaking somewhat as he thinks. ¡®If I want to get out of here, I¡¯ll probably need to fight my way through, first I need some sort of light.¡¯ Darius casts Arcane Shield, finding that it gives of a very small amount of light. ¡®I could use this, but it¡¯s not great, I need to do more testing.¡¯

    He casts Fire Bolt, trying to keep it in his hand, but finds that he is unable to for long before it blasts through the air. ¡®Well those were the only two I could think of, though, I wonder if I can make a spell.¡¯ Darius looks around a little before he holds his hand up, he closes his eyes as he focuses on his mana inside him. He finds that it feels like there is a circulatory system next to his actual circulatory system, with a ¡°heart¡± right behind his actual heart. He tries to focus some mana on his palm, finding that it slowly moves where he wants it.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Darius tries to push the mana outside of his palm, focusing on the idea of light as he does. He soon sees light through his eyelids as he continues to focus, causing him to open his eyes. ¡°Awesome.¡± He says as he sees the small ball of light floating above his palm, before a screen appears in front of his face.

    <hr>

    You have gained the skills [Basic Mana Manipulation lvl 1] and [Basic Spell Creation lvl 1]

    [Basic Mana Manipulation]

    Ease of manipulation mana increased by 3%

    [Basic Spell Creation]

    Ease of creating spells increased by 5%

    Understanding of spell creation increased by 10%

    Due to gaining two skills relating to Mana at once you gain [Basic Mana Sight lvl 1] as a bonus.

    [Basic Mana Sight]

    Can see mana up to 3 Metres away

    You have gained the Spell [Light lvl 1]

    Radius of Light is 3 Metres

    Small ability to control the light

    <hr>

    ¡®Well, all of that will certainly be useful, especially the ability to create my own spells.¡¯ Darius stands up, looking around as he does. He starts to walk down into the tunnel, keeping an eye out for any wolves as he does, having drawn his sword. He soon finds himself in a large open chamber, he looks for anything interesting, before he hears growling. He freezes as he slowly turns towards it, seeing the glint of eyes in the darkness.

    ¡°Shit¡± he mutters before he holds out his hand towards the wolf. ¡°Fire Bolt¡± He casts and it blasts through the air, causing the wolf to yelp when it hits. The wolf then charges towards Darius as he continues to cast Fire Bolt at it. It collapses before it can reach him, he slowly walks towards it, finding it still breathing weakly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He quietly says before he uses his sword to cut it¡¯s neck.

    He moves back and sits on the ground while he stares at the body of the wolf, frowning as he watches it. After a little while he stands up and walks around the rest of the room, finding there is nothing else inside it except a small pool of water. ¡®Well, at least I can make this place a nice base camp. Though, I should make some sort of fortification, I wonder.¡¯ Darius starts to test shaping stone with his mana, it takes him a while and a fair amount of visualisation to get it right, but soon he manages to make a small wall out of pure stone.

    <hr>

    Created Spell [Shape Stone level 1]

    Mana cost of shaping stone reduced by 2%

    Ease of shaping stone increased by 3%

    <hr>

 Chapter 22

    It takes Darius a couple of hours to change his base camp into something that he can use as a base. He had set up doorways in both tunnels, as well as a small hut made of stone. As well as small walls as fortifications of stone. After building all of that he had gotten Shape Stone up to level 5. ¡®Okay, I have a camp made, I think this is the best I¡¯m going to be able to make for now.¡¯ Darius then turn towards the tunnel leading deeper into the dungeon.

    He sighs quietly before he starts to walk down it, casting his light spell again as he keeps an eye out for anything. He continues down the tunnel again before he hears more growling. He stops as he looks down the tunnel, seeing at first a pair of eyes, but soon seeing 5 pairs of eyes. ¡°Shit.¡± He says before he quickly casts Earth Wall twice, leaving a gap wide enough for one wolf to come through at time.

    He then casts Air Blade, placing it in the middle of the gap so that the wolves would hit it with their legs. He waits for the wolves to run through, but when they take longer than he thought they would he looks at them. He sees they are waiting for his spell to run out, so he casts fire bolt at them saying ¡°Come on you stupid mutts, come and get it.¡± as he holds his arms out.

    The wolves growl louder before they start to run at him, the lead one goes to jump over the air blade, getting an Ice Shard to the neck right after it jumps. It flies back from the force of the Ice Shard, letting the next one jump, which also gets blasted back from an Ice shard. Darius repeats this with the other 2 that jump, the last wolf having waited. He watches the last wolf, before he casts Ice shard at it, though it jumps out of the way.

    He frowns as he looks at the last wolf, before he sends his air blade at it, which it tries to dodge, but it doesn¡¯t move out of the way in time, getting stabbed in the neck. Darius sighs as the wolf collapses, he looks around as he starts to walk past the bodies, but he is stopped as a screen pops up.

    Skill gained [Taunt level 1]

    5% chance to cause enemies to go berserk. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Level up

    Level 7 to Level 9

    You have gained 20 HP, SP, and MP

    You have gained 8 regen.

    You have gained 10 unassigned attribute points.

    Darius immediately opens his status screen and puts 5 points into constitution and 5 points into wisdom.

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 9(3617/4600)

    Class: None

    Strength: 18

    Constitution: 25

    Endurance: 13

    Dexterity: 20

    Intelligence: 15

    Wisdom: 27

    Luck: 5

    Unassigned Points: 10

    Health: 160/160       HP Regen: 136/hr

    Stamina: 135/135 Sp Regen: 96/min

    Mana: 145/145  MP Regen:144/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 4] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 2] [Basic Identification lvl 3] [Basic Sword Use lvl 7] [Basic Spell Creation lvl 1] [Basic Mana Manipulation lvl 1]

    Spell list: [Fire bolt lvl 4] [Ice shard lvl 1] [Rock wall lvl 3] [Air blade lvl 1] [Arcane shield lvl 6] [Light lvl 1] [Shape Stone lvl 5]

    Traits: [Patient] [Hearty] [Tireless]

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    Darius nods as he looks over everything, before he continues down the tunnel. It takes him a while, but he eventually enters a large cavern. He looks around surprised at what he finds down here. It looks to be what remains of a small city, everything seeming to have been damaged or destroyed by something. He looks over the city, seeing small packs of wolves wandering around.

    He crouches down, activating Stealth, while he starts to walk through the city. ¡®I need something that can deal with a pack at a time, I have an idea, hmm, maybe it¡¯ll work.¡¯ Darius looks around as he starts to form something with his mana, waiting for a pack to come near him once it¡¯s finished. In his mana vision what he¡¯s made looks like a small ball of lines of text, curling and wrapping around each other, occasionally merging and splitting.

    After a little while of waiting, with his focus on keeping his spell together, he sees some wolves walking down the street towards him. ¡®Perfect timing¡¯ He slowly and carefully points at them before he whispers ¡°Arcane Tendrils¡±

 Chapter 23

    A bolt of light blasts from Darius¡¯ hand, hitting the ground in the middle of the pack. With a flash of light, bright blue tendrils with text flowing across them spread from that point. The tendrils wrap around the wolves, before pulling them all towards the point. Even when the wolves are all pulled together the tendrils pull them, squishing them together. It continues until all that is left is a ball of meat with fur. He nods as he looks over the results before a screen appears.

    <hr>

    You have created the spell [Arcane Tendril level 1]

    Base radius is 3 metres, increases by .5 metres per level.

    Damage done increases by 5% per level

    Mana cost reduced by 3% per level

    <hr>

    Level up

    Level 9 to Level 10

    You have gained 10 HP, SP, and MP

    You have gained 4 regen

    You have gained 5 unassigned attribute points

    Please select your class:

    [Mage] (Common class, unlocked for using magic often.)

    [Lord] (Uncommon class, unlocked by gaining multiple levels from a settlement.)

    [Jack of all trades] (Rare class, unlocked by having regeneration attributes above 20.)

    [Spell Sword] (Rare class, unlocked by using a sword and spells at the same time.)

    [Chosen of the Third] (Epic class, unlocked by the Blessing of the Three)

    <hr>

    As Darius reads over the classes he¡¯s able to choose from it seems to glitch out.

    <hr>

    Class chosen [Chosen of the Third]Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Due to waiting until level 10 your class bonuses are improved.

    You now gain +2 to all attributes, +8 to all regeneration, and +10 unassigned attribute points per level.

    You also gain access to all divine magic.

    <hr>

    ¡°What the hell? It chose my class for me?¡± Darius frowns as he shakes his head, though his expression softens as he looks over what he gets. ¡°Okay, holy shit, that¡¯s actually awesome, I guess it¡¯s an epic class for a reason.¡± A screen opens in front of him before he can open his status.

    <hr>

    Trait gained: [Strong]

    Doubles the amount that can be lifted, doubles health gained from Strength.

    Took you awhile to get the strength trait, you must not like being strong

    <hr>

    Darius shakes his head a little at that, but he then opens his status screen.

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 10(1267/5500)

    Class: Chosen of the Third

    Strength: 20

    Constitution: 27

    Endurance: 15

    Dexterity: 22

    Intelligence: 17

    Wisdom: 29

    Luck: 7

    Unassigned Points: 15

    Health: 360/360       HP Regen: 156/hr

    Stamina: 155/155 Sp Regen: 114/min

    Mana: 165/165  MP Regen:164/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 4] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 2] [Basic Identification lvl 3] [Basic Sword Use lvl 7] [Basic Spell Creation lvl 1] [Basic Mana Manipulation lvl 1]

    Spell list: [Fire bolt lvl 4] [Ice shard lvl 1] [Rock wall lvl 3] [Air blade lvl 1] [Arcane shield lvl 6] [Light lvl 1] [Shape Stone lvl 5] [Arcane tendril lvl 1]

    Traits: [Patient] [Hearty] [Tireless] [Strong]

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    <hr>

    ¡®Looks like I am slowly getting stronger, not to mention the attribute points I can assign. I¡¯m thinking they should go in wisdom.¡¯ Darius nods slightly as he puts his new unassigned attribute points into wisdom. His eyes widen as he sees his mana regen jump a whole 60 points. ¡°Well shit, that¡¯s pretty good there, not great yet, but good.¡±

    Darius then gets up from where he was hiding, looking around a little as he starts to creep through the ruined city. He goes around looking for any other wolf packs, after a little while of walking he seesa pack with five wolves, luckily before they see him. So he charges up another Arcane Tendril, which has the same effect on the wolves as last time.

    He then continues to sneak around, looking for anything interesting. After a little while of walking and not running into any packs, he finds what looks to be a library. He heads towards it, finding the doors are knocked off the hinges as if something burst it¡¯s way out.

    Curious, Darius slowly walks into the Library, he sees that it¡¯s full of books that seem to be in perfect condition, as well as long claw marks on the floor and around the doorway.¡¯Well, that¡¯s worrying, I think I¡¯ll be okay though, since whatever caused it is clearly not here.¡¯ Darius slowly walks deeper into the library, starting to go through the books for anything interesting or helpful.

    After looking for a while and not finding anything Darius heads back to the doors. He stops before he can exit, hearing what sounds like a lot of growls outside. He sneaks to the side of the door and glances out after turning off his light. His eyes widen as he sees what looks to be 20 wolves outside, all looking at the entrance to the library.

 Chapter 24

    Darius quickly darts back into the library, going deeper in to try and find another way out. He heads towards the back, hoping there is a back door he can leave through. As he reaches the back of the Library he hears howls from the front. He glances back before he looks around again, finding a door that leads further into the library he quickly enters and closes it behind him. He looks around for anything he can use to block the door, finding the remains of what looks like a hand cart.

    He quickly picks it up and jams it against the door before he turns to run deeper into the building. He sees a sign of some kind on the ceiling, showing what looks like a person going through a door. He follows the arrow on it, turning down a corridor. He continues to run down the corridor as he hears something crash through the door.

    He follows the signs down a few more corridors before he comes across a final door, he runs up to it and pushes against it. He feels it move just a little ¡°Damn, is it blocked or something?¡± He says as he takes a few steps back, before he charges against it. It bursts open, sending a metal dumpster flying into the wall of the next building.

    Darius looks around the alley, before he starts to run down the way leading away from the front of the library, preparing an Arcane Tendrils. He forces as much mana as possible into it, not focusing on it too much, before he hears a cracking sound coming from his hand. He stops as he looks at his hand holding the Arcane Tendrils confused as cracks spread across the spell template he made.

    He looks at it surprised and confused as he tries to hold the spell together. The spell suddenly starts to expand quickly as a large quantity of mana is drawn into it. It takes over half of his mana before it starts to stabilize again, the spell itself looking similar if larger. Darius looks behind him, seeing the wolves coming down the alley. He frowns before he holds out the hand holding the Arcane Tendrils, which then blasts down the alley to land right behind the lead wolf.

    The tendrils explode out with a loud boom, growing at an extreme rate to wrap around not only the wolves, but also the nearby rubble and trash, some of the tendrils even go through broken windows to wrap around the walls of the buildings surrounding the alley. As soon as the tendrils finish growing they start to pull back to the center, the wolves becoming a blur as they are pulled.

    Darius looks away from the Arcane tendrils as he hears some splatting. He starts to run down the rest of the alley again, hearing the walls from the buildings being torn out as he reaches the end of it.

    Darius doesn¡¯t dare to look back as he continues to run through the streets, soon finding a place to hide. Once he feels safe a screen pops up.

    <hr>

    You have gained the Skill [Mana Overcharge lvl 1]This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Can charge spells with an extra 300% mana.

    Increased levels reduce mana cost to overcharge

    Increased levels increase amount of overcharge possible.

    <hr>

    Skill level up [Arcane Tendrils lvl 10]

    Radius increased to 8 metres

    Damage increased by 50%

    Mana cost reduced by 30%

    <hr>

    Level up

    Level up from level 10 to level 12

    You have gained 20 HP, SP, and MP

    You have gained 4 to all attributes, 24 to all regen, and 30 unassigned attribute points.

    <hr>

    Trait Gained [Rational]

    Double mana capacity gained from Intelligence.

    Increases thinking clarity.

    <hr>

    Darius can barely believe his eyes as he reads over the screens ¡°Holy shit, just simply holy shit.¡± He mutters as he rubs his eyes. ¡®Okay, I think I¡¯m going to get at least wisdom up to 50, and I¡¯ll try to get intelligence up there too.¡¯  Once Darius confirms the changes another screen appears.

    <hr>

    Trait gained [Experienced]

    Doubles Mana regeneration gained from wisdom.

    Gains 25% more experience.

    Mana regen huh, I''ll admit, with your build, not a bad choice

    <hr>

    Darius looks around as he feels his mana regeneration, he slowly leaves his hiding place a bit more confident that he can deal with anything in here. He looks around as he continues to walk, deciding to head to one of the tallest buildings to get a look at what¡¯s left of the city.

    It takes him a while, and he doesn¡¯t encounter any more wolves as he makes his way. When he gets to the building he heads inside, looking around for the stairs he walks around. The ground floor of the building has rubble and destroyed furniture spread throughout it, and he eventually finds the stairs in a corner of the building.

    He climbs the stairs, keeping an eye out for any movement as well as trying to hear any sounds in the building. Nothing happens as he climbs, eventually reaching the top floor. He leaves the stairwell, heading into the floor.

    Darius walks down the hallway, eventually stopping at a door and opening it. The room he finds himself in looks to have been a living room, with some kind of couch and table in it. He ignores them as he walks over to the windows, looking out over the city. Darius quickly notices a light flashing on and off on the other side of the city, in what looks to be an arena. ¡®Well, looks like that is where I need to go.¡¯

 Chapter 25

    Darius memorizes where the arena is relative to the building he is in before he quickly leaves the building. He starts to walk through the city towards it, keeping an eye open for any more wolves. It takes him awhile to get through the city, but he does without encountering anything.

    Darius looks at the building he is approaching, which looks like a smaller version of the colosseum, and oddly enough it¡¯s in perfect condition. He frowns as he looks around the area, not seeing anything too strange otherwise. Darius walks towards the entrance to the colosseum, going inside. He follows some signs that lead to the arena section of the colosseum, figuring it¡¯s where the boss fight is going to be.

