ã€ŠFayde of the Voidã€‹


 Arc 1 begins Volume 1 Prologue

    My day was finally finished and I could head on home and finish the latest chapter of my favorite light novel. I had a few other light novels I had purchased and was anxiously waiting to read them too. Pushing the button to call the elevator, I waited for a minute or two, and when the elevator door finally opened, I stepped inside. I pushed the button for the ground floor and listened to the plain elevator music while the elevator moved downwards.

    This was a comfortable feeling for me, finishing up work and heading down in the elevator by myself while listening to the soothing music. The elevator ride was not a long one, but I always enjoyed the relative silence whenever this time of day came. It was a moment when I could reflect on my life.

    My life was fine for the most part, although there was a bit of loneliness, maybe a bit of regret too. I made some bad choices when I was young and life happened. It was difficult for me dealing with my marriage, divorce and also the fact that I could hardly ever see my own child. I wasn¡¯t complaining though, the things that happened were my own choice. No one forced me to do anything and there were even plenty of people who tried to give me advice. I was young and thought I was in love so there was no convincing me. I had been a fool and was suffering because of it.

    No time for a pity party. I shook my head and tried to push those thoughts to the side. This was my life and I had to deal with it. I couldn¡¯t fully move on just yet but I was making progress and the interesting worlds I read in my books and the games I played helped deal with it all.

    Only a few moments had passed as I was deep in thought. The elevator''s descent slowed but I had thought it to just be my imagination until, with a rumble and a creaking of gears, the elevator screeched to a halt.

    What the hell is going on!? I began frantically pressing buttons but the elevator was not responding.

    Oh man, don¡¯t tell me the elevator broke down? This can¡¯t be happening!!! How the hell am I supposed to get home now? I even pressed the emergency call button but that wasn¡¯t working either. Wasn¡¯t the whole point of the emergency call button supposed to be for summoning aid in emergencies?If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I started yelling at the top of my lungs and banged on the elevator door hoping someone would hear me. It was stuck on the second floor, where there were many offices, and it was about time for the afternoon work hours to end so someone should hear me or come to the elevator soon.

    Despite this, no one came to the elevator and there were no responses to my frantic cries for help Minutes stretched into hours, as I slowly ceased my futile actions and waited in silence in the, now forlorn, elevator. What is going on out there? Why is no one responding? This sucks! My day is completely ruined.

    As I was thinking those thoughts, the elevator lurched, surprising me and sending me head first into the elevator door. I quickly braced myself with both hands and saved myself from the pain of banging my head against the elevator door.

    What was that!?

    The elevator lurched again, but this time I was a little more prepared for it and was able to stop myself from flying in the other direction.

    After the second lurch, it got quiet. The light went out in the elevator and I was now standing in almost complete darkness. I was getting scared, I didn¡¯t know what was going on. I moved to the center of the elevator and looked at my surroundings. I could see a little, but I didn¡¯t notice anything especially strange.

    It was then that the elevator suddenly lurched one last time. This time was different. There was a sense of weightlessness for a moment as the elevator made a loud screeching sound and then fell as though it was being swallowed by an endless abyss.

    I fell with the elevator for a long time, I couldn¡¯t tell how long. I screamed at the top of my lungs in fear, knowing I was about to die. I couldn¡¯t understand what was happening to the elevator, as it went against common sense. The elevator was only on the second floor, yet the elevator and I had been falling for what seemed to be an eternity, down what could have been an endless abyss. My primal fears were stirred in that dark abyss, in that weightless surging eternity.

    Would I fall forever? Was my fate to be consumed by the abyss until even my very thoughts faded away? Years could have easily passed as I continued falling, or it may have been mere moments. There was no way to tell how long I was suspended in that state.

    Soon the elevator faded away and there was only the silent dark. I couldn¡¯t tell whether I was standing or falling, I couldn¡¯t even hear a single sound. Was I alive? Dead? Was I dreaming?

    I screamed but no sound left my lips. I struggled, but in vain.

    With no recourse, I became calm. My perception of time stopped as if frozen in an infinite loop. Within the stillness I caught a glimpse of what seemed like twinkling stars and then the darkness faded amidst a brilliant sun.

 Volume 1 Chapter 1

    (???? P.O.V.)

    Treetops rustled as two shadowy figures crouched among the branches overlooking a meadow. They had seen the bright flash of light from a distance and had come quickly to their destination.

    ¡°Look there brother, it is just as it told us.¡± One of the shadowy figures pointed towards the ground beneath the trees.

    ¡°Good, let us finish this quickly. It''s bad enough we have to come all this way for a human. Let¡¯s just grab him and hurry back.¡± The other shadowy figure said impatiently and was about to jump down to the forest floor but was halted by its companion, ¡°Wait¡­ someone approaches. Now of all times?¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s just kill whatever it is and be done with it!¡±

    ¡°No brother, there are more coming this way. We will wait for an opportunity! Let¡¯s leave before they find us.¡±

    The two retreated quickly away from the group converging on the meadow.

    <hr>

    (Peter P.O.V.)

    ¡°Haaa¡­¡­¡­¡± I woke up suddenly, breathing heavily, and frantically reached out, grasping at anything in my surroundings that could comfort me.

    My hands could only feel dirt. Dirt? What the hell?

    I was having difficulty using my eyes, they felt like they had been blinded by an intense light. As I struggled to make out anything about my current situation, I trembled from the remnants of the deep, primal fear that I had experienced as I was losing myself to that abyss. I had survived the fall through that darkness! Moreover, I seemed to be in one piece and completely unharmed. I could vaguely remember what happened, it was a mystery how I had managed to survive such an experience. Was it even real?

    When I finally managed to clearly make out my surroundings, my vision was filled with a clear blue sky and a multitude of trees. Trees? Am I in a forest? How the hell did I get in a forest!?

    I tried to get up, but I was still too weak. My head throbbed intensely. With a groan, I was about to raise my hands to my aching head, when a blade abruptly appeared in my line of sight, its tip pointing at my throat. I reflexively crawled backwards, supporting my upper body with my hands so that I could look upwards at the owner of the blade. What I saw was surprising, it was a young woman gripping the blade which was pointed at my neck. The expression on her face was fierce and filled with anger.

    Are those animal ears protruding from her head? I had to do a double take before I could believe my eyes. Are those real? Now I know I must be dreaming. Nevermind, that sword is definitely pricking my throat.

    ¡°Umm...Hi..¡± Damn, that was lame.

    The animal (Raccoon? Rat?) woman didn¡¯t respond. The woman was covered in dirt and grime and her hair was a tangled mess, but she still managed to exude a sense of feral grace and beauty. She had a leather vest on and appeared to be quite physically fit. Besides the inhuman ears, I glimpsed a bushy tail stiffly sticking out from her behind. Her hair was strangely platinum in color and her eyes were an emerald green.

    This can¡¯t be what I think it is¡­ can it? Did I get transported to a parallel world? I didn¡¯t even get to meet a goddess. Where¡¯s my cheat skill!? I don¡¯t feel anything different¡­.

    ¡°#$%#$%#$%#%#$#@$#$%#^#$^$%&^$%#$%#$^@#$¡± The Demihuman woman spoke to me but I couldn¡¯t understand her words, it sounded like gibberish to me.

    This will probably be a dumb question but might as well give it a try, ¡°Do you speak English?¡±

    She looked at me strangely, slightly tilting her head. The way she tilted her head to look at me was cute.

    ¡°@$@%$#^@^#¡± I guess that¡¯s a no on the English. What to do?

    ¡°Geez, what a pain. Do you think you could move this blade away from my throat, I¡¯m afraid I might sneeze and cut myself.¡± I knew asking would be pointless, but I tried nonetheless.

    This time she didn¡¯t respond, she just looked at me as if she were inspecting a bug. Her actions were somewhat animal like, but adorably so. I assume she felt I wasn¡¯t a danger to her because she moved her blade away from my throat and slid it back in her sheath. Now that I no longer felt my like my life was in danger, I sat up a little more comfortably.

    ¡°@#$##%$#$$!@¡± She seemed to be talking to herself, since she looked away as she said that.

    She surveyed the surroundings with a worried expression. Following her eyes, I too glanced at the surroundings. We seemed to be in a small meadow, circled by a dense forest.

    The dense forest gave off an oppressive feeling, as though it was the maw of some vicious beast Though it was daytime, the forest was shrouded in a light layer of darkness. An assortment of sounds poured from the forest, indicating its vibrant animal life, as the strange trees slightly swayed in the afternoon breeze. Since I had lived my entire life in urban areas, I could not identify the trees, but even I could tell that they weren¡¯t normal as they gave off a subtle creepy vibe. The vibrant forest with a subtly creepy atmosphere was surreal.

    The strangely animalistic girl crouched as she continued to survey the forest, her ears twitching and her bushy tail slightly swaying behind her body. Did she discover some dangerous animals nearby? After some more examination of the young woman, I realized that she had a predominantly human appearance. Of course, being a fan of light novels, I was familiar with the concept of Demihumans, but I never thought that anything like that could possibly exist. Are they a product of a human and an animal? How does that even happen? Questions for another time I suppose, can¡¯t even communicate with her.

    I wonder what kind of Demihuman she is? Raccoon? No, maybe a fox? I honestly can¡¯t tell the difference. I was never much of an animal or nature lover to begin with. I mean, I liked dogs and I admired lizards and birds, but that was pretty much it.

    I decided to once again attempt to stand up. I slowly got up, keeping my motions steady and non-aggressive. I made sure not to make any sudden movements. I didn¡¯t want to startle the young woman. I would prefer to keep my life intact, and I didn¡¯t think that the young woman was completely stable.

    She completely disregarded me as she quietly stared off into the forest. Her hand caressed the pommel of the blade, ready to unsheathe it at a moment¡¯s notice. As my clothes were disheveled, I dusted the dirt off them quite loudly. Her ears twitched in response and she gave me a harsh look, with one finger on her lips.

    ¡°Shhh!¡±

    How unexpected, we actually share the same nonverbal gestures. What is she doing anyway? It looks like she is going on high alert, but I can¡¯t sense anything nearby.

    Just when I was about to ask her what she was doing, her left hand grabbed a dagger from her boot, and she flung it straight at me. At that moment, I thought I was about to die, but instead of hitting me, the dagger flew past me at a frightening speed.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    THUNK! That doesn¡¯t sound good!

    I quickly turned around and came face to face with a horror straight out of a Tolkien novel. It snarled, baring its fangs at me. It swung its weapon and my body moved on its own. I took a step backwards while shielding my face with my arms. I hadn¡¯t even had a chance to get a good look at the creature.

    Time seemed to slow as my adrenaline kicked in due to the high stress situation I found myself in. I could just barely make out the weapon that was bearing down on me. Before it could strike at me, I felt a powerful wind blow right past my face and the monster¡¯s head, which had previously been quite attached to its body, flew right off. With one shot, a clean cut and a deadly blow! Blood immediately gushed from its neck like a geyser just missing me.

    I gagged at the sight and had to force myself to swallow the vomit attempting to climb up my throat. I had never seen such a gruesome thing before and was unaccustomed to it. I realized how close I had come to death, if the Demihuman woman hadn¡¯t thrown the dagger and then saved me with her attack, I would be dead.

    As the body of the monster fell, a strange sensation came over me. A black mist swirled from out of the monster¡¯s wound and flew towards me. I stepped backwards but I didn¡¯t react quick enough and the black mist entered my body. At that moment, excruciating pain wreaked havoc on my mind causing me to tear up. It felt as if something were trying to claw its way out of my brain. I fell to my knees with both hands clutched against my head.

    Black flames flared up around my hands, circulating and spiraling up and down my arms uncontrollably. I continued to grasp my head, I felt as if I could claw out my eyes if it would only end the pain. I could just barely make out the young Demihuman woman staring at me cautiously but the tears blurred my vision.

    <hr>

    (Mysterious Woman P.O.V.)

    I can smell the stench of my prey, they are close now! As a Demihuman of the Foxkin tribe my senses were far superior to that of a human and I could track by smell within a certain range.

    I was hunting a pack of Kobolds that had been attacking humans along the King¡¯s road for some time. They attacked any merchants or travelers that passed by and then they would escape into the forest. Monsters such as these were not truly living things. They were beings created by the magic crystals within them and their sole purpose was to kill anyone they came across. They lacked any semblance of morality or purpose other than to seek the lives of both Humans and Demihumans. They could not be reasoned with and they could not be dissuaded from their bloodlust.

    This particular group of Kobolds had become quite a nuisance as of late and a reward had been posted for their extermination. Their origins were most likely from a nearby dungeon. All monsters spawned from the dungeons and dungeons which began to overflow with monsters would then send them forth to hunt other living beings. This was the main reason why the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was born and as an adventurer myself, I had accepted the quest to hunt them down.

    If they continued to be a problem, then other adventurers might find their way into the forest. The forest was home to my tribe¡¯s village and we lived in seclusion not wishing to engage in contact with Humans. I was the only one willing to leave the village and to walk among Human civilization. I didn¡¯t blame my people though, there was much history between Humans and Demihumans. Demihumans were often killed or captured and made slaves by Humans, predominantly in the Empire to the south but it wasn¡¯t completely uncommon in the Northern kingdoms.

    Three of the Kobolds that I was hunting had already fallen to my blade, but there were still several that had escaped. I had been chasing them for a few hours now, deep into the forest. The forest was moderately dangerous, but nothing that I couldn¡¯t handle.

    Among the Foxkin of my tribe, I was the strongest warrior. This was the reason why I had success as an adventurer. Many other Foxkin were proficient with magic but not many were both proficient in magic and proficient in close quarter combat like me. While my tribe excelled in magic, they were physically weaker than most other species, including Humans. There were exceptions of course, I was one such exception.

    Despite my thoughts, I made my way silently through the brush and brambles littering my way. My strong sense of smell was leading me right to my quarry.

    There! They are straight ahead! I picked up my pace and unsheathing my blade, I whispered a simple chant. I slid my hand across the blade of my sword with care, so as to avoid injury, and the sword dimly glowed with the power of ¡®Wind Element¡¯ reinforcing it. None of these actions dulled my movements in the slightest, as I had diligently honed my skills through difficult training and many battles.

    Reinforcing the blade with attributes was important, in order to use my special attacks. With this, I could quickly use my ¡®Gale Sword¡¯ attack, which could cleanly and quickly slice through bone with razor sharpness. It depended on the strength of the monster itself, but a Kobold would not be able to survive an attack like this. It was possible to use similar attacks strictly through martial skills, but my fighting style relied on magical reinforcement.

    I jumped out into the middle of a small forest meadow, hoping to catch my prey by surprise, but I was immediately blinded by an intense light and was momentarily disoriented.

    What is going on? I landed clumsily, almost falling, something which had never happened to me before. Is this a spell? No, I didn¡¯t sense the presence of any other creatures, and it would have to have been powerful magic to hide all traces of life to that extent. There were no monsters within the forest that were capable of such magic.

    I was temporarily blinded, and reflexively shielded my eyes with my hands. When the light dissipated, I still could not see but I knew that it would be temporary and that my vision would soon return.

    Is that a human I smell? My vision slowly came into focus.

    It is a human! Was he the cause of that blinding light? What was that power? Regardless of who this human is, because of him my prey has escaped again! I approached the human with a threatening glare and pointed my sword at his neck. He didn¡¯t budge but I didn¡¯t sense that he was a threat.

    ¡°#@$$@*$¡± I couldn¡¯t understand his words and I didn¡¯t recognize the language the Human spoke.

    I can¡¯t understand what he is saying, it isn¡¯t like any human language I have heard before. Is he not from the kingdom of La¡¯gun? He doesn¡¯t appear to pose any danger.

    I sheathed my sword at my side and decided to question him in the Human tongue.

    ¡°Human, who are you and how did you get here? What was that light that blinded me?¡± He didn¡¯t seem to understand what I was saying which made me sigh in frustration.

    ¡°@$@#%#^#^$^#%#%*&@#$#$%^$^^$#%^%^$#%#$%#%#¡± He spoke again, longer this time, but the words were still incomprehensible to me.

    Really, what a strange language. Maybe he is from a foreign kingdom that I have never heard of, then, how did he get here? Does it have something to do with that light? Was he somehow transported here? If so, that would be legendary magic, the likes of which I have never seen.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this!¡± I picked up the scent of Kobolds again, they seemed to be coming closer and not heading in the opposite direction.

    Are the monstersbeing attracted back here because of that bright light? I immediately prepared my sword by unclasping the sheath and I also prepared a dagger for throwing. I quieted my breath and surveyed the surrounding trees.

    It seems that all the Kobolds I am chasing are advancing on our position. Perhaps they thought they had an advantage because of the bright light. Either that or this was their intention all along, to drag me deep into the forest where they could attempt to surround and kill me.

    The magic reinforcement on my sword was still in effect and I was fully prepared for any attack. It was then that the human decided to stand up and brush the dirt off his clothes, making a loud noise in the process.

    ¡°Shhh!¡± Does he have no sense of his surroundings? He is completely unguarded.

    The monsters clearly heard the noises he was making and decided that was the moment to strike. One of them approached the Human from behind and was about to stab him with a spear. I threw my dagger as swiftly as I could and ran, it would not be enough to kill the Kobold, but it would distract him long enough to save the Human. As an adventurer, I couldn¡¯t just let someone be killed right in front of me. If the Human turns out to be a threat, I will deal with him then.

    The dagger hit its target with a THUNK! The human turned around and used its arms to shield itself awkwardly, while stepping back away from the Kobolds spear. My dagger had given the Human time to avoid the monster¡¯s attack and I quickly sped past the human and swung my sword, unleashing my ¡®Gale Sword¡¯ attack. My blade cut through flesh and bone with no resistance, relieving the Kobold of its head.

    Blood gushed forth from the open wound where the Kobold¡¯s head once was. I had saved the human but he suddenly cried out in pain while holding his head and falling to his knees. I wasn¡¯t sure what happened but as he fell, a strange black flame spread along his hands and arms. It gave off an ominous light and abnormal heat.

    Those flames sent chills down my body and a sudden familiar feeling washed over me. I couldn¡¯t describe it and I had never seen anything like this happen before. The flames were clearly from the Human¡¯s body, was it magic!? I have never seen such a spell.

    I didn¡¯t have time to think long on it, my prey approached.

 Volume 1 Chapter 2

    (Mysterious Woman P.O.V.)

    I don¡¯t have the time to sit here wondering about this strange human. The remaining Kobolds had rushed through the trees and came towards us and my battle sense had become heightened as I prepared for the oncoming enemies.

    I made a swift decision and dashed forward to meet them at the forefront. I quickly parried the first enemy¡¯s attack and dodged the thrust of a secon. I deftly jumped backwards to gain some distance from the group of monsters. I didn¡¯t want to give them an opportunity to surround me. Even though they would not pose much of a problem for me individually, if all six of them surrounded me, it would be a difficult battle. In addition, I had to keep the Kobolds¡¯ focus on me and resist their group attacks, or else they might swarm the human. If that happened, he would be finished.

    I need to quickly go on the offensive and trim their numbers down a bit. I swiftly chanted a spell and I swung my left hand like a whip causing blades of air to fly forth from my blade. Two Kobolds were instantly cut down. The ¡®Wind blades¡¯ that were flung from my sword sliced their bodies in several places and their blood splattered all over the forest bed. They wore no armor and my ¡®Wind blades¡¯ met very little resistance. Their bodies were simply not hardy enough to resist the strength of my spell.

    With only four of them remaining, the battle became a one-sided slaughter. The distraction, of having two of their number cut down so suddenly, left them in momentary disarray. This provided enough time for me to quickly approach another one and cut it down with a downward slash. Two of the other Kobolds shook away their confusion and ran at me as one. Two spears were thrust at me from different directions, but I hit them away and followed up with a thrust of my own, impaling one of them on my sword.

    The sword became stuck in the body of the monster and I was forced to kick the body away, while drawing two daggers from my vest. I held both daggers with the blades facing downwards and prepared for the next attack that would definitely come soon. I had lost sight of one of the Kobolds as I became distracted trying to defend against the thrusts of the enemy¡¯s spear with my daggers. It would be difficult for me to get in close with the small reach of the daggers, so I decided to use another spell to quickly finish the monster off.

    I jumped back to get some distance and began to chant quickly, I could see out of the corner of my eye that one of my opponents had gotten away from me and was running towards the Human. I needed to finish this spell quickly and run to his aid. When my chant was done I stopped moving, planting my feet into the ground, and faced the Kobold I was engaged with.

    With the daggers still held in my hands, I thrust my hands forward and shards of ice spewed forth. The shards of ice moved too rapidly for the monster to respond and it was impaled by the shards of ice. The Kobold fell slowly to the ground, dead. Impaled by dozens of shards of ice, yet with no blood pouring out of the wounds, it looked as if it was a sleeping porcupine.

    Without hesitation, I looked towards the last of the Kobolds who was swiftly approaching the Human. He was still on his knees, grasping at his head in pain. Those ominous black flames continued to pulse and circulate around his arms. I won¡¯t make it time! I ran as fast as I could but I knew that it would only be moments before the Human would be impaled by a spear.

    Just as the spear was thrust forward, I winced knowing that the Human was about to be run through. The Human¡¯s head suddenly snapped up and even from this distance I could see that his eyes were black as midnight. I could feel a surge of power and the flames that had been circulating around his arms suddenly burst forth as the Human reached towards the Kobold. The black flames surged forward as if alive, instantly burning a hole through its chest causing it to drop to the floor dead.

    I slowed to a stop and stood there as shivers ran down my spine. What is this human? I thought to myself in shock. Whatever magic he had used was far too unfamiliar and powerful. Maybe my father would know something about this. If only I could communicate with this human.

    All of the monsters had finally died and I could breathe a sigh of relief. I thought the human was as good as dead but he surprised me. I was breathing heavily, due to the intense physical activity of the battle, but I wasn¡¯t especially tired. My body was well trained and something like this wouldn¡¯t wear me out. Less than ten minutes had passed from start to finish, nothing I couldn¡¯t handle. I could feel a light sweat on my body and there was some splattered blood on my vest and in my hair. It made for quite the fearsome appearance.

    I walked cautiously over to the human and carefully looked down at him. The flames that had circulated around his arms had finally dissipated but he still seemed to be in pain. He was quite strange, I had never seen anyone like him before. He doesn¡¯t physically look much different from any other human you can find in the kingdoms around here, but he had strange clothing and was surprisingly very clean. I looked him over as best I could without getting too close to see if he had any injuries on him.

    He smelled nice, unlike the smell of other humans that I was accustomed to. They often reeked of musk and sweat but this Human smelled of flowers and fruit. His hair appeared very clean and his facial hair was well maintained from what I had seen. The material in his clothing was unfamiliar and his shoes were of high quality. He had some strange jewelry on his wrist and there was also a carrying bag made of a strange material near him.

    Is this man a noble of some kind? If he were a peasant, there is no way he could be so clean that there was not even a speck of dirt on him, other than the dirt he had gotten on his clothing when fumbling around on the ground.

    I hadn¡¯t planned to stay in this forest so long and now I had this Human to deal with so I was uncertain what I should do. I was cautious because I had seen his power but he didn¡¯t look particularly strong. I needed to determine whether he was a threat.

    I suppose in his case, looks can be deceiving. As I thought this, his arms fell to his sides and he looked up at me. His eyes were no longer black and he was no longer in pain.

    <hr>

    (Peter P.O.V.)

    I felt like I had been having a long nightmare, that had now finally ended. I felt excruciating pain as a strange dark mist entered my body.

    I could feel it moving around inside me and I heard a disembodied voice call out to me saying, ¡°The essence of the Void fills you with power. You may now use the flames of the Void, ¡®Void flames¡¯.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t control the power swelling within me and it burst forth from my arms and eyes. Please tell me it was all just a dream. I looked up and my eyes met the Demihuman¡¯s eyes, Not a dream, ugh.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    I was still in the forest and I could still see that strange sky I didn¡¯t recognize. The Demihuman woman continued to observe me cautiously. She must have been wary of the strange power I had exhibited earlier. I guess I did get a cheat skill after all! I will have to figure out how to use my power but for now let me try to show this girl I am no danger to her.

    I stood up slowly and held my hands out to show her I meant no harm. She continued to watch me and took a step back, her hand was gripping the pommel of her blade but she didn¡¯t attack.

    ¡°I mean you no harm¡± I did my best to use hand gestures to show her that I didn¡¯t want to hurt her. She seemed to get my intention because she visibly relaxed but didn¡¯t entirely let down her guard.

    ¡°!@#$%^&*%$#@#!&*^%^^%*!#@!##!#!@$#$^%&¡± She spoke in her strange language and pointed towards the monsters that were dead on the floor.

    The sight was gruesome and I could feel bile rising again but I kept it under control. This was the first time I experienced such a sight but I did my best not to appear pathetic in front of this girl. I couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying and she threw up her hands in frustration.

    Putting down the pack she had been carrying, she walked over to one of the monsters. I was impressed she had been able to fight the monsters while wearing that pack. She must be pretty capable, her movements were quick despite the added weight.

    I soon realized what she had been saying as she started dragging the corpses and lined the bodies up side by side. I couldn¡¯t believe such a young woman had no issue with dragging corpses, and death in general. I guess it¡¯s not so strange, I mean in light novels this is pretty normal. Hmm, is she going to harvest them? Do they have magic crystals or something? I continued to watch as I thought these things. It never occurred to me that I should help her.

    She got to work cutting up the bodies. It looked like the young woman was searching for something and seemed perplexed when she didn¡¯t find whatever it was she was looking for. After several minutes and a few cut up bodies, she gave up and glared at me as she walked past.

    ¡®What?¡± I just shrugged. I had no experience with these kinds of things, what did she expect me to do? No way was I about to help cut up some dead bodies. I doubted I could hold whatever was in my stomach if I got any closer.

    What is she doing now? I followed her as she looked for dry twigs and such. I helped gather some as I assumed she was going to build a fire. Night was fast approaching, is she really thinking of camping out here? Can¡¯t we find another location, one without dead bodies? Please? I sighed knowing I wouldn¡¯t be able to communicate my discomfort to her.

    After we found enough material to burn, she started a fire with some flint and a rock. She gestured towards me and I understood it as her asking me to wait there. I was completely relying on her so all I could do was comply. I was really hoping she didn¡¯t plan to leave me here and run. If she did, I would most certainly die. I had no idea where I was or how I would leave the forest and the forest felt dangerous.

    She was gone for a while and I was getting increasingly worried. Just when I was beginning to feel like she wasn¡¯t coming back, she returned. Thankfully she had only gone hunting as she returned with some skinned animals I didn¡¯t recognize. At least I hoped they were skinned animals and not monsters.

    She put the meat on some sticks and started cooking them over the fire. My mouth watered at the smell and my stomach started grumbling at me. While I was hungry, I was a little concerned with the mystery meat she was cooking. While she cooked, she watched me silently. We couldn¡¯t communicate so we just watched each other.

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was drooling over some mystery meat being cooked by a Demihuman, while a bunch of dead bodies were rotting across the meadow from me. Life sure is strange, never would have thought I would actually end up in a Parallel world!

    Even more interesting was this woman. The woman was even filthier than before, with swathes of blood now joining the dirt in staining her body. She looked like an insane serial killer. A creepy serial killer, who just kept staring at me¡­

    I wondered at how she could remain so calm given the circumstances.

    ¡°@%$#$$^@%&@$&@&^@,¡± She made some hand gestures and spoke in that strange language of hers and then handed me a stick with some meat on it.

    I am just going to go with the flow here and ignore my surroundings. The idea of eating some strange meat on a stick that was cooked over a fire in the forest, greatly concerned me. I knew it probably wasn¡¯t a smart thing to do, but if I refused, I had no idea when my next meal would be. Also, I wasn¡¯t sure how stable this woman was and preferred to keep my life intact. It would be best not to insult her, she did save my life after all.

    The meat wasn¡¯t anything special, it tasted like what I would imagine game animal tastes like without any sauce or seasonings. I wasn¡¯t really into gamey meat, I was more of a chicken fanatic.

    Well, the food was bland, but I guess I should say thank you, ¡°I know you don¡¯t understand me, but thank you.¡± I made some sort of half prayer gesture with my hands and bowed my head, I guess she got it because she nodded. We both ate quietly.

    She is surprisingly beautiful. Her hair is unique, never saw platinum hair before. She has gorgeous emerald green eyes, and a soft, bushy platinum tail. Difficult to see much else since she is wearing a tight leather vest, or is it chest armor? Well, I shouldn¡¯t stare too much.

    As I looked her over I chuckled at her filthy, ragged appearance. Even her hair had leaves sticking out of it. She looked at me strangely when I did that, but merely observed me in turn. She didn¡¯t look impressed by what she saw...

    She was not dignified in the least, she seemed to lack any semblance of table manners. I guess I shouldn¡¯t expect too much, sitting here around a fire eating mystery meat in the middle of a forest filled with monsters. She was crouched over eating almost like a man might, if he was in prison and didn¡¯t want another prisoner to steal his food. It was almost cute in a way, like a squirrel anxiously eating a nut. She finally patted her chest and said, ¡°Reia.¡± Must be her name.

    She then pointed at me, ¡°#@$%#%@%#%#@?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out that she wanted to know my name. I wasn¡¯t familiar with the naming sense of this world so I wasn¡¯t sure if I should give her my real name or an alias. Should I tell her my name is Conan? I chuckled to myself again. She growled at me. I think I might have made her mad. I patted my chest the same way she had and said, ¡°Peter.¡±

    She looked at me curiously and attempted to say my name ¡°Peetyr¡± Ha! Adorable! ¡°Peter,¡± I corrected her and this time she said my name correctly. That was the extent of our conversation, though.

    After finishing her meal she stood up and began kicking dirt onto the fire with her leather boots. She walked over to her pack and there were some furs that had been rolled up and attached to it. She grabbed them and laid them out on the floor, oh gosh, does she expect me to sleep here? Wait, isn¡¯t it too dangerous to sleep in this forest with the monster corpses nearby?

    I glanced over at the corpses and realized that they were already decomposing into nothing, soon the bodies would be completely gone. Woah, guess that¡¯s a world with magic for ya! Looks like that won¡¯t be an issue then, but who is going to take first watch? I wasn¡¯t exactly relishing the thought of having to do so but that was how these things normally went in the stories I read.

    I tried to communicate with the Demihuman using hand gestures, ¡°Who will take first watch?¡± I put my hand to my forehead to give the impression as if I were looking far away and pointed at her. She nodded her head and pointed at me and then at the fur. Guess she wants me to go to sleep first. I was happy about that but I also felt a little guilty towards her.

    I shrugged and then laid down on the fur and did my best to fall asleep. Please, no bugs... I don''t even want to imagine what kind of bugs might exist in this world. That was my last thought before falling into a dream.

 Volume 1 Chapter 3

    Before I knew it, I was asleep. I must have been extremely tired to fall asleep on top of a fur laid out on the dirt.

    Hmmm. I¡¯m falling? What¡¯s going on? I thought groggily. It felt unreal, as though I was just observing myself fall from an unknown point in space, rather than having my actual body dropping from the sky.

    Wasn¡¯t I asleep? This is...a lucid dream? I thought as I wondered what would happen if I hit the ground below. Though some superstitions claimed that dying from falls in dreams result in the actual death of your physical body, I was only slightly afraid. I never believed in such silly superstitions.

    Suddenly, the world of my dreams shifted and my body floated, with arms and legs outstretched, until I landed on the ground, which had popped up beneath me, on my feet.

    Before me, sitting on a black throne, was what appeared to be a young woman. Her body was quite voluptuous and she wore a strange, skin-tight, black, leather outfit that left little to the imagination. Her skin was an ivory white color and she had long, silky, black hair tied in a single ponytail, that reached well down her back. Her eyes were unlike anything I had seen before, a bright, glowing, scarlet color.

    Her beauty was breathtaking. It took me a moment to see the horns that were protruding from the top of her head. They were somewhat difficult to see as they were ram¡¯s horns that curved around her head and were thus partially concealed by her hair.

    I guess I shouldn¡¯t be too shocked considering I am in a strange fantasy world. I was finally able to calm down when she spoke to me. ¡°Human, you should feel honored that I am gracing you with an audience.¡±

    Her haughty attitude was a little off putting but I decided to just go with the flow. It¡¯s just a dream afterall. Surely she can¡¯t hurt my real body from inside it...right?

    ¡°Ah yes. I absolutely feel honored to receive your audience.¡± Whoever you are... I only thought that in my head, as I pretended to bow respectfully to the elegant temptress.

    She seductively rose from the throne and approached me, putting her hand on my shoulder as she walked around me. She appraised me like I was a prime piece of meat. Am I prized ham or something? I was confused by her behavior.

    ¡°Umm, can I help you with something? Or rather, where am I, and who are you?¡± She stopped directly in front of me when I said that and came in too close, with her face inches away from my own. What a pretty face...No! Focus! She should get out of my personal space.

    ¡°I am speaking with you telepathically through your dreams but I am not far from your physical body.¡± She stared into my eyes so intensely that I thought she would kiss me, but it seemed as though she was only interested in looking.

    I inched back slowly, as she started to creep me out. Noticing my behavior, she backed off and spoke again: ¡°My name is Ardan¡¯allein Sadren Hesaphiri Do Ra Yssafurin.¡± That¡¯s a rather long name, must have some significance. Hmm, in Earth¡¯s history, long names usually denoted some kind of nobility.

    She must have noticed my perplexed look because she then said: ¡°You may call me Allein.¡± She abruptly spun around before I could respond and returned to the throne. Why did she even bother coming down from it?

    ¡°Is there a reason why you are invading my dreams? I was sleeping peacefully until you came along.¡± I was a little annoyed by her behavior, there should be some code of etiquette in regards to entering another person¡¯s dreams.

    Allein covered her mouth again and her eyes gained a sinister look, as she predatorily stared at me for a moment before speaking. I was about to ask her more questions when she spoke: ¡°I have been looking for you for a long time.¡± What is she talking about now? I only just got here.

    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what is going on. Why don¡¯t you start explaining some things to me? Like, how are you communicating with me right now? Even though it is telepathy, why am I hearing your words come out in my native tongue? What do you mean you¡¯ve been looking for me? Do you know something about how I can get back home?¡± I bombarded her with numerous questions.

    ¡°SILENCE!¡± Her voice shocked me and I shut up immediately. ¡°Do you know what good fortune you have that I have come for you personally, a dragon princess?¡±

    Well that would explain her attitude. She looks like a regular woman to me though. Is she really a dragon? She has some horns on her head, but she has no other particularly draconic aspects. Aren¡¯t dragons large reptilian monsters that breathe fire and fly through the sky? Are dragons people in this world? Are there any humans in this world at all? I am beginning to think I might be the only one, well it¡¯s still too early to assume that.

    ¡°Are you really a dragon? I mean, you don¡¯t look like a dragon to me.¡± I asked her somewhat sarcastically. I wasn¡¯t just about to believe whatever some wacky stranger told me just because they were speaking to me in my dreams. She had a look of annoyance on her face, but she answered me anyway: ¡°That is what I said didn¡¯t I? I am Dragonkin, proud daughter of the Black Dragon King!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t dragon¡¯s enormous monsters that breathe fire and fly around attacking human villages and stuff?¡± That only made her angrier.

    ¡°How dare you compare my kind to one of those monstrous beasts!¡° I was enjoying taunting her a little too much. She was just too easy, must be all the pride swelling up her head.

    ¡°Alright, just calm down. I have to process this. First I meet some kind of animal lady and now a dragon woman? What kind of messed up place did I come to? Nevermind, don¡¯t bother answering that. What do you want from me?¡± I asked her pointedly.

    ¡°I already answered that question, are you stupid? I am here for you.¡± She pointed directly at me and scoffed.

    ¡°Even if you say that it doesn¡¯t mean a thing! What do you mean you are here for me? Do you know something about what happened to me? Do you know how I can return home?¡± This was all I wanted to know.

    I had often daydreamed about being transported to a parallel world but now that I was actually in one, I wasn¡¯t sure I actually wanted to stay. I mean, besides my daughter, I didn¡¯t have much going on for me at home. I¡¯m sure my former wife will be happy that I am gone but I didn¡¯t want my daughter to grow up without her father. She is still very young, If I can¡¯t get back, will she eventually forget about me? That thought gave me goosebumps, it would be like I never existed to begin with. I wondered whether anyone would actually miss me.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    She didn¡¯t answer. She just looked at me and I felt as if I could see something deep within her eyes. It was a strange feeling, a deep sadness that would drown me if I continued to be drawn in. I wondered what she could possibly be thinking as she looked at me with her scarlet colored eyes and I was having difficulty taking my eyes off of her.

    My vision began to blur and my dream became distorted. I felt like I was being forcefully pulled out of my dream. The vision of the strange dragon lady began to fade. Before I was fully pulled out of the dream, the woman said one last thing to my fading form, ¡°we will meet sooner than you think, make sure to welcome me.¡±

    My eyes suddenly opened, it was still somewhat dark outside but the sun would soon rise. I was being shaken by someone.

    ¡°#@@%@$^%#@@!@!!#@$#@%¡± I couldn¡¯t understand the words, but I recognized the voice, it was Reia.

    Reia had been shaking me, but once she realized my eyes were open, she stopped. Putting a finger to her lips, she looked off into the distance and pointed. Again she put her finger to her lips. That obviously meant that I should remain quiet. I had slept through the night which could only mean that she must have remained awake. Was it out of concern for me, or was it because she was wary of me? I didn¡¯t know.

    I stood quietly and I helped her pack up the fur she had rolled out for me. She again warned me to be quiet while we made our way out of the meadow and through the forest. Her movements were calm, but she was looking around nervously and I got the impression that something, or someone, was stalking us. Is it the Dragonkin woman from my dreams? I didn¡¯t know and I had no way to communicate with Reia so I just followed along as carefully as I could.

    Without any warning, Reia suddenly stopped and motioned for me to do the same. She put her back to a thick tree trunk and peeked around it while unsheathing her blade. I watched her carefully, and quietly, remove her blade from her sheath. The sword was an ordinary looking iron sword. There were no fancy embellishments on it or any notable design, just a plain old sword. I had some experience with swords from when I was younger and could at least recognize quality.

    As a history buff, my favorite time periods were always where people fought with sword, spear or axe. I loved those kinds of things and had played around a bit with a sword in my youth. Nothing fancy, just basic stuff. I could at least swing a blade without cutting myself.

    I creeped closer to see what it was she was looking at and she gave me a warning look but didn¡¯t say anything further and continued to watch whatever it was ahead of us. After making my way to the same tree trunk which was thick enough for both of us to hide behind, I also took a look. Ahead in a small clearing was a beast that resembled a sabretooth tiger, only larger. It was feasting on a fresh kill. Damn, I wish I hadn¡¯t looked, how the hell are we going to kill that thing?

    The beast was frightening and I was hoping her plan was not to fight it because I didn¡¯t think we would survive if she did. As I watched, it lifted its head and started sniffing the air, Oh shit! Can it smell us? Fuck!

    Next to me, Reia had loosened a dagger and now that the beast was aware of our presence she threw the dagger at the beast. The dagger pierced the beast and it roared in pain before rushing towards us.

    Why the fuck did you do that Reia! Now it¡¯s pissed! She pushed me and yelled, ¡°@#%%&$¡± and then began chanting a spell. We both ran as fast as we could in the opposite direction but the beast was quick and looked like it would catch up to us soon. Reia finished her chanting and threw ¡®Ice blades¡¯ at the beast without slowing. The spell didn¡¯t seem to faze the monster much, only slowing it down for a moment, and it continued its pursuit.

    I didn¡¯t know how much longer I could last, but knowing my life was on the line, I pumped my legs as fast as they would go. Reia chanted another spell and slid her hand across the blade causing it to glow dimly. She stopped running and turned to face the beast.

    Is she trying to buy time for me to run? If she dies here, there is no way I am getting away but what can I do? I stopped after realizing this and she yelled at me furiously. I couldn¡¯t just run and leave her here to die and without her, I couldn¡¯t see how I was going to survive anyway. She clicked her tongue in frustration and faced off against the beast.

    The beast began circling her as it caught up and growled ferociously. Its fangs were as large as an elephant¡¯s tusk and I knew that those things could easily go right through my body as if it were paper. Fuck, what do I do? I was frantically trying to think of a solution when I remembered what had happened when fighting the monsters from the day before.

    Wait, that¡¯s right. Need to concentrate, how did I use that black flame? I concentrated, focusing my thoughts and tried to summon up the power I had used the day before.

    Reia continued to hold the beast off while the beast lunged at her, avoiding her attacks, falling back and then lunging again. Her attacks were doing some damage but it wasn¡¯t enough. The beast was slowly overpowering her until it finally jumped on her pinning her to the ground. She struggled to keep its jaw from her face by holding her sword sideways and pushing with all her might. I watched in horror as the beast¡¯s jaw slowly inched closer to her.

    I strained my brain, imagining the power that I had used before and I felt a well of power within me. My consciousness pulled on it, dragging it to the surface of my mind and I could feel the power igniting within me. My arms suddenly flared up with the same black flames. It worked! I was so excited I momentarily forgot why I had done it in the first place.

    Reia¡¯s scream reminded me and I thrust my hands towards the beast sending the flames roaring towards it. It didn¡¯t even have time to respond as the flames blasted the beast and using the momentum, Reia kicked the beast off of her. She rolled to the side to get further away from the beast as it collapsed on the spot where she was a moment before. The flames continued to burn the beast unabated and it screamed in pain until the moment of its death. Its flesh continued to be consumed by the flames until there was nothing left.

    Exhausted, I collapsed to the floor but I remained conscious. I was just too tired to move. Reia was clutching her shoulder, the beast had partially sunk its razor sharp teeth into her and she was in pain. I wanted to go over to her but I couldn¡¯t move just yet. Using those black flames had tired me out completely. Reia struggled to remove her pack but eventually got it off of her. She took a large piece of cloth out of the pack and unwrapped it. Whatever it was she had in the cloth, she applied it to her shoulder and then wrapped the cloth around the wound and tightened it.

    Her task done, she remained still as she grunted in pain but the pain eventually subsided and she visibly relaxed. Once the pain was gone, she finally stood and walked over to me. I had sat up by that time but I was still not able to walk just yet. I didn¡¯t know what happened to me. Did I use too much of my power? That seemed a reasonable guess.

    Reia sat down next to me and breathed heavily, she was most likely still in pain but was suppressing it as well as she could. I admired her strength and her spirit left a deep impression on me. I wanted to thank her, even though I had killed the beast, if not for her bravely taking the beast on as she did, we might both be dead.

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t understand me, but thank you.¡± I tried my best to relay my feelings to her.

    She shook her head and put one hand on my shoulder, ¡°#^%$&$%%@##$^$%^*¡±

    I couldn¡¯t understand her words but her voice was gentle, not like it was before when she was clearly looking down on me. Or at least that was the impression I got from her earlier, but I couldn¡¯t blame her for that. Either way I assumed she was thanking me as well.

    She suddenly smiled and despite her dirty and sweaty face, it was a lovely smile. I chuckled to myself and she looked at me strangely, but then she laughed along with me.

 Volume 1 Chapter 4

    (Peter P.O.V.)

    Even though Reia and I couldn¡¯t communicate verbally, I felt we were hitting it off pretty well. Yeah, we had gone through a couple of life and death situations and we were both extremely dirty and tired but that seemed to be past us now. We rested for a bit while Reia used her magic to fully heal her injury.

    It took several hours but we had successfully navigated our way out of the forest. I noticed that whenever I used my magic ability to its limit I would tire, but after resting for a bit, it would return. Basically what that meant was, I couldn''t just spam my magic attack and I would need to rest in between fights.I imagined it was similar to a video game where I ran out of mana. These kinds of things were normal in some of the light novels I read too.

    So, while we certainly ran into more monsters while traveling, they were easy to deal with. None of them were as powerful as that large monster that almost killed us. It must have been a rare one, some kind of king of the jungle or something. Each time we killed a monster, black mist came out and my body absorbed it. That¡¯s the only way I can describe it and each time my body absorbed the mist, I felt a little bit stronger. Reia didn¡¯t seem to notice the black mist as far as I could tell but I couldn¡¯t ask her about it so I just let it be.

    My feet were killing me from all the walking and I felt I could probably sleep for a week but at least I was okay. I¡¯m just glad we made it out of that forest alive!

    Whenever we killed monsters, Reia would get to work busily cutting off monster parts, so I figured they must be valuable but she seemed frustrated by something. At least from her actions I deduced there was most likely a town or city where these parts could be sold, otherwise why would she collect them. Maybe she¡¯s an adventurer, looks like one to me anyway.

    I was a little disturbed by how excited I was feeling because I had better things to do, like trying to figure out a way to get home. Honestly, if not for my daughter, I probably wouldn¡¯t care whether I could get back to Earth or not. Well, it was too early to come to that decision, this world had been pretty brutal on me so far. If I am the only Human here, what would I even do? I¡¯m not sure I wanted to live in a world with only half Human, half animal people.

    Wait, that reminds me. Is there some kind of status screen? I didn¡¯t even think of it! There is usually a status screen in these kinds of stories in light novels!

    I stopped walking for a minute and tested it out, ¡°Status screen! Status! Open menu! Umm¡­ ¡° I tried a few other phrases but nothing worked. Is there no menu or status screen? Ugh.

    Reia was looking at me funny as I talked to myself. She had no idea what I was doing and seemed slightly annoyed. She motioned me to keep walking so I gave up on trying for now. First things first, need to find a way to communicate! That had become my priority for now, then I would consider what I could do next.

    Once the forest was entirely clear and we had put some distance from it, I felt I could relax a bit. There didn¡¯t seem to be any monsters out here in the open which I was grateful for. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of some form of civilization. I didn¡¯t even know what level of civilization this world was at. From Reia¡¯s attire I assumed some kind of medieval or dark age era civilization. I would need to see more before I could come to a conclusion.

    I felt like we had been walking forever and couldn¡¯t remember a time I had walked this much. Usually, the most walking I did was the occasional leisurely stroll down city streets. I wasn¡¯t much of an outdoorsman and it was really showing. Just when I thought I would collapse, Reia motioned to take a break. Thank you Reia!

    Since I couldn¡¯t communicate with Reia, all I could do was keep to myself. I had so many questions to ask her. It was frustrating knowing that she might be able to answer them and yet I couldn¡¯t ask her. I took a moment to check through my bag and see if all my stuff was still in it. Reia watched me while I looked through it and she seemed very curious so I called her over and showed her my stuff. She was most interested in my cell phone. The battery was beginning to get low and there was no reception so it was useless to me. I still took a picture of her and showed it, which elicited a shocked expression from her. It was quite endearing actually.

    Reia pointed at some of my other stuff and I explained what everything was to her in English. I knew she had no idea what I was saying but I just pretended. She watched my lips as I spoke and listened to me ramble on without saying a word. I appreciated the fact that she was being patient with me even though we didn¡¯t know anything about each other. Someone from back home would have punched me by now.

    After resting for a bit, we continued walking. We had to spend another night out on the open grassland but this time there were no monsters thankfully. It was mostly out of concern for me, if Reia had been alone she could have probably made it to the city without sleep. I wasn¡¯t used to this kind of lifestyle so it was difficult for me to travel an entire day and night without rest.

    We had finally arrived at some semblance of civilization the next day. The entire trip had taken almost two days from where we were in the forest to here. I could see a town in the distance and as we drew closer, I could see people waiting outside the town at the gate. The town we had arrived at was a reasonable size just by looking at it from the outside. It was a little underwhelming though. It was pretty large but the walls around the town seemed to be mostly wood with some stone fortifications to strengthen the wall a bit.

    I was happy to see that the people were Human and not Demihumans. I didn¡¯t have anything against Demihumans, I was just worried I might be the only one who wasn¡¯t. It wouldn¡¯t be cool if I was the only Human in the world. Several guards were milling around outside the gates to the town. They wore chainmail to protect their upper body and leather caps on their heads. Their weapons were predominantly spears but they also had a short sword sheathed at their waists.

    There were some travelers being inspected at the town gate by a couple of the guards and they were busy inspecting the cart the travelers had with them. We were waiting our turn to be inspected. It was obvious to me that this was a much more primitive society than on Earth. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Just from the look of the people, their clothing, weapons, armor and the structure of the town, I could tell it was most likely similar to the late dark age on Earth or perhaps the early medieval age. That meant it would be a heavily class based society with kings and nobles at the top and the peasants at the bottom. Notions like equal rights, liberty, etc. would most likely not be something on their minds. Basically, I would be way at the bottom of the totem pole and I better not do anything to piss some noble off or else I might end up dead.

    It was finally our turn to be inspected by the guards. Reia was speaking with them while I waited patiently. Reia showed them a medallion that she had around her neck and pointed towards me while talking to the guard. She handed him some coins and then motioned for me to follow her. We were finally free to enter the town. I was exhausted even though it wasn¡¯t yet dark. All that walking had really done me in, I didn¡¯t think I could walk another step.

    The guards took the coins and motioned for us to move along. I followed Reia and took a good look around the town. The town was larger than I expected, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was that well developed. Not just the walls surrounding the town, but all the buildings within the town seemed to be only constructed of wood. The buildings were relatively well made, but there were no stone constructions to be seen around the town other than some of the wall foundations. Perhaps they lacked the technology to construct significant structures of stone, or maybe the costs were too great to build this town using stone.

    In the time of the Romans and the Greeks, they had built many structures using marble or a type of concrete. However, after the fall of the Roman empire, most of the civilizations in the west had lost the technology to build such structures on a grand scale. The middle ages saw a rise in architectural technology so they were once again able to build large cities using both stone and wood, but even then, it wasn¡¯t like every town and city was made of such materials. Perhaps there were grander cities out there and I just happened upon this one.

    The citizens of the town seemed lively and there were various merchants hawking their wares in the town center. No one appeared particularly malnourished, but everyone seemed to be on average somewhat shorter than the average American from Earth. Compared to them, I was quite tall, even though I was only five foot eleven. Of course, even on Earth, in some places my height would be on the taller end of the spectrum, but for an American it was slightly above average for a male.

    In this town, I could see I was one of the tallest from the people I had seen, although some were close to my height. My shoulders were also broader and I bet that my bone structure was most likely denser due to better nutrition. I doubted that these people ate well enough. From my knowledge of ancient civilizations, nutrition and a stable food supply were always a huge issue, especially among the peasants.

    This wasn¡¯t to say that all the people I saw fit this mold, but the majority seemed to. As we neared the town center, the crowds grew larger and I could see a greater variety of people milling about, some eyeing wares from the merchant stalls and some buying food from the food stalls. There were many more people wearing armor and carrying weapons on them here. Some looked my way and I felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny of their stares. The stares were not very friendly, and I increased my pace so as not to fall too far behind Reia.

    I continued to follow Reia until she stopped in front of a large building. The building had a sign with a strange creature drinking out of a mug. It must have been a monster that lived in this world. Well, from that sign I guess this is a tavern or an inn. We entered the building and there was a large common area with many tables and benches scattered about. There was also a long counter with barrels lined up across the wall and dried meat hanging from the ceiling.

    There was a kitchen visible in the back of the tavern and stairs leading to a second floor. Several groups of people were eating, drinking and involved in raucous conversation. I watched with interest for a moment before following Reia. This really was a whole new world and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little anxious. I started thinking about how I was going to be able to survive in this world without knowing the language or without a job or money. Relying on Reia could only get me so far. Knowledge from Earth would probably come in handy though.

    Reia went straight up to the counter and spoke with a middle-aged woman, she handed over some coins and then led me to the second floor. The second floor was large and had several rooms along the hallway. I followed as Reia led me to one of the doors along the hallway. She opened the door and we went inside. The room was very small with just enough room for a bed, there was little room for anything else. The bed seemed to be made entirely of wood and had a thin mattress on it that looked very uncomfortable.

    ¡°@#%^^$^&%$^&$%&$&^%&$%¡± Reia started talking to me in her language. She pointed to my bag and walked over to me, taking the bag in her hands.

    Rummaging through my bag, Reia appraised my possessions within it. I had already showed her the contents of my bag and she took some of the items out of it and also took my gold watch. I didn¡¯t need any of it anymore since I didn¡¯t even know if I would ever get home. I already had suspicions that she probably wanted to sell my stuff since she knew I didn¡¯t have any money. I was fine with it, I needed to survive in this world.

    After looking through all my stuff and deliberating for a minute, Reia grabbed my cellphone and then pointed to the bed. She put her hands to her head and pretended to snore. I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at her which only got me a glare. It was simple to get the gist of what she was trying to tell me so I nodded my head and she left me alone in the room. I was pretty sure she would return despite running off with phone. All I could do was put my trust in her at this point. If she doesn¡¯t come back, I¡¯m screwed. I really doubted she would save my life only to rob me later, so I laid down on the bed and nodded off to sleep.

    <hr>

    (???? P.O.V.)

    ¡°How much longer do we need to continue on this wild goose chase?¡± A young adult that appeared to be in his upper teens addressed his sister.

    ¡°Stop your complaining brother! You know very well we can¡¯t return without him. AHH! If only he hadn¡¯t met that fox girl!¡± His sister was clearly frustrated and was just as anxious as he was.

    ¡°Are you absolutely sure he is the one we are looking for? He looks pretty pathetic to me.¡±

    ¡°Bah! What do you know? He is definitely the right person, I know you can feel his power. We need him if we ever want to fulfill our aspirations. Remember what we came here for. Without him, the Demihumans are doomed.¡± She was very certain of her words and he knew it was true but he still didn¡¯t like it.

    ¡°Okay fine! Then it looks like it won¡¯t be happening today since they went into the town.¡± It was too dangerous for them to enter a town of Humans and they were trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

    ¡°I will try entering his dreams again once he sleeps.¡± She had already met the man in his dreams and he was much different than she had expected. The young lady had never spoken to a human before and even though he had angered her, she didn¡¯t find talking with him to be as unpleasant as she originally thought it would be.

    It was a new experience for her and somewhat exciting. Her father had always scared her with stories of the horrible things Humans had done to her kind but here was someone that was different from the stories she heard. Hmph, I just don¡¯t want to pass judgement too quickly. It¡¯s just because he¡¯s different. If not for his unique characteristics and circumstance, he would be just like any other Human! There was some concern and fear within her heart but this was something that she needed to do. Her determination would not let her think otherwise.

 Volume 1 Chapter 5

    It¡¯s that dream world again. I looked around fully expecting to see that Dragonkin woman. How does she always know when I am sleeping? That was a question for another day. Found her! Sitting on a throne again eh?

    Just like the first time, the young Dragonkin woman was sitting on a throne and inspecting me as if I were a test subject in an experiment.

    ¡°Hi!¡± I waved to her and gave her a sarcastic smile, ¡°thanks for disturbing my dreams yet again.¡±

    ¡°Tch.¡± She didn¡¯t seem to like my greeting much, ¡°is it so bad to have a beautiful woman enter your dreams?¡±

    I guess I can¡¯t argue with that, but let¡¯s not tell her that, ¡°you sure do think highly of yourself. What makes you think you¡¯re so beautiful?¡± I gave her another one of my winning smiles. I really don¡¯t like women who think too highly of themselves, even if what they are saying is true.

    I laughed at her reaction, looks like I hit a nerve. I actually didn¡¯t mind her too much but it was fun teasing her.

    ¡°Alright well If you don¡¯t have anything to say to me then I am going back to sleep, bye!¡± That was a bluff, I had no idea how to leave the dream world but it worked as she seemed worried and jumped off the throne.

    ¡°Wait, please¡­ I just want to talk.¡± I watched her for a moment and her expression became surprisingly lonely. She really did look worried that I would leave and I felt bad for teasing her.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stay but why not be yourself, you don¡¯t need to act all high and mighty. Where I come from, everyone is considered equal!¡± She looked at me thoughtfully and then nodded her head.

    We talked for a while like that and even though it was a rocky start, she turned out to be much more of a sincere person than I thought. I still couldn¡¯t get much information out of her, she was very guarded and I didn¡¯t want to push her too much. I spoke to her of Earth and I asked her if there was anyway I could return home. She explained that there was no magic she knew of which could travel between worlds.

    ¡°You mean there¡¯s no Demon King I need to defeat and then I can return home?¡± I meant it as a joke since a lot of light novels had such a plot, but she took my question seriously.

    ¡°Demon King? I never heard of a Demon King.¡± She scrunched up her face a bit as she thought about my question and I laughed, ¡°How about a goddess who can send me back? Anything?¡±

    She realized I was joking and hit me.

    ¡°We will meet soon. I hope you will accept me when the time comes.¡± I was confused by her words. What does she mean by that?

    I didn¡¯t have time to ask her because she suddenly disappeared and I returned to my dreams.

    <hr>

    It felt as if I had only been sleeping a short time when I was awoken by Reia. By looking at the window I could tell that it was evening. She had returned from wherever she had gone and a few hours had passed. She sat down on the mattress next to me and showed me a ring she had in her hand. It wasn¡¯t anything too fancy, just a simple gold band, but there was a rune engraved in it which would occasionally glow if you looked at it enough.

    ¡°There, now we can finally communicate¡± Whoa! I understood her, is this a magic ring? Nice! We don¡¯t even have things like this on Earth.

    ¡°It¡¯s such a relief that we can communicate now.¡± This was one of my biggest concerns but it was now resolved.

    ¡°That ring is a magic ring of communication. They are very expensive so that is why I asked for your strange magic tool earlier. I was able to trade it for the ring. You should sell some of your other possessions since you have no coins. It will be difficult for you otherwise.¡± This ring really was amazing. It seemed to translate everything she said so that I could understand her perfectly. There didn¡¯t seem to be a single mistake in the translation!

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that I can finally talk with you. The silence was really starting to get to me.¡± I had already heard her voice the other times she spoke but now that I could understand her, it was different. The ring seemed to even magically change pronunciation, grammar and vocal sounds.

    ¡°I am used to being alone so it didn¡¯t bother me so much but I did want to thank you for saving my life when that beast attacked. I also want to apologize for thinking badly of you when we first met.¡± Her voice really was unexpectedly lovely.

    ¡°Psh! Don¡¯t worry about it, you saved me too, so we are even. Plus, you¡¯ve been helping me out this whole time, although I have to admit I was worried you were going to run off with my cellphone.¡± She laughed as if I was making a joke but I was partially serious.

    ¡°Well, are you feeling better now at least?¡± I nodded my head and answered, ¡°much better now that I have had some rest and we are safe in this town.¡±

    ¡°Now that we can communicate with each other, I wanted to ask you a few questions.¡±Reia suddenly looked at me with a serious expression on her face. I should have expected something like this. We were not able to communicate before and I imagined that there was a lot she wanted to ask me. I wasn¡¯t sure how much I should tell her, though. Would she even believe me if I told her the truth? Well, she had saved my life and she had helped me up to this point out of goodwill so I decided to trust her fully. I just hope she doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m crazy.

    ¡°When I was in the forest, there was a bright light that blinded me and when I could finally see again, you were there. What was that light? Was it magic? I have never seen anything like it before.¡± She asked me quite reserved.

    ¡°To be honest with you Reia, I don¡¯t know what that light was.¡± Reia looked at my eyes, most likely to see if she could discern whether I was lying or not.

    ¡°You¡¯re not lying to me, are you?¡± There was a hint of doubt in her question but it was to be expected given the circumstances.

    ¡°Come on! We went through a bunch of life and death experiences together already, you don¡¯t trust me?¡± Her expression changed when she heard my response and she shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t trust humans.¡±

    There must be some history there. I wondered if Demihumans were mistreated by Humans. I didn¡¯t see any Demihumans in the town, she was the only one. I could understand if people like her were mistreated. Here, differences were much more pronounced between the different species. If humans, who are of the same species, couldn¡¯t get along with each other based on just race and ethnicity, I could imagine how humans might discriminate against the Demihumans that exist in this world.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have said that. I know that not all Humans are the same and you saved my life. If I can¡¯t trust someone who saved me than who can I trust? You don¡¯t seem like a bad person. Alright, I will trust you, for now. If you ever lie to me, I will never trust you again. Do you understand?¡± Her words were reasonable, I could accept that kind of pragmatism.

    ¡°Alright, then I will tell you what I do know, okay? I wasn¡¯t sure at first if I should tell you because I didn¡¯t know if you would believe me. I mean who would?¡± She gave me a quizzical look and she seemed very interested in what I had to say.

    I took a deep breath and prepared myself. I wasn¡¯t normally like this, I usually had something to say regardless of the situation, and usually a sarcastic remark or two. Coming to this world has put me in a difficult spot. I have been acting a little out of sorts, also being around such a beautiful woman makes me feel slightly embarrassed.

    When I didn¡¯t speak immediately she became impatient and prodded me on, ¡°Tell me.¡± I nodded and readied myself to tell her everything.

    ¡°I am not from this world.¡± I said that and looked at her to see her reaction.

    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure I understand¡­.¡±

    ¡°Umm, I am from a place called Earth.¡± No reaction from her.

    ¡°Earth? Where is that? Is that across the Great Plains?¡± She didn¡¯t get what I was saying at all. I wonder if the people of this world understand the idea of a planet.

    ¡°No, Earth is the name of the planet I live on. Well, where I am from is nowhere on this planet at all. The world I am from is a completely different world where there is no magic and we have something called science.¡± She seemed to be thinking as I gave my explanation, but I wasn¡¯t sure if she could fully understand.

    ¡°Let me try to explain it a different way. There are villages where people live and this here is a human town. This human town is probably part of some kingdom, right?¡± She nodded while listening to me intently. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°There are probably other kingdoms all around the lands here, and there are oceans and continents and other lands far away. Then all of that, all the land, water, kingdoms, towns, villages, forests, etc. are all part of what we call a planet.¡± She nodded again so I assumed she understood.

    ¡°You probably have a name for this world, this planet, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I understand what you mean by planet now, our planet is called Aergan.¡±

    ¡°Okay, right, well I am from a planet called Earth and not your planet of Aergan.¡± This time she gasped, looks like she understands what I am saying now.

    ¡°Then you are from somewhere among the sea of stars?¡± I guess these people thought of space as a sea or ocean. That was normal even for people on Earth in the past. They might have referred to space in such a way.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but, I guess that is the easiest way to explain it. Somewhere out there in the sea of stars is Earth, my home.¡± She was quite shocked at learning that, but I suppose she was willing to accept it.

    ¡°When I first saw you, I knew there was something strange about you. Your clothes, your strange tools and the way you just appeared in the forest. I also felt, something¡­. familiar, that drew me to you but I can¡¯t explain it. It called out to me¡­ and in that blinding light I saw an image of a strange place. I thought it was just an illusion so I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about that¡­. but it¡¯s true, I am from another world. Where I come from, it¡¯s relatively safe. We don¡¯t have monsters or magic and we have very little to fear. Yeah, there are some dangerous things, mostly people who commit crimes or terrorists, but for the most part our lives are peaceful. There are no Demihumans like you either, only Humans.¡±

    I could see that she was struggling with what I said. I had difficulty accepting this world so I didn¡¯t expect she could just accept my words so easily.

    After a moment, she finally spoke. ¡°Even if I knew something was strange about you, I never would have expected this. It is difficult to believe but I don¡¯t think you are lying to me. I can¡¯t imagine what it must be like to be in your shoes. To be from another world¡­.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t blame you, but it¡¯s the truth. You saw my cellphone and my watch here, these aren¡¯t things your world can produce yet. Not with the level of civilization here anyway. I don¡¯t really have anything else to prove it so you will have to take my word for it.¡± I tried to sound as trustworthy as I could.

    After I spoke, there was an awkward silence. We were both sitting on the bed since the room was small and I tried peeking at her from the corner of my eye. She seemed to be deep in thought, probably processing everything I just told her. We were both still filthy from traveling and fighting monsters so there was definitely a bad odor emanating from the both of us. I feel disgusting, I wish I could take a bath right now but at least Reia doesn¡¯t seem to mind.

    I decided to break the silence, ¡°listen uh¡­ Reia. Maybe I am overstepping here, and if I am just tell me, but now that you know my situation, maybe we can team up.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Reia looked at me seriously and a little surprised.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know anyone other than you and I certainly don¡¯t think I can survive alone just yet. I also need to figure out a way to get back to Earth if possible. You are an adventurer, right? Why don¡¯t we become a team? I think we worked pretty well together in the forest.¡±

    She finally sat up and I could tell she was considering my words. Seconds turned into minutes and she still hadn¡¯t responded, I was beginning to think that maybe I overstepped when she finally spoke.

    ¡°But I have never worked with anyone before, especially not a human. Is it really alright, to work with me? I am a Demihuman and you are a Human...¡± That¡¯s what she was concerned about? I didn¡¯t expect that type of a response from her. She was more concerned about the fact that she was a Demihuman rather than the fact that I was inexperienced or might even be dangerous for all she knew.

    Her response was really strange. I pictured Reia as a strong and confident woman, but when she asked me if it would be alright to work with her, it sounded as if she lacked confidence. Is this a problem with how her kind are treated in this world? Humans must really treat Demihumans like shit. I felt really bad about it but I still hoped she would accept my offer, otherwise I would be back to square one. I guess in a way I was using her, but I really was sincere in wanting to be her friend and partner. It wasn¡¯t like I was going to slack off! This was much different from my job on Earth where I slacked off daily.

    ¡°Reia, I don¡¯t really know much about this world or why you don¡¯t trust Humans. I mean I have my suspicions but I don¡¯t know for sure. So I can¡¯t say that I understand whatever it is you and your people go through. All I know is, to me you are a person just like any other and I would be honored if you were willing to team up with me. No, actually, you would be like my savior. I am a stranger to this world, I don¡¯t know anything about it.¡± I held out my hand to her and hoped she would take it. I was sincere, I meant every word. I was worried she would reject my offer, but I was worried for nothing.

    She shook my hand and smiled, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s work together then. I hope you won¡¯t regret this decision. It will be difficult for you to live alongside other Humans if you stay around me.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, I could care less what they think of me. By the way, Reia, why are Demihumans hated so much by Humans in your world?¡± This was something I had been thinking about but didn¡¯t have a chance yet to ask.

    She turned her back to me and looked as if she were thinking of what to say. It must be difficult for her to talk about this.

    ¡°It¡¯s a very old story. Humans from the Empire claim that Demihumans caused the destruction of Human civilization. A long time ago, the Great Black Dragon King led the Demihumans in a war against Humans, neither side won and both were devastated. The Humans claim that we are monsters and not truly alive and so we must be killed¡­ or controlled. They began a crusade against us and the Dragonkin and the old Demihuman tribes fought for our survival. This is something that happened thousands of years ago, I don¡¯t know how much truth there is in it. It is a fact that there is animosity between our kind, but most Demihumans just want to live and fight because there are Humans that kill or enslave us.¡±

    It was an interesting tale and I wondered how true it was, and then I realized something she mentioned, Dragonkin.

    ¡°What happened to the Dragonkin in the story?¡± I asked Reia immediately after thinking about Allein.

    ¡°The stories say they all died and none have ever been seen since. They are the only tribe that have ever united all others of our kind.¡±

    ¡°Really now?¡± I didn¡¯t know if I should tell her about Allein or not, honestly, I wasn¡¯t even sure if Allein were real or not. Those dreams felt real, but it wasn¡¯t something I could be absolutely certain about. I might sound crazy if I mention it so I will keep it to myself for now.

    ¡°So the stories say, or so my father told me.¡± Reia turned back around and our eyes met. I thought I would see sadness there but instead I saw determination.

    ¡°Then what about you and your tribe? I haven¡¯t seen any other Demihumans around Enrain but you seem to travel it freely.¡±

    ¡°That is because of the former king of this country. The last king was a kind Human who was saved once by my tribe when they first arrived in this land. My father and our tribe were exiled from the Plains of Sorrow around fifteen years ago and while looking for a new home, they happened to stumble on a group of Humans who were being attacked by monsters. My father ordered his warriors to save them, which was strange at the time. They couldn¡¯t understand why my father would wish to save a Human but they listened to his command. That Human was the king of this country and because of that we were given free reign of the forest to live and tasked with keeping the monsters in control. Later, I was given permission to join the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and the king outlawed the enslavement of Demihumans in his kingdom. There are still some lords who secretly keep slaves, but there are none out in the open. My people stay away from the Humans though, because there are always those who secretly look to enslave or kill us and the kingdoms around here aren¡¯t as friendly to our kind as this one. Sadly, the king died recently and his son has become king, but his son is nothing like his father. I don¡¯t know how much longer my tribe will be safe in this kingdom, but until we are no longer welcome we will stay. I am worried what he will do¡­¡± I listened intently to her words and it started to make more sense to me. My heart ached for the Demihumans, it wasn¡¯t right what was being done to them.

    Reia and I spent a couple more hours talking about this world Aergan and I also told her about Earth. For the first time since coming to this world I was enjoying myself even though some of the topics we discussed were heavy. It felt good to be able to have a conversation about Earth and to learn about different aspects of Aergan. It was comfortable talking to her, she listened attentively to everything I said.

    This reminded me of a time when I was younger and I was still married to my wife, before she began to hate me that is. It really started to hit me, the fact that I was in another world. I mean, I knew it already of course. It was just that, with everything that happened so far, I hadn¡¯t had time to fully realize what was going on. I was no longer on Earth, but my heart hadn¡¯t yet caught up.

    I thought about my daughter, my family, my friends, all those I left behind. Without a body, they wouldn¡¯t even know if I was dead or alive. Would they wonder if I abandoned them? Would my daughter grow up without a father? Would someone else take my place in her heart? I choked up a little but I didn¡¯t want to look unseemly in front of Reia.

    Reia could tell something was wrong with me and she stopped talking, instead watching me. She asked me if I was okay, but I asked her to give me a minute while I sorted things out in my mind. I felt my chest tighten the more I thought about my precious little girl who I would never see again. I regretted not fighting harder for her. In truth there wasn¡¯t much I could do with the legal system the way it is back on Earth, but I should have done something more.

    My life had been sort of screwed up. My divorce didn¡¯t end well and the mother of my child was trying to keep me away from my daughter. I took for granted a lot of things in my life on Earth but I always thought that even if everything was screwed up, that maybe I could turn things around with time. The reality is, though, that you never know when your time is up. I didn¡¯t realize that soon enough, and now I didn¡¯t know if I would ever see the people I love again.

    Thankfully, Reia was patient with me and she understood that I was having difficulty with all of this. She really surprised me, even though when we first met she was brutally killing monsters, now she was very gentle and sincere. It was quite the contrast and I was glad that she didn¡¯t turn out to be a bloody murderer. From what she told me about monsters, they weren¡¯t truly living sentient beings but instead creatures created by pure magical energy,so I guess it wasn¡¯t a big deal that we killed them.

    I was truly fortunate that I had met her when I arrived here, otherwise who knows what would have happened to me. Most likely I would have ended up dead by that first monster that attacked, or some other gruesome fate. Eventually Reia told me to get some sleep and she left to return to her room. I couldn¡¯t sleep just yet. I had too much on my mind and I just kept thinking about my little girl. I didn¡¯t want to forget her so I engraved her in my mind.