    As he exits the main building, he sees there are a lot of wolves in the seats. ¡°Well, shit, was all that a test or something?¡± he mutters to himself as he slowly walks out to the middle of the arena. He hears the clink of chains coming from the other side of the arena. Looking over at it he sees a large portcullis starting to raise, before a large furry and clawed hand reaches under and grabs it. It lifts faster as Darius pales. ¡°Oh shit.¡± Darius says as a large werewolf walks out once the portcullis opens fully.

    The werewolf walks out, it stops when it¡¯s halfway to Darius, close enough for him to see it¡¯s identifier. <Ragen the moon touched lvl 20> ¡°So, you are the first of the new ones to come here, at your level and all alone too, how bold.¡± Ragen says, half growling as he talks. ¡°Uh, I was not expecting that, but how can you tell I''m new?¡±

    ¡°You have a strange smell about you, it smells disgusting.¡± Darius shrugs, ¡°I can¡¯t help that too much, let me guess, you are the boss and I¡¯m going to have to fight you?¡± Ragen laughs as he looks at Darius ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong about that, but first.¡± Ragen howls and the wolves in the first seats jump into the arena.

    ¡°Oh you son of a bitch.¡± Darius shouts before he casts fire bolt twice, focusing on keeping them in his hands. He overcharges both, before pointing them at the wolves closest to him and firing them. The first fire bolt hits the wolf and explodes in a medium sized fireball, hitting the wolves nearest it as well.

    His second fire bolt misses its target, but manages to hit a wolf behind it, exploding as well. Darius quickly casts Rock wall beneath him, lifting him above the wolves. Darius quickly starts to cast Arcane tendril again, using both hands to cast it twice. He then throws both arcane tendrils on either side of his wall

    The tendrils rip through the wolves, pulling most of them towards the center of the spell, crushing them together. A couple of the wolves had been able to jump out of the way however, and start to jump and claw at the wall, trying to get up to the top of it. Darius draws his sword as he looks down towards the wolves, he points it at one of them, focusing his mana on and through his sword, remembering the spell sword class he had access to. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    He looks at the wolf closest to the top of the wall, pushing his mana through his sword at it, causing what looks like the tip of a sword to blast at the wolf. The energy blasts through the neck of the wolf, coming out the other side. Darius looks at his blade, charging up a magical edge to it, focusing to extend it past his blade.

    He then swings it at the next closest wolf, cutting into its head. The wolf falls from the wall as Darius goes around to the next one, he spends the next minute going around and cutting the wolves from the wall. Two survive on the ground by being smart enough to avoid the wall once he started cutting.

    Darius looks over towards Ragen who has been watching the fight. ¡°Do you want me to kill them too, or were these ones enough?¡± Ragen laughs as he starts to walk towards Darius and his wall. ¡°These were my people once, but no more, they have lost themselves. Now they only follow me because I am the strongest, do what you would like with them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s harsh, isn¡¯t there some what to return your people to what they once were?¡± Ragen shakes his head ¡°No, I¡¯ve tried, it¡¯s too late to help them.¡± Ragen then walks up to one of the bodies and picks it up, seeming to caress it gently. Darius looks at him a bit confused, but he quickly charges up an Ice shard, overcharging it just in case.

    ¡°Besides, at this point I don¡¯t want to help them, there is no point to it. All they are good for is bringing people to me.¡± Ragen then turns to Darius and quickly throws the corpse at him. Darius tosses the overcharged ice shard at Ragnar as he jumps to the side to dodge out of the way of the flying corpse.

    The corpse flies right over Darius, and he breathes heavily before he slowly peeks over the edge of the wall, he sees Ragen standing where he was, with the ice shard pinning his leg to the ground, a small amount of blood leaking around it. Darius slowly stands again, pointing his sword at Ragen.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put an end to this.¡± Darius says as he charges a couple of Ice shards through his sword. He looks down at Ragen as Ragen wraps his hand around the ice shard, pulling it free from his leg and the ground. Ragen then pulls it up to throw it towards the wall Darius is standing on.

    Darius fires off the Ice shards at Ragen before the thrown shard impacts the wall. The wall cracks and starts to crumble from the force, while a couple of the shards hit their mark, barely puncturing his skin.

    Darius falls with the wall to the ground, groaning as he impacts it. He gets up as quickly as he can. He looks around for Ragen, finding he isn¡¯t where he was. ¡°Shit.¡± Darius says as he starts to quickly turn in a circle before he spots Ragen charging towards him. Darius quickly charges up an edge to his sword again, swinging it at Ragen as he tries to sidestep him.

    Darius moves out of the way of Ragen¡¯s body in time, but is unable to dodge his claws which rake across his stomach. Darius¡¯ sword also cuts halfway through Ragen¡¯s stomach. Darius coughs, blood starting to come out of his mouth as he presses his hands against his stomach, falling back. Darius tries to focus while he tries to push his mana through his hands into the wound, trying to imagine it closing.

    He feels the wound close slightly, but not nearly enough. ¡®Come on, come on, I can¡¯t die here, I need to live. Help me, Teqraura, please.¡¯ Darius closes his eyes as he continues to try and force mana into his wound, before he feels a flood of forign mana enter it. The wound closes entirely as soon as the mana does, and he slowly opens his eyes.

    Darius slowly sits up and looks down towards his stomach, seeing his shirt reduced to little more than rags, but his stomach looking otherwise entirely fine. ¡°Well, shit.¡±

 Chapter 26

    Darius looks around the arena, looking for any of the wolves. He becomes confused as he sees that the stands which were full of wolves are now clear. He slowly stands up shakily, before he walks over to Ragen. Darius sees he is still raggedly breathing.

    ¡°Still alive huh, I¡¯m sorry that we had to fight.¡± Ragen shakily laughs as he looks towards Darius. ¡°Don¡¯t be runt, you did a good job, and this is something that¡¯s been coming for a while. Now finish it.¡± Darius sighs as he looks down at Ragen, lifting his sword. He looks away before he swings the sword down on Ragen¡¯s neck.

    Darius sighs as he cleans his sword before he sheaths it, turning and starting to walk away from the bodies before a screen appears.

    <hr>

    Level up

    Level 12 to level 13

    You have gained 10 HP, SP, and MP.

    You have gained 2 to all attributes, 12 to regen, and 15 unassigned attribute points.

    <hr>

    Trait Gained [Persistent]

    Doubles Stamina gained from Endurance.

    Increased motivation.

    <hr>

    Trait Gained [Astute]

    Increases Mana gained from Intelligence by 50%

    Increases strength of spells by 50%

    <hr>

    You have gained the Skills [Focus: Sword level 1], [Magical Edge level 1], and [Healing Touch level 1]

    [Focus: Sword level 1]

    Allows the user to cast spells through a sword.

    Spells cost 5% less mana when cast through a Focus

    [Magical Edge level 1]

    User can increase length of sword using mana

    Cost decreases by 1% per level

    [Healing touch level 1]

    Through prayer, user can heal simple wounds

    Healing increased by 2% per level

    <hr>

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    You have cleared the Tunnels of the Cursed Wolf

    Reward 1: Rare Chest

    Hidden reward (Clear dungeon alone): Unique Chest

    Hidden reward (Defeat Ragen alone): 50 gold coins, Moon Touched chest piece.

    Hidden Reward (Clear dungeon while under levelled): 25,000 exp.

    <hr>

    Level up

    Level 13 to level 16

    You have gained 30 HP, SP, and MP.

    You have gained 6 to all attributes, 36 to regen, and 45 unassigned attribute points.

    <hr>

    With a flash of light two chests appear in front of Darius, as well as a coin pouch and a leather chest piece. The first chest is somewhat ornate, being made of a blue wood with a silvery metal holding it together. The second chest is more ornate, the wood being stained red, as well as the metal being a deep red.

    ¡®Okay, first I¡¯m going to deal with my attribute points, because holy shit.¡¯ Darius looks at his Status so he can think of how to assign his points.

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 16(2555/13000)

    Class: Chosen of the Third

    Strength: 32

    Constitution: 39

    Endurance: 27

    Dexterity: 34

    Intelligence: 57

    Wisdom: 58

    Luck: 19

    Unassigned Points: 60

    Health: 480/480 HP Regen: 276/hr

    Stamina: 430/430 Sp Regen: 188/min

    Mana: 1015/1015  MP Regen:584/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 4] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 2] [Basic Identification lvl 3] [Basic Sword Use lvl 7] [Basic Spell Creation lvl 1] [Basic Mana Manipulation lvl 1]

    Spell list: [Fire bolt lvl 4] [Ice shard lvl 1] [Rock wall lvl 3] [Air blade lvl 1] [Arcane shield lvl 6] [Light lvl 1] [Shape Stone lvl 5] [Arcane tendrils lvl 10]

    Traits: [Patient] [Hearty] [Tireless] [Strong] [Rational] [Experienced] [Persistent]

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    <hr>

    Darius whistles from his pure stats, he shakes his head ¡®Well, time to make my mana regen more insane.¡¯ Darius puts 42 attribute points into his wisdom, getting it up to 100.

    <hr>

    Trait gained [Perceptive]

    Mana regeneration due to Wisdom further triples.

    Perception increases due to Wisdom.

    <hr>

    Darius¡¯ jaw drops as he sees how much mana he regenerates in an hour. ¡°Holy fucking shit, two, two thousand five hundred mana in an hour. What the fuck.¡± He shakes his head as he looks at his mana regen before he looks around. He raises his hand, pointing at one side of the arena and overcharges a firebolt. It blasts forth and blows through a small section of the wall before exploding inside it.

    The section of the arena he had fired at collapses from the force of the explosion. Darius shakes his head as he says ¡°R-right, let¡¯s check my rewards.¡± Darius walks back to the chests and opens the Rare chest. With a flash of light, the chest disappears, in its place is a sword in a sheath with a dark red jewel placed in the hilt. Darius picks up the sword before he identifies it.

    <hr>

    Long Sword of the Fallen Star

    Lights what is hit by it on fire.

    When used as a focus, increases damage by 10%

    Grows in strength with user.

    A sword made of meteoric iron with an enchanted gem in the hilt.

    <hr>

    Darius looks down at his current sword. He sets the new sword down before he goes over to the second chest. He opens it, causing another flash of light where the chest disappears. Sitting on the ground is a backpack made of bright red leather. He picks up the backpack before he identifies it too.

    <hr>

    Storage Backpack

    This backpack is linked to a large pocket dimension.

    As long as there is room in the pocket dimension any item can be placed inside.

    Items can be called from the backpack as long as it is worn.

    <hr>

 Chapter 27

    Darius sighs as he quickly packs everything he doesn¡¯t want to carry into the new backpack. He attaches the new sword and sheath to his belt before he leaves the arena. He heads back towards the library he had found, he walks inside, seeing it¡¯s mostly intact. He grabs one of the books from the shelves opening it and looking inside.

    Darius frowns as he finds that the book is written in a language he doesn¡¯t understand. His eyes widen with shock as the writing changes while he watches. It quickly becomes English and he reads the title. ¡°The Master of us All.¡± Darius shakes his head a little as he closes the book before he pulls the backpack off. As quickly as he can he pulls all of the books into the backpack, finding that there is more than enough room to fit them all.

    Once Darius finishes putting the books into the backpack he puts it on, finding it doesn¡¯t seem to weigh any more than it did before. He leaves the library and heads back to the entrance he used to get into the city. He walks along the tunnel, keeping an eye out in case anything happens, but he doubts anything will.

    He makes his way back to the base camp he had made, even though he didn¡¯t need to use it. Darius deconstructs it to get himself some more experience with shape stone. He manages to get it to level 8 from doing so. Darius heads back up the tunnel he had entered the dungeon from. When he comes across the collapsed stone he uses shape stone to clear the rubble, fixing and strengthening the entrance to the dungeon.

    Darius walks out, sighing as he sees the sky again. He looks around the forest before he jogs back towards Coldmist. He gets a notification before he gets very far.

    <hr>

    Settlement Taxes

    Exp: 1,020

    Currency: 5 silver

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    175 settlement points gained.

    <hr>

    ¡®Okay, it looks like it¡¯s just been a day, thankfully. It¡¯d be bad if I¡¯d been away long enough for Coldmist to be attacked.¡¯ Darius resumes his jog back to Coldmist. He gets back without incident, walking in through the open gate, he nods as he sees things have progressed well without him.

    Rinar walks up to Darius, looking him over ¡°Well, you¡¯ve certainly improved yourself, what did you find out there that would get you this strong this quickly?¡± ¡°Oh you know, just a dungeon.¡± Rinar laughs, thinking it¡¯s a joke. He quickly realizes Darius is serious ¡°Shit, a dungeon, those are dangerous, we need to deal with it as quickly as we can¡±

    ¡°Well, I''ve already cleared it, so I don¡¯t think it will be causing us much trouble.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve cleared it? That would explain your rapid improvement, but how?¡± ¡°Honestly I got very lucky, things worked out for me a lot better than they should have, I unlocked a lot of skills and gained my class finally, which is extremely overpowered.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by overpowered?¡± ¡°Well, when you get a class, does it normally replace the basic level up benefits with the classes?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what always happens.¡± Darius shakes his head as he looks at Rinar. ¡°Not with my class, it added the class benefits to the basic benefits.¡±

    Rinar¡¯s eyes widen in surprise as he looks at Darius ¡°What even is your class?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called Chosen of the Third, I¡¯m certain it has to do with me being chosen by Teqraura.¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t surprise me, the gods give the strongest abilities to the leaders of the faiths.¡±

    ¡°Well, whatever you do it¡¯s best to be careful about who you tell about your class and how strong it is, otherwise people who are stronger will start to see you as a threat.¡± ¡°Well, just based on what I¡¯ve been given, they wouldn¡¯t be wrong honestly, I could be a very big threat.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll try my best not to get on your bad side,¡± Rinar says jokingly. Darius nods before he looks around ¡°Right, catch me up on what exactly has been going on.¡±

    ¡°So, we¡¯ve gathered more wood, and some of us have gathered some stone to use as a building material.¡± ¡°Good idea, I can probably afford to unlock some better buildings and defences for us.¡±

    Darius opens the settlement menu, looking through the tech tree for stone walls. He finds them after a short while of searching, he sees they cost 300 settlement points to unlock. Darius goes ahead and unlocks the stone walls before he goes around upgrades the walls of the palisade, increasing the size inside.

    Darius then goes through the tech tree looking for some way to defend the village from attacks. After a while of searching, he finds a magical array that will form a shield around town which prevents attacks from going in but not out. He buys the unlock for the 200 points it costs and then goes into the town upgrade screen to buy it. It costs 200 points to unlock for a village of this size with the possibility of upgrading it as the settlement grows.

    Darius finds that the array stores up to 100,000 mana and is set to drain a small amount of mana from each citizen who is inside the town at a time, roughly 5% from each person.

 Chapter 28

    Darius spends the next week preparing for the army to come along, saving up the settlement points. He practices his magic every day for 5 hours and spends another 3 practicing his swordplay. Darius levels up to level 17 from his training and settlement taxes, he places his attribute points into constitution which gets him the [Robust] trait which doubles his health regen from Constitution and doubles his lifespan.

    Darius manages to get Firebolt up to level 15, Ice Shard to level 21, Rock wall to level 18, Air blade to level 13, Arcane Shield to level 25,  Arcane Tendrils to level 33, and Mana Overcharge to level 35. He also gets his Sword Use, and Focus: Sword skills to level 27.

    Darius starts his day by going out to his practice range, which is an area that he has cleared of trees himself, mostly by using his Arcane Tendrils. He goes through his practice regime for a couple of hours before one of the scouts he had recruited approaches him. ¡°Sir, the army is approaching, the will be here in a few hours.¡±

    ¡°Very well, then it¡¯s best that we prepare for them to arrive, bring everyone into the hamlet.¡± Darius then walks back towards the village, opening the settlement screen.

    <hr>

    Settlement Control Screen

    Name: ColdMist

    Type: Hamlet

    Population: 35

    Settlement Points: 1425

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    Buildings: Small cabin x6, Storehouse x1, Well x1, Workhouse x1

    Defenses: Stone Wall, Defensive Array x1

    Upgrades:

    <Upgrades>     <Build> <Technology>

    <hr>

    Darius walks up to the top of the stone wall, unlocking stone towers and placing them at the corners of the walls, taking 600 points. He then unlocks and builds automated ballista on the towers, taking 800 points. Once Darius is finished he sits on the wall over the gate, looking out into the forest as he waits.

    Soon Rinar comes up and tells Darius that everyone is inside the walls. Darius nods, standing from where he is and walks over to face inside. ¡°Alright everyone, the army is coming today, I know we can stop them from taking what is ours, after all, we aren¡¯t their target, and we are much stronger than they would think. Still, it¡¯s best to be prepared, so everyone who can fight, get on the walls, we have a bit of waiting to do, but we want to be ready.¡± Darius then returns to his position facing the forest, hearing the gates close beneath him.

    Everyone waits for an hour before movement is spotted out on the main trail leading to the road. Darius¡¯ people ready themselves while Darius himself continues to sit on the wall. Soon a group of men in rainbow coloured armour walk into the clearing around the hamlet.

    Darius looks down at them as they look up at the walls and towers with clear shock on their faces. ¡°Now, let me guess, you all are here to gather supplies for your army heading to attack your enemy?¡± Darius calls out as he stands up. A man steps up from the group of soldiers, looking to be the leader if his slightly fancier armour is anything to go by. ¡°That¡¯s right, so open the gate and we¡¯ll take what we need.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not happening, we are a neutral third party, we don¡¯t belong to your people, or theirs, so I respectfully ask that you leave and go back to your army.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that, and if I could they would just send more men to take this place forcefully, which we both know they can do.¡±

    Darius laughs out loud at that ¡°They can try, but they¡¯d have to take my place over my cold dead body. How about I give you a good reason to run along, like the fact that I am much stronger than all of you.¡± ¡°I highly doubt that you are 8 levels below us, you can¡¯t be stronger than any of us.¡±

    Darius shakes his head ¡°Then how about I give you a bit of a demonstration.¡± He draws his sword and points it at a tree near the group of soldiers. He starts to cast Ice Shard through it, overcharging it by 300%. The Ice Shard blasts from his sword, blasting through the tree he had pointed at, as well as a few behind it. Each of the trees he had hit creaks before they fall over.

    The group of soldiers pale as they watch the trees falling, the leader slowly nods ¡°Right, men, let¡¯s go back.¡± He says before he leads his men back through the forest towards the road.

 Chapter 29

    The men on the walls start to cheer once the soldiers are out of sight, but Darius only shakes his head. ¡°It¡¯s not over yet like they said, they¡¯ll be back, probably with one of the leaders of the army, we can start with rotating breaks though.¡± Darius shouts before he turns to Rinar ¡°Would you mind setting up three groups? You can include yourself in the first if you¡¯d like.¡±

    Rinar nods as he says ¡°I¡¯ll get right on it.¡± before he walks away from Darius. Darius then sits back on the wall, continuing to wait and watch. About an hour after the first group of soldiers had left, another larger group is seen coming out of the forest.

    Darius looks through the group soon seeing a woman wearing plate armour and carrying a large shield as well as a mace. He stands up on the wall again before he says ¡°And who is it now that has come to take what is mine?¡±

    The woman storms to the front of the group as she says ¡°What is yours? And who said you could have land that is clearly part of Husea kingdom?¡± Darius shrugs as he looks at her ¡°I did, after all, isn¡¯t the Husea kingdoms rulership based entirely on strength? So there shouldn¡¯t be a problem with someone coming in and claiming an area, especially an unused area, to make their own land.¡±

    The woman snorts as she looks over Darius ¡°You aren¡¯t strong enough to claim any land, you aren¡¯t even strong enough to join the army.¡± ¡°There is a major flaw in your thinking. You are only thinking about levels, you aren¡¯t taking into account classes.¡±

    ¡°And what do classes have to do with anything?¡± ¡°Well, if I had to guess most of your men have common classes, and at most uncommon. You probably have a Rare class.¡± ¡°Get to the point already.¡±

    ¡°Well, you were more powerful than they were when you were at a lower level, weren¡¯t you? But what if someone has a class that is two stages above yours?¡± The woman laughs as she looks at him ¡°What, you¡¯re saying you have an epic class? As if.¡±  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Darius sighs as he shakes his head ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m saying, but if you don¡¯t believe me, how about a duel?¡± ¡°A Duel? You must have a deathwish, but very well. I¡¯ll duel you, not that you have a chance of winning.¡±

    Darius shrugs as he walks off the wall, dropping 4 metres and landing on the ground without flinching. His men look down at him surprised as do some of the soldiers. The woman snorts again as she starts to walk towards him, while Darius walks towards her, they stop when they are 20 metres from each other.

    ¡°This is your last chance to back out, I can¡¯t guarantee you¡¯ll survive if we fight.¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m going to be intimidated by a weakling like you?¡± The woman says as she gets into a fighting position, drawing her mace. Darius sighs, shaking his head as he draws his sword, also getting into a fighting position.

    Darius closes his eyes, focusing on the flow of mana around him before he starts to charge a spell into his sword. As soon as he feels a disturbance in the mana he opens his eyes, his sword moving in front of him. He sees the woman charging towards him, likely having used a skill. His sword lights up with arcane energy as he moves out of the way of the mace, swinging it towards her.

    His sword hits her shield, the spell on it vanishing. Darius quickly moves back as he says ¡°Antimagic huh? Interesting.¡± Darius focuses some mana on his eyes, the world seeming to change into a variety of colours, with the shield shining brightly. Darius nearly laughs as he starts to cast through his sword, overcharging a Firebolt with as much mana as he can.

    The Firebolt blasts through the air, impacting the shield before disappearing while the shield only gets brighter in his mana vision. Darius circles around the woman, continually moving away from her as he says ¡°This is interesting, your shield isn¡¯t true antimagic.¡± The woman dashes towards him ¡°Stop talking¡± She growls.

    Darius dodges out of the way again before he starts to overcharge an Arcane Tendril. ¡°Oh come now, it¡¯s interesting how your shield absorbs magic, but that¡¯s all it does, it doesn¡¯t destroy it completely.¡± Darius then flings the Arcane Tendril at her. She brings her shield up, letting it absorb the Arcane Tendril. The shield starts to softly glow while Darius nods. He charges up another Arcane Tendril which he flings at her again.

    She blocks it again, her shield glowing even brighter after absorbing it. ¡°How much Mana do you have?¡± She growls as she looks at Darius. ¡°Oh, about 250 left, out of over 1000.¡± The woman pales as she looks at him and then his identifier ¡°H-how?¡± ¡°Remember what I said about classes. And that¡¯s not the only thing you¡¯ll find shocking, My mana will be full in just over 24 and a half minutes.¡±

    The woman pauses in her movements as she looks at Darius, clearly shocked. Darius smiles as he throws the final overcharged Arcane Tendrils. She manages to bring her shield up in time to block before it glows dangerously brightly. The shield starts to crack before an explosion rings out, arcane energies washing over everything in the area.

 Chapter 30

    As the dust kicked up by the explosion settles Darius looks around a little for the woman he was fighting. He dispels the Arcane Shield he had cast to protect himself from the blast. Darius sees the woman laying on the ground 20 metres from where she had been. He turns towards the soldiers she had brought with her. ¡°Okay, you should take her, and leave, now.¡±

    A few of the soldiers run over to her and quickly pick her up, they carry her away as they leave. Darius walks back up to the gate which opens for him, he walks in, looking around as people cheer again. He closes the gate again as he says ¡°Everyone, rest up, I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯ll be back, but I¡¯ll watch for if they do.¡±

    Darius walks back up above the gatehouse, stretching before he sits down on the wall again to wait. The people in the hamlet are celebrating for a while as Darius waits. After two hours Darius sees a person walking through the forest towards the hamlet. He stands from where he is sitting as he waits for them to enter the clearing.

    Darius watches as a man wearing fancy armour walks out from between the trees. The man walks towards the gate, looking up at Darius. ¡°Let me guess, you are the lord?¡± Darius says when the man stops 5 metres from the gate. ¡°That¡¯s correct, just call me Jack.¡±

    ¡°Jack huh, and why exactly are you here? Are you also going to try to take this place? It won¡¯t be easy alone.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, no, no. I¡¯m not here to take it per se, you¡¯ve already earned the right to control land, but the question is if you are strong enough to exist outside of the Husea kingdom.¡±

    ¡°I think I get it, I¡¯m strong enough that you do want to keep me around, but mostly if you can get me on your side. I imagine the taxes that my people and I especially generate would be worth a lot to you.¡±

    ¡°Well, you aren¡¯t wrong about that, and it¡¯s not very good to have someone we don¡¯t know trying to build an unaffiliated kingdom right on our borders.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Darius shrugs as he looks down at Jack. ¡°You say that but surely you can realize how good a buffer state would be to have between you and your enemy, it would allow for longer periods of peace, especially if things don¡¯t go as you plan.¡±

    ¡°Well. I will consider that. But only after you can prove you are strong enough to run your own kingdom. If you win our duel, I¡¯ll leave you and your people alone, and allow the possibility of trading.¡±

    Darius nods ¡°Those are good terms, but I would like to add something. I¡¯d like you to send your discontent and generally those you don¡¯t like here to join me. You can probably guess that I don¡¯t have many people, and could use more.¡±

    ¡°And how do I know you wouldn¡¯t use those I send against me?¡± Jack says as he looks at Darius with suspicion.

    ¡°Well, you will need to trust me, that and I¡¯ll be too busy making this area perfectly livable to use them against you, besides if I wanted to, I could just take your position.¡±

    Jack slowly nods before he says ¡°We¡¯ll see if that¡¯s true, shall we?¡± Darius sighs before he stands and drops from the wall again. ¡°Very well, I was hoping to avoid another fight, especially one where there could be real destruction.¡±

    Jack laughs ¡°Looking out for your people huh? At least you have some qualities a good lord has.¡± Jack says before he moves to 20 metres from Darius. Darius nods slightly as he looks at Jack before he draws his sword and points it at him. ¡°Let¡¯s do this¡± Darius says before he starts to run in a circle around Jack, who just watches him.

    ¡°Give it your best shot,¡± Jack says, looking towards Darius. Darius frowns as he looks at Jack before he shrugs. He quickly charges up a fully overcharged Ice Shard through his sword, which then blasts towards Jack. It¡¯s the width of a person''s torso and as 6 feet long, the tip is sharpened into a deadly point.

    Darius frowns as all Jack does to block it is raise his hand before he sees an arcane shield appear in front of Jack. Darius shakes his head as he says ¡°Poor choice.¡± before the Ice Shard hits the shield, slowing down for a fraction of a second before piercing through the shield, blasting through Jack''s arm entirely destroying it.

    Jack looks down towards the bloody stump where his arm once was ¡°Well, that¡¯s unfortunate.¡± He says before he looks towards Darius. ¡°Unfortunate? Just unfortunate? I blasted your arm off.¡±

    Jack shrugs as he raises the stump, while Darius¡¯ eyes widen, seeing it is already starting to regrow. ¡°I have very good health regeneration.¡±

    ¡°Well, shit, you certainly do, I didn¡¯t know you could regrow limbs,¡± Darius says as he shakes his head. ¡°Normally you can¡¯t, but certain traits let you.¡±

    ¡°That is good to know, now, is that enough proof that I¡¯m strong enough to run a kingdom?¡± Jack shakes his head ¡°Nearly. But that¡¯s only a single attack, you¡¯ll need more than that.¡±

 Chapter 31

    Darius sighs as he looks at Jack, shaking his head slightly as he raises his sword again. ¡°Well, if you want to continue this duel, then let¡¯s go,¡± Darius says as he starts to charge up a firebolt. Jack suddenly rushes towards Darius, a sword appearing in his hand. He swings his sword as he gets close to Darius, while Darius dodges out of the way.

    Darius swings his sword towards Jack as he dodges, managing to hit his sword against Jacks, releasing the firebolt towards Jack at the same time. Jack tries to jump back but is unable to dodge the firebolt, getting hit right in the chest, the metal of his chest plate heating up.

    Jack winces as he glances down at his chest, before he notices the fire on his sword. He frowns as he says ¡°Enchanted sword? Interesting.¡± ¡°Oh, you have no idea,¡± Darius says as he charges up his magical edge.

    Darius charges towards Jack again, swinging his sword down on Jack''s. With the magical edge overcharged, his sword slashes through Jack¡¯s as if it wasn¡¯t there, and as the end passes through Jack¡¯s sword is absorbed into Darius¡¯.

    Darius jumps back quickly as he looks down towards his sword surprised, saying ¡°Okay, I had no idea it could do that.¡± Jack frowns as he looks at Darius ¡°You are certainly full of surprises aren¡¯t you.¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, but this is a surprise even to me, I guess my identification skill isn¡¯t strong enough to learn about that ability.¡± Darius says with a shrug Jack shakes his head as a spear appears in his hand, and he says. ¡°This duel isn¡¯t over yet, however.¡±

    Darius nods as he looks at Jack before Jack seems to disappear. Darius looks around, before flooding his eyes with mana. He looks around before he spots Jack charging towards him. He moves his sword with enough time to barely deflect the spear, causing it to just scrape against his side instead of impaling him.

    Darius winces as he jabs with his sword towards the slightly melted portion of Jack¡¯s chest plate. The sword breaks through the weakened area and stabs into Jack, who looks at Darius with a slight surprise. Darius holds his hand up towards Jack''s head, focusing his mana through a finger to create a needle of arcane energy.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Jack drops the spear as a knife appears in his hand raising it towards Darius¡¯ neck as Darius presses the arcane energy to Jack¡¯s forehead. They look at each other, holding their weapons on each other. Jack chuckles as he says ¡°Well, it looks like this fight is a draw.¡± Darius nods, saying ¡°That¡¯s good enough for me.¡± Darius then moves back, pulling his sword from Jack.

    ¡°Very well, it looks like you do have the strength to run a small kingdom, I¡¯ll be on my way. I¡¯ll probably send a messenger at some point in the future to determine your lands, as well as any agreements between us.¡± Jack says as he starts to walk back towards the forest. ¡°Sounds good to me, I¡¯ll make sure to receive them well,¡± Darius says as he watches Jack

    Darius walks back inside the walls of the hamlet before some screens appear in front of him.

    <hr>

    Skills Gained [Basic Mana vision lvl 4] [Basic tactics lvl 1]

    [Basic Mana vision]

    User is able to see Mana

    Ease of determining types of mana increased by 4%

    [Basic tactics]

    Plans made by User have 2% more likelihood of success.

    <hr>

    Spell created [Arcane Needle lvl 1]

    Chance of piercing increased by 5% per level

    Control of Needle increased by 1% per level.

    Hey, something that fits you for once, it¡¯s small and weak.

    <hr>

    Darius snorts as he reads about the Arcane Needle ¡®It has great potential, it should be able to get through any armour at higher levels¡¯ Darius walks through the hamlet towards his cabin, shaking his head slightly.

    One of the women walks up to him and asks ¡°Sir Darius, we are going to celebrate, we are hoping you would join us.¡± Darius looks at her shrugging as he says ¡°Sorry to disappoint you, but after all of that, I should probably get some rest. You all have fun.¡± The woman looks disappointed but nods ¡°Very well sir, have a good evening.¡±

    Darius goes into his cabin, heading to bed and laying on it, he looks up at the ceiling. ¡®What to do next? I should probably get Myrdou¡¯s followers to recognize us, which is probably going to be so much harder. I definitely can¡¯t mention that Jack and the followers of Nouet recognize us as our own nation, even if we barely are one.¡¯ Darius shrugs as he yawns, soon closing his eyes and falling asleep.