    I¡¯m sorry baby, I don¡¯t think I will ever be able to see you again. I couldn¡¯t get that thought out of my head.

 Volume 1 Chapter 6

    Waking up to an aching back is never a pleasant experience. There is nothing I would love more right now than a soft mattress!

    At some point last night I fell asleep but I didn¡¯t even realize when. I was so deep in thought I lost track of time, and then the next thing I knew, I was waking up. I gave my face a good slap and sat up, I must face reality and move forward. I had no idea whether I could return to Earth and no clues to go on so I was determined to do my best to survive in this world.

    I struggled to get out of bed, my body a little sore from the endless walking. There was no mirror so I couldn¡¯t see what kind of state I was in exactly, but I could imagine. I hadn¡¯t been able to brush my teeth or even wash myself for days now and I was probably filthy. I felt disgusted, but what could I do? My clothes were all disheveled, I could see that much at least. I would need to find new clothes and a means to make money. For now, I was okay because Reia was helping me but I didn¡¯t want to always rely on her kindness. I really need to thank her again.

    I left my room and went down to the first floor of the inn. It was early in the morning and there were some people eating breakfast but most had already left the inn for the day. Reia was waiting for me and called me over to where she was sitting.

    ¡°Good morning, are you feeling well?¡± There was concern in her voice as she asked me.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. I just had a lot on my mind last night but I¡¯m good now. Thanks again for helping me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Sit, have some breakfast.¡± She pointed to a chair across from her, there was already a hot plate of food on the table.

    I took a seat, I was starving and started scoffing the food down. It wasn¡¯t bad and I didn¡¯t want to ruin it so I didn¡¯t ask what it was. It looked like meat in sauce, some carrot like vegetables, do they have carrots in this world? Yeah, I won¡¯t think too much about it! On Earth I was a picky eater, but here, I just went with the flow for the sake of my sanity.

    Reia watched me eat and laughed, ¡°you look a mess! After you eat, you should go wash up.¡±

    I noticed that Reia was much cleaner than she was the night before. She must have already washed up. How exactly do they clean themselves? Run down to the river or something? I wondered if this particular Inn had a tub or not. If so then they could fill it with water and heat the tub up. I seriously doubted they had a hot springs, they always conveniently had one in light novels even if it was unrealistic.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, how exactly do I do that?¡± I felt stupid asking and hoped she wouldn¡¯t laugh at me but she knew my situation so she didn¡¯t think the question was strange.

    ¡°I already paid for a bath for you. They should be about done warming up the tub, you can take a bath and wash yourself. We definitely need to get you some new clothes, those won¡¯t do. You will need a weapon too. We can sell your possessions in the market after you take a bath.¡±

    ¡°Reia! What would I do without you? Thanks and I¡¯m going to pay you back once I sell my stuff.¡± I felt bad about relying on her so much.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. With your strange magic, you will be extremely helpful to me. There are many quests and other jobs I can¡¯t accept because I don¡¯t have a team. No Humans wish to party with a Demihuman so I have been getting by alone, but with your help we will be able to do much more. You will have to become an adventurer first though.¡± So that¡¯s how it is eh? I felt bad for her. It must have been hard having to fight alone all this time.

    After hearing that, I was fully motivated to get my adventuring license, or whatever it was called. I was indebted to her and I needed to make a living anyway. Also, as an adventurer, I might be able to find more information about a way to return home.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been home in a while and my father is most likely worried about me so I plan to return home in a few days but I will return. You will need some training before you enter the adventurer¡¯s guild, have you ever held a sword?¡±

    ¡°I played around with a sword when I was younger but that¡¯s about it, I can hold a blade without cutting myself at least haha.¡± She didn¡¯t seem convinced.

    ¡°Looks like I will need to train you a bit before returning home. Before that, we need to find you some clothing and some equipment. We¡¯ll head to the market after your bath.¡±

    After eating breakfast I was given a cloth towel and led to a small room with a bronze tub inside. The water had first been heated and then left to cool for a little so that I could take a bath comfortably. It was a small luxury but I was happy I could finally clean myself.

    Once I had finished bathing and drying myself with the towel, I put my filthy clothes back on and Reia and I went over to the market in the town. I ignored all the eyes on me, or were they looking at Reia? I couldn¡¯t tell but I was certainly a mess!

    We checked out some clothing and armor shops for adventurers near the town center. The shops were of a moderate size and I took the time to check out the various types of armor and the prices of goods as well. I also wanted to make sure to spend some time comparing prices for various other goods.

    I had been a salesman on Earth and I felt I could make use of those skills here in this world. If anything, my knowledge of sales should exceed the merchants of this world by quite a bit since Earth was much more advanced. Maybe I could make a living as a merchant in the future! It would be much safer than fighting monsters, but then Reia would be alone again. When I thought of that, I changed my mind.

    I was able to sell some of the items that were in my bag from Earth for a good price from some of the merchants. I didn¡¯t need any of them anymore, even my watch had stopped working. The merchants seemed quite amazed at what I had on me, they had never anything like them. I had merchants bidding for the various items in my bag. I was able to sell most of my belongings from Earth for several gold coins. I even sold my bag. Most of my stuff was junk, but they were willing to pay a lot for it. Of course, they didn¡¯t know it was junk, to them it was like treasure.

    I used that money to buy some basic clothes, undergarments, cloak, leather armor and an iron sword. Most of the equipment sold was underwhelming, It was all pretty ordinary. I heard that there was a greater variety of weapons and armor to buy in the capital along with magically enhanced weapons, armor and tools. The town of Enrain had a limited supply of such rare equipment and it was far more expensive here. Rather than buy magical equipment, adventurers hoped to find such equipment in a dungeon or from a monster. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    Reia had mentioned that dungeons were the ultimate goal of adventurers, due to their high concentration of magic, many monsters and magical equipment could be found within them. These dungeons would often become bloated with monsters and once that happened, the monsters would leave the dungeons to attack human settlements. It was a big problem and it was the reason why the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was created to begin with.

    As far as the system of money in this world is concerned, it was not very complicated. The smallest value coins were coins made of copper, then you had silver, gold and platinum. Platinum wasn¡¯t normally used, however, and was mostly used by nobility and wealthy merchants for large purchases. Gold was the highest value coin in regular circulation. The exchange rates were also quite simple to understand. Ten coppers were equivalent to one silver coin and ten silver coins were equivalent to one gold coin. It cost one silver and five copper coins a day to stay at the inn with one meal included. Staying in an Inn was more expensive than staying in a hostel and on average, a peasant earned somewhere around 1 to 2 silvers a day.

    As I was checking out the different types of armor on display, I realized that heavy armor was scarce. I asked about it and was told that heavy armor was not that common because of the extremely high price of metals, not to mention the skill and time required to produce such armor. There were a few different types of metals and higher grades were rarer and far more expensive.

    Only elite units from the various kingdom¡¯s armies could afford to be equipped with heavy armor. Most soldiers wore leather or a type of chainmail over leather, depending on how wealthy the nation was. It also seemed that most soldiers either carried spears and shields or short bows. Those who were swordsman, or used more exotic types of weaponry, seemed to be rarer and were usually among the ranks of adventurers rather than soldiers. Successful adventurers wore a variety of expensive gear which was out of the range of a soldier¡¯s salary. This made adventurer¡¯s the most diverse force of a nation and usually their most elite.

    After completing my shopping with Reia¡¯s help, I finally had a decent set of clothing as well as some hardened leather armor. I wanted to spend more time perusing the various goods throughout the market, but Reia wanted to get an early start training. I quickly brought everything back to the inn, changed into my new clothes and strapped the sword with sheath around my waist. I was starting to feel like a real adventurer!

    I met Reia again outside the inn where she was waiting for me.

    Are you ready to go?¡± I nodded at her question.

    ¡°Are you sure you are ready?¡± Why is she asking me a second time? I¡¯m getting nervous.

    I said ¡°yes,¡± a little annoyed.

    ¡°This is going to be difficult, are you really sure?¡± Yes dammit! I didn¡¯t say that out loud.

    ¡°Reia, stop fooling around, let¡¯s go.¡± She laughed pleasantly, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you!¡±

    I want to die. That was how I felt after my first day of training with Reia. I think her training regimen would kill a Spartan! I never worked out like this in my entire life! She took me outside the town and I ended up running up and down a hill with a log on my shoulder for who knows how long. I then had to practice swinging a sword repeatedly until my arms became numb. She wouldn¡¯t even let me take a break. I felt like I would pass out a couple of times, but she told me to shrug it off, healed me and then forced me to exercise more. While we were training, she would teach me the native language by having me constantly repeat common phrases, it was torture. I have a completely different opinion of her now! She is definitely evil incarnate!

    The second day of training was exactly the same, rinse and repeat for an entire week. I didn¡¯t have time for anything else and the days became almost a mish mash of train, sleep, train, sleep. Even though my body was holding up, only because of Reia¡¯s constant healing, I felt my mind might break at any moment. The week of training went by in a flash, however, and before I knew it, we were done.

    It was torture, but I was grateful for it. I was feeling much more agile and I could at least swing a sword with some skill. One week wasn¡¯t enough to turn me into a swordsman but I felt like I could hold my own against a beginner. My understanding of the native human language had improved somewhat as well, which was good. I also spent time practicing how to control my black flames and I could now control them with much greater accuracy. The week was definitely not a waste of time, but I wondered if I would ever be able to get the image of that devil known as Reia out of my mind!

    Reia seemed satisfied with my progress and it was time for her to return to her village. She assured me she wouldn¡¯t be long and just needed to check in with her father and also bring supplies to the village. She told me they were a village of hunters and mostly could provide for themselves but there were things that they could only get from the town. She couldn¡¯t bring too much with each trip because she needed to move quickly and carefully so that no one could follow her.

    We stood at the gate to the town and were saying our farewells. I was a little worried about her leaving me here alone. She had been an immense help to me since coming to this world, so I couldn¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t uneasy about her leaving. She had to do this, though, and she promised she would be back. All I could do was trust her.

    ¡°I will return by the time you finish your training at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild so make sure you head over there tomorrow and speak with Orban. He is the Assistant Guild Master and in charge of accepting new members and he is also a friend. I already spoke with him about you, so he will explain everything.¡± She had already explained this to me and I just nodded my head once again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I shouldn¡¯t have any problems. You already showed me where the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is and I know to speak with Orban.¡±

    ¡°Also, make sure you continue to train and practice speaking the native human language. Make sure you eat well, and also don¡¯t forget to ¡­¡­.¡± Reia kept going on like this for a while. Aww, she¡¯s worried about me, how cute. I can¡¯t say that it didn¡¯t make me happy, just a little bit.

    ¡°I got it, don¡¯t worry Reia, I will be fine, really.¡± She finally stopped talking after I said that. The look of worry didn¡¯t leave her face, though. I didn¡¯t really understand why she was so worried about me, did she really think I couldn¡¯t survive without her?

    ¡°I want to take you with me but I can¡¯t bring you to the village, yet. I will tell my father about you and maybe he will grant me permission to bring you the next time. I really want you to meet him. He may even know something about your situation.¡± I perked up my ears at that, just who is her father anyway? She never did tell me. I figured she would tell me when the time was right.

    We said our final goodbyes and then she left, she only looked back about five times and then she was really gone.

    I stood there for a moment before returning to the inn. It wasn¡¯t yet evening, but I was exhausted. I thought about taking a look around town since I hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to do so much in the last week. I was just too tired unfortunately and I returned to the inn and went to sleep.

    That night I had a strange dream. In my dream, I was standing on a dark precipice overlooking an endless abyss. I couldn¡¯t see much because of the extreme darkness. I could feel a presence deep within its recesses, however, and it felt as if it were watching me, quietly. It didn¡¯t speak as no sound could be heard in this place, instead it just watched me, waiting for something.

    My skin was crawling and the hair on my arms stood on end as if my body were afraid. I didn¡¯t feel fear, instead I felt, expectant. It is difficult to explain, but it was also a strangely familiar sensation. I couldn¡¯t figure out where I had felt this before. I began to drift, between the dream and unconsciousness, and as I drifted, words echoed within my mind.

    ¡°I am the Void.¡± Those words brought with them a sense of finality, of power, and my body shook with fear.

 Volume 1 Chapter 7

    I abruptly awoke from my dream in a cold sweat, my body was still shaking. This was the first time I had experienced a dream like that. Ever since coming to this world, too many strange things have happened to me.

    ¡°Man, what was that? It said it was the Void. Could it be what brought me here?¡± I spoke to myself out loud and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I couldn¡¯t make sense of it, but it had to be something related. That was definitely not a coincidence.

    After sitting up in the bed, I began my new morning routine, something I had just started.

    ¡°Jessie, your daddy is doing okay. I¡¯m still alive anyway, hehe. I don¡¯t know much more than I did yesterday but I¡¯m still thinking of you. I won¡¯t ever forget, I promise. Today starts my new life as an adventurer and I¡¯m going to do the best I can. There isn¡¯t much else out there for me right now and there is someone I met who I think needs me. She is alone in a dangerous world where her kind is persecuted and she¡¯s brave and kind. Yeah, that¡¯s about it for today. I¡¯ll talk to you again soon, I love you baby.¡±

    My daughter couldn¡¯t hear me of course. She was who knows how far away, on a completely different planet but I didn¡¯t want to forget her, even if she forgot me. This was all I could do right now for her.

    Now that I had said a few words to my daughter, I was ready to head over to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and was somewhat excited. I bet Ainz felt this way when he joined the adventurer¡¯s guild as Momon! I hope I won''t be as disappointed with it as he was though. Overlord was one of my absolute favorite light novels and I always thought it was funny how he joined the guild and pretended to be a hero even though he was a skeletal overlord.

    I would need to go through some basic training first, but the thought of joining the Guild and taking on quests was something I was always interested in doing ever since I first started watching anime. Well, part of my enthusiasm was dampened by my circumstances. It wasn¡¯t like I had forgotten about where I came from or the people I left behind.

    Training with Reia had been grueling, but I got through it and I was in better shape than I had been previously, although I still had some ways to go. For some reason, I didn¡¯t feel stronger even if my body had become a little more thin and lean. It was only a week of training, can¡¯t expect too much I suppose.

    Enough wasting time! I got dressed, gathered my equipment and headed down for breakfast. There wasn¡¯t anyone of note within the inn as I had woken up earlier than usual and most were still sleeping. I wanted to get the Guild as quickly as possible so I ate my breakfast and ran over there.

    When I arrived at the Guild, there were only a handful of adventurers present in the guild hall. I assumed they must be those who wanted to get an early start on a request. This was my first time inside the Guild, so I took a good look around. It looked exactly how I had pictured it would in my mind. Of course, I had played many role-playing games and also read many light novels and such in my time, so I had a lot of examples to draw upon. It gave off a sort of lodge feeling, like the ones I used to go to when I was younger.

    The walls of the Guild had various animal heads stuffed and mounted on them. It had a tavern type feel to it as well. There were long wooden tables and benches where I supposed adventurers would sit and drink while planning out a mission. They even had a notice board just like I imagined they would with requests plastered all over it. My expectations were definitely on the rise. I am feeling quite excited, but I should calm down. I don¡¯t want to look like some newbie fresh from the farm or something. I was from a big city back on Earth and I wasn¡¯t about to act like some wide eyed tourist going sightseeing.

    There was only one receptionist standing behind a counter over in one of the corners of the Guild. There were spots for other receptionists to work as well but no one was manning them currently. It was most likely due to the fact that I had come here so early. This place would soon become lively, so I didn¡¯t want to get caught up in the commotion of the morning guild rush. I walked over to the receptionist, who appeared to be a young and cute looking woman. She was probably in her late teens or early twenties. She seemed fresh faced despite it being so early.

    ¡°Welcome, are you here to place a request?¡± Her voice was quite lovely and friendly.

    You never know what you¡¯re going to get in these types of situations, so I didn¡¯t want to have too high of expectations. In some light novels I read, the main character would either be treated roughly or respectfully so I wasn¡¯t sure what kind of treatment I would get on my first day here. Thankfully there weren¡¯t too many adventurers around. It wouldn¡¯t do to have some veteran adventurers pick a fight with me for no reason. Always happens to the new guy.

    ¡°Good morning. Actually I am looking to join the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I was recommended by the adventurer Reia, she told me to speak with Orban.¡± I wanted to make a good first impression so I spoke as polite as I could.

    ¡°Ah I see, hold on a moment please, I will go speak with Orban.¡± The receptionist left me there and disappeared up a flight of stairs.

    I was only waiting for a short time when the receptionist returned with a large, dark skinned, muscular man in tow. He was surprisingly big compared to the other people I had seen and he was completely bald. I was getting nervous, he kind of reminded me of some crazy army drill sergeant. No, I shouldn¡¯t judge him based on appearances, that is what I used to do. I have decided to change, but this guy is intimidating.

    ¡°So, you are the one Reia told me about. I don¡¯t know what she sees in you. You don¡¯t look like anything special to me.¡± Wow, I was just thinking I shouldn¡¯t judge someone based on appearances and that¡¯s exactly what this guy does to me. All I could do was sigh and ignore his belligerence.

    ¡°Yeah, thanks. Anyway, I am Peter and I am here to join the Guild.¡± I didn¡¯t know what to do so I bowed my head slightly to the man.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°Do I look like some noble to you? No need to bow to me, let me take a good look at you!¡± The man had quite a booming voice which only made me feel even more on edge. Orban was currently scrutinizing me while walking around me. He lifted up my arms and poked me in my ribs for some reason which made me grunt.

    ¡°Hmph. You got a bit of muscle on you, but not much. Your arms could use a little bulk to them, you any good with a sword?¡± Was he appraising me like a fresh cut of meat? I wondered if this was what an animal must feel like before being slaughtered.

    ¡°I have some basic training and Reia helped me with my form, that¡¯s about it though.¡±

    ¡°Is that all? Any other martial training? How are you with a spear or an axe? Can you use magic?¡° Orban kept drilling me question after question and I did my best to answer, his eyebrow shot up when I mentioned I could use magic.

    ¡°Interesting! Now that is something I would like to see!¡± He slapped me on the back pretty hard, knocking me forward.

    ¡°Alright, enough of this, come follow me, now!¡± Why does this guy feel the need to yell at me when he is standing right next to me? I followed Orban into a back room and down a short hallway.

    ¡°Do you know what a divination crystal is?¡± Orban pointed to a strange crystal ball that was on a table in the room.

    ¡°No, what is it?¡± Just looks like a crystal ball that a fortune teller might use, to me.

    ¡°Go ahead and put your hand on that, it will speak for itself. I will give you some privacy, come see me when you are done.¡± Orban left me alone in the room and I sat down at the table with the crystal ball on it.

    Orban had called it a divination crystal. I looked it over and saw nothing special about it. He told me to put my hand on it so I guess I will try that out. I put my hand on the crystal ball and it began to glow dimly. At first nothing else happened, but then my eyesight became hazy and displayed before my sight was a status screen, just like straight out of a video game.

    Damn! So this is how it works! Hah! I can¡¯t believe it, a real status screen. This is incredible, but what¡¯s with my stats? Wait a second¡­. I¡¯m Immortal!? What the fuck is this?

    The following was displayed in my view:

    [Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]

    [HP: 12/12]

    [Health Regen: 0.01/min

    [VP: 15/15] [Void Threshold: 15 Next level 30]

    [Void Regen: 0.1/min]

    Strength: 8 ( Modifier -1, Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)

    Dexterity: 9 (Modifier 0, Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)

    Constitution: 9 (Modifier 0, Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)

    Charisma: 10 (Modifier 0, Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)

    Intelligence: 137 (Represents intellectual capacity, Affects skill growth)

    Wisdom: 150 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)

    Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 2/10 beginner)

    Blessings: Blessing of the Void (?)

    Special ability: Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination, strengthening host)

    Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)

    Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)

    Void Element: Void Flame (5VP - 1VP/min) (Manipulate flames from the Void for both attack and defense)

    I am level negative one? 0 experience? I can¡¯t believe I am immortal, that¡¯s just crazy.

    Hmm, some standard stuff and some things I don¡¯t recognize. I see HP, but then there is VP. Void Power, I guess. No MP? Does that mean I can¡¯t use magic, but I used those black flames and I see that at the bottom. I have 15 VP and using ¡®Void Flame¡¯ requires 5 VP with a sustained cost of 1 VP a minute.. That makes sense, I can use it three times, that is probably when I will get exhausted. Oh, I didn¡¯t know ¡®Void Flames¡¯ could be used for defense too, I will have to test it. Maybe that is what the sustained cost is for?

    I have a blessing and a special ability. Blessing of the Void? No information on that yet, I wonder why? Molecular absorption must be when my body absorbs the black mist. That black mist must be ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯. It strengthens me, it might have something to do with the threshold listed at the top. It says next level will be 30, so if I absorb more of the black mist and reach the threshold, it will strengthen me. It¡¯s like an alternative way to level, interesting. I wonder if it has something to do with me not being from this world. My Affinity is ¡®Void¡¯ and pretty much everything else is connected with the Void one way or the other, but what is the Void?

    The rest of the menu seems pretty standard. It has my intelligence and wisdom, as well as all my other stats which seem pretty low. Not sure how exactly the modifier affects me but they are almost all negatives. Can¡¯t be good. I think I get it, most of it anyway. Let me go see Orban and I will keep this to myself for now.

    Heading back down the hallway and into the main hall of the Guild, I saw Orban waiting for me by the reception counter. I wasn¡¯t too happy at my low base stats but I am most likely starting at the bottom. This was the norm for any beginning adventurer in many of the stories I read.

    ¡°Ha, I can see the depressed look on your face! You are only a beginner with no experience, were you expecting something else?¡± I don¡¯t think experience is going to make a difference for me Orban, I wasn¡¯t about to correct him and kept my thoughts to myself.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much Peter! You will get stronger if you train and kill monsters. Let¡¯s head to the training ground at the back of the Guild. The rest of the trainees should be arriving soon and then we can begin.¡± Orban was ready to head to the training ground but I stopped him for a moment.

    ¡°Hey Orban, can I ask you a question before we go out?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You ever heard of something called the Void?¡± I wasn¡¯t about to tell him everything, but an offhand question like this was most likely alright.

    ¡°Never heard of it, now hurry up and stop wasting my time Peter, get your ass out there already!

    When he said that, I realized something. I don¡¯t think I want to be called Peter anymore. I never did like the name to begin with, but it was the name my parents gave me. Maybe I will change my name in the near future. New name, new identity, that kind of thing.

    I followed Orban expectantly and was excited about showcasing my new power and the idea of choosing a new name. This is a fantasy world after all, might as well as have some fun with it.

 Volume 1 Chapter 8

    I followed Orban outside to the back of the Guild hall. The training grounds were larger than I expected. There was no one using the training grounds currently because it was still early in the morning. Orban decided to spend some time grilling me on the basics of being an adventurer.

    ¡°The divination crystal should have showed you your strengths and abilities. It is a type of magical conduit which reveals your physical and mental conditions as well as what you are skilled at and it shows it to you in a way that your mind can understand. Without the divination crystal, it would be difficult for adventurers to measure their strength up against monsters which is why the magical tool was created to begin with. What you saw was your mind interpreting the magic in the crystal and it is different for everyone. Adventurers don¡¯t normally tell each other what their status says unless they have absolute trust in their companions so don¡¯t go blabbing your mouth. However, you might want to make known some of your skills when you want to form a party so that others know how to make use of you.¡± His explanation went on for quite a while and I listened intently since I didn¡¯t know much about being an adventurer.

    After a while, the other beginner adventurers showed up, there were six others who would be taking basic training with me. They were most likely more skilled than I was since the people of this world began training at a young age. For them, this would probably be more of a review course, but for me it would be a matter of life and death.

    I happened to get lucky with the timing, there weren¡¯t usually so many new recruits. Usually, the Guild would be lucky if it got a handful of new recruits in any given year. To have seven new recruits at one time was practically a miracle. I was the exception here of course, but what about the others?

    ¡°Alright, since you¡¯re all here, let us first start with the introductions.¡± Orban had us all line up and then proceeded to have us introduce ourselves. The first up was a young woman, probably around 19, she looked like a ranger of some kind.

    ¡°My name is Tris, short for Trissenia. My main weapon is a bow but I¡¯m also skilled with a short sword for close combat.¡±

    Next up was a relatively short man with a grim expression. His movements were lithe and silent. ¡°Dreg. Rogue.¡± A man of few words obviously. I wasn¡¯t sure on his age since most of his body was covered but he definitely seemed to be the oldest other than me.

    The rest of the group looked much younger, they were most likely in their mid teens. There was a swordsman named Orthus, a teen whose main weapon was a short spear named Arin, another young looking guy named Idren who appeared to be a druid, and a young girl who looked like a mage of some kind named Aessa. The younger members of this group were quite enthusiastic, well except for Aessa, who was very shy.

    I was the oldest in the group. It was depressing, but when I remembered that I was now immortal, I felt better. These guys will eventually be older than me, that made me snicker and earned me a glare from Orban.

    It was finally my turn to introduce myself. ¡°Hi, my name is Peter. I am a beginning swordsman, just take it easy on me, okay?¡± The others glanced at me, but it was clear their opinion of me wasn¡¯t very high. They were mostly just kids and I was an adult who was only a beginner with a sword.

    ¡°Now that the introductions are complete, it¡¯s time to pair you up for a little practice match. Show everyone your strength, this will also double as a way to get familiar with each other for when you must work together. You will be able to work as a team during basic training and once you become full-fledged adventurers, you may want to form a party with each other. Since this will be a practice match, you will only be able to use wooden practice weapons and magic should be restricted to the first and second tiers. Any type of defensive magic is allowed no matter what tier. To start, we¡¯ll have Orthus pair up with Arin since these two seem to be offense oriented warriors.¡±

    This might be a good chance for me to test out the defensive power of my black flames, he did say we could use any defensive magic. I was a little miffed at these kids looking down on me so I was intending to show off a bit.

    While I was thinking that, the two known as Orthus and Arin, went to the center of the training ground and stood a good distance from each other. They quickly prepared their stances for the practice match.

    Arin was using a wooden pole and Orthus was using a wooden sword. To someone who knew only a little about fighting like me, they appeared to have good form. When Orban gave them the signal, the two charged at each other with a flurry of attacks. Arin skillfully spun the wooden pole, deflecting Orthus¡¯ strikes. Orthus parried and deftly evaded attacks from Arin¡¯s wooden pole.

    The two danced around each other for a time until Arin deftly forced Orthus¡¯s sword out of his hand and thrust the wooden pole into Orthus¡¯ stomach. Orthus dropped to his knees and winced in pain, but he seemed mostly okay. Orban called the match and the young teens shook hands. Orthus didn¡¯t look too happy at losing, both boys seemed to have a competitive streak.

    I was impressed by their skill. ¡°Good match, you two are surprisingly skilled. The next match will be Tris and¡­¡± Orban looked around and settled on me, ¡°you, Peter!¡±

    I would have preferred to go up against one of the kids who laughed at me but I suppose this woman will do. She looked capable and her main weapon was a bow so I figured I stood a chance against her.

    We were both given wooden swords and we prepared ourselves for the fight. I stood about fifteen feet from Tris and tried to ready my stance the way Reia had taught me. When Orban gave the signal, we both moved into attack range. Tris swung her wooden sword at me and I was able to deflect the first attack but she got me good with her second swing. I pulled back a bit and watched her movements to see if I could find an opening of some kind. My side was stinging from where she hit me with the wooden sword. That¡¯s gonna leave a bruise!

    She made a couple of feints towards me which I didn¡¯t fall for and I was able to temporarily keep her away from me but it was only a matter of time. I wasn¡¯t sure how many more hits I could take and I still wanted to test out the defensive capabilities of my flames. I started channeling the Void within me just as I had practiced. Tris surprised me with another attack and scored a hit on my arm which caused me to lose my concentration.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    I still needed more training using my power in battle situations. This time I focused even harder and swung wildly, keeping her away from me as I channeled the Void. Tris noticed something was amiss and attacked once more but this time my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ successfully activated, flaring up around my left hand and arm. She didn¡¯t have time to react and swung down. I used my left arm which was covered by the flames as a shield and blocked the attack while I swung the sword in my right hand towards her abdomen. Tris¡¯s wooden sword instantly melted when it hit my arm and my sword hit her hard causing her to yell out in pain.

    She was fine, though, it wasn¡¯t as if my strength was high and it was only a wooden sword. Tris was much more shocked at the fact that the blade of her sword had melted and that her attack hadn¡¯t caused me any pain. It surprised me too, I felt nothing when her sword hit my arm. Her sword was only a wooden one so that could be the reason it melted. I wondered what would happen if the sword had been iron. I will need to test that!

    Now that Tris had no sword, the battle was called. I was breathing heavily and when I looked around, everyone was staring at me with surprise written all over their faces. They had thought I was useless but I proved them all wrong.

    ¡°What did you just do?¡± Tris asked me calmly while we walked back over to the group.

    ¡°What did it look like? It was magic obviously.¡± I tried to play it off, I wasn¡¯t about to tell her about my powers. It was clear that my Void powers were not normal from the way everyone was looking at me.

    ¡°I know that was magic! What kind of magic was it? Won¡¯t you tell me? Come on!¡± She was really being persistent but I continued to deflect, ¡°I¡¯m not gonna tell you all my secrets, just accept that you lost.¡±

    ¡°Tch! Come on Peter, we are all friends here, you can tell me.¡±

    ¡°I tell you what, after this is all done, if you team up with me then maybe I will tell you. Reia and I could use a ranger like you in our party.¡± I didn¡¯t know if she would take my offer seriously but it seemed like a good way to get her to stop asking me about my powers.

    ¡°Who is Reia?¡± Oh, I forgot. Tris might not like Demihumans, maybe I shouldn¡¯t tell her about Reia.

    ¡°She¡¯s a friend of mine. She is an adventurer already and introduced me to Orban. We are going to form a party together once I finish the training.¡± No harm in telling her that much. It¡¯s not like it will be a secret and who knows, maybe Tris won¡¯t mind teaming up with us. It really would be useful to have a ranger, scouts are important when fighting monsters. Tris is also older than the other new recruits so she probably won¡¯t fit in with them. I guess Dreg also falls into that category but I can¡¯t bring myself to like that guy. There¡¯s something off about him.

    ¡°Oh, wow, you have a friend who is already an adventurer? I will think about your offer then!¡± I didn¡¯t think she would actually be interested in forming a party with me, but she might still refuse later once she knows Reia is a Demihuman. It doesn¡¯t hurt to try I suppose, part of this training is to become acquainted with other new adventurers for just this purpose.

    ¡°When we finish training we can discuss it, and good fight by the way, you almost had me.¡± She didn¡¯t seem so bad, and she was friendly, so I thought I would compliment her.

    ¡°Come on! I didn¡¯t have a chance. If you had used that magic of yours right at the beginning you would have beaten me easily.¡± Tris didn¡¯t seem bitter at the loss so I was in a good mood. Looks like I made a friend, not bad for my first day.

    The two of us made it back to the group and the next two up were the magic casters, Aessa and Idren. This will most likely be a long distance fight since they both use magic, I wonder who will win? Watching the fights was interesting, I was getting a chance to witness different fighting styles and now magic.

    Aessa and Idren faced each other across the practice yard, neither had weapons since their battle would be entirely with magic. Orban called for the start of battle and both began chanting and channeling their magic power. Fire element began to build up in Aessa¡¯s hands, she released a few ¡°Flame Arrows¡¯ which flew rapidly at Idren. Idren finished his spell as well and vines rose up from the ground creating a defensive wall. The ¡®Flame Arrows¡¯ hit the ¡®Vine Wall¡¯ destroying it but it was successful in stopping the ¡®Flame Arrows¡¯. What was even more surprising was that the ¡®Vine Wall¡¯ began to regrow.

    Both magic casters had already begun preparing their next spells right after the first. The difference was that Idren¡¯s ¡®Vine Wall¡¯ was regrowing and once again formed a defensive wall. This time Aessa tried casting ¡®Wind Blades¡¯ which sliced through the ¡®Vine Wall¡¯ at the root,, blowing the ¡®Vine Wall¡¯ away. Idren had finished his chant as well and cast another spell which was similar to ¡®Vine Wall¡¯ but instead it rose from below Aessa¡¯s feet and began wrapping around her arms and legs. She struggled to break free and couldn¡¯t concentrate on casting another spell. The vines completely wrapped around her entire body, pulling her to the ground and the fight was called, Idren had won.

    Idren canceled his spell and the vines unwrapped from Aessa. She was pretty calm for a girl who had just gotten wrapped up from head to toe. She was braver than I thought, I wouldn¡¯t want to be wrapped up like that, unable to move.

    Dreg ended up sparring with someone while I was busy watching the fight between the two mages. I didn¡¯t get to see him fight.

    We continued to train for the rest of the day and for the next few days. Training with Orban was tough, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as difficult as the training I did with Reia. Even though I was hating it at the time, I was really thanking Reia in my mind right now. Without her training, I doubt I could have done the training here at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild so well.

    Orban mostly had us running and doing other cardio exercises to build up our endurance and stamina, as well as basic fighting stances with our chosen weapon. Orban reminded us that even if we used magic, we still needed to develop our physical capabilities. It was hard work but I was enjoying it. I soaked it up, learning as much swordsmanship as I could. Due to my high intelligence, I was learning at a quick pace.

    At night when I was dreaming, Allein would show up and talk with me. She had many questions she asked, mostly about Humans. Some of her ideas about Humans were strange. The way she talked made me think she thought of Humans as some kind of boogeyman, or like a monster in a closet. It was a little weird and the fact that she kept coming into my dreams was unsettling. I got used to it though and by the fourth or fifth time, I was pretty much expecting her to show up.

    Allein would watch my dreams sometimes and would ask me questions about them. I was a little unnerved by that, it was bad enough she entered my dreams but now I knew she was watching them too. That could potentially be dangerous, I need to find a way to prevent that. Most of the time, I dreamed of Earth and there were many things she couldn¡¯t understand. I decided to tell her about Earth, I didn¡¯t see any reason to hold back at this point. Allein took it all in stride and seemed to handle it much better than Reia did.

    It wasn¡¯t so bad having a beautiful woman spend time with me in my dreams. The only issue being the lack of intimacy of course. I tried to get close to her once and she freaked out so I didn¡¯t bother doing it again. I wasn¡¯t even trying to make a move on her, I was just curious.

    Before I knew it, the days had gone by quickly and the sixth day of training had arrived, the day we would finally go hunt monsters!

 Volume 1 Chapter 9

    On the sixth day Orban had a different kind of training in mind for us. The seven of us were going to work together as a team and hunt down some goblins. It was interesting to hear that goblins existed in this world and the way that Orban described them, they seemed to be quite weak.

    He assured us that the seven of us would have an easy time taking them down. I was feeling pretty confident in my own abilities and even though this was training, I felt as if I were doing my very first quest.

    The other six trainees and I were lined up at the training ground waiting for Orban to lead us to where the goblins made their home. There was a hilly area not too far east of the town and goblins liked to build their own camps there. It was suspected that there might be a dungeon somewhere in the cave within the hills and the goblins were coming from deeper underground.

    They frequently tried to settle in the hills and their spawn rate was extremely high. Their numbers needed to be thinned constantly otherwise they would attack the town. When they formed large hordes, they were dangerous but in small groups, they were easy enough to kill for even beginning adventurers like us.

    ¡°Listen up trash!¡± Yes, Orban, it is completely necessary to refer to us as trash and other derogatory terms while training us.

    He wasn¡¯t a bad guy, he just couldn¡¯t say two words without insulting something or someone.

    ¡°You are worth less than the horse dung on my sandals!¡± He literally has horse dung on his sandals right now and he¡¯s flicking it off.. I really should teach him some hygiene.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think for a second you have what it takes to be an adventurer! You are nothing more than lunch for anything bigger than a maggot.¡± Orban, this world probably has some pretty large maggots, I think you are setting the bar too high.

    ¡°You might as well as get down into a fetal position right now and cry for your mothers, you worthless scum!¡±

    The insults continued for another ten minutes.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to experience working together as a team now that you have had time to improve your physical abilities and see how each other fight. Don¡¯t get too cocky, you¡¯re still nothing better than garbage and the only monsters you won¡¯t die against are goblins. Keep everything I said in mind and make sure you don¡¯t die¡± Aww, Orban you really do care about us, you tsundere you.

    The seven of us followed Orban out of the town and we headed east, it would take two hours to arrive at the Iendal hill area where the goblin camps would be. I had asked Orban why we couldn¡¯t take a horse and cart, but he told me that this was part of the training. He explained that there were times when an adventurer would have to walk for a long period of time and then immediately fight with monsters. The life of an adventurer was very difficult and you didn¡¯t always know when monsters might attack.

    I had already witnessed this, but I kept my mouth shut. I was much more experienced than these other beginners. They may have spent more time training than me in their youth, but I had already killed a bunch of monsters in the forest with Reia, even some powerful ones!

    While we walked to the Iendal hills, I walked beside Tris. I couldn¡¯t really become friendly with the younger trainees due to the huge difference in age unfortunately. I didn¡¯t think the age difference mattered as much in this world, but to my sensibilities, it was just too much. The only exception was Dreg, that guy wasn¡¯t friendly with anyone, so no loss there.

    In the end, the only person who was relatively somewhat around my age was Tris. Tris and I got a long quite well and she had a good sense of humor. She also taught me a lot of new things about this world that I didn¡¯t know. Whenever we finished training, I would ask her questions about the Kingdom of La¡¯gun and the surrounding kingdoms as well. I also tried to find out as much about the common sense of this world as I could.

    It seemed awkward at first because these were things everyone knew, so initially I had to come up with a lie so that she wouldn¡¯t be too suspicious. I came up with a story about how I was the son of a minor noble in some distant kingdom and my house had fallen into poverty due to one circumstance or another. She didn¡¯t seem to question the story so I went with it. I¡¯m not sure if she believed me or not.

    It had been almost a week since I had seen Reia and I was starting to miss her company. Tris was nice enough and I thought we could be good friends but she couldn¡¯t replace Reia who had been through life and death with me.

    Nonetheless, Tris was a pretty cool girl and we got along. I started seriously considering asking her to join my party with Reia. The only thing was the Demihuman issue. I decided to ask her about it and see what her reaction would be, she would find out soon enough anyway and I thought it better to get it out of the way now.

    ¡°Tris, do you remember that friend I mentioned before, Reia?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I remember you talking about her, what about it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll just come out and say it, Reia is a Demihuman. I heard that Demihumans are discriminated against in the Kingdom of La¡¯gun and I really want to know why Humans around here hate them?¡±

    This was something that was really bothering me and I didn¡¯t understand why. Was it just because they were a different species or something? I know humans might hate someone or something for less, so it wasn¡¯t like it was that surprising, but this was a different world.

    Growing up in the U.S. I was no stranger to discrimination seeing as how it was a big part of American history with slavery and all. So, I was certainly quite curious about this and I didn¡¯t feel like it was something I could have asked Reia.

    Tris didn¡¯t answer immediately but eventually said, ¡°It isn¡¯t just the Kingdom of La¡¯gun, most human countries on the continent aren¡¯t fond of Demihumans.¡± She seemed to be skirting the question. I didn¡¯t want to pry too much, but I wanted to know.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to single anyone out, I just don¡¯t understand. Reia is really kind. She saved my life when I was almost killed by monsters. Then she trained me and introduced me to Orban and even wants to party with me.¡± I was praising Reia left and right, I hope I didn¡¯t come off too strong.

    ¡°The way you talk about her, she must be amazing. Are you sure you guys are just friends?¡±

    ¡°Come on! Don¡¯t misunderstand here, I just respect her a lot. Anyway, answer the question.¡±

    Tris didn¡¯t answer right away, it didn¡¯t seem like a pleasant topic of discussion. ¡°There was a time, long ago, when only humans lived on Aergan, there were no Demihumans.¡± That¡¯s news to me, Reia never said that!

    ¡°Wait, so then where did they come from?¡± I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt her but I couldn¡¯t help blurting it out.

    ¡°No one knows. There was said to be a vast empire that spanned all of Aergan in that time. The center of the Empire, the capital and most populous areas, were located to the west of here, somewhere within the vast plains which we call the Plains of Sorrow. The Empire was said to have power unimaginable, but one day it all disappeared. The center of the Empire was obliterated and all the people who lived there vanished, or died. The only ones who were left were those who were more distant from the center. No one really knows honestly, it happened almost five thousand years ago. After that, civilization collapsed, and that was when the Demihumans were born, but not just them, monsters and even dungeons¡± This story is somewhat different from what Reia told me. Is it just a matter of having different perspectives or is it something else? The commonality between the two is that the Empire was destroyed.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me that Demihumans and monsters showed up around the same time? Did the humans think they were monsters or something?¡± I¡¯m glad she¡¯s not asking me why I don¡¯t know any of this. Does she suspect something is strange about me? Well, until she says something I will continue to stick to my fake background story.

    ¡°With the collapse of civilization, many people died and towns fell into ruin so it took a long time before people encountered any Demihumans. The monsters also rampaged and slaughtered many of the people who didn¡¯t die to famine or other natural disasters. The way the story is told, it was a time when humanity was almost completely wiped out. It took thousands of years before the small pockets of Humans who survived could rebuild civilization to the point we are at now.¡± I guess you could compare this to something like a zombie apocalypse? If I get back to Earth I am pitching this to a movie producer, assuming I make it back of course.

    ¡°When humans finally met Demihumans for the first time, they thought they were monsters and blamed them for the destruction the monsters had caused. We now know that the Demihumans and monsters are not the same, but the differences between us is too great for some. It also didn¡¯t help that the Demihumans appeared from somewhere within the former empire and they still mostly live a tribal existence on the Plains of Sorrow. Some have ventured to Human lands though.¡± I will just have to assume the truth is somewhere between what Reia said and what Tris told me. We are talking about thousands of years ago so it is basically myths and legends anyway.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    I was not expecting all that when I initially asked Tris why the Demihumans were discriminated against and the differences in stories between Tris and Reia was something to think about. It made sense, but the Demihumans I had seen didn¡¯t look that much different from humans. How did they ever suspect them of being the same as monsters and did they really cause the destruction of the old empire?

    ¡°In the south, there is a large empire called the Reginar Homen Empire. They do not allow Demihumans to live freely there and all Demihumans in the Empire are slaves, or they are killed. That doesn¡¯t exactly help things either.¡± I see, I hate that place already, sheesh. The idea of slaves just doesn¡¯t go down well with me. Slavery was something apart of Earth¡¯s past and I was happy it was mostly done with it.

    ¡°I see, but I had heard a somewhat different version from Reia.¡±

    "I don''t know what you heard, but there are a few different tellings of the story."

    I suppose she was right, it had been thousands of years since these events took place. Who knew how much was truth or how much had been changed?

    After Tris¡¯s explanation was done, we talked about some lighter topics until we arrived at the area where the goblins had made their home.

    ¡°We are about to enter the hills where the goblins make their camps. Do not be surprised if you run into a large camp of goblins. The goblins are relatively weak and shouldn¡¯t pose much of a problem for any of you, but in groups they can be dangerous. If you don¡¯t work together, you will all die. If you all die, I will laugh at your corpses, got it?¡± Orban, you don¡¯t really mean that right? How can this guy be so morbid?

    Orban instructed us to head out together while he remained behind. He wasn¡¯t going to interfere or protect us. Our job was to find a goblin camp, kill the goblins and bring him the goblin ears as proof. He would wait at this spot until evening. If we didn¡¯t return by then, he would come and look for our corpses, but only to confirm we were dead. Those were his words.

    Arin volunteered to be the leader of the group and no one objected. I didn¡¯t really care who led honestly, my only concern was finishing this quest successfully and getting my adventurer¡¯s medallion.

    It took about fifteen minutes of searching before we found our first goblin camp. Tris, who was something like a ranger, had scouted for us and found them after some searching. It was larger than I expected with about fifteen goblins in it. That was more than double our number but if they were as weak as Orban said, this would be a piece of cake.

    ¡°Okay, I am familiar with all of your fighting styles. I think the best formation to go with would be if Orthus and I take the front as the vanguard, Tris you stay in the rear since you can attack at range. Dreg, you will take the center, if any get through Orthus and I, it will be up to you to take them out. Aessa, since you¡¯re a mage, you will also take the rear. I am relying on you to use elemental attack spells. Don¡¯t use fire since there could be collateral damage, stick to wind or ice. Idren, you will also guard the middle of the formation and use mobility restriction spells against the goblins.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting someone Orthus?¡±

    ¡°Oh right, the weird old guy?¡± Who the hell are you calling old? I¡¯m spanking this kid when we get back!

    ¡°Do you want me to hit you with my black flames while you¡¯re fighting a goblin?¡± That scared him, he saw how powerful my flames were!

    ¡°Alright! Sorry! I forgot, that¡¯s all. Just do whatever you want! I don¡¯t care.¡± He threw up his hands angrily. Kids these days eh?

    ¡°Not much of a leader are you?¡± He just ignored me and got everyone in position, I was standing on the outside of the formation. Well, he did tell me to do whatever I wanted, guess I will follow the orders!

    With the plan of attack decided, the group moved forward at a jogging pace. I kept pace with them and looked around for any stray goblins just in case. Once we were in sight of the goblin camp, the goblins noticed us and released strange yelping sounds. I never heard a goblin before, though, so maybe this was what they sounded like. They looked as I expected they would, but their sound was unimpressive.

    The shock the goblins felt at our sudden attack quickly dissipated and the goblins ran at us with their weapons at the ready. Their equipment looked shoddy and was barely holding up. I had heard there were much stronger types of goblins, but these particular goblins were weak and their weapons and armor were almost nonexistent. Nonetheless, they coordinated their attacks surprisingly well.

    I unsheathed my blade and channeled the Void within me, preparing my flames. I realized I could summon the flames onto my hands or arms and they would remain there as a defensive barrier. I could then send them flying towards enemies so my flames were extremely useful. They could be used quickly, could be stored on my arms or hands and could then be used as a projectile to attack long range.

    Tris knocked her arrow and began firing arrows continuously. She was a talented archer and scout and would be a useful addition to my team.

    Idren had used some strange incantation to root some of the goblins in place and he had even created a mini mud puddle that caused some goblins to get stuck. Aessa was throwing hadoukens at the goblins, at least that¡¯s what it looked like! In reality, she was chanting with her palms facing towards the goblins and wind blades were striking them down. Orthus and Arin were also making quick work of any goblins that came near.

    I sent my flames towards two of the goblins and burned them where they stood. They weren¡¯t even able to react as they were slowly melted. The battle was over before I knew it, it had only lasted about ten minutes or so. I could only use my flames three times, but it was enough to wipe out a few goblins and the others finished off the rest. They went down quickly, they were weak just like Orban told us.

    With the deed done, we quickly went around cutting the ears off the goblins. Every time I got near a goblin, my body would absorb the ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯ from their bodies. When I absorbed the fifteenth goblin, I felt a surge of power fill me. Maybe this has something to do with the threshold? I had 15 VP when I checked the divination crystal and it said that the next level would be 30. We just killed 15 goblins and I felt that surge of power. Does that mean I sort of leveled up? Nice! Can¡¯t wait to check when we get back to town.

    The others were busy cutting away at the monster bodies. Their bodies wouldn¡¯t remain too long so they quickly got to work. I noticed that Tris was cutting into the goblin¡¯s body after cutting the ear so I decided to ask her about it.

    ¡°You already got the ear, why are you cutting the body open. The smell is disgusting! Ugh!¡± As I got close I could smell the insides of the monster and almost gagged.

    ¡°What are you talking about Peter? I have to get the magic crystal out too, they are valuable.¡± So they do have magic crystals in them? Wait, then in the forest when Reia was cutting up the monsters she was looking for the magic crystals? She didn¡¯t find any though.

    ¡°Do monsters always have magic crystals?¡± She looked at me strangely when I asked that question.

    ¡°Peter, everyone knows that monsters have magic crystals, you must have really grown up sheltered if you don¡¯t know that.¡± That¡¯s weird, then why didn¡¯t we find any in the forest?

    ¡°This is strange, I can¡¯t find the magic crystal, it should be in here.¡± It wasn¡¯t just her, the others had been looking for the magic crystals in the goblins too and none had been able to find any. Not one of the goblins had a magic crystal.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­.¡± After looking everywhere in the corpses, they finally gave up and we returned to Orban with the goblin ears.

    He pretended to act like he was surprised to see us return alive. I was beginning to think he wanted us to die after all. Walking back to town was uneventful and the entire experience had been somewhat underwhelming. It was an easy quest. I couldn¡¯t expect more from it since it was really meant for beginners. Orban gave a speech while we were walking about knowing the limits of a maggot. Obviously when he said maggot, he meant us.

    After arriving in town, we followed Orban back to the Guild where Orban gave us yet another speech about how important it was that we check our status using the divination crystal whenever we killed monsters because that was the only way to know if we had gotten stronger. I guess he meant something along the lines of leveling up in game terms.

    I was the last to head to the room with the divination crystal. I put my hand on the crystal.

    [Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]

    [HP: 15/15]

    [Health Regen: 0.01/min

    [VP: 30/30] [Void Threshold: 30 Next level 60]

    [Void Regen: 0.1/min]

    Strength: 9 ( Modifier 0, Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)

    Dexterity: 9 (Modifier 0, Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)

    Constitution: 10 (Modifier 0, Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)

    Charisma: 10 (Modifier 0, Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)

    Intelligence: 137 (Represents intellectual capacity,Affects Skill Growth)

    Wisdom: 155 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)

    Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 3/10 Intermediate)

    Blessings: Blessing of the Void (?)

    Special ability: Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination strengthening host)

    Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)

    Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)

    Void Element: Void Flame (5VP - 1VP/min) (Manipulate flames from the Void for both attack and defense)

    So that power surge I felt when absorbing the goblins was in fact a sign of hitting the threshold. I also obtained VP equal to the amount of monsters I absorbed. Two of my attributes increased by one point and a few other things went up too. I have advanced to intermediate swordsmanship and my wisdom went up a little.

    Also, from what I can tell, the threshold doubled from what it was before. Will it always double or was it just coincidence? It might be too early to come to that conclusion. No change in VP regen or HP regen though. HP regen seems to be tied to constitution, maybe if that increases then my regen might also increase. As for VP regen, not sure yet what affects it. There is still much to learn about my status. I will just have to continue to experiment and observe.

 Volume 1 Chapter 10

    Boot camp was finally over and I was feeling pretty good about my prospects. If I continued to kill monsters and absorb that black mist, I would become stronger. It wasn¡¯t the traditional way of leveling up but it would do. It might even be easier this way since I just needed to kill a steady number. The only thing I was concerned about was when my threshold increases, will there be diminishing returns.

    I was lined up with the other new recruits and Orban gave another one of his famous speeches, ¡°When you all came to me, you were like mewling babies sucking off the teat, but now you are ready to take on the world¡­..¡±

    You don¡¯t need to know the rest, it was the usual insults mixed with an occasional compliment. After Orban finished his speech, we all went into the guild hall to have a few drinks. There was no such thing as a drinking age here so even the teens in the group were drinking. I wasn¡¯t really in the mood, but I had a few myself and went back to the inn where I had been staying. I was sure that the others would continue their revelry well into the night. I wanted to get to bed early, tomorrow would be the day I finally became a full-fledged adventurer and I would be able to get my copper medallion.

    There were several different types of medallions representing ranks in the guild and they also acted as a kind of passport when traveling to other towns. The Adventurers Guild had representation in every town and city throughout the continent. Larger towns and cities would have larger branches. The types of medallions were copper, iron, silver, gold, platinum, mithril, diamond and elementium.

    I wasn¡¯t really sure what elementium was, but it was the highest rank, and was only for the greatest of all adventurers. Only countries of significant size and authority were allowed to have an elementium ranked adventurer. There were only two on the entire continent. Even diamond ranked adventurers were extremely rare, but there were no restrictions on nation power for diamond ranked. So, while elementium rank was just about impossible to reach, diamond rank was attainable if you became powerful enough and acquired enough fame and prestige.

    Since higher ranked adventurers were extremely powerful, they were also considered to be a nation¡¯s trump card in times of war. They were even granted titles of nobility, and given land. I had high hopes for my first day as an adventurer, but the main reason I became one was to find a way to make a living and also to find any information about returning to Earth.

    When I awoke the next day I did my usual routine of saying a few words to my daughter in another world. After that I wiped myself down with a cloth, changed into my equipment and headed out. There was some time before I needed to show up at the Guild so I decided to take a walk around town.

    I walked from the inn, through the town center, to the blacksmith. There were about seven thousand people living in the town and in addition to that there were adventurers from other places and traveling merchants. The town, which is called Enrein, was on the border between two kingdoms and served as a trade center. I had heard the entire population of the kingdom of La¡¯gun was only about seventy thousand, so having seven thousand in one town was significant. Only the capital of La¡¯gun was larger with thirty thousand living in it and there were two other towns with approximately four to five thousand each. The rest of the population lived in rural villages and farms scattered about.

    The citizens of the town were beginning to congregate around the town center. The morning bell had already rung throughout the town and people were opening up their shops or looking to get some early deals. I needed to get my armor refitted so I headed over to the blacksmith. He was already busy at work when I arrived and was happy to take my measurements. I was instructed to come back later in the day to pick up my armor. It wouldn¡¯t take long to refit it since it was leather and it only needed slight readjustments to fit my body. It was finally time to head to the Guild.

    I made my way over to the Guild and it was busier than the previous days I had visited. Many adventurers were sitting at the various tables, most likely preparing parties or discussing their plans for whatever requests they had accepted. I went over to the receptionist counter and there were three receptionists working today. Two of them were young women who I heard were very much admired in the Guild.

    Adventurers didn¡¯t usually have the time to socialize with women other than female adventurers. They often tried to flirt with the receptionists. I didn¡¯t think the receptionists minded too much, they seemed to enjoy the attention and the adventurers never got out of hand with them since they were each watching the other. I had met them a few times already when I was training, but never had time to really converse with them.

    I walked up to one of the girls and greeted her, ¡°Good morning Jill, I am here to receive my copper medallion.¡±

    ¡°Oh, aren¡¯t you one of the new adventurers? You must be excited to get your first medallion!¡± Jill was polite and professional.

    ¡°By the way, what is your name again? Sorry, I forgot.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Peter¡± I had introduced myself to her once already, but I guess it wasn¡¯t that strange she forgot since she probably met a lot of new people on a daily basis.

    ¡°Well, you need to fill out some information on parchment first. Can you write or do you need a scribe to fill it out for you?¡± There weren¡¯t too many people who could write in this world so a scribe was a necessity. Each Guild Hall would have one for just such an occasion. They also handled other types of paperwork related jobs, like accounting records and such.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need the scribe.¡± Learning how to write wasn¡¯t one of my top priorities right now but it was something on the to do list.

    ¡°One second.¡± Jill left me there and went to inform the scribe. She returned moments later.

    ¡°The scribe will come soon, in the meantime let me explain what you need to put down.¡±

    She pointed to the top of the piece of parchment, ¡°Here you write your name or alias, whichever you prefer. Many adventurers like to be known by an alias of their choosing. You can also list any skill or abilities you want people to know down here.¡± Jill proceeded to instruct me on what information was needed to fill out the parchment.

    While I waited for the scribe I thought about what I wanted to include on the paper. My name was quite out of the ordinary for this world so an alias would be best. How about ¡®Fayde?¡¯ ¡®Fayde¡¯ sounds like a good adventurer¡¯s name! Okay, my alias from now on is Fayde! Fayde of the Void! I like it.

    Once the scribe arrived I informed him of what I wanted to be put on the parchment.

    Alias: Fayde of the Void, Fayde for short! That was all I put other than swordsman and Intermediate level sword skill. I wasn¡¯t about to inform the whole world about my abilities.

    Done. The scribe finished filling out all the information on the sheet for me. Jill gave me a look when she heard me say what I wanted my alias to be, but she didn¡¯t comment out loud. I could understand, the name was a little extravagant and I was only a new adventurer.

    After finishing up with the paperwork, Jill handed me my copper medallion and I hung it around my neck. I felt quite accomplished! It was now time to head over to the request board, can¡¯t wait to see what quests I can partake in.

    I took a look at the area designated for copper medallion rank adventurers and was sorely disappointed. Most of the requests were for basic manual labor type jobs. I guess copper medallion adventurers were basically glorified day laborers.

    I took a look around and noticed that instead of taking a quest from the board, I could just hunt monsters for their parts which could be used as ingredients for potions, equipment and other things. Killing monsters was the best option for me since I could gain strength by absorbing the ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯ from them. I didn¡¯t have my armor yet so I wasn¡¯t about to leave town, instead I took one of the manual labor requests off the board and figured I would do that for now. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    The person who had made this request was one of the merchants who had a stall in the center of town. It was mostly just carrying cargo back and forth from some caravans that were arriving today. The reward was one silver coin and a small discount for future purchases. It wasn¡¯t much, but the discount might be useful.

    After grabbing the request paper and turning around to hand it over to the receptionist, I smacked straight into the chest of an overly large man.

    ¡°Ah! Sorry!¡± I apologized and looked up and saw it was Orban, ¡°so, the runt is finally taking his first quest eh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I grabbed a labor quest, nothing special. I¡¯m waiting for my armor to be refitted.¡±

    ¡°Labor requests are important! Remember to look at the big picture¡­..¡± Not another speech, ugh.

    To sum it up, these kinds of requests were important for the town and helped new adventurers gain contacts with citizens and merchants and such. I just nodded and didn¡¯t bother to say anything. It wasn¡¯t like he was wrong, I just found his lectures to be long and tedious.

    ¡°So make sure you do a good job and take it seriously!¡± I gave him a sarcastic salute and he seemed satisfied.

    I was finally left alone to complete the quest. I left the guild hall and headed to the town center to meet with the merchant. The merchant was friendly and welcomed me, even offered me a drink which was nice. I guess he felt bad that he could only offer a silver for the work, but it was enough.

    He promised to give me a ten percent discount at his shop if I ever needed anything from him. Since he sold various things like potions, I thought I would be a frequent shopper, assuming I remained in this town. What I really wanted from him was information though. I asked him about the price of goods, good trade routes, etc. I wasn¡¯t expecting him to reveal all his secrets, but some basic info would suffice. If I couldn¡¯t return to Earth and had to make a living in this world, it was necessary to learn as much as possible about it.

    It took a couple of hours to move all the merchandise. The roads were all muddy from the rain the previous night and maneuvering the cart from the city gate to the merchant stall was a nightmare. Lugging the heavy crates and barrels off the cart ended up being the simpler task.

    As I was finishing up the work, I started wondering when Reia would show up in town. She still hadn¡¯t come back yet but that was to be expected. It took a couple of days to get to the forest and she would probably spend a few days at home and then return. She could be back any day now. I hope she¡¯s okay. If she runs into another monster like the last time¡­. I started getting wild ideas in my head, like what if she was attacked by slavers or a powerful monster or who knows what.

    I had no way of knowing whether something had happened and no means to contact her, other than to sit here and wait. It really sucked not being able to use a cell phone. I always had taken modern communication for granted! Maybe there was some magical equivalent I could buy.

    After completing my work as a day laborer, the merchant was pleased and told me to come buy his goods anytime. He gave me my reward and I headed towards a food stall to buy some meat on a stick. That was the name I gave it anyway since I had no idea what it was. For my own sanity I pretended it was chicken, ignorance is bliss as they say! After my meal, I found my way back to the blacksmith and still had to wait thirty minutes before he had finished adjusting my armor. Once I had my armor on, I finally felt whole again.

    With all my equipment ready, I headed out to kill monsters. This was a momentous occasion for me, well maybe my expectations were just a little too high. It was still early afternoon so I figured I would head out of town to hunt some small monsters. I wanted to increase my ¡®Void¡¯ threshold as much as possible. Gathering monster parts would also earn me some money so it was a good way to kill time while I waited for Reia.

    I left the town without much fanfare and headed towards the Iendal hills to hunt some goblins. There were always plenty of goblins to hunt in the area and they were weak enough that I could probably kill all of them before I ran out of ¡®Void Power¡¯. It was also a good opportunity to test out my powers a bit. There were different uses I had it mind. For example I wondered if I could stop a metal weapon with my defensive flames, or if I could somehow enhance my sword with my ¡®Void Power¡¯. The ¡®Void Flames¡¯ were flexible so I felt it was possible.

    It was simple finding a group of goblins and I took my time testing out the various uses of my ¡®Void Flames¡¯. Manipulating the flames, I was able to enhance my sword which give it properties of the ¡®Void¡¯. The flames circulated around the blade and caused additional damage to the monsters and would even sometimes ignite them. As for the normal ¡®Void Flame¡¯ attack, I could send out two at once, one from each arm. They used up a lot of my VP though and I had to rest quite frequently since my regen was very slow, it took 10 minutes just for 1 VP.

    Most of my tests were successful, but metal proved to be a deterrent for my ¡®Void Flames¡¯. For some reason, metal seemed to deflect them, but at the same time, my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ could indeed stop an attack from metal weapons. This basically meant I could use my arm as a shield, or even a weapon depending on the situation. A nice punch to the face while my flames cover my fist was effective.

    By the time I returned to town, it was approaching evening. I was slightly tired from the fighting but wanted to check my status first before heading back to the inn. There were plenty of adventurers sitting around the Guild Hall this evening. Many of the adventurers had returned to town from one request or another and I even saw Orthus and Arin drinking together. I greeted them briefly before exchanging the 12 goblin ears I had collected. I received 1 silver and 2 coppers for my trouble. The exchange was completed and then I checked my status using the divination crystal.

    [Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]

    [HP: 15/15]

    [Health Regen: 0.01/min

    [VP: 30/30] [Void Threshold: 38 Next level 60]

    [Void Regen: 0.1/min]

    Strength: 9 ( Modifier 0, Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)

    Dexterity: 9 (Modifier 0, Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)

    Constitution: 10 (Modifier 0, Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)

    Charisma: 10 (Modifier 0, Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)

    Intelligence: 137 (Represents intellectual capacity,Affects Skill Growth)

    Wisdom: 165 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)

    Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 3/10 Intermediate)

    Blessings: Blessing of the Void (?)

    Special ability: Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination strengthening host)

    Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)

    Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)

    Void Element: Void Flame (5VP - 1VP/min) (Manipulate flames from the Void for both attack and defense)

    Not much changed here. I killed 12 goblins but only received 8 Void Element so there are diminishing returns. I guess goblins no longer provide a 1 to 1 ratio. Also, it seems nothing changes until I hit the threshold. My wisdom continues to increase, I did learn a lot of new information about the world of Aergan so that makes sense. Alright, that¡¯s enough.

    I was definitely getting the hang of things and I could understand most of the different aspects of my status. Not everything was clear yet but I was satisfied with the results so far. There was nothing more to do at the Guild so I decided to head back to the inn to sleep. When I opened the door I bumped right into Reia.

    ¡°Reia, you¡¯re back! You look exhausted.¡± She looked like she didn¡¯t sleep again.

    ¡°Yeah, I just arrived now, I looked for you at the inn first and then came here.¡±

    Seeing as how she probably hadn¡¯t bathed in a few days,I thought it best to take the conversation back to the inn so we headed over there while she told me about her trip.

    ¡°I told my father about you. He wants to meet you, he gave me permission to bring you to the village.¡±

    ¡°You know, you didn¡¯t tell me exactly who your father is, is he someone important?¡± From the way she was talking it was obvious he was but I had no idea how important.

    ¡°Right, I forgot to tell you. My father is the chieftain of our tribe, but our tribe isn¡¯t very large so it isn¡¯t really all that big of a deal.¡±

    ¡°Your father is the chieftain? So you are a chief¡¯s daughter eh? Well aren¡¯t you so important.¡± I gave her a sly smile and she punched me but she knew I was joking and laughed playfully.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really. Our tribe is too small to even mention.¡± Her words were somewhat melancholy when she talked about her tribe. Must be a bad history there, I thought.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine with me, but first you need a bath. You stink.¡± That earned me another punch. I pretended to be hurt, dragging it out for sympathy but she didn¡¯t fall for it.

    ¡°You deserved it!¡± All I could do was laugh.

 Volume 1 Chapter 11

    (One month earlier)

    In the center of the empire stood an enormous temple dedicated to the majesty of the seven Divinities which were the gods of this world. No expense had been spared when constructing the temple and the temple itself was considered to be an architectural masterpiece, reminiscent of ones from the ancient times, before the fall of Human civilization. It had vast halls and columns made of the finest marble, there were immense statues devoted to each of the seven divinities, in all their splendor.

    This was the very seat of authority for the empire as the last bastion of a genetically pure Humanity, one not touched by the corruption of the Void. Those that followed the Divinity Church believed that this was where Humanity would grow and flourish and once again dominate the world. It was also here, within the deepest recesses of the temple, that a smaller and more lifelike statue of one of the Divinities kneeled, frozen in time before a large sphere like object.

    Within the sphere like object was an emptiness, a vast darkness that consumed the light. In the sphere, the darkness swirled and pulsated violently as if it were railing against its imprisonment. It yearned to be free of its shackles that it might once again roam the heavenly skies.

    In another place, very distant, stood the remains of another temple which once looked very similar to the one now standing in the empire. It had been ruined, and broken by forces unknown. It was equally as vast as its counterpart and there too was a statue, kneeling and frozen in time.

    A second sphere like object with an equally dark emptiness resided there. In its solace it basked in the moonlight among ruin and debris. There was a connection between the two, but only a few knew what that connection was and even less knew what it meant.

    Both had remained this way for untold millennia without change.

    However, one day, there was a slight change, the emptiness within both spheres swirled and pulsed just a little bit more violently.

    And suddenly, within those spheres, was a light that did not fade. The one within the ruined temple went unnoticed, but in the other place there was a loud uproar for nothing like this had ever happened before within the almost five thousand years of the Reginar Homen Empire¡¯s history.

    For the first time, the great and powerful bishops of the Divinity Church felt fear.

    ¡°This has never happened before, what do we do?¡± A group of bishops were frantically discussing what had happened.

    ¡°What does this mean?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    ¡°We must wait for the Oracle to arrive¡­¡±

    The bishops had already summoned the Oracle and it wasn¡¯t long before she arrived.

    ¡°Oracle, what does this mean? Use your powers!¡±

    The bishops urged the Oracle on, pleading with her to use her powers to discover the meaning of the strand of light which had somehow appeared where it possibly could not.

    The Oracle used her powers of divination, the act of using her powers on the sphere caused her to tremble in pain. She struggled against the power of the sphere as it entered her mind. She screamed in agony while falling to her knees. As she breathed her last, she yelled at the top of her lungs. ¡°SOMETHING¡­ COMING¡­ IN THE NORTH¡­ ENRAIN¡­ OF THE VOID¡±

    She fell to the ground dead.

    ¡°We must immediately send agents north to investigate what the threat is. We must identify the anomaly and once we do, we will need to deal with it.¡± The bishops all quickly agreed without a moment¡¯s hesitation. They were all shook by what had happened to the Oracle.

    ¡°It is a pity about the Oracle, we must find a replacement¡­¡±

    ¡°Who should we send north?¡±

    ¡°I have two in mind.¡± They all agreed it would have to be those two.

    <hr>

    (??? P.O.V.)

    Two lone hooded figures, one a man and the other a woman, met in the dark of night in an alley within the town of Enrain.

    When the two left the Empire, the only clue they had to go on from the Oracle was the town of Enrein. They were provided a magic tool which would help them locate the anomaly, but it wasn¡¯t entirely accurate.

    By chance they happened to be in the town center when the magic tool had suddenly reacted. It had reacted to a man wearing strange clothes and with an awkward demeanor. He was accompanied by a Foxkin woman who trained him for a time.

    At first, they thought it was a mistake, but the tool had continued to react to the man as they followed him. They had even spent time spying on him as he trained. They were able to do this because they possessed various magic tools which could mask their presence.

    After making sure no one had followed the woman, the hooded man asked, ¡°Have you had any difficulty?¡±

    His partner was clearly annoyed at having to meet him so late at night and was in a hurry to finish the meeting, ¡°None, did you follow her?"

    ¡°Yes, it was a simple matter¡±

    She hated how he always acted so cocky and working with him was always an unpleasant experience for her, ¡°Then what will we do now? I overheard them discussing plans to head to the forest tomorrow.¡±

    He just scoffed and said, ¡°Our men are on standby, I will have them follow the two tomorrow and look for an opportunity to attack.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure they will be enough? His power is¡­.¡± The woman had her concerns and worried that the men they had prepared would not be enough to subdue the target.

    ¡°I know, but those are the resources we have available to us, they are good men. They¡¯ll get the job done.¡±

    All she could do was sigh and accept his words, ¡°And what should I do in the meanwhile?¡±

    ¡°Remain in Enrain for now. If the men fail¡­ we will need to come up with another plan.¡± Tch, if you fail you will probably blame me, she thought.

    ¡°Fine, but I am tired of this shit town. I want to return to the Empire as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, then let¡¯s not fuck this up.¡± You don¡¯t fuck this up! She kept those thoughts to herself and with their meeting done, she left the man alone in the alley.

    <hr>

    (FAYDE P.O.V.)

    Waking up at the crack of dawn was still difficult for me but I was starting to get used to it. I was even getting used to having my dreams invaded on a nightly basis by a strange Dragonkin princess, what is the world coming to? I could only wonder while chuckling to myself.

    ¡°Jessie, it¡¯s dad. I hope you are doing well, I¡¯m still stuck in this world with some crazy people. That princess was back again, she seems alright, just a little sheltered but I haven¡¯t decided yet if I¡¯m going to trust her. I feel bad for her. Whenever we talk she seems so sad and lonely but she won¡¯t say anything about it. I have noticed her cheering up a bit when we talk though. Oh yeah, Reia came back and she¡¯s taking me to her village today. That¡¯s enough for now¡­.. I really miss you.¡± It was getting harder on me to do this but it was something I needed to do, for my own sanity.

    Reia was waiting for me when I came down from my room, she had taken a bath the night before and was looking nice.

    ¡°Reia, you look.. and smell, wonderful today.¡± I gave her my best smile and an exaggerated bow.

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± I pretended to look wounded and then laughed as she threatened me.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°Haha, sorry, I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± Reia knew I was only teasing her and didn¡¯t take it to heart. She¡¯s a good sport.

    I thought I even caught a blush there at the end, but maybe I was just imagining it because she turned around quickly and said, ¡°Are you ready to go? We should leave as quickly as possible if we want to make good time.¡± Ugh, we didn¡¯t even eat breakfast yet. This girls a monster.

    ¡°Oh, wait, before we go. Let¡¯s head to the Guild first, it¡¯s on the way. I want to introduce you to a new friend of mine. She told me she would be at the Guild early today!¡±

    ¡°Who is this friend of yours?¡± Reia asked me suspiciously.