 Chapter 32

    Darius yawns as he sits up in bed, he rubs his eyes before he looks around. He freezes as he sees he is no longer in the cabin but instead in his bedroom. He slowly stands as he shakes his head, saying ¡°This can¡¯t be real, I¡¯m supposed to be on that planet for at least 6 months, and it hasn¡¯t even been one.¡±

    ¡°How astute of you.¡± A feminine voice says, seemingly coming from nowhere. Darius sighs as he shakes his head looking at her as he says ¡°Ah, of course, Teqraura, you might as well make yourself visible or whatever.¡±

    Darius hears a giggle before Teqrarua appears across the room from him, she smiles as she says ¡°Oh come on, you should enjoy this, I know you miss home.¡±

    ¡°That may be true, but right now I have other things to focus on, I can¡¯t get distracted,¡± Darius says with a frown. ¡°Very good kiddo, very good, I knew you were the right person to be my chosen. You did a good job with getting Nouet¡¯s followers to recognize you and your fledgling kingdom.¡± Teqraura says while she looks around his room.

    ¡°Yeah, well, that¡¯s the easy part, I have a feeling Myrdou¡¯s followers are going to a bigger problem.¡± Darius says as he shakes his head. ¡°Oh not as big of a problem as you think, they will definitely buy that you will act as a buffer state, they may hate Nouet¡¯s followers, and while war is good for them, not as good as it is for Nouet¡¯s followers.¡± Teqraura says with a smile, looking back at Darius.

    Darius nods as he says ¡°Well, that is certainly good to know, I¡¯ll definitely have to use that line with them then.¡± Teqraura says as she walks closer to him ¡°It would also help if you are a better-known adventurer among them, you would be trusted with more and they may even send you more people.¡±

    ¡°Well, thank you for your advice,¡± Darius says with a nod, smiling softly. ¡°Though I do have one question, my class is Chosen of the Third, what¡¯s the difference between it and my blessing?¡± Teqraura pauses for a second, seeming to think before she says ¡°Oh that¡¯s simple, we gods can give basically anyone blessings, they only take a small amount of divine power to give. Classes, on the other hand, take a larger amount of divine power, it¡¯s best to keep the amount of higher rarety classes given out low, I can only make one chosen per 500 planets, my boys can do it more often, however, they have one every 150 planets, including earth¡±

    ¡°Great, so I¡¯m going to have to face people who have classes like mine on earth,¡± Darius says shaking his head. ¡°Not quite as strong, I only give the best to my chosen, speaking of giving things it¡¯s time for your reward for a good job.¡± Teqraura says as she moves closer to him.

    ¡°I thought it was the information you are giving me,¡± Darius says as he looks confused. Teqrarua giggles as she shakes her head. ¡°Oh no, not at all.¡± She then walks towards Darius and puts a hand on his chest. ¡°I know how much you like having a high mana regen, I¡¯ll help bring your other regens up to the same standard.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    ¡°When you wake up check your status,¡± Teqrarua says as everything starts to fade, becoming colourless at first, before disappearing completely.

    Darius sits up in bed, breathing heavily as he shakes his head, feeling drained of energy. ¡°God, these visions are draining.¡± He shakes his head, frowning as he stretches before he opens his status.

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 17(1330/14600)

    Class: Chosen of the Third

    Strength: 34

    Constitution: 64

    Endurance: 29

    Dexterity: 36

    Intelligence: 59

    Wisdom: 102

    Luck: 21

    Unassigned Points: 0

    Health: 510/510 HP Regen: 1289/hr

    Stamina: 460/460 Sp Regen: 849/min

    Mana: 1055/1055  MP Regen:2580/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 4] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 2] [Basic Identification lvl 3] [Basic Sword Use lvl 27] [Basic Spell Creation lvl 1] [Basic Mana Manipulation lvl 1] [Mana Overcharge lvl 35.] [Focus:Sword lvl 27][Basic Mana Vision lvl 4] [Basic tactics lvl 1]

    Spell list: [Fire bolt lvl 15] [Ice shard lvl 21] [Rock wall lvl 18] [Air blade lvl 13] [Arcane shield lvl 25] [Light lvl 1] [Shape Stone lvl 8] [Arcane tendrils lvl 33] [Healing Touch lvl 1][Arcane Needle lvl 1]

    Traits: [Patient] [Hearty] [Tireless] [Strong] [Rational] [Experienced] [Persistent] [Perceptive] [Robust]

    <hr>

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three (Upgraded)

    Blessing Upgrade Detected: Blessing of The Three

    Health, Mana, and Stamina regen +2 per level, +25% exp gain.

    Health and Stamina Regen gain 25% of Mana regen.

    <hr>

    ¡°All I can say is holy shit,¡± Darius says as he looks at his status. Darius slowly stands from his bed, looking down at his body. He grabs his old sword from the backpack, drawing it and quickly cutting himself, wanting to test his new regeneration. He watches as the wound quickly stops bleeding, and visibly closes.

    Darius cleans the sword off before he puts it away, getting everything ready, including dealing with the taxes, before he walks out of his cabin to deal with the day.

 Chapter 33

    Darius walks out of his cabin, heading to get some breakfast from the people who are cooking. After he eats he looks around for Rinar. Darius finds Rinar quickly, going over to talk to him. ¡°Hey Rinar, so I¡¯m going to be going back to Taset, I have to get them to recognize us as a legitimate kingdom. So, I¡¯m going to leave you in charge, I¡¯m probably going to be gone for a while after all.¡±

    Rinar looks at him surprised before he nods ¡°Right, you can trust me, I¡¯ll make sure nothing goes wrong.¡± Darius looks around before he nods as well ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be off, I¡¯ll try to be back as quickly as I can, but I suspect I¡¯ll be gone for a week at least.¡±

    Darius then turns and walks out the gates, looking around a little before he starts to walk through the woods. After about 30 minutes of walking Darius stops, looking around a little. ¡®I really need some sort of movement spell,¡¯ Darius frowns a little as he turns on his Mana Vision before focusing his mana on his feet, trying to form something to allow him to move faster than normal. As he watches the spells structure, he sees that it is forming by spreading up from his toes. He frowns slightly as he sees it stop halfway up his feet.

    Darius shakes his head as he steps ahead, before becoming disoriented and finding himself 5 metres ahead of where he was with a screen popping up in front of his eyes.

    <hr>

    Spell Created [Minor Blink lvl 1]

    Allows user to blink through space 5 metres in any direction.

    Distance increases by .25 meters per levelEnsure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    Mana cost reduced by 3% per level

    Increased levels reduce disorientation.

    <hr>

    Doing that manages to level up both Mana Manipulation and Spell Creation to level 5. ¡°Not exactly what I had in mind, but that¡¯s certainly useful.¡± Darius then looks around before he starts to Blink down the road, finding that it uses 50 mana to cast. Darius uses it enough that he levels it up to level 20 before the day is over, already over halfway to Taset.

    Darius sets up camp for the night in a field, laying down in a bedroll and going to sleep quickly. In the morning he is awoken by loud noises coming from two directions, as well as the ground rumbling.

    Darius groans as he gets up before he looks around confused. His eyes widen in surprise as he sees two massive armies charging towards him, one wearing white and blue armour, and the other wearing rainbow armour. ¡°Oh, shit.¡± Darius quickly gathers his camp into the backpack before he turns parallel to both armies, starting to blink through the quickly closing gap. Darius is unable to get out from between the armies before they clash, though he does manage to avoid being one of the targets of the men on either side in the initial clash. Darius draws his sword to defend himself as he continues to make his way through the battle, avoiding people and using blink to get away as quickly as he can while people fight all around him.

    Darius hears yelling coming from his right and looking towards the sound he sees a man charging towards him. ¡°Shit,¡± Darius says as he turns to block the man''s sword before he headbutts the man. The man is knocked back, a hand going to his nose before Darius Blinks away again.

    With multiple uses of Blink Darius manages to get out from inside the battle. He continues to use Blink to get far away from the battle before he turns around to look at it ¡°Well, shit, I wasn¡¯t quite expecting this to happen, especially not me getting caught in the middle of it all.¡± Darius turns to leave, but as he does an arrow lands near him. He looks down towards it surprised as he says ¡°What the?¡± before another lands.

    He looks towards the army from Taset, seeing multiple arrows falling from the sky towards him from their direction. ¡°Fuck.¡± He says as he starts to blink away again, continuing to head away from the battle.

    Darius stops blinking away as soon as the battle is no longer visible, shaking his head as he looks around. He sits down to rest and regenerate his mana, closing his eyes as he rests. However, he soon hears the sound of horses approaching, he groans as he stands and looks towards the direction he hears them from, seeing they are coming from the direction of the battle.

    Darius frowns as he sees 3 people on horses approaching him. He decides to wait and see what they want.

 Chapter 34

    The horses stop when they are 10 metres away from Darius, while the riders look down at him. The riders are wearing the colours of the followers of Myrdou. Darius looks up at them as he says ¡°Yes? How can I help you?¡±

    The lead rider frowns as he says ¡°Who are you, and what were you doing on the battlefield?¡± Darius looks up at him as he says ¡°My name is Darius, I¡¯m an adventurer in Taset, and would you believe me that I had no idea that was going to be a battlefield. I arrived in the area late last night and set up camp.¡±

    ¡°You an adventurer? I¡¯ve never heard of an adventurer that can do what you did to run.¡± The lead rider says, shaking his head as he looks at Darius. ¡°That¡¯s understandable, I only just realized how to use this ability recently, so of course you wouldn¡¯t have heard of me using it. I can show you my adventurer''s badge if that would help.¡± Darius says with a shrug.

    ¡°Very well.¡± The lead rider says before Darius nods and pulls the badge from his pocket, holding it out towards the riders. ¡°I can bring it over to you unless you can see it from where you are?¡±

    The lead rider¡¯s eyes glow as he looks over the badge, before nodding and saying ¡°You are as you say, an adventurer, but what are you doing out here?¡± Darius looks around a little while he says ¡°I¡¯m just returning after dealing with a quest. There is some very important business I have to deal with in Taset, so will that be everything?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I believe that will be everything, you best leave quickly.¡± The lead rider says as he nods before they turn and ride back towards the battle. Darius sighs with relief, putting the badge back in his pocket before he turns and starts to blink towards Taset again.

    It takes him around an hour and a half to get back to Taset. He gains 5 more levels in Minor Blink by the time he gets close enough that he stops using it and just walks up to the gates.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Darius gets in the line, looking around a little as he waits. Things seem normal here, though there seems to be a slightly lower number of guards. Darius takes his adventurer badge and identification from his pocket before it gets to his turn to talk to the guard letting people in.

    ¡°Name and business in Taset?¡± The guard says as he looks at Darius ¡°Darius, and I¡¯m an adventurer.¡± The guard nods before he lets Darius past ¡°Go on in.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Darius says as he nods, quickly heading into Taset and putting his badge and identification in his backpack. He then walks through Taset towards the adventurer¡¯s guild. He soon makes his way back and looks around when he enters, finding Jannet behind the desk again.

    Darius walks up to the desk as he says ¡°Hey there Jannet, it¡¯s been a little while.¡± Jannet looks towards Darius a bit confused before recognition dawns on her face. ¡°Oh Darius, I was wondering where you went.¡±

    ¡°I got a quest that I had to deal with, but it¡¯s dealt with for now, and I¡¯m back.¡± Darius says as he looks around the guild hall a little. ¡°Interesting, and what quest would it be that could shoot your level up as high as it did?¡± Jannet says as she looks towards his identifier.

    ¡°Ah, that wasn¡¯t the quest, that was a dungeon I stumbled into and got very lucky.¡± Darius says before Jannet¡¯s eyes widen in surprise as she nearly shouts ¡°You survived a dungeon alone?¡± Darius nods as he feels the eyes of nearly everyone in the guild on him.

    ¡°Yes, I did, it mostly helped that I got my class while in there, and a few very useful skills. After all, I had been blocked inside.¡± Jannet pales as she looks at him saying ¡°Y-you were blocked inside a dungeon, survived, and got out?¡±

    ¡°I mean, if I didn¡¯t I wouldn¡¯t be standing here would I? Though surviving isn¡¯t exactly the right term, after all, I did beat the boss.¡± Darius says before he shakes his head a little. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter too much.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter? That¡¯s amazing, what level was this dungeon?¡± Jannet asks as she looks at him intently. ¡°Hmm, I think the recommended level was 20, that¡¯s the level the boss was at least.¡± Darius says while Jannet puts a hand on her head, unable to believe what she is hearing ¡°That can¡¯t be true, you aren¡¯t pulling my leg are you?¡±

    Darius frowns as he shakes his head ¡°No, I¡¯m not, I have no reason to lie, besides, how else would I get this sword and the backpack I¡¯m wearing if not from a dungeon?¡± Darius says while gesturing to the sword and backpack. ¡°Is there a spell or something to determine I¡¯m telling the truth?¡±

    ¡°Right, yes, there is, and we will need to update your information due to you gaining a class,¡± Jannet says with a nod. ¡°Right, that should be done in private, for one I know you won¡¯t believe my attributes, and especially not my stats,¡± Darius says as he nods slightly.

    ¡°Uh, Right, let¡¯s go to one of the private rooms, in that case, they are usually reserved for high-end clientele, but can be used in special circumstances,¡± Jannet says while she walks towards the hallway leading further into the guild.

 Chapter 35

    Darius looks around as he follows Jannet into a room through the hallway at the back of the adventurers guild. She sits down on one side of a table, motioning for him to sit on the other side. He sits down as he says ¡°Right, so since I know you aren¡¯t going to believe my updated stats, if there is a way for you to check them, it¡¯s best to get that now.¡±

    Jannet nods slightly as I say ¡°I doubt it¡¯s necessary, but since you are insistent very well.¡± She says as she reaches into a pouch at her hip, pulling out a metal tablet from it, she sets it on the table before she says ¡°I need a bit of your blood to test.¡±

    Darius shrugs as he says ¡°Alright.¡± before he casts Arcane Needle, poking his finger with it and he says ¡°Where do you want it?¡± ¡°Just on the tablet will do,¡± Jannet says, looking towards the Arcane Needle a little surprised.

    Darius nods, holding the bleeding finger over the tablet, and when a drop of blood hits the tablet it starts to light up as Darius heals his finger. Jannet reaches for the tablet before she freezes as it continues to get brighter and brighter. Darius¡¯s eyes widen as he realizes what¡¯s happening ¡°Get down now.¡± He says quickly as he casts Arcane Shield to cover the tablet.

    Jannet follows his advice as she gets down below the table. The tablet continues to get brighter before it explodes, sending shrapnel and arcane energy flying at the Arcane shield. The shield holds from the shrapnel but is unable to keep its form from the energy, disappearing and allowing the energy to escape.

    Jannet slowly raises above the table as she says ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Darius shrugs as he looks at the remains of the tablet ¡°That was a magic item getting flooded with mana past its capacity.¡± Darius says before the door bursts open, a large man rushing into the room as he says ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Jannet looks at him saying ¡°It¡¯s okay Jason, no one is hurt, I was doing a test of Darius¡¯ status, and apparently overloaded the tablet.¡± ¡°Overloaded the tablet? How did you manage to do that?¡± Jason asks as he looks at Jannet confused. ¡°Well, apparently his stats are high enough to do that. Do you think you could get the guild master please?¡± Jannet asks before he nods ¡°Uh, sure, I can do that.¡± He says as he turns around to exit the room. ¡°Oh, and have him bring at least the Iron rank tester please.¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Jason looks back at her a bit surprised but nods as he leaves, closing the door as he goes. ¡°The Iron rank tester?¡± Darius asks as he looks at Jannet. ¡°Yes, the tester we usually use for Iron ranked adventurers, that¡¯s about the stats you would need to destroy one of these I think.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? I have the stats of people at least 40 levels ahead of me? I mean, I knew I was ahead, but is it that hard to get high stats?¡± Darius asks as he shakes his head. ¡°That would depend on what you consider high stats.¡± ¡°Well, my highest, and my main stat is at 102,¡± Darius says with a shrug.

    Jannet seems to choke for a second before she says ¡°1-102? How do you have something that high at your level, no one gets to that before at least level 50.¡± Darius starts to tap the table as he says ¡°That would be because of my class, it¡¯s a very good class. I mean it would have to be with what rank it is.¡±

    ¡°And what rank would that be?¡± a voice behind Darius says, causing him to look back. Darius sees a short woman, wearing robes and a witches hat, looking at him through thick glasses. ¡°It¡¯s an Epic class, and let me guess you are the guild master?¡± Darius says as he looks over her, before he checks her level, his eyes widen as he sees she is level 67.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct, I¡¯m guild master Kat. And you must be the boy who destroyed one of my testers.¡± Kat says as she looks at him, walking around the table to sit next to Jannet. ¡°Um, well, yes ma¡¯am, but I didn¡¯t intend for it to happen,¡± Darius says as he nods slightly.

    ¡°So, how about you tell me what your class is, as well as what it gives you that would cause this to happen?¡± Kat says as she examines him. ¡°Well, it¡¯s called Chosen of The Third, it gets me 2 to all stats, 12 to all regen, and 15 unassigned attribute points,¡± Darius says with a shrug.

    Both Kat and Jannet splutter at that. ¡°15 attribute points? Per level?¡± Kat says, shaking her head. ¡°Yes, per level, it¡¯s been a very good class to have,¡± Darius says a bit confused. ¡°Well no shit boy, a normal class only gets 2 unassigned attribute points,¡± Kat says as she looks him over again.

    ¡°That would explain why the traits are so powerful, they are normally rare to get,¡± Darius says as he sighs. Kat frowns, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a tablet seemingly made of silver. She sets it on the table as she says ¡°Blood now.¡±

    Darius nods and uses Arcane needle to poke his finger, holding it over the tablet. A drop of blood hits it, and it lights up. Darius heals his finger as he looks at it, prepared to cast Arcane Shield if he needs to. He sighs as he sees that it isn¡¯t getting brighter. Kat picks up the tablet and starts to read through the information on it, pausing a few times. There is a long pause at one point before she says ¡°These can¡¯t be right, it¡¯s just not possible. Your regeneration, it¡¯s absurd for your level.¡±

    ¡°I know, I can hardly believe it sometimes myself,¡± Darius says as he shakes his head. ¡°What is his regeneration like guild master?¡± Asks Jannet as she looks confused. ¡°His mana regeneration is 2580 per hour, and his stamina regeneration is 849 per minute,¡± Kat responds, leaving Jannet with her mouth dropping as she processes what was just said. ¡°How?¡± Kat asks as she looks at Darius.

    ¡°Well, as you can see, my Wisdom is over 100, the traits for it doubled my regen twice, and then tripled it. That and my class and blessing gets me 132 extra regen at my level.¡± Darius says with a shrug.

 Chapter 36

    ¡°So essentially I have an insane regeneration, I don¡¯t think there are really any problems with my stats,¡± Darius says as he looks between guild master Kat and Jannet. ¡°Well, no not with your stats, but could you explain some of your skills and spells? How in the world did you get Spell Creation?¡± Kat says as she looks back at the tablet.

    ¡°That was part of my time in the dungeon, basically I got lucky, figured out how to manipulate mana, and made Arcane Tendrils,¡± Darius says as he looks towards the tablet. ¡°And what even is Arcane Tendrils? That¡¯s not a spell I¡¯ve heard of.¡± Kat says with a frown.

    ¡°Then I must be the first to make it I guess, but basically it uses arcane energy and creates a bunch of tendrils that reach out, grabbing onto things, and pulls them back towards the center point. It¡¯s quite effective at killing dumb animals. Though when overcharged it can be quite destructive in general,¡± Darius says with a nod, looking down towards his hands, turning on his mana vision, seeing the blue of mana flowing under his skin. ¡°Spaking of that, what is overcharging? How do you do it?¡± Kat says while squinting at Darius.

    ¡°I don¡¯t entirely understand how it works, but its basically forcing mana into a spell until it cracks, and then holding it together as it absorbs a lot more mana. In return, the spell becomes a lot more powerful.¡± Darius says as he looks towards Jannet and Kat, seeing small amounts of mana flowing through Jannet, but being nearly blinded by Kat he quickly turns off mana vision.

    ¡°So, what you are telling me is that you have the ability to push your spells into the next tier?¡± Kat says with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean by tier,¡± Darius says as he shakes his head. ¡°Well, the easiest example is your Minor Blink spell, once it gets to level 100 it moves up a tier and will probably become Blink, resetting to level 1, but being slightly more powerful. I suspect your Overcharging actually breaks the level limit and pushes spells to the next tier.¡± Kat says, seeming to think. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°So, for example, the next tier of Ice Shard would be a huge shard of ice, large enough to be compared to a man?¡± Darius asks. ¡°That does sound like Ice Javelin yes,¡± Kat says with a nod.

    ¡°So, I¡¯d guess that by levelling up mana overcharge I can push my spells to even higher tiers then?¡± Darius asks, shaking his head a little. ¡°That sounds about right I think,¡± Kat says as she looks at the tablet, scrolling through the information.

    ¡°So, one question, just how many tiers are there?¡± Darius asks as he looks at Kat. ¡°Well, with skills there are three tiers for normal skills, at which point they have to be combined with other skills to advance. The combined skills then have three tiers before they have to be combined again. No one has gotten to ninth tier skills so no one knows if those need to be combined as well.¡± Kat says, clearly going into lecture mode.

    ¡°As for magic, no one really knows how many tiers there are, some spells stop at tier three, others keep going, most of the elemental spells you have will stop at tier three, I¡¯m unsure about Arcane Tendrils, or Minor Blink, however,¡± Kat says with a shrug

    ¡°So, basically my spells could keep getting stronger for as long as I keep using them? That¡¯s pretty awesome.¡± Darius says nodding. ¡°Right, well, with what you are able to do, I¡¯d say you are at least a bronze rank adventurer, so I hereby declare that you are from this day forth an iron rank adventurer,¡± Kat says, causing Jannets jaw to drop.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing such a large jump doesn¡¯t happen often?¡± Darius asks as he looks towards Jannet. ¡°Oh, the last time it happened was about 3 centuries ago. Around the last time, Chosen appeared here.¡± Kats says as she stands from the chair.

    ¡°Jannet, make sure he gets his badge please,¡± Kat says as she walks towards the door, while Jannet nods quickly reaching into the pouch on her belt. She pulls out a badge made of iron ¡°Okay, right, Darius for higher-level badges we ask that you put your mana into them, in order to bind them to you, and show you are the owner of the badge.¡± Jannet explains as she puts the badge on the table.

    Darius nods as he reaches out and grabs it ¡°Right, that makes sense.¡± before he turns on his mana vision again, carefully pushing a small amount of his mana into the badge, which lights up before dimming. Darius nods as he puts the badge into his backpack, taking out the old one and giving it to Jannet.

    ¡°Now uh, do you know who I might talk to about a getting a new kingdom recognized?¡± Darius says as he looks at Jannet, causing her to look at him with surprise.

 Chapter 37

    Darius looks around as he walks through the city, following the directions that Jannet had given him to the lord''s audience hall. It takes Darius 30 minutes, but he finds himself outside of one of the fanciest looking buildings he has seen. The building is made of marble with gold inlays, with columns holding up an overhang, as well as a statue out front of the lord. The statue is also made of marble, depicting the lord sitting on a throne being held up by humans, elves, orcs, and beastmen.

    Darius frowns as he sees the statue, shaking his head as he walks into the building, seeing the lobby is just as fancy as outside. He walks up to the receptionist''s desk, saying ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m sorry to bother you, but I was hoping I could speak with the lord, about getting a country recognized.¡±

    The receptionist raises an eyebrow as she looks over Darius, before she says ¡°Very well, your name and relation to this country?¡± Darius nods as he says ¡°My name is Darius, and I¡¯m the leader of the country, I¡¯m also an Iron rank adventurer.¡± The woman nearly snorts when she hears that, looking at his identifier. ¡°Right, well, sir Darius, I¡¯m sure Lord Virzeiros will see you right away, please sit over there.¡± She says as she points to some chairs in a corner of the lobby.

    Darius nods as he says ¡°Thank you.¡± while he walks over to sit down on one of the chairs, looking around a little as he waits. He sees the receptionist write something on a piece of paper and send it through a door with magic.

    After two hours of waiting the receptionist calls Darius¡¯ name, telling him he can go in now. Darius nods, standing up and walking through the door to the hall. He looks around the large hall as he starts to walk through it, towards a pedestal that he can only guess is for those who are petitioning the Lord.

    Darius arrives at the pedestal and sees a man sitting on a throne about 10 metres ahead of it. The man has brown hair, bright blue eyes, and is fairly muscular. Lord Virzeiros speaks in a deep voice ¡°So, you are the ruler of some new upstart country? And you think you can ask for me to recognize you? Why should I?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Darius looks up at him, frowning slightly as he says ¡°Well Lord Virzeiros, how much do you want to avoid a costly war with your enemy? My country can help with that, after all, having a buffer state between your countries will mean you could avoid any accidents.¡±

    Lord Virzeiros laughs, saying ¡°You want me to not go to war after they sent an army to attack my people? Why would I not retaliate.¡± ¡°Well sir, the attack on you was purely posturing from a new lord in order to look strong amongst his people, while retaliation makes sense, it¡¯s not worth a full-blown war.¡±

    The Lord immediately looks down at Darius, activating an aura ability as he says ¡°Not worth it? He killed my people, and you say it¡¯s not worth retaliation?¡± Darius can feel a slight tingling as he looks up at the Lord while he says ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. Yes the new lord caused deaths, and you can get reparations for that, but is your revenge worth causing a lot more of your people to die?¡±

    Lord Virzeiros squints as he looks down at Darius, increasing the strength of his aura as he sees that Darius is unaffected. ¡°So what, you want me to go and talk to him? After he¡¯s insulted me like this?¡±

    Darius nods as he says ¡°That would be for the best, but I¡¯m not here to convince you to not go to war, getting back to the point I am here to get you to recognize my people as an independent nation, and I¡¯m not leaving until you do. I¡¯ve been recognized as an Iron rank adventurer by the guild.¡±

    Virzeiros laughs as he looks at Darius ¡°You, an Iron rank? At your level.¡± He continues to laugh before he shakes his head a little, looking down at Darius seriously. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me boy.¡± He says as he maxes out his aura, causing Darius to feel a tingling sensation all over his body.

    Darius frowns as he shakes his head ¡°I am an Iron rank, I have no reason to lie.¡± as he turns on mana vision. He frowns as he sees mana filling the air around him, causing the tingling sensation. Darius sighs as he pulses out with his Mana, clearing the space around him and causing Virzeiros to look at him surprised from the strength of it.

    ¡°What was that boy?¡± Virzeiros asks as he looks at Darius. ¡°Hmm? Oh, there was just some irritating mana for some reason, I got rid of it.¡± Virzeiros starts to pale as he hears this, before he shakes his head, saying ¡°Very well if I am to recognize your nation, what am I to get for it?¡±

    ¡°Well, I know for a fact there are people who are unhappy living here, I can take as many as you want to get rid of, as well as anyone who you generally don¡¯t like or trust. As well as my nation acting as a buffer state.¡± Darius says as he nods, looking up at Virzeiros.

    ¡°That does sound like a good thing to have, a place I can exile those I don¡¯t like to. Very well, I accept, I¡¯ll recognize your nation and you as it¡¯s ruler.¡± Darius nods as he says ¡°Thank you, Lord Virzeiros, if you have anyone you want to send right away, I¡¯ll be leaving in a few days.¡± Darius says as he turns to leave the hall, without being stopped.

 Chapter 38

    Darius looks around as he exits the audience hall, not seeing anything interested he goes to continue walking when a screen appears in front of him.

    <hr>

    Skills Gained [Aura Resistance lvl 1] [Aura Manipulation lvl 1] [Aura: Basic lvl 1]

    [Aura Resistance]

    Effect of Auras on user decreased by 2% per level

    Ooh, you¡¯ve encountered someone with an aura, that was interesting.

    [Aura Manipulation]

    Allows user to manipulate auras.

    Ease of manipulation increased by 1.5% per level

    This skill is certainly going to be useful for you in the future.

    [Aura: Basic]

    User can project an aura of Mana with a radius of 5 metres.

    Radius increases by .25 meters per level.

    Strength of Aura increases by 2% per level.

    With your insane mana regen, your Aura is going to be stupidly strong, good luck not killing people with it.

    <hr>

    ¡®Aura skills huh? Well, if I can figure out how to get aspected Auras it¡¯s going to be insanely powerful.¡¯ Darius nods as he leaves the building, looking around a little before he walks back towards the adventurers guild. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Darius walks up to the bounty board when he gets to the guild, starting to look through them for anything he could do. Darius sees an iron ranked protection job. He looks over it, seeing that someone is asking for protection while they travel to a village two days away. The paper says that they are expecting to be attacked by bandits, who are trying to keep the village cut off from supplies.

    Darius frowns when he reads that, so he takes the paper over to Jannet and says ¡°Hey Jannet, I¡¯ve found a quest I want to take.¡± ¡°Oh? And what quest is that?¡± Jannet asks.

    Darius puts the paper on the desk, saying ¡°This one to escort supplies to a village.¡± Jannet looks down at the paper before saying ¡°Are you sure you want to take this one? I know you are a new Iron rank, but well, you are a new iron rank, are you sure you can handle it?¡±

    Darius nods ¡°I know i can handle it, besides it¡¯s a possibility for me to get more people for my town doing this.¡± He says with a shrug. ¡°How did your meeting with the lord go?¡± Jannet asks as she looks at him. ¡°Well, at first not so well, and I guess he was using an aura on me? I couldn¡¯t really feel it. In the end, he did give me what I want though, and it got me some aura related skills.¡± Darius says as he looks around a little.

    Jannet pales as she says ¡°The lord used his aura on you? Are you sure you are okay?¡± ¡°Well, yeah, why wouldn¡¯t I be okay?¡± Darius asks.

    ¡°It¡¯s just, the lord is the strongest person in town, excluding the guild master, and he is a master of his aura, he can really hurt someone with it if he wants to,¡± Jannet says shaking her head a little. ¡°Oh, well, if I had to guess my mana regen makes me kinda immune to basic mana based auras. And now I have the aura resistance skill.¡± Darius says as he shrugs.

    ¡°Anyway, yes I would like to take this quest,¡± Darius says as he looks at her, smiling softly. ¡°Very well, there are a few others who have already talked to me about it, and are probably with the merchant now, they are leaving soon after all,¡± Jannet says as she sighs. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll be off then, thanks for your help Jannet,¡± Darius says as he turns to leave, a screen popping up.

    <hr>

    New Quest: [Escort Supplies to Tenby Village]

    Description: Tenby Village has been cut off by bandits, help get supplies to the village.

    Rewards: 5000 exp, 5 gold coins, 1 random Uncommon Spellbook.

    Look, a quest to help people, good choice.

    <hr>

    Darius reads the screen quickly before he heads out of the guild. He looks around before opening the map, checking where the marker is. Once he sees it he starts to cast blink to get there quickly.

    Darius looks around as he enters a square with a bunch of shops surrounding it, he finds a couple of covered wagons as well as a few people walking between some of the shops and the wagons. Darius looks around before walking towards the best-dressed man here, figuring he is probably the merchant that is hiring adventurers. ¡°Excuse me, sir I¡¯m an adventurer and I¡¯m here to join the caravan,¡± Darius says as he walks up to him. The merchant looks at Darius, before shaking his head when he sees Dariu¡¯s level. ¡°Boy, you know this is an Iron rank request right?¡± Darius nods, frowning slightly as he says ¡°Yes, I¡¯m an iron rank adventurer.¡±

    ¡°You? An Iron rank, don¡¯t make me laugh, you aren¡¯t even level 20, barely enough for a copper rank.¡± The merchant says, chuckling. Darius frowns more as he pulls his badge from his backpack, holding it out. ¡°Here¡¯s my badge since you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Darius says while he shakes his head. The merchant looks down at the badge surprised. ¡°Well, this is certainly interesting, that¡¯s not a fake badge, so tell me, how does someone as low level as you become an iron rank?¡± He asks.

    ¡°Oh, just have a high mana regeneration,¡± Darius says with a shrug. The merchant shakes his head ¡°That wouldn¡¯t qualify someone as iron rank.¡± He says frowning. ¡°It does when your mana regen is enough to destroy a normal status tester,¡± Darius says looking around a little. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that interesting. Very well, you are on the team, the rest of you are on one of the wagons, you might as well go join them.¡± The merchant says before he walks off to go talk with someone else.