    ¡°Just someone I met in training, since we are starting up our own adventuring party, I thought we could use someone like her. She¡¯s a ranger and good with a bow.¡± I told Reia all about Tris as we walked over to the Guild but she didn¡¯t seem too happy about it.

    Is it because she¡¯s human? I thought to myself and then shrugged. Demihumans and Humans will have to learn to get along eventually, might as well start here!

    Tris was in fact at the Guild just as she said she would be. I led Reia over to her and made the introductions.

    ¡°Tris, this is Reia. She is the one I told you about.¡± The two weren¡¯t acting very friendly and were eyeing each other up and down as if they were each appraising the other¡¯s worth.

    ¡°Come on now, we are going to work together in the future so let¡¯s try to be friendly. I¡¯m not expecting you two to get along right away but I¡¯m hoping you¡¯ll at least give it a chance.¡± The issues between Humans and Demihumans were complicated so it wasn¡¯t as if I wasn¡¯t prepared for this.

    Reia was the first to break the stalemate, ¡°Peter is right, let¡¯s at least try to get along.¡± Reia held her hand out for Tris to take it. She didn¡¯t take her hand right away but eventually she sighed and shook her hand, ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±

    This was actually great progress and I was happy to see the two of them shake hands. I knew that after they spent some time together they might become friends, or at least more comfortable with each other.

    ¡°Alright, now that¡¯s settled, there is something I forgot to tell you two.¡± They both looked at me expectantly, ¡°I decided to change my name, it¡¯s now Fayde, Fayde of the Void.¡±

    Crickets, I sighed. They just looked at me like I grew horns or something. These two are much more alike than they think.

    ¡°Okay¡­.Fayde. So where are you two going?¡± Tris broke the silence with her question.

    ¡°We are heading out for a few days so why don¡¯t you do a few jobs in the meantime and then when we get back we can form a party, sound good?¡± I said, skillfully evading her question.

    ¡°Alright, I will wait for you two to come back but you better take me with you the next time.¡± I promised I would. She seemed satisfied with my answer and wished us safety on our journey.

    We also let Orban know we would be gone for a few days and then we made our way to the west gate. Reia was rushing me through the city and wouldn¡¯t let me stop at any of the merchant stalls. The town was busier than usual and I really wanted to see if there was any new merchandise. I had been slowly building up my knowledge base of goods and prices and making contacts among the merchants. I had just begun, but I felt it was a worthy endeavor. There was no time for that now however.

    I took one last look back at the town before we finally made our way west towards the forest. The trip would take more than a day so we would need to camp out at the outskirts of the forest. The forest was more dangerous at night and even though we had camped there before, it was more of a necessity the last time. This time we had the opportunity to take a safer approach. There was no need to risk our lives needlessly.

    The trip was mostly uneventful. There was nothing but grass as far as the eye could see in either direction. This area was not hilly like the eastern part and instead was mostly open land. Humans did not build close to the forest and the only settlement around here was Enrain. There was the occasional monster that strayed out of the forest so it was a dangerous area to live, but traveling wasn¡¯t usually too dangerous. There was also the possibility of bandits attacking, but with nothing but open land as far as the eye could see, it wasn¡¯t as if we couldn¡¯t see them coming.

    I spent some time in conversation with Reia. We spoke mostly about her tribe and her father. She told me her father had once been a Khan, the leader of the Foxkin clan. He had lost in a duel to his brother and lost control of the clan. He and his tribe were sent into exile.

    ¡°My father doesn¡¯t talk about it much, but something happened back then. My father was a hero and the greatest warrior of the tribe, there was no way my uncle could have beaten him. Somehow, my father had lost his magic and in the duel, he was helpless. He lost to my uncle and was exiled. I have asked him about it so many times but he won''t discuss it with me.¡±

    ¡°That sounds rough, but what could have made your father lose his magic power?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­. No one knows.¡±

    I didn¡¯t say much after that and spent some time in thought until we had reached the outskirts of the forest. We had been traveling the entire day and it was approaching nightfall. It would take some time to set up a small camp and Reia planned to take the first watch. My body was getting used to the excessive physical exertion required to do anything in this world but I was still tired from walking the entire day.

    There was some time before it was necessary to sleep so we ate some food together. We had brought with us some rations, mostly dried meat and some bread. It was difficult to lug around fresh meat so most travel rations consisted of dried meat, bread and sometimes cheese or fruits and nuts. We didn¡¯t make a fire since we didn¡¯t need to cook and it might attract unwanted attention.

    I watched Reia eat for a bit, she was lost in thought and didn¡¯t notice. I could only help but wonder about her. She was a beautiful and strong woman and yet she spent almost all of her time alone. She didn¡¯t appear to have any friends or any love interest, I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it.

    ¡°Reia¡­¡± I gently called out to her and she looked at me with questioning eyes.

    ¡°Is something wrong Peter.. Sorry, Fayde?¡± It was dark and it was difficult to see her clearly but we sat next to each other, enough for me to feel her body heat.

    ¡°I was just thinking.. We have known each other for a couple of weeks now and I have never heard you mention anything about your friends or¡­. maybe a lover?¡± It came out a little awkward as I didn¡¯t want to come off as a weirdo.

    She almost choked on her food when I mentioned ¡®lover¡¯, ¡°Lover? Me? No¡­ I don¡¯t have anyone like that.. I have a few friends in the tribe but not many¡­ most of the time I am traveling or working. I never really had time for relationships¡­ before I became an adventurer I spent all my time training... for the day I can avenge my father¡¯s honor.¡± She paused and looked at me intently, ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°I just was thinking that it was strange that someone like you didn¡¯t have anyone¡­¡± I found it somewhat difficult to talk with her so close to me and with the way she was staring into my eyes.

    Reia slightly cocked her head to the side, ¡°Someone like me?¡± I was wondering if she was just toying with me or did she really not know? It was rare to meet a beautiful woman who didn¡¯t know she was beautiful and would be desirable to men.

    ¡°Come on¡­ you know what I mean..¡± She continued to look at me like she had no clue what I meant, ¡°You are young, strong and beautiful¡­ what man wouldn¡¯t be interested? I am sure there is some Foxkin guy who is interested in you, no?¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that I am beautiful? You are a Human, I¡¯m a Demihuman¡­ a monster..¡±

    Her response angered me and I reacted without thinking, ¡°What the hell are you saying? You are not a monster! How could you think that!?¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha¡­.¡± Her laughter surprised me.

    Dammit, you were fucking with me!!! I felt dumb, I had a feeling she wasn¡¯t being serious.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ I was only joking, but I am happy.¡± I could just make out her smile in the moonlight.

    ¡°You¡¯re happy because you tricked me eh? Yeah, you got me good¡­¡± I was definitely feeling a little salty.

    ¡°No Fayde, I¡¯m happy because you got angry when I called myself a monster. I¡¯m happy because you think of me as a person.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­¡± After saying that I was speechless, all I could do was smile and give her a playful push and we both laughed.

    Things got quiet between us again and Reia asked, ¡°How about you Fayde? Did you have someone on Earth?¡±

    ¡°I did once, but not anymore, it didn¡¯t work out. I have a daughter too, but I wasn¡¯t allowed to see her much.¡± I didn¡¯t originally want to tell her these things but she had told me much of herself so it was only fair.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. It must be hard not being able to see your own child.¡± Reia looked at me sadly.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. I have come to terms with it.¡± I just shrugged, it wasn¡¯t something I could change.

    ¡°What about that human you met at training, Tris?¡± I caught a glimpse of her looking at me shyly and I had a sudden urge to tease her.

    ¡°Why do you ask? Are you jealous?¡± I couldn¡¯t help myself and had to ask.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± She gave me a nice punch on my arm and I just laughed.

    ¡°I was just thinking that you must be lonely. You were forced here from another world and you¡¯re all alone. No one would blame you for looking for companionship among your own kind. Tris is a pretty girl and you are both Human.¡±

    ¡°Reia, I¡¯m not lonely. I have you!¡± I said with a sly grin.

    ¡°Fayde, I¡¯m being serious¡­¡±

    Her lack of confidence in herself because of her species was a little off putting, but I could understand where she was coming from and it only made me want to help her all the more.

    I grabbed her hand and put on my cheesiest romanticexpression, ¡°Reia, look at me. I¡¯m serious too. I¡¯m happy that I met you and I¡¯m not lonely, thanks to you. Tris is just a friend who I think could be a useful party member, that¡¯s it. I don¡¯t care that she¡¯s Human and I don¡¯t care that you¡¯re a Demihuman. I would drop her in a second if you wanted me to.¡±

    My words were sincere but at the same time, somewhat sarcastic. Reia was important to me because she was the first friend I made in this world and I really did like her, but I wasn¡¯t under any illusion that it was more than that. We hadn¡¯t even known each other for that long, how could she possibly be interested in someone like me? At least those were my thoughts, but to my surprise she seemed to be seriously considering my words.

    She didn¡¯t answer me immediately though, instead it looked as if she were searching my eyes for the truth, or lack thereof.

    After a moment, Reia turned away from me, ¡°Go to sleep, I¡¯ll wake you up later..¡±

    I couldn¡¯t see her face so I didn¡¯t know what to make of her response, ¡°Yeah, alright, be careful. Wake me if anything happens.¡± I rolled up in a fur and went to sleep.

 Volume 1 Chapter 12

    In my dreams, I stood in a sunlit garden. Trees swayed in the warm gentle breeze. Before me was a magnificent building of silver and gold. A beautiful woman bathed in a grand pool with cherry blossom petals floating on the surface. She hummed as she played in the crystal clear waters.

    Servants attended to her every needs and the more I looked, the more clear the image became. I felt as if I were being pulled, in order to materialize into this picturesque scene. The woman with a soft cream colored skin turned, suddenly frightened. She looked at me, into my eyes, and her face contorted in rage.

    ¡°NO! You can not be here!¡± Her voice carried along the wind. She raised her arms and the light crackled and fizzed around her forming a menacing obsidian colored sphere. She released the dark energy she had accumulated and flung it towards me. At that very moment, I was suddenly pulled from my dream and found myself face to face with a Dragonkin princess.

    ¡°Allein? Am I awake?¡± I asked her not fully aware whether I was conscious or not.

    ¡°You are in the dream world, but you must wake, quickly now. Enemies approach and your life is in danger!¡± There was concern in her voice as she shook me.

    ¡°What do you mean? What are you¡­¡±

    She interrupted me, yelling in my face, ¡°WAKE UP NOW!¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°WAKE UP NOW!¡±

    I woke up startled, the voice in my dream still fresh in my memory. Taking a quick glance around, I immediately noticed Reia look over to me with concern.

    ¡°Is something wrong Fayde? It¡¯s not time for your watch yet.¡±

    It was difficult to see anything at this time of night and Reia was relying on her hearing and smell more than eyesight to detect any threats. If she hadn¡¯t noticed any, then it was possible that they were somehow hiding their presence.

    I stood up and gathered what i could easily carry, ¡°we need to move, now.¡±

    Reia was confused, ¡°what¡¯s wrong? I don¡¯t¡­¡±

    There was no time to explain and I interrupted her, ¡°just trust me ok? We are in danger, we need to go, leave everything you can¡¯t easily carry and let¡¯s move!¡±

    Without asking anymore questions she followed me as we ran towards the forest. I wasn¡¯t sure where the danger was coming from but I felt that it would be easiest to lose them there. We might have to deal with monsters but those following would need to do the same.

    We had camped close to the edge and it was only a short run into the trees. Looking back, I finally noticed shadowy figures running towards us. It was difficult to determine exactly how many, but there were a lot, possibly as many as thirty or forty. They had been keeping low to the ground which would have made it difficult to notice them. Now that they noticed us running, they no longer felt the need to conceal themselves and chased after us with abandon.

    Reia noticed them too and yelled out, ¡°how? I don¡¯t smell anything.¡±

    The answer was simple, ¡°magic.¡± She understood but her heart was troubled. Magic that could so completely mask both smell and sound was powerful magic. How had so many of them been able to conceal themselves? These were not men to be trifled with and this meant they had significant skill.

    Knowing that it would be difficult to navigate the forest at night, Reia created a simple ball of light out of magic. It floated around her hand and it was enough for me to at least see her in the dark but not bright enough to see at a distance. I didn¡¯t want to lose sight of Reia, but I knew that if I did, she would be able to find me due to her enhanced hearing and smell. Nonetheless, I did my best to keep pace with her as she led me through the dark and foreboding forest.

    With only the light from Reia¡¯s magic, I struggled to maneuver through the twisting path of trees. I almost tripped a few times on roots and branches that littered the ground as I kept looking back to see if I could spot any of our pursuers, but I couldn¡¯t see anything. Did they have some means of tracking us? If they had been able to track us so easily, they must have had a means to do so. With so many opponents, it wasn¡¯t something the two of us could handle by ourselves. Our hope now was to run into a Foxkin patrol and with their help, fight off the intruders.

    We had been running for a full five minutes and there was still no sign of the enemy, but I had no delusions that they weren¡¯t far behind. I was secretly thanking Reia and Orban for all the training they put me through, otherwise I would not have been able to run this long. Cardio was definitely important for an adventurer in times like these.

    Reia suddenly stopped, ¡°There is someone approaching us. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a monster.¡±

    ¡°Could it be someone from your tribe?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a Foxkin¡¯s scent.¡± She replied.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take our chances, it¡¯s just one, come on!¡± We ran in the direction of the unfamiliar scent until Reia brought us to a halt.

    ¡°It¡¯s straight ahead, coming closer.¡± We unsheathed our weapons and prepared for whatever it was approaching us.

    It wasn¡¯t long before a shadowy figure stepped out from behind a tree, ¡°quickly, this way if you want to live.¡± The voice was female and sounded familiar but It was difficult to make out the appearance of the mysterious person.

    Reia and I hesitated, the same thought was most likely running through our minds, should we trust this person? Noticing our hesitation, the female stepped closer and said in an impatient voice, ¡°Peter, hurry up!¡±

    The fact that this person knew my name was a surprise. Reia held up the light towards the voice and I could more clearly see her. I didn¡¯t recognize her at first but then I realized who it was, ¡°Allein¡­ is that you?¡±

    ¡°There is no time for introductions now, follow me.¡± She turned around and ran in the direction she came from. Reia and I looked at each other briefly and I nodded. We both ran after Allein, with Reia taking the lead. Allein led us onward until we came to a small meadow within the forest.

    ¡°Here, rest for a moment. I already placed a protection spell over this meadow, it will take time before they can find us.¡± Allein sat down in the middle of the meadow and motioned for us to do the same.

    There was plenty of moonlight reaching the meadow and there were also strange luminescent lights glowing from some of the plants which made it bright enough to see the surroundings.

    Sitting down across from Allein I realized that she looked somewhat different from my dream, the most noticeable difference being her chest size. They had been enormous when she visited me in my dream, but in reality were a more modest size. Wishful thinking on her part maybe?

    She was also younger than she had appeared when in my dreams, and looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years of age. Personally, I preferred her real self to the very much unrealistic appearance she took in the dreamworld.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°You look different¡­..¡± Those were the first words out of my mouth.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± She shouted at me without realizing it.

    I laughed as I thought, defensive much?

    ¡°Fayde, who is this girl?¡± Reia asked me cautiously as she sat next to me.

    ¡°Ah, how do I explain? Well, we met but never in person before, she kind of visits me in my dreams.¡± This was a little bit awkward to explain to her.

    ¡°Why is she calling you Fayde?¡± Allein butted in.

    ¡°What do you mean she visits you in your dreams!?¡± Reia spoke at the same time as Allein.

    ¡°Okay, one at a time! Reia, I don¡¯t know exactly how, but Allein has been entering my dreams when I sleep. I am guessing it is magic of some kind? And Allein, I use the name Fayde now.¡± I did my best to explain to the two.

    Reia studied Allein closely before saying, ¡°You are a Demihuman, but I have never seen your kind before. Who are your kin?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Of course you haven¡¯t, but let¡¯s save that for later. My brother should be here soon with reinforcements, we will make our stand here. Are you two prepared to fight?¡±

    ¡°You have a brother? And what reinforcements? How did you even know where we were or that we were in danger?¡± I asked one after the other.

    ¡°My brother and I were following you two, from above. We saw the men sneaking up on you when you were sleeping and I warned you in your dreams.¡± She said with a very carefree attitude, like it was nothing.

    However, her explanation was way too brief and left me with many more questions, ¡°You better give me a full explanation later, there are way too many details you left out.¡±

    Allein shrugged in response and put up her hands, ¡°don¡¯t give me that! You better explain later.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright! Stop pestering me, let¡¯s get ready to fight. There isn¡¯t much more time before the barrier fails.¡±

    Reia kept silent for most of the exchange and just watched our back and forth banter with interest before standing. As I was about to stand I suddenly heard a voice in my head, ¡°have you been having fun running around with your fox girl friend?¡± It was Allein¡¯s voice but she hadn¡¯t moved her mouth.

    Are you in my head? You can use telepathy when I¡¯m awake too? I thought, not sure if she would answer.

    She heard my thoughts and responded, ¡°that¡¯s right, I am speaking with you through telepathy. You should be more careful who you keep around you, the Foxkin are known for being cunning, are you sure you can trust her?¡± She didn¡¯t speak those words out loud, they were transmitted into my mind.

    Tch, that¡¯s funny coming from you. What makes you think that you¡¯re any more trustworthy?

    Allein gave me a coy smile, ¡°I saved your life didn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see once we make it out of this alive.¡± I spoke out loud and Reia looked at me strangely.

    ¡°My brother is close now, we need to hold them until he arrives. I already prepared some¡­ surprises for them.¡±

    All three of us were now standing and Reia and I had unsheathed our swords. We moved back towards the trees so as not to be in the open meadow. Reia began chanting a spell and I also prepared my defensive flames. The forest was suddenly rocked by an explosion which startled me. What the hell was that? Her surprise? I looked over at Allein and saw her grinning madly.

    Breathing heavily in anticipation, my heart was beating rapidly in my chest. I had fought monsters and gone through training, but this was different. These were people I would have to kill. They were trying to kill me, so I had every intention of defending myself, but it was still nerve wracking. My hand and arm had already been prepped with my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ and Reia was just about ready with her spell.

    There was a sudden stillness, it was only mere seconds, but in those seconds it felt as if an eternity had passed. I watched as the meadow suddenly filled with swiftly moving shadows that made no sound. In the dark their appearance was not even human, just mere constructs lacking presence and they moved with a vicious grace. Their movements belied a nefarious purpose and I knew that we were the ones they had come to claim.

    For a moment, I felt a fear that paralysed me. I couldn¡¯t breathe, but a gentle hand found its way on my shoulder. It was Reia¡¯s, she smiled and then turning around the tree to the enemy she let out one word, ¡°fireball!¡± and an intense flame lit up the night in its fearsome light.

    I felt the heat from the fireball, but even more so the fire in Reia¡¯s determination, and it woke me from my fear. With my paralysis removed, I sprung into action and turned to a gruesome sight, the fireball had exploded with a loud bang sending pieces of the shadowy enemies flying through the night. A number of the enemy had been killed instantly, but many more made their way towards us.

    It looked as if they had all been spread out while searching the forest for us and the explosive traps that Allein had prepared had disoriented them further. Otherwise we would most likely have been overwhelmed through sheer numbers, but as it was, they were streaming into the meadow in small groups which gave us an advantage. Reia and I jumped into the fray, guarding each other¡¯s back as we fought for our lives.

    Allein was nowhere in sight and I was beginning to wonder if she had abandoned us but then I saw ¡®Fire Arrows¡¯ hitting the backs of the enemies facing us from somewhere in the tree tops. There was the occasional flash of light as Allein cast magic from above us towards the enemies. They were not expecting to be attacked from above and I used those moments of confusion to strike.

    The enemy¡¯s blades whistled through the air as they swung. Black flames flared as I whipped my arm around to deflect the attacks. Our dance became a flurry of movement and I continued to parry and deflect their attacks with some trouble, my arm functioning as a perfect shield. Once I had gained a bit of distance, I blew the first enemy away by throwing the flames from my arm into the enemy¡¯s chest. ¡®Void Flames¡¯ could be activated quickly and I concentrated momentarily, summoning more defensive flames.

    Reia had easily fended off two of the attackers but more were streaming in through the trees. It would only be a matter of time now until we were overrun. I was struggling enough as it was just to hold one or two back and the only reason I was capable of doing it was because of my ¡®Void Flames¡¯. Once my VP ran out, there was no way I could fight off all of them.

    ¡°Fall back now!¡± Allein yelled from somewhere up above.

    Reia and I had just defeated the first group of attackers and had gained some breathing room so we made haste and heeded Allein¡¯s words. The two of us ran in the opposite direction from the enemy. I heard a whistling sound again and managed to just barely dodge a thrown object. It was most likely one of those strange blades the enemy was using. It was possible that they were magic weapons.

    We had somehow made it back to the tree line when the trees suddenly lit up with a multitude of colors, it reminded me of christmas trees. Dozens of magical attacks originating from somewhere within the trees above bombarded the enemy within the meadow, cutting down dozens of them. More shadowy figures jumped down from the trees but instead of running towards us, they charged the enemy.

    ¡°Looks like the cavalry has arrived!¡± I laughed and shouted happily towards Reia.

    She gave me a confused look, ¡°what cavalry? They are Foxkin.¡±

    With my adrenalin pumping and fueling the excitement of battle, I laughed at her response, ¡°It¡¯s just a saying, It means we¡¯re saved! Let¡¯s go help mop these fools up.¡±

    Before she could reply, I ran out from the trees and Reia soon followed. I ran straight ahead towards a group of three that were fast approaching but before I could reach them, someone landed right in front of me from up above.

    ¡°Get out of my way Human, these three are mine!¡± An angry male voice stopped me in my tracks.

    He didn¡¯t even let me get in a word and went straight to work with his spear, spinning from one enemy to the next, cutting them down with extreme efficiency.

    It was then that I realized there really wasn¡¯t much left for me to do. Foxkin warriors were pushing the shadowy figures back and had them in full rout. The meadow was soon quiet except for the occasional moaning of the injured. There were corpses of the attackers littered around the meadow and the stench of burning flesh filled my nose.

    I wondered if it wasn''t too unbearable for the Foxkin who had a better sense of smell. It didn''t seem to affect Reia much and I thought she must have excellent self control or some means of blocking it out. As it was, it was almost too much for me and I barely kept myself from vomiting. This was the first time I had ever smelled charred and burning flesh like this.

    Another thing I noticed is that when I approached the corpses, there was no black mist visible from them and I absorbed nothing. This confirmed that Humans would not provide me any ''Dark Matter Contamination'', only monsters. Truthfully, I would have felt weird absorbing black mist from Humans. I don''t think I could have accepted that so easily as I did when absorbing it from monsters.

    As I looked around, I noticed that Reia was busy healing those of our allies who had been hurt and a small number of Foxkin were killing any of the attackers who weren''t yet fully dead. Though most had already left to chase after the assassins that had escaped.

    I practically collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. This had been my very first life or death battle and now that I had a moment to realize what I had just gone through, I felt even more sick. I had killed a person for the very first time with my own hands.

 Volume 1 Chapter 13

    After the battle with the mysterious shadowy figures, it turned out that they were in fact Humans in black camouflage. They reminded me almost of ninjas, which would have been cool if they had not been trying to kill me. I didn¡¯t recognize any of them and whatever equipment they had on them had somehow been destroyed, so we couldn¡¯t even determine how they had snuck up on us or blocked our senses. It was most likely magic, but identifying what type was now impossible.

    They had clearly been after either Reia or me, and since I couldn¡¯t see any reason why I would be the target, I assumed it must have been Reia they were after. Perhaps they were slavers looking to enslave Foxkin. It was possible that they thought they could capture Reia and then discover where her village was. No other motive came to mind.

    I hadn¡¯t angered or disrespected anyone and I hadn¡¯t even made a name for myself yet. There was nothing that stood out about me, at least to what the general populace would know. No one knew I was from another world other than a few people at this point, and even though my powers were rare, it wasn¡¯t like they couldn¡¯t just be passed off as a rare form of magic. All I could do was scratch my head and consider the possibilities, either way we would need to be more careful from now on.

    Reia couldn¡¯t come up with any other explanation either so we just agreed to watch our backs. This wasn¡¯t even that surprising to Reia who was already feeling the stress of living under the new king of La¡¯gun. The laws had not been changed yet, which technically protected the Foxkin from enslavement, but it was only a matter of time and she had already begun to be more cautious.

    The Foxkin who had come to our aid had already dispersed for the most part, chasing after the ones that got away. A few had remained to guard our way to the village, but they were currently scouting around in the treetops. The four of us were pretty much left alone and Reia led the way further into the forest in the direction of her village. It was very early in the morning and the sun had not yet begun to rise but we didn¡¯t want to camp out in the forest and so we continued our journey.

    ¡°A more pressing concern are these two.¡± Reia whispered and motioned towards Allein and her brother who were walking behind us.

    ¡°We can hear you, you know.¡± Allein responded before I could.

    ¡°Then why not explain exactly what your part was in all of this!¡± Reia wasn¡¯t entirely happy about the circumstances.

    ¡°Reia, calm down. I know why you are concerned but, these two did save our lives. We should give them the benefit of the doubt and let them explain.¡±

    ¡°Fine, explain.¡± Her response was terse.

    Before Allein could reply, her brother jumped into the conversation, ¡°Instead of interrogating us, perhaps you should be thanking us for saving your life. If not for us, the both of you would be dead.¡± His words were reasonable, and he was clearly furious.

    ¡°I am grateful that you came to our aid, but I am a little concerned with your coincidental and very punctual arrival alongside our attackers.¡± Reia did not back down in the face of the young man¡¯s anger.

    ¡°Tch, I¡¯ll see you eat those words!¡± The young warriorreadied his spear and would have attacked if not for his sister¡¯s intervention.

    Allein gave her brother a good smack on the back of the head which surprised him, ¡°OWWW! What did you do that for?¡±

    ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t you shut up and let me handle this, okay? You¡¯re too quick to resolve conflicts with violence.¡±

    I wonder whether she notices the hypocrisy in what she just said, I chuckled to myself at the thought which got me three angry glares.

    ¡°You have the right to be suspicious, I can understand why you would be concerned. Do not worry, though, we are not your enemy. I am Allein, and this is my¡­. foolish older brother, Nes. I haven¡¯t properly introduced myself to you Reia, I hope you will forgive me.¡± She was every bit the lady I imagined a princess would be, well at the least, it was a good act.

    Reia crossed her arms across her chest, ¡°continue.¡± She was acting like quite the hardass. It had me looking at her in a different light and I can¡¯t say it wasn¡¯t appealing to me. For some reason, I started fantasizing about Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell, only with fox ears and a tail.

    ¡°Fayde, pay attention and stop looking at me funny!¡± Reia¡¯s words snapped me back into reality, whoops.

    ¡°Right, so Allein, maybe you can explain to us what exactly you were doing following us and do you know anything about our attackers?¡± I asked Allein while under Reia¡¯s scrutinizing eye.

    ¡°I was following you, dummy. Didn¡¯t I tell you we would meet soon? We just happened to come across the attackers while following you.¡± Her words were much sweeter than when she spoke with her brother.

    ¡°If you were following us then I would have known. Why is it that I only knew you were there once we reached the forest?¡± Reia said impatiently.

    ¡°I suppose there is no need to keep it a secret from you, your kin already know. My brother and I are Dragonkin. We were flying far overhead so that you wouldn¡¯t be aware of our presence, do you think we of the proud Dragonkin would dare stoop to working with Humans?¡± Allein stepped closer to Reia with each word and stood directly in front of her so that she could get a good look at her.

    ¡°Do you see my horns? These are the horns of a Dragonkin, my brother has the same.¡± Allein turned her head as she spoke so that her horns could easily be seen beneath her hair, although the tips of her horns were visible towards the back of her head.

    ¡°Impossible, there have been no Dragonkin for thousands of years, how is it that there are now two of you?¡± Reia was still dubious of their claims and would not relent.

    ¡°Fine, then let me show you my dragon form, give me some space, my dragon form is larger than this body.¡± The three of us stepped away from Allein and she suddenly roared as her body began to shift its shape into that of something much larger.

    Her body twisted and contorted until Allein was no longer visible, but instead, a young dragon stood in her place. The dragon was not as large as I thought it would be, but that sometimes depended on the lore of the fiction you were reading. Some dragons were much smaller in size, while some were as large as buildings. Her size was slightly larger than a horse would be.

    ¡°Behold my dragon form.¡± Allein¡¯s voice in her dragon form was deeper and more animalistic and her eyes were like that of a reptile.

    Allein stretched out her wings and let out an immense roar which shook the trees around us and forced me to cover my ears.

    ¡°Do you believe me now?¡± She snarled while stretching her neck within arm¡¯s length of Reia.

    It was an impressive sight and Reia was certainly taken aback.

    ¡°Very cool! It looks like I won¡¯t need to walk anymore!¡± I said while laughing, but no one laughed with me, I thought it was funny.

    ¡°Now I know why my kin were willing to listen to you and I suppose you were telling the truth about watching us from the skies, but that still doesn¡¯t answer the question of why you have been following us.¡± Reia certainly looked somewhat intimidated but she wasn¡¯t willing to back down.

    ¡°I would like to know that too. I mean, you¡¯ve been invading my dreams and stalking me nonstop it seems, why?¡±

    Allein returned to her Human-like form. It was somewhat disgusting watching her transform and it looked painful too, but it didn¡¯t seem to faze her.

    ¡°We have our reasons for it, you are important to us Fayde, important to me.¡± The way she said that, it sounded quite intimate, but I couldn¡¯t fathom why.

    Before I could say anything, Reia spoke first, ¡°And why is Fayde so important to you, what do you even know about him?¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°I know much more about him than you, Reia. I have seen much in his dreams, I even saw you there¡­¡± Allein was clearly toying with Reia, and I could see it was working. She looked at me questioningly and I could also see frustration on her face.

    ¡°That¡¯s not all, I know he came from another world. Do you think that it was mere coincidence, or by design? Fayde is important to this world, he is important to Demihumans. He will bring our people salvation and I will be by his side to support him, that is my purpose. You on the other hand, are not needed.¡±

    Reia unsheathed her sword and was releasing quite a bit of murderous intent towards Allein and I took this opportunity todefuse the situation.

    I walked in front of Reia and spoke to her gently, ¡°Reia, calm down. She is just trying to get a rise out of you, that¡¯s all. It¡¯s what she does, trust me, I have had plenty of opportunities to be on the receiving end of her malicious tongue, but she isn¡¯t as bad as she seems.¡±

    My words were meant to calm her down but it seemed to have the opposite effect and Reia turned her glare to me, ¡°Oh, is that so? You have had plenty of time to play around with her in your dreams have you? I don¡¯t have time for this!¡±

    Reia sheathed her blade and stormed off, not giving me anytime to get a word in my defense. I sighed and turned angrily towards Allein, ¡°Was that necessary? You went too far.¡±

    Allein shrugged and gave me a playful smile, ¡°I was taking it easy on her, it¡¯s not my fault she got so easily upset.¡±

    She giggled and then continued, ¡°Maybe the little fox girl has a crush on you?¡±

    I was getting tired of her teasing and snapped at her, ¡°Enough Allein! Let¡¯s hurry up and follow her before she leaves us all behind.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, and after I went through the trouble of saving your life, perhaps I should have left you to die?¡±

    Her words hit me, she was acting insufferable towards Reia, but it was true that she saved our lives. I wasn¡¯t about to thank her with things the way they were currently however.

    We quickly ran to catch up to Reia, but with her mood the way it was I knew better than to walk beside her. Instead I followed quietly behind with Allein and Nes behind me. Nes had been quiet for a while but he seemed to be pleased with the exchange going the way it did.

    These two were trouble and I felt Allein had an ulterior motive for what she did. Unfortunately, my experience with women had never been good. I was married quite young and then by the time I got over the divorce, there hadn¡¯t been much time for me to start dating again. Most of my experience was with my former wife, whether it was when we were dating or after we got married. Sadly, much of the time we spent was not pleasant.

    As we walked through the forest for a time, things had gotten quiet, circumstances being as they were. It gave me time to think and I wondered at Allein¡¯s words and Reia¡¯s reaction to them. Her reaction did seem a little much, does she really have feelings for me? I sort of sarcastically brought the topic up earlier before I went to sleep, but from the way she acted then, it didn¡¯t exactly fill me with confidence. And what¡¯s with Allein? I¡¯ve never been in a situation like this before, it¡¯s confusing, I sighed deeply yet again. I felt as if years were coming off my life every time I sighed, but then I remembered that I was immortal.

    The silence continued for quite a while but eventually we arrived at the outskirts of the Foxkin village nestled somewhere deep within the forest. It was a relatively small village with huts made mostly from hide. There were wooden spikes and a trench which had been dug as a defensive perimeter. A few Foxkin guards stood at the entrance to the village and nodded towards Reia when we walked past. They had already been alerted to our presence from a member of the Foxkin patrol who went ahead after helping us fight the Human attackers.

    A couple of Foxkin warriors were huddled near a fire pit which had been dug out of the earth at the center of the village. It was a cold night and they were huddled to keep warm with thick fur hides covering their bodies. The village was quite the contrast to the Human town of Enrain. These Foxkin reminded me of primitive tribes on Earth. Most of the villagers were sleeping in their huts, but we were soon greeted by a small group of Foxkin who hurried to meet with us.

    ¡°Reia, my daughter, you are okay? When I heard word of Human invaders following you into the forest, I grew concerned.¡± The man who spoke was an older Foxkin male wearing a fur cap on his head which did not cover his ears.

    His hair was platinum color just like Reia¡¯s, and they shared some similar facial features. He must have been sleeping when he was alerted to the danger and had remained awake until we arrived in the village. His face was very clearly marred with wrinkles from lack of sleep and constant worry.

    ¡°I am fine father, my kin arrived in time.¡± Reia¡¯s father embraced his daughter as she spoke. There were two young female Foxkins and one older woman who were accompanying the Chief. The two young girls also ran out to hug Reia and were chattering away. There was no movement from the older Foxkin woman which I found peculiar. At first I thought it might be her mother but from the way she was acting, it didn¡¯t seem so. Now that I think about it, Reia never did mention her mother, did she die?

    ¡°These two must be the Dragonkin!¡± The Chief said once he noticed Allein and Nes standing behind me. He seemed as pleased to see them as he was to see his own daughter which did nothing to lighten the mood.

    ¡°When I heard that there were Dragonkin among us I couldn¡¯t believe it, but now I see you with my own eyes! This is a miracle, it must be.¡± He was talking rapidly and rushed over to Allein and Nes to look at them closely.

    ¡°And this must be the Human friend you spoke of.¡± I was the last to be noticed but I didn¡¯t mind.

    ¡°Come, all of you, hurry inside my hut. The night is too cold for these old bones!¡± He chuckled while leading the group towards his tent.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, you are still young for a Demihuman, but you¡¯re right, it is cold.¡± Said Allein much more polite than I was used to.

    ¡°Ho ho ho, this one has a way with words, doesn¡¯t she?¡± He was very pleased by her compliment.

    Reia¡¯s father led us to his hut which was larger than the others and the inside was comfortable and warm. There was a fire pit dug out in the center of the tent with a cooking pot hanging over it and the fire was large enough to warm the entire tent and provide light. There were various tools and knick knacks scattered about the tent and also a few more members of Reia¡¯s family.

    I wasn¡¯t too knowledgeable on the family structure of Demihumans, but from the little I heard from Reia, all members of a particular family lived in their own tent if possible. So living in the Chief¡¯s tent would be all his wives, children, and other close relatives. Chief¡¯s and Khans who were leaders among the Demihumans would normally have large families due to having multiple wives. It was even expected of them to practice polygamy and have many children in order to strengthen their tribe. It could even be said that all members of a tribe were family.

    We had been prepared a place to sit around the fire and the four of us sat down with Reia¡¯ father. We were offered tea and some kind of flat bread with soup. I wasn¡¯t hungry but I felt it would be rude to turn it down so I tried my best to eat the food.

    Reia¡¯s old man started up the conversation after we sat, ¡°You have no idea your good fortune! Lately, there have been roving bands of monsters scouting through the forest and the warriors were out in force tonight hunting them. If not for that, they may not have been able to make it in time to help you.¡±

    ¡°Roving bands of monsters? What do you mean?¡± I was curious about this, did monsters truly roam together like that?

    ¡°Ah, yes, you might not be aware of this due to your¡­.. circumstances. My daughter told me everything about you. It seems the dungeon up north somewhere has been sending out patrols lately, we think it might be an invasion.¡±

    ¡°An invasion? You don¡¯t think they will attack here do you?¡± Reia replied concerned.

    Her father looked at her and waved dismissively, ¡°don¡¯t worry, they have not found our village. Our warriors have been keeping them away, but it does seem they are looking to attack Enrain. The dungeon must be overflowing with monsters, this happens every few years or so.¡±

    This was news to me, I didn¡¯t know dungeons sent out invasion forces, that¡¯s crazy!

    ¡°I was the one who brought the Foxkin to you, I found them on patrol when I was flying over the forest. You should be grateful!¡± Nes proudly declared to the group earning him a glare from Reia, who was still not over the earlier conversation.

    As I was thinking about the invasion, I realized something and said, ¡°Wait, if they are going to invade the town, we must warn them! Do they even know what is going on?¡±

    ¡°The Kingdom does have scouts that patrol the area but the monster patrols have been using the forest for cover, they are getting more clever. They probably don¡¯t know what is happening yet. We only just discovered them not long ago and have been hunting them down as much as possible. It was only small groups here and there, scouts probably.¡± This news the Chief shared was troublesome.

    ¡°Have you seen any larger groups moving through the forest?¡± Reia asked.

    ¡°None yet, but it is still early. They may send out raiding parties before the invasion as well. If we can keep them away from the village, we should go unnoticed by the larger force. They will have their eyes set on Enrain. I sent scouts further North to investigate, I should know more tomorrow when they return.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me whether those Humans are wiped out, let the monsters kill them.¡± Allein¡¯s callous tone angered me.

    ¡°Allein, these are innocent people we are talking about. We can¡¯t just let them be killed, there are thousands of people in Enrain.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, innocent? Fayde, these Humans enslave Demihumans and kill them, is that what you call innocent?¡± I was taken aback by her anger but I knew she was wrong.

    ¡°Do whatever you want Allein, I will not stand by and do nothing while people die. You said you wanted to help Demihumans, this is not the way to go about it.¡±

    Allein saw the resolve in my eyes and relented, ¡°Alright, fine. I get it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough for now, why don¡¯t we all get some rest and we¡¯ll discuss this tomorrow, clear heads and all.¡± Reia¡¯s father said in order to diffuse the situation.

    We all agreed that would be best and when we stood, Allein winked at me and said loud enough for everyone to hear, ¡°I¡¯ll see you later.¡±

    Another deep sigh left my lips.

 Volume 1 Chapter 14

    ¡°Now that the others are gone, there are a few things I need to ask of you.¡± Allein said as she sat across from the Chief of the Foxkin.

    The Chief was not a fool and he knew that this was no mere coincidence for the Dragonkin to suddenly appear with an interest in a Human from another world. His daughter had told him about the Human called Peter, and how she had come across him in the forest after experiencing a strange magic. She had also told him of his mysterious power, not out of any maliciousness, but in hopes that he would know some way to help Peter return to his world.

    He knew of no way of course, such magic was beyond his comprehension. His knowledge of the lore of the Demihumans was vast, having once been a Khan of the Foxkin, but even in the old stories there was nothing. The stories were old, ancient even, and it was difficult to discern the truth of them.

    Reia¡¯s father let out a friendly chuckle while stroking his beard, and asked, ¡°what would you ask of me princess?¡±

    She was not pleased with his attitude but she ignored it, ¡°Fayde is of great importance to me, do you understand? He must be convinced to go to the old Imperial Capital on the Plains of Sorrow. His destiny lies there, and you will help me accomplish this.¡±

    ¡°What is it that you are planning? Why is this Human so important?¡± Reia¡¯s father was honorbound to help her in anyway possible, but her words piqued his curiosity.

    ¡°I will only say this, Fayde has the power to unite our people. You must believe me when I say that everything I do, is for that very purpose, just as my father did before me. Fayde will bring truth to this world of lies, and shatter it.¡±

    He knew she could only mean one person when she spoke of her father, but how she had survived for so long and remained unnoticed by the world was something that perplexed him. Her words were cryptic, but the Chief trusted her words to be true despite the uncertainty surrounding her.

    ¡°And you can say no more?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, please, trust me. These past few weeks have been difficult for my brother and I. My heart has yet to calm itself. I will just say this, my last few memories of my father were of him saying goodbye, and then I woke to this nightmare. You can not possibly understand my pain, but know that my motives are pure. I only wish to do what is best for us all.¡±

    Allein¡¯s eyes were distant, as if she were somewhere else. The sadness and grief were very much prevalent. She had hidden it well from the others, but the Chief knew better. He could see her heart was in turmoil and it pained him.

    ¡°I will do all in my power to aid you, but I¡¯m worried about my daughter. She may not fully realize it yet herself, but she has grown quite attached to Fayde¡­.¡±

    Allein thought for a moment while holding her chin with her index finger.

    Reia¡¯s father had a sudden idea, ¡°you should know that the Demihumans on the Plains of Sorrow will never let a Human enter the old Imperial Capital. By tradition, the only ones allowed entry are the Khans that compete and win during the Grand Council.¡±

    ¡°Then what do you suggest?¡± Allein asked inquisitively.

    ¡°Fayde will need to become the Khan of all Khans, and for that, you¡¯ll need my daughter.¡±

    The Chief didn¡¯t like having to manipulate his daughter, but given the circumstances, it might be necessary. He never wanted to include her in any of the traditions that chained the Demihumans. He wished for his daughter to live freely and to do whatever it was her heart wished, but events had become complicated with the appearance of the Dragonkin siblings. He could no longer remain unattached to the world as he had been and he knew great changes would be coming for all Demihumans.

    ¡°Explain.¡± Allein¡¯s response was curt, she didn¡¯t particularly like the idea of involving Reia. She was already unhappy with her appearing by pure chance at Fayde¡¯s side when he first appeared in the world. Dragonkin were known for being possessive.

    ¡°Even though Demihumans are honorbound to support you by the ancient pact, it has been a very long time since the pact was made and many think the Dragonkin are gone. Even if you showed yourselves now, it would be difficult with just the two of you to unite all of the clans. There are many ambitious Khans among the clans and they may attempt to manipulate you for their own selfish desires. With just you and your brother, you would not be able to compete in the Grand Council games either. You will need the power of an entire clan behind you, and the only way to do that would be for Reia to challenge the current Khan of the Foxkin, my brother. As you already know, by tradtion only men may become a Khan.¡±

    Reia¡¯s father paused for a moment to let everything he said to Allein sink in. He could see she understood exactly where this was going and she did not look pleased.

    ¡°You are saying that Reia and Fayde will have to become engaged¡­..¡±

    The Chief nodded, ¡°that¡¯s right, but there is no reason to be so dissatisfied with it, you should know very well that Khans are expected to have many wives.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­.. I know, I just hate being second.¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha¡­¡± The Chief laughed knowingly at her words.

    ¡°Fine. I suppose there is no other way. Are you certain that they can be brought together?¡± Allein asked after calming herself.

    ¡°I think she¡¯ll come around¡­¡­.¡±

    <hr>

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    It took me a minute to open my eyes and fully realize where I was. Someone had roughly shook me awake and once I was fully conscious, I saw that it was Reia. Most likely she was having difficulty waking me. I had been exhausted last night and needed the sleep. Thankfully I had slept peacefully and my dreams hadn¡¯t been invaded by a certain princess.

    ¡°Fayde, wake up. The scouts have returned earlier than expected and my father wants to discuss it with us.¡±

    I grunted and sat up, looking straight at Reia who was crouched near me, ¡°Ah.. good morning.¡±

    Reia stood up once she saw I was awake and said, ¡°Did you sleep well?¡±

    My eyes were still a bit blurry so I rubbed them and replied, ¡°Still getting used to sleeping on a hard surface. At least the furs did a good job of keeping me warm.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Reia gave me a knowing smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get used to it in time. When you¡¯re ready come over to the fire pit, we are eating breakfast and my father is waiting there.¡±

    I nodded my understanding and Reia left me alone to get myself sorted. Not wishing to waste time, I slapped my face to fully wake up and stood. I was still in the same clothing but had removed my armor. There was no need to put it on right now and I quickly made my way over to the fire where a nice warm bowl of soup was waiting for me.

    They seemed to eat a lot of soup, and a lot of meat. Both wereeasy to cook and could be made in large quantities. The soup stock was made from animal bones but I wasn¡¯t sure what kind of animal. In the soup, there were some forest roots and vegetables along with chunks of meat. The soup stock made from bones gave it a distinct flavor but it was still too bland without enough salt thrown in. I wasn¡¯t about to complain though, and dug right in.

    Nes, Allein, Reia and her father were all sitting around the fire pit eating. Other members of Reia¡¯s family began waking up as well, while some moved about the tent cleaning and doing other chores. For the Foxkin, the day started even earlier than for the people of Enrain. I was surprised I hadn¡¯t woken up from the activity in the hut.

    Reia¡¯s father waited until we were all done before sharing the news.

    ¡°Our scouts located the main body of the monster¡¯s army and it does seem that they are moving through the forest heading in the direction of Enrain. If they continue on their current course, they will pass our village to the east and then head straight towards the Human town. It¡¯s most likely that the Kobolds that have been attacking travelers and merchants over the past few weeks were scouting ahead for this invasion force. I¡¯m almost certain they don¡¯t know the location of our village, but some of their raiding parties have broken off from the larger group and may be heading in this direction. That could be troublesome.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we need to take care of them quickly, do we have an idea of how many monsters there are?¡± I wanted to rush to the town to warn them but making sure Reia¡¯s village wasn¡¯t in any danger came first.

    ¡°Ho, ho, a Human wishing to help out Demihumans? I am happy to see that what my daughter told me about you is true.¡± Reia¡¯s father seemed very pleased by my words and Reia smiled towards me and whispered a thank you.

    ¡°My brother and I will help you as well.¡± Allein interjected while sipping a cup of warm tea.

    Nes just grunted his acknowledgement, he didn¡¯t seem too enthusiastic about helping.

    ¡°Excellent! The enemy army is large so it would be impossible for us to engage them directly. We don¡¯t have exact numbers. There could be anywhere from a thousand to two thousand. Most of the army consists of Kobolds, and they are being led by lizardmen. The two smaller groups which have split off from the main body are what we are concerned about.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how many monsters are in the two smaller groups?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Between the two groups, maybe a hundred.¡±

    I thought for a moment and then asked, ¡°How many warriors does your tribe have?¡±

    ¡°We have fifty warriors, we are a small tribe unfortunately.¡± Reia¡¯s father seemed apologetic, but I had seen the Foxkin fight and didn¡¯t think the numbers would be an issue.

    ¡°I saw the Foxkin fight last night and they moved through the trees skillfully. That should give us the element of surprise. I¡¯m thinking if we pull something off just like we did last night, it should work well. Some of us could act as bait while the rest ambush the monsters from the treetops. Enough of your warriors are skilled at magic for it to work.¡±

    The Foxkin warriors had impressed me with their display of magic. Their ability to maneuver along the treetops made it hard for enemies to target them and they could deliver devastating barrages of magic from above.

    ¡°It sounds like a good plan, but who will be the bait?¡± asked Reia.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to have to be me.¡± I was the only one who couldn¡¯t jump through the treetops so it had to be me.

    Reai wasn¡¯t pleased with my words and disapproval was etched on her face, ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous Fayde, I will go with you.¡±

    Despite Reia¡¯s disapproval, I was the best choice to act as bait. She needed to be with the ambushers, her fireball spell would be very useful in this battle.

    ¡°No Reia, you go with the Foxkin warriors. It will be fine, I only need to have them chase me a bit and then once the fighting starts, they will be too busy looking for the attackers in the trees to notice me.¡±

    Allein stood with one hand on her waist and bravely declared, ¡°My brother and I will protect Fayde, don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t even try to talk us out of it Fayde, you will need our help.¡±

    I was going to say something but Allein stopped me before I could.

    Seeing their determination, I gave in. ¡°Alright, fine. The three of us will act as bait.¡±

    <hr>

    (Reia P.O.V.)

    ¡°Reia, wait. I want to speak with you alone for a minute before you go.¡± Fayde and the others had already left the hut and my father stopped me just as I was about to join them.

    I turned to face him and noticed the look of concern on his face, ¡°Yes, father?¡±

    ¡°Please be careful, you are my eldest daughter and my heir. If anything should happen to you¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t expecting my father to be worried about my welfare. I had been a warrior now for many years and death was always a possibility, he knew that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry father, these monsters will hardly pose a threat to our warriors.¡±

    He shook his head and put one hand on my shoulder, ¡°Lately, you seem distracted and I¡¯m worried that you will do something foolish.¡±

    I looked at my father with questioning eyes, ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Then my father asked me something strange, ¡°What does Fayde mean to you?¡±

    Now I was really confused. I found it strange that he would suddenly ask me a question like this.

    ¡°Fayde is¡­¡± What exactly is Fayde to me? My friend? Companion? Fayde likes to tease me and sometimes he says things which could be misunderstood for something more. I don¡¯t know when he¡¯s being serious. We aren¡¯t even the same species, I¡¯m a Demihuman and he¡¯s a Human.

    ¡°Is this really something we need to talk about right now?¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say so I evaded the question.

    ¡°You know, ever since you were little, I¡¯ve never see you spend so much time with another male, other than me.¡± My father laughed gently as he reminisced.

    ¡°Father, I don¡¯t have time for this¡­¡± I turned to leave but my father stopped me.

    ¡°Just be honest with yourself, I don¡¯t want to see you get hurt because you aren¡¯t thinking clearly.¡±

    I still wasn¡¯t certain where he was going with this, ¡°Father, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    My father put his arm on my shoulder and said in a sincere voice, ¡°I¡¯m talking about your feelings for Fayde.¡±

    I grew flustered by his words and replied, ¡°Father, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.. Fayde and I are companions, that¡¯s all¡­ We aren¡¯t even the same species¡­¡±

    My words lacked force and there was no way my father didn¡¯t see through it.

    ¡°It¡¯s true that because of the discrimination that exists between our two species, that it may seem unthinkable that a Human and a Demihuman might love each other. However, Humans and Demihumans are not as different as you may think¡­. I think that if it¡¯s Fayde, it is possible. He is someone from another world and doesn¡¯t hold the same ideas as the Humans of this one.¡±

    My father¡¯s words rang true and I considered them sincerely, but they were difficult to accept in my heart. I knew my feelings for Fayde were complicated and I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what I felt, but also deep down I worried that he would reject me, as the world had rejected my people.

    I tried to pull myself away from my father and leave, but he wouldn¡¯t let me go, ¡°I see the way you look at him and also how he looks at you. It reminds me of how I once looked at your mother along time ago, when were young and she hadn¡¯t yet been taken from us.¡±

    This time I was successful at escaping his grasp and swiftly pulled away, ¡°I have to go.¡± I had been feeling very anxious towards Fayde lately and I even lost my temper a few times, which was very much unlike me. I don¡¯t have time to think about this right now.

    Outside Fayde was waiting for me, ¡°Everything okay?¡± My father¡¯s words repeated in my mind, and as I looked at Fayde, I was filled with uncertainty.

    I nodded and said, ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go.¡±

 Volume 1 Chapter 15

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    Crouching behind some bushes, we carefully made our way closer to where the group of monsters were reportedly located. Foxkin warriors led by Reia were nearby and our job was to bait the monsters into following us right into an ambush.

    ¡°Do you see them?¡± I whispered to Nes.

    Even though it was daytime, visibility was still low within the forest and I couldn¡¯t see or hear any of the monsters we were hunting. Dragonkin eyes were superior to Human eyes, they could see farther and more clearly. Their other senses were also superior to that of a Human. Even if I couldn¡¯t pick up something through the dense vegetation and trees, maybe he could.

    ¡°There are too many obstructions but I can hear movement not far from here. We should be relatively close. I say we draw their attention here and then fall back.¡± His response was prompt and reasonable.

    ¡°Maybe a little light show should get their attention?¡± I said to the two siblings.

    Allein nodded and began preparing her magic power to cast her spell. Seeing her focusing on chanting and preparing her magic, I decided to prepare some of my own magic and two black flames flared up, one on each hand. With our preparations complete, Allein let loose a lightning strike towards the trees in the direction of the monsters. The lightning struck a tree producing a thundering sound on impact.

    ¡°That should get their attention.¡± I said while waiting patiently for the enemy to come investigate.

    The three of us continued crouching and Allein began preparing another spell while waiting for the enemy to show themselves. Even I could now hear the approaching enemy, and soon several kobolds came crashing through the underbrush around the tree which had been struck by lightning. I immediately sent the two ¡®Void Flames¡¯ I had prepared forward towards the enemy, dropping two of the kobolds. At the same time, Allein released several ¡®Ice Shards¡¯ which struck some of the others.

    Now that we had their full attention, we ran as fast as we could in the opposite direction. The monsters roared and screamed and came rushing after us. We could hear distant monsters responding to the cries of the ones closest to us and we knew the chase had begun.

    While running, Allein kept the monsters behind us in check by sending magic attacks towards them, but some of the monsters returned fire by throwing spears or trying to shoot us with arrows. Thankfully, there were many trees which provided cover for us and their attacks were ineffective.

    We still had somewhat of a ways to go before we arrived at the ambush point, we made sure that the location was in a different direction from the village just in case any of the monsters escaped and reported back to the main group. This made the job of being bait more difficult for us but it was necessary to ensure the safety of the village. We also needed to make sure to kill as many of the monsters as possible and needed to draw them in quite a bit just in case.

    Kobolds were faster than I expected, but for the time being we were staying ahead of them and Allein was doing an excellent job of keeping any from getting too close with her magic. Just a little longer, I thought as I was beginning to tire from the constant running.

    Looking back, I just barely dodged a javelin that had been thrown by a monster before it was killed by Allein¡¯s ¡®Ice Shard¡¯ attack. However an arrow found its mark and struck me in the back of my shoulder, almost sending me tumbling to the ground in pain. Noticing that I had been struck by an arrow, Nes and Allein quickly supported me before I could fall. Regaining my balance, I pushed on despite the pain. I couldn¡¯t stop here, we hadn¡¯t made it to the clearing yet where the Foxkin would be waiting in ambush.

    My shoulder was stinging and it took some effort to bear with the pain while still retaining my speed, but I pushed through it. The clearing where the ambushers waited soon came into view and I urged myself on. I started to feel somewhat sluggish and I could also feel the blood from the arrow wound trickling down my back. I kept pumping my legs as hard as I could, if I stopped now, I was dead.

    Breaking through the trees into the clearing, the three of us made our way to the opposite end and dozens of Kobolds came pouring in behind us. The Kobold¡¯s had good senses themselves which is why we didn¡¯t want to bring the main force of our warriors too close, instead luring them in with a small number.

    They weren¡¯t too intelligent, however, and couldn¡¯t respond to the rapidly changing situation. Their desire to catch the three of us drove them into a rage which made them incapable of processing the new sensory information they were receiving. They walked right into the ambush and once they were visible within the clearing, the Foxkin waiting in the treetops began their bombardment, starting with Reia¡¯s ¡®Fireball¡¯.

    The once peaceful clearing became the site of a massacre, as one monster after another, found themselves in a crossfire of elemental attacks which devastated them. I swiftly found a tree to put my back to, and Allein frantically got to work pulling the arrow out of my shoulder. She was having some difficulty doing it because she was afraid of hurting me more.

    ¡°Just yank the damn thing out already!¡± I gritted my teeth and angrily shouted at her.

    The arrow had hit the bone in my shoulder and hadn¡¯t gone through, so it wasn¡¯t too deep. Even if she caused more damage by ripping the arrow out, she could easily just heal the wound. I just wanted her to get it out quickly.

    ¡°Alright! I¡¯m going to pull it out as hard as I can!¡¯ She complied with my request and pulled it out causing me more pain than I expected. She began chanting healing magic immediately and started healing the wound. The pain was gone after a couple of minutes and I could feel the wound closing.

    The battle was still raging behind us as the Foxkin continued their barrage of magic. Initially, the Kobolds had been completely surprised and half of their number had been cut down before they realized what was going on. With the Foxkin hiding in the trees, it was difficult for them to hit their targets from the ground below and some of them began climbing the trees to retaliate.

    ¡°Thank you Allein¡­. sorry I shouted at you.¡± I said while breathing heavily, my chest rising and falling rapidly.

    She didn¡¯t seem to mind the fact that I had shouted and smiled while standing over me as I sat with my back to a tree. ¡°It¡¯s fine, now get up, we have more enemies to kill.¡±

    She said that way too enthusiastically, I thought with some concern.

    Allein helped me stand as her brother watched on quietly, as expressionless as he always was. Other than when he was angry of course. I unsheathed my sword and summoned more of my flames, encasing my left hand and arm in them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The three of us charged into the clearing and engaged the enemy who had yet to climb into the treetops. Bodies fell all around as Kobolds were killed in their attempt to climb the trees. Some of the Kobolds had made it to the top and were fighting with some of the Foxkin without much success. Individually, the monsters were no match for the Foxkin who were fighting on their own turf, and without being able to overwhelm the Foxkin with numbers, their attacks were futile.

    A sudden unfamiliar growl resounded from somewhere beyond the trees and two large lizardmen came crashing through the forest towards me. These were most likely the commanders of the monster raiding parties. They were not as quick as the Kobolds so I had plenty of time to prepare as they came within range of my blade.

    I blocked the first attack using my left arm which was covered by my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ and countered with my blade, cutting into the lizardman¡¯s arm and jumped back, dodging a second attack from his companion. With the element of surprise I was able to get a quick strike in but I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out for too long against two of these monsters. Nes and Allein noticed my plight and jumped in to aid me.

    Allein threw ¡®Ice Shards¡¯ at one of the lizards while Nes spun to action with his spear, striking the other down with a series of rapid thrusts that the lizard could not defend against. With the first lizardman distracted by Allein¡¯s magic attacks, I sent my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ into the monster¡¯s exposed side and my flames burned its flesh uncontrollably, dropping it to its knees writhing in pain. Another magic attack from Allein finished it off.

    I searched the clearing wildly, the adrenaline pumping through my body, but no enemies remained alive.

    ¡°Fayde, calm down. They¡¯re all dead.¡± Allein brought me to my senses and I finally relaxed.

    Reia jumped down from the treetops and ran over to me with a worrying expression, ¡°Fayde are you okay? You looked injured when you ran into the clearing.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    She started searching my body for wounds, but I stopped her, ¡°I¡¯m okay, Allein healed me so it¡¯s fine.¡±

    She sighed in relief, ¡°I was worried when I saw you injured, thank you Allein.¡±

    Allein crossed her arms and gave Reia a smug smile, ¡°Of course, I would never let anything happen to Fayde, he belongs to me, remember?¡±

    Reia gritted her teeth and it looked like the vein in her head was about to pop, but she remained quiet.

    I didn¡¯t bother getting in between the two, I was too exhausted to bother. With the monsters all dead, the rest of the Foxkin came down from the trees as well. The entire clearing had been devastated and residue of the elemental magic that had been used to slaughter the monsters, was clearly visible everywhere.

    ¡°Alright, Reia and I need to return to Enrain to warn the town before the monster¡¯s get there. They will need some time to prepare so we need to hurry. Allein and Nes, you two can help the Foxkin warriors keep tabs on the monster¡¯s army just in case they send out anymore raiding parties, but try not to be seen okay?¡±

    ¡°Tch, we aren¡¯t stupid Fayde! Like some monsters will be able to spot us if we don¡¯t want to be seen!¡± Allein replied with a slightly annoyed expression.

    Nes slammed the butt of his spear into the ground and said angrily, ¡°I think Fayde underestimates us sister.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, relax! I didn¡¯t mean anything by it.¡± I did my best to calm Nes down, he really didn¡¯t seem to like me much.

    After calming the two siblings down and assuring Reia that I was fine, I decided to walk around the clearing and made sure to absorb the ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯ from as many corpses as I could find. I felt a surge of energy and knew that I had definitely become stronger. I wouldn¡¯t know for sure until I checked my status, but I certainly felt that I had.

    Reia and I then left the clearing and made our way towards the town of Enrain as quickly as possible. There was no time to delay, we needed to warn them.

    <hr>

    (???? P.O.V.)

    ¡®GRRRRRR!!!! So, they failed!? I can¡¯t believe this!¡± A man was angrily smashing his fist against a table as he spoke.

    ¡°I warned you that it wouldn¡¯t be so simple.¡± His companion, a woman, calmly responded to his words despite his aggressive actions.

    ¡°Tch¡­ He got lucky! If it weren¡¯t for those fucking beasts than he would be dead right now. We will need to deal with them at some point.¡± After venting his anger, the man finally calmed down and began to consider his next course of action.

    ¡°That¡¯s all well and good, but what do we do now? We only have a fraction of the manpower we had before.¡± The female agent reminded her male companion and he grimaced while considering her words.

    ¡°He only survived because of those disgusting beasts¡­¡­ let¡¯s wait till he returns to the town. He will be vulnerable here... ¡° He said while organizing his thoughts.

    The woman had a thoughtful expression as she held her right elbow with her left hand, and tapped her right index finger on her cheek, ¡°It might work, we still have several assassins at our disposal, but if they fail again¡­..¡±

    Her fellow agent clicked his tongue and replied resolutely, ¡°That won¡¯t happen! It must not happen! You know which inn he is staying in¡­.¡± His grin became a wicked smile as he continued, ¡°we¡¯ll kill him before he even knows what happened... ¡°

    In a way, the woman felt bad for their target. She didn¡¯t particularly like killing a man in his sleep, but it wasn¡¯t personal, it was her job.

    <hr>

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    Reia and I traveled through the night without sleep until we arrived at Enrain. I was absolutely exhausted but we didn¡¯t want to waste time. Every moment we could give the town to prepare for the oncoming invasion was crucial. Naturally, the first place we rushed towards was the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. We had no way of contacting the local lord and it was questionable how much credence would be given to our word so informing Orban was our priority.

    As we traveled through the town to the Guild, there was no sign among the populace that danger was approaching them. The town was lively as it usually was with hundreds of people in the marketplace and others going about their daily chores. Women washed clothing while hanging their clothes outside on ropes to dry. Children ran along the streets, playing with their wooden swords or other toys. None of them knew that an army of monsters would soon approach.

    ¡°It seems the monsters successfully evaded their scouts by sticking to the forest¡­. I wonder how they were able to come up with such a strategy.¡± I mostly mused to myself not expecting an answer.

    Reia heard me and responded to my query, ¡°Most monsters are dumb, they act more on instinct, but some are smarter. Some adventurers think that there is something guiding them, leading them, or something along those lines but there is no proof.¡±

    I thought about her response, but with the limited knowledge I had, I could only speculate.

    Since there was no time to stop and greet anyone, we did our best to push our way through the throngs of people and eventually found ourselves at the Guild. It was much more packed than usual and many adventurers were currently eating lunch and drinking merrily as they discussed recent adventures or quests.

    Reia and I rushed over to the receptionist without delay and asked to see Orban, explaining that it was an emergency. Noticing the severity of our words, the receptionist made haste and within a short time, Orban had whisked us away into his office.

    Even though I call it an office, it wasn¡¯t really all that fancy. It was a relatively small room with the bare minimum of furnishings and very little light made it in through the wooden windows. Orban had us sit down at a small table and told us to take a moment to catch our breath.

    Seeing that we had calmed our breathing, he asked us bluntly, ¡°So, tell me, what¡¯s the emergency?¡±

    ¡°Orban, there is an army of monsters heading towards Enrain as we speak. They were using the forest as cover. I don¡¯t know how much more time we have until they arrive, but if they continue at the pace they were traveling, I figure we have a day and a half at most until they arrive.¡± I blurted it all out as quickly as I could and there was a look of shock on Orban¡¯s face.

    ¡°Are you sure? Did you see them yourself? This is grave news and it has to be certain before I can go to the lord with this.¡± His words made sense, if he reported this and it didn¡¯t come to pass, there would be serious repercussions.

    ¡°My tribe¡¯s scouts originally scouted out the army, and while Fayde and I didn¡¯t see the army personally, we did fight with a large raiding party which broke off from the main army. There were many kobolds and they had lizardmen commanders. My kin were absolutely certain there were a couple of thousand in the monster¡¯s army and that their target was Enrain.¡± Reia informed the Guildmaster.

    Orban sat back in his chair and sighed deeply while considering my information. He rubbed his own bald head with his hands and closed his eyes before saying, ¡°Alright, I will go straight to the lord of Enrain immediately and inform him of this. He will most likely send out his own scouts to confirm, but he should at least start mobilizing the local forces. In the meanwhile, I¡¯ll need to inform all the adventurers and get them organized for battle. You two should get some rest, you look exhausted.¡±

    With our mission completed, I could finally relax. I took a deep breath and blew out some of the stress that had built up. I was still worried about the town, but at least we had done what we could.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Fayde, we should have enough of a force within the town to hold off the monsters and the walls won¡¯t fall easily. We will have mages reinforcing the walls and gates to the city. If it¡¯s just a couple of thousand, it should be fine. These invasions happen every now and then, this will be my second invasion since I became Assistant Guildmaster here in Enrain.¡±

    Orban was obviously trying to comfort me and his reassurances did help me feel more relaxed now that I knew the town wouldn¡¯t be in too much danger. I also heard an interesting piece of information, that mages could reinforce the walls of the town. I wonder if that makes them as sturdy as stone walls, perhaps this is the reason why they didn¡¯t bother building stone walls around the town. Saves money too. My mind went straight to the strategic applications and I was interested to see how they would defend the city.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s all we can hope for now. Reia and I did our part, I suppose you will want us to take part in the battle too?¡± I asked inquisitively.

    Orban nodded and said, ¡°It is expected in these types of situations, but go get some rest first, the both of you.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go Fayde.¡± Reia stood and the three of us left the office.

    Orban said his farewells and left to inform the local lord of the impending danger.

    ¡°Time to check my status and then I am going to sleep until tomorrow!¡±

    Reia and I walked over to the divination room and I finally had an opportunity to check my status:

    [Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]

    [HP: 33/33]

    [Health Regen: 0.05/min] [1/min while resting]

    [VP: 120/120] [Void Threshold: 125 Next level 180]

    [Void Regen: 0.25/min] [5/min while resting]

    Strength: 11 ( Modifier +1, Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)

    Dexterity: 11 (Modifier +1, Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)

    Constitution: 12 (Modifier +1, Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)

    Charisma: 10 (Modifier 0, Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)

    Intelligence: 138 (Represents intellectual capacity, Affects Skill Growth)

    Wisdom: 175 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)

    Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 4/10 Intermediate), Evasion (Level 3/10 Intermediate), Tactics (Level 3/10 Intermediate), Leadership (Level 2/10 Beginner), Endurance (Level 2/10 Beginner)

    Blessings: Blessing of the Void (?)

    Special ability: Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination strengthening host)

    Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)

    Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)

    Void Element: Void Flame (Strengthened) (8VP - 2VP/min) (Manipulate larger and more intense flames from the Void for both attack and defense)

    I was very pleased with the amount of growth I had obtained in just a few weeks of living in this world and I could definitely feel more power brimming within me. With faith in my potential, I looked forward to becoming even stronger. Time to get some sleep.

 Volume 1 Chapter 16

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    ¡°Fayde, you¡¯re back!¡±

    Before I could leave the Guildhall a voice I recognized called out to me, ¡°Ah, Tris. Yeah, Reia and I are back.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t there when we first entered the Guild and she must have arrived while we were in Orban¡¯s office. I wasn¡¯t really in the mood for conversation right now, all I wanted to do was sleep, but I took a moment to greet her. I felt bad that she had been waiting for us to group up, but with one thing after another happening, it had been impossible.

    ¡°You look like crap!¡± Tris laughed while resting one hand on her hip.

    ¡°Yeah, we rushed over here without sleeping last night. It¡¯s been a rough couple of days.¡±

    Tris looked me up and down curiously and said, ¡°I can see that, what happened?¡±

    Reia and I explained everything that had happened to us while traveling to the forest and the circumstances of our return. Since we were exhausted, we didn¡¯t talk long but we agreed to meet up again the next day after we fully rested. All of the adventurers in the town would soon be called to fight anyway, and the three of us planned on working together during the battle that was to come.

    After leaving the Guild everything became a blur as we headed to the inn where Reia and I each went to our respective rooms to sleep. I was barely conscious as it was and just about as soon as my face hit the pillow, I was out.

    Sleep came quickly, and my thoughts were soon overcome by a swirling maelstrom of picturesque scenes and unfamiliar faces. It was one of those moments when you know you are asleep and yet part of you feels awake. You find yourself uncertain whether you are still dreaming and you¡¯re incapable of moving your body.

    Countless strange images flashed before my eyes, none of which I recognized. I saw a place that looked similar to Earth, but I knew it wasn¡¯t. The images in my mind spun out of control giving me a sensation of speed and time, and then it stopped.

    I was in a dark place, alone. A vertical slit in the center of that space opened, revealing light. It appeared as if it were a doorway, leading to a difference place. I approached the doorway and peered through, and there I saw a wondrous place beyond my imagination and I stepped through.

    ¡°So, you have come again.¡± A beautiful and menacing voice spoke somewhere nearby.

    It took a moment to adjust to the light after standing in complete darkness but when I could finally see clearly, there was a familiar looking woman sitting on a throne of glass. After thinking for a moment, I realized that I had seen her before in a similar place while dreaming. Although, the last time I saw her, she was being bathed by servants, and this time it was as if she were expecting me.

    ¡°I may have too hastily acted the last time you were in my presence, but I have been waiting for you. I knew you would come again.¡± Her voice grew more soothing, losing its hostility.

    She had been naked the last time, but now she wore clothing, albeit very revealing clothing that barely covered her body. Her form was breathtaking and the more I looked, the more entranced I became.

    I struggled to maintain control over my mind and shook my head, No! I can¡¯t lose myself here. There is something very wrong with that woman.

    Noticing my struggle, the woman laughed, ¡°I suppose it won¡¯t be that simple then.¡±

    ¡°Did you do something to me?¡± I shouted at her as my mind became more clear.

    The woman covered a devious smile with her right hand, ¡°Nothing in particular¡­ it has been a long time since I did not get my way.¡±

    She rose from her throne and began to approach me seductively. I slowly backed away and looked for a means of escape.

    ¡°Perhaps I will make you mine¡­. ¡° She said with a hint of flirtation, but all I could see was a poisonous snake waiting to bare its fangs.

    ¡°Never!¡± I blurted it out without hesitation.

    Her face twisted and she practically hissed at me, ¡°Then die¡­..¡±

    Her arm ignited in black flames and she struck with her fingers outstretched in order to pierce my chest.