 Chapter 39

    Darius walks up to the wagon he had been directed to, he walks around back and climbs into it. He sees a group of 3 humans and 1 elf inside, 1 of the humans and the elf wearing heavy armour, the second human holding a bow, and the last human with a quarterstaff next to them.

    Darius looks at them all as he says ¡°Hello.¡± before he goes to sit on one of the benches. He is stopped by the human with the quarterstaff laying said quarterstaff on the bench and saying ¡°And just what do you think you are doing?¡±

    Darius frowns a little as he says ¡°I¡¯m joining this caravan.¡± while he shrugs, going over to the bench on the other side of the wagon. ¡°Like hell you are, you are only level 17, this is an iron rank quest.¡± The heavily armoured human says, frowning and looking at Darius.

    Darius sighs, shaking his head as he says ¡°Well, it¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m a full Iron rank adventurer then, and that was the guild masters decision. So unless you want to go against what she says then leave me alone.¡± The armoured human laughs before he says ¡°Like the guild master would have anything to do with you, you¡¯re a newbie.¡±

    Darius sighs, shaking his head before he feels a tingling on his skin. He frowns as he turns on his mana vision, his eyes glowing while he looks around. Darius notices the human with a quarterstaff has mana flowing out of him and he is looking at Darius seriously.

    Darius snorts and shakes his head ¡°An aura user huh, interesting that you would use your aura on one of your teammates, but how about I show you what a real aura is?¡± Darius says frowning before he blasts out his aura for a second, clearing away the aura that was already there like it was nothing. The wagon goes completely silent as everyone inside looks at Darius, most of them having gone pale from the force of his aura. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Darius then says ¡°and that is why I am an iron rank, but I¡¯ll let you in on a secret, my aura is only level 1.¡± while he smirks as he looks at the aura user whose eyes widen as the aura user pales further.

    The elf starts to laugh as he looks around a little, before looking at Darius and saying ¡°Good, very good. I haven¡¯t met someone who can get them to shut up like this before. And the strength of that aura, you must have somewhere in the thousands of mana.¡± Darius shrugs as he looks at the elf ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong about that. I¡¯m Darius, and you all are?¡±

    The elf nods as he says ¡°I¡¯m Folred, then there is Gerfast¡± The elf points at the armoured human ¡°That¡¯s Wyn¡± He points at the human with the bow ¡°And finally Aron, our aura user.¡± He finally motions to the quarterstaff wielding human.

    Darius nods as he says ¡°Well, we¡¯re off to a rocky start, but hopefully we will get along.¡± Folred laughs again as he says ¡°I¡¯m sure we will get along at least.¡± Darius nods as he says ¡°I have a feeling we will.¡±

    A man pokes his head through the front of the wagon, saying ¡°We¡¯re about to get underway.¡± before he pulls his head out. Darius finally sits down right as the wagon starts to move.

    The caravan quickly leaves the city, with nothing important to note happening. They soon are travelling through the countryside, making good time. The caravan doesn¡¯t stop until it¡¯s starting to get dark out, at which point they form a wagon circle. Darius and the group of adventurers are placed around the circle, so one of them at least could respond to an attack from that side as camp is set up and food is cooked.

    Darius spends half the night awake, keeping watch for an attack from the bandits. Luckily the bandits didn¡¯t attack during the night. The caravan preparing to travel again early in the morning. They soon get underway, with Darius being positioned at the front of the caravan. He rests as much as he can while he waits, the merchant being sure that they will be attacked at some point during the day.

    After a few hours of travelling Darius is fully awake and keeping watch for anything. Close to noon, he notices something strange on the horizon coming towards the caravan. Darius frowns as he stands up, looking towards it.

    Darius¡¯ eyes widen as he realizes that it¡¯s a group of men on horses, he frowns as he says ¡°They¡¯re here.¡± before he starts to cast a firebolt, aiming up at the sky to use as a flare.

 Chapter 40

    The caravan comes to a stop as Darius¡¯ firebolt blasts into the sky, the guards jumping off the wagons with most of them running towards the front. Darius frowns as he looks out towards the bandits, seeing that they are continuing to ride towards the caravan.

    Darius shakes his head, starting to overcharge Arcane Tendrils, as soon as they get close enough he casts the spell. It flies through the air, hitting the ground in front of the riding bandits.

    The ground starts to violently shake as the arcane tendrils reach up into the air, grabbing onto everything they can, including the bandits and their horses, as well as some nearby trees and bushes. Everything seems to calm down for a moment before the last tendril grabs onto a large boulder. After the tendril grabs the boulder all of the tendrils quickly pull into the center point, ripping trees in half and the boulder from the ground, causing a loud boom when everything hits the center.

    The guards around Darius pale as they watch the tendrils do their work, as Darius starts to walk back through the caravan, keeping an eye out for more bandits. Darius hears the sound of combat coming from the back of the caravan. Using blink he gets there quickly, looking around and seeing a group of 8 level 20 bandits fighting against the guards, with two bandits already dead.

    Darius sighs as he walks towards the battle, getting right behind the line of guards before blasting out his aura for a second. Which causes a few of the bandits to drop their swords as Darius says ¡°I¡¯ve already killed your riders, it¡¯s best you give up if you want to keep your lives.¡±

    The bandits that had already dropped their swords surrender, as do a couple of the others, leaving only two with their swords out, backed against each other as they get surrounded. Darius sighs as he walks into the circle with them, saying ¡°So, you two still want to fight, I really don¡¯t recommend it, one you are outnumbered, two there are five iron rank adventurers here, I¡¯m one of them, and three, even if you escape from us directly we will just track you down.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    One of the bandits says ¡°Better to die than to give up like a coward.¡± Darius sighs as he shakes his head ¡°I¡¯d really rather not kill you, but I will fight and capture you if I need to.¡± The bandit laughs as he says ¡°And what can you do?¡±

    Darius looks at them, holding out a hand before casting arcane needle and throwing it at the bandit''s sword hand ¡°That¡± Darius says as the needle goes through the bandit''s sword hand, causing him to drop his sword.

    The bandit swears as he grabs his hand, looking down at it surprised before he looks towards and charges at Darius. Darius frowns as he casts arcane needle a few times, throwing them at the bandit''s legs ¡°Just give up.¡± Darius says as the bandit falls after his legs get riddled with arcane needles.

    The bandit glares up at Darius, spitting on the ground as he tries to stand. The second bandit who had been watching this drops his sword and raises his hands while Darius walks towards the first. Darius looks around towards the guards ¡°Do any of you have some manacles?¡± He says as he stands in front of the bandit on the ground.

    The guards all stare at Darius for a couple of seconds before one quickly runs up and gives him a set of manacles and then runs back to the other guards quickly. Darius shrugs as he puts the manacles on the bandit on the ground before he moves to his legs. Darius casts healing touch on the bandit''s legs, healing them before he helps him stand. ¡°Right, now where is your base?¡± Darius asks with a frown.

    The bandit shakes his head and says ¡°Why the hell would I tell you that.¡± Darius sighs as he says ¡°Because, if you tell me, you might not have to worry about getting executed.¡± The bandit frowns and spits on Darius¡¯ shoes.

    Darius sighs as he walks the bandit over to the guards and the rest of them before turning around and seeing the other adventurers looking at him. He walks over to them, saying ¡°What?¡± as he sees slightly fearful expressions on their faces.

    ¡°We saw your battle here and your work towards the front of the caravan, that¡¯s all,¡± Folred says as he looks around a little. Darius shrugs as he says ¡°So, what?¡± ¡°We just didn¡¯t expect you to be able to do things like that,¡± Folred says with a shrug. ¡°Well, it¡¯s stuff I can do, it can be very useful as you¡¯ve seen,¡± Darius says as he walks towards the wagons again, starting to whistle.

 Chapter 41

    Darius looks around as he walks past some of the wagons, heading up to the front of the caravan. He soon makes it there as none of the guards stop him. Darius climbs onto the wagon, turning towards the merchant who is in the back of the front wagon ¡°The bandits attacking the back of the caravan have been captured, I¡¯ll let you deal with them.¡± The merchant nods, before he says ¡°Good to know, we can bring them with us, and make sure they face justice when we get back, there is a good reward for capturing bandits after all.¡±

    Darius nods as he turns around, keeping an eye out for anything else happening. It takes a while for the caravan to get moving again, having to sort out the prisoners, but they get underway without any problems.

    They travel the rest of the day, and as the sun starts to set Darius sees a village in the distance. ¡°Looks like we are nearly there.¡± He says as he looks over the village. ¡°Good, there is no need to stop then.¡± The merchant says as he pokes his head out from the back of the wagon, looking towards the village.

    The caravan speeds up as news that the village has been sighted gets passed down the line of wagons. They make it to the village in half an hour, with a few people from the village coming out to meet the caravan. The merchant goes and talks to the people for a few minutes, before motioning the caravan to fully enter the village.

    Darius looks around, seeing 20 or so buildings built around a square plot of land that has been kept empty which is where the wagons from the caravan end up. Most of the guards and people of the caravan start setting up tents, while a select few are invited to stay in homes.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    The merchant and an old man who Darius thinks is the village head walk up to Darius, the village head saying ¡°Sir Darius yes? I would like to invite you to stay in one of the houses, I heard about what you did during the bandit attack today.¡± Darius shakes his head as he says ¡°Thank you for the offer, but I¡¯d rather stay out here, I¡¯d prefer to be ready in the case of another bandit attack. Though, you wouldn¡¯t happen to have any idea where the bandits camp is located would you?¡±

    The village head shakes his head as he says ¡°Sorry sir, all I know is that they come from the east.¡± Darius sighs as he says ¡°Right, I¡¯ll probably head out that way tomorrow to deal with them, thanks.¡± Darius then turns to walk over to where the other adventurers are to get some rest.

    Darius sets out his bedroll and quickly goes to sleep. As he sleeps his dreams slowly change, becoming increasingly violent and disturbing. In the morning he wakes up, drenched in sweat. He frowns as he shakes his head, getting up from his bedroll and looking around, seeing he is the first one up.

    Darius shakes his head, putting his dreams to the side as he gets ready for the day, he prepares breakfast for himself, nearly finished by the time the others are starting to get up. When Folred sees that Darius is already up he says ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you¡¯re already up, bad night or something?¡± Darius shrugs saying ¡°Something like that, it¡¯s not something I want to talk about.¡±

    Darius quickly eats his breakfast as the other adventurers start to get up and get ready. He finishes his food and then gets up and walks through the village, heading towards the east. Darius keeps watch, looking towards the east for a while. He soon hears somewhat approach him from behind.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Darius says as he starts to turn. Darius sees the head of the village standing a few feet away from him who says ¡°Sir, last night you said you wanted to go after the bandits. We don¡¯t have much money, but if you do that we will pay you all that we have.¡±

    Darius sighs as he shakes his head ¡°I don¡¯t need your money, I¡¯ll do it, but I need some information about where they could be hiding, is there an abandoned mine, or logging camp out there somewhere?¡± The village head thinks for a little while before he nods ¡°There was a homestead about 5 kilometres east of here, it¡¯s been abandoned for a little while.¡±

    Darius nods as he says ¡°That¡¯s probably where I¡¯ll find them then, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± before he turns back to the east, and uses blink to start travelling.

 Chapter 42

    Darius takes just under ten minutes to get to the area the homestead he had been told about is in and find it. He looks over the homestead, finding that the area looks to have been cleaned of underbrush recently. He can also see a light on in one of the buildings. ¡®Looks like it¡¯s not as abandoned as they thought, I figured as much.¡¯

    Darius blinks closer, before blinking up to a roof of one of the buildings, laying down on it quickly. He looks around a little, trying to get a count of how many people there are in the area. Darius counts 7 people who are around level 24 outside of the buildings. He nods a little with a frown before he slowly stands up on the roof.

    ¡°Bandits, thieves, and other assorted criminals. I have come to give you a choice. If you surrender now I give my word on all that is good that I won¡¯t harm you, I¡¯ll even give you a place you can live, as long as you give up your banditry. However, if you decide to fight me, well, let¡¯s just say that is an awful idea.¡± Darius shouts from where he stands on the roof.

    The bandits that are outside all look up at Darius, grabbing their weapons as he speaks. They start to laugh as he finishes, while one of them says ¡°You¡¯re only level 17, what could you possibly do to us?¡±

    Darius sighs as he shakes his head, raising a hand as he starts to overcast a firebolt. He looks down at the bandits as the firebolt appears above his hand, being a dark red flaming ball that¡¯s about 2 metres across. ¡°Does this answer your question?¡± Darius asks as he looks down at the bandit that had talked.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    The bandits all start to go pale as they see the flaming sphere before the one that had spoken before says ¡°Come on men, he can¡¯t have enough mana to use that more than once, let¡¯s get him.¡± A few of the bandits rush towards the building Darius is on, while a couple grab bows and aim towards Darius.

    Darius frowns as he aims down towards the lead bandit, chucking the overcharged firebolt at him. It lazily sails through the air, hitting right behind the lead bandit, before exploding into a large fireball, blasting most of the bandits off their feet killing 4 of them.

    The doors on some of the buildings open, with 8 more bandits leaving the buildings. Darius shakes his head again while he overcasts another firebolt. ¡°Now, are you lot going to be calmer about this? Or do I have to kill all of you?¡±

    The surviving bandits look towards the highest level bandit who is level 30. The bandit frowns as he looks around at the men who died, before looking towards Darius and saying ¡°How do we know you will keep your word?¡±  ¡°You¡¯ll just have to trust me, and the fact that I actually came in here giving you an option should tell you that I don¡¯t want to kill everyone here.¡±

    ¡°Well, that much is true, alright, where is this safe place?¡± The bandit leader asks as he looks up at Darius. ¡°Good choice, I¡¯m not going to tell you directly where it is, I will tell you of a place that we will meet up so I can take you to it instead. After all, you are still bandits, I don¡¯t trust you.¡± Darius says with a nod.

    The bandit laughs with a nod saying ¡°That¡¯s probably a good choice, very well, where do you want us to go?¡± Darius tells them to go into the forest, sending them to the river he had found back when he first came here.

    Darius then sits on the roof and waits as the bandits start to run around and gather their things. It takes a few hours, but the bandits manage to gather all of their things, and soon leave towards the forest a few of them have their families with them.

    Once they have left Darius sighs and drops down to the ground, going and exploring the buildings for anything interesting. He doesn¡¯t find anything in the first three buildings but in the fourth, as he walks through it he finds an area of the floor that sounds different from the rest.

    Darius looks down at the floor, before leaning down and grabbing onto a loose board, finding that it¡¯s a disguised trap door. ¡°Now this is interesting¡± he mutters as he looks down into the darkness of the basement.

 Chapter 43

    Darius looks down into the darkness of the basement before casting light and sending the small floating ball of light down into the darkness. He then starts to climb down the ladder now that he can see the floor. Once down at the bottom of the ladder he steps off it and looks around the small room, seeing it looks to be a spot to hide in the case of attack, with a plain wooden chest in the corner.

    Darius walks over to the chest, looking over it as he mutters ¡°What do we have here?¡± He activates his mana sight, frowning as he sees that it is covered in magical lettering. Darius examines it, and is unable to find anything that he thinks would lead to this chest being a trap. Darius shakes his head as he goes to open the chest, finding no lock on it.

    He looks inside, seeing that it is far larger than it should be ¡®So, maybe that magical writing is for extradimensional spaces? Something I need to study for sure.¡¯ He looks inside, finding a few books, what looks like a wand, some strange tools, and a pile of pieces of metal and leather. Darius reaches in and pulls out a couple of the books, the first being Advanced Engraving, and the second being Magic Item Crafting For Beginners.

    Darius sets those books to the side before he reaches in to pull out the last two, finding them to be Basic Spatial Magic and A Treatise on Spatial Engraving. ¡®Well, this is interesting, it looks to me like a spatial mage or enchanter lived here, but how did this place end up abandoned?¡¯ Darius shrugs as he takes off his backpack, starting to put everything from the chest into it before he stands and puts it back on.