    Before she could make contact, a sudden explosion woke me from my dreams, but her voice lingered in my head, ¡°remain in that broken world¡­.¡±

    <hr>

    (????? P.O.V.)

    It was late at night as a woman stalked the city streets, climbing on to the roof of a building overlooking an inn within the town of Enrain. Her target was there, but she was to remain only an observer and report on the success or failure of her subordinates. Of course, if she had an opportunity to strike from the shadows without being caught, she would not hesitate to use her bow.

    Being an agent of the Empire, she was skilled in various fields, but her expertise lay mostly in information gathering and undercover work. She was excellent with a bow and could kill most men with a single shot through the throat if the opportunity presented itself, but that was not usually her role. She would only act once there was no other way, or when it was determined that her job was at an end.

    Her partner was the one who was more suitable for assassination, but even he was usually more in a supervisory role. It had not been deemed necessary yet for them to act personally and so they had planned another assassination attempt on their target.

    Knowing the inn he was staying in, it was a simple matter to kill the man while he slept, completely unaware of the danger. Here in the town, he would have no one to come to his aid and because of his ignorance, he didn¡¯t even appear to be acting with caution. He most likely felt he was safe within the confines of this town.

    The target didn¡¯t even know he was being targeted. In her experience, the man was rather naive to the dangers of this world. She wondered where he came from that he was so coddled.

    From her vantage point, she could barely make out the movement of shadows climbing up to a second floor window of the inn, the room where the target slept. She took a moment to survey the area for anyone who could potentially be a witness or call for an alarm, but none were present.

    A sudden unnatural gust of wind sent chills down her spine and she reflexively looked up into the sky and for a moment saw a shadow pass over the moon. Her breath caught in her throat, what¡­.. A dragon? Impossible¡­. It had only been for a fleeting second and she thought it might be her mind playing tricks on her.

    BOOOOOM!

    A loud explosion reverberated from the direction of the inn drawing her eyes. Where there was once a second floor window, was now a large hole and she could see some of the bodies of her subordinates falling to the ground. A shadow jumped into the hole from somewhere nearby.

    What the hell is going on? She thought as she braced herself.

    <hr>

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    BOOOOOM! A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    I was suddenly thrown from where I was sleeping and crashed into the wall near the door leading to the hallway. I groaned in pain as I just barely remained conscious from the excessive impact. I could feel the presence of someone nearby as well but I was still struggling to move and couldn¡¯t see who it was.

    My vision began to regain focus and I could see a gaping hole where the wall to my bedroom used to be and a shadowy figure jumped in. I could feel the murderous intent spilling out from the person, but I couldn¡¯t respond quickly. Thinking I was going to be attacked, I attempted to crawl to the door. With that loud explosion I knew someone would be coming to investigate.

    Before I could drag myself over to the door, I felt the presence jump towards the other one I felt earlier, and the sound of a scream echoed in my ear. Knowing I wouldn¡¯t be able to open the door in my current state, I braced myself for the inevitable and turned my body over to look to my side and just barely caught a blur leap on top of me.

    I was fully prepared to die. When I looked up, Allein was staring down at me with a mischievous grin on her face, ¡°that¡¯s twice I saved you¡­. How are you going to repay me?¡±

    Sitting down right on top of my waist, she pressed her sharp nail into my chest and traced a line down to my abdomen, almost piercing my skin.

    ¡°Allein, what are you doing here? Isn¡¯t it dangerous for you to be seen in a Human town?¡± My head had been hit hard and I still wasn¡¯t fully registering what was going on and blurted that out.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there something else you should be saying¡­ like thank you?¡± She replied somewhat annoyed.

    ¡°Ah.. yeah, thank you?¡± I still didn¡¯t understand what was going on and could only say that much.

    At that moment the door to my bedroom was thrown open and Reia stood there with her sword at the ready. She looked like she was panicking and hurriedly searched the room. She gasped when she saw the large hole in the wall and then she saw Allein sitting on top of me.

    ¡°What the hell is going on in here!?¡± Reia shouted confused and somewhat annoyed.

    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s not what it looks like¡­ really. Allein, get off of me already!¡± I quickly pushed Allein off of me and sat up.

    ¡°Tch¡­.. Fayde was attacked again, I saved his life. We need to change locations, now, let¡¯s go to your room Reia.¡± Even though I pushed Allien off of me, she didn¡¯t allow herself to fall and deftly stood up, holding her hand towards me. I took her hand and she helped me stand.

    ¡°Was it just one?¡± Reia looked like she was ready to murder someone, and for some reason I felt like she was looking straight at me.

    ¡°My brother is hunting the ones I didn¡¯t kill in my first attack.¡± Allein replied in a nonchalant manner.

    ¡°Wait a second, you were the one who blew a hole in the wall!? You almost killed me!!! I thought you were trying to save my life!?¡± I couldn¡¯t just let that slide, I had been blown away with the blast too.

    ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t die with just that, it was the only way to save you in time. If I had waited even a moment longer, you would be dead.¡± She jabbed me in the chest with her finger causing me to grunt in pain. Her fingernails are sharp!

    ¡°Enough playing, let¡¯s hurry up, I can hear shouts and footsteps approaching.¡± Reia glared at Allein while speaking.

    They helped me gather my belongings and we exited the room and headed over to Reia¡¯s bedroom. I collapsed on her bed and lay there while she healed me. She looked worried as she placed her hand on me, but with her magic complete, I felt much better.

    ¡°What you did was reckless Allein! But¡­. you did save his life and for that I thank you.¡±

    Reia bowed her head slightly towards Allein. Allein responded with a self satisfied smile and said, ¡°of course!¡±

    ¡°But why are assassins trying to kill me? That¡¯s what I want to know¡­¡± I verbalized my thoughts hoping someone could provide an answer.

    It was clear to me now that these assassins were after me, not just this time but in the forest as well. What wasn¡¯t clear was the reason. I initially thought they might be after Reia since she was a Demihuman.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder.¡± Allein said while tapping her lips with her index finger.

    She was acting suspicious, does she know something? I wondered.

    ¡°Allein, is there something you aren¡¯t telling me?¡± I decided to ask her straight out.

    ¡°No, I was just thinking out loud¡­¡±

    Damn, you¡¯re hiding something aren¡¯t you!

    ¡°Fayde, do you think it has something to do with you being from another world?¡± Reia sat down next to me and asked gently. She seemed a little shaken by what happened.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t like that didn¡¯t occur to me, but how could they possibly know something like that? The only people that know that are you two, Nes and your father Reia. Even if they did know that I was from Earth, why would they be trying to kill me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­.¡± She didn¡¯t have an answer either.

    Then I realized something, ¡°Allein, what are you even doing here? I am grateful that you saved my life, but weren¡¯t you supposed to be scouting for the Foxkin village?¡±

    Allein walked over to the bed and sat next to me and winked at Reia. She was obviously taunting her again. Reia ignored it this time thankfully.

    ¡°We were, but then we saw that the army of monsters left the forest and were crossing the grasslands between the forest and here. We came to tell you that they were coming and would probably arrive by early afternoon tomorrow. It was then that I saw those assassins climbing into the window of the inn.¡±

    I realized from her words how much of a close call that had been. If Allein hadn¡¯t come here to inform us of the movements of the monster¡¯s army, then I would be dead right now. I couldn¡¯t even respond to the threat since I was stuck in that strange dream world. Now that I remember, what was that place? And who was that woman? She was definitely a threat. There were too many unknowns and now my life was in immediate danger for some unknown reason.

    I turned to Allein and took both her hands in mine which surprised her. She looked at me with a strange expression I had never seen before. It was almost as if she looked embarrassed by my actions and didn¡¯t know how she should react.

    ¡°Allein¡­ thank you.. You saved me again. I don¡¯t know how I could ever repay you, I mean it.¡± I tried my best to show her my sincerity.

    She stuttered slightly, caught completely off guard by my serious tone. I thought I caught a hint of a blush but she turned her head almost immediately.

    ¡°O-of course!¡± Her words were barely more than a whisper, it was quite cute and I couldn¡¯t help but smile at her reaction.

    Now how am I going to explain all of this to the innkeeper?

    <hr>

    (Reia P.O.V.)

    A loud explosion rocked the inn and woke me from my sleep. It took me a moment to react because of the shock, but I soon jumped out of bed and grabbed my equipment. I ran out into the hallway and fear almost overtook me.

    That came from the direction of Fayde¡¯s room¡­. No! At the realization that Fayde might be in danger, I ran towards the end of the hallway where his room was and threw the door open. A large gaping hole was where the bedroom wall used to be. I quickly scanned the room looking for Fayde and praying that he was still alive. If he died here I didn¡¯t know what I would do. I was afraid, more afraid than I expected to be.

    My eyes quickly found Fayde laying on the floor and Allein was sitting on top of him in a very provocative position. Seeing that Fayde was still alive, I grew extremely angry without realizing it and shouted, ¡°What the hell is going on here!?¡±

    She explained to me what happened and I was relieved to see Fayde alive and even though I didn¡¯t intend to, my anger showed in my words, ¡°was it just one?¡± Even though I said that, I didn¡¯t pay attention to her reply because I was still annoyed with the fact that she wouldn¡¯t get off of Fayde.

    When she finally did, she poked him even though he was still hurt and I almost shouted at her but instead I glared at her and said, ¡°Enough playing, let¡¯s hurry up, I can hear shouts and footsteps approaching.¡±

    We left Fayde¡¯s room and I healed him, his injuries were bad and he was hurting a lot. I can¡¯t believe Allein hurt him even more despite his injuries! While thinking that, I also realized that she did in fact save him. I felt useless yet again. Allein had now saved Fayde¡¯s life twice and I couldn¡¯t do anything to help him. I was completely and utterly useless and I hated myself more than I was angry at Allein. If anything, I was truly thankful to her.

    All I could do now was bow my head to her and say, ¡°What you did was reckless Allein! But¡­. you did save his life and for that I thank you.¡±

    Her response to me was so smug it pissed me off, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to say anything to her.

    As Fayde and Allein discussed the reasons for why he was being targeted by assassins I thoughtlessly sat down next to him and said, ¡°Fayde, do you think it has something to do with you being from another world?¡±

    After those words left my lips, I realized that i had carelessly sat down right next to him, close enough to feel his body heat. I suddenly felt nervous sitting so close to him on my bed. I was so nervous that I didn¡¯t even realize that Allein sat down next to him too.

    By the time I did realize it, Fayde was holding her hands in his. I felt furious. What is wrong with me? Am I jealous!?

    ¡°That¡¯s enough you two! We need to get some sleep, Fayde sleep on the floor!¡± I forgot that fayde had been injured not long ago and pushed him off the bed.

    ¡°Reia, what the hell!? Ugh¡­. I wasn¡¯t fully healed you know!¡± Fayde said angrily and I felt bad for pushing him off but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to apologize.

    ¡°Allein and I will sleep in the bed, and when Nes gets here, he can sleep on the floor with you!¡± I said more angrily than I intended.

 Volume 1 Chapter 17

    (??? P.O.V.)

    ¡°We failed again¡­..¡±

    A woman sighed while leaning on a wall in a dark alley not too far from the inn that was now surrounded by guards and other people woken by the attack earlier.

    ¡°I have never been so humiliated in my life¡­ ¡°

    This woman had never tasted failure, but ever since taking on this mission, she had experienced one after the other. There were too many unknowns and unexpected circumstances. The target possessed strange powers and had somehow gained Demihuman allies despite being a Human.

    ¡°Then there is the silhouette I saw in the sky earlier. Was that just an illusion?¡±

    She wasn¡¯t entirely sure that what she saw was real. The Dragonkin had long been extinct going all the way back to the ancient times. If they had still existed, there was no way they would have kept quiet for this long. However, with what she saw and also the abnormal circumstance of her mission, she couldn¡¯t just ignore it as an illusion.

    ¡°I will return for now..¡±

    Making her way back to the base they had set up in the town didn¡¯t take long. It was easy to slip away into the dark of the town without much effort, especially with the attention given to the inn. She soon arrived at a somewhat dilapidated building nestled in a corner of the town. The cellar of this building was their current base of operations. It was mostly empty now since they had lost almost all of their subordinates.

    She knocked on the door using the knock they had agreed on as their code and was greeted by one of the few remaining subordinates who led her down into the cellar where her partner would be waiting.

    By the look on his face, she could tell he already knew the results of the mission. He was clearly restraining his anger and asked, ¡°what happened?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ it was going well and our operatives were infiltrating the target¡¯s room when there was a sudden explosion that killed our assassins.¡±

    Her partner closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and said, ¡°do we know who caused the explosion? Was it the target?¡±

    ¡°....¡± The woman wanted to say something but she was hesitant and her partner noticed her hesitation.

    ¡°What is it?¡± He was growing impatient and urged her on.

    She steeled her nerves and said, ¡°I saw something.. But I don¡¯t know if what I saw was real or not.. While I was observing the mission from a distance, I felt a sudden chill down my back and when I looked up in the sky I noticed a strange silhouette pass over the moon. It was more of a shadow really, but it had the shape of a dragon. The explosion happened soon after that¡±

    The reason why she had been so hesitant was because she couldn¡¯t be certain that what she saw was real and it sounded somewhat absurd. However, if in fact it was true, the reality was horrifying. Dragonkin were responsible for the destruction of the Old Empire according to historical records that remained. A fully grown Dragonkin was a fearsome and terrible foe of Humanity.

    Her partner¡¯s initial reaction was a look of ridicule, but it sooned turned into a thoughtful expression.

    ¡°I want to say that it¡¯s impossible, but this whole mission has seemed strange from the start. Could they be connected somehow? But the target is a Human¡­.. He has connections to Demihumans, though, so it could be¡­¡± Her partner started rambling while deep in thought, uncertainty apparent in his actions.

    After ruminating for a bit, her partner spoke to her once more, ¡°We need to be certain before we report this to headquarters, let¡¯s observe the situation. As for the target, we don¡¯t have enough manpower to complete our mission on our own, but maybe we can use the current circumstances to our advantage. With the army of monsters approaching, let¡¯s look for an opportunity to cause some trouble for our target. Who knows, maybe he will even be killed in the fighting.¡±

    Her partner smiled sinisterly and slammed a dagger down onto the table in front of him.

    ¡°And how exactly will we accomplish this?¡± She said with some doubt considering they had already failed multiple times.

    ¡°I will take care of it, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    <hr>

    The monsters appeared mid-afternoon from the direction of the forest and spread out all along the western wall. There were at least two thousand of them, more than I had seen since coming to this world and they were all gathered in one place.

    There were snarling Kobolds which were in truth, not much different from lizardmen, only smaller. They were less scaly than lizardmen, but had a similar appearance. The Kobolds made up the bulk of the force and were comparable to grunts. Their weapon of choice were spears and they wore coarse leather armor which was the most basic of equipment. The Kobolds were generally weak and were nothing more than cannon fodder.

    The next largest group were barechested lizardmen with scimitar-like weapons who were larger than the Kobolds by at least a foot and a half. They had rippling muscles and wicked looking teeth which made their snouts look similar to an alligator¡¯s. Even these were just middling monsters and were only an even match for the Human soldiers.

    It was the larger and heavily armored lizardmen that would pose the greatest danger to the Human forces in close quarter combat. These lizardmen wore heavy armor and carried both a heavy spear and shield. Human light infantry wouldn¡¯t even be able pierce their armor, nevermind hurt them. They would need to be dealt with by capable adventurers.

    In addition to the heavily armored lizardmen were the lizardmen shamans. These lizardmen were the magic casters of the lizardmen type of monsters and could cast a variety of shamanistic spells. They weren¡¯t particularly strong but their magic was dangerous. The lizardmen shamans made up the smallest group and only numbered two dozen at most. That was their artillery and their magic would be used to take the walls down since they possessed no other means of destroying the walls. Their only other means of attacking the city would be by scaling the walls but the walls would be heavily protected by the defenders.

    Normally, this kind of army wasn¡¯t much of a threat to the Town of Enrain, even with the large number of monsters. Enrain had a garrison of several hundred light infantry which consisted of mainly spearmen and archers. There were no heavy infantry within the town, but adventurers were required to partake in the defense and could be considered as heavy infantry and magic support. The town had few military mages, but there were a good number of adventurers who could serve as the bulk of the magic casters in the defense as well.

    With this many soldiers defending, it wasn¡¯t difficult to defend the town, especially since the monsters lacked understanding of advanced tactics. They only attacked the western wall which meant all defenders were sent to defend the western wall with only a few lookouts on other portions of the wall as a precautionary measure.

    Magic casters were divided into two groups, one of which was assigned to create a barrier protecting the western wall. The other group of mages bombarded the monsters who were attempting to scale the walls. Defenders along the walls threw javelins or fired arrows upon the monster¡¯s horde and were doing a good job keeping the enemy off the walls. This plan was working exceptionally well while the barrier held. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    However, under mysterious circumstances, some of the mages were taken out causing the collapse of the barrier on a small portion of the wall. The lizardmen shamen were quick to notice this and took advantage of the situation, blowing a large hole in the defense with fireballs. The heavily armored lizardmen were then ordered to concentrate on the breach and because of their heavy armor, direct magic attacks were mostly ineffective against them.

    They easily shrugged off all ranged attacks and marched their way into the breach. All adventurers were ordered to defend the position and keep the heavily armored infantry from entering the city at all costs. All of the light infantry, archers and magic casters were to remain on the wall and target the lightly armored monsters as well as the shamans. The battle had quickly changed from one that was manageable to complete chaos as the adventurers struggled to hold back the heavily armored lizardmen in their shield wall formation.

    Damn, even my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ aren¡¯t effective against their armor, but at least I can still use them as a shield on my arm. They deflect the metal well, but they just can¡¯t cause direct damage to the lizardmen when I use them as a ranged attack. I frustratedly thought to myself while attempting to hold back the heavy infantry of the lizardmen army.

    I had attempted to use my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ as a ranged attack and it had been deflected by the enemy¡¯s shields. Even though my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ were ineffective as a ranged attack, I realized it worked quite well when enhancing my body or my sword. I had even left a few dents in their armor and slayed a couple of the heavily armored lizardmen, but other adventurers were having more difficulty getting past the armor.

    All of the adventurers who had been drafted as part of the defense were fighting back the monsters at the breach, but the current situation was a stalemate. We were mostly well rested and could go on for a while due to the fact that we had been held back in reserve for the early parts of the fighting.

    Once the monsters arrived they immediately began their siege, constantly probing the defense, but it wasn¡¯t until nightfall when the walls had finally been breached by the enemy shaman. I wasn¡¯t certain how it had happened, but somehow some of the mages had been taken out and in a short span, the battle had completely turned chaotic. We were at least successfully holding the line. Even with the hole in the wall, the town wouldn¡¯t fall that easily.

    After holding the line for a time, I fell back once the relief forces came forward to fight with the lizardmen. Reia was fighting by myself and the two of us retreated to the rear of the adventurer¡¯s formation where Orban was directing the defense.

    ¡°Orban, I need to talk to you for a minute.¡± I called out to Orban as soon as I reached the rear.

    ¡°Fayde! Glad to see you¡¯re still alive! Hahahaha.¡± As he greeted me, I felt slightly annoyed, but this was the way he always spoke.

    ¡°Listen, magic isn¡¯t working on their heavy armor. I never realized that metal was so effective of a deterrent against magical attacks, it¡¯s crazy. Those heavily armored lizardmen are gaining ground.¡± I was growing increasingly frustrated at our lack of progress, but I was now much more aware of the advantage of heavy armor in battles where magic was possible.

    Even in Earth¡¯s history, such heavily armored foes were quite a nightmare against lightly armored soldiers. Strong piercing weapons would be required to do any real damage to them, of course there were other ways. What I couldn''t understand was why magic was ineffective. Whenever my magic came into contact with the Iron armor, there was a strange feeling as if the two were repulsing each other. It was almost as if the Iron had similar properties to a magic barrier. Could there be some magical properties in the Iron? I''ll have to look into this in the future, it''s just too strange.

    Orban sighed loudly and said, ¡°Indeed, this is why magic is underrated amongst the kingdoms. It is devastating against most soldiers, but it is very ineffective against heavily armored ones. If they have mirror shields, it is even worse! Magic can even be reflected!¡±

    I agreed with him in that direct magic attacks were mostly ineffective against heavy metal armor, but considering that magic had many other uses, the people of the kingdoms lacked creativity. Did it never occur to them to use different types of magic? For example, magic that affected the mind, like illusions or some form of confusion based magic.

    When I considered how little magic research was done in the kingdoms and also how few magic casters there were, perhaps they just didn¡¯t have any magic casters proficient in these types of spells. For Humans, learning magic was a difficult and long process that also came with considerable costs. It wasn¡¯t like the kingdoms provided public education for those interested in learning. Any Humans who wished to learn magic had to find a mentor who would be willing to take them in. This would naturally come at a great cost to the student, although there were those few who would occasionally take in and raise a student of their own choosing.

    Magic in the kingdoms was truly in a miserable state and since there was so little opportunity to learn magic, as well as the exorbitant costs involved, it was understandable how many mages would focus on elemental type magic rather than other types. Elemental magic offered the quickest and most clear benefits to a budding adventurer, direct damage spells. Other types were useful, but were much more specialized and not as diverse. If the Kingdoms had developed a strong foundation to teach magic, it would be much easier to raise a more diverse collection of mages. As it was now, it was hit or miss.

    ¡°Orban, I have an idea. If direct magic damage won¡¯t work, we can certainly use more conventional means. The lizardmen move slowly and are weak to fire, let¡¯s try setting a fire to at least slow them down at the breach. That should relieve some pressure off of the adventurers for a short period of time. In the meanwhile, I will have some friends of mine create a diversion and have them head straight for their leader.¡±

    Orban looked at me suspiciously and said, ¡°Hmm, the plan sounds good, but who exactly are these friends of yours and can they really take out the lizard commander?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they can do it. Just try to keep back the lizardmen and get that fire started. Hold them back as long as possible. Once their commander and shamans are out of the picture, it should be easy to finish off the rest, we can launch an all out counteroffensive. Can you make it happen?¡±

    Orban rubbed his chin with his right hand while he considered my words. While he wasn¡¯t the commander of the town¡¯s guards, as the Assistant Guild Master in charge of the town, he had some say in the defense.

    Orban banged his right fist on the palm of his left hand and said, ¡°Alright, if you can really make what you say happen, then leave the rest to me!¡±

    I nodded and then ran, Reia following close behind me. While I was speaking with Orban, Reia had kept silent. She most likely knew exactly what I had in mind and followed me without saying a word. I even thought I saw a look of respect in her eyes for a moment.

    Reia and I ran as fast as we could through the town towards the Inn we had been staying in. I had told Nes and Allein to remain in the inn out of sight, but now that it was dark and visibility was low, they could fly out of the city. As black dragons, their skin in dragon form was the color of midnight and it was almost impossible to see them flying in the sky at night. Also, with a curfew imposed upon the citizens of the town and with most of the city¡¯s guards posted on the western wall, they could fly out of the city in a different direction which would only help their escape.

    It didn¡¯t take long before we arrived at the Inn. The dirt roads were deserted as all the citizens were confined within their homes. There were quite a few people holed up in the inn who were startled when Reia and I threw the doors of the inn open. We didn¡¯t bother with them despite their murmuring and made our way up to the second floor where our room was located.

    Nes and Allein were still exactly where I told them to wait for us and I quickly explained to them what I wanted them to do.

    ¡°I want you two to surpriseattack from the rear of the army of monsters to confusethem. Take out their commander, and as many of the shamans as you can. The lizardmen seem to have some sort of limited night vision but I doubt they will be expecting attackers arriving from above. Can you do it?¡± I made my case to the sibling Dragonkin with urgency clear in my voice.

    Nes grew angry and shouted at me, ¡°you want to put my sister in danger? I should kill you where you stand!¡±

    I understood his anger but I felt he was over exaggerating the danger. They should easily be able to accomplish this and escape given that they could fly.

    Allein put her hand on her brother¡¯s shoulder to calm him down and turned to me, ¡°we can do it. Ignore my brother, he can be somewhat overprotective but he means well.

    Nes looked as if he was going to say something but his sister silenced him with a look. He shot me a glare filled with murderous intent but soon calmed down.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask this of you Allein, I understand why your brother is angry, but with this we can save a lot of people¡¯s lives.¡± I really did feel bad asking this of her and if I wasn¡¯t fully confident in their ability, I never would have asked.

    Surprisingly Allein gave me a playful smile and replied, ¡°I was getting restless anyway, this should be fun.¡±

    They quickly left through the window, jumping down to the floor below and disappeared into the night. Reia and I left the room and returned to the battle.

 Volume 1 Chapter 18

    (Allein P.O.V.)

    After making their way out of the town covertly, Nes and Allein had circled around to the rear of the monster¡¯s army in the skies above. With their Dragonkin eyes, they could see the lizardmen clearly below and had already chosen their targets. Using their powers of telepathy, they could communicate with each other effortlessly and coordinate their attacks.

    ¡°Brother, I will land near the rear and target that group of shamans with a wide area ¡®Fireball¡¯ spell. Wait for my ¡®Fireball¡¯ to hit them and then go straight for the lizard commander.¡±

    Allein transmitted those words to her brother through telepathy and the two conversed in this way.

    ¡°Allein, I don¡¯t like this. You are a Dragonkin princess! What right does a Human have to order you around like some lackey!?¡± Her brother was clearly still angry and transmitted his thoughts as such.

    ¡°Nes, enough. If the town falls and Fayde dies, our plans will be for naught. Is that what you wish to happen?¡± Allein was much better than her brother at seeing the big picture.

    She could get past her hatred for the sake of her mission, but her brother had great difficulty in this.

    ¡°I understand!!¡±

    With her brother finally having calmed his thoughts, she transmitted to her brother that she would now land and begin chanting her spell.

    As Allein flew closer to the ground, she began to morph in mid air and soon the only remains of her dragon form were a pair of jet black wings protruding from her back. She hovered mere inches from the ground a good distance from the targets she had selected for her attack. Her wings flapped fiercely blowing dirt and debris across the ground. Despite the force of her wings keeping her afloat, they made barely any sound and the distance was enough that her targets were completely unaware of her presence. In close quarter combat her wings would only be a hindrance since it was difficult to maneuver with them, but they were perfect for magic bombardment and retreat.

    She began gathering her magical strength and chanted her spell. The ¡®Fireball¡¯ spell had a long chant and was not practical to use in close quarters or when time was short. She had all the time she needed currently though and as soon as her spell was ready, she flung an immense fireball straight towards a large group of shaman who were attacking the barrier which remained on most of the western wall.

    Her brother sprang into action as soon as he saw the light of Allein¡¯s ¡®Fireball¡¯ leave her hands. He headed straight for the enemy commander landing on the ground at the same time as the ¡®Fireball¡¯ struck the location of the large group of shaman. The group of shaman were blown into pieces from the explosion caused by the ¡®Fireball¡¯.

    The enemy forces were immediately sent into disarray as they realized they were being attacked from the rear. However, the enemy commander didn¡¯t have time to react as Nes gracefully landed, finishing his transformation right before hitting the ground. He went straight for the commander, cutting down the guards who were protecting it. One of the guards blew a horn it had around its neck before being swiftly cut down. Nes made quick work of the rest with his spear and even the lizard commander wasn¡¯t a significant threat.

    Once the other lizardmen and Kobolds who were kept in reserve noticed the carnage which was being inflicted on their rear, they immediately ran towards the threat that was most visible to them. After killing the commander, Nes swiftly made his retreat and ran further west while his own pair of black wings sprang from his back and he took flight. He pulled further and further away from the enemy who attempted a counterattack which was stopped by the appearance of another ¡®Fireball¡¯.

    The lizardman having become enraged by Nes killing their commander, had forgotten the presence of a mage to their rear and were unprepared for a second ¡®Fireball¡¯ which struck with dangerous ferocity. Many of the lizardmen shaman had been wiped out, but there were still a few left and they attempted to send a barrage of magic spells at the fleeing Nes, but he had gained too much distance and their attacks failed.

    With the death of the lizardmen commander and many of the shamans, the army of monsters began to fall into chaos. Noticing that the enemy army was in complete disarray, the Human army began its counterattack.

    <hr>

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    Reia and I had rushed back to the breach in the wall and a fire had already been started around the breach. It had slowed the advance of the heavily armored lizardmen, but they were still advancing as they attempted to cross the burning flames. The adventurers had fallen back a bit to let the flames grow, and hopefully surround the enemy, but it wasn¡¯t proving as effective as they hoped. It wasn¡¯t so simple to start a large fire in such a short period of time. Nonetheless, it had bought them some much needed time.

    In the meanwhile, Orban had communicated with the commander of the guard and they had prepared a force of light infantry preparing for the moment when their counterattack would begin. Some of the soldiers who remained on top of the wall to defend it shouted out in joy when they saw the sudden attack on the rear of the army of monsters. A distant horn sounded and the heavily armored lizardmen stopped their advance in surprise as they looked around in confusion.

    Once they heard the horn, they momentarily looked around in confusion but then began pulling back slowly while guarding against any attack from the town. Our forces had already prepared heavier spears for this exact moment and with the enemy army outside the walls in disarray due to the confusion of the surprise attack, our army charged forward into the breach without worrying about enemy reinforcements.

    It was not necessary for our forces to remain in formation since the enemy was currently in retreat and they were only partially focused on the charging Human soldiers. Mobility was the key here and if we could quickly cut down the heavy infantry of the lizardmen without suffering huge casualties, the rest of their army would fall with ease. Adventurers joined the fray as well and with the might of the charging Human forces, the heavy infantry formation of the lizardmen began to crumble.

    Reia and I charge into the heavy infantry cutting a number of them down. It was much easier to kill them now that their shield wall had fallen apart. Orban had given me a heavy piercing spear and I had enhanced the spear with my ¡®Void Flames¡¯. The ¡®Void Flame¡¯ enhancement made piercing through the enemy armor a sinch. All the while I continued to grow stronger as I absorbed the ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯ from each lizardmen killed in my vicinity. A spear was not necessary for Reia as she had followed suit and enhanced her blade with wind properties which made the sword a piercing instrument. Magic clearly had many interesting uses if one had the imagination for it.

    Even with the advantages, it wasn¡¯t as if the lizardmen were completely defenseless. A good number of the Human soldiers also lost their lives in the melee as the opponents were very strong. I wasn¡¯t sure how long had passed, but our forces eventually pushed through and had killed the majority of the heavy infantry of the lizardmen.

    While the soldiers on the ground had successfully pushed back the enemy at the breach and began the extermination of the army of monsters, the soldiers on the wall had also begun their counterattack. Archers along the wall shot fire arrows towards the enemy army in disarray and now that the barrier was no longer necessary, all the mages along the wall focused on bombarding the enemy as well. Elemental spells lit up the night in a magical glow as spell after spell rained down on the monsters from the town walls.

    With the monsters having lost their commander, most of their shamans, and their heavy infantry, they were in full rout. Human light cavalry, that had been kept in reserve within the town, charged out of the western gate and began trampling the fleeing monsters. The Human infantry and adventurers cut down monsters close to the wall or ones that tried to regroup for a counterattack.

    Some of the remaining shamans posed some slight difficulty taking down but a few ¡®Void Flames¡¯ to the gut made quick work of them. I attempted to absorb as many monsters as I could find and felt surges of power growing within me as I grew stronger. This was basically a feeding ground for my power and even my black flames grew denser and more powerful. Reia never left my side during the entire night of fighting, watching my back and protecting my rear. I couldn¡¯t have asked for a better companion.

    With the battle finally coming to a close, I fell to my knees exhausted. My heart was about to beat right out of my chest and I realized that I had lost myself in the fighting. This scared me and I felt I was becoming too accustomed to killing, even if they were monsters.I wasn¡¯t sure how exactly I felt after participating in my first large scale battle and the fact that I had been filled with excitement as I fought was an uncomfortable feeling.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Soldiers were still running around the battlefield looking for any monsters who might still be alive. They were using torches or magic to light their way but there was also considerable light due to the fires that had been started by the fire arrows the archers had shot earlier. Some of the soldiers would stop occasionally and thrust their spear downwards to finish off an injured monster. Others had already begun looting or harvesting the monster¡¯s parts. To the dismay of many, there were no magic crystals to be found in most of the monsters. Only the ones I had not had a chance to absorb contained magic crystals which bewildered the adventurers especially.

    I looked over to Reia and she was watching me with concern written on her face. She helped me to my feet and placed both of her hands on my shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m so glad we made it through that¡­.¡± It looked as if she wanted to say more but she couldn¡¯t find the words to say.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to look so worried, we won. We¡¯re alive aren¡¯t we?¡± I said that to cheer her up but my words betrayed my weariness and it had the opposite effect.

    ¡°I have fought alone many times and I have never felt fear, even when I thought I might die¡­. I was holding you back this time and I am sorry.¡± I was slightly taken aback by her words.

    ¡°What are you talking about Reia? You weren¡¯t a burden in anyway. If not for you guarding my back, I wouldn¡¯t have had the confidence to fight.¡± I was sincere in my words and the fact that she had fought alongside me had truly filled me with confidence.

    She shook her head at my response and said, ¡°I was afraid¡­ that something might happen to you¡­.¡±

    I didn¡¯t let her finish and instead pulled her into my arms and hugged her. I whispered into her ear, ¡°Don¡¯t say anymore.¡± I was worried she would push me away, but she didn¡¯t. We must have been quite the sight, two people hugging surrounded by hundreds of the dead, and covered in dirt and grime and perhaps even blood.

    I knew Reia¡¯s emotions were complicated ever since I had arrived on this planet and come into her life. I also felt she had feelings for me but she was holding herself back due to her lack of confidence and the discrimination she had faced in the world. This discrimination came not just from the Humans, but even her own kind.

    Her tribe were exiles from their own people, forced to eek a living from scraps and even among her own tribe she didn¡¯t feel as if she belonged. The fact that she had been so driven to seek revenge against her uncle didn¡¯t help either. I grew somewhat sad thinking about the difficult life she had been forced to live up to this point and I made a promise in my heart that I would give her a better life, whether she accepted me or not.

    I could be patient and I also felt my feelings for her grow as well.

    <hr>

    The aftermath of the battle created a hectic scene and there was much work to do before anyone could rest. All of the dead needed to be buried and the area outside the city where the battlefield took place needed to be completely cleaned of equipment. Dealing with the monsters was a little easier because monster bodies would decay after a while and didn¡¯t need to be buried. Once their bodies were harvested, they would eventually melt and disappear without their magic crystals.

    By the time we finished cleaning up the battlefield and transporting all the loot from the battle, it was already well into the morning, almost afternoon. Most of us could barely move after completing the work and as the town awoke, the citizens began to come out of their homes once more. They cheered all of those who had participated in the battle and threw flowers all over the dirt roads.

    Reia and I had a brief conversation with Orban after the battle and he congratulated us on a job well done, promising us that we would be rewarded for our excellent contributions. He then shooed us off to go get some rest and asked us to come see him the next day. I was so exhausted I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to talk to anyone and ignored the celebrations as I found my way back to the inn and into a hot bath.

    As I lay in the warm water filling the bronze tub, I thought back to the night after the battle when I held Reia. For a long time she remained in my arms without moving and said nothing. At some point I knew we would need to have a serious conversation about us, but she wasn¡¯t ready yet and I could wait.

    There were also the issues with Allein to deal with. There was no confusion with her at all, she had made it very clear to me that she considered me her possession. Of course, I wasn¡¯t about to accept a situation like that. It wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t like Allein and she was certainly one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, but she had too many secrets. I didn¡¯t know how much I could fully trust her yet, although she had not hesitated to help me time after time. I had to respect that much and it wasn¡¯t as if she didn¡¯t seem sincere, it was just her attitude that needed a bit of work.

    After the bath, I finally was able to rest in a new room that had been provided for me. I fell asleep almost instantly and my dreams were once again invaded by Allein, but I was expecting that. We hadn¡¯t had a chance to speak after she left the previous night and was most likely waiting somewhere outside the city for things to calm down.

    Allein was her usual self, though, and wanted me to praise her endlessly for saving me yet again. Since it was true, I praised her in a sarcastic and over exaggerated manner which seemed to please her. She didn¡¯t notice my sarcasm and even gave me a beautiful smile before disappearing from my dreams and letting me finally rest in peace.

    The next day, the adventurers who had participated in the defense of the town were all congregating at the Guildhall and Orban gave us one of his amazingly long speeches. I pretended to listen, nodding my head occasionally.

    Reia and I received the greatest rewards since we had been the ones to warn the city of the approaching monsters and it had been my strategy that had won the battle. We had also killed a lot of monsters and so I was rewarded with two ranks and immediately became a silver medallion adventurer. Reia was awarded a gold medallion. We also received a good bit of gold as a reward as part of the materials and such that had been scavenged or harvested.

    Orban also broke the news to the adventurers in the Guildhall that the Guild was finally going to organize a grand expedition to conquer the dungeon that had been plaguing the town for a long time. Tired of the invasions every few years, Orban felt that they finally had the manpower and opportunity to destroy the dungeon for good. However, it would take time to organize the expedition and all silver medallions and up were expected to participate in the dungeon capture.

    We were allowed to continue to complete missions if we wished but couldn¡¯t take on any long term jobs. It would take anywhere from a month to two months to organize the expedition since they first had to send out scouts to discover the location of the dungeon which would take considerable time. They then needed to organize merchant caravans and adventurer parties as well as gather supplies.

    Once all the preparations were complete, it would take time to travel to the dungeon and then explore it. Dungeon exploration and capture was not a small matter. It required vast amounts of time, resources and manpower in order to be successful. Since this was a matter of grave importance, no mistakes could be made and even the lord of the town was involved since there would be quite a lot of money involved. Of course, if the dungeon was successfully captured and destroyed, the amount of wealth that could be obtained was enormous and everyone would be well rewarded.

    The rest of the day was spent in celebration and getting to know the other adventurers who had participated in the battle. Most of them were aware of my great accomplishments and I became somewhat of a celebrity among the adventurers.

    I noticed Tris wasn¡¯t currently present at the Guild and wondered if something had happened to her. I hadn¡¯t seen her in the fighting last night. I had wanted to party up with her in the defense of the town, but she might have been called to defend the wall since she was a notable archer. Now that there would be some downtime before the expedition would begin, I planned to form up an official party with Tris and Reia and train as much as I could for the coming dungeon exploration.

    I think I¡¯ll name our party ¡®Void Walkers¡¯. Hehe, I like it.

    When all was done, I finally had an opportunity to check my status using the divination crystal.

    [Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]

    [HP: 94/94]

    [Health Regen: 0.5/min] [2/min while resting]

    [VP: 600/600] [Void Threshold: 625 Next level 750]

    [Void Regen: 1/min] [10/min while resting]

    Strength: 13 ( Modifier +2, Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)

    Dexterity: 13 (Modifier +2, Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)

    Constitution: 15 (Modifier +3, Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)

    Charisma: 13 (Modifier +2, Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)

    Intelligence: 139 (Represents intellectual capacity, Affects Skill Growth)

    Wisdom: 180 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)

    Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 5/10 Intermediate), Evasion (Level 4/10 Intermediate), Tactics (Level 4/10 Intermediate), Leadership (Level 4/10 Intermediate), Endurance (Level 3/10 Intermediate), Spear (Level 2/10 Beginner)

    Blessings: Blessing of the Void (?)

    Special ability: Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination strengthening host)

    Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)

    Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)

    Void Element: Void Flame (Enhanced) (15VP - 5VP/min) (Manipulate wide area intense flames from the Void for both attack and defense, limited dimensional properties)

 Volume 1 Interlude

    Orthus was proud of his party, they were all young and new adventurers with talent and skill. They even had two magic users in their group! That was practically unheard of. There weren¡¯t that many magic casters in the Kingdom of La¡¯gun, maybe only a hundred in total, and two of them were in his party.

    It was really just the luck of the draw, they had all started together and were all around the same age. Most other adventurers were older and already had their own party. In a town like Enrain, it wasn¡¯t as if there were a plethora of adventurers around. The Guild in enrain would only acquire a handful of new adventurers a year, and it was even more rare for those who could use magic to enter the Guild.

    Adventuring was dangerous, so those who studied magic would normally prefer a safer profession, like court wizard, or be independent. The rewards for adventurers were great, though, if successful, and so some mages were enticed into the profession. Most adventurers were warriors or various ranged types. So, people like Orthus were a dime a dozen. Even still, warriors, and other types of fighters, were a necessity for mages.

    Orthus and Arin had worked together to make sure the two new young mages would join them. They made sure to befriend them and treated them with care. It paid off, because they were able to form a party and so their adventures began.

    ¡°Aessa, make sure you stay behind me. I will be the vanguard and Arin will guard the rear. Idren, your job is to support us by slowing the goblin¡¯s movements,¡± said Orthus who designated himself as the leader of the party.

    Both Aessa and Idren nodded their understanding and Arin smirked slightly. He didn¡¯t particularly like following Orthus¡¯ orders, but they took turns as leader and this time it was Orthus¡¯ turn.

    ¡°Do I really need to be rearguard?¡± Arin wanted to be at the front of the battle, it was more exciting than rearguard.

    ¡°You were vanguard last time! It is my turn.¡± Orthus wasn¡¯t about to give up the position, he also enjoyed being at the front.

    They were all still young and there was a bit of competition between the two warriors ever since one had defeated the other during training. Orthus was still stinging from that defeat!

    Their group was facing off against a dozen goblins. Goblins were relatively weak creatures, but could be dangerous in numbers. They were still young adventurers and this was the safest place for them to grow stronger. The Iendal hills were goblin breeding grounds and there were countless of them there. Most lived underground within caves that dug down deep into the earth, and overpopulation drove many of them aboveground. These were usually weaker goblins, and so, many beginner adventurers would train here.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time to argue about this, they are coming!¡± Idren was irritated by their bickering and brought them back to their senses. Idren spread out his arms and cast a root spell, vines rose from the ground and entwined themselves around some of the goblins. The goblins who had not been rooted attempted to surround the young adventurers.

    The two warriors, brought back to their senses by Idren, began to move, striking out at the approaching goblins from the front and rear. Aessa chanted continuously, firing ¡®Wind Blades¡¯ from her hands, damaging the goblins. Her magic was still developing so it wasn¡¯t strong enough to kill the goblins in one hit. It was enough to interrupt them, though, and they managed to control the flow of the battle in this way.

    Despite the bickering, they worked well as a team having trained excessively for this. Even though they were young, they had spent most of their young lives training and they had been practicing their teamwork. It was the only way to survive, if they couldn¡¯t work as a team, they would not last long as adventurers.

    The druid rooted enemies as necessary, while the two warriors killed any enemies that got too close. The job of the mage was to kill as many as she could before the goblins got too close. Each knew their role well and before long they had tasted victory with all the goblins dead or dying.

    The work didn¡¯t end there, though. After the monsters were slain, they would need to be harvested for their parts which could be sold in town. The goblin¡¯s ears, nail clippings, and teeth could be used for various purposes. A goblin¡¯s parts weren¡¯t too valuable, they were bottom of the barrel monsters, but it was enough for them to survive until they got stronger.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Harvesting monster parts was also a dangerous job because there was a chance they might be attacked while busy harvesting. There were plenty of stories of adventurers having exhausted themselves fighting, only to find themselves attacked yet again while harvesting monster parts. It was essential to only fight monsters you could handle in order to preserve your strength in case of a surprise attack. This was one of the main reasons that dungeon diving was so terrifying.

    ¡°Idren and Aessa, why don¡¯t you two watch for monsters while we harvest these?¡± Orthus figured it would be quicker this way since they were much weaker than the warriors.

    ¡°Good idea, I can use magic to detect movement through the grass. If any monsters walk on the grass in the area, it will alert me,¡± Idren said confidently.

    Aessa was shy and didn¡¯t say much, but she replied with a muffled, ¡°Ok.¡±

    The two warriors got to work harvesting the monster parts, which was a dirty job. They would have to cut the ears, nails and teeth of the goblins. The type of parts which were useful depending entirely on the monster. Some monster¡¯s hearts, or other organs were useful and so you would have to cut into their body. It was a bloody and gory business, but thankfully, goblins didn¡¯t require that.

    ¡°Orthus, do you remember that guy Peter?¡± Arin asked while busily harvesting.

    ¡°You mean that guy who had those weird black flames? That¡¯s the only thing he had going for him, otherwise he had no skills. I really didn¡¯t like that guy!¡± Orthus replied scornfully while digging his knife beneath a goblin¡¯s nail to pop it off.

    ¡°Ha! You¡¯re just jealous of him aren¡¯t you? Those black flames were strong. I wonder what he¡¯s been up to?¡± Arin didn¡¯t really care to know, he was just making conversation since the harvesting was tedious and boring.

    Orthus made a dismissive gesture and said decisively, ¡°Hopefully dead by now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys pay attention to anything?¡± Their conversation was interrupted by Idren who had been eavesdropping.

    Orthus and Arin were slightly annoyed at the interruption but were curious and asked ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Peter is going by the name of Fayde now. He¡¯s the one everyone has been talking about due to his contributions during the monster invasion. How do you guys not know this?¡± Idren was shocked by their ignorance, the two warriors were clueless as usual.

    Orthus and Arin were quite surprised by this and stumbled over their words, ¡°that Fayde everyone is talking about is Peter?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a silver medallion already and his party has a gold medallion adventurer too!¡± Idren was enjoying their shocked looks..

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, we all started at the same time and he was so old¡­.¡± Orthus trailed off, he was having difficulty accepting it.

    ¡°Damn! If only we had been able to participate in the battle then maybe we could be silver medallions too!¡± Arin said venting his frustration.

    They had not been allowed to participate in the battle as Orban felt they weren¡¯t ready for it yet. Arin and Orthus had complained continuously about it.

    Orthus seemed to agree with Arin, ¡°Yeah, we could have done just as well as that ¡®Fayde¡¯.¡±

    Idren shrugged, ¡°I doubt that. You know he¡¯s participating in the dungeon expedition that the Guild is organizing right? Orban would never let him go if he felt he wasn¡¯t strong enough.¡±

    This time the two warriors practically fell off the rocks they were sitting on while harvesting the goblins for materials. If a monster attacked now, they would have been caught completely unaware.

    ¡°What!?¡± They both shouted.

    ¡°Keep your voices down! This might be hard for you guys to believe, but I don¡¯t think that either of you are a match for Fayde. Orban wouldn¡¯t even give the two of you a second thought when you asked to join the expedition.¡±

    Aessa was nodding her agreement to Idren¡¯s words, which was strange to them, since she hardly responded to anything other than orders when adventuring.

    The two warriors looked at each other in disbelief and Orthus responded to Idren, ¡°how could he have gotten that strong so quickly? I mean, yeah his flames weren¡¯t bad, but he could only use them a couple of times and other than that he wasn¡¯t very skilled.¡±

    Idren shrugged, ¡°Aessa agrees too. She also saw him recently and could feel great power emanating from Fayde.¡±

    They looked at her and she nodded firmly.

    Orthus and Arin looked at each other with firm expressions. ¡°I am going to challenge him to a duel then!¡± they practically said simultaneously.

    ¡°I''m going to challenge him first,¡± Orthus yelled at the other warrior.

    ¡°No, it will be me,¡± he retorted.

    They continued on like that for a while, until Idren yelled at them to hurry up and finish the harvesting. They went back to work, but both had a new firm conviction in their hearts. They weren¡¯t about to let Fayde get ahead of them!

    Tch, I kind of like his new name, both warriors thought to themselves.

 Volume 1 Chapter 19

    After the battle at Enrain, it took several weeks of preparation until the dungeon expedition was ready to move out. The scouts had some difficulty locating the dungeon initially, but after the discovery, things went rather smoothly. Merchants willing to take a risk for the promise of profits signed up their caravans for the expedition and adventurers of sufficient rank were gathered to participate. In all, there were around a hundred people participating in the expedition.

    I didn¡¯t waste time during the weeks of preparation. I trained every day along with Tris, Reia, Allein and Nes. Nes and Allein weren¡¯t official adventurers at first, but with the help of Orban we were able to register them. Together, the five of us formed the Void Walkers.

    Forming a team was rocky at first because Tris wasn¡¯t comfortable partying up with so many Demihumans. She especially had a lot of questions about Allein and Nes. I suppose to her, it seemed like they came out of nowhere. They had been keeping pretty low key for the most part, they didn¡¯t even stay in the town and instead met us outside the town on a daily basis for training. Tris found this suspicious and she questioned me quite a bit in the beginning, but I didn¡¯t let anything important slip about Nes and Allein.

    I explained to her that they were guests of the Foxkin tribe and I had met them previously when I went into the forest. I told her that they had helped fight off the monsters that were attempting to scout through the forest while the army of monsters was on the move. She wanted to know what kind of Demihumans they were, but I told her I wasn¡¯t sure and that it was rude to ask. She didn¡¯t ask anything further at that point, although she looked as if she had more questions. At least things were settled and we spent over a month of consistent training while fighting monsters in Enrain¡¯s surrounding areas.

    Traveling to the dungeon was slow going. There were approximately fifty adventurers heading there, but there were also merchants and laborers bringing dozens of wagons with them. Since we traveled as a large group and had to keep pace with the entire caravan, there was only so much we could traverse in a day. Most of the supplies for the expedition were being transported by the merchants and adventurers could purchase what they needed from them. Some adventurers brought their own supplies as well, but we didn¡¯t know how long the expedition would take, so at least there was the option of purchasing goods from merchants if necessary.

    While traveling, we were able to familiarize ourselves more with the other adventuring parties and I made a few acquaintances among them. I had become a small time celebrity, so most of them already knew me. All of the adventuring parties coming on this expedition were either silver medallion or higher. They were all experienced adventurers, but none of them had ever gone into a dungeon before. The reason being that dungeons were too dangerous except in large numbers.

    This was my first time heading to a dungeon as well and I was excited, but a bit nervous too. Back on Earth I had played many RPG¡¯s and I had read plenty of Japanese Light Novels, so it wasn¡¯t as if I was unfamiliar with dungeons. However, those were just books and games, not reality. This was a real life dungeon and I had only heard stories. Some dungeons had entire armies of monsters and the dungeons themselves were more like battlegrounds. Other dungeons were like labyrinths which dug deep into the earth. They could go down for what seemed like an eternity.

    The variety and diversity of what was considered a ¡®Dungeon¡¯ was vast. You never knew what type of dungeon you were heading into until you actually went into it, or at least it was scouted. The one thing that was always a given, was that if an invasion force of monsters left a dungeon, then the dungeon population of monsters would be sparser. Since a couple thousand monsters had left this particular dungeon to invade Enrain, that meant that the majority had already left the dungeon. There could still be a few hundred monsters within, but with fifty adventurers, it should be enough to explore and conquer it.

    The reasoning being that even if there were hundreds of monsters within, they would be spread out over all the floors. Orban had already met with a diviner to determine how many floors the dungeon had and there were five floors in total. So, all the monsters would need to be spread out over the five floors and with fifty of us, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to clear each floor out one by one.

    Keep in mind that a lot of this is still speculation and the dungeon could end up being far more dangerous than what we can handle. If that is the case, we would need to give up on the expedition and an even larger one would need to be organized. This would mean gathering all of the eligible adventurers within the entire country.

    Once our caravan of wagons and people arrived at the dungeon, the adventuring parties went to work clearing out the first floor. Since it was the first floor, it would be the easiest of all the floors and it was mostly filled with Kobold parties.

    This dungeon was home to reptilian humanoid type monsters. Kobolds were at the lowest rung with lizardmen above them. There were also different types of lizardmen which we had mostly already seen. As for the Kobolds, there only seemed one type and they were unarmored spear users. Lizardmen included light infantry, heavy infantry and shamans. I began thinking of the lizardmen as an evolved form of the Kobold.

    Clearing out the first floor took a couple of days because not only did we need to hunt down all the monsters, but we also needed to set up a proper camp to use as a base for our endeavors within the dungeon. It wasn¡¯t just about killing monsters, the laborers also needed to properly loot all equipment as well as magic crystals which were found. I made sure to keep my distance from the magic crystals that other adventurers or laborers harvested. It wasn¡¯t as if they could see me absorb the energy from the crystals, but if they all disappeared, it would definitely cause problems.

    Since this whole operation was a joint effort, the adventurers were supposed to leave all spoils for the laborers to scavenge. Obviously, this worked on the honor system and not all people were necessarily the most honorable. It mostly worked well, but there was no way to know if someone slipped an item or two into their own sack. Either way, at the end of the expedition, the adventurers would all be given a percentage of the total profits earned from all of the scavenged loot and sale of magic crystals.

    All the adventurers were expected to carry their weight while exploring, but of course injuries, death and other situations may arise while exploring. Those who contributed the most would earn a greater percentage of the profits so there was an incentive to work hard. They would determine who earned more merit by the proofs of vanquishing monsters as well as who continued to explore deeper into the dungeon. It was a system that had some faults but it seemed to work well enough so I kept my complaints to myself.

    The first floor of the dungeon was an open plain with its own day and night cycle which worked out well for us. There was sufficient room to set up a base camp and we would have some semblance of normalcy. Adventuring parties would also take shifts, some defending the camp while others continued exploration deeper into the dungeon. No one was injured on the first floor, but I knew it was only a matter of time before there would be casualties and the number of adventurers who could continue to explore decreased. For now, the way to the second floor was clear and our party headed down along with a few others. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Though the enemies on the second floor were more difficult than the first, it was still relatively easy. With the strength of the adventurers on the expedition, we made steady progress and were nearing the entrance to the third floor. Our party was one of those tasked with heading further down in hopes of capturing the dungeon core, while other groups were tasked with cleaning up the monster stragglers that were scattered around.

    ¡°We will continue using the same formation we¡¯ve been practicing, it has been working well for us so far and I see no reason to change it. Nes and I will take the vanguard, Reia you are the rearguard along with Allein. Tris, you need to be mobile because you are our only means of dealing with traps and scouting. Just make sure to move with caution, as you have been. The fourth floor will be the hardest one yet.¡±

    We had practiced our formation ahead of time and it played well to our strengths. The second floor of the dungeon was more like a ruined ancient city and space was much tighter than on the first floor, so a tight formation would work best. There were still open spaces among the ruins, but at least there was a lot of cover here. Thankfully, the monsters were still relatively weak on this floor as well. Although, it wasn¡¯t just Kobolds on this floor, but also the stronger lizardmen.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we didn¡¯t have to bring a lot of supplies, with a base camp we can return to, it makes things easier.¡± Reai was in good spirits as she attempted to lighten up the tension of being in a dungeon.

    Even with a base camp on the first floor, it wasn¡¯t as if we could return to it whenever we wanted. Each floor of the dungeon was large and it was still necessary to camp out within the dungeon. We still had to carry some supplies, but it was only a few days worth.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try to keep the noise down. Tris is scouting so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem of running into any ambushes. We also have your enhanced senses, but we should still be careful.¡± Reai didn¡¯t look happy that I had dampened the mood but she didn¡¯t voice any complaints.

    Our party was currently holding position while waiting for Tris to return. She was scouting the immediate area and we were waiting for her to return so we could determine if this spot was okay for camping. We had been exploring the second floor for some time now. Since the dungeon had its own day and night cycle, we could still figure out the time. When Tris returned, she gave us the okay to set up camp.

    ¡°Alright, since the area seems safe, let¡¯s set up a temporary camp here. Reia and I will take first watch, the rest of you should get some sleep.¡± The others mumbled their agreements and took to their mats, we were all tired. It wasn¡¯t easy sleeping in a monster filled dungeon, especially on mats, which provided very little comfort. Reia and I found a place to sit, it looked like part of a ruined stone wall. It might have been the wall of a room in a building at some time.

    Were these really ruins, though? It certainly looked like ruins but there is no way there was once a city down here. Did the dungeons really create all of this with magic? Were they somehow sentient? Or was there some other kind of explanation for all of this? I asked myself these questions, but unfortunately there was no answer. The best I could do was speculate.

    ¡°Fayde¡­¡± I looked over at Reia who seemed to be fidgeting.

    She would do this from time to time. She would get this serious expression on her face and it seemed like she would be about to ask me something, but then she would change the subject. I think I had an idea of what she wanted to talk about. Reia hadn¡¯t had much experience socializing with others before I came along. Having met me, she had changed quite a bit from what she was before. I¡¯m not trying to take all the credit here, but I guess interacting with me had some influence on her.

    ¡°Do you think¡­. I¡¯m strange, because I am a Demihuman?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t really expecting her to ask me that, but I wasn¡¯t surprised at her question. It was obvious to me that she had some lingering issues with this. I knew I needed to just be patient with her and let her sort out her feelings. I had come to like Reia a lot and she had become someone I couldn¡¯t live without in this world. However, this was an issue that continued to hinder our relationship.

    ¡°Reia, no matter how many times you ask, my answer won¡¯t change.¡±

    She was lost in thought for a moment and then said, ¡°but, you told me that Earth doesn¡¯t have demi humans, only humans. Is it really not strange at all?¡±

    I had always been different myself so it wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t understand where she was coming from. People tended to avoid or even hate those who were different from them. In this world, it was even more pronounced because this world had people who went beyond just racial differences.

    ¡°Reia, on Earth, there are no demi humans, that¡¯s true, but it doesn¡¯t mean that things are all that different there. There are those who will find any reason to discriminate against another person and then there are those who accept anyone for who they are. It isn¡¯t like this world has a monopoly on discrimination or anything.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same. Are we even human?¡± Her voice was strained.

    I wondered if the dungeon was getting to her. One of the effects that you might feel in a dungeon was the mental strain it could cause. The fact that you could be surrounded by monsters at any time and the unnatural atmosphere of the dungeon tugged at the corners of your mind. You had to be careful not to succumb to it.

    ¡°You look human to me and even if you weren¡¯t, so what?¡± It didn¡¯t matter to me one way or the other.

    ¡°It really doesn¡¯t matter?¡±

    ¡°Nope¡±

    Reia looked relieved even though this wasn¡¯t the first time we had a conversation like this. She hesitated for a moment and then said, ¡°What if you can never return home?¡±

    I thought about her question and when I first came to this world, it took some time for me come to terms with everything. It didn¡¯t take as long as I thought though. There were some things to regret, like never seeing my daughter again. Other than that, it wasn¡¯t like there was much else, so it didn¡¯t affect me too much. In some ways, I was even excited to be in in this world.

    ¡°Well, even if I can¡¯t return to my world, I have the friends and connections I made here. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m alone. You won¡¯t abandon me right? As long as I have you by my side, everything will be fine!¡± I teased her hoping to get a response.

    Reia blushed slightly, ¡°Don¡¯t tease me like that.¡±

    I chuckled, ¡°but it¡¯s true. If I hadn¡¯t met you, then I would already be dead.¡±

    That made her fall silent while she considered my words.

    ¡°Fayde¡­¡±

    Reia¡¯s head was tilted slightly downwards as if she didn¡¯t want me to see what she was thinking, but I could see that this was a vulnerable moment for her.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t¡­ suddenly disappear one day, right?¡±

    ¡°Heh, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m not going anywhere. I¡¯ll stay by your side, at least until you get sick of me.¡±

    Reia laughed and finally smiled, ¡°Good.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but feel something when she smiled. Reia was a wonderful woman, much better than any I had met in my life. As I became closer to her, my feelings grew and I could also tell that she was beginning to accept me as well. It was just her lack of confidence about the difference in our species which was holding her back.

    The next morning came without any unexpected events and we made our way down to the third floor. Things had been going well so far and the first two floors gave us little trouble. I hoped that it would continue this way going forward.

 Volume 1 Chapter 20

    Tris was the first to head down the passage into the third floor in order to scout ahead of us.

    Her role was important. She would scout out traps and try to disarm them as well as scout for enemies. If she found monsters, she would return as quickly as possible to warn us. She was very talented in spotting traps and enemies and could operate independently without trouble.

    We had only been traveling for a short time within the ruins of the third floor when Tris returned to us. ¡°Found enemies already?¡± I was surprised at how quickly she had returned. On the first two floors, monsters weren¡¯t that close to the entrance of the floor.

    ¡°This floor doesn¡¯t appear to be as large as the first and second from just my initial observations. There is a wide open space below and there is a lizardmen encampment not far up ahead. There are around a dozen or so of them. We appear to be the first to reach this floor since the group of monsters haven¡¯t been cleared and they are very close to this passageway.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the makeup of the monsters?¡± I wasn¡¯t about to jump in without a plan so this was a basic question.

    ¡°They are all lizardmen, doesn¡¯t look like there are any Kobolds mixed in, but they are lightly armored. We shouldn¡¯t have too much difficulty with them. It does seem that most of the monsters left with the invasion force. There might be more encampments like this scattered about but I didn¡¯t bother to check since I wanted to report back as soon as possible.¡±

    I was somewhat concerned with the ¡®other encampments bit¡¯ of her report. If this area was smaller than the previous floors, then other lizardmen nearby might be alerted to our presence once we attacked this encampment.

    Hmm, it might not be a bad idea to have the lizardmen in the area converge on one point. If we use a ¡®Fireball¡¯ here and cause a bit of a commotion, then other groups in the area will come charging in. We can set up an ambush if we move quickly enough. There is sufficient cover around this terrain and these lizardmen aren¡¯t very intelligent. We could always fall back to the second floor if we run into trouble.

    I decided on a plan and then addressed my party, ¡°We should be able to get the drop on these lizardmen ahead of us. I think if we get into position and hit them with a well placed ¡®Fireball¡¯ and then mop them up quickly, we can set up an ambush for any other groups that might be alerted by our attack. Then we can hit them as they come into the encampment with ranged attacks. We can have Reia use the initial ¡®Fireball¡¯ attack and then have Allein prepare a second one for when the enemy reinforcements arrive. Once Reia hits the encampment with her ¡®Fireball¡¯, Nes, Tris and I will kill any of the remaining lizardmen and then fall back to cover. We can repeat as necessary, I think this is a good plan, any thoughts?¡±

    ¡°It sounds like a good plan to me.¡± Reia agreed with my plan and the others voiced their agreement as well.

    ¡°Alright, Tris, lead us to the camp.¡±

    Tris led us quietly to a ruined building which had three floors and overlooked the lizard encampment. The ruined buildings provided excellent cover and it would be simple to launch attacks from the third floor because many of the walls of the building were partially destroyed. Only Reia, Tris and I went up to the third floor while Nes and Allein waited on the bottom floor. Nes would attack once Reia¡¯s ¡®Fireball¡¯ hit. Tris and I both had ranged attacks and planned to hit them from above. After the attack began, Allein was to find a better position to hit any incoming reinforcements with a ¡®Fireball¡¯ of her own.

    If the lizardmen had shamans with them, they would pose a significant threat to us because I didn¡¯t think the building would hold up well against a large scale magic bombardment. We would most likely be crushed in the debris from the walls collapsing or the roof caving in. Thankfully, Tris hadn¡¯t detected any lizardmen shamans in the camp below. There could be some in other encampments, but once this group was taken care of, we planned to move to a safer position to ambush the incoming reinforcements.

    I surveyed the camp below and saw that what Tris had said was accurate. There were a little over a dozen lizardmen in the encampment below us. Most of the lizardmen below carried spears, but there were a few with bows. This vantage point was perfect for us because we could easily hit the lizardmen in the encampment without them even realizing we were here.

    We would need to make sure all their ranged attackers were killed first if any remained after the ¡®Fireball¡¯ hit. Luckily, these lizardmen were not heavily armored like the group we faced during the invasion. They wore no armor, instead relying on their thick hide for defense. Their hide wouldn¡¯t protect the lizardmen against our magic attacks. However, Tris might have some trouble piercing their thick hide with her arrows.

    ¡°Tris, I don¡¯t think your arrows will have much of an effect on them. Let me try something, nock one of your arrows.¡±

    Tris followed my suggestion and nocked one of her arrows on her bow. One of the advantages of my ¡®Void¡¯ ability was that my magic required no chanting and activated instantly. I placed my hand on only the tip of her nocked arrow and attempted to enhance her arrow with my ¡®Void Flames¡¯.

    I had been successful enhancing my own weapons and of course my own body, but I had yet to try it on someone else. Part of the reason why I hadn¡¯t tried it before was because I was concerned about my control over the flames. I didn¡¯t want to hurt anyone, but I was confident in my ability to control the flames and thought this was a good opportunity to try it out.

    The arrowhead was suddenly engulfed in my ¡®Void Flame¡¯ and I was able to localize the flame over only the arrowhead. I was extremely pleased that I had been able to control the flame and use it in this way. This meant that I could enhance the weapons of my allies.

    Tris was surprised by my action and her eyes went wide as she stared at the black flame which was burning on the tip of her arrow. Even though the arrowhead was iron, it didn¡¯t deflect the flames since this wasn¡¯t a direct attack, but instead an enhancement. Since I had already used the enhancement on my own blade in the past, I knew that iron posed no problem for this particular purpose. Of course, I originally got the idea from seeing Reia use elemental enhancement techniques as part of her fighting style.

    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t think you could do that.¡± Tris said.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure either, but it looks like it works! You should be able to pierce the lizardmen with that arrow. Only use it once Reia finishes her attack and aim for an archer if any survive.¡±

    Tris acknowledged my order and readied herself.

    in the encampment below, the lizardmen were communicating with each other in their guttural language. Some were guarding the encampment while others stood around a large bonfire at the center. I was somewhat curious what exactly monsters did in their downtime, but it wasn¡¯t a mystery I was about to solve now since they would all soon be dead.

    I was beginning to feel the excitement that came before battle as I waited for Reia to finish channeling her magical energy. A few months had passed since I had come to this world and I had begun to develop a fondness for fighting and enjoyed seeing a well-planned out attack go smoothly. I was no longer the novice I was when I had come here, and my knowledge of battle tactics and strategies from Earth, due to my interest in history, was a great help as the leader of an adventuring party.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Tris and I waited silently, the only sound was the rapid beating of my heart in my chest and my heavy breathing. Reia¡¯s spell was now ready and she sent her ¡®Fireball¡¯ attack soaring down upon the the group of lizardmen standing around the large bonfire at the center of the encampment. I could feel the intense heat of the flames as it flew down from our hiding place. The ¡®Fireball¡¯ exploded sending dirt, debris, and flames everywhere. It made me think of an artillery strike from a movie or video game.

    With that, the attack began and Tris and I quickly scanned the encampment for targets. The area around the bonfire was a complete mess with the body parts of lizardmen flung about. There were dark soot marks where the ¡®Fireball¡¯ had struck and flames spread violently throughout. Most of the lizardmen that had been standing around the bonfire had been killed when the attack hit, only a couple were thrown from the impact and had survived. Tris fired her arrow killing one of them and I launched an attack with my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ killing the other survivors.

    Nes had made his appearance and began attacking the lizardmen who had escaped the blast. Reia, Tris and I provided cover fire from above and the remaining lizardmen went down quickly. We had caught them completely off guard and they posed very little trouble for our group. Our battle had caused quite a commotion and soon a horn blew somewhere nearby.

    ¡°Alright, looks like we are going to have visitors, let¡¯s move to a different position.¡± I gave out the orders and the three of us ran downstairs to join up with Allein and Nes.

    With Tris and the Demihumans present, it would be a simple matter to discover which direction the enemy would be approaching from. Allein had been waiting nearby at a location at ground level behind some ruined walls we could use for cover. Allein had already begun summoning her magic power and began chanting in order to launch a ¡®Fireball¡¯ attack of her own once the enemy made their appearance.

    It didn¡¯t take long before we could sense the enemy draw nearer. They had responded much more quickly than anticipated and had even organized themselves properly to respond to our attack. We could see an enemy formation approaching down one of the pathways leading to the encampment. There was at least twenty of them, but their formation would prove to be their folly. They weren¡¯t aware of what exactly was going on and so had formed a tightly packed formation. If they had been heavily armored, it would have proved to be formidable for us, but they were only light infantry.

    ¡°Allein, now! Aim for the center of their formation!¡± I yelled towards Allein and she unleashed her ¡®Fireball¡¯ attack which devastated the approaching lizardmen.

    Their formation was broken as the ¡®Fireball¡¯ hit and the lizardmen were sent flying. The attack hadn¡¯t killed all of the lizardmen, but many of them were killed in the initial explosion while others were sent flying and had varying injuries.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, finish them off quickly!¡± My orders spurred my companions on and we ran towards the frightened and bewildered lizardmen, finishing the survivors off easily.

    Most of them were in a daze after the ¡®Fireball¡¯ hit and were in a state similar to shell shock, so they could barely even respond to our charge. More horns sounded, some coming from further away. It seemed as if our attack had woken up a hornet''s nest. This was somewhat unexpected, but we could always fall back if necessary and there would be other adventurers on the floor above. I had no intention of retreating unless the enemy was absolutely overwhelming.

    Smaller squads of lizardmen came pouring into our surroundings in an attempt to cut us off. Several lizardmen with spears and a few lizardmen archers attempted to surround us.

    ¡°Reia, with me. The rest of you clear out the ones to our rear.¡±

    My ¡®Void Flames¡¯ had become much more powerful than they were when I first came to Aergan. They could now cover a large portion of my body and I was wondering if soon I could call myself the Human Torch. With the way things were going, it wouldn¡¯t be long until I could cover my entire body in flames. I laughed while enhancing my body with ¡®Void Flames¡¯. I was now able to cover my arms and my entire torso if I wanted to. Since it activated instantly when I summoned my power, I could even rotate the flames around my body to deflect most incoming attacks.

    I ran into the group of lizardmen in front of me with Reia following close behind me. My body ignited in flames and I launched straight into an attack which took them by surprise. I activated one of my newly obtained martial arts skills, ¡®Sword Whirlwind,¡¯ and spun in a deadly dance, cutting the two lizardmen in front of me in several places, my ¡®Void¡¯ enhanced sword easily slicing through their hardened skin.

    The two lizard archers who had been to the rear of the lizardmen spear users, had already nocked their bows and were aiming to fire straight at me. Their attempt to fire arrows at me was put to a quick end by several of Reia¡¯s ¡®Flame arrows¡¯ that had punched holes in their bodies.

    There was one more archer who had survived our initial attack and he had time to fire an arrow at me. An attack this weak would not be sufficient to break through my ¡®Void Flame¡¯ defense and I deftly deflected the arrow with my left arm. Reia hadn¡¯t been fast enough to strike the last archer before it could attack, but it was fine since I was unharmed. She slashed the remaining archer after the arrow was released and then finished it off, stabbing it through its chest.

    Allein and the others had finished off the lizardmen squad to the rear and after surveying the battlefield, there appeared to be none left. A good number of lizardmen lay sprawled across the surrounding area, dead and mostly in pieces.

    We made our way back to the center of the lizardmen encampment to see if there were any stragglers in the area. Flames from the disturbed bonfire were now spreading everywhere and at the center there was a huge conflagration. We were unable to get any closer and had to back away from the flames. The entire encampment seemed to be catching on fire at this point. Even though the encampment was in the middle of what looked like the ruins of a city, the lizardmen had built crude temporary structures which were now in flames.