    ¡®Might as well take it with me to either study or sell.¡¯ He then picks up the chest, finding it weighs less than it should, carrying it back to the entrance to the basement and carefully carrying it up the stairs. Darius manages to get it out of the hidden trapdoor, setting it on the floor to the house before he climbs up and out. He closes the trapdoor before picking up the chest and walking out of the house.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Darius looks around as he walks outside, not seeing anything he needs to worry about he starts to blink his way back to the village he had come from, leaving the homestead behind quickly. It doesn¡¯t take him long to get back to the village, finding that people are still in the process of unloading the supplies from the wagons. Darius looks around for the village head, soon finding him. ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with the bandits, you should be safe for a while, at least until another group pops up,¡± Darius says as he walks up to the village head ¡°You have? Oh, thank you, good sir, thank you.¡±

    Darius shrugs as he says ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do, and remember, no need to pay me for this.¡± ¡°Of course, of course, though we were planning on having a celebration tonight, I do hope you will join us.¡± The village head says as he looks at Darius hopefully. Darius sighs quietly before he nods ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll join your people for the festival.¡± Darius then turns and starts to look for the merchant.

    Darius finds him directing the people who are unloading the wagons. He looks towards Darius as Darius approaches, saying ¡°There you are, where the hell have you been?¡± Darius frowns a little, still holding the chest as he says ¡°Dealing with the bandits that have been attacking this place. Now they won¡¯t have to worry about them.¡± The merchant nods a little saying ¡°Right, that was a good idea, so what do you have there?¡± while he looks at the chest Darius is holding.

    Darius shrugs as he says ¡°Just a chest I found that has an interesting enchantment on it. I plan to study it for a while, see if I can understand it better.¡± The merchant looks at it as he says ¡°And what does it do?¡± ¡°Oh it¡¯s just a basic spatial enchantment, that¡¯s why I want to study it,¡± Darius says as he looks at the merchant whose eyes widen as he looks at the chest ¡°A-a spatial enchantment? On a chest? How? That¡¯s not possible.¡± The merchant says as he reaches towards the chest. Darius takes a step back as he says ¡°Not possible? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Well, spacial enchantments only work with cloth, I don¡¯t fully understand why, but something about cloth being soft and able to bend makes spatial enchantments work.¡± The merchant says as he continues to look over the chest. ¡°Huh, so this is quite important then,¡± Darius says while he uses Identification on the chest.

    <hr>

    Spatial Storage Chest

    A chest created by a master spatial engraver who discovered how to enchant spatial engravings on regular objects.

    Oh how interesting, you found something that shouldn¡¯t be possible. Be careful or you¡¯ll lose it.

    <hr>

 Chapter 44

    The Merchant looks down at the chest Darius is holding ¡°So, how much to purchase this from you?¡± He asks with a slight smile. Darius shakes his head as he looks at the merchant ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s not for sale, yet at least. Like I said I want to study it, especially now that I know what it is.¡±

    The Merchant starts to frown as he looks at Darius ¡°Are you sure you want to do that boy?¡± Darius frowns as he nods ¡°Yes, I am sure, let me put it this way. If I can understand how to make these, then I can make more, and you could sell them then.¡±

    The Merchant thinks for a few seconds before he nods ¡°Very well, that seems acceptable to me, just keep that chest somewhere hidden.¡± Darius nods while he says ¡°Right, I do need to know if there is an interaction when putting a spatial item in a spatial item?¡± The Merchant looks at Darius confused as he shakes his head ¡°No, I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that.¡±

    Darius nods as he says ¡°Right, perfect, then I have a place I can hide this, thanks.¡± before he turns and starts to walk away from the merchant. Darius walks behind a few of the wagons before he pulls off his backpack and puts the chest into it. He then goes to help with unloading the wagons now that there shouldn¡¯t be anything attacking any time soon.

    It takes a few more hours, but the wagons get unloaded, at which point the villagers start to prepare for the celebration, with a few of the people from the caravan helping them. Darius heads a little way out of the village, starting to move around in a circle to patrol the area around it to make sure nothing goes wrong. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Darius continues to patrol for a while, and eventually right before he blinks to his next section he watches at he sees something approaching from the northeast. He frowns as he looks towards it, reaching down and grabbing the hilt of his sword while he waits for whatever it is to get closer. It takes about a minute for the figure to get close enough for Darius to see it¡¯s what looks like a gnoll with dark fur and a knick in its ear riding a horse towards him. Darius continues to wait as it gets closer, ready to cast a spell at it the second it shows any hostile intent.

    Once the gnoll on the horse if 10 metres away Darius calls out ¡°Hold there, who are you and what are you doing out here?¡± The gnoll looks down towards Darius before huffing and saying with a grave voice ¡°I¡¯m Ocek Crackscrap, I come from the Crackscrap tribe, we are in need of help.¡±

    Darius frowns as he says ¡°Tell me what¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°We are under attack by the undead,¡± Ocek says as he looks down at Darius who frowns and says ¡°Right, we¡¯ll probably need a couple of the other adventurers from the village.¡± Darius turns as he says ¡°I¡¯ll be back as soon as possible, just wait here.¡± before he blinks back to the village as quickly as he can.

    Darius gets back to the village quickly and starts to blink around it to look for the other adventurers. He finds them inside one of the houses breathing a bit harder as he appears in the doorway. Darius looks at them as he says ¡°Undead are attacking a gnoll tribe.¡± Folred stands when he hears Darius, frowning ¡°That is bad, very bad, we need to find and stop it.¡± The rest of the group stands, nodding ¡°Good, I was hoping I wouldn¡¯t have to convince you all to come deal with it.¡± Darius says as he turns to leave the house.

    ¡°It¡¯s undead. They could sweep over a nation in a matter of weeks,¡± Folred says as the party follows Darius who nods and leads them out to Ocek as quickly as he can. He introduces everyone before Ocek turns the horse around to lead Darius and the party of adventurers to his village.

 Chapter 45

    Darius and the party of adventurers follow Ocek to his tribe as quickly as they can go. It takes them a few hours, the sun lowering in the sky by the time they see a group of tents with a makeshift defensive wall surrounding it. Ocek rides up to the gate as quickly as he can, before calling out ¡°I¡¯m back, I¡¯ve brought help.¡± up to the guard standing up on the wall.

    The guard looks down towards Ocek and the adventurers ¡°Open the gate, Ocek is back.¡± He shouts towards the village. The gate quickly opens and Ocek rides in with the party following after him. He gets off his horse as a gnoll rushes up to him and hugs him quickly, saying ¡°You¡¯re back and you¡¯ve found people to help us?¡± ¡°Yes, I was lucky that there were these five adventurers in the human village nearby,¡± Ocek says as he gestures towards Darius and the party.

    Darius steps forward, frowning a little as he says ¡°We are here to help, but we need to know the exact situation, where are the dead coming from and how many are there.¡± An old-looking gnoll with greying fur steps forward and says ¡°We will tell you everything as we eat if that is okay with you good adventurers.¡± Darius nods a little as he says ¡°I¡¯m sure we can do that, but it would be best to deal with the undead as soon as possible.¡±

    The Gnolls lead the party to the bonfire they have at the center of the village. Everyone is served a stew, which the adventurers eat quickly so they can talk faster. Once Darius finishes he says ¡°Right, we need all the information you have please.¡±

    The old gnoll nods as he says ¡°I¡¯m the village head Grat Crackscrap,hmmn. The undead starting attacking a week ago, there were only a few zombies and skeletons then. They attack every night and now they come in hordes of at least 300 zombies and 100 skeletons. They come from the south.¡± Darius frowns as he nods while a screen pops up. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    <hr>

    New quest: [Undead attack]

    Objective 1: Stop the undead attacks on the Crackscrap tribe.

    Objective 2: Protect the Crackscrap tribe.

    Rewards: 1 set of basic engraving tools, 5000 experience, 1 [uncommon spellbook]

    Oh look, undead are attacking somewhere, I wonder how that happened.

    <hr>

    Darius frowns a little as he reads the screen before he dismisses it. ¡°Right, we will have to protect the village tonight and then go find the source of the undead tomorrow if the horde is too big.¡± Folred looks towards Darius saying ¡°Are you sure you want to attack tomorrow during the day?¡± Darius shakes his head as he says ¡°That¡¯s only if we can¡¯t destroy the horde that comes here, which we probably can.¡± Folred nods as he looks at Darius ¡°Very well.¡±

    The Gnolls look at the adventurers before one quietly says ¡°You¡¯ll help us?¡± Darius nods and he says ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll help you. The undead are a threat not just to you, but to everyone.¡± The gnolls cheer as they hear this, starting to celebrate. Darius shakes his head a little as he stands up, blinking back towards the wall as quickly as he can.

    He blinks up to the top of the wall, looking towards the guard that is already there and he says ¡°You go join them, I¡¯ll keep watch.¡± while he looks out at the land around, seeing it¡¯s mostly grassland, with some forest off to the east. The Gnoll nods and walks over to the ladder, climbing down and going off to join the celebration.

    Darius sighs, shaking his head more to clear it before he turns his focus back to watching the landscape. He spends the next few hours on watch, and eventually, the sun starts to set, which is when Darius¡¯ attention is at max, keeping a watchful eye out. Right as the sun disappears under the horizon Darius sees motion out on the grassland, he frows as he casts firebolt, far above anythings head, but using it to see what is out there.

    Darius¡¯ eyes widen as he sees the horde coming towards the village, he turns back towards it and shouts ¡°They are coming.¡±

 Chapter 46

    The village instantly bursts into activity when Darius shouts. The adventurers rush up onto the wall to join Darius as do most of the Gnolls. Darius turns towards them as he says "The horde tonight looks to be much larger than you all said it would be, so we''re going to be in for a large fight."

    Darius then turns back to face the horde, casting a firebolt above it again, with a few of the Gnolls gulping when they see how many there are. He then turns towards the adventurers "I''ll thin them, and then we should move in." To which Folred nods "That sounds like a plan." He says. Darius sighs as he looks at the horde, trying to figure out where the middle of it is.

    Darius closes his eyes, holding out a hand as he starts to cast Arcane Tendrils, he then overcharges it to the max he can. Once it''s charged up he opens his eyes, using his mana vision. He sees that his Arcane Tendrils look like a nearly 2-foot ball with small tendrils reaching out of it. He nods as he directs to the center of the horde and throws the spell. "Okay, that should get rid of most of them," Darius says with a nod.

    Aron''s eyes glow as he looks at Darius, clearly shocked, and he slowly follows the ball of Arcane energies as it lazily glides to the center of the horde. Everyone except Darius jumps at the sound of the Arcane Tendrils expanding suddenly, causing a large booming sound. They glow a bright blue as they tear through the horde, multiple tendrils ripping through zombies and skeletons as they expand out. It takes only seconds for the tendrils to cover most of the horde, fully 200 meters across, before the tendrils pull back, bringing everything that had grabbed onto with them into the center.

    Darius glances around a little, seeing that just about everyone on the wall can''t believe what they are seeing, and he shrugs while he says "Well, let''s get down there and fight." As he looks back at what''s left of the horde, seeing they are at a fraction of what they were before, closer to what Darius and the adventurers had been told they would be.

    Darius walks to the edge of the wall and drops off it before he starts to run towards the horde. He hears a few thuds behind him, glancing and seeing that the other adventurers have followed him off the wall. Darius nods as he draws his sword, looking towards the zombies he is running towards, seeing they are level 15. He quickly casts a firebolt through his sword, which blasts through the heads of a couple of zombies.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    It takes close to an hour for Darius and the adventurers to mop up the rest of the horde, Darius losing track of how many he killed. He looks around a little once he''s killed the last zombie close to him, seeing there are no more he nods with relief before he walks towards the other adventurers "Looks like that''s all of them here." He says once he gets close to them. Darius stops when a screen appears in front of him.

    <hr>

    Level up

    From level 17 to level 25

    You have gained 80 HP, SP, and MP

    You have gained 16 to all attributes, 96 to all regen, and 120 unassigned attribute points.

    <hr>

    Spell level up

    [Arcane Tendrils] levels up from level 33 to level 71

    Damage done increased by 355%

    Radius increased to 38.5

    Mana cost reduced by 213%

    <hr>

    Skill level up

    [Mana Overcharge] levels up from level 35 to level 68

    Charge amount increased to 912%

    Mana cost reduced by 68%

    <hr>

    Darius'' eyes widen when he sees the screen, before he starts to laugh, doubling over as he laughs harder and harder. The Adventurers looks at him worriedly as he starts to laugh before they see his level. Their jaws drop as they see how big of an increase he got from this battle.

    Darius soon stops laughing, smiling as he straightens, he dismisses the screen before he walks over to the adventurers. "Well, as you can clearly see I just got a lot stronger, so let''s go deal with whatever it is that is making these undead. I''ll apply what I got to my attributes as we go." He then starts to walk towards the east, following the trail the undead had made as they walked across the land.

 Chapter 47

    Darius looks around as he continues to follow the trail left by the undead horde. He shakes his head a little as he checks his status screen again.

    <hr>

    Status

    Name: Darius Martin

    Race: Human

    Level: 25(19022/31200)

    Class: Chosen of the Third

    Strength: 50

    Constitution: 100

    Endurance: 45

    Dexterity: 70

    Intelligence: 75

    Wisdom: 200

    Luck: 37

    Unassigned Points: 0

    Health: 1000/1000 HP Regen: 4497/hr

    Stamina: 700/700 Sp Regen: 2365/min

    Mana: 1375/1375  MP Regen:7428/hr

    Skills: [First Aid lvl 1] [Basic Survival lvl 2] [Basic Stealth lvl 4] [Basic Weapon Crafting lvl 1] [Basic Spear Use lvl 1] [Basic Beginner Magic lvl 2] [Basic Identification lvl 3] [Basic Sword Use lvl 27] [Basic Spell Creation lvl 5] [Basic Mana Manipulation lvl 5] [Mana Overcharge lvl 35.] [Focus:Sword lvl 27] [Basic Mana Vision lvl 4] [Basic tactics lvl 1]If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Spell list: [Fire bolt lvl 15] [Ice shard lvl 21] [Rock wall lvl 18] [Air blade lvl 13] [Arcane shield lvl 25] [Light lvl 1] [Shape Stone lvl 8] [Arcane tendrils lvl 71] [Healing Touch lvl 1] [Minor Blink lvl 25] [Arcane Needle lvl 1] [Aura Resistance lvl 1] [Aura Manipulation lvl 1] [Aura: Basic lvl 1]

    Traits: [Patient] [Hearty] [Tireless] [Strong] [Rational] [Experienced] [Persistent] [Perceptive] [Robust] [Astute] [Durable] [Tough] [Deft] [Prudence]

    Blessings: Blessing of The Three

    <hr>

    Darius shakes his head as he laughs again, causing the Adventurers to look towards him worriedly. Folred looks towards him as he says "Is it that good?" Darius nods as he says "You have no idea, let''s just say my strength just increased by a lot." The adventurers all pale when they hear that as they look at him.

    Everyone quiets down as the trail leads into the forest. The group quickly and quietly follows the trail, keeping on guard. They don''t see any more undead as they follow the trail, at the end of the trail they find that it leads into a cave. Darius sighs as he sees the cave "Right, it looks like the undead came from in here, so before we go in let''s make sure to be careful about what we are going to do. It''s likely going to be cramped, and they will probably be able to attack us from behind."

    The adventurers nod as they look at Darius, who then turns around and starts to walk into the cave. Darius overcharges his light spell, before casting it, finding it becomes multiple lights that spread around him and cast a bright light around. The adventurers look at the lights surprised while following Darius. He keeps an eye out as he walks deeper into the cave.

    As they continue to walk they suddenly hear the grinding of stone behind them and to their sides. Darius frowns and draws his sword, looking as the walls open up and undead start to shamble out. Darius quickly casts Ice Shard multiple times in a row before he blasts them out at the undead. Multiple undead fall, having holes blasted through them while Darius nods, having cleared the undead from the sides, leaving only the undead behind them for the adventurers to deal with.

    The adventurers quickly mop up the rest of the undead, and Darius nods, turning and leading the way through the cave again, continuing to watch for anything out of the ordinary. They continue for a while, not seeing any more traps, and they eventually reach an open area. Darius frowns as he sees a worked wall as if someone had built a wall to block off the area.

    Darius shakes his head as he walks up to the wall. "Well, this is certainly strange, but it''s not something that can block me." He then puts a hand on the wall and casts Shape Stone, causing a large amount of the stone to flow away from his hand and forms a doorway. The adventurers look at the wall surprised and Avon says "Okay, seriously, what can''t you do?" Darius shrugs as he says "Well, I can''t teleport people yet, or bring people back from the dead."

    Avon shakes his head a little and Darius shrugs again before Darius leads the way through the wall, pausing as he sees what looks like a lounge. Darius looks around confused before the wall closes up behind him, he looks back at it surprised, before he looks around more saying "Who is here? Show yourself." "Oh come now, you are so very interesting." A voice says, seeming to come from the middle of the room, where there is a chair with a table next to it that has a book on it.

    "And what is that supposed to mean?" Darius asks frowning "I''m sure you can understand, you are such a low level, but you were able to wipe out my undead, and open the wall I placed, that''s very rare." The voice says sounding very interested in Darius. "How about you show yourself?" Darius says as he slowly walks towards the center of the room. "Oh but I already have, you just don''t realize it yet." the voice says before the book opens. "I am the book of the damned."

 Chapter 48

    Darius looks down at the book confused, shaking his head as he says "The book of the damned? Really?" "Yes really, I''m the book of the damned, and you are a very interesting experiment." The voice says as the book starts to float. Darius frowns as he says "A talking book, that''s not something you see every day, and what exactly do you mean by experiment?"

    "I mean I''m going to experiment on you of course." The voice says before a bright flash comes from the book, blinding Darius. He covers his eyes before blasting out his aura. The book screeches as Darius continues to blast out his aura. Once his eyes clear he looks around, seeing the book smouldering as the aura burns it.

    Darius walks towards the book as it falls back to the table, shaking his head as he says "You picked the wrong person to try and experiment on." He turns off his aura, picking up the slightly charred book which he closes. He grabs some rope from his backpack and ties up the book before he puts it in his backpack. He shakes his head as he starts to look around the rest of the room, not seeing anything interesting he goes back to the wall before he can open it a screen pops up.

    <hr>

    Spell level up: [Aura:Basic]

    level 1 to level 20

    Radius increased to 10 metres

    Strength increased by 40%

    <hr>

    Darius opens the door in the wall again and walks through. The party all looks at him surprised as he comes out of the opening in the wall, Folred saying "Well, it''s good you came out, but what was in there?" Darius shrugs as he says "Some strange talking book, it didn''t like my aura too much, though it did level my aura up a lot." Folred looks at Darius confused, before his eyes widen in surprise "A talking book, you mean a grimoire?" "If that''s what a talking book is called then probably, I don''t really know," Darius says as he starts to walk through the cave again.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Daris looks around as they exit the cave, not seeing anything major he starts to walk towards the gnoll tribe again. "So, you said your aura was able to deal with the grimoire? How is that possible?" Avon asks as he walks next to Darius. "Well, the strength of an aura is based on a user''s mana regen, right?" Darius asks and Avon nods. "So, what happens if someone has an absurd mana regen, like say somewhere close to ten thousand?" Darius says while he looks at Avon, who splutters as he says "T-ten thousand? T-their aura would be strong enough to melt most things." Darius nods as he says "Well, it was closer to setting it on fire, but that''s about right. I''m really going to need to practice controlling my aura."

    "I-if what you said is true, then you definitely do, your aura would effectively be a weapon even when you aren''t trying to hurt people with it," Avon says with a nod as he looks at Darius. "And that is something I don''t want, I don''t want to kill people just from them being in the radius of my aura. Do you have any tips on controlling an Aura?" Darius asks glancing towards Avon.

    "Well, it''s not the easiest to get the hang of right away, but basically think of mana like water, you can''t force it to go where you want it to, you have to go with the flow mostly," Avon says with a shrug. Darius shakes his head "That is a bit more helpful then you may think." Darius says before he starts to think about how Auras work. He thinks about it right up until they enter the gnoll village, finally looking around once they arrive.

    Darius notices that the gnolls are largely celebrating the fact that the adventurers have returned, figuring that it means the undead are gone for good. Darius and The Party walk to the center of the village, where they meet with Grat who asks "Did you find the source?" Darius nods as he says "Yes, we did, you won''t have to worry about the undead any time soon." A few of the gnolls nearby start to howl in celebration when they hear him.

    "Thank you so much Sir Darius," Grat says, bowing as he looks towards the ground. "Lift your head Grat. There is no need for thanks, I''m just doing what should be done." Darius says as he nods, looking around at the tribe. "We owe your our lives Sir Darius, whatever you ask of us we will give to you." Grat says as he looks towards Darius, who nods and says "Thank you Grat, but I have no need or want of a reward from you, your people need whatever you could give me more than I do. Helping those in need is enough."

    "How very noble of you Darius," Gerfast says with a frown. "However I''m sure that you could scrounge up a reward for us." Grat looks towards Gerfast, his ears flicking in irritation "I''m sure we could find something fitting for you." Darius sighs as he shakes his head, looking towards Gerfast while Grat looks at the tribe before shouting "Let us celebrate."

 Chapter 49

    Darius stands on the wall as the gnoll village celebrates. He looks out at the fields, keeping an eye out for anything happening. Darius opens his quest screen to look at what he can get rewards for.

    <hr>

    Quests

    [Undead attack]

    Objective 1: Stop the undead attacks on the Crackscrap tribe. (Completed)

    Objective 2: Protect the Crackscrap tribe. (Completed)

    Rewards: 1 set of basic engraving tools, 5000 experience, 1 [Uncommon Spellbook]

    [Escort Supplies to Tenby Village]

    Objective 1: Protect the Supply Caravan from bandits (Completed)

    Objective 2: Make sure the Supplies get to Tenby Village. (Completed)

    Hidden Objective 1: Deal with the bandit camp. (Completed)

    Rewards: 5000 exp, 5 gold coins, 1 [Uncommon Spellbook.]

    Hidden Rewards: 1 [Rare Skillbook]

    <hr>

    Darius nods a little as he sees that both his quests are listed as completed. He selects them and accepts the rewards for them. With a couple of flashes of light, a set of small metal tools, the spell books and skill book appear in front of him. He looks over them, seeing that two of them have green covers and one has blue. He picks up the green books, one looking new and the other looking ancient.

    <hr>

    Spellbook [The Basic Elemental Auras]

    Description: A Spellbook describing the elemental auras and what each does.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    <hr>

    Spellbook [Basics of Solar Magic]

    Description: A Spellbook on Solar Magic and how it''s used.

    <hr>

    Absorb Spellbooks? [Yes] [No]

    <hr>

    Darius shakes his head a little as he says, "No, not yet at least." Darius puts the spellbooks in his backpack. He then picks up the blue book, looking over it.

    <hr>

    Skillbook [ Advanced Marksmanship]

    Description: This Skillbook describes how best to accurately hit a target from long distances.

    <hr>

    Darius nods a little as he says "Useful, not the most useful no, but still useful." He then puts that book into his backpack as well. Another screen pops up in front of Darius as he reaches for the engraving tools.

    <hr>

    Level up

    Level 25 to level 26

    You have gained 10 hp, sp, and mp.

    You have gained 2 to all attributes, 15 unassigned attribute points, and 12 to all regen.

    <hr>

    "Well, shit, that''s good to know," Darius says with a nod as he closes the screen. Darius grabs the engraving tools and puts them into his backpack before he looks out at the fields again.

    In the morning Darius goes to look for the adventurers, finding them in one of the tents passed out. Darius sighs and shakes his head, walking out and going up to one of the gnolls and says "Sorry to bother you, but can you tell the other adventurers that I''ve headed back to Tenby village after they wake up?" The gnoll nods a little saying "I can do that, thank you for saving our village."  Darius shrugs as he says "It''s no problem, have a good day." before he turns and walks out of the village.

    Once Darius is out of the gnoll village, he starts to Blink back towards Tenby as quickly as he can. He gets back to it in a little under an hour, finding the caravan is still there. He walks into the village, looking around a little before the Merchant storms up to him and yells "Just where the hell have you and the other adventurers been? I hired you all for protection." Darius frowns as he stares at the Merchant before saying "One, Do not yell at me. Two you hired us to protect the caravan as it comes here, that is done. Three, I''ve already dealt with the bandits. And finally, we were dealing with something that is much more important than you."

    The Merchant cowers back slightly as he looks at Darius, before his composure returns and he says "And what would be more important than your boss?" Darius glares down at him saying "How about an undead attack?" The Merchant pales when he hears that before he says "U-undead? Are they coming here?" Darius shakes his head as he says "No, they aren''t, how about you look at my level and see why."

    The Merchant looks at Darius'' identifier and pales further, seeing his new level "H-how many did you kill?" "If I had to guess, at least 500." Darius says with a shrug. "The other adventurers will be back later today most likely. I''m heading back to the city." Darius then turns before the Merchant can say anything, and he starts to blink back to Taset. A screen popping up.

    <hr>

    Skill gained: [Intimidation level 10]

    Chance of successful Intimidation increased by 1.5% per level

    Increases mental pressure generated by the user.

    <hr>

 Chapter 50

    Darius continues to blink towards Taset, keeping an eye out for anything interesting. It takes him a few hours, but he does make it back in the same day. He lines up to go through the gate, not being blocked at all. Darius looks around the city as he walks back to the Adventurers Guild. He walks in, looking around a little, seeing someone new behind the desk, and that there are a few adventurers at the tables.

    Darius walks over to the desk, looking at the man as he says, "Hi, I probably need my guild ranking updated, I''m a bit of a special case, though." The man behind the desk says "A special case? Really?" clearly being quite skeptical. "Alright, I''ll get a status scanner." The man says as he reaches under the desk. Darius shakes his head as he says "That''s not a good idea, especially anything lower than probably silver rank. It''d be best to let the Guild Master know that Darius is back."

    The man behind the desk looks at Darius and says "You are asking to see the Guild Master? You can''t be more than copper rank, what makes you think you can see the guild master?" Darius sighs as he shakes his head, pulling out his badge and putting it on the desk "I''m iron rank, three days ago I was level 17, which is when I became iron rank, now I''m 26, so go get the Guild Master."

    The man''s face pales slightly as he nods "Right, I''ll do that." He says before he turns and pretty much runs back towards the Guild Master''s office. Darius shakes his head, sighing as he waits for the man to come back, looking around the guild a little. He waits for about a minute before he hears someone walking up to the desk behind him, he turns to see who it is. "Ah, hello Guild Master."

    Kat looks over Darius "Hello Darius, so, you''ve levelled up again? What''s the story behind that?" Darius shrugs as he says "Oh, you know, just dealing with a small undead army." Kat''s eyes widen as she says "A-an undead army?" Darius nods as he says "Yeah, there was a Gnoll village that was being attacked by undead, so we went to deal with it. Turns out there was a grimoire that was causing the attacks." Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Kat frowns as she says "A Grimoire, do you have any idea who made it?" Darius shakes his head saying "I have no idea, it didn''t really say when it was telling me it was going to experiment on me." "it was going to experiment on you?" Kat says surprised. "Well, it wanted to, that didn''t really happen. It didn''t like the strength of my aura." Darius says with a shrug.

    "And just how strong is your aura?" Kat asks, looking over Darius. "Strong enough to set a grimoire on fire," Darius says with a smile. Kat''s eyes widen in surprise as she says "On fire? what''s your mana regen?" "Well, my wisdom is about 217 at the moment, so make of that what you will," Darius says as he looks at her.

    "T-that''s higher than mine." Kat quietly says as she looks at Darius. "How high are your other stats?" "My lowest would be luck at 39," Darius says with a shrug. "Your luck improves?" Kat says as she looks at him. "Yeah, yours doesn''t?" Darius says as he raises an eyebrow. "No, it''s very rare to be able to improve your luck, that doesn''t normally happen," Kat says shaking her head. "Well, there is a reason that my class is an epic class. Anyway I should probably be a higher rank, wouldn''t you agree?"

    Kat nods as she says "Yes, You probably should, I can only make you a steel rank, however after that, you will have to go to the Adventurers guild headquarters and talk to them to become a higher rank." Darius nods slightly saying "Right, and where would that be?" "It''s in the capitol Vlario, it''s a week''s travel to the northwest."

    "Right, thanks Kat, I''ll take a steel badge, now, I''ll probably have to go there eventually," Darius says with a nod. Kat gives him a badge and before he turns to leave she says "Good luck with whatever you are going to do next."

 Chapter 51

    Darius stands in front of the lord''s audience hall, looking around a little. He shrugs before he walks in through the front doors. The receptionist glances towards him, then does a double-take as she sees his level before saying "Ah, Sir Darius, you''re back, I take it you are here to see lord Virzeiros?" Darius nods as he walks up to the desk "That''s right, I''m here to see him." "Go right in sir. He''s been expecting you." The receptionist says as she motions towards the door leading into the hall itself.

    Darius walks past the desk, through the doors leading into the hall. He hears people speaking as he walks in, seeing that the lord currently has a petitioner. Virzeiros looks towards the door when it opens as does the petitioner, who seems to be getting angry that Darius has walked in, saying "Who the hell are you? What do you think you are doing coming in here?"

    Darius'' eyebrow raises as he looks towards the petitioner, seeing he is a rotund man, looking to be in his thirties with bright red hair. Darius shakes his head as he walks forward, moving past the petitioner and the podium, saying "Someone more important than you." The petitioners'' eyes widen in surprise and then anger "Who do you think you are." He yells at Darius, approaching him and grabbing his shoulder which stops Darius in his tracks. Darius turns to look at the petitioner, Mana flowing off him in waves. "I am a chosen, and the leader of a kingdom, I am not someone you want to fuck with."

    The petitioners'' face pales as he looks at Darius, turning to run out of the room as quickly as he can. Darius sighs as he turns back towards Virzeiros "So, who exactly was that?" Virzeiros starts to laugh before he says "That was Maxwell Dean. He is one of the richest merchants in the kingdom, and was trying to get me to lower his tax rate." Darius nods a little saying "Well, it''s good I came in when I did then, I''m sure he is very annoying." "Oh you have no idea, he comes in to bother me about it every week, claiming that my taxes are hurting his business," Virzeiros says as he shakes his head.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    "A good way to deal with that is to make it so that each time he comes in to complain about it, his tax rate increases just a little bit more, that''d probably make him stop quickly," Darius says with a shrug. "That''s not a bad idea. Now about why you are here." Virzeiros says while looking down towards Darius who says "You know why I''m here, we agreed that you would gather people that don''t like being here or you just don''t like, I''m here to bring them to my kingdom."

    "Right, it will take a while to gather the people, but I have about 300 for you to take back with you," Virzeiros says with a sigh. Darius looks up at him surprised saying "Well, that''s certainly good for me, and really I''m not too surprised that many people aren''t happy here, but really 300?" "Yes 300, mostly peasants, but there are a few people you should watch out for mixed in," Virzeiros says as he looks at Darius.

    "Like who?" Darius asks frowning. "Well, there is a noble family who decided they want to go with you, the Foxridges. They will probably try to gain as much power in your lands as possible, probably trying to usurp you at some point." Virzeiros says with a sigh, shaking his head. "Right, I''ll definitely need to keep an eye on them, how many are there?" Darius asks as he looks at Virzeiros who says "There are 7 of them the last time I checked, two women, an old man, a young man, a daughter and two sons."

    Darius sighs, nodding before he says "Well, have them gather outside the eastern gate, please. I''m going to go and get a caravan and supplies for everyone." Darius then turns to leave the hall, hearing Virzeiros muttering to himself as he walks out. Darius leaves the building and walks through the city towards the markets. He looks around once he gets there, trying to figure out who he should talk to.

    After a few minutes of walking around Darius sees a building with a sign of a wagon pulling horses, seeing the name on it is the Beasts of the Forgotten. Darius looks at it a bit confused before shrugging and entering the building. He sees a desk with no one behind it, which he walks up to and rings a bell on it.