    Since we couldn¡¯t head in further, we decided to backtrack to where we had come from and headed back towards the western entrance of the encampment.

    After catching our breath, I turned to Tris and said, ¡°Tris, try to scout the area and see if there are any more lizardmen approaching. We won¡¯t be able to rest easy until the area is clear.¡±

    ¡°Alright, be back soon.¡± Tris replied and then ran off.

    We waited for a while, mostly in silence. Even though we weren¡¯t under attack, we were all on high alert as we waited for Tris to finish her scouting.

    After some time passed, Nes who had been carefully looking out for Tris turned to me and said, ¡°Fayde, I can see Tris running this way.¡±

    Tris came running up to me temporarily out of breath, ¡°Fayde! A large group¡­.. of lizardmen¡­.. coming¡­.¡± She was panting hard.

    ¡°How many?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact number. I ran here as soon as I detected them, but there are a lot of them.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan, oh fearless leader?¡± Nes had to get his two cents in.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your snide remarks Nes.¡±

    He shot me a glare when I said that. Allein gave him a nice smack on the back of his head.

    ¡°Nes!¡±

    He rubbed his head and mumbled an apology. Allein was useful during times like these. Nes had become more outspoken in his disdain towards me. Well, his disdain towards Humans in general, it was just that I spent more time with him than any other Human other than Tris. He hardly ever spoke to Tris, so it was left to me to be the target of his ill will.

    ¡°It¡¯s annoying, but let¡¯s fall back for now. There was supposed to be two other advance parties heading down to the third floor. We set out ahead of them but they should be close now. If we can meet up with them, then we can form a plan of attack.¡±

    Allein wasn¡¯t happy with that, ¡°I don¡¯t like having to run away.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too great a risk Allein. Even if we have to share the rewards, it¡¯s better to be safe than dead,¡± said Reia.

    ¡°Reia¡¯s right, we shouldn¡¯t risk it.¡± Tris agreed with her.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time to sit here chatting, the monsters will be here soon.¡±

    I reminded them of our predicament and we made our way back towards the second floor and away from the approaching monsters.

 Volume 1 Chapter 21

    We didn¡¯t sit around waiting for the enemy forces to approach and instead fell back to the second floor. We had cleared out the enemies in the immediate vicinity so falling back was simple as there was no one to impede us. It was slightly embarrassing for us to have retreated despite rushing on ahead of the other advance groups and now we would need to seek their help, but it was better not to push our luck.

    ¡°Bah, those weak monsters are beneath us. We should have stayed and fought.¡±

    ¡°Come on Nes, there is no need for us to rush things. The whole point of organizing a large expedition was for adventurers to work together and take out the monsters.¡±

    ¡°Tris is right, we don¡¯t need to be greedy here. Also, if all the magic crystals disappear from the monsters it would look a little too suspicious on us, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    My main concern was the disappearing magic crystals. We might be blamed for that, but if we didn¡¯t open up the monster¡¯s bodies then at least we couldn¡¯t be blamed for stealing the crystals.

    The second floor was mostly safe by this point. We had rushed through the floor to get to the third floor. Other adventuring parties worked their way through the first and second floors by clearing out monsters. It wasn¡¯t that we were ordered to do this, even though we were part of the vanguard forces, it was just that we wanted to clear as many monsters as we could so I could grow stronger. We also had to be careful of clearing out too many monsters so that there was a decent amount of magic crystals left to go around.

    What happened on the third floor was a bit of a surprise, but we had no way of knowing the floor would be much more compact than the first and second.

    ¡°Tch, whatever.¡±

    ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t you just keep your mouth shut like you usually do?¡±

    Allein was definitely the more reasonable sibling of the two. I couldn¡¯t really complain too much though. Nes hated humans with a passion and it was understandable given the state of the world. Although, the intensity of his hate was much stronger than what I had experienced so far, but there was much I still didn¡¯t know about the two siblings. Their past must have been harsh.

    Nes kept his silence and just looked at his sister with a pained expression.

    ¡°Good, stay like that.¡±

    Now that we were back on the second floor, we moved a bit away from the passageway leading down. I wasn¡¯t sure whether or not the monsters could move between floors, but thinking back to the fact that they had sent out an invasion force, they most likely could. I would have liked to move even further away, but we were tired and needed a short rest. Even if the monsters came up the passageway, the Demihumans in our party would easily be able to detect them quickly and then we could retreat further if necessary.

    ¡°Tris, after a short break I need you to find the other advance parties on the floor and bring them back here. Tell them there is a large force of monsters close to the passageway of the third floor and we need to work together.¡±

    I felt somewhat bad working her so hard after the battles we just went through, but there would be enough time to rest after we gathered everyone.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can go now.¡± Tris said and then ran off before I could say anything.

    ¡°Take this time to rest.¡± I motioned to the others and we all sat down on the grass.

    The second floor of the dungeon was similar to the terrain outside of the dungeon. Mostly open grassland with some hills and trees scattered about. It even had a day and night cycle similar to the outside world. It never ceased to amaze me how the dungeon was capable of creating all of this. This was some immensely powerful magic at work.

    ¡°Reia, what do you think is responsible for creating these dungeons? It¡¯s really amazing how all of this comes from a dungeon.¡±

    ¡°No one really knows. There is some speculation and some scholars have come up with theories, but no one knows for certain.¡±

    While Reia and I discussed the mysteries of the dungeons, Allein watched our conversation with interest.

    ¡°What do you think Allein?¡± I posed the question to her on a whim.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about the dungeons unfortunately.¡±

    We talked for a while longer until Tris finally returned with one of the advance parties.

    ¡°Looks like you found some, good job Tris.¡± I gave her a thumbs up and walked over to the approaching adventurers.

    This was a fairly large group of adventurers with seven party members. I wasn¡¯t too familiar with them but I knew they were called ¡®Iron Will¡¯. A couple of them wore heavy armor but the majority were wearing leather. They had a good mix of defenders and attackers in their group. They even had a magic caster which meant they were most likely a strong party.

    ¡°Thanks for coming!¡± Our group quickly greeted them and introduced ourselves.

    Their leader was named Yorrick and he was one of the tanks of the party. He wore full Iron plate and even carried what they called a ¡®Mirror Shield¡¯. Even though it had a fancy name, it was really just a shiny iron shield. The reason they called them that was because of how they could reflect direct magic attacks.

    ¡°Ah, the ¡®Void Walkers¡¯. I¡¯ve heard a lot about you guys. You must be Fayde, the hero of the battle of Enrain!¡± Yorrick greeted me enthusiastically and I was slightly embarrassed at the title he gave me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really deserve that title, all I did was warn the town.¡±

    ¡°Hah! No need to be modest, you also came up with the strategy that won the battle.¡±

    ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but this was the only group I was able to find, the others might be further away or back at the caravan on the first floor.¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah. Thanks Tris. Why don¡¯t you guys come sit down so we can discuss the situation on the third floor.¡±

    It was good that Tris had been able to come into contact with ¡®Iron Will¡¯ since they looked like a strong group. The tanks would especially be helpful since their heavy armor would be difficult for the lizardmen¡¯s spears to pierce. Their weapons were too weak to break through the Iron plate.

    Yorrick and his party came over to where our group had been resting and most of us sat down. The two in heavy armor remained standing so I decided to stand up as well. I felt bad for them since they probably couldn¡¯t sit down well in all that armor, must be quite uncomfortable!

    ¡°So you guys already made it down to the third floor huh? Not bad. We were making our way there ourselves. We actually passed by the other advance party on our way here. They took some injuries and were heading back up to the first floor to rest. The other adventuring parties will most likely be heading down soon to help clean up.¡± Yorrick said as soon as I stood.

    I nodded thoughtfully and said, ¡°Then it¡¯s just us, but I think that should be fine. There is a relatively large group of monsters down on the third floor. We killed a few groups but we were forced to retreat when a larger group showed up. I think it should be easy enough with the twelve of us.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how large of a group?¡± asked Yorrick.

    ¡°I can only guess, I doubt more than forty or fifty. We only encountered lizardmen spear users and archers on the third floor so far, but this group might have a shaman or two. Tris only got a quick look. She didn¡¯t see any heavy infantry. She would have noticed if there were any.¡±

    Yorrick grunted, ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s come up with a plan. Grant and I are both in heavy armor. We should be able to hold off a good portion of them if we are at the front of the formation. The rest of my group are lightly armored, but agile. We have a magic caster too, he is adept with elemental attacks and knows some defensive spells.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Our group has a lot of firepower. Allein and Reia can hit them with a ¡®Fireball¡¯ attack to whittle their numbers down before they even reach us.¡±

    When the other adventurers heard me mention that we had two magic casters who could cast ¡®Fireball¡¯ a few of them let out surprised sounds.

    ¡°You have two magic casters that can use ¡®Fireball¡¯? That¡¯s impressive! Is that the power of a Demihuman? We¡¯re lucky enough to have Hersall who can use Intermediate ranked magic. Not to mention, I saw your black flames at the battle of Enrain. No wonder you guys are so strong.¡± Yorrick and his group were unabashedly praising us.

    It was embarrassing being praised by fellow adventurers and they all looked relatively younger than me by a couple of years too.

    After they calmed down, I continued where I left off, ¡°After our initial attack, Allein and Reia can then fire barrages of elemental attacks into the enemy along with your magic caster. We have a decent number of ranged attackers so if our short range fighters can hold the enemy back, we should be able to cut their numbers down substantially pretty quickly. The terrain on the third floor somewhat limits mobility. It¡¯s mostly ruins with some pathways that function like roads. They can only move about ten abreast at most. With Yorrick and Grant holding the center, the rest of us will hold the flanks.¡±

    Everyone listened to the rest of my explanation attentively without interruption. We were all experienced adventurers so it wasn¡¯t as if anyone would make any rookie mistakes. After our plan was agreed on, we rested for a short while and then headed back down to the third floor.

    Tris went ahead of us to scout and let us know where the monsters were located. She returned after a half hour and gave her report.

    ¡°The monsters are close to where we fought earlier. I¡¯m not really sure of what they¡¯re doing. It looks like they¡¯re picking through the monsters we killed. They¡¯ve set up a crude perimeter but aren¡¯t doing much else. I couldn¡¯t get in close enough to get exact numbers so I took a look around the area to find a good spot to fight them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good enough, it won¡¯t change our plan regardless. Alright, we should all get in position then.¡±

    The two tanks were position at the center of the formation and the rest of the close range adventurers were positioned on each side of them but lagged slightly back. The idea was to let the monsters initial charge come up against the two tanks. Any that tried to get around them would be taken out by the other adventurers.

    I could have also acted as a Tank if I used my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ to cover my body, but I didn¡¯t want to display my full powers for all to see. If it was absolutely necessary, I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to do it, but I thought we would be fine as is.

    Our two groups moved in formation quietly as we walked towards where the monsters were encamped. We had to move slowly because of Yorrick and Grant. It was difficult for them to move quietly in full Iron plate armor. There was no need to hurry so it wasn¡¯t an issue. It was more important to not alert the enemy, at least initially. Allein and Reia would need a bit of time to prepare their ¡®Fireball¡¯ spells.

    Tris had picked out a good location to make our stand and It took us almost thirty minutes to reach the position. It was a narrow passageway that led to the encampment and there were mostly solid walls from ruined buildings on each side. It would be difficult for the lizardmen to go around us unless they split apart their forces and sent them down a different passageway. That would be foolish, though, as it would take too much time to go around.

    ¡°Now that we¡¯re in position, Allein and Reia, get your spells ready. We want to get the monsters to come to us so once their spells are ready, we need to draw their attention. Tris, that will be your job, can you handle it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡± She gave me a quick reply.

    ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t you head out now. Wait about five minutes and then lead them here.¡±

    Tris ran down the passageway and eventually disappeared into some ruins.

    The rest of us waited patiently for the battle to begin. I could feel some excitement as I readied my sword and enhanced the blade with my ¡®Void Flames¡¯. I had already used this technique at the battle of Enrain so it wasn¡¯t anything new. It also resembled other enhancement type spells so it wasn¡¯t all that strange. The black flames themselves were strange, but there wasn¡¯t much I could do about it. Thankfully, people seemed to chalk it up to a strange and unique elemental type magic.

    Five minutes came quickly and soon Tris could be seen running down the passageway heading towards our formation.

    ¡°Get ready, they¡¯re coming!¡±

    Tris ran next to me and unsheathed her shortsword. Her bow would be useless in this battle without my magic added to her arrows. That was another ability I didn¡¯t want to show so I had already told her to use her sword.

    A couple of lizardmen had chased after Tris but stopped when they saw us. One of them had a horn and blew it, signalling to the rest of their army. Another horn blew in response nearby. Before long, we could hear the sounds of a large group of lizardmen marching and growling as they came closer. They soon became visible as they turned a corner about thirty meters further down the passageway.

    Yorrick yelled out, ¡°Hersall, don¡¯t forget to throw up a defensive barrier after our initial bombardment. They have archers so we will be relying on you to protect us from their arrows.¡±

    The enemy numbers continued to grow as more became visible and their numbers exceeded my estimates. There were probably somewhere between sixty and seventy lizardmen approaching us in formation. There were spearmen in front and archers behind them. There appeared to be one lizardmen shaman in their ranks as well.

    ¡°Now Allein, Reia!¡±

    Two large ¡®Fireballs¡¯ flew swiftly towards the enemy formation and exploded wiping out the entire first few ranks of the enemy formation and sending them into momentary disarray. Our speedy attack had wiped out most of the light infantry in the blink of an eye. They didn¡¯t even have time to fire arrows before the two ¡®Fireballs¡¯ hit.

    With their formation in confusion, we began to move forward at a steady pace. Allein, Reia, and I began our barrage of magic attacks as our formation moved closer to the enemy. The lizardmen were only confused for a short period of time and soon reorganized themselves. Most of the lizardmen light infantry had been wiped out, but there were still a dozen of them that survived.

    The lizardmen archers began firing their arrows towards us as Hersall immediately put up a barrier. Dozens of arrows hit the barrier and fell harmlessly to the ground around us. I knew that the barrier was quickly draining Hersall of his MP and wouldn¡¯t last long. It would be enough to get us closer to the enemy. It wasn¡¯t long before the forward ranks of the lizardmen charged into us.

    Lizardmen were larger than humans but Yorrick and Grant did a splendid job of impeding their charge. Lizardmen attempted to batter them down with their initial charge but were stopped as if they had hit a brick wall. A few elemental attacks were shot towards them from the lizardmen shaman but they were easily deflected by the ¡®Mirror Shields¡¯. Arrows continued to rain down on the Hersall¡¯s barrier and it was beginning to weaken.

    ¡°Quickly, push them back, we need to cut through their spearmen and reach the archers as quickly as possible. Aim all magic attacks at their archers, take out the shaman if you can too.¡± I yelled out orders towards Allein and Reia.

    I was busy trying to keep the lizardmen back and only had a few opportunities to shoot my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ towards the enemy archers. I hadn¡¯t had a clear shot at the shaman yet. It was a good thing our initial ¡®Fireball¡¯ attack had killed so many of their spearmen otherwise we might have been overwhelmed.

    We had finally finished off the lizardmen light infantry when Hersall¡¯s barrier collapsed and he caught an arrow in the shoulder. Two more of Yorrick¡¯s group took arrows and fell to the ground. They weren¡¯t dead, but they were seriously injured.

    ¡°Yorrick, Grant, stay back and protect your injured from the arrows. The rest of you, follow me!¡±

    Now that we had a clear path straight towards the archers who were no longer protected by light infantry, we charged straight into their ranks. I repeatedly shot ¡®Void Flames¡¯ as I ran and closed the distance, slicing the head off of an archer who attempted to run.

    Reia released several ¡®Flame Arrows¡¯ that struck the lizardmen shaman, killing it. Nes jumped into the group of archers and twirled his spear around, killing three of them in quick succession. Tris and the two uninjured members of ¡®Iron Will¡¯ that charged with us finished off the rest. The lizardmen archers were no match for us in close quarters combat and fell without much trouble.

    ¡°Reia and Allein, quickly heal the injured! Fuck I¡¯m tired.¡±

    I wanted to collapse on the floor right there, but it wasn¡¯t the time to do that. I had to make sure the injured were seen to. Thankfully, none of us had lost our lives but a few of us were seriously injured. My HP had also dropped by half and I had taken an arrow in my arm, but other than that I was fine. If I had used my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ to enhance my body, I probably wouldn¡¯t have suffered any injuries.

    We all regrouped and had those who were injured healed.

    ¡°Man, that was rough!¡± Yorrick walked over to me and removed his helmet and wiped sweat off his brow.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just glad no one died.¡±

    ¡°It was close, if not for your companions healing magic, they would have died.¡± Yorrick looked over to his companions who were now resting as he spoke.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it wasn¡¯t as if we could take these monsters on ourselves.¡±

    Yorrick chuckled and turned back to me, ¡°Even still, thanks. We won¡¯t be able to fight anymore for a while. What are you guys planning to do?¡±

    That was simple, we took injuries but it wasn¡¯t anything serious. With a little rest we could continue on.

    ¡°Once we are sure it is safe, we¡¯re heading down to the next floor.¡±

    ¡°Haha! You guys are crazy, you should at least come back for a bit and rest. The dungeon isn¡¯t going anywhere. It might be best to wait for more adventurers to arrive.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re probably right, but we will be fine after a short rest and it¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to take excessive risks. If we need to, we will fall back.¡±

    There was a reason why I was rushing to get to the final floor of the dungeon before anyone else. I had discovered that each dungeon had what was called a ¡®Dungeon Core¡¯ and these cores were large magic crystals. That was my objective in coming here.

    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t say anything more then. Good luck!¡±

    After resting for a short time and some light conversation, Yorrick and his team left towards the second floor.

 Volume 1 Chapter 22

    I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how many days we had been down in this dungeon, but if I were to guess, I would say it¡¯s been about a week. It wasn¡¯t as if the dungeon was so massive that it took seven days for us to reach the fourth floor. The dungeon was indeed massive, but it was the constant fighting, exploring, and the need to rest which was time consuming.

    By now I would imagine that the first two floors had been entirely swept of monsters and we had worked with ¡®Iron Will¡¯ to wipe out a large portion on the third floor. I didn¡¯t think there were many monsters left above the fourth floor but there could always be some hiding in a corner of the dungeon. Either way that wasn¡¯t our concern. There were adventuring parties assigned to ¡®sweeping¡¯, and we weren¡¯t one of them.

    Our party spent about a day exploring the fourth floor. We were trying to locate the passageway leading down to the fifth floor and we were also trying to clear out some of the monsters in case we needed to escape. Surprisingly, we found no traces of monsters on the fourth floor while exploring for a whole day, and we decided to camp relatively nearby the entrance to the fifth floor.

    I call it a camp, but it wasn¡¯t anything special. We had a small fire going and we laid out furs to sleep on. It wasn¡¯t wise to bring a lot of junk when exploring a dungeon so we could only carry the bare essentials. Since none of us wanted to eat monster lizard meat, we carried quite a bit of dried and salted strips of meat. There wasn¡¯t a whole lot of variety, but it was enough to keep us going.

    While sitting around the fire, there was a solemn atmosphere around our group. We weren¡¯t physically tired, but the dungeon was beginning to wear on our minds. In order to brighten up the mood a bit I decided to engage the others in conversation.

    ¡°Do you think there are no monsters on this floor because they were that large group we fought on the third floor?¡±

    One of the thoughts I had about dungeons was whether or not monsters would move from one floor to another. If an invasion force was able to be sent out of the dungeon, then I figured they must be able to move between floors. The fact that there seemed to be no monsters on the fourth floor might prove that point.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible. We haven¡¯t seen a single monster on this floor since we got here.¡± Tris was still somewhat lively as she answered me.

    ¡°Not many adventurers in the Northern Kingdoms have explored dungeons so there isn¡¯t much information about monster behavior in them,¡± said Reia.

    I nodded thoughtfully and rubbed my chin, ¡°It¡¯s a shame that the Northern Kingdoms are so backwards when it comes to dungeon exploration and adventuring in general. I heard the Empire is much more efficient and knowledgeable in this area.¡±

    ¡°If you ask me, the Northern Kingdoms are backwards in every area. The Kingdom of La¡¯gun is nothing but a kingdom of filthy Humans sleeping in their own waste. They can barely feed their own people and that Human town, Enrain, is a dump!¡± Allein¡¯s words were harsh, but not far from the truth.

    ¡°Like the Demihumans live any better! They live in tents out in the dirt. They barely have anything you could call a civilization!¡± Tris responded to Allein angrily.

    ¡°Tch, don¡¯t compare me with those Demihumans, I am a princ¡­.¡±

    ¡°Eh, that¡¯s enough!¡± I cut Allein off before she said something she couldn¡¯t take back.

    ¡°Hmph, fine.¡± Allein realized her mistake and shut up.

    Tris looked at Allein with interest. She¡¯s probably curious about what Allein was going to say, I thought to myself.

    It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t trust Tris, she was an important member of my party and my first Human friend in this world. There was still much I didn¡¯t know about her, or Allein for that matter, but there were some secrets which should not be shared. Tris didn¡¯t like Demihumans very much either, and of course Allein and her brother hated Humans. I wasn¡¯t too happy about it, but I tried to keep the peace as best I could between them.

    Reia quietly watched them argue without participating. Reia was a little unique among Demihumans because she had some of the hatred towards Humanity that other Demihumans had, but she also wished to be accepted by Humans.

    I decided to divert the conversation back to the original point, ¡°Anyway, in the Empire, they put a lot of resources and manpower into conquering dungeons. It seems that they give their adventurers a lot more support and they are much better organized. I heard they even build temporary villages outside the dungeons until they are completely cleared out. The government also issues requests with significant monetary rewards to adventurers willing to explore those dungeons.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, the Northern Kingdoms just can¡¯t compete economically with the Empire, not alone anyway. Some of the Kingdoms do organize expeditions like the one we are on now, but it is mostly done through enterprising individuals rather than through the government. This expedition was almost entirely organized by Orban. He told me he invited merchants from all over the kingdom and only a handful were willing to sign up. The risks are greater but the rewards are also greater.¡±

    Since Reia was close with Orban, she usually had inside information regarding the running of the Guild in Enrain. She must have spoke with Orban about the expedition when I wasn¡¯t around. I knew it was difficult organizing the expedition and of course there was talk on the trip here, but I didn¡¯t realize that Orban had organized things to that extent. I figured there would be some support from the government or the local lord. Well, perhaps the local lord did provide support to Orban in return for compensation later.

    ¡°I can see the benefit that this expedition will bring to those involved once we conquer the dungeon, but I can¡¯t help but feel that it is woefully inefficient. How many times has Enrain been invaded in the past before they finally put this together? How many small villages or even towns have been raided or destroyed by these monster invasions? I guess there is no point in complaining about it, but the Kingdoms really are run poorly.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but voice my criticism about the kingdoms. I wasn¡¯t much of a fan of monarchies and feudal lords, unless I was the one in power that is.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing that can be done about it.¡±

    Tris was right of course, unless things significantly changed in the north, there wasn¡¯t much that could be done. We continued to talk as we ate for a while longer, but we eventually put out the fire and slept. We had already decided on an order for the watch and we were able to sleep peacefully. No monsters disturbed our rest and the dungeon was eerily quiet.

    Once we all woke from our sleep, we made our way down to the passageway leading to the fifth floor. According to the information received from the Diviner, this was the last floor of the dungeon.

    ¡°This floor is strange.¡±

    Reia was the first to point it out, but I had been feeling the same way.

    ¡°My sentiments exactly Reia.¡±

    The stairs leading down to the fifth floor led to a wide-open expanse of ruins and at the center was an enormous temple which reminded me of a Mayan temple from back on Earth. The walls and floor looked to me as if they were radiating power and the dungeon felt almost as if it were alive.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    After a quick survey of the area around the stairway leading up to the fourth floor, I called out to Tris.

    ¡°It looks like one giant battlefield. Tris, can you quickly scout the area around the temple? The rest of us will wait here until you return.¡± She nodded and headed out to scout.

    ¡°I have been feeling a familiar feeling since we came into the dungeon, but on this floor, it is even stronger. Allein, what do you think?¡±

    For some reason Allein looked uncomfortable.

    ¡°I am not sure Fayde, I have never explored a dungeon, but it feels familiar to me too. It¡¯s similar to the feeling I get from you.¡±

    That got me thinking. I noticed that the ceiling of this floor was brighter than the previous one. There was a strange luminescence to the floor which seemed to be radiating off of the dungeon walls.

    ¡°Allein, do you see anything strange about the walls of the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°No. I feel a strange energy, but I don¡¯t see anything.¡±

    I nodded, I didn¡¯t expect her to see anything. It looked almost like the black mist I absorbed from monsters but it was more translucent. It was as if it was not as concentrated. Since none of them could see the black mist I absorbed from monsters, I wasn¡¯t surprised they couldn¡¯t see this either.

    ¡°Reia, how about you? Do you feel anything?¡± She looked around and answered after a few seconds.

    ¡°I do feel something, but it isn¡¯t a strong feeling. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was just my imagination.¡±

    It seemed that Reia could feel the energy that was in the dungeon, but not to the extent of Allein and Nes, and only I could see the black translucent mist. Is there some kind of strange relationship between monsters, dungeons and the black mist which I absorbed? I had been feeling strange for a while now so I was curious if this strange atmosphere in the dungeon was doing something to me. Maybe my body was absorbing this energy too? It was a little scary, but so far it didn¡¯t seem like the energy was causing me any harm.

    While I was engrossed in my thoughts, Tris returned.

    ¡°There is a large group of lizardmen at the base of the temple. I think that is where the dungeon boss is most likely hiding. It¡¯s probably in the temple. It was difficult for me to get too close so I don¡¯t know exact numbers. It is most likely as many or more than we faced the last time. I couldn¡¯t catch a glimpse of the dungeon boss either.¡±

    That would have to do, we couldn¡¯t be careless.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Tris, you did good. Let¡¯s rest for a bit and then we need to come up with some sort of plan.¡±

    This was going to be a difficult battle, but at least we would have the element of surprise if they hadn¡¯t been alerted to our presence here on the floor yet.

    ¡°Do you think they are aware of our presence? We have been pushing our way up to this point, I wonder if they communicated with any of the lizardmen who were on the floors above?¡± I asked Tris her thoughts on this.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t seem to be on high alert so I don¡¯t think they know yet.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a relief then. It looks like the monsters on the fourth floor must have heard the horns from the lizardmen we fought on the third floor and quickly responded to the alarm. I guess they didn¡¯t think to communicate with any other lizardmen. It¡¯s a good thing the monsters aren¡¯t that intelligent.¡±

    While I was thinking up a plan I had Tris give me a general idea of the terrain she saw while scouting. From what she saw, there was the large temple in the center of the floor and it was surrounded by ruins as far as she could see. There were many twisting paths and lots of cover so she felt it would be simple to evade the lizardmen even if they gave chase. She couldn¡¯t do an extensive search of the floor in such a short time. However, the area we were currently in looked much like what she described from what she saw further in.

    ¡°Okay, then hit and run tactics will work well here I think. There are a lot of places to hide on this floor and since it is the last floor, we shouldn¡¯t have to worry too much about running into additional monsters. From what Tris said, it seems like all the lizardmen are around the temple. We have to think we are fighting at least as many as were on the third floor. We had help that time, but this is a better situation for us. We don¡¯t need to fight the monsters in a pitched battle and this terrain will actually work in our favor. We have enough magic casters to cause significant damage to them at range so we don¡¯t need to stay in one place. We will break up into three groups, Nes and Allein will be one group. Tris, you will work alone. Reia and I will be the third group.¡±

    I looked around before continuing to make sure there were no objections. Since no one voiced any complaints, I continued.

    ¡°Nes and Allein, find a spot on the west side of the temple, Reia and I will head to the east side of the temple. Tris, your job is going to be to draw their attention after Reia and Allein bombard their base with fireballs. They will only know the general direction of the fireballs so they shouldn¡¯t be able to pinpoint our hiding spots right away. That is where you come in Tris, you are to hit them right from the front, fire as many arrows as you can and then run, draw them towards the stairs to the fourth floor and don¡¯t let them catch you. Allein once you fire off the fireball, head back to the stairs of the fourth floor with Nes. Reia and I will do the same. If all goes well, the enemy will be forced to search in three different directions, if the five of us converge on the same place, we can take out however many follow Tris and then move to take out each group of pursuers individually. The lizardmen aren¡¯t that intelligent, so they should fall for it. Also, if you see a commander, aim for them. The priority for this, though, is getting back to the fourth-floor stairs as quickly as possible.¡±

    I looked at each of my companions in turn to make sure they fully understood the plan.

    ¡°I understand the plan, but why is it a priority to make it back to the fourth floor stairs?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good question Allein. Since we will be outnumbered by quite a bit, we need to make sure to have a means of retreat if things don¡¯t go as planned. If we can make it back to the stairs, we can retreat to the fourth floor if necessary. Also, the stairs leading up to the fourth floor are narrow, so if we need to, we can hold our own there for a time. If we fall back to the fourth floor, we can always try again and if the lizardmen chase us, we can keep falling back as much as we need to.¡±

    ¡°Anyone else have a question?¡±

    They all shook their heads.

    ¡°Then, good luck. Don¡¯t take any unnecessary risks. If you are in danger, quickly retreat.¡±

    We all immediately split up and went to the positions we had discussed. Reia and I moved quickly towards the eastern side of the temple, making sure to first go around as far as possible away from the temple to avoid detection. We weren¡¯t able to find a good position which oversaw their base, but we were able to find some ruins to hide behind.

    I thanked the dungeon for creating such an advantageous battlefield for us! If this had been an open plain or some other type of open terrain, it probably would have been impossible to win against so many by ourselves. We might have had to try to bombard and run several times before we could thin their numbers enough. I don¡¯t know if that would have worked though.

    ¡°Reia, are you okay? You ready to do this?¡±

    I didn¡¯t really need to ask, Reia had been an adventurer much longer than I had, but I was still concerned.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about me. Just make sure you don¡¯t do anything reckless.¡±

    I really hate when people say that. This was clearly a dangerous situation where worrying was justified! I didn¡¯t want anything to happen to her. Reia had become an indispensable part of my life. I couldn¡¯t imagine what I would do without her in this strange world.

    ¡°Just be careful okay?¡±

    She chuckled happily at that, ¡°If something happens to me, what would you do?¡±

    ¡°What kind of question is that to ask.¡­¡±

    I didn¡¯t really know how to answer when she put me on the spot like that.

    She suddenly had a forlorn expression on her face. I was not expecting her to make that kind of expression.

    ¡°Fayde, if we make it out of here¡­ no, once we make it out of here, there is something I want to talk to you about¡­¡±

    I tilted my head to look at her carefully and thought, shit! This is one of those flag moments isn¡¯t it? Why did she have to go and say something like that¡­.

    ¡°You¡¯re worrying me more by talking like that. We will get out of here and when we do, you can tell me anything you want. Okay? You preparing your magic?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I will start chanting soon.¡±

    My thoughts were in a bit of turmoil from her words, but I pushed them to the back of my head. I was certainly concerned, but I was also somewhat hopeful. Maybe she will finally fully open up to me, were my last thoughts before I focused my full attention on the fight ahead.

 Volume 1 Chapter 23

    Reia finished her chant and the all too familiar sight of an intense ¡®Fireball¡¯ flew towards the monster¡¯s camp, its¡¯ heat was enough to make me sweat despite the brief moment it was near me. With the magical link between Reia and the ¡®Fireball¡¯, she could somewhat maneuver it although only slightly, and she guided the ¡®Fireball¡¯ as close to a group of Lizardmen as she could. We were much closer to the impact this time and the explosion shook the ground I was standing on. It was a powerful blast that sent earth, wood and flesh straight up into the dank air.

    A gong began to chime throughout the Lizardmen base as the attack signal went off and they quickly organized with their commanders giving orders for the rank and file to form up into formation. There was some pandemonium, but they were much better organized than expected. Thankfully, I only saw light infantry among the monsters and there didn¡¯t appear to be any heavy infantry. At least, they weren¡¯t visible in the main camp.

    Reia and I ran as hard as we could further east and then back around, heading towards the stairs to the fourth floor. Thanks to the chaos and the time it took for the Lizardmen Commanders to bring order to the base and have their warriors form up, we were able to get a good amount of distance from them before they started marching in our direction. Some arrows were fired at us, but none were able to hit us and we were soon out of range.

    A second fireball explosion hit the Lizardmen base from the western side, where Nes and Allein were. Reia and I were too far at this point to see how the monsters had responded to the second attack but we felt certain they were most likely confused as to which direction the enemy was in. They would most likely send their forces in that direction too. Tris should be making her move now as well, so we have to hurry and get ready before she gets to the stairs with Lizardmen in tow.

    Reia and I were the first to arrive at the fourth-floor stairs, ¡°Reia begin preparing another fireball spell. If we time it correctly, it should be possible to hit any approaching monsters following Tris, which should throw them into disarray. Make sure not to hit Tris when you do it!¡±

    ¡°Of course, I know! Readying my spell now!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t long before Nes and Allein arrived.

    ¡°Mission Complete!¡±

    She seemed to be enjoying this and even Nes had a look of excitement on his face. As a matter of fact, the only time I ever saw Nes happy was when he was killing something.

    ¡°Nes, you look happy, this might be a first!¡± I teased him, much to his annoyance.

    ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m not happy at all.¡± Then why are you smiling you battle maniac?

    ¡°Tris should be here any moment now, you almost done Reia?¡±

    ¡°I might need more time, it might not be enough.¡±

    She seemed worried she wouldn¡¯t be able to pull it off in time since things were moving quicker than expected.

    ¡°Nes, can you try to delay anyone following Tris? Ask her to back you up.¡±

    ¡°Tch, I don¡¯t need you to tell me!¡±

    Nes ran straight down the main pathway which led directly to the enemy¡¯s base from here, the path which Tris should be running down this very moment. I heard a loud yell nearby in the distance, it sounded like Nes had engaged the enemy. I wasn¡¯t too concerned, he was an excellent fighter and he was smart enough to be careful.

    ¡°I¡¯m almost ready, shouldn¡¯t be long!¡±

    Reia was still readying her magical power, she needed to draw in enough and then she could chant the spell. I finally saw the back of Tris, she was running towards us but stopped, turned and fired off an arrow at the now visible light infantry. Her arrows wouldn¡¯t be much more than a distraction, but that would be enough. Nes was expertly spinning away while thrusting and parrying with his spear. It almost looked like a dance, his movements were quite nimble, and his lithe body made it difficult for the Lizardmen to hit him.

    ¡°Now NES!¡± I yelled as loud as I could.

    Nes turned and ran as fast as he could towards us, a decently sized group of Lizardmen was now completely in view running towards where we were situated. They were moving quickly while attempting to maintain their ranks.

    I was beginning to think we wouldn¡¯t be able to get the spell off in time, but thankfully Reia had finished her chant and the ¡®Fireball¡¯ went screeching straight out towards the approaching column of Lizardmen. Nes had to quickly drop to the floor as the fireball flew right over him, it was extremely close. The column of light infantry exploded into hundreds of pieces of body parts as the column was decimated. Some Lizardmen from the rear had survived but they had been blown back and completely out of the formation.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Now, get them before they can get up!¡±

    Reia, Tris, Allein and I ran with our weapons at the ready straight towards the Lizardmen who were still alive. They were disoriented and in shock, most rolling around on the ground, but some were struggling to their feet. As I ran by Nes who was still on the ground, I reached my arm down towards him. He grabbed my hand and I pulled while he propelled himself off the ground and landed on his feet.

    Those of us who could use magic, sent a barrage of spells towards the surviving lizardmen, downing several of them in a matter of seconds. My ¡®Void Flames¡¯ bore holes straight through the Lizardmen¡¯s chests as Reia and Allein¡¯s elemental spells cut through others.

    It was a slaughter with the five of us mopping up the remainder of the Lizardmen. The battle was over in mere minutes with all of the Lizardmen dead or dying. It was no time to rest, however, because there were still more groups of monsters approaching. We had no time to prepare another ¡®Fireball¡¯ attack and instead retreated to the stairs leading up to the fourth floor.

    ¡°We have to stop them here, run up to the top of the stairs and we will fight them as they leave the corridor!¡± I gave the orders and the five of us ran up the stairs leading to the fourth floor.

    The Lizardmen would only be able to come up the stairs two at a time at most and archers would be useless. We waited for them right at the top of the stairs, the entrance to the fifth floor. As I predicted, the Lizardmen charged at us through the entrance of the stairway in order to overwhelm us, but it was difficult for them to avoid our attacks as they climbed up the stairs.

    I consecutively fired my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ barrelling through the Lizardmen climbing up the stairs while Allein and Reia did the same with their elemental magic. The bodies of the dead Lizardmen fell back, falling down the stairs and clogging up the entryway. This only made it more difficult for those behind them to attack us. Nes and Tris waited to the sides of the entryway, cutting down any that came into their reach. The stairway became a slaughterhouse and we massacred the Lizardmen with relative ease. My VP was high enough that I could fire dozens ¡®Void Flames¡¯ without exhausting myself.

    It was then that we heard a loud roar that shook the corridor and sent the five of us to our knees. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was, but it seemed to be some kind of special skill since it left the five of us temporarily disoriented. The lizardmen had stopped climbing the stairs after who knows how many had been killed. I didn¡¯t even want to imagine having to wade through the corpses to get back down to the fifth floor. I was the first to break the temporary paralysis that the roar had inflicted upon us. The sound was so loud that it could only have come from some enormous monster. I ran to the others to try to help them break the paralysis, thankfully it was only a short-term effect.

    After the loud roar, there was a momentary silence as I helped the others get to their feet. The silence was broken by the sound of something clanging against metal and the sound of heavy feet on stone coming from the stairs leading to the fifth floor. We quickly got into position again, expecting to meet the enemy in the same way. We could hear shuffling as well coming from the entryway, it sounded like bodies were being moved to make way for something. Most of the corpses were either littering the ground around the entryway or had fallen back down the stairs. The clanging continued without fail and I had an eery feeling that sent chills down my spine.

    The enemy was now fast approaching and when the Lizardmen came back into view, they were completely unlike the ones we had been fighting previously. These Lizardmen wore heavy armor and had large metal shields and sabers for weapons. Our magic attacks had no effect against the approaching heavy infantry due to their iron armor. These were clearly more powerful monsters than the ones we had fought and were most likely an elite guard.

    Nes and I tried to stop them from breaking through the entryway, but we were forced back. We were having a difficult time hurting them because of the armor they were wearing. It didn¡¯t cover every part of their body, but with the shields and the narrow corridor, we couldn¡¯t hit any exposed flesh. We were forced to let them come up the stairs.

    The five of us backed up, knowing we would have to fight them in a wider area in order to kill them. Thankfully, there were only ten that came through the entryway. What worried me more than them, however, was that the monster that had roared earlier didn¡¯t seem to be present. I didn¡¯t think any of these Lizardmen, despite their fierce appearance, could make a sound that powerful.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    ¡°They are stronger than the monsters we fought earlier. We need to be careful, but they aren¡¯t invincible. Magically enhanced weapons are effective even if direct magic attacks are not! Time for us to get into our formation, quickly now!¡± I yelled encouragement to the rest of my companions and we quickly got into a loose arrow formation.

    At my advice, Reia enhanced her blade with ¡®Wind¡¯ element and I enhanced mine with ¡®Void¡¯. Allein used her sharp claws for close combat fighting and could even enhance them with magic just like if they were a blade. Nes had his own techniques which also seemed to involve magic enhancement, but since he never discussed his abilities with me, I had no idea exactly what he was capable of. All I knew was that he had his own means of dealing with these kinds of circumstances. Only Tris didn¡¯t have a proper counter to heavily armored enemies.

    ¡°Allein provide support magic, especially speed enhancement. Tris, do your best to distract the enemy if you can, but don¡¯t get careless. Nes and Reia, you know what to do!¡± I quickly gave my orders and we began our attack.

    The heavy infantry were equipped with sabers and not spears so thankfully they wouldn¡¯t be able to make much use of a phalanx type formation, instead relying on individual prowess. Even though they were elites, they could not compete with our teamwork which had been honed after much practice. Our formation allowed for greater mobility and our formation could change as necessary depending on how the enemy moved.

    The enemy was trying to surround us, but we could move much faster than they could due to their heavy armor and slow natural speed. If they tried to surround us, we would just move further back more quickly than they could approach us. While it seemed like a stalemate, we were intentionally baiting them further in, there was a spot I noticed when we came through this way not too far in. There, it would be difficult for them to use their numbers to surround and overwhelm us and we could hold them off.

    ¡°Keep them coming towards us Nes, they are slow so they won¡¯t be able to surround us.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t exactly a glorious way to do things, but my goal was to make sure we all got out of this alive. As we were baiting them slowly in further, I heard another roar in the distance coming from the entryway to the stairs leading down. Luckily, we were too far from it to be affected, but I could tell whatever it was making that sound was coming up those stairs.

    ¡°We need to hurry this up. We don¡¯t want to be stuck fighting these guys when whatever is making that sound gets here!¡± I yelled a warning to the others, but they were well aware, since they heard it too.

    We soon reached the spot I had been thinking about and we quickly readied ourselves for a fierce battle. The floor was filled with nothing but ruins everywhere and this particular spot wasn¡¯t wide enough for more than three to walk abreast as stone walls surrounded the perimeter with only one approach leading to us.

    ¡°Listen, Allein and Tris, I want you two to quickly circle around the lizardmen and attack them from the rear. The three of us will hold them off here! Allein, if you can, enhance Tris¡¯s shortsword so she can hopefully do some damage.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± They both agreed quickly and ran south. If they kept going, they would eventually be able to circle around and hit the lizards from the rear.

    ¡°You guys ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Here they come!¡± The elite Lizardmen warriors came marching towards us and we began our attack, rushing at them and trying to throw down their shields.

    The fighting was intense and it took all we had to hold them off, but we were beginning to wear them down using our martial skills and techniques. My ¡®Void¡¯ enhanced sword was especially effective and could even pierce through their armor.

    We had slain three of them when we finally heard the sounds of an attack from their rear. Tris and Allein had caught them by surprise and begun their attack. They were able to kill two of the monsters because of the surprise attack. The Lizardmen were focused on the front and failed to react quick enough when they were attacked from the rear. With the numbers now even, we increased the ferocity of our attacks from both sides and eventually overpowered them.

    With the elite Lizardmen dead, we breathed a sigh of relief and started laughing, but then we were brought back to reality by the sound of another immense roar coming from the stairway.

    ¡°Oh god, does this never end?¡± I said breathing heavily from the fight just now.

    Tris only shrugged and said, ¡°This is exactly why people don¡¯t come into dungeons!¡±

    ¡°Tris, that kind of talk doesn¡¯t help us now, let¡¯s focus on what¡¯s coming.¡± Reia seemed to be the more level headed of the group right now.

    With her words, we made our way back towards the stairway in time to see an enormous monster attempting to claw its way through the stairway. It appeared to be a giant version of those Lizardmen. The stairway was narrow, but the height was enough for the huge monster to get out of the entryway by crouching and squeezing its body the rest of the way. No wonder it had taken so long to get up the corridor, it was immense!

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but say shocked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe it''s their king?¡± Nes also seemed shocked because he actually answered my question for once! Great, this really must mean we are about to die if Nes is answering me!

    The giant lizard, or king lizard, or whatever it was, finally tore through the entryway with some bits of stone breaking loose off the wall. It stood up and stretched its arms, flexing its muscles and roared once more while looking up towards the ceiling.

    ¡°Look, I know this looks bad, but we have to finish that thing off quickly! We can¡¯t have it chasing us all the way back to the first floor.¡±

    The five of us charged the Lizard King. As we ran towards it, I noticed the Lizard King reach back into the entryway and it pulled out a giant club. Oh damn¡­.

    We soon reached the giant monsters and it swung its huge club down on us. The club looked more like a tree than a club, and we did our best to dodge its attack. Tris was firing arrows at the Lizard King, but they bounced off its hard scales. Reia and Allein didn¡¯t seem to be doing any better with their magic which only seemed to be causing shallow wounds. Nes and I tried our best to get close, slashing at the Lizard¡¯s legs and stomach. The Lizard King was probably about twelve feet tall and we were having quite a bit of trouble doing significant damage to it.

    Every time the Lizard King swung its mighty club, it crashed into the ground sending debris everywhere. The swing was slow and we were able to evade without much damage, but every crash of the club caused the ground to quake. Nes and Reia were keeping him busy from the front as I circled around him unleashing a ¡°Sword Whirlwind¡± attack on his rear ankles which caused him to stumble momentarily. It didn¡¯t last long and he was back on his feet. We were visibly beginning to tire from the extended battle and I didn¡¯t know how much longer we could keep this up.

    Fire magic was somewhat effective and Allein sent barrages of ¡®Flame Arrows¡¯ at the Lizard King. They were able to hurt it, but it wasn¡¯t doing enough to hurt it significantly. We weren¡¯t taking much damage either since we were able to dodge most of its attacks. However, we were beginning to slow down, our fatigue becoming much more pronounced. The Lizard King definitely had more stamina than us since we had been fighting for a while now. Again, I tried to slash at the Lizard King¡¯s exposed legs, but this time it sent me flying with a well-placed kick I couldn¡¯t dodge.

    The kick sent me hurtling through the air and I hit the ground bouncing several times before finally stopping. The pain was excruciating and I was barely remaining conscious. With just one hit, I had almost been wiped out. I could hear Reia screaming, fear evident in her voice. I struggled to lift myself off the ground, but it was an effort in futility. My body wouldn¡¯t move the way I wanted it to, and noticing this, the Lizard King came thundering towards me. I was about to die and I couldn¡¯t help but feel anything but regret.

    My consciousness began to fade as I struggled to keep myself awake. If I got knocked out here, I knew I would die, and so would everyone else. I struggled against it with all my might, trying to force myself to get up. It wasn¡¯t clear to me anymore whether this was reality or a dream.

    There was nothing I could do, but wait to be crushed by the Lizard King and the helplessness I felt at my fate was unbearable. At that moment, I heard a voice that said, ¡°consume me.¡±

    The voice sounded disembodied and its presence was vague. I couldn¡¯t be sure I really heard it or where the voice came from. Was it all in my head? An illusion, a fantasy? I couldn¡¯t be sure, but then I heard the voice once again, ¡°consume me.¡±

    The voice continued to repeat itself, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to understand.

    Reia and Nes were desperately attempting to halt the advance of the Lizard King and Reia recklessly jumped in front of it. No, Reia, what are you doing? I couldn¡¯t speak the words but they resounded in my head. My voice wouldn¡¯t work. I struggled, reaching out to her even though she was in the distance. The Lizard King grabbed her with his open hand and my body shook in fear. No words left my lips, but in my head I was screaming. I could only watch as the Lizard King bashed Reia against the ground and release her.

    My mind went blank as I felt something tugging at me, ¡°consume me, now!¡± The voice exploded in my mind and I reacted, without really knowing what it was I was doing.

    Suddenly, I was filled with an immense energy as black mist swirled around me in a whirlwind. I felt myself stand, no longer on the cusp between life and death. The Lizard King roared triumphantly, believing itself victorious. Its roar sent my companions to their knees, paralyzing them, but I was not affected by the Lizard King¡¯s ability.

    Without fully understanding what I was doing, and still not sure whether I was dreaming or awake, my body moved by instinct faster than it had ever moved before. The black mist continued to swirl around me, propelling me forward. I ran and leaped, the black mist forming and hardening around my blade.

    The power throbbing throughout my body hurled me straight through the chest of the Lizard King with an explosive movement. Where my body entered, and exited, was now a gaping hole, open for all to see. A mist of blood sprayed all over my body and the Lizard King¡¯s innards plopped out from the gaping hole onto the ground. The Lizard King felt only momentary confusion before it dropped to the ground dead.

    After landing, I was fully in control of my body again and I fell to my knees, exhausted. I struggled to get back up off my feet, Reia, I have to get to her¡­

    I quickly looked around and saw her motionless near where the Lizard King body was now a corpse. I struggled to move my body and somehow plodded my way over to where she was. The others were just now shaking off the paralysis and were speechless at what they had just seen.

    I fell on my knees next to Reia, looking down at her. Her body was battered, but somehow, she was still breathing. It was easy to see that her life was beginning to fade and she only had a few moments more before death would take her.

    Looking down at her battered and bruised body, she looked so beautiful and peaceful lying there. Tears rapidly fell from my eyes as I held her in my arms and my heart was filled with fear.

 Volume 1 Chapter 24

    I held Reia¡¯s hand, feeling the life leaving her body and I screamed for Allein to heal her, but Allein could only shake her head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t heal her¡­ the wounds are too serious¡­¡± Her words were almost a whisper and only angered me.

    It wasn¡¯t Allein¡¯s fault, but I needed someone, or something to vent my anger on.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scream at my sister, there is nothing she can do¡± Nes was staring me down.

    I knew what he said was right, but I couldn¡¯t help it, I was practically delirious.

    ¡°Tris, where are you? Do something! Please¡­..¡± Tris was watching from a distance, she seemed disturbed about something and didn¡¯t approach us.

    Tears streaked my blood stained face, but I didn¡¯t even notice, not that I was crying, and not that I was covered in blood.

    ¡°Please, Reia¡­ you can¡¯t die, I need you¡­¡±

    With no means of help, I could only look down at Reia who was slowly slipping away from me. Her eyes were fluttering and her body was badly bruised and battered, but no matter how damaged her body was, she still looked beautiful to me. She opened her mouth and was trying to say something, but only sounds came out.

    I put my ear closer to her lips, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°Why.. why are you saying sorry? You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, it was all my fault, everything¡­.¡±

    My tears began to fall more rapidly, I could no longer contain them as they poured down from my eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose you¡­¡±

    Allein and Nes watched, saying nothing more. Their faces were also torn and filled with grief as they watched their companion dying. I can¡¯t just let this happen, I must do something, but what?

    I looked around the dungeon, for anything. I don¡¯t know what it was I was looking for. I don¡¯t know why I thought there could possibly be anything that would stop Reia from dying, but I grasped onto the last bastion of hope I had. She would not last much longer and if I didn¡¯t do something quickly, she would be gone forever.

    I remembered the voice I heard, when I was teetering between life and death myself, earlier in the battle. It had told me to consume it, whatever it was. My body then absorbed, something, from my surroundings. I had absorbed the black mist from the dungeon itself. I couldn¡¯t see the ceiling, it was too dark, but when I was on the fifth floor, I noticed a translucent mist which permeated the walls of the dungeon.

    I suddenly became quiet, Nes and Allein gave me a questioning look, they didn¡¯t know what I was doing. I wasn¡¯t certain myself, but something had spoken to me in my time of need. I reached out with my mind, or more clearly, I imagined myself reaching out with my mind. Help me¡­ Please¡­.

    ¡°What will you give me?¡± A voice answered me!

    It was the same voice I had heard in my mind earlier. Even though I had reached out hoping for an answer, the fact that I got one shocked me. I didn¡¯t have time to try to figure it out and I responded without much thought.

    Anything, just please, save her.

    ¡°Consume me.¡± When I heard those words, I reached out with all the will I could muster and once again the black mist swirled around me, it was coming from the dungeon itself.

    It swirled, pulsating violently, an unimaginable force that shook the very fabric of reality. I didn¡¯t know how to describe it and while the others could not see the black mist as I could, they could suddenly feel a violent and turbulent wind that was menacing, yet warm. The others braced themselves as the turbulent wind grew stronger, violently shaking the air around us. It was as if a tornado was forming right then and there, but only I could see the black mist which was at its apex. My body was being filled once again with an immense power.

    ¡°The vessel is still weak¡± That voice of unknown origin filled me once again.

    ¡°Quickly, before your body breaks and crumbles from the strain¡±

    I grabbed Reia¡¯s hand once again and the energy which filled me poured into her body, through me. Her body jerked, bending upwards as she gasped. Her eyes were filled with the black mist which seeped into her body through mine. Her body visibly began to mend itself. Her broken bones twisted back into place and her battered body returned to its original form.

    Reia screamed in pain, the scream pierced through the dungeon and even the violent wind caused by the dungeon¡¯s energy could not stop the sound completely. I held on, feeling myself being drained of the energy which my body had absorbed and Reia breathed life once more.

    It ended, the mist had fully dissipated and the violent wind it had caused stopped. It was quiet, no one said a word and then Reia heaved and gulped a large breath of air. She opened her eyes, looked straight up at me, and smiled.

    ¡°You saved me.¡± Her voice was clear and pure, and filled my heart with joy.

    She was alive and all I could do was attempt to speak while stumbling with my words. Her feminine laugh shattered my heart, and her smile was as radiant as the sun. I don¡¯t know why, but it was as if it was the first time I was laying my eyes on her.

    In a strange way, I felt a connection between us that wasn¡¯t there before. It was as if my life and hers had become intertwined and we were no longer two, but one. Is this some kind of aftereffect of what I did? I couldn¡¯t be certain, but that was all I could come up with at the time.

    A strange glow caught my eye on Reia¡¯s exposed abdomen, and I glanced at it and saw a strange mark that was not there before. It was pulsing brightly, but soon dimmed, as if it had been burned into her flesh. She didn¡¯t seem to be in pain, so perhaps it only appeared to be burning. It was a strange symbol in the shape of a black whirlwind. It wasn¡¯t very large, and it was right below her navel. I touched it without thinking which elicited a response from Reia.

    ¡°Fayde¡­ what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry. Look¡­¡± I pointed to where the symbol was, the only reason it was visible is because her armor and clothing had become tattered there, which had exposed it.

    ¡°What is that?¡± She asked in a confused manner.

    Allein and Nes had now approached us too and were looking at it, but Tris kept her distance. She seemed to be considering what she should do, approach or not. I couldn¡¯t really figure out what she was thinking, but it didn¡¯t matter at this point.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I think it is somehow connected to whatever it is I did to heal you.¡±

    Reia touched it, running her fingers around the symbol as she sat up. I helped her, worried that she might still be hurt.

    ¡°I am fine, don¡¯t worry. Actually, I am better than fine, I even feeling stronger. How strange? I also feel some kind of connection with you¡­.¡± As she said that, she had an expression of wonderment.

    ¡°Can you feel it too?¡± I nodded, so it wasn¡¯t just in my head after all.

    Somehow, whatever it is I did, connected us and we could now feel this connection. It was strange and I could even now feel her presence in a way I hadn¡¯t been able to before.

    ¡°Are we connected somehow? What does this mean?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know Reia, but somehow, whatever it is I did, connected us. I am sorry, it was the only way to save you¡­.¡±

    ¡°Why are you apologizing? You saved my life and even more so, I feel more connected to you than I ever had. I am happy.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to respond to that, but I also felt her happiness. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°What did you do to her?¡± Allein asked in anger.

    She walked over to me and pushed me back away from Reia.

    ¡°What are you doing Allein!?¡± I was surprised by her response and was confused by her reaction.

    ¡°Do whatever you did to her, to me! Right now!¡±

    I could only think that she must be jealous. Allein sometimes confused me. She hardly ever showed any emotion towards me, but often exhibited a possessive attitude when it came to me. She seemed to think that I belonged to her, but had no real emotions about it one way or the other. It was difficult for me to figure her out. This was the first time I ever experienced her show sincere emotion about anything.

    ¡°I am not really sure what I did?¡± She didn¡¯t seem convinced and grabbed my hand in hers.

    ¡°Try to do it, now.¡± Err, I am not sure if this is a good idea¡­.. I suppose it won¡¯t hurt to try?

    I didn¡¯t know if it would work, but I figured I would give it a try since I thought I might be able to understand it a little more if I could do it willingly. I reached out with my mind again, just like I did before, but there didn¡¯t seem to be much energy in the dungeon remaining. It seemed that I had used most of it, the dungeon itself seemed to feel strange, like it was on the verge of dying.

    It was a difficult feeling to explain, but I willed myself to absorb the remaining energy and I could feel energy seeping into me again, it wasn¡¯t as powerful as before. I needed more energy and tried my best to absorb every last drop I could connect to with my mind. Then, strangely, I felt the energy leaving me and entering Allein through our hands.

    Unlike before, I started to feel my own energy seeping out of my body, the energy of the dungeon didn¡¯t seem to be enough. I started to feel weaker, as my energy left me, it was as if I was being directly drained. I tried to break free of Allein¡¯s grasp but she wouldn¡¯t let me go. I started to feel light headed, but the energy continued to drain out of me.

    ¡°Allein, please, let go¡­¡±

    Before she could comply, the energy stopped draining from my body and I could now feel a connection with Allein, just like the one I had with Reia.

    What just happened?

    Allein seemed satisfied with the results.

    ¡°So this is what it feels like. I am now connected with you as well.¡±

    Ugh, what did I just get myself into? I felt a little weaker than I was before, but it didn¡¯t seem to have any other detrimental effects.

    ¡°What did you do to my sister?¡± Nes was berating me.

    ¡°Get your hands off of her!¡± He slapped my hand away from Allein.

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of too late for that now, and she was the one who forced me to do it, so why don¡¯t you just relax? I can¡¯t deal with this right now.¡±

    He didn¡¯t seem happy with my response but he relented and spoke with his sister, ¡°What did he do to you, are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Relax brother. You don¡¯t need to be so overprotective. Fayde would never allow harm to come to me, isn¡¯t that right Fayde?¡±

    I gave her a somewhat snide look and said, ¡°It¡¯s not like you gave me much of a choice with that. Anyway, do you have a mark like Reia?¡±

    She checked beneath her navel, but there was no mark there.

    ¡°Maybe it is somewhere else?¡±

    I looked around her arms, but saw nothing. I turned her around and checked the back of her neck, and there it was. It was on the back of her neck, the same symbol that Reia had. What does this mean? I was scratching my head not knowing what to think, but what I did know was that it somehow connected us and there was a strange symbol on each of them.

    ¡°Do you feel anything else Allein?¡±

    ¡°I also feel a little stronger.¡±

    I¡¯ll have to look more into this in the future.

    ¡°What did you do to them?¡± It looked like Tris finally decided to join us, but she seemed wary for some reason.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know Tris, I somehow, connected with them, I guess?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to explain it better than that and I didn¡¯t want to tell her about the black mist or the voices I heard. She might think I was crazy or something. I also thought that it would be better if I kept those kinds of things a secret. It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t trust Tris, but I also didn¡¯t want to burden her. I didn¡¯t know if these powers would end up causing trouble for me and those around me.

    With Reia, I didn¡¯t really have a choice in the matter and I was stuck with Allein too, so those two were an exception. Oh, what about Nes then? Bah, who cares about him? I thought that only half-jokingly and laughed in my head.

    The dungeon suddenly shook, it wasn¡¯t a large tremor, but it was noticeable.

    ¡°That¡¯s weird, what¡¯s going on with the dungeon?¡± Reia asked curiously.

    ¡°I can¡¯t really explain why, but I think the dungeon might be, dying?¡± Is that the right word? Oh well.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that something that only happens once the Dungeon Core is taken? How are you so sure?¡± Tris seemed awfully inquisitive suddenly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know Tris, it¡¯s just a feeling and I think that tremor was just the beginning. I mean, the dungeon shouldn¡¯t collapse immediately, but I feel that the energy which was keeping it alive is weakening. It should last a while until it is fully destroyed.¡±

    ¡°We should listen to Fayde¡± Reia chimed in.

    ¡°Fine, but what about the Dungeon Core? We should at least grab that.¡±

    For some unexplainable reason, Tris was annoyed and I could also sense a little bit of fear in her. I didn¡¯t really understand her sudden change in temperament. Maybe it had something to do with everything that just happened. I suppose everyone deals with stressful events in different ways.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ for some reason I feel it might not be there¡­.¡± I mumbled that bit and then said, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go search for the Dungeon Core. It¡¯s most likely in that temple we saw on the fifth floor. After that, we need to rendezvous with the other adventurers and inform them of what has happened. Let¡¯s also grab the proof of our victory against all these monsters.¡±

    It took a good bit of time, but we harvested the parts of the Lizardmen which acted as evidence of our deeds. We also harvested the Lizard King as well. There didn¡¯t seem to be any more monsters around as we were able to complete the harvesting without any interruptions. No enemies were detected and we were left in peace.

    After an hour of consistently harvesting all the Lizardmen we had killed, we made our way to the fifth floor and inside the temple. We searched for a long time and even found a place where we felt the Dungeon Core most likely was being housed, but it wasn¡¯t there. We found no Dungeon Core within the temple and eventually decided to give up on it and return to the base camp to inform Orban of our success. I wasn¡¯t sure how I would go about explaining the lack of a Dungeon Core though.

    Without the presence of monsters, returning back to the base camp on the first floor took far less time than expected and we were able to make the trip in a day and a half. We didn¡¯t come across any adventuring parties along the way either. Most of the floors were large enough that it wasn¡¯t necessarily a surprise that we didn¡¯t encounter them. The dungeon would occasionally quake, so I figured the others must be aware of what was going on and might have even all gathered on the first floor.

    We didn¡¯t have much time for conversation while we were on our way up, and I was still getting used to the connection I now had with both Reia and Allein. Our connection, or maybe better our bond, seemed to also transmit strong emotions. It didn¡¯t pick up on emotions unless they were very strong and it wasn¡¯t clear enough for me to understand exactly what the feelings they were transmitting were. I could feel a sense of warmth coming from both Reia and Allein, but I didn¡¯t know exactly what they were feeling.

    The only one of us that seemed out of sorts the entire way was Tris. For some reason, she had been keeping her distance. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she was maybe afraid of what happened down there. I guess any rational person would be afraid seeing me practically bring someone back from the dead, not to mention when I went straight through the stomach of the Lizard King. I will have to address it at some point, I suppose. I wasn¡¯t planning on explaining everything to her, but I wanted to make sure she was at least okay. I didn¡¯t want to lose my friendship with her over something like this.

    ¡°Looks like we made it.¡± I said wistfully.

    I was happy we made it back to the first floor without incident. We were all exhausted and had only rested a little on our trip back up the dungeon.

    The base camp set up by Orban and the Guild was bustling with activity. It seems they had been spurred on by the quaking of the dungeon. I didn¡¯t realize this at the time, but that was the signal that the dungeon had been conquered and the merchants, laborers and adventurers were busy loading up cargo from all the loot that had been collected so far.

    Seeing us approach the camp, Orban came running towards us.

    ¡°Why am I not surprised it was you guys?¡± Orban said while chuckling knowingly.

    ¡°How did you know?¡± I asked inquisitively while heaving a sigh of relief from making it back to base camp.

    ¡°You are the only adventuring party that was still out there, the others all returned once the dungeon starting quaking. Since you guys are the last group, it had to be you!¡±

    For some reason Orban seemed proud as if he was the one who had conquered the dungeon. It must have been his familiarity with us and of course his fatherly attitude towards Reia that made him feel like it was his accomplishment.

    ¡°Yeah, well, we killed the dungeon boss.¡± I wasn¡¯t really in the mood to explain since I was exhausted, so my answer was terse.

    ¡°Did you guys find the dungeon core then? How big was it?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t a question asked out of any kind of malice, anyone would be curious about it.

    ¡°Eh¡­ about that¡­¡± I was at a loss of how to explain it even though I thought it about it nonstop on the way up.

    ¡°Orban, we are exhausted, can you let us rest? We can talk about the details later.¡±

    Thankfully, Reia came to my rescue with her thoughtful response.

    ¡°Ah, right. Sorry, I couldn¡¯t help myself! Get some rest. There is still a lot to do. We need to gather as much as we can before the dungeon collapses entirely. We should have a few days, but it won¡¯t be necessary for you guys to participate in that since you have already done enough!¡±

    ¡°Thanks for understanding.¡±

    Orban motioned us off and went back to organizing the collection efforts while our group finally had a chance to sleep peacefully.

    We had survived and our dungeon expedition had finally come to an end.

 Volume 1 Epilogue

    ¡°We are finally back!¡± Reia was in a joyful mood since returning to civilization.

    You would think that, as a Demihuman, she would feel more comfortable in a different setting, but she seemed to have come to enjoy her time in Human settlements. I suppose it had something to do with me.

    Before, she was always alone, and most Humans wanted nothing to do with her. She also had a difficult time with her own tribe because she spent most of her time outside the village and didn¡¯t feel close to them. They always welcomed her and treated her with respect, but there was a distance there that could not easily be overcome.

    She began to change when she met me, the first Human somewhat around her age that she could relate to. Orban had taken a liking to her, but he was a much older man who saw her more as a daughter than anything else. She had great respect for him, perhaps even affection towards him as a fatherly figure, but it wasn¡¯t a kind of relationship that could give her a sense of belonging.

    I felt she found that sense of belonging with me. She always smiled brightly when we were together and we had become as close as lovers, although nothing was official yet. She had difficulty in the beginning and her lack of confidence often stifled our relationship, but after she almost died, she no longer held her emotions back from me. I could tell she loved me deeply and I was anticipating finally hearing those words from her.

    ¡°It is good to be back! It¡¯s too bad Allein and Nes didn¡¯t want to join us.¡± I already knew why they did not enter the town, but Tris didn¡¯t know the reason and I was just keeping up appearances for their sake.

    ¡°I am exhausted! We should head to the Guild first since we just got back though.¡±

    There would be some paperwork and other things to take care of there. Thing like calculating rewards, checking our status, ranking up as an adventurer, etc.

    ¡°Fayde¡­¡± Tris seemed uncertain about something, she hadn¡¯t been the same since the dungeon.

    ¡°Yeah Tris?¡±

    ¡°I will head to the Guild later, there is something important I need to do.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I hoped she wasn¡¯t feeling uncomfortable around me now.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be gone for long.¡±

    She said her goodbyes and left Reia and I alone at the town entrance.

    ¡°She seems to be in a rush.¡± Reia said.

    ¡°Fayde, what do you think could be so important?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? It¡¯s not like she doesn¡¯t have a life that doesn¡¯t include us. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s strange for her to have family and friends she wants to see, especially when coming back from a dangerous place like a dungeon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true I guess.¡±

    Reia always seemed a little tense around Tris. It might be because she is the only other human in our group and other Humans made her uncomfortable. I had hoped the two could become good friends. It wasn¡¯t like they disliked each other, but there was definitely some tension between the two.

    ¡°I am sure she has her reasons. Let¡¯s head to the Guild.¡±

    ¡°Okay..¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you just in a good mood? I¡¯ll buy you some new armor since your old one was damaged in the dungeon.¡± That seemed to cheer her up a little bit.

    When we arrived at the Guild, Orban was already there and waved at us. We had all come back together with the caravan, but Orban had rushed back to the Guild ahead of us.

    ¡°Fayde, I am going to go check my status, okay?¡±

    I motioned for her to go on ahead while I walked over to Orban to talk with him.

    ¡°Fayde, I heard something troublesome when I arrived¡± Orban said while rubbing his chin.

    ¡°My assistants informed me that there have been some people asking around about the Foxkin tribe lately.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t that common for people to be asking about the Foxkin tribe, but it wasn¡¯t that uncommon either. This seemed like a special case since Orban¡¯s tone was quite serious.

    ¡°They were looking for Reia so that she could lead them to the Foxkin village. They were trying to be somewhat discreet about it, but it seems to be the lord¡¯s men.¡± Orban whispered this to me while leaning in close and glancing from side to side.

    ¡°What would the lord want with Reia and the Foxkin?¡± I asked inquisitively.

    ¡°I heard tensions have been on the rise between La¡¯gun and Jaspel, they say there might be war soon.¡± I still had no idea how the two were related.

    ¡°What does that have to do with the fox-kin tribe?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? They might be trying to force them to fight in the war.¡±

    I didn¡¯t consider that because I didn¡¯t really even think of them as being part of this Kingdom. They lived barely on the outskirts of the Kingdom of La¡¯gun and rarely ever interacted with the Kingdom in any way. They also had a special status that was given to them by the former king. I suppose the current king might see things differently.

    ¡°Are you kidding me? They would try to force them to fight? The kingdom doesn¡¯t even help them when slavers try to infiltrate the forest, and they expect the Foxkin to fight for them?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I was angry when I heard that.

    I knew that they were only looking to use the fox-kin in their own schemes.

    ¡°They don¡¯t know where the village is, but it is only a matter of time and if they seriously start combing the forest, this could cause a huge incident.¡±

    I nodded, we had to do something about this, we couldn¡¯t just let the Kingdom do whatever they wanted.

    ¡°Could it be something else though? I don¡¯t want to just jump to conclusions.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t as if I really thought it was something else, but I wasn¡¯t too familiar with the king of this country.

    ¡°Whatever it is, it can¡¯t be good. You need to take Reia and go before they find her. They might try to get the information out of her.¡±

    After Orban finished talking I noticed Reia approaching us. She seemed to be concerned about something, but I was feeling anxious from the news Orban shared.

    ¡°Fayde I need to talk to you about¡­.¡±

    I quickly interrupted her, ¡°Reia, we need to go, now!¡±

    I grabbed her hand without allowing her to say anything. She tried to talk a few times but I hurried her along asking her to be quiet for now.

    Before leaving I asked Orban to give a message to Tris for me, to meet up with us as soon as possible.

    I didn¡¯t want to stay in the town longer than I had to.

    Reia and I quickly made our way through the town and out of the west gate without stopping to even reply to those who greeted us on the way.

    <hr>

    Being an agent of the Empire was a thankless job and often the missions they were sent on were dangerous and extreme.

    They might have to live in the wilderness for weeks or even months, or their mission might be to assassinate someone of importance and a variety of other things. None of the missions were easy tasks and she was beginning to think that this mission would be the most difficult of all.

    She had originally thought nothing of the target. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything special about him, other than his strange magic, but she had been following him for some time now and he was beginning to exhibit many abnormal traits.

    She urgently needed to inform her partner about what she had seen and experienced.

    The woman still didn''t understand what the source of the anomaly that appeared within the Divine Sphere was, only that it was somehow connected to the target.

    They had failed to repeatedly kill the target because of circumstances that kept swirling out of their control. Instead, she had been tasked with observing for a time to try to figure out a weakness or perhaps more information on what the connection between the target and the anomaly was.

    Then there were the two Demihuman siblings which were of some concern. She couldn¡¯t say with absolute certainty, but they may very well be the legendary Dragonkin. If that proved to be true, it would send shockwaves through the Empire.

    This mission was already turning into her longest deployment ever. She spent months observing the target, finding very little to be abnormal about him. If anything, she found him to be somewhat unremarkable and began to think that perhaps it was a fluke. His rate of growth seemed strange, but there were other explanations for something like that, so it wasn¡¯t especially noteworthy, although she reported it just in case.

    After following the man known as Fayde into the dungeon and seeing what he had done, she was frightened by it. Fayde had exhibited an overwhelming power that left, without a shadow of a doubt in her mind, that he was in fact the source of the anomaly.

    Her partner and the last of their subordinates were using an old house that had been abandoned as a base while in this town. It was in an out of the way spot in Enrain and had proven to be an excellent choice for their purposes. When she reached the entrance to their base, she knocked on the door twice, then once, then thrice, which was the code to let those inside know it was her.

    The door opened slowly, one of her subordinates peaked out, and then ushered her in when he recognized her. She quickly made her way to the entrance of a cellar. The cellar door was hidden and the cellar was what they used as their operations room.

    Inside was a dusty and damp cellar which had a large table in the center with all manner of documents on it. Her partner was currently preparing a missive to send back to the Empire regarding the coming war in the kingdom.

    ¡°Ah, you have returned, do you have news?¡±

    ¡°It''s good to see you again. I just returned from the dungeon after observing Fayde and the Demihumans.¡±

    Her partner noticed that she seemed quite anxious and he urged her to continue her report.

    ¡°I rushed over here as quickly as I could, he is without a doubt the source of the anomaly.¡±

    ¡°Slow down, take a deep breath and tell me everything.¡±

    She preceded to tell him everything she had experienced while in the dungeon, going into explicit detail regarding Fayde¡¯s use of a strange power to kill the Lizard King as well as to bring the Demihuman Foxkin woman back from the brink of death.

    When he heard what Fayde had done, his eyes were filled with murderous intent. He was a zealot who had absolute faith in the Divinities and The Empire.

    ¡°Blasphemy! The power to bring one back from death is reserved only for the Divinities themselves!¡± His words were venemous.

    ¡°Are you certain of what you saw?¡±

    ¡°There is no doubt.¡±

    ¡°This needs to be reported immediately. We must capture him, or kill him immediately.¡±

    The female agent didn¡¯t feel any hatred towards the target but this had to be done. This was her holy mission and what she had devoted her entire life to. She would complete her mission without question.

    "He is dangerous. I would have acted by now if I could have accomplished that, and all our plans have failed so far. How do you plan to capture him?¡±

    The man laughed in a sinister manner, his laugh always had sent shivers down her spine. Very few made her feel fear, but this man was one of them, and now Fayde would be another.

    ¡°We will make use of someone else this time.¡±

    She was a little confused by this.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°I have reports that the kingdom has been trying to locate the Foxkin village in order to forcefully draft them to fight in their coming war with the Kingdom of Jaspel. Since it was somewhat related to our mission, I was looking into it. We already know where the Foxkin village is. So, what do you think might happen if we were to inform them of its location?¡±

    She understood what he had in mind now. There was no way the Foxkin would agree to fight for the Kingdom of La¡¯gun. Relations between the two were at their worst point currently.

    The Foxkin would fight back, and the Foxkin woman with Fayde would rush to help them. Naturally, he would rush to their aid as well. This could kill two birds with one stone, they could isolate him from the Demihumans that saved him last time and deal with Fayde at the same time.

    ¡°You will continue to follow and observe Fayde. If you see an opportunity to capture him, do so. Otherwise, we can let the Kingdom of La¡¯gun do our dirty work. I will give you a magic tool to help you keep yourself hidden from the Demihuman¡¯s senses.¡±

    ¡°And what will you be doing in the meanwhile?¡±

    ¡°I will wait here until I receive word from you and if the plan should fail, I will need to return to the Empire to report directly and request further assistance.¡±

    Tris wasn¡¯t happy with his demanding tone, they were supposed to be partners, but he often acted like this. The plan seemed a good one so she would go along with it, for now.

    She left her partner once their meeting was finished and began her pursuit of Fayde.

    The man also left their base of operations and quickly hurried through the town to the lord¡¯s manor in order to fulfill his part.

    He would inform them of the location of the Foxkin village.

 Volume 1 Faydes Notebook first entry

    I decided to form a party along with Tris and Reia and called ourselves the Void Walkers. We began taking on a few quests and training as a group and were very successful. Our teamwork seemed to flow naturally and our party of three possessed a good deal of firepower. We mostly took on small quests since we were currently waiting for the dungeon expedition to start.

    Also, I decided to compile a notebook of information that I had obtained about the various political and economic situations throughout the region. I tried to get a sense of how large the world I was in was, as well as how the process of getting stronger worked. I spent several days compiling the information while gaining contacts with various merchants in the town of Enrain, especially with those of traveling caravans who had more information about the various nations in the area.

    I was currently in the kingdom of La¡¯gun, and there were six other kingdoms in the general vicinity who were constantly vying for power and influence with each other. To the far south was the Reginar Homen Empire which was separated by large mountain ranges and a vast swamp. The Reginar Homen Empire was currently fighting a war against a so called ¡°demon lord¡± to the south of their empire. This war, as well as the difficult geographical terrain separating the empire from the kingdoms, kept the empire¡¯s attention to the south.

    In the past, the Empire had tried to invade the north, but they were repelled due to the various kingdoms at the time uniting to defeat them. The empire had suffered a significant defeat in that war. There were several complications which had hindered their invasion and with the kingdoms standing united against them, they were eventually driven back. This didn¡¯t stop the Empire from having ambitions of conquering the North, however, but an opportunity had not presented itself for them since then. Nonetheless, the Reginar Homen Empire considered themselves to be the hegemony of the continent, being descended from the old Empire.

    The seven kingdoms in the North were named La¡¯gun, Alercon, Triv¡¯al, Jaspel, Quijon, Anderus and Indran. In the north, the kingdom of Triv¡¯al was the largest of the seven kingdoms in the region. In the past, they had absorbed two other kingdoms in order to grow to the size that they were now. Their advance had been stopped when the other six kingdoms had signed an agreement to stand together if Triv¡¯al attempted to conquer any of them. This had kept Triv¡¯al in check for two decades now, but they were only biding their time.

    The other six kingdoms were constantly at war with each other. This never became total war as each kingdom was afraid of another taking advantage of any significant losses to invade. This kept wars small and they would usually end quickly, only to be started up again just as quickly. The region had been at peace for an abnormally long time as of the past two years, but tensions were on the rise lately and war could break out at any time.

    In terms of economic and political might, the kingdom of Triv¡¯al was the most prosperous and they had the largest military, but they were not renowned for their military prowess. They had mostly relied on political means to expand their lands and authority and as such, their military was somewhat underdeveloped from the other kingdoms who had spent the last twenty years fighting each other.

    However, if one were to compare the economic and military power of each individual kingdom, they would pale in comparison to that of the empire which had a much more developed infrastructure as well as trade network. The economies of the seven kingdoms was frail and their individual wealth was pitiable. As a whole, the seven kingdoms would be slightly more than half as powerful as the empire in both military and economic might.

    That didn¡¯t mean that the land and resources of the North was poor. The land had rich soil and abundant resources, but the kingdoms lacked the knowledge, or perhaps opportunity to fully utilize this. The constant strife meant that each kingdom had to spend the majority of their efforts on increasing their military power and everything else was neglected.

    They had no real infrastructure in place to cultivate farming technology or to even utilize the vast metal ore deposits in their lands. They had no institutions for higher learning or to develop magic and other technologies period. Most of the people residing in the north received only a very basic education from their family members or none at all. The literacy rates for the north were less than one percent and only an extreme elite could read and write.

    However, some of the adventurers, mainly those who could use magic, could in fact read and write and had obtained some level of higher education. This was mostly done through apprenticeships. Those who wished to use magic needed to find someone willing to accept them as an apprentice. They would then learn how to read and write as well as magic theory from their mentor. This was why there were so few magic users in the north, even among adventurers and most magic users were given important positions in the government. The Empire, on the other hand, nurtured and cultivated magic users through government funded magic academies.

    The harsh reality was that this world was extremely dangerous for humans to live in. The population of the various kingdoms was quite small given the enormous amount of land that each kingdom possessed. Most of that land was wilderness and had not been developed at all. There just wasn¡¯t enough people to settle the vast amount of land and the nations did not have sufficient power to keep their lands safe enough for new settlements to grow. Most of the people lived on only a small amount of land relative to the total size.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    In terms of population, the population of the entire seven kingdoms was approximately 750,000, this was half the population of the Empire. The Kingdom of La¡¯gun was the smallest in terms of population and the Kingdom of Triv¡¯al was the largest. Birth rates in the seven kingdoms just barely outpaced the death rate even though families had on average seven children. The constant wars, monster attacks, lack of food and diseases kept the population from increasing too much. In the Empire, it was a little better because the Empire was more secure and had a better understanding of medicine and hygiene than the north. Even still, they had a difficult time increasing their population much, too.

    To the west of the seven kingdoms was the enormous forest where Reia¡¯s tribe lived and beyond that was the Plains of Sorrow. Many Demihuman tribes lived nomadic lifestyles on the Plains of Sorrow and because they lived nomadic lifestyles, their numbers were few compared to the human kingdoms. Demihumans were much stronger than their human counterparts and were able to live on the dangerous plains, but they didn¡¯t have a very sophisticated level of civilization. One could compare them to the roaming nomadic tribes of mongolia or perhaps to the Native Americans during the time of European colonization. There were many different tribes scattered about, but they were not united and often fought in small tribal wars. Little was known about how many Demihumans actually lived on the Plains of Sorrow.

    This was as much of the world as most knew in the kingdoms. They knew of other lands in even further parts of the world, but only through rumors and hearsay. Not much was known about these distant lands and the people of the kingdoms had no means to come into contact with them. There were some port towns throughout the eastern coasts, which bordered the ocean, and some of the kingdoms had small navies, but their ships could not traverse far out to sea. Ships needed to follow the coast in order to avoid being swept away by the ocean. This was the extent of the knowledge that I had acquired in terms of the nations on this continent.

    Other than the political and economic situation of the continent, I wanted to find more information about the system of gaining levels in this world and of acquiring new skills or even abilities. I also needed to learn more about adventuring in general. From what I had been able to gather, most children who would eventually become adventurers or soldiers, began training very young, but it was difficult for them to advance in levels because they needed to fight monsters in order to do so. However, they could learn skills which would later be useful for when they began the process of leveling. Levels and skills were acquired and advanced differently.

    In order to acquire a skill, like with a sword or spear, one needed to train enough in order to obtain the basic level of 1. Each skill had ten levels which represented mastery in that skill with level 1 being a beginner level and level 10 representing a supreme master. However, supreme masters were only in legends and the highest most could ever achieve might be a level of 6 or 7. Only a rare few ever made it to a level 8 master level, and none made it beyond that.

    The only way to improve a skill was through extensive use and practice. The more you used a sword, and the more enemies you fought, the higher your skill would rise. Your skill would also grow through training with a teacher who was more proficient than you at that skill. This system was the same for all skills and this included magic.

    In order for Humans to learn magic, one must train in magic theory and learn spells from a spellbook or master. Magic was somewhat different from other skills in that knowledge and research was required more so than practice. Practice was important for developing the power of a spell, but actually acquiring new spells and doing magical research was more related to knowledge and study. This also depended on what type of magic was being used and mostly dealt with the normal types of magic. There were also other types of magic which were learned and improved upon through different means.

    Demihumans had a completely different system of magic and they could not learn spells as Humans did. Instead, they were born with affinities and could use magic related to those affinities. Not all Demihumans had such affinities and only those with affinities could use magic. There innate talent was usually very good on average, but it was more difficult for them to obtain mastery over magic since that depended on the strength of their affinity.

    Humans could gain stronger magic through research and learning and therefore their potential overall was greater, but they were weaker on average. Humans also didn¡¯t possess as great a variety of magic types due to the restrictions of learning magic requiring so much time and effort. Simply put, a Human that focused on a particular magic type could eventually obtain great power in that type, but no others. Also, the mages that might pursue study in exotic magic types were extremely rare.

    In regards to improving your overall strength, such as increasing health, magic power, and attributes, leveling was required. I was the exception to this as I didn¡¯t level through the normal means. Usually, both Humans and Demihumans would grow stronger by gaining experience from fighting monsters. It was actually a far more technical system than it seems. Divination crystals were able to pry into your conscious and subconscious mind and somehow reveal the information recorded in your brain as visual information that you could easily understand.

    Only through killing monsters could you level, which wasn¡¯t fully understood. Killing other Humans or even Demihumans provided no experience, although skills could still be improved this way. It was the same for me, killing other Humans would not provide me with any ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯ and I wondered if this had something to do with the leveling system for normal Humans as well. Perhaps by killing monsters, they were also exposed to this power and it provided benefits to their development without their knowledge.

    This was the culmination of my studies over a period of a month and was all recorded in my leather bound notebook.

 Volume 2 Prologue

    ¡®Click, Clack, Click, Clack¡¯ This sound reverberated throughout the castle hallway. It was the sound of boots hitting a stone floor. A nervous, sniffling man, was the owner of said boots. He was hurriedly running down a large hallway leading to the castle throne room. He didn¡¯t have a moment to lose, the information he had was of the utmost importance. He was urged on by the fading daylight and a certain fear in his step.

    Despite his nervousness and a feeling of impatience, there were certain protocols which had to be followed when entering the throne room. No one may enter the throne room without first being announced, and then one must walk slowly with their head facing towards the floor. You must never look at the king without his permission, to do so was a certain death sentence. Lastly, one must also place their right hand across their heart before they bow, and one must bow by prostrating themselves before the steps leading to the throne.

    The nervous, sniffling man, gave forth his best effort in following all the protocols and even though the missive in his hand was of the utmost importance, he had to follow the proper protocol. He waited, while prostrating before the king he served, until the king gave his permission to rise. The man finally stood with missive in hand.

    ¡°My liege, my king, I have news of the utmost importance!¡±

    The king lounged on his throne with a bored expression. At the words of his minister, he didn¡¯t even budge. There could be only one thing that would have this minister in such a nervous disposition. The king motioned for the minister to approach with the missive, no words were necessary.

    ¡°At your bidding, my liege!¡±

    The minister hastened his steps in approaching the king and went down on his knees. He held the missive upright and made sure not to look the king in the eyes, very carefully, with his head downcast. The king snatched the missive from the hands of the minister with an exaggerated motion. With his task now complete, the minister quickly retreated, making sure to follow proper protocol when leaving the presence of the king.

    This involved walking backwards, never turning your back to the king. Turning your back to the king was an offense to the king¡¯s personage and would be punished with death. The minister made sure to keep his eyes downcast in a partial bow, with his right hand over his heart, as he walked as carefully as he could backwards down the steps leading up to the throne and straight out of the throne room. It was only once the doors to the throne room had been closed that he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He was now free to go on his way.

    King Aetherius Crassus Di La¡¯gun, still with an expression of boredom, opened the missive and read the words written therein.

    ¡®For too long have our people toiled under the rule of an illegitimate king. The Great and Wise King Arnalf Rodolfo Ere Di Jaspel, my ancestor, ruled over the lands of Varne, which your Kingdom of La¡¯gun now claims as their own. Unless you return our rightful demesne by the morn of the 1st of Celestia, the kingdom of Jaspel will be forced to deliver a formal declaration of war, etc. etc.¡¯

    King Aetherius felt no need to finish reading the farce of a letter which had been signed by the current king of Jaspel. He had been expecting this for some time now, and was only surprised at how long it took for the king of Jaspel to send the letter. He felt no need to be concerned, the two kingdoms often fought in the past. Normally they would fight a few skirmishes and then one side would sue for peace ending the war. This was nothing new to him and as such, it no longer even excited him.

    ¡°Minister Shar!¡± The king¡¯s voice bellowed throughout the throne room.

    A gangly minister approached the throne making sure to follow the proper protocol. He did not show any signs of nervousness like the last minister who had approached the throne. Shar was a calm and collected individual who formerly was responsible for many of the military matters of the kingdom. Unfortunately under the current King, most of his responsibilities had been stripped from him.

    Shar was no warrior, instead he was what could be considered a strategist. He was well known in the seven kingdoms, for his strategies had kept his kingdom safe and relatively unharmed from the constant strife in the past. Despite his success, he was but a commoner and the current king as well as the nobility had little respect for him. If not for the king''s father, the previous king, having praised Shar personally, and for the contributions made in the past when the kingdom was at war, he would have already been entirely removed from his post. In reality, he was little more than an errand boy, and if necessary, a scapegoat.

    ¡°My liege!¡± Minister Shar responded accordingly to the call of his king.

    The king had no need to explain, he threw the missive at the minister and waved him away. Shar gracefully picked up the missive from the floor and left the presence of the king. He left the throne room without showing a shred of his emotions or thoughts.

    The minister always made the king feel uncomfortable with his strange emotionless behavior. Where other ministers and servants showed nothing but fear towards the king, Shar never showed any expression at all. This bothered the king, but Shar had not yet provided the king a justification for removing him from his post, or better yet, his head. The king thought of himself as a merciful king for allowing such a commoner to remain in his presence, as long as he remained a useful deterrent.

    <hr>

    Shar¡¯s position as a minister was not a thankful one. He had served the kingdom of his birth faithfully as his father had before him. Shar was not a noble, he did not possess a fief of his own, nor had his family ever done so. However, he was a man of talent and that was all because of his father¡¯s service to the previous king. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Through his father¡¯s service to the kingdom, he had been able to provide an education for his son. Shar learned from a young age how to read and write as well as military strategy in order to continue to serve the kingdom as his father had wanted for him. As such, he had worked hard without ever receiving a sincere word of thanks. Unfortunately due to his low birth, his very existence was scorned by the nobility of the nation and that very same nobility had poisoned the king''s ear with constant defamation of Shar''s character. None of it being truth, of course.

    Strangely, this did not make him feel bitter in the least. He did not serve the current king because he was seeking thanks or reward, instead, he served out of love for his father. His father had been born a poor man, but he had made a name for himself as a soldier, saving the life of the previous king. He had been awarded a position as a minister to the king, much to the dismay of the nobles, but his service was not something which they could deny. Shar had inherited this from his father, a father who had loved him dearly.

    In truth, Shar had no love for the current king, who he considered a fool. This king, who was more interested in people following the proper protocol, then actually fulfilling his role as king. He sat on his throne, day after day, listening to sycophants and cronies who sucked up to him in every which way. He only wanted to protect the memory of his father as well as the citizens of his country who suffered the most from war. Although, deep in his heart, he wanted nothing more than to serve a king worthy of the title.

    Shar was well aware of what the missive said, it had been a surprisingly long time coming. The deadline for the demands from Jaspel was on the 1st of Celestia and since it was the 1st of Planar, that meant they had one month to respond. The King of Jaspel was no less a fool than the king Shar served, and his ploy was simple to see through. Most likely he wished to use this month to prepare his forces for a quick mobilization. Did that fool of a king think that the Kingdom of La''gun''s forces would sit on their thumbs until Jaspel made their move?

    Shar needed to find the commander of La¡¯gun¡¯s army in order to advise him and so he quickly made his way to the army barracks situated within the castle. The castle of the kingdom of La¡¯gun was not very large, but it had been constructed sturdily and would not fall easily by an invading force.

    The barracks was especially small, but it was enough to suffice for the professional army of La¡¯gun which was only two thousand strong. This was not the full might of the kingdom, as another three thousand soldiers could be levied from the surrounding regions. There were also the noble¡¯s personal armies which could be called upon in times of war which would add another three thousand. Even adventurers could be conscripted if necessary adding another several hundred.

    When Shar arrived at the commander¡¯s quarters within the barracks, he was greeted with a sneer. Commander Deren Freis Arburn was a noble who had been appointed by the king and he had surrounded himself with officers who were also of the nobility, although mostly second or third sons. They did not respect Shar, but they had to acknowledge him because of his position. Shar didn¡¯t care, as long as they would listen to his advice. However, getting them to listen was the issue.

    ¡°Commander, we have finally received the missive from the Kingdom of Jaspel, we will be going to battle on the 1st of Celestia.¡±

    The commander slammed his fist down on the table before him, ¡°It¡¯s about damn time!¡± He seemed quite happy at the news and the officers around him were congratulating him as if he had accomplished something.

    ¡°As I am sure you already know, this is just a ploy by the king of Jaspel, we must ready our forces and prepare defenses along the border, I think¡­.¡± Shar was cut off by another bang on the table by the commander.

    ¡°I do not need your advice to defeat Jaspel, they are nothing but a bunch of sniveling cowards! We will summon the entirety of our strength and crush them on the field of battle. There is no need to prepare defense beforehand. We will meet them here along the border at the Fields of Varne and crush them.¡±

    Shar sighed at the stupidity of this so-called commander. While his strategy might work, it wasn¡¯t always about winning. The goal should be for as many of their people to return as possible, not just crushing the enemy. Every death meant one less soldier, or one less hand to work the farms. These men were incapable of seeing that.

    ¡°Oh, and Shar, this time we will levy all available men to the front, there is no need for our professional soldiers to die in this battle!¡± The commander seemed pleased with himself for coming up with that idea.

    ¡°Commander, I do not believe that is a good idea.¡±

    ¡°Silence, even if the king allows you to retain your position, and though you may have done a service or two for the kingdom, do not get ahead of yourself! I am the commander of this army!¡±

    Shar felt that saying anything more would be pointless, he could only think of what he could do now to ensure the lives of as many of the kingdom¡¯s people as possible. Shar turned to leave, no longer willing to speak with the commander, but he was stopped before he could exit the commander¡¯s quarters.

    ¡°Do you understand what I mean Shar? Every able man, that includes those damnable Demihumans living in the forest! It is about time they served their country! Despite living peacefully under the protection of the kingdom, those scum have done nothing for the nation!¡±

    All of the officers in the room were voicing their agreement.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, bout time they paid their dues!¡±

    ¡°We should send those rats to the front lines!¡±

    ¡°Let those demi-humans take a few spears before our men do!¡±

    They continued on like this and failed to notice the anger that momentarily crossed Shar¡¯s face. These fools, they are going to destroy the kingdom with their stupidity. Shar wanted to voice his opposition, for he knew this was a fatal mistake.

    There was no way the Foxkin of the forest would ever agree to this, which would mean bloodshed. The Foxkin had powerful magic, it would be a mistake to use force against them. The Kingdom could easily use its superior numbers against the Foxkin, but they wouldn¡¯t come out of it unscathed. In the end, many from both sides would die, and for what? Not to mention the forest was their home territory and they would fight desperately to protect their home.

    Shar felt he had to do something, maybe he could at least convince the Foxkin to comply in order to avoid disaster. He left the barracks with a heavy heart and knew the Kingdom he had spent his life trying to protect was heading down a dangerous path.

 Volume 2 Chapter 1

    It was regrettable, but I pulled Reia along with me out of the Town of Enrain without delay. It would have been disastrous if she had come in to contact with government officials. If she refused to aid them, she could be imprisoned, or worse. I wasn¡¯t about to allow that to happen and so we dashed out of the town and headed as swiftly as we could towards the Serandal forest.

    ¡°Okay, I think we are far enough away from the town, will you tell me what¡¯s going on now?¡±

    I had been in such a hurry to leave the town that I had yet to tell Reia why we were in such a rush, and she was growing impatient.

    ¡°When you were checking your status, Orban told me that government officials were looking for you. They wanted you to lead them to your village.¡± I said while flushed.

    ¡°Why would people from the castle want to find my village?¡± She asked with a perplexed expression.

    ¡°Orban said they would try to force your tribe to fight for the kingdom in their war.¡±

    ¡°What?!? Are they crazy? The Foxkin would never fight for them!¡±

    She seemed very certain of that. There was no way the Foxkin would ever agree to fight in the kingdom¡¯s war. That meant that there could only be trouble if the kingdom tried to force the issue.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why we need to get to the village as quickly as possible. I doubt they will be able to find the location easily, so we should have enough time to warn your father.¡±

    ¡°Even if we do warn him, what can we do? My father will never agree to fight for them and we are too few to take on the entire kingdom.¡±

    ¡°We will have to come up with something. I don¡¯t know much about the king, but I haven¡¯t heard good things so far. They will not take no for an answer and that means we will most likely have to fight.¡±

    ¡°No¡­..¡± Reia was clearly troubled.

    If the kingdom didn¡¯t back down, there would most likely be a fight and people would die. I let Reia think about it in silence. She needed some time to process everything. We were already a good distance away from the town and we still had a good way to go until we would arrive at the village. There were rarely ever travelers heading this way and so we were the only ones on the path leading to the forest.

    I glanced over at Reia and remembered she had mentioned she wanted to tell me something.

    ¡°Reia, back at the guild you said you had something you needed to talk to me about?¡± I didn¡¯t mean to disturb her from her thoughts, but if it was important then I figured now was a good time to address it.

    ¡°Oh¡­ yeah¡­¡±

    She seemed somewhat distracted, well that was a given with circumstances the way they were.

    ¡°When I checked my status using the divination crystal, I noticed something strange. Well a couple of things.¡±

    That caught my interest, although I couldn¡¯t fathom what could be so important about it.

    ¡°First, I leveled up and the strange thing is, instead of one attribute point which is what you gain after leveling, I had two attribute points. Also, my health increased way more than I was expecting it to, more than any other time I leveled up. Another thing, under special abilities, a new ability was listed there, ¡®Mark of the Void.¡¯ Do you know anything about this?¡±

    I didn¡¯t really know whether the first two things she said was really that big of a deal, since I didn¡¯t level up like everyone else, but the last thing really caught my attention.

    ¡°¡®Mark of the Void¡¯? That must be the mark on your body that connects us.¡±

    It had to be. We were now linked together by some strange connection and a mark appeared on her body. I think it was safe to assume that was the case.

    ¡°Yeah, I think so too. The description said that the Mark of the Void connects the soul of the one with the mark, with the soul of the one who has the ¡®Blessings of the Void.¡¯ It also says that the one who possesses the ¡®Blessings of the Void¡¯ may bestow their power upon one who has the ¡®Mark of the Void.¡¯ Do you think it is connected with the additional attribute points and health I received?¡±

    If I recalled correctly, when I saved Reia¡¯s life, I also was able to connect with her using the power I consumed from the dungeon. I made the same connection with Allein, and at that time, I also felt my body being drained of its power.

    When monsters were killed, I was able to absorb the strange black mist from them, and somehow that made me stronger. I was also able to consume the black mist which was in the dungeon, and it seemed to be energy from the dungeon. When I used that attack that killed the Lizard King, it used up a considerable amount of the dungeon¡¯s energy. Was I somehow transferring the power that I absorbed to those who I linked with in a similar manner?

    This was something I needed to find out for sure, if I could somehow absorb that black mist from monsters and even dungeons to power myself up indefinitely, as well as power up those I connected with, how strong would we all become?

    After our discussion, it wasn¡¯t long before we reunited with Nes and Allein at the outskirts of the forest. They were apparently flying around waiting for us to arrive. Since Allein and I had a connection through the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯ we could sense the general direction of each other as well as the distance. We would always be able to find each other, it was the same with Reia.

    After meeting, we explained to them the situation and they were quite angry when they heard. They had already met with Reia¡¯s father briefly to inform him that we had conquered the dungeon and so they knew we had returned to Enrain, but he wouldn¡¯t be expecting us to visit the village so soon. I was feeling anxious and so we hurried as quickly as we could in order to arrive at the village as soon as possible.

    Our group finally arrived at the Foxkin tribe village in the evening. They had just finished eating their communal meal. They ate together as a village on a regular basis, cooking over a huge campfire. They grilled up meat from the different animals the hunters had hunted, as well as serving up various roots and vegetables which had been gathered by the women of the tribe. The tribe were really, just like one large family, I envied that. Of course, they even treated me as part of their family too.

    ¡°Fayde! Reia! I wasn¡¯t expecting you so soon! It is good to see you.¡±

    Reia¡¯s father, the Chief, met with us at the entrance of the village, he always did when we came.

    ¡°You both look exhausted, what happened?¡±

    ¡°Chief, we have something important to discuss, let¡¯s head over to your hut.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think an attack was imminent or anything, but that didn¡¯t mean I thought we should dawdle.

    ¡°Something important you say?!? Hoho.¡±

    For some reason there was a twinkle in his eye when he said that. What could you be possibly thinking about Chief?

    ¡°Then come, quickly!¡±

    He was quite jovial this evening. I think he was misunderstanding something though.

    When we got ourselves situated on cushions, Native American style, the Chief was the first to speak, ¡°Alright, so what is so urgent?¡±

    ¡°Chief, this is a serious matter.¡±

    The Chief could hear the seriousness in my voice and he was no longer expressing a merry demeanor.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°The Kingdom of La¡¯gun will soon go to war with the Kingdom of Jaspel. We were informed by the Guild that government officials were attempting to locate Reia in order to make contact with your village. Orban believes they intend to force your tribe to fight for them in the war.¡±

    The Chief¡¯s expression rapidly grew worse as I spoke.

    ¡°Are you certain of this?¡±

    There was not even a trace of his former joy in his voice.

    ¡°Orban was certain. That¡¯s why we came here as quickly as we could. I didn¡¯t even have time to collect our rewards for clearing out the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°They must certainly know we would refuse¡­¡± He said with a thoughtful expression.

    ¡°I doubt they would come here with the intention of allowing that to happen. I¡¯m worried that they will attempt to force you to comply, by force.¡±

    ¡°Must we fight¡­..¡±

    The Chief seemed somewhat dejected. He knew that if they fought the kingdom and refused their request to join in the war, they would no longer have a home here. This was clearly a plot by the kingdom and they knew that it would be difficult for the Foxkin to refuse. That could only mean they intended to finally get rid of them.

    ¡°Chief, there¡¯s no way you can win against the kingdom, there are just too few of you.¡±

    I was sure he knew that, but what else could I say?

    ¡°I know this already, but we have our pride too. If it¡¯s to be our time, then so be it.¡± He seemed to have found his determination as he spoke.

    ¡°Is there no where else you can go? Aren¡¯t there many tribes living on the Plains of Sorrow?¡±

    Reia put her hand on my shoulder, she was sitting next to me while we faced her father and shook her head.

    ¡°Fayde, there is no where we can go. We were exiled from the Plains of Sorrow by my uncle. That¡¯s why we came here in the first place... ¡°

    She looked as if she might cry and I could feel her pain. They had already lost their home once and now they were about to lose it for a second time. What can I do in this situation? I just don¡¯t know¡­..

    ¡°Fayde.. I want you to understand. Our people, all Demihumans, have suffered tremendously at the hands of Humans. We have been enslaved, killed, discriminated against and we are treated as monsters without any semblance of Human decency. I am tired of running, we all are. If we are to die, then it let it be at a place of our choosing.¡±

    The Chief¡¯s words were filled with sorrow and I could only feel that he had already given up. It wasn¡¯t as if I couldn¡¯t understand their feelings. I had seen it first hand, the treatment of the Demihumans.But I also knew that this would be a pointless fight, and in the end, nothing would change for the Demihumans, except that the Foxkin would no longer be alive.

    ¡°Chief, I understand, I do, but what will you accomplish by dying? Nothing. You won¡¯t accomplish anything, and what about Reia?¡±

    After I said that, the Chief looked at me long and hard without saying a word.

    ¡°What about her? What would you have us do Fayde?¡± He finally said after looking at me for what felt like an eternity.

    ¡°I¡­..¡±

    There was nothing I could say. I had talked big, but what could I do? I could fight alongside them, but would that make much of a difference?

    ¡°All is not lost. There is something that could be done.¡± Allein suddenly spoke, and everyone looked at her questioningly.

    ¡°And what might that be?¡± Said the Chief quietly.

    ¡°You may have been exiled from your clan, but isn¡¯t there a tradition of challenging for the right to rule as Khan?¡±

    Allein was brimming with confidence as she said that, but her words only caused Reia and her father to sigh in disappointment.

    ¡°Allein, what you say is true, but¡­..¡±

    Reia attempted to reply, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to finish the sentence with her father present.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine Reia. You don¡¯t have to mind an old man such as me.¡± Her father could only shrug as he reassured his daughter.

    ¡°Allein, that is no longer an option for me, you see, it was originally because I lost to my brother that we were exiled. I do not have the strength to defy him.¡±

    We all hung our heads as we listened to the Chief, and Reia especially looked pained. The Chief looked at his daughter affectionately and gave a bitter smile.

    ¡°If I had a son, then perhaps this plan might have worked¡­. My beloved Reia is my oldest child and heir, but she is unwed and can¡¯t become Khan, even if she were to defeat my brother. Our only choice is to fight.¡±

    I looked over at Reia and I could see a bit of hopelessness mixed with regret. She must have really been struggling with her father¡¯s words and I could imagine it must be a great burden on her.

    ¡°Chief, then isn¡¯t the solution to this problem quite simple?¡± Said Allein.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean Allein¡­¡± Replied Reia¡¯s father.

    ¡°You said that your daughter is unwed and so she can¡¯t challenge for the position of Khan, however, what if she were to be wed¡­.. or at least engaged?¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ What!?!¡±

    It took a moment for it to sink in, but Reia suddenly jumped out of her seat. The Chief laughed watching Reia¡¯s reaction despite the serious circumstances. Even Allein seemed amused by her reaction, but Nes and I remained quiet. It was still sinking in for me, the issue of Reia getting married. Allein was right, it could solve the issue, of course it was really just kicking things down the road. She would still have to eventually fight her uncle and win if they wanted to be allowed back on the Plains of Sorrow.

    No, the worse part of it for me, was simply the issue of Reia being married. Just thinking about her marrying someone made my chest feel tight and I suddenly felt quite a bit of anxiety. It only made logical sense for her to agree to do this, it would save her tribe. But was it something that I could accept?

    ¡°Hahaha, you bring up an interesting points, but¡­..¡± Reia¡¯s father looked over at his daughter as he spoke, ¡°will she agree to it? Hmmmm.¡±

    Even Allein looked at Reia with expectant eyes as if she assumed Reia would consent to their plan.

    ¡°But¡­ wait, there isn¡¯t anyone¡­..¡± Reia¡¯s words were jumbled and as she shied away from us, her cheeks became flushed.

    ¡°Are you sure there isn¡¯t someone that you have feelings for?¡± Her father asked with a cunning glint in his eye.

    ¡°What are you talking about father, there isn¡¯t anyone¡­¡±

    She adamantly denied her father, but he didn¡¯t fail to see the momentary look she gave me as she hesitated.

    ¡°Perhaps we should leave them alone¡­¡± Said Allein, but I didn¡¯t realized who she meant until Allein, the Chief and Nes suddenly stood to leave.

    ¡°Wait¡­¡­ Oh..¡±

    I was about to say something, but then I realized what Allein had meant and I kept silent as the three left to the tent. That seemed suspiciously rehearsed, did they plan this ahead of time? I wondered to myself. I was a little surprised by it, especially since Allein had gone along with it. Didn¡¯t she think of me as hers? I just can¡¯t understand that girl. Her brother too¡­. What is it that they want?

    Only Reia and I remained in the tent and there was a slight uncomfortable atmosphere between us. She had yet to sit down and still stood awkwardly. Now that I really started thinking about it, what the hell are they thinking? Was that just now Reia¡¯s father giving me his blessing? I suddenly became very nervous, despite the fact that I was already a grown man.

    ¡°Reia¡­. Why don¡¯t you sit down¡­¡±

    I shifted my position and motioned for Reia to sit. She didn¡¯t react immediately and I could only imagine what must have been going through her head at this time. Since I was older, I knew I had to take the lead here. This was something that we needed to discuss anyway, might as well as do it now.

    ¡°Reia, please¡­¡±

    She finally reacted to my words and slowly sat down facing me. She looked much like a frightened animal and her eyes were clouded over. I couldn¡¯t be sure what exactly she was so afraid of, was it because of me? Was there something she was afraid of? I knew she had feelings for me.

    ¡°Your father did something quite cunning¡­¡­ but¡­ their plan isn¡¯t a bad one. It may really be the only way to get out of this situation¡­¡±

    I attempted to lay out a logical argument for our circumstances without bringing my emotions into it. My emotions were still in turmoil. I never thought I would ever get this flustered again. It reminded me of the time when I asked my ex-wife to marry me.

    ¡°Fayde¡­.¡±

    She finally spoke, even if it was just to say my name.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid¡­.¡±

    She was shaking. I had never seen her like this.

    ¡°Why are you afraid?¡±

    My words were gentle. I thought if I spoke any louder that I would scare her away for good. It was clear that she was vulnerable at this moment, much like a fragile leaf being thrown astray by a violent wind.

    She looked at me with quivering eyes and steadied herself.

    ¡°I¡­. I¡¯m afraid¡­. that you won¡¯t accept me, that you¡¯ll leave me¡­ that I¡¯ll lose you¡­¡±

    I patiently waited as she spoke. I already knew what she would say, but I let her finish. It was no mystery to me that her insecurities were an enormous hurdle that had chained her, much like a caged bird. All I could do, was show her that her fears were an illusion created by her own mind.

    I pulled her close to me and embraced her in my arms. She could no longer hold back the tears and I calmly rubbed her back to comfort her.

    ¡°Reia, I love you.¡±

    That was the first time I said those words to her. She pulled back from me and looked me straight in my eyes as her tears continued to fall.

    ¡°Really...¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Even though we¡¯re different¡­.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t leave me¡­¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±

    And then she smiled. It was just like a rainbow after the storm. It filled my heart much like the warmth of the sun.

 Volume 2 Chapter 2

    (Allein P.O.V.)

    Reia and Fayde held each other for a time in silence. Neither of them wanted to disturb the temporary peace they had found in each other¡¯s arms. They knew their time together would soon be interrupted.

    Allein had returned after a while and quietly watched the two from the entrance to the tent.

    I hadn¡¯t intended to share him, but it seems events have swirled a bit out of my control. I will have to accept this, it¡¯s fine. Once he becomes Khan, it will be expected for him to have multiple wives. This is just a small deviation.

    Allein was deep in thought as she watched the two without approaching. Despite her logical train of thought, she was incapable of entirely suppressing her emotions. A bit of anger seeped into her heart as well as a hint of jealousy. This only confused her and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to admit to these feelings.

    Impossible, there is no way. She tried her best to shake those thoughts. Though she professed that Fayde belonged to her, she never intended to have actual feelings for him. She was a princess, and a child of the former King of all Demihumans, it didn¡¯t matter that this was something from long ago. To her, it was still fresh in her mind and it still seemed as if it were just yesterday when she last spoke with her father.

    He had left her with an important mission. There was no room for emotions. Yet, no matter how she tried, she continued to look at him, a Human. She was disgusted and yet, her heart fluttered.

    All she could do was bear it in silence.

    <hr>

    (Chief P.O.V.)

    ¡°So, I see the two of you have settled things?¡± Reia¡¯s father entered his tent and saw his daughter embracing Fayde.

    Normally, a father might feel uncomfortable seeing his own daughter embrace a man in front of him, but he felt no such way. He was truly happy for his daughter who he knew had always felt as if she didn¡¯t belong anywhere in this world.

    Reia and Fayde finally ended their embrace and they both looked somewhat embarrassed. The Chief chuckled at the sight and sat down across from them.

    ¡°Then would it be safe to say that the two of you have decided to become engaged?¡±

    They both looked at each other for a brief moment, a bit of uncertainty in their eyes.

    ¡°Father, do we have your blessing?¡± Reia asked, her voice shaky.

    ¡°Hahaha, of course! Well, Fayde is a Human, but something like that has never bothered me! We will worry about those details later, hahaha.¡±

    Reia appeared relieved at her father¡¯s words and smiled. The Chief could only shake his head in wonder. He never thought that his daughter would ever find someone who could make her smile in such a way.

    ¡°Reia, my daughter. Now that the two of you are officially engaged, I can safely step down and let the two of you handle things.¡±

    Both Reia and Fayde were surprised at his words. They weren¡¯t expecting that the Chief would say this, but this had been his intention from the beginning. He was old, and no longer possessed the power he once had. He could not lead the warriors of their tribe, but he could not step down as Chief while his daughter remained single.

    ¡°But, father, what do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly as I said. I will step down and the two of you will lead our tribe. This is for the best.¡±

    The Chief threw up his hands as if it were already a done deal.

    ¡°Chief, err, no, father-in-law? Yeah, I guess it would be best to call you that now. Are you sure about this? Will the tribe really listen to me, a Human?¡±

    Fayde¡¯s concern was reasonable. This was not something that was a small matter. However, his tribe was not like the others. They had long been exiled from their people and sought refuge among Humankind and even though relations were bad currently, they had enjoyed a relatively long period of peace within the Human kingdom.

    ¡°My tribe are all my family. They long ago gave all their loyalty and devotion to me, otherwise they never would have come into exile with me. They will follow you now, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    The Chief was tired and in fact he was happy to hand the mantle to his daughter, even if just for a short while. If they were to return to the Plains of Sorrow and challenge his brother for leadership of all Foxkin, then Fayde would eventually become Khan. That would mean he would have to become a Chief again, at least until his younger daughter married. His kind lived long lives, so it wasn¡¯t too much of a concern.

    ¡°I¡­ well.¡± Fayde looked over to Reia as he spoke and she nodded her head with determination.

    ¡°Okay, I will make sure the Foxkin make it out of this situation alive.¡±

    The Chief smiled, he liked the determination he saw in Fayde¡¯s eyes. He couldn¡¯t have asked for a better partner for his daughter.

    ¡°Then, what will be our plan¡­.¡±

    The three spent some time discussing what they would do once the soldiers of the Kingdom arrived. They had to come up with a plan to keep the soldiers occupied while their non-combatants evacuated to the Plains of Sorrow.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much time we have, but I think that they won¡¯t send too large of a force. They know there aren¡¯t many Foxkin warriors in the forest. They will only send as many as they think they will need to fully subjugate the tribe. The forest is dense too, so it is a perfect environment for us. I have seen the Foxkin fight in the forest a few times now and they fought very effectively. If we had to fight out in the open plain, it might be a different matter, but I think we should have no difficulty defeating them here.¡±

    Fayde enthusiastically explained his plan which left the Chief pleasantly surprised. He had heard a bit about him from his daughter, and while she had mentioned his leadership qualities, he was surprised to see that he was in fact capable.

    ¡°Reia has told me of the different magic affinities present in the tribe. I think we should lay a trap here in the village. We will dig pits, lure the enemy into the village with illusions and then burn the village to the ground. We can also launch ambushes and hit and run attacks on their forces from the treetops. Since many of the Foxkin warriors can cast various elemental attacks and move freely through the trees, I don¡¯t think we will suffer many casualties if any. With the low visibility in the forest and the Foxkin enhanced senses, we can strike anywhere and everywhere without them being able to effectively respond. I doubt they will be able to bring many magic casters themselves, so we should focus on taking them out first if possible. If we can split their forces, it would go even better¡­..¡±

    Their strategy session went on for a while and they hammered out an effective plan and swiftly went about putting their plans into motion.

    <hr>

    Three hundred and fifty soldiers stood in formation waiting for their orders outside the Serandal forest. It was a mixed force of soldiers from the royal army as well as soldiers of the local lord.

    There were fifty heavy infantry clad in Iron plate and equipped with ¡®Mirror shields¡¯. They would form the vanguard of the army and keep them safe from magic attacks. In addition, there were fifty cavalrymen, fifty archers, and two hundred light infantry.

    The man leading the force was a minor lord who served the lord of Enrain. Accompanying him, was Shar, a minister of the kingdom.

    ¡°Lord Marball, won¡¯t you reconsider? At least let me try to talk to them first. Showing up with a large force like this will only lead to bloodshed.¡± Shar pleaded with the lord, hoping that he would listen to reason, although Shar knew reason had already left this kingdom.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    Lord Marball sniffed his nose up at Shar, ¡°What are you concerned about Shar? These beasts only understand one thing, force. This will be over quickly.¡±

    He seemed very confident in this outcome, but Shar was certain it would not go the way he thought.

    ¡°Even still, won¡¯t you let me attempt to speak with them? I will even go alone, so you have nothing to lose.¡±

    Lord Marball thought for a moment, that might not be a bad idea. If the talks go well, then the credit would go to me, and if they go badly, I can just blame Shar, or better yet, they might kill him.

    Lord Marball saw this as an opportunity to increase his standing, an easy opportunity, since he felt nothing could go wrong. If he could discredit Shar or if Shar were to die negotiating with the beasts, then that would only improve his standing more!

    The nobles were looking for a means of which to rid the kingdom of his influence. Shar was popular among the people of the kingdom so even the king couldn¡¯t just get rid of him without just cause.

    ¡°Fine, then I will permit you to speak with them! However, keep in mind, that there is no room for negotiation. They are to serve their kingdom as we all do! This is by command of the king, is that understood?¡±

    Shar nodded his understanding, he only hoped the Foxkin would listen to reason. He would try to convince them somehow to avoid any bloodshed. He knew he had almost no chance of accomplishing that, but he had to try. Shar dismounted from his horse and walked into the forest alone, his horse would be useless in the dense forest.

    Shar knew that if he continued to walk into the forest, he would eventually meet the Foxkin who were most likely already aware of the presence of the kingdom¡¯s soldiers. He even thought he felt the eyes of someone watching him right at that moment, but they didn¡¯t make themselves known. He walked for a good thirty minutes before he finally encountered someone, but he was shocked to see that it was a human and not a member of the Foxkin tribe.

    ¡°You seem to be lost, do you need help leaving the forest?¡± The man standing before Shar said this in a nonchalant way.

    Shar didn¡¯t know what to make of this man. He looked as if he could be an adventurer and he had that air about him. He was wearing leather armor and he had a sword sheathed at his waist. He rested one hand on the pommel of the sword and was studying Shar with a curious look.

    ¡°Uh.. Well, I wasn¡¯t expecting to find a human in the forest. I do not need help, but thank you for the offer. I will be on my way then!¡± Shar said that as politely as he could and was about to continue on his way but the man stood in front of him.

    ¡°That would not be wise, the Foxkin warriors have this entire area surrounded, they will kill you if you move from there.¡±

    While what the man said was of great concern to Shar, he found the man to be quite peculiar. Why was he so calm under these circumstances? He knew that the area was surrounded by Demihumans and yet he didn¡¯t fear for his own life? Was his life not in danger too?

    Shar looked to the trees, but could not see anyone in them, but he knew it must be true. He called out to them, ¡°My name is Shar, I am a minister of the Kingdom of La¡¯gun and I have come to speak with your Chief. We do not wish to harm you, we only wish to negotiate.¡±

    No one responded to his call, and he remained alone with the adventurer.

    ¡°Well, then, speak.¡± It was the human who had spoken to him.

    Was there something wrong with this man? Shar thought to himself.

    ¡°Sorry, friend, but I am here to speak with the Foxkin tribe Chief.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you just informed the forest of that. Anyway, you are speaking to him now.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Shar spit that out much louder than he intended due to the shock of what the man said.

    ¡°Did I hear you right?¡±

    The man didn¡¯t seem surprised by Shar¡¯s reaction, if anything, he expected it.

    ¡°You heard me right, Shar, I am the current acting Chief of the Foxkin tribe and I already know of you. I have heard many good things about you from the people of the kingdom. My name is Fayde, Fayde of the Void.¡±

    Shar didn¡¯t quite know how to respond to this, this was entirely out of his expectations. For now, he would play along.

    ¡°Can you prove this? It is rather unbelievable, I hope you will forgive my suspicious nature.¡±

    The man who called himself Fayde, smiled, and put his fingers to his lips and whistled.

    A Foxkin woman approached from somewhere behind a tree, she had been waiting there, most likely for the signal Fayde just gave.

    Shar studied her and realized she bore a strong resemblance to the Foxkin adventurer he had heard about in the town of Enrain. He had been looking for her, but when he arrived at the town, she had been away on a Guild mission. He had not been able to meet her.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Shar no longer doubted the man¡¯s words, but he still had a difficult time comprehending the situation.

    ¡°I am Reia of the Foxkin tribe, daughter to the former Chief of the Foxkin and this man is my fianc¨¦e.¡±

    Well that would explain it, how curious though. A Foxkin woman marrying a human? Shar could finally comprehend the situation, it was similar to a political marriage.

    This was extremely common among the nobility, but the fact that it was a Demihuman marrying a Human was very much unexpected. A Human marrying a Demihuman was extremely rare, so rare to be almost nonexistent. For a Human to marry a Demihuman would most certainly lead to a life of great difficulty. They would never be accepted by both species and would be forced to travel the world alone, a dangerous lifestyle. A Human marrying the daughter of a Chief was completely unheard of, it had never happened to Shar¡¯s knowledge.

    "Then allow me to officially give my greetings as an emissary of the Kingdom of La¡¯gun.¡± Shar made sure to bow as was proper when meeting with emissaries from another kingdom.

    Of course, that was technically not the case here, but Shar wished to show them respect in the hopes that they would be more willing to listen to his plea.

    ¡°There is no need for formalities here, Shar, we are not nobles from your kingdom. Please, raise your head.¡±

    That was surprising to Shar. It was true they were not nobles, but they would be considered to have a similar rank, even if they were Demihumans. Shar had always been a man who had followed protocol to the letter, so it was uncomfortable for him to do otherwise. He did his best to comply, though, and it was in its own way refreshing. However, what the man said next really surprised him.

    ¡°Instead, let me bow my head to you. I have heard of all your great contributions to your kingdom, it seems they do not value you properly. They sent such an influential and important man such as yourself into the forest to negotiate without any guards or protection? Do they not value your life at all?¡±

    Shar was not used to such praise and the man seemed sincere, it wasn¡¯t just flattery. Shar was quite taken aback by this, he had become used to the scorn and disdain he had to deal with on a daily basis.

    ¡°Your words are kind, but I am a humble man and am not deserving of such praise. Also, it was my own idea to come into the forest on my own.¡±

    Shar was slightly nervous and felt himself brushing off imaginary dust on his clothing. He didn¡¯t feel they would kill him after speaking of him as such, but he was still nervous knowing he was surrounded by the Foxkin.

    ¡°You underestimate yourself, clearly, and if they truly valued you, they would never have let you go without protection. I do not wish to argue about this, though. Please tell me why you have come.¡±

    Shar straightened himself and gathered his thoughts, ready to begin a battle of words. He had some confidence in his ability to convince others and he was known as an eloquent speaker.

    ¡°As you may already know, the Kingdom of La¡¯gun will soon war with the Kingdom of Jaspel and the king himself has asked that I come to request the aid of the powerful Foxkin tribe who are renowned for their magical abilities! We¡­..¡±

    ¡°Shar, enough.¡± Fayde interrupted Shar¡¯s prepared pitch with a wave of his hand. This left Shar slightly flustered.

    ¡°I know exactly why you have come, and the answer is no. It doesn¡¯t matter what you say, but we will not be joining the kingdom in their war. The Foxkin have already abandoned the village and all those who can¡¯t fight are already on their way to the Plains of Sorrow. All of the children, women and the old have already evacuated. Those left here are warriors only, and we have no intention of letting the kingdom have its way. You will only meet misfortune here.¡±

    Shar didn¡¯t know what to say to that, so this was pointless then huh? He shook his head frustrated.

    ¡°You can¡¯t hope to defeat the kingdom with just a handful of warriors no matter how powerful your magic is.. Isn¡¯t that just suicide? Why would you condemn yourselves to death?¡±

    ¡°I can understand why you might think that, but by the time the kingdom hears of this, the tribe will be long gone. Your kingdom won¡¯t be able to do a thing.¡±

    Shar didn¡¯t think this man Fayde truly understood the predicament he was in. While it was true that they probably would not be able to catch the fleeing Foxkin tribe who had already evacuated if they fought a battle with the warriors here, the warriors would end up losing their lives and it would be difficult for the Foxkin tribe to survive on the Plains of Sorrow without their warriors.

    ¡°We have three hundred and fifty soldiers waiting for my return outside the forest. They are ready to use force even if it means killing all of you. I came here in hopes of stopping the bloodshed, I don¡¯t want to see the Foxkin or kingdom soldiers die, please, won¡¯t you rethink this?¡±

    The man called Fayde only smiled at Shar, it was a sinister smile that sent shivers down his body. He had never seen a man smile in such a way when being told he was about to die.

    ¡°Shar, you misunderstand something. You see, you won¡¯t be returning to your men, and once your soldiers enter this forest, they won¡¯t be returning alive either.¡±

    That sinister smile remained on the man¡¯s face, and Shar couldn¡¯t help think, that what the man said, might become reality.

 Volume 2 Chapter 3

    Lord Marball had been waiting for over an hour now for Shar to return and he was growing quite impatient. Most likely Shar is dead. If so, that is excellent news! It didn¡¯t matter to him whether that was true or not, accidents happened all the time in a battle. If he were to be mistaken for one of the beasts, who would be the wiser?

    He was quite proud of himself, for soon he would be rewarded. Perhaps he would even acquire new lands and status! This was an excellent opportunity to increase the fame of his family and hopefully increase his family¡¯s power.

    ¡°There is no use waiting any longer. If he hasn¡¯t returned yet, then the beasts most likely have killed him.¡± He didn¡¯t say this to anyone in particular, but he said it out loud so that others would hear.

    ¡°Time to move out, infantry take the lead, cavalry follow from the rear!¡± Lord Marball gave his orders, but a man at his side coughed to get his attention.

    ¡°Hmm, what is it Roderick?¡±

    Roderick was a close friend of Lord Marball and in a position similar to a military adviser for his family. They had known each other for a long time and Roderick was a talented swordsman.

    ¡°My lord, we won¡¯t be able to bring our supply wagons into the forest and the horses won¡¯t be of much use either. Perhaps we should have the cavalry dismount and have them guard the wagons? We could leave at least half of our cavalry here to protect them in case bandits are nearby. Also, I don¡¯t believe the archers will be as effective in such a dense forest. Why not have them keep their short swords at the ready, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°Hrm, I see, it is as you say. Cavalry dismount! I will have half of you remain with the wagons. We shouldn¡¯t require much supplies honestly, but it wouldn¡¯t do to have the supplies be attacked by bandits while we are dealing with the Foxkin. Archers, keep your short swords at the ready!¡± Lord Marball relayed his orders to the men under his command at the behest of Roderick and they began their march into the forest.

    ¡°And you, mage, remain close to me at all times, is that clear? Your job is to keep me safe from those savages.¡± He said to a man in a robe nearby.

    There were only a few mages under the command of the Lord of Enrain and Marball¡¯s family only had one in their service. The Lord of Enrain was unwilling to provide any of his mages for use in this expedition. They had recently suffered an invasion by monsters and he was afraid to have his mages risk their lives against the Foxkin.

    Since it was Lord Marball who had insisted on taking on this mission in order to gain merit for his family, he had to take on the majority of the risk. He was provided a good number of light infantry from Enrain however, and then there were the heavy infantry under his command provided by the military. He felt this was more than enough to gain victory against the Foxkin who had at best, fifty warriors.

    It was never the intention of the Kingdom to let them live to begin with. They would either die serving the kingdom¡¯s interests, or be wiped out by the kingdom before they could pose a threat. The king had every intention of clearing out all the troublesome elements from his kingdom. Those elements included people like Shar, as well as the Demihumans which dirtied their lands.

    I don¡¯t think the king would mind me taking a few as slaves.. Lord Marball cackled to himself while thinking of what fun he would have defiling his hard-won slaves. They would have to be beautiful Foxkin women of course!

    He was getting excited thinking of what he would do to them. In his mind, he had already won and it was only a matter of time. Lord Marball had some experience as a commander and he was somewhat familiar with the prowess of the Foxkin warriors. He knew that in hand to hand combat, the Foxkin warriors could not match the elite of his forces. Which is why he decided to place his heavy infantry in the vanguard.

    They would meet the brunt of the enemies charge while the light infantry flanked their forces. The heavy infantry was equipped with Iron breastplates over chain shirts as well as iron shields and heavy spears. They were part of the elite forces of the kingdom¡¯s army. The enemy would be crushed in no time!

    However, there was a big problem with his plan. If Fayde had planned to fight in a traditional way, by meeting his enemy in a frontal assault, then Lord Marball would surely have crushed the Foxkin as he had planned. The problem was, that Fayde had no intention of facing Lord Marball in a frontal assault, none in the least.

    Unfortunately for Lord Marball, he could not conceive of this, as the tactics that those in the kingdoms had studied and practiced were not designed to cope with the havoc that Fayde was about to unleash upon them. To make matters worse, none of the soldiers had experience fighting in such a dense forest where visibility was low and it was impossible to remain in formation.

    Lord Marball led his forces from the rear, he didn¡¯t feel it was necessary to put his life in danger and so, he had placed himself at the back with the archers and cavalrymen, who were now on foot. He felt he would be safe here and with his mage and Roderick at his side, he felt no fear. This of course made it difficult for him to see exactly what was going on up at the front of his forces, but he didn¡¯t mind. If necessary, he could always send a messenger to check on the front of his forces and the heavy infantry unit sent by the military had a capable commander.

    ¡°Roderick, I hear the Foxkin women are renowned for their beauty, I can¡¯t wait to get my hands on some of them.¡± Lord Marball chuckled joyfully.

    Roderick slowly pulled off one of his riding gloves with his teeth before answering, ¡°Indeed, I have heard the same! Surely you won¡¯t mind giving one or two to me?¡±

    Lord Marball chuckled again, ¡°I suppose I could spare one for you¡±

    Roderick saluted.

    ¡°You are truly magnanimous sir!¡±

    They both laughed together.

    With their playful banter, they failed to realize that a mist was beginning to form around their forces as they slowly made their way through the forest and closer to where the Foxkin village was located.

    His soldiers could only walk two abreast and so their line was extremely long. This made it even more difficult to be aware of what was going on at the front and it took a while for him to realize what was going on in his immediate surroundings.

    The column suddenly stopped moving and it was then that Lord Marball realized that a thick mist had formed and visibility was extremely low. He could barely see in front of him, ¡°Mage, what is going on?¡±

    ¡°I do not know for certain my lord, it seems to be magic¡­¡± The mage replied uncertainly.

    ¡°Roderick, any ideas?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, we should be close to their village by now. I will go check the front.¡±

    Lord Marball nodded and sent him off. How did such a thick fog surround us so suddenly? Lord Marball became wary as he waited for a report from Roderick.

    He returned after several minutes had passed.

    ¡°Lord Marball, the column at the front has stopped and is awaiting orders, they say that it is becoming difficult to see and continuing could be dangerous.¡±

    ¡°How dare they! We will finish these beasts today, fog or no fog! Tell them to march, now!¡± Said Marball furiously.

    Roderick looked nervous, but he felt uncomfortable about the fog and decided to voice his opinion.

    ¡°Lord Marball, perhaps we should be a little more cautious, this fog is clearly a trap. It might be better for us to pull back and¡­¡±

    Roderick was cut off by loud shouts from the soldiers ahead.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Enemy sighted in the front!¡±

    Lord Marball brightened up at those words.

    ¡°Finally! Roderick, let¡¯s finish this.¡±

    Roderick still felt an uneasiness that he couldn¡¯t explain, ¡°Sir, I really think we should¡­.¡±]

    Lord Marball wouldn¡¯t let him finished and slammed his gauntleted hand on his leg.

    ¡°Enough! It¡¯s time to fight, order the infantry forward into the village and destroy it!¡±

    The order was sent out and the infantry began marching again.

    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to make use of our archers in this thick fog, we can¡¯t see anything. Lord Marball, I really think we should stop the advance.¡±

    Roderick was never this persistent and even though it was beginning to grate on Lord Marball¡¯s nerves, he began to seriously consider Roderick¡¯s advice. He was beginning to feel uneasy himself and even though he greatly desired to acquire merit, it would be a waste if he failed here. He was about to order his men to fall back when sudden loud cries echoed from the front of the column.

    ¡°Roderick, what is going on?¡±

    ¡°I am not sure my lord, perhaps they have engaged the enemy? I will go check.¡±

    Roderick was about to head to the front of the column, but he suddenly stopped.

    ¡°Roderick, what are you doing? Hurry!¡±

    ¡°My lord, I smell something burning¡­¡±

    Lord Marball sniffed the air and could also smell burning. What in the name of the Divines is going on? Don¡¯t tell me¡­.

    One of the men shouted out, fear etched on his face, ¡°My lord!! Fire! We are surrounded!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Lord Marball couldn¡¯t contain his fear.

    ¡°Where? Do they plan to burn down the forest, how can this be? Isn¡¯t this their home? We must escape, quickly! Roderick find a way out of here!¡±

    ¡°It is difficult to see anything in this fog and the fire is growing, I can¡¯t see anything!¡±

    Lord Marball frantically looked at his surroundings, but he too was having trouble seeing.

    ¡°Damn this cursed fog! I can¡¯t see anything.¡±

    Though that wasn¡¯t entirely true. He could see the fog lit up by the light of the flames and he could feel the warmth of the fire slowly growing warmer as the fire continued to spread all around him.

    <hr>

    ¡°Chief, the fire has started, at the rear of the enemy army!¡±

    One of the fox-kin warriors was giving me his report. That¡¯s right, I was now the Chief of the Foxkin tribe, somehow. It was difficult to believe myself, but I was now engaged to Reia and then placed in charge of the Foxkin warriors. None of them complained and accepted it as if it were natural. It seems they all greatly respected me and they were all now following my orders as if it were the natural thing to do.

    Reia was close by my side too. She was an extremely important part of the battle plans and had helped in organizing everything. Her knowledge of what the Foxkin were capable of was indispensable and had helped me come up with a sufficient plan to win. She was also an important part of our fighting potential. The kingdom forces had arrived earlier than expected, but we had still been able to finish our preparations. Now we just needed to see the plan through.

    The Foxkin were diligent and followed our instructions exactly. We built spiked pits around the village and covered them over with fake ground, we set up spiked barricades all around the area so that it would be difficult for them to escape the fire, and we prepared other various traps throughout as well.

    We had basically turned the village into a death trap. With the use of magic, this took far less time than one would think. There was no reason to fight the enemy ourselves as long as we could kill them with traps, although some fighting would be necessary. Whenever we did have to fight, it wasn¡¯t necessary to fight fairly. It was most important that we wipe out the heavy infantry and that was what the traps were really for. Dealing with the light infantry would not be difficult.

    ¡°Good, the fire will soon spread from the rear and the front, once we burn the village that is. They will surely be thrown into a panic and that is when we make our move. Have the heavy infantry almost reached the village yet?¡±

    Among the Foxkin were mages with an affinity for illusion magic. They were quite skilled and had begun to create a dense fog. The main reason for the dense fog was so that the illusions within the village would not be seen through until it was too late.

    I had ordered the Foxkin to create the illusion of a populated village, but the illusions were somewhat transparent and could be seen through easily. Reia had suggested using a thick fog to mask this and it had worked perfectly. With the fog, it was no longer easy to discern between the illusion and reality. The soldiers would think that the Foxkin were in the village and walk straight into the traps.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get into position, are the illusions working out as we planned?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Chief, Maralli is maintaining them, they look very realistic in the fog and the enemy won¡¯t be able to see through them.¡±

    ¡°Good, Reia, let¡¯s move out.¡±

    Reia and I led a force of forty five warriors to the rear of the kingdom¡¯s forces. The heavy infantry at the front, thinking they were about to engage the Foxkin, were currently marching right into a trap thanks to the fog and the illusions. With the heavy infantry in the front of the enemy column, the chances of many of them falling into the traps was high.

    The pits they had dug were relatively deep and and the entire floor of the pit was filled with sharp spikes made of thick wood. They should easily impale any that fall into the pit, especially those with the heavier iron armor because of the combined force of weight and gravity. We made sure to make the spikes thick enough so that they wouldn¡¯t break on impact.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to make the enemy regret ever setting foot in this forest!¡±

    Reia seemed a little too excited about this.

    <hr>

    Henk looked straight ahead and he could finally make out the Foxkin village. He could just barely make some of the Demihumans within, they didn¡¯t seem to have noticed their presence yet. He found that quite strange because they were supposed to have enhanced senses, but maybe the fog that had risen was somehow impeding their senses.

    Now that his men were in reach of the village and the enemy seemed oblivious to their approach, the fate of the Foxkin was sealed. He thought this mission would be much more difficult than it was, but they had traveled this far into the forest without encountering any serious problems. He didn¡¯t know much about the Foxkin, being from the Capitol, but he had heard some rumors about them. It seemed that their existence was quite mysterious and even those who lived nearby, in Enrain, knew very little about them.

    They were supposedly proficient magic users, which was why his heavy infantry were necessary for this mission. He knew they had lived in the forest for a long time, but their physique was said to be weaker than Humans. He heard stories of their agility, but their physical power was below a Human. Henk would have liked to get more information about them if possible, but he just didn¡¯t have the time.

    Henk was sure that the battle wouldn¡¯t last long, there was just too few of the Demihumans to put up a decent fight. He had heard about their magic, but magic was somewhat overrated in his opinion. It wouldn¡¯t save them, not against the elite of the kingdom. Henk was the squad commander of the heavy infantry which had been sent by the king to force compliance from the Demihuman, or to eliminate them. They were an elite unit experienced with dealing with magic casters and were chosen specifically for this job.

    His men were equipped with metal shields, polished to a sheen shine. These shields, despite having no magic qualities, could reflect the power of direct magic attacks. Because of this of the special quality of these seemingly normal metal shields, they were known as ¡®Mirror shields¡¯. It wasn¡¯t just the shields, even their iron armor had magic deflection properties and could protect them from direct magic attacks. They were the perfect soldiers to take on magic casters.

    Henk never really questioned it, he had seen the effectiveness of them and that was all that was necessary to him. Since the Foxkin could not match the physical prowess of his heavy infantry and their armor would render the Foxkin¡¯s magic unusable, he was sure of the outcome. In a normal battle, with their shield formation, they could stop ¡®Fireball¡¯ bombardments. Even if a ¡®Fireball¡¯ wasn¡¯t directly fired at them, but nearby, they could deflect the impact and would suffer no damage. They were a very effective force against both mages and infantry.

    The only weakness of his unit was their lack of mobility, but this was only a minor issue. Henk considered his men to be invincible and he had full confidence that his men would succeed.

    Being in sight of the enemy, Henk¡¯s blood began to boil with excitement. His forces would charge into the village and wreak havoc on the unsuspecting Foxkin. He had orders to kill them all, and he would carry out his mission with due diligence.

    Henk raised his arm, which was holding his spear, and violently thrust it forward, yelling ¡°Charge!¡±

    In response to his roaring command, his forces that had spread out in a wide arc around the village charged in. It would be difficult for the heavy infantry to maintain this speed for long, but the enemy was right in front of them and were not expecting the attack. They would be within the village within mere moments and slaughtering the Foxkin to their heart¡¯s content.

    Henk charged into the village at the front of his soldiers, he was a brave man who proudly led his forces in the front, he would not allow anyone to get the first kill.

    His eyes and the eyes of his men were plastered forward. The fog was thickest at ground level, and while they could see some of the enemy straight ahead, it was difficult for them to see the ground they were jogging on. The only way they knew they were on solid ground was the feeling of impact every time their foot touched the dirt.

    And so, when Henk suddenly felt a feeling of weightlessness, he had no time to react. He suddenly lost his footing, his feet no longer touching solid ground.

    Instead he fell, without knowing what had happened or why, and before he knew it, he had been impaled on a hardened wooden spike that pierced through his armor with little resistance. His death came swiftly, as did those behind him.

    They had no time to stop as they barreled into the village and no warning as their comrades disappeared one by one into the fog around them.

    It was as if they were suddenly spirited away, they couldn¡¯t even see the holes that the men had fallen into, only that they had fallen, and swiftly faded away.

 Volume 2 Chapter 4

    ¡°The fire has grown large enough. We need to take out as many of them as we can!¡± Fayde gave his orders to the fox-kin warriors.

    They went to work quickly, placing makeshift barricades made of sharpened spikes and vine rope at various paths around where the kingdom forces were slowly being trapped in by the fire. They were only meant to be a temporary measure to slow down the escape of the enemy. Fayde knew they wouldn¡¯t hold them for long, but that was fine. The infantry at the front had already begun their charge into the abandoned village and would soon fall victim to the traps placed within.

    Fayde split his forces in half and put twenty of the Foxkin warriors under the command of Allein and Nes. The other half would be under Reia and his direct command. Fayde¡¯s unit would attack the enemy forces directly, while the unit under Allein and Nes would attack their flanks. They would also be responsible for killing any soldiers that try to escape.

    However, their main target was the commander of the kingdom forces and luckily for them, all of the infantry had been sent to attack the village and the commander was only guarded by archers and the remainder of the cavalry. Bows would be ineffective in the forest and so they would be using their short swords, which they weren¡¯t very proficient in, and the cavalrymen were mostly useless on foot.

    ¡°Fayde, the fog will soon fade, Eill can¡¯t maintain it much longer.¡± Reia informed Fayde of Eill¡¯s condition, but the fog had served its¡¯ purpose and soon they wouldn¡¯t need it anyway.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we only need another ten minutes. All of you, let¡¯s go, follow me!¡± Fayde motioned for the Foxkin warriors who were accompanying him to move out.

    Fayde and Reia were about lead their unit through the fire to attack the enemy archers. If they were quick, it would be a simple task for them to wipe out all of them in the chaos.

    ¡°Reia, if you see the enemy commander, he¡¯s all yours. Make sure to finish him quickly.¡±

    Reia nodded happily. It was a great honor to be able to take the head of the enemy commander and Reia was happy to end the life of the fool who decided to attack her home.

    <hr>

    The flames surrounding the kingdom¡¯s cavalrymen and archers had grown into an intense fire, burning the forest all around them. The smoke was beginning to become insufferable and the soldiers were on the verge of panicking.

    ¡°Lord Marball, we need to get out of here immediately! What are your orders?¡±

    Lord Marball looked at the surroundings trying to find a safe path away from the fire. He needed to find a way to regroup with the infantry otherwise his men would be in danger of being routed. Without the protection of infantry, they would take heavy losses in this dangerous situation.

    ¡°Do you see an opening somewhere? We need to find a way to regroup with the infantry!¡±

    Roderick desperately looked for a way out of the flames.

    ¡°Over there!¡± He yelled excitedly seeing one path which had not yet been engulfed by the flames.

    ¡°Quickly, order the soldiers to get clear of the flames! We need to move too!¡±

    Let¡¯s go, everyone retreat and regroup to the west once you clear the flames! Move, quickly!¡±

    Lord Marball attempted to rush towards the pathway in order to be the first to escape but Roderick stopped him by grabbing on to his arm.

    ¡°My lord, let the soldiers go first, this could be a trap.¡±

    Lord Marball thought about it for a moment and then agreed with Roderick and followed his advice. If anyone needed to make it out of this alive, it had to be him. He wasn¡¯t about to go charging in first. That¡¯s what soldiers were for.

    ¡°Mage, stay close to me. Roderick, you too.¡±

    <hr>

    The Foxkin under the command of Nes and Allein had positioned themselves along the pathway that was clear of the flames. Two of the Foxkin were using magic to make sure the flames didn¡¯t spread to this area. There were six teams of three positioned along the path clear of the flames.

    They were ordered not to attack immediately and to let some of the enemies escape through so as to lull them into a false sense of security. Those further down the pathway would eventually begin the ambush from the treetops first and then the rest would join in hitting the fleeing soldiers from all directions.

    The pathway was not straight and there were twists and turns which would help keep the other groups hidden from sight so that the enemy wouldn¡¯t have any chance to respond to the threat. Nes and Allein would survey from the tree-tops in dragon form, and would drop down if necessary to help any Foxkin having difficulty. It was a plan that utilized stealth and maneuverability.

    The sixth group at the end noticed the first retreating soldiers coming down the narrow pathway. They were desperate to make it away from the fire raging around them and were completely unaware of the danger that loomed over them. It was clear that they were frightened by the fire and were not on guard for the Foxkin¡¯s ambush. These men were not trained soldiers in active duty within the military, but conscripted freemen and their discipline was sorely lacking. Also, the Foxkin were hiding in the dense tree branches above them.

    Once the first soldiers reached the last group, the Foxkin began their assault raining down elemental attacks from above. Some also threw javelins or axes to attack the soldiers below them. All along the pathway, the hidden Foxkin assaulted the retreating enemies throwing them into chaos. It was a complete slaughter. Every soldier that attempted to flee down the path had been brutally killed without even a chance of fighting back.

    At the same moment, Reia and I prepared our assault on the the kingdom¡¯s archers who had not yet retreated down the path. Reia and I, as well as the twenty odd fox-kin warriors in my squad, were behind a large fire which was burning uncontrollably. The enemy was not visible, but the fox-kin could tell how close they were with their strong sense of smell, even with the fire raging.

    ¡°They are about to pass by.¡±

    Fayde nodded.

    ¡°Good. Get ready to blow the flames away and we will all jump through and take them by surprise.¡±

    The fox-kin warriors all readied their spears and axes, waiting for the right moment to strike.

    Reia stood and chanted a spell, summoning a powerful and quick blast of wind that immediately dispersed the fire that had been raging in front of them. This spell had many uses and could be used to send an enemy flying backwards. or fling debris at them, but the wind only lasted a brief moment. The wind was powerful enough to clear a path through the flames from which the Foxkin warriors could jump through in order to surprise the enemy.

    With a loud roar, Reia, the other fox-kin, and I, jumped through the path cleared of flames and emerged right into the thick of the archers. The archers were caught completely by surprise and had little time to react. Many of them were struck dead immediately as the Foxkin jumped through the flames and attacked.

    The Foxkin were like demons emerging from the flames and roaring madly. The archers were stunned and it took only a little pressure to completely break their morale.

    With their morale crushed and their inability to quickly react, they fell with ease to the Foxkin warrior¡¯s spears and axes. They were also hit with a barrage of elemental spells that decimated them.

    I did not join any further in the attack and instead surveyed the area looking for the enemy commander. Reia, too, was looking around in order to find him as swiftly as possible.

    ¡°There!¡± I was the first to notice him and the both of us dashed towards the enemy commander.

    There were two others with the commander and one of them who was wearing a robe pointed his hands towards us and chanted. He released a barrage of ¡®Flame arrows¡¯ that rapidly approached us. Both Reia¡¯s sword and mine had already been enhanced by our magic and we cut down the mages magic with our blades. His magic could not even impede us for a moment and we continued our charge towards the enemy commander who inched backwards in fear.

    The kingdom soldier who was guarding the commander noticed Reia and I running towards them. He turned to the commander and said something, the commander had a look of panic on his face as he saw us drawing nearer. He was shocked for a moment to see a Human fighting beside the Foxkin and he hesitated before attempting to escape. In that instant Reia had completed her chant and she shot ¡®Flame Arrows¡¯ towards the mage who was able to block the spell with a magic barrier.

    The soldier who was guarding the commander jumped down and yelled to the commander, ¡°Run my lord, now! Head towards the infantry division, quickly. I will hold them off!¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The commander didn¡¯t hesitate for a moment, he got up and ran, leaving the other two behind.

    Both Reia and I slowed down, it wouldn¡¯t do to rush blindly into battle against these two combatants.

    ¡°Fayde, be careful.¡±

    It was unfortunate that I wouldn¡¯t be able to immediately chase after the commander. We couldn¡¯t get reckless here. The mage most likely wouldn¡¯t pose too much of a problem, but the swordsman was another matter entirely.

    The swordsman before us unsheathed his blade. The blade gave off a slight yellowish glow. It was clear to me that the sword had magical properties, but I couldn¡¯t tell what properties it had just by sight alone.

    ¡°I am Sir Roderick, Knight of the Kingdom of La¡¯gun! State your names!¡±

    I was surprised. I wasn¡¯t exactly expecting this man to shout out his name and demand mine. I chuckled at the fact that it reminded me of some clich¨¦ movie. It didn¡¯t really matter to me what his name was, this was a man who was about to die. I always thought it was foolish, but knights seem to think there was some kind of honor in it. I guess I will play along for now.

    ¡°I¡¯m Fayde, and this is Reia¡± I said casually with no intention of taking this Sir Roderick seriously.

    ¡°Hmph, a mere peasant and his Demihuman lackey, no doubt. How dare you attack the forces of Lord Marball. Are you aware of what you have done? You have made an enemy of the Kingdom of La¡¯gun! Your tribe of scum will be destroyed once the Kingdom learns of this!¡±

    That''s funny, I¡¯m shaking in my boots.

    ¡°Do you think that we did this without realizing the consequences? You aren¡¯t about to do something pathetic like beg for your life right?¡±

    ¡°I hope the two of you are prepared to die. Do you not know who it is you face?¡±

    ¡°No clue, sorry.¡±

    That seemed to enrage him, but I could care less about his feelings. I was only half paying attention to him anyway. I was watching the mage carefully out of the corner of my eye. He seemed to be chanting a spell and I knew I would need to act quickly.

    ¡°Reia, now!¡± I yelled out to Reia, knowing she would understand my intent.

    Reia jumped towards Sir Roderick, attempting to strike with a downward slash. He easily avoided the attack, but that didn¡¯t matter. Reia was only a distraction as I rushed towards the mage and swung my sword in an arc. The mage had cancelled his chant and had swiftly put up a magic barrier in order to block my sword.

    Normally, a magic barrier should have been enough to deflect my sword, even if I had enhanced the sword with magic. Usually it would depend on factors like the power of the mage or the type of magic used. However, my magic was unique and my ¡®Void¡¯ enhanced blade sliced through the magic barrier and cut down the mage. He grasped the open wound on his side caused by my blade, but he couldn¡¯t stop the flow of blood pouring out of the deep wound. Before he could attempt to heal himself, I struck a second time, impaling him through the chest.

    After removing my blade, the mage dropped to the floor dead. I could only push any thoughts of regret or disgust out of my mind. We were in the middle of a battle and I couldn¡¯t afford to deal with any emotions that could hinder my ability to fight. Reia was keeping Sir Roderick busy for the time being, but it was clear that she would eventually be overpowered by him in a contest of physical strength. Also, Sir Roderick¡¯s ¡®Magic Sword¡¯ was giving Reia a hard time even though she had magically enhanced her own blade.

    There was a huge difference between a sword which was a ¡®Magic sword¡¯ and one which was only magically enhanced. The ¡®Magic Sword¡¯ becomes a vessel for powerful magic and is superior in many ways.

    Without hesitating, I immediately moved to aid Reia in her fight. Both Reia and I began to circle the man, looking for the right opportunity to strike. I attempted to hit him with my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ but his ¡®Magic Sword¡¯ was able to deflect my attack. The man¡¯s talent was clearly visible, he was definitely at least an advanced sword user. I didn¡¯t see any openings in his stance, this would be a difficult fight. I was confident in our victory, though. Reia and I were also quite strong and this man didn¡¯t seem to know any magic. He most definitely has martial skills in his arsenal, though, and those could prove just as dangerous.

    Only a few seconds had passed while we each observed the other, hoping to find a weakness or the right moment to strike. Not willing to wait any longer, I rushed in towards Sir Roderick with a fierce attack. He shifted his stance, parrying my strike and returning a strike of his own which I quickly dodged.

    Reia began chanting her magic and as Roderick and I were exchanging blows, she struck, firing several fire arrows at Roderick¡¯s back. With Roderick¡¯s full attention on me, I was certain the fire arrows would hit him. However, when they had almost reached him, Roderick yelled ¡®Parry strike¡¯ and spun, deflecting the arrows, leaving a wake of shock energy.

    His defensive martial skill didn¡¯t stop there, after parrying the fire arrows, he quickly spun again with a strike aimed at my abdomen. I just barely dodged it.. It was clear to me now that his sword was imbued with lightning property and I had to especially be careful not to be struck by it.

    The Foxkin squad that had been following me had just finished mopping up the archers without taking any casualties. They were unable to put up any kind of a fight having been surprised by the fierce attack of the Foxkin warriors. Archers weren¡¯t really trained in close combat even though they carried short swords. However, the Foxkin could easily attack at range with their magic and also possessed spears and axes for close combat. So, the archers with their inferior weapons, training and will, didn¡¯t stand a chance.

    After the warriors had finished their battle, they wanted to help Reia and I, but I ordered them to chase after the commander. Once they left, Reia and I began attacking Roderick more aggressively, but he was doing an admirable job holding us off. It was extremely difficult to get close to him because of his ¡®Lightning Sword¡¯ and he possessed martial skills which allowed him to parry our attacks.

    As our fight dragged on, we were beginning to wear him down. Despite his skill, it was still two on one, and it wasn¡¯t as if our skills were greatly inferior. The truth was, our ability was not far off from his. It seemed that the boost I somehow gave Reia when she leveled up, because of our connection through the Mark, strengthened her abilities quite a bit.

    I felt a bit of respect towards this man who fought valiantly to save his lord, even if his lord was a scumbag and a coward.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame we have to kill you, you are a much better warrior than I expected.¡±

    Sir Roderick showed me a wicked smile and said while heavily breathing, ¡°Don¡¯t think your flattery will save your lives! I have no intention of dying here.¡±

    ¡°Reia, it¡¯s time to end this.¡±

    Reia nodded at me in agreement.

    ¡°Yes, then let¡¯s end it.¡±

    Sir Roderick grew suspicious, but had no idea what the two of us had in mind. I was unable to hit him with any of my sword skills, and Reia was having difficulty hitting him as well. We had a clear advantage, though, and he was growing tired, but we were running out of time. The fog had already disappeared and the fire still needed to be taken care of. We didn¡¯t want the entire forest to burn down.

    I ran at Sir Roderick, putting all I had into a ¡®Sword Whirlwind¡¯ attack and then finishing it off with a new martial sword skill I had learned, ¡®Seven Sword Slash.¡¯ Roderick was able to block the attacks taking only minor injuries, but my attacks were only meant to be a distraction.

    Reia completed her chant, imbuing her sword with the properties of wind. This not only gave her blade a razor-sharp edge, but it allowed her to perform a magic sword skill attack known as ¡®Wind Flurry.¡¯ This attack propelled her forward at a blinding speed, quickly unleashing a flurry of piercing attacks directed at her enemy.

    I expected that Sir Roderick would be caught by Reia¡¯s attack unaware, having been distracted by my own fierce combo, but he somehow was able to initiate his own martial skill in response to Reia¡¯s attack, ¡®Shocking Parry strike.¡¯ This attack was a complete surprise, somehow merging both his martial skill ¡®Parry Strike¡¯ with the lightning property of his sword. I had no idea something like that was possible, but I suppose it wasn¡¯t much different from what Reia had done through magic.

    His body spun with lightning speed. Reia¡¯s wind and Roderick¡¯s lightning met with a blinding flash that shook the very air surrounding them, sending them both flying at impossible speeds away from each other. Both of their powerful attacks had negated the other and the force of impact sent them both flying.

    My eyes had been temporarily blinded by the attack which had also caused a shockwave of light. Once my eyes regained their focus, I saw that both Roderick and Reia were struggling to get on their feet. Reia was bleeding all over and looked like she would pass out any second.

    I ran over to her as quickly as I could, grabbing her and summoning the power within me that had healed her the last time. Her injuries this time were severe, but nowhere near as bad as when she was injured in the dungeon. I felt energy from within my body draining out and entering Reia through the Mark that connected us.

    I could see her body visibly healing and she was no longer struggling. I didn¡¯t want too much of my energy to be drained out because we were in the middle of a fierce battle and so I stopped the energy transfer once I saw that her injuries had healed enough for her to stand.

    Roderick, on the other hand, had only minor injuries. I helped Reia to her feet and walked towards Sir Roderick alone. I began summoning the ¡®Void¡¯ within me and prepared myself for a final ¡®Void Strike¡¯.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame, really, but this is the end for you Roderick.¡±

    Roderick scoffed while glaring at me.

    ¡°Hmph, big words, but can you make it a reality I wonder?¡±

    Roderick readied himself and his sword began to brightly glow. He was about to activate the magic within the sword in order to utilize a powerful attack.

    ¡°Lightning Strike!¡±

    ¡°Void Strike!¡±

    Dark energy from the ¡®Void¡¯ crashed against the ¡®Lighting¡¯ element and the impact of our two powerful strikes colliding, caused a large explosion of magical energy which dwarfed the previous attack that Reia had been struck with. A violent wind caused by the impact whipped the trees in the vicinity, uprooting some of them.

    Once the magic dissipated and the violent wind calmed, I could see that Sir Roderick had been thrown back and was lying against a tree severely injured. I hadn¡¯t moved one step from that place, and my body was cloaked almost entirely in black flames. If I were someone else, I would think that what I saw was the body of a demon, rather than that of a man.

    My body was tired, I had used up too much of my power, but I pushed on. I walked towards the dying Roderick as black flames trailed behind each of my steps. Once I stood over him, I looked down at him with pity in my eyes. He was barely breathing, but still alive.

    ¡°Make it quick, at least give me that much.¡± Roderick asked, straining his voice.

    He was clearly in a great deal of pain.

    ¡°You fought bravely, I will make this quick.¡±

    As I continued to look down at Roderick, I felt a pang of guilt. Or was it regret? I had become somewhat accustomed to killing, but it still was a difficult thing for me to do. I didn¡¯t relish the thought of killing others, especially other people.

    Roderick noticed the hesitation on my face.

    ¡°Do it. I have no regrets.¡±

    ¡°You may not Roderick, but that doesn¡¯t make this any easier for me.¡±

    My eyes met his, and I could see the determination in his eyes. This was a man who was ready to die. That resolve touched me deeply.

    I ended his life as painlessly as I could.

 Volume 2 Chapter 5

    Now that the fog had cleared, Lord Marball could see exactly where he was going and headed towards the village where his infantry would be. He ran as if his life depended upon it, because it did. He knew there were crazed demons after him and so he ran harder than he had ever run in his life. His once clean and rich clothing was now stained with dirt and foliage and his once well-groomed hair was a complete mess. None of that mattered to him at this moment, the only thought that crossed his mind was that he needed to run.

    The village wasn¡¯t far from where he had been attacked, and he soon cleared the trees and could see the clearing where the village was ahead. The attacks Fayde had planned were well coordinated and happened at almost the exact same time. Only a few minutes had passed from when the infantry had fallen prey to the traps in the village, and the Foxkin led by Fayde had initiated their surprise attack on the remaining cavalrymen and archers. Everything had happened quickly, but it had felt like an eternity to the kingdom soldiers who had been caught in the various traps and ambushes.

    As Lord Marball ran, he began to feel a sense of security knowing his army was straight ahead. He thought that if he could only reach them he would be safe. He was running carelessly and tripped on a rock he failed to notice. He fell to the ground and desperately tried to pick himself up, he looked back and could see Foxkin warriors chasing after him from behind. He picked himself up with even more fervor and pushed himself harder. His soldiers had finally noticed him coming and he felt a sense of relief.

    Lord Marball glanced back and could no longer see the Foxkin that had pursued him. Despite the carnage, he felt a sense of relief. He finally felt an ounce of hope that he might make it out of this alive. He quickly shouted orders and reformed the remaining soldiers, returning order to the men.

    He ordered that those who were injured, and could not move, be left behind and he quickly made his way away from the village, in order to escape the forest. His only thoughts now were of getting out of this forest with his life intact. He hadn¡¯t even thought about asking where Henk or the heavy infantry was, he hadn¡¯t even noticed many of his soldiers were missing.

    There were only approximately one hundred and fifty of his soldiers remaining, although there were still twenty five guarding the supply wagons at the outskirts of the forest. He had lost half of his army, but he had no time to consider these things. It was much more important for him to escape to safety.

    <hr>

    ¡°Excellent!!! Haha, we really hit them hard!¡± I was excitedly congratulating everyone on our incredible victory.

    The enemy forces had lost half of their initial army and there were no Foxkin casualties. Our strategy had been flawless. Many of the Foxkin were exhausted, but that was hardly anything to worry about. We had crushed the kingdom army with our well-placed traps and ingenious tactics. I felt a great sense of relief and was quite proud of myself.

    The Foxkin were also ecstatic and cheered, praising me for my excellent leadership. Reia was smiling brightly at me, and that most of all, filled me with a sense of accomplishment and joy. I had saved the Foxkin from being massacred by the kingdom, saved the people I cared about most in this world. It was a good feeling.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t done yet, though. We still have a rat to hunt down.¡± Nes reminded us, ruining the mood.

    ¡°Nes, do you always have to be like this?¡± Allein was berating her brother, but he did have a point.

    ¡°Alright, Nes is right, we aren¡¯t done just yet.¡± That brought everyone back to reality and they calmed down, waiting for me to give them their new orders.

    ¡°The hardest part is over now. The rest of the kingdom forces are only light infantry, and many of them are exhausted and highly demoralized. Reia, I want you to take as many of the Foxkin who aren¡¯t too exhausted and hound the enemy. Those who are tired will rest, and we will take shifts every hour. Sei, I want you to go with Reia and use your illusions to trick the kingdom soldiers into thinking they are heading back towards Enrain, make them go around in circles. We will use fast hit and run tactics to strike at them from the tree-tops. No one is to engage on the ground, quickly attack and then retreat. Don¡¯t let them rest, don¡¯t even let them eat. We will slowly and surely finish off every last one of them!¡±

    The Foxkin cheered loudly, each one of them had absolute faith in their victory, not even one of them had doubts. After their incredible victory in the previous battle, their morale was as high as it could be.

    Before they left, I gently grabbed Reia¡¯s shoulder and pulled her over to the side to speak with her. Though her hair was messy and there were leaves sticking in her hair, she had a radiant and natural beauty that couldn¡¯t be dismissed. I almost lost the will to speak.

    ¡°Whatever you do, be careful. There is no need to fight them in a pitched battle. Hit them from the trees and escape, don¡¯t be careless.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t too concerned, but I felt uneasy sending her off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will follow your orders exactly.¡± Reia said with confidence in her voice.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    I smiled at her and knew that I needed to trust her.

    ¡°Until then!¡±

    Reia left with the Foxkin warriors who still had some stamina left.

    <hr>

    Lord Marball was feeling confident in his chances of escaping the forest. He still had one hundred and fifty soldiers and he didn¡¯t mind sacrificing them if it meant he would escape unscathed. He thought that with this many soldiers, he could at least escape and then he would return with an even larger army and burn the whole forest down around the scum that dared oppose him. Just thinking about what he was planning to do excited him. He didn¡¯t even care about capturing any of them anymore, he just wanted them all dead.

    Lord Marball turned to one of the soldiers and asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t this path somehow look familiar?¡±

    The soldier was too afraid to address the lord and didn¡¯t know what to say so he just bowed and faded away from the lord into a group of soldiers. His soldiers were all tired and they clearly needed to rest, so Lord Marball called for a thirty minute rest. The soldiers collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, their sense of caution gone to the wind. They had retreated from the carnage of the battle and just wanted to return home to their families.

    Many of them cursed and swore, ¡®if only we had never come to this god forsaken place!¡¯ and other more profanity laden phrases.

    Morale of the soldiers was nonexistent, but Marball didn¡¯t care. They were only there to act as his shield. Lord Marball rested a short distance away from the rest of his men, it wouldn¡¯t be fitting for a lord of his stature to mingle with the commoners. He wanted to keep going without rest, but he knew that his men would be too tired to fight if the enemy caught up to them. That could be disastrous, but he felt he would still be able to win in a battle with his numbers as long as there were no traps. In truth, Lord Marball was still in self-denial at his loss, he couldn¡¯t even imagine that such a thing could happen and so he shut it out of his mind.

    The soldiers were only resting for a short time when suddenly he noticed one of his soldiers collapse. A few others noticed as well and went to check on him to see what had happened, ¡°He¡¯s dead¡­. Enemy attack!¡±

    Suddenly the soldiers were attacked by a rain of magical attacks. They were hit with a barrage of spells of every element. The soldiers began to panic, but Marball quickly regained order.

    ¡°They¡¯re in the trees! Use your javelins and slings! Quickly now!¡±

    Many of the soldiers started flinging javelins and rocks into the trees, but the attackers had already fled after the quick barrage of magic and arrow attacks. The soldiers did their best to locate the enemy, but found no one.

    This continued, hour after hour. The Foxkin warriors did not let the soldiers of the kingdom rest for even a moment. The soldiers became delirious, thinking that an attack could come at any moment and so they desperately looked to the trees, flicking their eyes back and forth like scared animals.

    They did their best to try to counter the Foxkin attacks, but their enemy would always attack quickly and then disappear into the forest. What made matters worse was that no matter how long they walked, there was no end to the forest. They couldn¡¯t find the way out. It was like a never-ending nightmare of endless trees. The soldier¡¯s sanity was beginning to break and as their numbers dwindled, they began to lose all hope.

    Even Lord Marball was driven mad by the endless harrying of the Foxkin warriors. He began to jump at shadows, thinking that every corner hid one of them. He would shout and aggressively strike his own soldiers to check every nook and cranny of the path they were on. He began to bite his teeth and shook his head left and right nervously, wondering if at any moment, he might die without ever seeing his attacker.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    <hr>

    Several hours had passed of the continuous and unrelenting hit and run attacks of the fox-kin. Since they would attack and rest in shifts, they were able to continue their attacks for a long period of time. They had finally dropped the numbers of the enemy soldiers down to below thirty, and the soldiers that remained had almost entirely given up. They no longer thought they would live, and dragged their feet as they continued to look for a way out of the forest that never ended. Their exhaustion had caught up to them and they were struggling to keep moving. Lord Marball frantically tried to drive them on, but they had already come to the realization that none of them would leave the forest alive.

    It was a horrible thing to drive people to such extremes, but I felt it was a necessary evil. We couldn¡¯t allow any of these men to escape, because if they did, they would bring this information back to their king. I was aware that eventually the kingdom would realize, that it was most likely due to the Foxkin, that their soldiers went missing, but I wanted to delay that inevitable realization. The more unknown factors, the more cautious the kingdom would be, and that would only be an advantage to my cause. We would be long gone by the time they ever came to investigate further, but it was always best to keep your enemies guessing.

    ¡°There are less than thirty of the kingdom¡¯s soldiers left, and they have completely surrendered their will. It¡¯s time for us to finish this!¡±

    I had gathered all the Foxkin warriors and we would now proceed to finish off the last of the soldiers that had attacked the forest.

    ¡°No one is to touch the commander. He is mine!¡± I said that a little too vehemently, but they understood my anger.

    I led all of our forces through the forest to where the last of the kingdom soldiers were now sitting despondently in the forest attempting to regain some strength. We surrounded them and attacked once again from the treetops. They attempted to fight back, but fell easily due to their exhaustion.Lord Marball attempted to use this opportunity to escape on his own, but he didn''t make it far.

    ¡°Put them out of their misery, I will go after the commander."

    I approached the enemy commander who attempted to flee but tripped and fell. He turned around and looked at me with fear in his eyes.

    "Please, don''t kill me! I will give you anything you want! Riches, women! Anything!"

    I saw no point in taunting him or responding. There was nothing in this world he could offer that I would accept. Without any further need to keep him alive, I ended his life.

    ¡°We are done here.¡±

    I could only shake my head. In the end, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I felt this was necessary, though, and I pushed it to the back of my mind.

    We made sure to go about scavenging whatever was useable from the dead soldiers. Their equipment was better than what the warriors of the Foxkin had and it would add to our power.

    I made sure to grab Sir Roderick¡¯s sword, which I offered to Reia as a gift, she seemed very pleased with it and it did seem like a powerful sword. We also made sure to take care of the soldiers guarding the supply wagons and added their supplies to ours. The horses would also be useful to us while traveling across the Plains.

    Once we had taken everything that could be put to use, we said our goodbyes and made our way to the Plains of Sorrow.

    <hr>

    After the battle with the kingdom forces, I had Nes and Allein, and a few Foxkin warriors, grab Shar and take him to the Foxkin evacuees ahead of the rest of us. The rest of us had gone around scavenging the battlefield. Shar had been kept asleep with magic and away from the battle until it was over. I didn¡¯t want to kill him because I thought he would be useful to me later and so I kept him alive. I would eventually need to have a serious conversation with him.

    It took us a few days to catch up with the rest of the Foxkin tribe, they had camped at a safe place on the Plains of Sorrow and were awaiting our return. They would not be able to make the long trip without the warriors of the tribe to protect them. We were happy to see that they were all safe and that the evacuation had gone smoothly. Everything of importance had been taken from the village, but the Foxkin were relatively poor and didn¡¯t have much of value.

    There was enough food to last for quite a while and more could be hunted on the plains, there was also plentiful water to be found on the plains so there would be no issues with supporting the tribe while we traveled to our destination. I wasn¡¯t quite sure yet what that destination was, but I would soon find out. Now that we had made it to relative safety, there were a ton of things I needed to do, but first, I need to check my status. It had been a while since I had done so and much had changed.

    The Foxkin tribe had what was called a ¡°Diviner.¡± A Diviner is a person who can use divination magic, which is similar to the power of the Divination Crystal, the difference being that divination magic was not only useful for just checking your status. Divination magic could be used for a variety of things.

    It could provide information about dungeons, it had some limited prophetic qualities, it could provide limited information about locations, towns, people, monsters, etc. It was a branch of magic that focused on information gathering and was extremely useful for a plethora of reasons. Diviners were a treasure for a nation and luckily, the Foxkin had a Diviner of their own.

    I had only briefly met the young girl in the past, and now she was hiding shyly behind Reia. We had just arrived and hadn¡¯t even greeted Reia¡¯s father yet. I figured I would get this done at the same time.

    ¡°Hello Aylil.¡±

    I tried my best not to scare her, but that effort was mostly in vain. Well, maybe she wasn¡¯t scared so much as she was just shy.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay Aylil, Fayde is our chief now, there is no need to act shy..¡± Reia said while smiling at the beautiful little girl.

    This tribe was seriously only breed beautiful females. She will be quite the beauty when she grows up. I thought to myself.

    ¡°Aylil, I need your help, do you think you could use your Divination magic for me?¡±

    She nodded cutely at me, but didn¡¯t say anything. She was extremely shy, but she always took her Divination work seriously. It was obvious to her why I wanted her to come with me so she didn¡¯t refuse. I held out my hand to her and she took it.

    The two of us went into the large tent. The former chief was in there with his family and he was smoking a pipe of some kind. He seemed to be enjoying his retirement, lucky him.

    ¡°Ah! My son, welcome back! I have already heard of your great victory! I knew I made the right decision giving my daughter to you!¡±

    This guy¡­¡­ whatever, I just decided to greet him with a smile.

    ¡°Yes father-in-law, I have returned.¡±

    ¡°I am truly shocked that you were able to obtain victory.¡± He said with sincerity.

    ¡°No, no! It was all due to the great warriors of the Foxkin tribe!¡±

    The former chief chuckled and assured me that it was all due to my leadership.

    ¡°I never would have been able to defeat the kingdom soldiers, even if our warriors are strong, we lack in strategy and are not used to war.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just call it a joint victory!¡±

    Reia¡¯s father patted me on the back and continued to thank me for all I did. He noticed Aylil who was hiding behind me.

    ¡°Oh, little Aylil, hello child. I see you are busy, let us talk after you''re done with her.¡±

    Aylil was even more shy around the old chief for some reason, I really should find out his name, I just always called him chief and now I am embarrassed to ask.

    The old chief went back to smoking his pipe, the other members of his family were milling about the tent doing various chores or just lazing about. Reia actually had a younger blood related sister, but she also had siblings from the old chief¡¯s other wife, another sister. There were also aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

    Her family was rather large, actually. They all treated me as family, congratulating me and welcoming me back. It felt good to be accepted as part of their family, it was a warm feeling. After all the commotion, I took Aylil with me to a quieter corner of the tent.

    We both sat down and Aylil put her hands on my head and began chanting in a low voice. I couldn¡¯t make out what she was saying even though she was close to me. After she was done chanting, my thoughts swirled a bit, it was a strange sensation. It felt similar to being disoriented, or perhaps something like being tipsy. Then my mind clearly focused and I had a newfound understanding of my status.

    [Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]

    [HP: 124/124]

    [Health Regen: 0.5/min] [2/min while resting]

    [VP: 900/900] [Void Threshold: 900 Next level 1200]

    [Void Regen: 1/min] [10/min while resting]

    Strength: 15 ( Modifier +3, Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)

    Dexterity: 14 (Modifier +2, Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)

    Constitution: 16 (Modifier +3, Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)

    Charisma: 13 (Modifier +2, Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)

    Intelligence: 140 (Represents intellectual capacity, Affects Skill Growth)

    Wisdom: 190 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)

    Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 6/10 Advanced), Evasion (Level 5/10 Intermediate), Tactics (Level 5/10 Intermediate), Leadership (Level 5/10 Intermediate), Endurance (Level 5/10 Intermediate), Spear (Level 2/10 Beginner)

    Acquired Martial Arts: Sword Whirlwind (Sword), Poised Strike (Sword), Seven Sword Slash (Sword)

    Blessings: Blessing of the Void ((The ability to unite with the soul of a ¡®Child of the Void¡¯ through the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯))

    Special ability: Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination strengthening host), Molecular transfer (Transfers dark matter contamination from host, to those bearing the ¡®Mark of the Void,¡¯ strengthening them), Molecular reconstitution (Through dark matter contamination transference, reconstitutes entirely, the body and soul of those bearing the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯, amount of VP required is dependent on severity of the condition of the one being healed)

    Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)

    Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)

    Void Element: Void Flame (Maximum) (20VP - 7VP/min) (Imbue the power of the ¡®Void¡¯ across your entire body and unleash flames that devour space and time over a limited area), Void Strike (200VP) (Unleashes the power of the ¡®Void¡¯, limited dimensional strike)

 Volume 2 Chapter 6

    ¡°Thank you Aylil.¡± I smiled at the young fox-kin girl and patted her on the head.

    She shyly covered her face and with a weak voice said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t get over how cute her expressions, and the way she acted, were.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go play with your friends?¡±

    Aylil nodded and ran off without saying anything further. Now that I had finished checking my status, there was a lot that needed to be done. I needed to talk with the old chief to see what our plans would be from now on. I didn¡¯t know much about the Plains of Sorrow, or the Demihumans that called it their home. It was also necessary to grow stronger as well as train the Foxkin too.

    I walked over to the old chief and sat down across from him. He was sitting on a cushion around a fire pit which had been dug in the center of the large tent. There were various strange objects and tools around the tent, I wasn¡¯t sure what they were all used for. There were tools for skinning animals and weapons for hunting as well as pots for cooking. The tent had been decorated with animal hides and bones, it was a real nomad¡¯s tent.

    ¡°Father-in-law.¡± I called out to the old chief who was peacefully smoking his pipe.

    ¡°Ah! Are you done checking your status then?¡±

    He was always so cheerful, this guy.

    ¡°Yeah, I wanted to talk with you about our plans from here on out. We talked about it briefly, but there is still a lot I am unfamiliar with.¡±

    The old chief slowly puffed a few times before answering. His normally cheerful expression had become a little bit more serious.

    ¡°My boy, it is time I told you a bit more about our people and the Demihuman tribes. You are now a chief after all!¡±

    He puffed a few more times before continuing, the smoke was beginning to bother me, but I didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°The truth is, our little tribe here is only a small part of the Foxkin tribe. My father was the Khan of all the Foxkin and I was his eldest son. He wanted me to be Khan, but one of my younger brothers, from my father¡¯s second wife, was not satisfied with that. He challenged me for leadership of the tribe and he won. I was exiled, but not everyone was happy about it. Some decided to come with me, and we left the Plains of Sorrow for the forest in the kingdom.¡±

    I already knew the gist of all this of course, but I listened attentively and asked questions when necessary.

    ¡°How large is the Foxkin tribe exactly?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, our tribe was one of the smallest among the Demihumans on the plains. We numbered around three thousand during the brief time I was Khan.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s less than I thought it would be.¡±

    The old chief just nodded while smoking his pipe.

    ¡°Yes, we are few. We do not live like the humans and it is difficult for us to increase our population.¡± He seemed somewhat sad saying that.

    ¡°What about the other tribes?¡±

    ¡°There are many Demihuman tribes on the Plains, but they are not united. There is a hierarchy amongst the tribes, the more powerful tribes get the best hunting grounds, while others are forced to align themselves with the strong. They determine this hierarchy through challenges among their strongest members. Tribes fight each other for dominance every few years. The tribes gather together for a grand council and usually determine the hierarchy in a large competition. The Foxkin tribe has never been the strongest of the Demihuman tribes, they are somewhere in the middle among the hierarchy.¡±

    That made sense, the Foxkin were not the strongest warriors even though their magic was strong. Magic was not as useful in close combat unless you were also skilled in Martial Arts. Reia was one of those rare examples of a person who was skilled in both, and she could use magic effectively even in close combat.

    ¡°Which tribe is the strongest then?¡±

    ¡°The last I heard, it was the Tigerkin tribe, under their chief, Rajal Khan.¡±

    ¡°The Tigerkin, eh? What are the other strong tribes?¡±

    I leaned back in the cushion to find a more comfortable position as I continued to listen. Reia also returned at that time, but saw us talking and she didn¡¯t interrupt us. She just sat down next to me and listened along.

    ¡°The strongest tribes, those which have held the top of the hierarchy at different times, are the Bearkin, Lionkin, and Wolfkin. There are more than twenty tribes of demi humans of various sizes and strengths. Some of them are very small and usually attach themselves to larger tribes for survival.¡±

    That reminded me of something, Allein and Nes were Demihumans, why weren¡¯t they included in the strongest tribes? I couldn¡¯t see Dragons being inferior to the others, it seemed quite strange.

    ¡°Father-in-law, what about the Dragonkin?¡±

    The old chief looked at me, he was clearly thinking of what to say. It seemed as if there was some secret there he couldn¡¯t say, because he was clearly hesitating.

    ¡°Ah¡­. It is better if you ask Allein about it.¡±

    He refused to say anything more on the subject, so I let it rest. Allein and Nes had told me very little about their tribe. There seemed to be some kind of big secret, which of course only made me more curious. I couldn¡¯t force it out of them, though, but I had every intention of asking Allein about it later.

    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t ask any more about it.¡±

    He seemed relieved

    ¡°Thanks for understanding, it isn¡¯t something I can talk about freely.¡±

    ¡°Please tell me more about the tribes, if you were exiled, is it really safe to go back?¡±

    The question seemed to be a painful one, both Reia and her father had sour looks on their faces. It was Reia who answered me.

    ¡°Fayde, when my father lost to his brother, he was forced into exile. We will have to fight for our right to return¡­..¡±

    It seemed like she wanted to say more, but she didn¡¯t finish her sentence. Her father had no hesitation, though, and continued where she left off.

    The old chief thrust his finger at me and said with conviction, ¡°You must become Khan of the Foxkin tribe by defeating my brother!¡±

    I was a little skeptical, it was one thing to be a leader of this small tribe, but now that I knew the entire circumstances, would it really be possible?

    ¡°Father-in-law, do you really think¡­.¡±

    ¡°You must become Khan!¡± He spoke over me and wouldn¡¯t let me finish.

    My mind was racing. I looked to Reia and she had a look of determination on her face, you too Reia? As a Human, could I really do this?

    ¡°But I¡¯m a human! It¡¯s one thing to lead the Foxkin here, since it was you that put me in charge and all, but how can I lead a large tribe like that? And what about the other Demihumans? What makes you think they will be okay with this?¡±

    That didn¡¯t seem to damper their determination at all, they dismissed my concerns with ease.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter! We have to make my uncle pay for what he did to my father!¡± Reia blurted out.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Calm down Reia, Fayde has a point, but they will not be able to deny him. You are engaged to my daughter and even if you are a Human, there are the old traditions that they can¡¯t just go against! If you can become Khan of all the Foxkin, that will put you as an equal to the other Khans of all the tribes. They will have to accept you, whether they want to or not! Also¡­. You will learn soon enough.¡±

    He seemed to have some grand design for me that I had no clue of and what did he mean by that at the end?

    ¡°Father-in-law, this seems¡­..¡±

    What could I say?

    ¡°What about Reia? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if she took over the tribe then?¡±

    The old chief only shook his head.

    ¡°No, a woman can¡¯t be chief. It must be you.¡±

    This was a heavy burden to bear, but they were placing all their hopes on me and I wanted to live up to their expectations.

    ¡°Reia, don¡¯t you have anything to say about this?¡±

    I looked her in the eyes hoping to catch a glimpse of her thoughts.

    ¡°Fayde, you must do this. My father only lost to his brother because he was a ¡­.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough Reia!¡± The old chief interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.

    ¡°But Father, he should know!¡±

    Her response was quite unlike the Reia I knew, it sounded much like a child complaining to a parent. It was a cute side of her that I wasn¡¯t used to. We were getting some stares from Reia¡¯s other family members in the tent, but no one approached us. Perhaps this was a touchy subject.

    ¡°Fine, but it will be me that defeats uncle!¡± Reia said with determination, she wasn¡¯t willing to stand down on this one point.

    ¡°Reia, you are going to fight him? I thought I had to?¡±

    The old chief seemed surprisingly calm.

    ¡°It is allowed. The wife of a potential chief may fight in his stead and since Reia is my daughter and you are marrying into our family, it will most likely have a much greater impact on the Foxkin.¡±

    Reia settled back on her cushion satisfied with her father¡¯s answer. I wasn¡¯t so sure, exactly what did this ¡®uncle¡¯ do to the old chief? If he was dangerous, I was concerned about Reia¡¯s welfare.

    ¡°Are you sure about this Reia? If anything happened to you¡­.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have been training for this for a long time!¡±

    ¡°We need to get much stronger, all of us.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to lose anyone I cared about ever again, like I lost my own child.

    ¡°Ho, ho ho, that¡¯s right!!! If you want to unite all the tribes, we will need to be very strong!¡±

    What was that ridiculous thing he just said right now?

    ¡°What?¡±

    Even Reia seemed surprised at that, it was one thing to face off against the Khan of the Foxkin tribe, it was another to face off against all the other tribes too!

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before? Every few years the tribes have a Grand Council and the tribes compete for who will be first among the tribes!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I remember you saying that, but what does that have to do with us?¡±

    The chief gave a wicked smile unexpectedly and started poking me with his pipe.

    ¡°Once you become Khan of all the Foxkin, we are going to compete in the Grand Council for the top spot!¡±

    ¡°Chief! Isn¡¯t that too great of a responsibility? You are pushing too much on me. A Human leading all the Demihuman tribes is even more absurd than me becoming a Khan.¡±

    The old chief waved his hand dismissively as if it were a done deal.

    ¡°Once you become Khan, they will have to accept you and the one thing all Demihumans respect, is strength! If we win the competitions, there is no way they would deny you! Also, we have a trump card!¡±

    A trump card? Did this have something to do with what he almost mentioned before?

    ¡°You can¡¯t mean?¡±

    The chief chuckled and enthusiastically nodded his head.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! It shouldn¡¯t be a problem!¡±

    Reia appeared annoyed and glared at her father.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been planning this haven¡¯t you father?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, well let¡¯s just say it is what needs to be done.¡±

    Reia resigned herself after his response.

    ¡°I guess it is to be expected, it should work.¡±

    I felt quite left out, what is this?

    ¡°Do you two plan to clue me in on this anytime soon?¡±

    The chief stood, walked over to me and patted me on the back.

    ¡°You¡¯ll soon find out, it isn¡¯t something for me to say.¡±

    What is with all this secrecy? For some reason, Reia was looking at me strangely, she didn¡¯t seem to be too happy with whatever it was they were talking about, but she seemed to have accepted it. Her look changed to that of resolve, and she gave me a cute nod.

    The old chief had a little twinkle in his eye and chuckled.

    ¡°I think the two of you should get some rest for now. There is plenty of time until we arrive at our destination.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t about to get anything more from him so I stood and walked off. I didn¡¯t like the fact that secrets were being kept from me, but he did say I would know soon. Just going to have to leave it at that. It wasn¡¯t long before I finally had a chance to sleep.

    <hr>

    Waking up the next day was difficult. My body ached and I hadn¡¯t slept well, but I couldn¡¯t remain idle for long. Much preparation would be needed for what lie ahead. It would still be a few months before the Grand Council would convene, so before that happened, we needed to become significantly stronger. We also needed to defeat Reia¡¯s uncle and gain leadership over the Foxkin tribe.

    There were other issues to deal with too, like Shar for example. I was beginning to get headaches. Shar was being kept prisoner in one of the Foxkin tents, he had been sleeping for quite a while, but he was now awake. There was no need to bind him, two Foxkin warriors were keeping guard and Shar was no warrior himself.

    I walked into the tent where Shar was being kept prisoner and sat down on a cushion across from him. He was in the middle of finishing a meal, so I sat down without saying a word. He was eating quite gracefully despite his situation. I had to admire his bravery even though he wasn¡¯t particularly strong.

    ¡°Seeing as how you have not tortured me yet, you must want something from me. If you are looking for a ransom, you are out of luck. There is no one who would pay a ransom for me.¡± He said that as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

    ¡°You can relax, no one will harm you here and we aren¡¯t seeking any ransom.¡±

    Shar eyed me as he finished his food and asked cautiously, ¡°What happened to the Kingdom¡¯s soldiers?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all dead.¡±

    Shar eyes opened wide when he heard that, but he collected himself much more quickly than expected.

    ¡°If that¡¯s true, that is quite the feat. I was sure the Foxkin would lose against the Kingdom¡¯s forces. They must have you to thank.¡±

    Shar was surprisingly quick witted.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, how did you defeat them?¡± Shar took an inquisitive tone. As a strategist, he was probably genuinely interested.

    ¡°Well, a little bit of creativity and the element of surprise.¡± I answered.

    Shar raised his eyebrow at me at my evasive answer.

    ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t matter if I tell you. We built pit traps and surrounded them with a fog. We then tricked them with illusions and they basically walked right into the pits. We also used fire and confusion to rout them. Once the kingdom forces lost their best units, they were easy to defeat. We just hunted them down until there were none left.¡±

    The way I said that must have been a little too calm for Shar, he seemed a little disturbed.

    ¡°What fools, to be defeated so easily¡­¡± Shar was shaking his head and muttering.

    I was wrong, he wasn¡¯t disturbed, he was disappointed in the Kingdom¡¯s army performance. This man Shar is interesting.

    ¡°I must say, I am impressed. What do you intend to do with me?¡± Shar said.

    ¡°I heard many good things about you when I was living in Enrain and I felt your talents were being wasted. I need someone like you.¡±

    ¡°Are you asking me to betray my country?¡± He asked perturbed.

    ¡°Your king was willing to throw you away, why stay loyal to a man like that?¡±

    ¡°Even if that is the case, I still have a responsibility to my country. It is not something I can throw away lightly.¡±

    It seemed my assumptions were correct because Shar did not refute them, but he was being stubborn. This much was to be expected, though, he was a loyal man after all.

    ¡°Is your responsibility to the king, or is it to the people? The people of La¡¯gun are suffering under the rule of the king and the nobility. Instead of building up the nation, they continue to wage endless wars with no purpose. You should know this better than most.¡±

    I could tell my words were beginning to reach him. He was considering them seriously, but I knew this wouldn¡¯t be enough to convince him.

    ¡°What you say is true, but I can¡¯t so easily abandon the debt I owe to the royal family.¡±

    I thought quietly for a moment and then nodded to him.

    ¡°I understand, but take some time to seriously consider this. Your king is leading his country down a dangerous path and the people will continue to suffer. When the time comes, I hope you will accept my hand.¡±

    I said nothing more and left Shar to consider my words.

    After the old chief had implored me to unite the Demihuman tribes, I began thinking about it seriously. If I were able to unite the Demihumans, what more could I do for them? It wouldn¡¯t change the reality of their situation in this world.

    Changing the established order of a society and the hearts of people was not such a simple thing. It wasn¡¯t something that could be done easily or quickly. It would have to start somewhere, there would need to be a place where Demihumans and Humans coexisted peacefully. They would need a stable and prosperous nation to show the world, that not only could Demihumans and Humans coexist, but that they could also be great together.

    It was a pipe dream at this point, but if I could get over the first hurdle of uniting the tribes, I didn¡¯t think it was so farfetched. The kingdoms of the North were fractured, constantly fighting each other in petty squabbles. If I could establish a foothold in the North, then maybe I could make that dream a reality. It would be difficult, but with the strength of all the tribes as well as talented people, I could make it a reality. I wasn¡¯t trying to delude myself, it would be difficult and it might fail, but it was something worth fighting for.

 Volume 2 Chapter 7

    We had been traveling for a couple of days and I had spent a considerable amount of that time in thought. Reia¡¯s father had asked me to do something unbelievable. When I heard his request at first, I didn¡¯t know how to respond. I was somewhat in a daze, how could I possible do what he asked? He seemed very confident about it. My mind had been racing, thinking about what I could do and what their expectations were for me.

    When he had first asked me to lead his tribe and marry his daughter, I was somewhat hesitant, but I had already fallen for Reia. Before her father had ever said anything, I had come to the realization that if I wanted to be with her, then becoming involved with her tribe was inevitable. Her father was the Chief, and she was his oldest daughter, none of this was a surprise. So, when they brought it up, It wasn¡¯t beyond my expectations. At the time, there was a crisis too.

    I love Reia and that won¡¯t change. I have resolved myself to doing whatever is necessary to help her, and her family. It would have been simple for me to walk away. As a Human, it wasn¡¯t as if I wasn¡¯t welcome in Human society and I had become a relatively successful adventurer. I could have remained in Enrain and lived well, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to just ignore the plight of the Demihumans. It may seem foolish, but I felt more at home among them than I did my own kind.

    Even though it seems such a farfetched goal to unite the Demihuman tribes, the Chief assured me that it could be done. He mentioned a ¡®trump card¡¯ or some means of gaining the other tribe¡¯s recognition. Of course we would need to win in the Grand Council games first.

    Then there is Allein and her brother. They have their own expectations of me, and to be honest, I owe Allein a lot. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive to this point if not for her. We also share the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯ and though normally her emotions are completely masked from our connection, I am sometimes able to get a glimpse of what she is feeling.

    There are times when intense emotions of helplessness and loneliness have carried over from our connection, but there have also been fleeting moments where I felt genuine love. I knew it was indecent, but I couldn¡¯t shake the fact that I also felt something for her. Perhaps our connection through the Mark compounded that, or maybe it was something else. I wanted to protect her too, but I wasn¡¯t naive enough to believe that I had the strength to carry their burdens on my shoulder.

    What should I do? What can I do? I was stuck on those two questions, but then I realized the answer was simple. What do I want to do? I want to help them and with my meager ability, I want to protect them from anyone who would do harm.

    Just as I had come to a decision, I could feel Allein coming closer through our bond. It wasn¡¯t exactly accurate, but I could at least get a sense of the direction and the distance. She had left with her brother the day before. Since they were Dragonkin, they didn¡¯t like to stay cooped up for too long and they would occasionally go off to fly freely in the skies.

    It wasn¡¯t long before a beautiful black dragon flew over my head and swung around, kicking up dirt as it landed. The dragon morphed into the form of Allein, and she walked towards me with her usual somewhat seductive gait.

    ¡°Were you waiting for me Fayde?¡± She said while smiling coyly.

    ¡°Not really, I just needed some time alone¡­ to think. So I came out here.¡± I replied in a somewhat solemn tone.

    ¡°Did I disturb you then? I could feel you here so I thought I would drop in on you.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I was just about to head back anyway. I had a lot on my mind, but it¡¯s fine now.¡±

    Allein cocked her head and watched me with her crimson eyes. They were somewhat unnerving and unnatural, but they had a certain charm. It was sometimes difficult for me to pull my eyes away from them. There were even times when I thought I might drown in those eyes.

    ¡°Fayde, I also did some thinking while I was away and¡­ I¡¯ve decided to tell you about me and my kind. I also have a request, will you hear me out?¡±

    Her emotions surged when she spoke and because of our proximity, I could feel them through the Mark. It wasn¡¯t normal to feel another¡¯s emotions through the Mark, but she seemed to be somewhat emotionally unstable and she couldn¡¯t control them sufficiently.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m listening..¡±

    ¡°Not here, let¡¯s go inside the Chief¡¯s tent. This concerns everyone.¡±

    We walked in silence, both of us deep in our own thoughts. When we arrived at the Chief¡¯s tent, Reia¡¯s family was going about their business and our encampment was lively as usual. Whenever we weren¡¯t traveling, there was much work that needed to be done. There were Foxkin preparing animals to be skinned and their meat preserved and others were crafting various items from materials.

    Nes had already returned to the camp and was discussing something with Reia and her father in the Chief¡¯s tent. They stopped their conversation when we entered and waited for us to sit down beside them. The Chief could see the serious look on Allein¡¯s face and he told the rest of his family to leave the tent for now so that we could have a private discussion.

    ¡°So, is it that time then?¡±

    Reia¡¯s father looked to Allein and she confirmed his question with a nod.

    ¡°Alright, then why don¡¯t you tell him what you know, and if there is anything else, I will fill in the holes.¡±

    Allein took a moment to prepare herself before speaking. It didn¡¯t seem like it was something she wanted to talk about. With the seriousness of this atmosphere, I kept my mouth closed and waited for her to speak.

    ¡°Fayde, Nes and I, are the last of the Dragonkin.¡± Allein said abruptly as her lip quivered slightly.

    The facade she had masked her face with almost slipping away. I understood what she meant. As I watched her speak, I began to understand a bit more about her personality and the mask she wore.

    The old chief put a hand on her shoulder to give her strength and she continued.

    ¡°My father, mother, siblings, all of them are gone. Only Nes and I remain. They have been gone for a long time, longer than you can imagine.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean a long time ago?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly how many years have passed, but at the least, a few thousand.¡± She said as her voice shook.

    ¡°Wait. How can that be?¡± I blurted out.

    ¡°Let me explain and then if you have any questions at the end, I will try to answer them.¡±

    ¡°Okay, sorry, I won¡¯t interrupt.¡±

    I calmed myself and listened intently.

    ¡°My brother and I were still young for our kind when this all took place, but our bodies have not aged from that time. My father put us in a strange and dark place where nothing seemed to exist other than us. There we slept, a place outside of the effects of time and when we woke, we woke to a strange world. It wasn¡¯t a place we were meant to be. We hadn¡¯t aged, but the world had continued on without us. Soon after we woke, we discovered the all that we knew was gone. Our family was gone, our friends, everything. My brother and I have been wandering aimlessly, looking for answers. We were guided to you, it¡¯s the reason why we were put asleep.¡±

    As she spoke, I felt there were bits and pieces missing, but it may very well be that she didn¡¯t

    know. Allein and her brother must have been through alot, waking up to a strange world where all you knew was gone. It¡¯s almost like my situation, so I can understand.

    ¡°That is our story, but in order to understand, I need to explain to you what happened in the past, to this world. This world was once filled with only Humans, there were no Demihumans. There were also no monsters, or dungeons, or even magic¡­...¡±

    She began to recite an incredible story that I could hardly bring myself to believe.

    She explained that she and her brother were the only ones alive today who were alive then. They were born after the events that changed the world took place and once they were sealed, they had very little knowledge of what happened after. Allein¡¯s parents were among the first Demihumans in the world, most of the other original Demihumans were long dead before she was born. Even her parents didn¡¯t fully understand what had happened.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    One day, the sun had disappeared from the sky and an enormous, dark energy appeared. The way her father described it was that, it was as if the sun had been eaten by an enormous black hole, which suddenly and mysteriously appeared in the sky. It lasted several minutes, and her father said he had panicked, but he couldn¡¯t see anything as there was no light. He felt an immense pain throughout his entire body, it warped and shaped him and when the light returned, he could see his horrid and monstrous shape, that of a dragon. Her mother, who was next to him at the time, went through the same change.

    That was only the beginning of their horror, though, because they soon found that most of the people they knew had transformed into monsters, or similar beings like them. The world that they knew had forever changed, and in its place was something far more sinister. The monsters, who were once Human, had lost all reason and attacked everyone and everything. They attacked other Humans, the newly created Demihumans, and even each other. Untold millions of people died, perhaps even more than that. They lived in the center of the Old Empire and the areas around the Imperial city had been affected the most, something which her father had found out later.

    One of the sons of the emperor had been far away when it happened and when he heard, he had come with a vast army. Those in further parts of the world weren¡¯t as affected by the phenomenon as those who were close to the Imperial capital. They waged war on the monsters, but they also killed Demihumans, thinking they were no different.

    Allein¡¯s father and mother, along with other Demihumans, were forced to go into hiding for a long time. The son of the emperor was able to regain order in the capital and its immediate surroundings and began successfully quelling the monsters, but it was a slow process.

    He had only regained a small portion of their former territory before he died, and his son, and grandson, continued this process. Meanwhile, Allein¡¯s father and mother had gathered together all the Demihumans they could, in order to protect themselves from both the monsters and Humans.

    This lasted for some time, the Demi-humans had been able to keep themselves safe, far away from the Imperial capital for hundreds of years, until finally, the Empire reached them. They sent their armies to attack the Demihumans who had been living peacefully until that time. They tried to reason with them, but the Humans had become fanatical in their beliefs. They claimed that their gods gave them a holy mission to wipe out all monsters, and that included the Demihumans.

    ¡°And so, my father, and mother, took Nes and I to a secret place. There we slept, for thousands of years. When my brother and I woke, we had to fend for ourselves, and eventually we heard bits and pieces of what happened from different tribes. The Demihumans had won, but only at great cost. Very few of them survived and there was no trace of my family. The Humans were pushed south and eventually formed a new empire and the Plains were abandoned. Demihumans made it their home, along with countless monsters.¡±

    It was difficult to swallow everything she just told me. On Earth, these kinds of stories could only be found in books or movies, but this was their world¡¯s history.

    ¡°Oh, and that¡¯s right. I almost forgot. Back then, Humans had extremely powerful and destructive weapons that could fire from incredible distances. I didn¡¯t really see much of them myself, but I heard stories from others. I wasn¡¯t alive when the world was suddenly changed, so my experience is limited, but my father told me the world was a wondrous place with all kinds of amazing things. None of that remains today though.¡±

    That got me thinking. Was it a world similar to Earth? Could those weapons she mentioned be things like missiles or something?

    ¡°I see, I don¡¯t really know how to respond to all that. I had been wondering for a while now why no one ever mentioned anything about the Dragonkin.¡±

    ¡°Now you know. I haven¡¯t told you everything yet. There is more. In that place where my brother and I slept, we were not always alone. There was a voice that comforted us in our dreams, speaking in our minds. It was the same voice that my father heard. My brother and I¡­. we must continue what my father began. We must create a world where our kind can exist, where we have a future. This is why we need you, do you understand Fayde?¡±

    ¡°I understand what you are saying, but¡­ why me? Why am I so important? Does it have something to do with my power?¡± I asked.

    I had a feeling it had everything to do with the ¡®Void¡¯ and I had also heard a voice myself, so I didn¡¯t doubt what she was saying. There was definitely truth to it, but what exactly the ¡®Void¡¯ or that ¡®Voice¡¯ were eluded me.

    ¡°Your power is unique. You should have been able to realize that by now. Did you think that you came to this world without a purpose? You were brought here by that same voice that kept my brother and I safe for thousands of years. We were sent to find you, that was why we were awoken.¡± Allein replied.

    ¡°Allein, what is this ¡®Voice¡¯?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­. I only know that my father told me to heed the ¡®Voice¡¯ as he had. The ¡®Voice¡¯ has guided our people since we became Demihumans. It only told me certain things, just the things I needed to know. It told me where to find you, and what we needed to do to save our kind.¡±

    I thought for a moment and then turned to the Chief.

    ¡°Has anyone else ever heard this ¡®Voice¡¯?¡±

    ¡°No, only the Dragonkin were able to hear it. This was one of the reasons why they were our leaders.¡± Reia¡¯s father answered while shaking his head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t very much like dancing to the tune of anyone, especially not some intangible being¡­¡±

    Even though I said that, I had been relying on the power of the ¡®Void¡¯ since I arrived in this world. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to arrive at this point in time if I hadn¡¯t. If this ¡®Voice¡¯ was indeed the ¡®Void¡¯ as I suspected, I was already deeply affected by it.

    "Fayde, I understand your hesitation. You chose to help us and it has put your life in danger. I hate to ask more of you, but please consider my words. Our people, all Demihumans, are slowly dying out. Humans hunt our kind, killing and enslaving us while we continue to remain divided. Only the Dragonkin are recognized as the true leaders of our people, these are the old traditions. The tribes will never abandon the old traditions, not of their own accord.¡± Reia¡¯s father said with conviction.

    ¡°I understand all of this, you explained it to me already, but I still don¡¯t see how I can do this. You say they won¡¯t abandon the old traditions. I am a Human, they would never follow me even if I wanted to do it. I¡­.¡± I hesitated and looked towards Reia.

    ¡°Fayde¡­. I¡¯m sorry¡­ we have all placed a heavy burden on you and truthfully, you don¡¯t owe us anything. If you want to leave now¡­ I would understand.¡± Reia said with a bitter smile.

    Seeing her pained expression wasn¡¯t easy for me. I had already come to terms with this for the most part so I felt there was no need to drag it on further.

    ¡°Reia, don¡¯t make that look. It¡¯s fine, okay? I would never abandon you. I know what it feels like to have those you love run away because they are too weak and unwilling to struggle. They just¡­. leave when things become difficult. I won¡¯t do that¡­¡±

    My words seemed to calm her and she nodded and smiled.

    ¡°So then¡­ what exactly is your trump card that will make the other clans submit?¡± I asked Reia¡¯s father.

    He didn¡¯t answer and instead looked towards Allein. Her emotions were once again out of control even if her face remained calm. She was nervous, anxious, afraid, and hopeful.

    ¡°Fayde... my brother and I, we don¡¯t have the power to do what is necessary, but you do. But as a Human, the clans wouldn¡¯t accept you¡­ so.. If I were to be¡­.¡±

    I sighed, knowing full well where this was going.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about marriage, aren¡¯t you?¡± I said interrupting her.

    ¡°...Yes..¡± Allein replied with resignation.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± I said calmly, but in reality I wasn¡¯t calm.

    My thoughts were going crazy and my heart was beating rapidly. I had already decided to do what was necessary to help them, but could I really do this?

    I glanced over at Reia who was gritting her teeth. Her emotions were not under control either and I could sense that she was not happy.

    ¡°This is nothing strange, I myself have more than one wife. Reia understands this too. If you marry Allein as well, none of the clans will be able to go against this. This is a chance for us to survive..¡± The old Chief said pleadingly, sensing that my thoughts were conflicted.

    ¡°Is it such a bad thing¡­. Do you hate it so much?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that Allein¡­.¡±

    ¡°Then?¡±

    I didn¡¯t respond immediately. I tried to calm my nerves and settle my heart. It wasn¡¯t such a terrible thing. Allein was beautiful and it wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t feel anything for her. Her personality was difficult to deal with and I knew she kept a lot of herself hidden from me, but I didn¡¯t think she was a bad person. There was a lot on her shoulders and I could imagine that the burden was too great for her to bear alone.

    She continued to watch me with stern eyes. I wondered if she thought gentleness was a weakness. Perhaps she felt if she allowed her true emotions to show, that she would collapse from the responsibility that had been given to her. She seemed frail to me in this moment and not strong at all.

    ¡°Are you okay with this Reia?¡± I asked.

    She nodded her head but I could tell that in her heart she was conflicted.

    <hr>

    The next day, the entire tribe gathered not far from the encampment. In order to take Allein as my wife and be recognized as the Khan of the Dragonkin, it was necessary for me to defeat Nes. Well, it wasn¡¯t absolutely necessary, but Nes was being stubborn. He kept muttering under his breath how he would never accept me and he wasn''t about to hand his sister over to me without a fight. He refused to relent no matter what and challenged me to a duel which, in the end, I was happy to accept. It was a perfect opportunity to beat his ass and teach him a lesson.

    The Foxkin gave us a very wide berth so as not to get caught up in our battle. Both Nes and I stood across the expanse from each other, our weapons at the ready. I could feel his magic power growing and manifesting around him. I held my sword with both my hands on the hilt and began summoning the ¡®Void¡¯ within me. Dark matter flowed out from my body, coalescing into black flames around my blade and body. I focused intently and controlled the flow of power that raged within me, shaping and bending it to my will.

    I felt the magic power around Nes stabilize and he shouted out his attack and flew towards me with deadly accuracy. I could feel his murderous intent approaching me at a blistering pace. I did not lose my focus, and in the moment that Nes¡¯ attack was to strike, I released my ¡®Void Strike.¡¯ The collision of powerful magic, ignited the spot on which these two magical energies collided. The energy momentarily contracted, releasing sparks of what looked like electromagnetic energy, that crackled in the sudden stillness.

    That stillness lasted only a moment, a mere millisecond, before expanding and releasing an explosive energy that sent Nes flying backwards in shock from the released magical energy. A small crater was formed on the ground where our attacks had been unleashed, and an enormous explosive sound rang throughout the Plains. My ¡®Void¡¯ flames ebbed and dissipated, but I was unharmed.

    Nes was lying on the floor several meters away and didn¡¯t move. His sister was nowhere in sight.

    ¡°And I was trying my best to not blow things up this time¡­.¡±

    I walked over to Nes hoping he wasn¡¯t dead. Thankfully, he wasn¡¯t, he was still breathing, but he had been knocked out. It was my victory.

 Volume 2 Chapter 8

    ¡°How did they defeat the kingdom army? This is absolutely ridiculous! It should have been a sure thing!¡±

    A man was violently hitting the table they used for their mission briefings, scattering paper all over the cellar. He was furious, his plan had failed and the target was still alive.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe how incompetent these Northerners are! The Empire should just crush them all already and get it over with!¡±

    Across from the man was his companion who didn¡¯t even bother trying to stop him, she would just wait until he finally calmed down. There was always an element of the unknown in any plan, even the best ones. She wasn¡¯t nearly as surprised as he was, in her observations of Fayde he had proven to be an able commander.

    The man''s violent outburst continued for several more minutes before he finally calmed down.

    ¡°We will move to the next phase of our plan. You must quickly follow the Foxkin and meet up with him again on the Plains of Sorrow. We must find an opportunity to isolate him from his allies if possible. I will return to the Empire and prepare a proper force for our use.¡±

    His comrade was not happy with his tone of voice, she didn¡¯t serve him, she served the Empire, but she kept her thoughts to herself. He was a violent man, and she would soon be away from him anyway, so she felt no need to respond to him. She would complete her mission for the Empire, but she didn¡¯t mind if this fool didn¡¯t survive it.

    ¡°Use this magic tool to communicate with me, you know how to use it. You must keep me apprised of the target¡¯s movements and when I am ready, I will head towards your location and send you a missive.¡± He quickly handed her the magic tool, which could summon a magical messenger bird that could travel indefinitely in order to deliver its message. It was a very useful tool, it wasn¡¯t an actual bird, so it couldn¡¯t be shot out of the sky, and it didn¡¯t require sustenance so it could fly as far as it needed to go.

    For those in their profession, it was an invaluable tool. Once she received the magic tool from her fellow agent, she left the house which had been their base of operations while in this town. They would now abandon it and remove all evidence they had ever been there. It was no longer necessary for them to continue to use it as they had no idea whether they would ever return. Either way, the female agent said her goodbye to Enrain, and made her way towards the Plains of Sorrow.

    <hr>

    After Tris and the others got separated because of what happened in the Kingdom it took her several days to locate Fayde and the Foxkin camp. They were moving extremely slowly westward along the Plains. It wasn¡¯t difficult for Tris to track them down since she was a Ranger. She had various abilities related to tracking and hunting.

    She didn¡¯t bother using any special tricks to hide her presence and instead let the Foxkin scouts easily find her. She surrendered without issue and asked that she be brought to Fayde, she told them they were companions.

    When they brought Tris to Fayde, he was sitting comfortably on a cushion.

    ¡°Tris, you¡¯re back! So you got my message from Orban then?¡± Said Fayde.

    ¡°Yes, he told me what you were planning to do. I still can¡¯t believe what happened. I came as soon as I could. It¡¯s a good thing you guys have been traveling so slowly otherwise I might not have been able to catch up with you.¡± Tris replied.

    Tris looked around the tent cautiously, but then smiled at Fayde and shrugged

    ¡°Yeah, a lot has happened, but I am happy you came. I wasn¡¯t sure if you would.¡± Fayde said with an exhausted tone.

    ¡°Of course I came! What would you do without me?¡± Tris said while winking at Fayde and giving him a light push.

    ¡°You look tired, everything okay?¡± She continued.

    ¡°Yeah, just tired. A lot has happened in the last couple of days.¡±

    Fayde leaned back on the cushion and drank from a nearby bowl. Tris could tell that he must have been through quite an ordeal.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what happened? I only heard bits and pieces here and there¡­¡±

    She only knew that the Kingdom forces had gone to the Serandal forest, but none of them had returned.

    ¡°Well, you know about the Kingdom trying to coerce the Foxkin, Orban should have told you that much. We ended up fighting them in the forest and we beat them. Anyway, a bunch of other stuff happened after that and now somehow I am the Chief of these Foxkin.¡± Fayde replied.

    His reply was hurried and he seemed to be glossing over the details. It was clear he didn¡¯t really want to discuss it much. Tris had an inkling of what was going on because he was ordering Foxkin around and seemed to be in charge.

    ¡°A human chief of a Demi-human tribe? That¡¯s unheard of, how did that happen?¡±

    Fayde leaned over and grabbed some flat bread which was on a plate nearby before speaking.

    ¡°Just, some things happened. Anyway, none of that is important. I am glad to see you are safe and that you found us.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s next? It can¡¯t be that you plan to wander around the Plains.¡±

    ¡°Like I said, a lot has happened. We are heading towards the Foxkin clan. Reia is going to challenge her uncle for leadership of the clan.¡±

    ¡°I thought that only male Demihumans could be leaders of a clan? What is the point of having Reia challenge her uncle?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you don¡¯t know yet but I am now engaged to Reia. So if Reia beats her uncle, somehow or another, I will become Khan of the Foxkin.¡±

    It sounded quite unbelievable to Tris, she couldn¡¯t imagine how the Demihumans could accept Fayde.

    ¡°Wait, you and Reia are engaged?¡± She almost missed that little piece of info.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ we are.¡± He shrugged it off with a chuckle.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why are you even doing any of this?¡±

    Fayde didn''t owe the Demihumans anything and it wouldn''t profit him much to go through all this trouble.

    Why is he doing all of this? She really wanted to know.

    ¡°Well¡­.. one way or another, everyone got it in their head that I should unite the tribes and become their leader.¡± He seemed to be a little embarrassed saying it, but there was also a certain resolve in his voice.

    It looks like this is something he wants himself. I didn''t realize he had such ambition. It was a little shocking and she could only look at him with curiousity.

    ¡°What makes you think you can make them follow you? The Demihumans have never followed any one leader¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ well, I''m not sure just yet but I have my reasons.¡±

    ¡°What? Tell me.¡± Could there be anything more that shocks me today?

    ¡°I can''t really say more, sorry. It''s not that I don''t trust you, it''s not really my place to say anything."

    He refused to tell her which only made her more curious.

    ¡°I see. Well, if you can''t tell me, I understand.¡± I wasn''t expecting him to keep secrets from me, this could be important.

    ¡°I''m really sorry, but you will find out when the time comes, I promise.¡±

    It seemed to bother him that he had to keep this a secret from her so she couldn''t say much more.

    ¡°Alright, well I''m tired. I traveled a long way to get here so I will go get some rest."

    Tris stood up to leave as she spoke and Fayde told her to get a good rest while she could.

    Tris was brought to a tent where she could sleep by one of the Foxkin, but she didn¡¯t immediately go to sleep.

    In the dark of night, a single light in the shape of a bird flew swiftly southward.

    <hr>

    ¡°Shore up the left flank! We can¡¯t let those imperial dogs flank us! Quickly now, send in the third division of infantry!¡± An enormous and muscular, giant of a man roared out a command to his subordinate.

    He was not a man at all, but a Demihuman that resembled what you would imagine a Human, merged with a demon, might look like. Their forms were nonetheless, more Human like than one might expect and there was even great beauty in their forms if one cared to look.

    They were called Demon-kin and to those who welcomed the name, it was a name to be proud of, but to those who cursed it, a name to be feared. They were not demons but lacking any other name to call themselves, they accepted it and made it their own.

    ¡°My Shakari, the imperial cataphracts are wreaking havoc on our flanks, we can¡¯t stop them.¡±

    Shakari was the title given to the leader of the Demonkin clan. To the Humans, he was known as the ¡®Demon Lord¡¯.

    The Shakiri did not want to hear the petty complaints of his subordinate, for in his fury he had lost all reason. It was something that plagued him, his unquenchable fury. The Shakari slammed his immense spear into the ground in a rage.

    ¡°Then I shall enter the fold myself!¡±

    The subordinates, and his personal guard that surrounded him, pleaded with him to calm down and not to do something so hasty, but he was well beyond reasoning. The Demon lord, when enraged, could not be stopped and he was an incredibly fierce foe who could slaughter hundreds on his own. It was still dangerous for him to enter the battlefield and so his subordinates did everything they could to try to convince him to remain.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The Demon lord was eight feet tall and was wider and stronger than any man. He rushed onto the battlefield with his enormous spear, that must have been almost twelve feet in length. He swung the spear with skillful ease and every swing of his spear sent enemy soldiers to their deaths. Even the feared Imperial Cataphracts, with their heavily armored horses and men, were cut down by him, but there was too many.

    His army was crumbling around him as he raged out of control, only finally calming down when he had tired himself sufficiently. His remaining soldiers crowded around him, forcing him off the battlefield, his army was in retreat. They could no longer sustain the battle lines and were in rout. They had dealt a heavy blow to The Empire, but they had been defeated. His hopes had been dashed by the might of The Empire, but as long as he lived, he vowed his revenge against the Humans that had slaughtered his kind.

    With great effort, his subordinates pulled him away from the battlefield.

    Two weeks later.

    ¡°Brother, you must calm yourself. Your penchant for unbridled rage is quite tiresome.¡± A young Demonkin woman yawned, while holding her hand very elegantly against her mouth.

    She had the demeanor of a princess and she wore a violet dress, embroidered with flowers along the hem. Her movements were delicate, like a flowering rose, she was every bit the opposite of her uncultured and vulgar brother.

    This young woman was sitting on a palanquin which was being carried by servants of the Demonkin. She would never allow her beautiful dress to be dirtied by walking. Her brother was beside her, towering over the palanquin. He was in a foul mood.

    ¡°I can never forgive them! I will crush every last one of them! I will squeeze their heads until they pop! I will stomp on them until their entrails fall out!¡±

    ¡°Big brother! I can¡¯t stand your vulgarities any longer! Cease this uncouth behavior immediately!¡±

    The big brother looked at his younger sister with fiery eyes, but he discontinued his behavior. If there was any weakness this giant of a man had, it would be his sister. If any other spoke to him in such a manner, he would not hesitate to crush their skull.

    ¡°My Shakari, we must be cautious, we can¡¯t allow the Imperial army scouts to find us.¡±

    ¡°Listen to your subordinate brother, I am afraid that your voice can be heard from miles away! It would be a bore if we had to face the Imperial army again, especially with our less than flattering performance in the last battle.¡± The younger sister mocked her brother, the Shakari, leader of the Demon-kin clan, but he ignored it.

    No one would dare pay any mind to the words of his sister, for fear of losing their lives. Every Demonkin knew that the Demonkin princess was a special existence that could say whatever she wished, without incurring the wrath of the Shakari.

    ¡°Hrmph! Those humans were lucky, it was not my day!¡± He dismissed the loss that his kin had suffered against the Imperial army.

    He had lost a good portion of his army, but he still had strength left. His Demon-kin were the finest heavy infantry in the world, or so he claimed, and there was truth in it. They were indeed a force to be reckoned with and their mastery of metalsmithing was indeed something to brag about, but their advantage over others was much smaller than they believed. This was something they had learned quite bitterly against the might of The Empire.

    They were the only Demihumans who were skilled at crafting metal weapons and armor, but their kind had no magical abilities at all, instead relying on their overt strength of arms and physical prowess. This was not enough to defeat The Empire. Their forces were not as inferior as the Demonkin had thought. Not only that, but they had powerful mages, skillful strategists as well as varied units which made their army diverse and effective. Their cataphracts, especially, were deadly.

    The Shakari had underestimated the humans and had paid a heavy price, more than half of his army had lost their lives and they were forced to leave their home. The Demonkin clan was sluggishly heading North to the Plains of Sorrow, in hopes of forcing the other Demihumans to join him against the humans, in order to seek revenge.

    ¡°Brother, it is not becoming to make excuses for your failures.¡±

    The Shakari finally turned to his sister, ¡°Sister, why don¡¯t you hurry up and get married so you can spend your time making your husband¡¯s life miserable, and not mine.¡±

    ¡°Big brother, you know very well that is impossible. You have killed every suitor who has expressed an interest in me. Have you forgotten?¡±

    The young woman motioned to one of her servants to fan her, the warm weather was not good for her fair skin.

    ¡°Hmph! They were all too weak! No weak man is going to marry my sister! He has to at least last one round with me!¡±

    He was way too proud of himself for that, but it wasn¡¯t as if she didn¡¯t feel the same way. She was far too great a prize for just any man, she was a princess after all, and a peerless beauty. Of course, just strength alone was not enough for her, any suitable husband would need to provide her a luxurious lifestyle as well.

    ¡°Then you will just have to deal with me forever.¡± Her voice had a hint of wistfulness, she was beginning to lose hope in ever finding anyone suitable.

    ¡°Argh! If only father hadn¡¯t made me make that promise¡­.¡±

    He was beginning to wish someone would hurry and defeat him in battle, just so he could rid himself of her, but she was his only family after all.

    ¡°Brother, I am beginning to think we will never arrive at our destination. Traveling out in the open so frequently does nothing for my skin.¡±

    ¡°We still have a long way to go before we get to the Plains of Sorrow, you will have to make do!¡±

    The young woman was not in any way pleased by his response.

    ¡°My Shakari, we have spotted Imperial cavalry giving chase! There are at least five hundred of them.¡±

    One of his scouts had reported back, an enemy cavalry unit was advancing on their position.

    The sister to the Shakari, glanced over at the scout and asked him in a solemn tone, ¡°Distance?¡±

    ¡°Princess, they are no more than a mile away, and approaching quickly.¡±

    The scout bowed his head with deep respect. The princess was well loved by her clan despite her seemingly peculiar behavior. There was a very good reason why her clan had such deep respect for her.

    ¡°Servants! Put me down and bring me my bow, Vale¡¯ria!¡± the princess commanded.

    The servants who had been carrying the palanquin in which the princess sat, gently placed it down to the ground. The princess stood, and the servants carefully lifted the skirt of her dress, so that it would not dirty. She faced the direction of the approaching cavalry and waited as her bow was brought to her.

    The bow was the work of a master craftsman long dead, a long bow of dizzying strength. The bow was seven feet in length, taller than she was, and made of Ebony Darkstone, one of the finest metals that existed. The string of the bow was made from the silk of a Jargdari spider, a gargantuan spider that¡¯s silk was stronger than steel, but also possessed high elasticity. Each arrow shot from this bow was three feet in length and possessed enough power to pierce even the hardest of armor.

    There were only two who could shoot this bow, the Shakari, and his sister. Despite her delicate form, she was endowed with a monstrous strength similar to that of her brother. However, despite their similar strength, she possessed a keen sight and inhuman precision that her brother lacked. As such, the only one who could use the bow with any hope of success, was the princess, for which this weapon could be said to have been made for.

    The bow, named Vale¡¯ria, had been taken from its resting place and was brought to the princess by three servants who gently placed it in her hands. An additional two servants were tasked with handling the quiver of arrows, which this bow shot. They would also hand the arrows to the princess so that she could quickly nock the arrows and shoot them rapidly.

    She waited, observing the horizon with her keen eyesight. 700 yards, 600 yards, 500 yards. She took an arrow from her servants and nocked her bow. 400 yards. She shot, quickly nocking the next arrow handed to her, shooting again a second, third, and fourth time. Her hands moved quickly, her servants having already trained for this particular task and handed her arrows one after the other efficiently.

    Each arrow the princess shot, pierced its¡¯ target sending them flying off their horses, one after the other. The cavalry did not slow, continuing their charge. She had killed thirty of them, before she finally yawned, with an exaggerated expression and put her hand to her lips, tired of her play. She handed the bow back to her servants and once again sat on her palanquin. The Demonkin watched in awe at the feat of their princess, who all knew her on the battlefield as the feared ¡®Mistress of the Bow.¡¯

    ¡°Ha ha ha! Look at that, I think you broke your last record! It¡¯s my turn now! Infantry forward! Javelins, fire!¡±

    The Demonkin skirmishers fired a hail of javelins at the approaching cavalry, thinning their numbers, as the heavy infantry formed their ¡®Scildweall.¡¯ The Demon-kin heavy infantry met the cavalry, breaking their charge. These were not the mighty cataphracts they had faced in the previous battle, and so they did not have much difficulty in halting their charge. The Demonkin long spears brought the horses down and their riders with them. Their deaths were swift and merciless, the Demonkin slaughtered the Imperial cavalry with relative ease.

    ¡°Hmm, this is too easy, these must be the forces of a local lord and not from the Imperial army. I doubt they would be so foolish to attack us with so few men. This lord most likely wanted to gain prestige by hunting some of us down, but it looks like they became the prey instead, hahahaha.¡± The Shakari bellowed, filled with the thrill of battle.

    His sister looked on with a bored expression as her servants fanned her and fed her fruit.

    <hr>

    The Imperial palace was an enormous marvel, a true feat of architectural brilliance, one of the great wonders of the world. It had been built in a different time, but when it had been built, it was only the fifth most magnificent palace in the old empire. The current world did not have the technological prowess to build such magnificent architecture and so nothing could compare to it in the world, and the other palaces had long been destroyed.

    Within the lavishly decorated throne room sat the emperor himself. Clothed in the finery of the utmost quality, he sat in wondrous splendor upon a decadent throne. Above his head was a banner with a sun on it. He was known as the Sun Emperor, Emperor of the light, Emperor of the Dawn and the hope of all humanity. He was directly descended from the emperors of old and of the highest pedigree.

    He was young and handsome, filled with vigor and charisma. All who gazed upon him, did so with envy in their hearts. Standing before him were the bishops of the Holy Church who did not have to prostrate themselves before his glorious might. While not on equal footing with the emperor, they too were powerful individuals within The Empire.

    ¡°Emperor, we bring grave tidings.¡±

    The Emperor never showed his true emotions, instead showing a smile which never changed. He wore no other expression, at least not in public. In private, he was a lascivious and depraved soul, who fed on any and all desires to his heart¡¯s content.

    ¡°What is this ¡®grave tidings¡¯ that you speak of?¡± The emperor continued smiling, but was giving offhanded glances to a court lady on one side of the throne room.

    The bishops nervously looked at each other before giving their answer. ¡°We have reports¡­¡± The bishop hesitated, concerned with the words he was about to say.

    The emperor was losing his patience, ¡°Out with it!¡±

    The bishops looked at each other again, and answered, ¡°We have failed to remove the threat and the anomaly has moved towards the Plains of Sorrow. Also, although this is only mere speculation thus far¡­. there may be Dragonkin helping him.¡±

    The emperor¡¯s smile that never changed in public, was now gone and in its¡¯ place was a look of shock, fear and then anger. He stood from the throne, something he had never done before and slammed his hand on the arm rest. This was an action completely unbefitting one with the stature of an emperor.

    ¡°How can this be?! They were all exterminated by my ancestors!¡± The emperor roared in anger and those in attendance shrunk back in fear.

    They too knew of the might of the Dragon-kin that destroyed the old empire, the memory of which was used to frighten young children who misbehaved. The emperor calmed himself and sat back down on his throne, his momentary lapse of decorum at an end.

    ¡°Are you certain?¡± His words were calm, but his usual smile was no longer visible on his face.

    ¡°We are certain.¡± The bishop¡¯s words held no room for doubt.

    ¡°There is little we can do now; our legions will take years to rebuild.¡± The emperor was clearly frustrated.

    One of the bishops stepped forward, ¡°It may be implausible to send our legions north, especially with our recent losses, but perhaps a more discreet approach?¡±

    The emperor looked at the bishop with a thoughtful expression, ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±

    ¡°We already have operatives who have been observing the situation for some time now, we wish to send them a support detachment for future operations. We need the very best we have on this and ask for your help in this matter.¡± The bishop inclined his head towards the emperor and waited for his response.

    ¡°You shall have whatever resources you need.¡±

    The bishops thanked the emperor for his assistance and left his presence promptly.

    "Brother Bishop, care must be taken in this situation. Mentioning the Dragonkin to spur the Emperor on was brilliant, even if it was just a mere illusion that our agent saw. We can now use the Empire''s resources to take control of this situation."

    "Yes, I am aware. Everything has been going according to plan so far despite this hiccup, it is only a matter of time. We have waited too long and come too far to fail now. Inform our agent that they will have the support they require and tell him to do what they can to isolate the anomaly if possible.."

    The other bishops nodded their agreement and mumbled their prayers.

 Volume 2 Chapter 9

    ¡°Maralli, cast the illusion, now!¡± I shouted my orders to the young Foxkin woman.

    Maralli was one of the Foxkin who had an affinity for illusion magic and could cast rather complex illusions. She had been instrumental when fighting the Kingdom¡¯s forces when defending the Foxkin in the forest near La¡¯gun. She was now being put to use casting illusions in order to fool the enormous monster they were hunting. These illusions were extremely advantageous in fooling the large monsters on the Plains, which weren¡¯t too intelligent.

    I was leading the warriors of my small tribe in hunting behemoth sized monsters on the Plains of Sorrow. We had been traveling for almost a month now while in search of the larger Foxkin tribe and feeding three hundred people was not an easy feat. It required a large amount of meat, and so we were currently training our forces while also hunting this behemoth in order to feed the tribe.

    Large monsters such as this provided a decent amount of ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯ and that meant I continued to grow in power. I also shared some of that power with Reia and Allein. As our power grew, the strength of my tribe also increased with the experience gained from hunting such monsters. The Foxkin warriors were becoming a competent and well disciplined force. This was necessary if we wanted to dominate the competitions during the Grand Council.

    Before that, though, we would still need to face the Khan of the Foxkin clan. The way the current power structure worked within the various tribes of Demihumans was that Khans led large clans while chieftains led smaller tribes. If I wanted to become Khan of the Foxkin, I would need to first defeat the current Khan, Reia¡¯s uncle.

    ¡°Trille, keep those spears up, we need to keep that Behemoth distracted!¡± I shouted another order to Trille who was a squad leader.

    I had separated the Foxkin warriors into squads of 10, each having one squad leader. My forces were still small but they needed to be organized properly. I set them up into squads of 10 in order to help them build camaraderie and teamwork among themselves. While these Foxkin were mostly all family and knew each other well, they had never before worked together as an army until I came along.

    While fighting the monsters on the plains, some of which were humanoid, the Foxkin were learning to use formations and tactics. The weapons and armor we had scavenged from the kingdom forces were proving invaluable. Training them in the use of the spear was an important step in becoming a well balanced force.

    I also had them train in the use of throwing spears, such as javelins, and also the more traditional spears used in a shield wall. We didn¡¯t have shields yet, but even without shields I thought it important to train them in these tactics. At the least, it would familiarize them with the types of formations and tactics that humans used. On top of that, Reia also trained them in close quarter combat with a sword or axe. Unfortunately, the Foxkin had very few axes and the only swords we had currently were the short swords we scavenged from the Kingdom¡¯s soldiers

    The amount of work I needed to accomplish was almost overbearing, but I did my best to make use of the resources and manpower available to me. Setting up squads, having Reia, Nes, Tris and Allein help with training, hunting monsters, formation and battle tactics training, etc. were all part of this.

    Because of this, we moved at almost a snail¡¯s pace across the Plains. This wasn¡¯t an issue because we needed the time to prepare regardless. It was still some time until the Grand Council, but we needed to be ready as quickly as possible and get as much training done as we could.

    ¡°Reia, have squads two and three attack the monster¡¯s rear! Nes and Allein, takes squads four and five and attack and attack from both sides. Use only wind or water attacks. We don''t want to damage the hide of the monster.¡± More orders were given by me as the battle progressed.

    The monster was being herded and distracted by illusions and squad one, while the other four squads hit the monster from all sides. Most weapons would be useless against the monster, but magical attacks were effective and so the Foxkin bombarded the monster from all sides with water and wind attacks. With the numbers we had, taking down this Behemoth would not be too difficult. The Foxkin were effective at magic bombardment and with the monster distracted by the illusions created by squad one, it couldn¡¯t use it¡¯s large size to counter attack.

    With a full month of training, the Foxkin were showing incredible improvement in working as a unified force. Reia, Nes, and Allein were acting as overall commanders for our small army and Tris was responsibility for scouting. We also had a diviner who could help with scouting as well as gathering information. Though, a diviner wasn¡¯t omniscient and was limited in the amount of information they could obtain. The diviner could tell whether monsters or enemies were within a certain proximity around the tribal caravan, but it could not give detailed information about the terrain.

    The behemoth-like monsters was currently pinned down by the Foxkin bombardment and was suffering severe damage from the magical attacks. Their attacks against the monster were well coordinated and the monster would soon fall. The damage it was taking may not be very visible on its flash, but it was clearly being worn down.

    It was doing its best to strike at anything moving, sending its tail in wide arcs as well as stomping across the ground, but the Foxkin were too quick for it. There were other ways to defeat such a beast, but I also wanted to make sure that the Foxkin could effectively coordinate their magic attacks as one.

    Once it fell, the really hard work would begin, the stripping of the hide, and butchering of its meat. They would also cut out any and all parts which could be utilized for medicinal purposes, potions, or other uses.

    Well, it¡¯s not something I would have to do personally, it will be my job to speak with Reia and the others and assess the performance of the Foxkin, I mused halfheartedly.

    ¡°Alright, looks like it¡¯s finally dying, took a while, but it wasn¡¯t a bad performance.,¡± I said to no one in particular.

    I turned to Tris who was observing the battle next to me, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    She hadn¡¯t participated in the battle because her arrows wouldn¡¯t do much good against the thick hide of the gargantuan monster. Instead, she observed in order to help me assess their effectiveness.

    Tris didn¡¯t answer immediately, she seemed to be thinking something, but finally she said, ¡°I¡¯m, surprised. They have come such a long way in such a short period of time. Your training methods and tactics are good¡­¡±

    I laughed at her response, ¡°No, it was their hard work and they were already skilled fighters to begin with. I hardly had anything to do with it.¡± I said that, but my ego was growing by the minute!

    ¡°I think you are underestimating your contribution. Without you, these Demihumans wouldn¡¯t have been able to accomplish this, I¡¯m sure of that.¡± Tris¡¯s tone was surprisingly sharp.

    I wonder if she is in a bad mood? I couldn¡¯t think of any other reason and I was in too much of a good mood to think on it much.

    ¡°Now that the monster is dead, let¡¯s have a meeting!¡± I said that way too enthusiastically, but I was in a great mood at how much the Foxkin had progressed. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    I didn¡¯t even think of the irony in what I said, considering that I used to despise meetings when I was back on Earth.

    With the battle over I waited for Reia, Nes and Allein to join Tris and I. I never really thought that my experience working at a sales company would ever be useful for anything other than my boring job. Here I was, though, using the experience I gained at the company to manage my own tribe! It was actually quite exhilarating, maybe I should have went into management instead!

    All the commanders had gathered and I was busy congratulating all of them for defeating the monsters in record time. They were all quite thrilled with the results, except for Nes who showed no emotion at all. This was usual for him so I didn¡¯t let it bother me.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear from Reia first! Reia, what are your opinions on the performance of the squads under your command in this battle?¡±

    We were sitting on cushions in a circle on the grassy floor. It was very much like a business meeting, but without the conference table. It was somewhat uncomfortable due to the warm weather so we also had something like a canvas over our heads made of animal hides.

    ¡°Squads two and three were under my command, we were tasked with attacking the monster¡¯s rear. The magic attacks proved very successful and we were able to inflict severe damage on the monster without incurring any casualties.¡± Reia seemed to be taking this meeting quite seriously, answering in a business like tone.

    ¡°Excellent, I also saw the performance of squads two and three and was satisfied! I am very proud of you Reia, you did an excellent job commanding the squads under you!¡±

    Reia wasn¡¯t used to receiving such praise and gave me a bashful smile, it was extremely cute.

    ¡°My squads performed just as well as Reia¡¯s!¡± Allein chimed in.

    ¡°You were excellent too, I saw how well you coordinated the attacks between your two squads. Nes, you also performed well. In the future our forces will grow and I will be relying on you all! It will be more difficult to command a larger force so keep that in mind,¡± I was quite proud of them all and they could hear it in my voice, but I didn¡¯t want them to get too arrogant.

    They all seemed satisfied with that and after discussing for a little while longer, we decided to finish the meeting. Tris went off to scout the area to make sure that monsters didn¡¯t catch us by surprise while the Foxkin were busy with the task of harvesting the large monsters.

    ¡°Fayde, I¡¯m useful to you right?¡± Allein¡¯s voice was surprisingly small when she said that.

    I looked at her not knowing what brought on this sudden change in her demeanor. She was usually confident. Although lately, she had been acting unusual.

    ¡°Something wrong Allein?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if she would tell me, but I asked anyway.

    She shook her head, ¡°I just need to know, please.¡±

    ¡°Of course, both you and Reia are important people in my life..¡± My words were sweet, but I really did mean them.

    She had become an important person to me, just as Reia had and all the other friends I made here.

    She gave me a warm smile, but there was a hint of something else in it. I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it though. She seemed concerned about something, maybe I hadn¡¯t been spending enough time with her. I had been busy training the Foxkin and with my duties as a chief, mostly resolving disputes and dealing with supply issues. Ever since our engagement, she was always by my side, but it wasn¡¯t as if I could spend much time focusing on her or Reia.

    I was going to say more but she walked away before I could say anything.

    Instead I asked Reia, ¡°do you know if anything is wrong with her?¡±

    I asked her, but she seemed as perplexed as me, ¡°I don¡¯t know. She has been much more meek lately and her confidence has diminished quite a bit. I cant figure out what¡¯s going on in her head myself. She he been mostly docile, believe it or not.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± I said thoughtfully.

    I watched her back as she walked towards her brother. Her back seemed so small to me.

    <hr>

    (Allein¡¯s POV)

    ¡°Allein, are you sure about all of this?¡± Nes asked Allein somewhat hesitantly.

    Nes was always worrying about me, and his words hinted at his concern. He was a good brother, always looking out for me, but in many ways he was short sighted. He cared too much about my welfare, but there were things of great importance which should take precedence.

    ¡°Must I explain again? You know very well that this is what we must do.¡± My voice was somewhat agitated. I was tired of explaining this to him.

    ¡°But must you marry him? He is a human! You know what the Humans did to us. They took everything from us. I can¡¯t forgive them. We are the last of our kind, how can you so willingly follow him?¡± There was anger in his voice, but he spoke in almost a whisper.

    ¡°Do you think that I do not feel the pain of their loss?¡± The anger in my words made my brother flinch and he took a step back from me.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean that, of course¡­¡± Nes mumbled, unable to form a coherent response to my words.

    ¡°Fayde is not responsible for what happened to our friends and family, but I understand your anger. I feel it too, never forget that, but Fayde is¡­ necessary¡­. You know this. Also, he is not like other Humans. He is kind and gentle even when I act discourteous or disrespectful towards him. He has kept me by his side faithfully. We can trust at least that much¡­...¡± I found myself momentarily unable to speak, tears had formed at the corners of my eyes.

    ¡°I am more concerned about you Allein. You have changed¡­ are you sure that you are not being blinded by your emotions? Are you beginning to have feelings for him¡­. Because..¡±

    ¡°Silence!¡± Allein snapped at her brother causing him to flinch.

    She wiped the tears that had formed at the corner of her eyes.

    ¡°I know better than you what needs to be done.¡±

    ¡°Fine¡­. Just remember what is at stake.¡± Nes said before walking away from his sister.

    Allein stood there alone watching her brother walk back towards his squad. Her heart was being tormented by her heavy fate. She had never had to bear such responsibility, not until that fateful day.

    ¡°Brother¡­. I just don¡¯t know what to do¡­. ¡° She could only say that to his back, because she already knew what his response would be.

    <hr>

    Finally a missive! The woman had been waiting for weeks now for a missive from her comrade. He had travelled to the Imperial Capital in order to obtain support for their mission. Fayde was growing stronger by the day, and she had sent reports with this information, but had gotten no response until now. She hoped the news was positive, it was growing more and more difficult to isolate their target and she was unsure how to progress. The news that there were two Dragon-kin alive shook her confidence and she was growing anxious.

    The magical messenger pigeon landed on the female agent''s outstretched hand. She had been waiting for a missive from her fellow agent for some time now and the magic tool given to her to hide her scent from the Foxkin had been very useful keeping her hidden. The messenger pigeon had a missive scroll tied onto the leg of the bird. She removed the scroll from the bird¡¯s leg and the bird disappeared. Tris opened the scroll carefully and read the information.

    We will soon arrive on the Plains of Sorrow. I have brought the Raeki twins and Araman. Took longer than expected. Araman was on a Guild quest. I received your last missive. You must try to sabotage the target if possible or at least weaken him in some way. Respond quickly with your status, we will remain at least a few days distant at all times. Maybe more depending on situation.

    She breathed a sigh of relief. The Raeki twins were sibling assassins who were among the best in The Empire. Araman was a diamond medallion adventurer and a powerful mage. Along with her and her companion, this would be a sufficient enough force to handle Fayde, assuming they didn¡¯t have to fight an army. The fact that Fayde was always surrounded by a small army of powerful magic casters made it impossible to capture him so that was out of the question.

    However, the time would soon come to complete their mission. Fayde would soon challenge the Fox-kin tribe Khan for control over the Fox-kin tribe and then compete in the Grand Council. If Fayde is able to unite the tribes during the Grand Council, he would then need to travel to the old Imperial capital. This had been a tradition of the Demi-humans on the Plains of Sorrow for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. The bishops were aware of this and if Fayde could not be captured before that time then their last resort was to deal with him directly at that place.

    Whether Fayde united the tribes or not at the Grand Council, he would still need to be brought there and then killed. It was imperative that he die within the Sanctum at the old Imperial capital but she wasn''t sure why, those were her orders.

    She wrote down all the information that she could in a missive and sent a magical messenger pigeon back in response. She could only put her faith in their abilities and hope that their mission would see success.

 Volume 2 Chapter 10

    When Tris finally returned from scouting, I was discussing some things with Shar. He was still refusing to help me, but it was just a matter of time. Eventually, he would see that he had no other options, but for now I was happy to just discuss strategy and tactics with him. He was quite knowledgeable and we got along well. I thought that he and I could be friends since we had quite a bit in common. He was also somewhat sarcastic, just like me.

    Despite our friendly conversation, Shar was still a prisoner and so his guards were also present. With Tris now here, I asked the guards to bring Shar back to his tent and I beckoned Tris over to my side.

    Tris had been busy a lot lately with scouting and I was eager to hear her report. Tris was not the only scout that had been sent out on a daily basis to search for the Fox-kin, but none of the other scouts had been able to locate the larger Foxkin tribe yet.

    ¡°Tris, you returned! Did you find the Foxkin tribe?¡± I was getting impatient since it had taken such a long time to locate them.

    ¡°Yes, I finally located them. They are about a day¡¯s travel from here. They might already know we are coming.¡± Tris gave her information without much emotion in her voice, she seemed tired.

    ¡°Everything okay with you Tris? I feel like you have been working too hard. You have been out scouting constantly. Maybe you should get some rest since we now know where we are going.¡±

    She sighed and replied in a tired voice, ¡°Yeah, I think I will, thanks.¡±

    Tris left the tent and headed to her own, to rest. It was too late in the day to continue traveling and so I spent the time in conversation with Reia and Allein.

    ¡°Reia, we will finally be able to meet with your uncle tomorrow. Can you tell me more about him?¡±

    Reia didn¡¯t answer right away, she was collecting her thoughts. Allein was happily humming something while sitting next to me. She was beginning to be less clingy, but she almost never left my side.

    ¡°My uncle is very sly. We need to be very careful when dealing with him. He won¡¯t refuse my challenge, he can¡¯t, but he will definitely try to cheat.¡± Her anger increased with each word.

    I knew there must be something more to this story so I asked her.

    ¡°When I was very young, my father was Khan of the Foxkin tribe. He was the oldest son and he inherited the title of Khan from my grandfather. My uncle wasn¡¯t satisfied with that and he challenged my father to a duel for leadership of the tribe. I was too young to understand at the time, but I heard stories. My father was the most powerful magic caster in the tribe, no one could match him. My uncle was not nearly as proficient in magic as my father, but he somehow defeated him. He... did.... something, to my father, but my father won¡¯t speak of it! Ever since then, my father hasn¡¯t been able to use magic.¡±

    Reia poured everything out and I could see that this pained her. For her, it was probably humiliating, even though it wasn¡¯t something that happened to her personally. I couldn¡¯t really relate to it, because I had been just a salesman after all. It wasn¡¯t like I was the son of a king or anything. It was a matter of pride I suppose. I never really had much pride myself, before coming to this world anyway.

    Even Allein seemed upset at what she said and tried to console her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Reia. We are going to take back the tribe from your uncle. You will definitely beat him.¡±

    Even if I couldn¡¯t relate, I felt anger towards her uncle because he had caused her pain. It had nothing to do with me, and even happened way before I ever came to this world, but I wasn¡¯t about to just sit there and be okay with someone I loved be in pain.

    ¡°Reia, no matter what happens, you better beat that bastard!¡±

    She looked at me with watery eyes and gave me a firm nod with clenched teeth. Her cuteness right now was on a whole other level!

    ¡°Even if you lose, I¡¯ll still be there for you!¡± I teased her with that and she punched me in the arm.

    The three of us laughed and that released some of the tension in the room. We continued to talk for a little while longer until the three of us went to sleep. Even though we hadn¡¯t had some official marriage ceremony, we were considered married and so both of them joined me in my tent and we slept next to each other. Demihumans didn¡¯t have in their traditions something like a wedding ceremony. There also wasn¡¯t much privacy in the tent. I¡¯m going to need a bigger tent. Actually, it is more similar to a yurt than a tent. It doesn¡¯t really translate well to English.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t as if the tent had any rooms or walls in it. We had made a little corner where we could sleep peacefully using hides we hung. It was still a bit of a strange situation for me. I wasn¡¯t used to having so little privacy in my own home so to speak, but I was beginning to become accustomed to it.

    We spent almost the entire next day traveling. We didn¡¯t stop to hunt, or train, our goal was to reach the Foxkin camp as soon as possible. When our caravan had finally reached the camp, we were greeted by around three hundred armed Foxkin warriors. It wasn¡¯t exactly a friendly welcome, but the Foxkin didn¡¯t attack, they were only there to intimidate us.

    They looked fierce, but I would bet that our warriors were stronger and much better organized than they were. Even their greater number would not guarantee them victory. We had spent a lot of time training and leveling up our forces and even though these Foxkin lived on the Plains of Sorrow, they were most likely still hunters before they were warriors. Not to mention their weapons and armor were much more primitive than the ones we had acquired from the Kingdom¡¯s soldiers which were weapons crafted by true weapon and armor smiths.

    Our forces had already become soldiers and you could see it in their bearing and the way they carried themselves. The Foxkin civilians in my tribe watched the the three hundred warriors warily, but they were not afraid. They had lined up on both sides of our tribe and watched with glowering gazes. They were clearly not happy to see us, and when their eyes met mine, the anger and shock grew. They were angry to see exiles returning, but they were definitely furious that not only one, but three humans were among them.

    The Foxkin camp was quite large, much larger than my tribe¡¯s camp. That was obvious of course, our tribe had barely ten percent of the population of the larger Foxkin tribe. The camp looked like a tent city, with tents everywhere. Foxkin of all types were approaching us, their curious eyes trying to see what all the fuss was. Many Foxkin children could be seen running about and looking at us with wide eyes, especially me. None of them seemed happy to see me, but I was prepared for this sort of treatment and so I shrugged it off.

    When we had finally passed through the line of warriors, we were greeted by a Foxkin which looked a lot like the old chief, only younger. He was slim and barechested, much like the rest of the male Foxkin here in the camp. The women wore tunic style shirts and skirts, while the men wore trousers made of fur, but nothing else. They all wore leather shoes that looked similar to moccasins. My tribe had already partially taken on the style of the Kingdom and so I was surprised to see these Foxkin wearing their more traditional clothing. It was different from what I expected, but it made sense.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    The old chief had been walking by my side, he wanted to be the first to greet his younger brother. Reia too was standing beside me, proudly and she was anxious to finally meet her uncle after so long. Allein walked proudly, following a few steps behind with her brother despite the menacing atmosphere. She had the regal bearing of a queen despite only being a lowly chief¡¯s wife. That would change though. Shar was somewhere further back, I think he was doing his best to go unnoticed under their hostile gazes.

    ¡°Older brother! It has been a long time since I saw your face.¡± The Khan of the Foxkin tribe smiled, but anyone could tell his smile was fake, he was not at all happy to see his brother.

    ¡°Yes, more than twenty years now since you exiled me and my tribe from here.¡±

    ¡°And, yet here you are..¡± his younger brother¡¯s smile had somewhat faded from his face.

    The Khan turned his eyes on me and his became menacing.

    ¡°What is this human doing here?¡± He asked with a low growl.

    Most likely he already knew that I was among the tribe from their scouts, but he was putting on a show and pretending to be furious.

    The old chief calmly replied, ¡°Not a human, but a chief. He is the chief of this tribe. He and my daughter have become husband and wife. You remember your niece, don¡¯t you?¡±

    This time the Khan had a look of genuine surprise on his face. I don¡¯t think he expected this development. Before he could say anything more, Reia stepped out in front of me.

    ¡°Uncle Liran, do you remember me? I was barely two when you exiled my father from the tribe.¡± she said that surprisingly calm. I was impressed that she hadn¡¯t lost it despite knowing her feelings towards her uncle.

    His fake smile was back on his face and he threw up his arms in an exaggerated manner, ¡°Of course, how could I forget my beloved niece! My how you¡¯ve grown Reia!¡±

    For a second there, I thought I had seen a fleeting lecherous gaze, but I thought it might be my imagination. He was her uncle after all, was he really sick enough to look at his own niece like that?

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I have grown¡­. strong. As fiancee to the chief of our tribe, I challenge you for leadership of the Foxkin!¡±

    She didn¡¯t wait long to drop that bomb, and all of the Foxkin listening gasped in surprised. There were rumblings throughout the crowd as the Foxkin spoke in shock to one another. They couldn¡¯t believe that a Human had become chief of a tribe and that he had become husband to the daughter of the old Khan.

    A vein was practically bulging out of the current Khan¡¯s forehead. I don¡¯t think he expected things to play out like this. Maybe he thought they were coming back to beg to be allowed to rejoin the tribe. Too bad for him because Reia was definitely going to pummel this guy!

    Khan Liran started trying to weasel his way out of the duel and said, ¡°This is ridiculous! A Human, leader of a tribe? I should have you all imprisoned right now! Foxkin warriors, seize them!¡±

    The old chief stood firm and bellowed at the top of his lungs, ¡°By the ancient law and tradition of the Demihuman tribes, you must accept this challenge! Tribal chieftains, you know this to be truth!¡±

    His words could be clearly heard across the crowd of Foxkin who were watching the confrontation with frozen attention. The Foxkin warriors tried to approach us with weapons at the ready but stopped at the stares of my own forces who also bore their weapons with ferocious intent.

    Before any violence could take place, several older members of the crowd stepped forward. They had been listening to the exchange from within the crowd and yelled to the Foxkin warriors to stand their ground.

    ¡°Khan Liran, you know very well the law. You must accept the challenge or forever abandon your position! There is no exception in the old law under these¡­. circumstances.¡±

    These older members of the Foxkin were other tribal chieftains who held authority within the larger clan. Their voices could not be silenced.

    ¡°Tch. Fine! I accept your challenge, Reia. I hope you¡¯re prepared to die!¡± Khan Liran no longer felt the need for false smiles and instead wore a wicked expression.

    Reia regarded her uncle with pity. She knew she was stronger than him, she could feel the difference in power between them. Her uncle was a devious and sly man, though, and she knew that he would have something up his sleeve.

    ¡°It is too late for a challenge now, why not enter the camp and rest for the night.¡± The Khan stared Reia down with a twisted smile as he said that.

    I could tell that tomorrow would be quite the eventful day. I only hoped that Reia was wrong about her uncle, but the look in his eye told me that he was every bit as sly as she had said he was.

    The caravan was allowed to enter unharmed, but we were forced to pitch our tents at the fringes of the camp. The other Foxkin didn¡¯t seem to want anything to do with us and avoided our camp as if they were avoiding the plague. It was going to take time and a lot of effort to bring these people around but I was up to the task.

    I was even beginning to feel excited by all of this. On Earth, I had some simple dreams of being a king and ruling my own country, but they were just fantasies. Who knew that it would one day become a reality?

    It had taken a bit of time to set all the tents up and when we finally finished it was already late. Reia¡¯s uncle was nowhere in sight and none of us sensed any danger so we relaxed our guards a bit. He probably wasn¡¯t going to do anything tonight. If he did something, it would most likely happen tomorrow during the duel. I was worried about Reia, not because I didn¡¯t believe in her but because I wasn¡¯t sure what her uncle had planned.

    Reia, Allein, Tris and I were sitting around a pit fire in the center of my tent discussing the next day¡¯s duel.

    ¡°If what you say about your uncle is true Reia, then he will surely do something tomorrow during the duel. You have no idea what happened when he fought your father?¡±

    If we knew what her uncle had done to her father, we might have an idea of what he was planning to do this time around, but Reia didn¡¯t know the answer to that.

    ¡°I tried asking my father about it but he just doesn¡¯t know how it happened. One second he was able to use magic and then the next, he had lost the ability. He lost the duel because of that and since then he hasn¡¯t been able to use magic..¡± Reia had answered me, but it wasn¡¯t really useful information.

    ¡°So there was nothing that happened or something he might have felt that caused him to lose the ability to use magic?¡± Tris asked Reia curiously.

    ¡°He couldn¡¯t give me any details. It wasn¡¯t an attack that he was aware of and there wasn¡¯t anything out of the ordinary. To him, it was as if his power just disappeared and never returned.¡± Reia replied.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t getting us anywhere. We will just have to be extremely cautious tomorrow. There will most likely be a large crowd so it might be difficult to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. We will have to do the best we can. Let¡¯s try setting up a heavy guard for this evening just in case and then tomorrow we will have our warriors spread throughout the crowd. If anything out of the ordinary happens, hopefully they can warn us or even stop it themselves. It will be difficult, though. We just don¡¯t have enough people.¡±

    The more I thought about it, the more worried I became. Khan Liran had a big advantage here. The crowds would be filled mostly with Fox-kin who were not exactly friendly to us. I would need to act and I had begun to form a plan in my head.

    ¡°Fayde, I think those preparations are the best we can do. We don¡¯t know what will happen tomorrow, but it won¡¯t matter. I will definitely win.¡± Reia was surprisingly calm and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit proud of her.

    ¡°But what if you lose the ability to use magic like your father?¡± That was my biggest concern because I could heal any injury, even life threatening ones. I wondered if my power could do something for her if she lost her magic. As I considered this, I realized that this was something I could in fact test.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Fayde! Reia said she will win, just believe in her.¡± Allein said confidently.

    She was clearly looking down on Reia¡¯s uncle. In her mind, there was no room for failure.

    ¡°If you¡¯re that confident then I have nothing to worry about I suppose.¡± I said while pondering my next move.

    ¡°Tris, make sure to keep on the lookout tomorrow too.¡± I said half heartedly.

    My thoughts had already moved beyond the conversation and were busily formulating a plan.

 Volume 2 Chapter 11

    (Reia¡¯s POV)

    The night quickly passed and day came sooner than expected.

    I opened my eyes and woke from a pleasant dream. Fayde was next to me, as he always was since we became engaged. Sleeping was much more pleasant when I could sleep next to him. He hadn¡¯t woken yet and Allein was still sleeping on the other side of him.

    The ground on which the tent had been set up was covered by rugs of various lengths, cushions, and hides so that people could sit, sleep or eat without having to lay on bare ground. Their beds were a type of cot with thick fur cushioning and were not proper beds. These cots could be pushed together and so the three of them slept side by side.

    I sometimes would wake up earlier than Fayde and I would watch him sleep peacefully for a short time. I never thought the day would come that I would marry a Human. I didn¡¯t have the time to watch him sleep today, though. I had to prepare myself for the duel with my uncle.

    The fight with my uncle would be tough so I wanted to warm up and prepare beforehand. I have confidence in my strength and even if I somehow lost the ability to use magic like my father, I could still fight. That was the difference between my father and I. As long as I had my sword, I would be fine. There was also the discussion I had with Fayde last night which filled me with confidence.

    I left the tent and was welcomed by the warm and sunny weather of the Plains. There were other Foxkin moving about doing a number of chores. Our camp was small compared to the rest of the Foxkin tribe but it was very lively. It didn¡¯t have the scent or look of defeat. I couldn¡¯t help but feel pride towards my tribe for overcoming many hardships and to be able to be so strong. It gave me strength.

    Some of my fellow tribesman stopped to watch me practice my sword forms and they cheered me on. Their hopes were riding on me. If I won, they would no longer be exiles. This was a momentous occasion for all of us. I did my best to focus while practicing my techniques. Before long I had worked up a good sweat and decided to take a rest. I was wiping the sweat off of my body with a towel when I heard someone calling to me.

    ¡°Reia!¡± Tris called out to me as she approached with a young Foxkin woman walking by her side. I didn¡¯t recognize the Foxkin woman but she was most likely around the same age as me.

    ¡°Hi Tris, who is this with you?¡± I was eyeing her warily while wiping my body with a cloth.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time Reia. When I heard you had returned, I couldn¡¯t wait to see you. I am Felis, your cousin. You had to leave when you were so young so of course I don¡¯t expect you to remember me.¡± She said sweetly.

    ¡°Yes, I was a mere two years old when we were exiled.¡± I said, struggling to hide my anger.

    ¡°I know¡­.. I know there is nothing I can say, but I wanted to see you again after I heard you had returned and I wanted to apologize.¡± Felis suddenly began to tear up as she spoke.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I leave you two to catch up? I hope it¡¯s okay that I brought her over here. When she told me she was your cousin and that she wanted to talk, I had the guards let her in after checking her for any hidden weapons. I escorted her here just in case.¡±

    Reia eyed Tris suspiciously for a brief second, but quickly turned away. She didn¡¯t want Tris to notice her suspicion. It seems that Fayde was right after all¡­.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I will listen to what she has to say.¡± I said.

    Tris nodded and walked a short distance away to give us some space to talk.

    ¡°I was young when my father became Khan and you were exiled. I didn¡¯t really understand what happened or why you were sent away. I learned later when I got older. What was done to you and Uncle was wrong. My father didn¡¯t have to exile your tribe.¡±

    Her words sounded sincere to me, but I knew it was all an act. Even if she was telling the truth, this wasn¡¯t something that could so easily be forgiven.

    Felis had tears freely flowing and she got down on her knees and prostrated herself, asking for forgiveness. She was only a toddler when it happened and it was her father who had committed the offense, so it wasn¡¯t as if I believed it was her fault. However, I couldn¡¯t so easily believe her words even if I wanted to. Nonetheless, it bothered me to see her act like this.

    ¡°Please, stop, there is no need for you to go that far. You were not the one to blame for what your father did.¡±

    I helped her stand up, although she resisted at first. She was slightly unsteady and I let her use my shoulder for support until she could regain her balance. A strange feeling came over me for a brief moment and then it was gone.

    What was that? I thought to myself. It lasted less than a second and if I hadn¡¯t already been on guard, I probably wouldn¡¯t have even noticed it.

    "What¡¯s wrong Reia? You suddenly became tense." Felis said while giving me an innocent look.

    ¡°Nothing¡­.¡± I replied while steadying myself.

    Felis took a step back and bowed to me, her tears had stopped and she wiped her eyes.

    ¡°I should get back now¡­ I don¡¯t want my father to know that I came here. I truly am sorry!¡±

    After apologizing once more, she ran off back to her own camp.

    <hr>

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    I woke up with a deep yawn. Why is waking up always so tiring? Reia was already gone and Allein was fussing around on the verge of waking. I had slept a little too much considering the seriousness of the day¡¯s events.

    I walked outside the tent, greeting the Foxkin tribe members I saw. Many of them were already busy with their daily chores.

    ¡°I see you woke up early today, nervous?¡±

    I noticed Reia was finishing up wiping herself with a wet cloth and was heading there myself.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°I¡¯m not nervous, I just wanted to practice before the fight.¡±

    She looked uncomfortable so I wasn¡¯t sure how truthful she was being.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we are all behind you, no matter what happens.¡± I said while giving her a wink.

    It wasn¡¯t clear how much of a relief my words would be to her, but I said them with sincerity.

    ¡°I won''t lose.¡± Her words were firm and her conviction shone through.

    "Oh, and Fayde¡­. You were right.¡± Reia whispered to me..

    To her words, I nodded and rested my arm on her for a moment to reassure her. Looks like they made their move.

    She took a step back and threw a wet cloth at me before walking towards our tent. I chuckled at that and watched her until she left my sight.

    The rest of the morning was uneventful. We had our meals, stretched, practiced and I spent some time playing a game similar to chess with Shar. I was having trouble beating him but I was improving. It wouldn¡¯t be long until I could truly pose a challenge to him!

    In the afternoon, a Foxkin messenger arrived informing us that it was time for the match. A battle area had been prepared just outside the camp and the entire tribe was present. It was a huge crowd, almost four thousand Fox-kin were forming a circle around a large open area.

    Considerable room was given the two competing warriors because of the use of magic. They wanted to avoid casualties and also set up a perimeter of Foxkin magic casters who could shield against any stray magic attacks.

    I was front in center so that I could get a clear view of the match.

    ¡°Tris, I am going to have you and the other warriors of my tribe circle around the crowd. If you spot any foul play, report to me immediately, okay?¡±

    It was a large crowd and I knew it would be difficult to spot anything but I had to take whatever precautions I could. There were also other reasons for sending out Tris to watch over the crowd.

    ¡°Got it! I will keep my eyes open! I will try to coordinate as best I can with the Foxkin warriors.¡±

    Well, at least she appeared enthusiastic about it.

    ¡°Be careful, they don¡¯t like humans very much¡±

    ¡°They won¡¯t even know I¡¯m there!¡±

    Tris most likely didn¡¯t think it would be difficult to remain unnoticed with all the Foxkin¡¯s eyes on the fight.

    She left after that along with the other Foxkin.

    ¡°Aylil, if you sense anything with your divination magic, let me know okay?¡±

    I looked down at the cute little Foxkin girl who I brought with me. She nodded firmly and had a cute look of determination on her face.

    ¡°You seem worried Fayde.¡±

    Reia¡¯s father was also beside me.

    ¡°Of course father-in-law, this is a momentous occasion. It is only natural that I do what I can for your daughter¡¯s sake.¡±

    The old chief nodded his understanding.

    ¡°When he challenged me, there was nothing out of the ordinary. The day before our match, we even shook hands. My brother told me that he had nothing personally against me. Of course I knew it was a lie, but I still had hope that he would reconsider his actions. When we fought, my magic was gone. If only....¡± The old chief was hesitant with his words.

    He had loved his brother despite his brother¡¯s treacherous nature. It seems he had hoped that his brother would come to his senses, but instead his brother had used some unknown means to win.

    ¡°It was way too convenient for you to suddenly lose your magic after meeting your brother the day before your match.¡± As I said that, the crowd had suddenly quieted down to a slight murmur.

    The other fox chieftains had made their way to the center of the battlefield and were giving their blessings for the match.

    After the blessings, they gave a speech amplified by illusion magic about tradition and some other nonsense. I wasn¡¯t paying much attention to it, instead busily watching the crowd and Reia. After they finished their speech, they left the battlefield. The Khan and Reia were now staring each other down from across the battlefield.

    Khan Liran was wearing a thick hide armor most likely crafted from one of the powerful monsters on the Plains. His weapon of choice seemed to be an axe. I was surprised to see that the axe was an iron one. He had no other weapons visible and the axe didn¡¯t appear to have any magical properties. It lacked the kind of glow that a magical weapon would give off.

    The battle soon began with the Khan and Reia both chanting. They both planned to begin the battle with magic. The difference in their ability seemed apparent right at the start. Khan Liran was chanting while standing still but Reia was running towards the Khan while chanting to close the distance. This required a certain level of mastery that the Khan did not have.

    There¡¯s always the chance that he can and is just using deception, I thought to myself.

    Khan Liran finished his chant and threw several ¡®Flame Arrows¡¯ which quickly sped towards Reia. Reia finished her chant at almost the same time, but hers appeared to be a type of body modification.

    Ah, speed enhancement! Good choice. She was able to deftly avoid the ¡®Flame Arrow¡¯ attack through her enhanced speed. She was most likely the only Foxkin capable of fighting this way. While she wasn¡¯t at a master rank of ability with magic, her skill with magic was much more diverse than other Foxkin.

    Her opponent didn¡¯t remain still, though, and had already almost completed a second chant. He reached down and touched the ground while finishing the chant.

    The ground beneath Reia¡¯s feet erupted causing her to lose her footing. She was thrown into the air but it didn¡¯t seem to disrupt her chanting. She released large ¡®¡¯Ice Shards¡¯ that rained down on her uncle from above while using a displaced rock to propel herself to safety. She had taken some slight damage from the attack but nothing to be concerned with.

    From the safety of the audience, I cheered Reia on wholeheartedly.

    Her uncle was busy preparing a counter to her ¡®Ice Shards¡¯. He had used some type of earth shield and was able to deflect most of the shards of ice, but was grazed by a few. They both had already begun chanting new spells to throw at each other. The battle was pretty evenly matched and most of the Foxkin were watching excitedly while cheering the Khan on, but our tribe was doing its best to be heard as well.

    They each fired off a few more magic attacks at each other while doing their best to defend but with Reia¡¯s increased speed enhancement still in effect, she was steadily getting closer to her uncle. Her strategy was to decide the battle at close range where she would have the greatest advantage.

    She had yet to unsheathe her sword, she didn¡¯t want her uncle to know that her sword was a magic weapon. Instead she focused on casting magical attacks and defense in order to lull her uncle into a false sense of security. When the right moment came, she would unsheathe her blade and end the battle quickly using her magical weapon.

    Her uncle continued to force her to keep her distance with sustained magic attacks. If she got too close, he would attack with a blast of wind to push her back. He was also proficient in Earth elemental magic and kept putting up walls in her way which slowed her down. He also kept trying to trip her up with root type spells which were a nuisance and difficult to avoid.

    This didn¡¯t mean she had stopped her offensive, she was constantly bombarding him with ¡®Flame Arrows¡¯ and ¡®Ice Shards¡¯. Her attacks were definitely weighing on him and his defenses were beginning to crumble. She began to summon her magical power while chanting in order for one final magic attack before she could close the distance. When she had finished her chant, her magical power suddenly dropped and she lost her concentration.

    Reia had never experienced her magic suddenly failing like this. She appeared confused for a moment and Khan Liran blew her back with a powerful gale, sending her flying.

    Noticing the state she was in, he began to chuckle, ¡°It¡¯s about time, now to finish this.¡±

    Reia struggled to rise to her feet. She hadn¡¯t taken much damage but she had been unbalanced by the gale. She tried gathering her magical power but nothing came to her, it was as if she had no magical power to speak of. With a hint of concern, she looked warily at her uncle and noticed a wicked grin on her uncle¡¯s face.

 Volume 2 Chapter 12

    (Reia¡¯s POV)

    The same thing that had happened to my father had happened to me. I could no longer use magic no matter how hard I tried to gather magic power.

    ¡°How does it feel to be powerless Reia?¡± My uncle shouted at me from fifteen yards away while smiling wickedly.

    ¡°Now you are just like your father!¡±

    I stood, regaining my balance and looked at my uncle with disdain.

    ¡°You are unworthy to lead our tribe. You can only win with petty tricks. I will soon wipe that smile off your face.¡± My words were calm which only seemed to enrage him.

    ¡°Unworthy!? Hah! You and your father are nothing but fools and there is no way I am handing over leadership of this tribe to a HUMAN!¡±

    He didn¡¯t realize yet, but my uncle had gravely miscalculated. The Khan had fallen right into our hands.

    Khan Liran began chanting his next spell, hoping to finish the battle quickly with a barrage of magic attacks. Closing my eyes for a brief moment and taking a deep breath, I readied myself.

    <hr>

    (The previous evening) (Fayde¡¯s P.O.V.)

    ¡°Looks like mostly everyone is asleep. Reia, I want to talk to you about something.¡± The tent was quiet and I whispered so as not to wake anyone.

    We were still sharing the tent with the old chief and his family.

    With the tribe¡¯s warriors on full alert guarding and patrolling outside, no one was going to disturb us. This was the best time to talk without worrying about anyone listening. Foxkin did have good hearing, but there was a way to get around that.

    ¡°Fayde, aren¡¯t you tired? I should sleep, I need to be ready for tomorrow.¡±

    Reia was yawning up a storm so I felt a little bad.

    ¡°This is important, come over here so we can talk away from everyone else.¡±

    I led her over to a quiet corner that no one was using for sleeping.

    ¡°First, put up a sound barrier.¡±

    Sound barriers could be created by those proficient in wind magic. It would stop pretty much anyone from being able to hear our conversation from a distance.

    ¡°I think we can expect something to happen tomorrow. If what you say about your uncle is true, then he is going to do to you, what he did to your father. We don¡¯t know how he¡¯s going to do it though, and that¡¯s the problem.¡±

    ¡°We already know this Fayde, I don¡¯t see the point of stating the obvious?¡±

    I leaned in closer to her, my face almost close enough to kiss her. ¡°The point is, we don¡¯t bother trying to figure out what he¡¯s going to do, we just let him do it.¡±

    Reia thought that she must have misheard him because of her tiredness. He couldn¡¯t possibly be telling me to just let myself be poisoned or whatever it was? She thought to herself.

    ¡°Reia, it¡¯s simple. We know he is going to make a move some time before the battle tomorrow, it isn¡¯t going to happen tonight. Instead of going crazy trying to figure out what he plans to do, we let him succeed. With that, he will think he has the upper hand and he will grow careless. It¡¯s better than the alternative. If we stop his plans, he may get desperate and who knows what he might do.¡±

    ¡°But if I lose my ability to use magic¡­.¡±

    ¡°I thought about that too. Do you trust me?¡± I looked into her eyes when I said that and she stared right back at me.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Her answer was without hesitation.

    ¡°My power reconstitutes entirely both the body and spirit. Your father and I kept this a secret from everyone, but I confirmed that my power can in fact return your magic ability. I used a good deal of my energy to confirm this. I had to give your father the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯ and then heal him with ¡®Molecular reconstitution¡¯ but it turned out well and I even confirmed I can remove the ¡®Mark.¡¯ I have enough power to heal you, so don¡¯t worry. Also, you have your sword and with that, magic shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Believe in me, okay?¡± My words were no more than a whisper and I already knew what her response would be.

    ¡°I will always believe in you Fayde. Wait, are you saying my father can use magic again?¡± Reia responded in shock.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    She finally fully realized what I had said and she gasped and put her hand to her mouth in pleasant surprise.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone! At least for now.¡±

    Reia nodded her understanding but her joy was overflowing at the news.

    ¡°Then tomorrow, let us pretend to play along with your uncle¡¯s game and when he least expects it, we will snatch everything from him. We will also might be able to see if there are any rats among us.¡±

    I smiled warmly at Reia.

    ¡°Rats?¡± She asked inquisitively.

    ¡°It might be nothing, but something has been bothering me lately, let¡¯s just wait and see..¡±

    She didn¡¯t ask anything further embracing me in gratitude for what I had done, and then quickly let go. We returned to our cots and slept holding each other close.

    <hr>

    (Reia¡¯s POV)

    I opened my eyes just as my uncle finished chanting his next attack. Several ¡®Flame Arrows¡¯ appeared from his outthrust hands and sped towards me. It would be impossible for me to avoid the attack without my speed enhancement, but that was no longer necessary.

    My uncle wore a victorious look on his face, he thought that the match had been decided when my magic had been sealed. Perhaps it would have been, if not for the fact that I had in my possession a magic sword.

    From my sheathe I quickly wrenched the sword out just in time to parry the ¡®Flame Arrows¡¯ that moments before had been speeding towards me. A dim yellowish glow emanated from the magic sword which was imbued with lightning magic.

    The advantage was now in my favor, and I sprung to action. With the lightning sword held at my side, I sprinted with all my strength straight towards my uncle.

    ¡°AHHH! I can¡¯t believe this, die already!¡± He roared in anger, regaining his composure quickly and began chanting again while readying his axe.

    I said nothing, I focused all my energy and strength on closing the distance. My uncle summoned walls of earth to slow my advance but my sword cut cleanly through them. They were nothing more than a minor inconvenience.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    The gales that had thrown me back prior, were now pierced through, and my sword finally met my uncle¡¯s axe.

    CLANG!

    While my uncle was not as skilled as me, he was no novice with an axe. The sound of metal on metal rang through the battlefield.

    However, the difference in our weapons soon became apparent. With each strike of my blade, his axe came closer to breaking.

    ¡°Uncle, you seem to be tiring. Surrender now and I will spare you.¡±

    I wanted to give him the chance, even if I knew he would refuse.

    The proud Khan spit blood on the floor near my feet, ¡°there¡¯s your answer.¡±

    ¡°I guess the punch to the face wasn¡¯t enough? This is your last chance to surrender peacefully, Khan.¡±

    The battle didn¡¯t need to end in death, but it seemed that this battle would not end without one of us dead on the ground.

    ¡°How is it that you are able to block all my attacks?! You shouldn¡¯t be able to use magic! What the hell is going on!?¡±

    Khan Liran was furious and was putting all his rage into his attacks, hoping to knock Reia off guard.

    ¡°So you admit to what you have done? Trying to use your own daughter in your plot to obtain victory? Have you no shame? Did you really believe we would fall for it?¡± Reia continued to parry and strike while chiding her uncle on.

    My plan from the beginning had been to whittle down my uncle¡¯s magic power by forcing him to use as much of it up as possible before I lost my own magic. Without magic, my uncle was no match for me, especially with my magic sword. At this point, I was just toying with him.

    ¡°Enough of this! Die!¡±

    My uncle poured all of his magic power into one final attack and he began chanting.

    We were only feet apart, but I didn¡¯t bother to stop his chant. I wanted this victory to be an overwhelming one so that all present could see.

    I looked down at the lightning sword in my hand, It¡¯s charged. I ran my hand along the surface of the blade, the magical energy in the sword began to crackle with electricity.

    ¡°Fire Storm!¡± My uncle¡¯s magic blossomed out from his raised arms and the heat from the spell was overwhelming. The tornado of fire spun wildly as it grew but I stood there unconcerned holding my sword in a striking position.

    No magical power or chant was necessary to use the magic in a magic sword. The only downside being that it took time to charge and could only be used once per day.

    I swung the blade in a wide arc, ¡°Lightning Slash!¡± I put all my strength behind the swing and yelled in defiance towards my uncle.

    A bright flash lit the battlefield as my sword swung with the force of a lightning bolt, blowing away the firestorm and flinging my uncle backwards a dozen yards.

    Smoke rose from his charred body, did he survive?

    I walked over to his body cautiously in case he still lived. As I drew nearer, I could hear gasping sounds coming from his body. He was still alive but I could tell he was on the verge of death. There was no way he could recover from those injuries, at least not without powerful magic.

    I stood over his body, my sword at the ready and I looked down at him with pity.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t have to be this way uncle.¡±

    ¡°Kill¡­. me¡­.¡± He could barely speak with his body severely burned.

    ¡°NO! STOP!¡± Someone called out to me from behind but I paid it no mind.

    I ended my uncle¡¯s life. Havingfinally achieved my revenge, I had a troubled heart. The moment I had spent my life preparing for had come to an end. With victory, there was fleeting joy, but there was also a sense of loss.

    <hr>

    (Tris POV)

    After all that, another failure. I can¡¯t believe it.

    Tris had been watching the battle from the crowd even though she was supposed to be watching the crowd in case anything suspicious happened. Of course, since she knew that Khan Liran had already poisoned Reia, she had no need to be on guard.

    She had difficulty convincing the Khan to trust her, but she had offered him a way to get into Fayde¡¯s camp and he had greedily accepted. She was forced to accept a spell placed on her which would allow the Khan to spy on her. The spell would last for a full day and wouldn¡¯t disappear until the battle was over. It was the only way to convince him to let her in on the plan.

    She was hoping to discover what it was that the Khan had used to seal the old chief¡¯s magic power, but she wasn¡¯t able to obtain that information. It was discouraging, but it was enough if Reia lost her magic power and the battle. This way, Fayde wouldn¡¯t be able to take over the clan and he would lose one of his most powerful companions.

    That was the plan anyway, but Reia had dashed those hopes completely with her victory. I can¡¯t believe she kept that magic sword hidden from everyone all this time. I wondered why she never drew that sword from her sheathe, instead using her short swords to fight. To think that she had a weapon like that hidden. Hmm, her magic power has been sealed at least, maybe this isn''t a total loss.

    ¡°No! Stop!¡± She suddenly heard a voice she recognized.

    Damn, it¡¯s that wretches daughter. I think her name was Felis. Can¡¯t let her live, since she knows of my involvement.

    Felis ran out into the battlefield from the crowd screaming at Reia who had killed her father. She looked like she was about to attack.

    This is a good opportunity for me.

    I drew my bow and notched an arrow to it. The crowd was too absorbed with what was going on to notice quickly enough to stop me.

    No matter what, she can¡¯t be allowed to live, need to go for a quick kill.

    I let the arrow loose, aiming for Felis¡¯ neck. The arrow penetrated her neck from behind and she dropped to the ground, dead.

    A surprise attack from the rear for triple damage. Took her out in one hit.

    <hr>

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    Once the victory was assured, I heaved a sigh of relief. I didn¡¯t think Reia would lose, but it was still a relief. At that moment, a young Foxkin woman suddenly yelled out and ran towards Reia.

    ¡°Reia, watch out!¡± I called out to her but I was too far away for her to hear me with the crowd.

    They were mostly in shock that their Khan had lost and our tribe was ecstatic.

    I ran out to the battlefield along with Allein and Nes, prepared to defend Reia, but it wasn¡¯t necessary. The young Foxkin woman was dropped by an arrow from behind. I followed the trajectory and saw that it had been Tris that had shot the arrow. So that¡¯s how it is, I thought.

    Some Fox-kin warriors noticed what Tris had done and took her captive. They didn¡¯t attack her, she surrendered peacefully. I¡¯ll deal with that later.

    I told Allein and Nes to wait for me there and I ran towards Reia, swooping her up and spinning her around. She laughed playfully despite the fact that she had just killed her uncle.

    ¡°You did it!¡± I laughed along with her.

    ¡°Yeah, now hurry up and heal me!¡± She said grunting in pain.

    ¡°Oh, right!¡±

    I put my hand to her head and began summoning the ''Dark Matter'' energy within my body and used my ability ¡®Molecular reconstitution.¡¯ Energy was drained from my body. Using this ability really drained me of VP.

    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±

    Reia concentrated for a moment, ¡°It¡¯s back! I can feel my magical power returning!¡±

    ¡°Good, man I¡¯m tired.¡±

    Reia looked at me with concern, ¡°are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just an after effect of having so much of my energy drained. I will be fine.¡±

    While we were talking, the chieftains along with Reia¡¯s father approached us.

    ¡°With this, victory is yours. You are now our new Khan.¡± Reia¡¯s father was happily congratulating us.

    ¡°The ceremony must come first! You are not the Khan just yet, there is still much to do in preparation, but¡­. the victory is yours this day.¡±

    The other chieftains accepted the outcome of the battle and in their own way congratulated us as well. They didn¡¯t seem fully happy about the results, but they weren¡¯t denying our victory.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame about Felis¡­¡± The chieftains seemed to be expressing their regret for what happened to Felis, but it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    She definitely would have attacked Reia and that was a grave offense.

    ¡°While we are on that topic, can you make sure to release Tris? I will be sure to handle her.¡±

    The chieftains nodded at my request and promised to release her.

    ¡°We have a lot to do in order to get ready for the ceremony. Fayde, please rest in your tent until evening. We will send someone for you when it¡¯s time. We also have to see to Liran and Felis.¡±

    Giving my regards to the chieftains, we made our way back to our tent happily discussing the day¡¯s events. None of us felt any guilt or regret that the old Khan and his daughter had died.

    The other Foxkin were beginning to disperse and for many of them, their minds were in turmoil. They had difficulty coming to grips with the reality they now faced. Their Khan was dead and their new Khan would be a Human. They could only wonder at a future which seemed doubtful to them.

 Volume 2 Chapter 13

    The ceremony went off without a hitch, although it was more of a celebration than a ceremony. We ate an enormous banquet prepared by the various tribal chieftains.

    Fokin women danced the night away while the men beat on drums. I was surprised to see that even Reia knew the dance and she was quite the talented dancer. It was good to see her enjoying herself.

    It was a joyous occasion and I tried my best to get into it but all I could think about was the great responsibility that was now on my shoulders. Not to mention all the work I had before me. The tribe would need to be properly trained and organized. It also meant more disputes to resolve and just plain more people to protect and care for. The tribal society and culture was very primitive, especially when it came to bureaucracy. Well, there was wasn¡¯t much bureaucracy to speak of. That is something that will have to change.

    The Grand Tent of of the former Khan now belonged to me and my household. My household was still small, but I allowed Nes to share the tent with us since he was sort of family by extension. The enormous tent felt even larger with so few using it. It was very luxurious compared to the tent I had been living in. The entire ground was covered with carpets and there were some fancy cushions, small crafted tables, comfortable looking cots to sleep in as well as other amenities.

    I¡¯ve really moved up in the world! Ugh! There is so much to do tomorrow but sleep can¡¯t come soon enough. These were my last thoughts before drifting off to sleep. I couldn¡¯t even spend the time to admire my new mobile home.

    <hr>

    ¡°AHH! My head is splitting.¡± That was the first thing to come out of my mouth when I woke up in the morning.

    Both Reia and Allein were still out cold and I had somehow become entangled in the both of them. Well, it¡¯s not unpleasant I suppose. I couldn¡¯t really think clearly, I had drank way too much the night before during the celebration. I couldn¡¯t refuse the drinks, so I had no choice in the matter.

    After untangling myself, I somehow got to my feet but had some difficulty walking.

    ¡°Khan Fayde, may I enter?¡± A voice called out to me from outside the tent. Must have heard me moaning.

    ¡°Uh, yes.¡± I responded but I wasn¡¯t sure how clear my voice sounded.

    A young Foxkin woman entered with several other Foxkin women in tow. What¡¯s this all about?

    ¡°We are here to serve you my Khan.¡±

    The women all bowed their heads slightly.

    Although their society wasn¡¯t exactly a monarchy, the Khan of a tribe was sort of like a king, or perhaps a better understanding would be a high lord. It made sense that a Khan would have servants.

    I eyed them with a bit of hesitation, this was new to me.

    ¡°Ah, good, do you have any remedies for a hangover?¡± I was holding my head in pain and spoke with slight difficulty.

    ¡°Yes, there is an herbal remedy for that. Issha, please prepare it for the Khan.¡±

    One of the women nodded and headed off out of the tent.

    ¡°My name is Fieral and I am Head Rej¡¯gan. These are my subordinates. We are responsible for managing the daily chores and other tasks for your household.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you mean sort of like maids?¡±

    They had no idea what I meant.

    ¡°I apologize my Khan, but I do not know what a maid is?¡± Fieral tested out the word and found it strange.

    ¡°Uh, nevermind, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    I took a moment to look at Fieral more clearly.

    She was a young woman and she was certainly attractive, but all the Foxkin were. She had different hair from Reia, whose hair was a platinum color. Hers was more of a reddish brown and she wore it in thick braids and hung them over the front of her left shoulder. She was wearing the same style of traditional clothing as all the other Foxkin women. Their traditional clothing for women was something like a thick dress consisting of a plethora of colors.

    I noticed she seemed uncomfortable.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s just the headache¡± I¡¯m not staring at you! Or maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m a Human?

    ¡°Is it alright if we begin our work?¡± She couldn¡¯t stand the awkward atmosphere anymore and spoke.

    ¡°Of course! Don¡¯t let me get in your way!¡±

    I turned around prepared to find a nice cushion to sit in when I heard someone behind me making a coughing sound to get my attention.

    ¡°Um, my Khan, our job also includes bathing you, dressing you and feeding you.¡±

    What? Am I a toddler or something?

    ¡°I don¡¯t really think that¡¯s necessary¡­.¡±

    ¡°It is tradition, you must do it, now hurry up! You stink of alcohol.¡±

    That voice sounds very familiar.

    I was surprised to see that it was Reia who had just woken up and was approaching me still half asleep. Well, I guess when in Rome¡­ or in some strange tent in the middle of nowhere?

    The process was a little humiliating but after getting a very embarrassing clean from several beautiful young women and then dressed by them, I finally sat down and had breakfast. I was dressed in some strange traditional Foxkin robe-like garment which was also very colorful, too colorful actually.

    After I was dressed, I joined the others seated on cushions in the living room area of the tent. Well, I call it the living room area anyway. This particular tent was quite large and it even had partitioned areas through use of hides and furs as thin dividers. It was an interesting setup.

    ¡°Fayde, we need to talk about Tris.¡± Reia had finally broached the topic which I knew was coming.

    ¡°Something must be done about her.¡± Allein chimed in while nodding her head in agreement.

    The day before, when Reia had been poisoned mysteriously by her cousin, it had been Tris who had brought her past the guards and escorted her to where Reia was. I had hoped that my suspicions were wrong. Part of me didn¡¯t want to believe it but I had to accept the reality of it now that there was clear evidence. She also acted a little too quickly in killing Felis.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s okay to be discussing these important things with all these Rej¡¯gan around?¡±

    I was cautious about there being so many strangers in our tent, although they were all supposed to be the servants of the Khan. Currently, I was being fanned by one while others served me tea, food and made sure I had everything I needed. They were also making sure the tent was clean and nothing was out of place. Basically, my own personal servants.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be concerned with them. The Rej¡¯gan belong to the Khan and give their absolute loyalty to him... to you. Every one of them is chosen at a young age and trained so that one day they would serve their Khan. It is one of the greatest honors of our tribe and none would ever betray that. It would mean their death. The former Rej¡¯gan that served my uncle all followed him into death¡±

    Reia¡¯s words were heavy. That seemed like quite a lot to take in. It was also a harsh reality.

    Fieral broke the heavy silence, ¡°We all belong to you my Khan in both mind and body. We would never betray you. Whatever words you say within this tent will never leave our lips. We have lived a life completely sequestered ever since we were young. We were not even allowed to fraternize with others of our tribe except for the older women who trained us.¡±

    ¡°Alright, well if that¡¯s how it is¡­.¡±

    Sounds sort of like a slave to me, but this is their culture. I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to change their traditions so easily.

    ¡°Ok, so back to the topic of Tris. I really don¡¯t want to believe it but we can¡¯t take any chances. I have been trying to piece together what her motive is. I first met Tris when I joined the adventurer¡¯s guild back in Enrain. I had only been in this world for a little over a week at that point. There was nothing I did which was strange or out of the ordinary. My powers are unique, but she hadn¡¯t even seen them at that point. However, every time something happened to us, she wasn¡¯t around. At first I didn¡¯t think much of it, but there is no denying it now. It¡¯s clear she is our enemy, but we need to figure out who she is working for and why. We should try to figure out what her next move is and watch her. We need to control the information that she is allowed to see and hear for now.¡±

    I had trusted her, but I now realize I had been naive. When I first came to this world, I was too carefree. Now that I was a leader of an entire clan, it was necessary to change my way of thinking. That¡¯s easier said than done.

    ¡°I understand how you feel Fayde. She helped us in the past and we considered her our companion. I don¡¯t want to believe it either but we have to come to terms with the fact that she is a traitor.¡± Reia said after noticing my forlorn look.

    ¡°We need to find out what her goal is as soon as we can! We should let my brother keep an eye on her. He will let us know if he sees anything suspicious. He has excellent anti-detection skills and even with Tris¡¯s ranger abilities he won¡¯t get caught!¡±

    Allein was right, Nes would be the best choice to watch Tris.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do that then, can you handle this Nes? We are relying on you.¡±

    ¡°I never trusted her to begin with¡±

    Of course Nes didn¡¯t trust any humans at all to begin with, including me, so he was a little bias.

    ¡°With that over with, we need to meet with the tribal chieftains. We have to take stock of our forces and discuss other important matters. It¡¯s going to be a busy day.¡± After saying that, I asked Fieral to send someone to summon them to my tent.

    I really wish I could rely on Shar to help me with governance, but he is still refusing to help me. I would like to believe we have become friends but his loyalty to his country is still resolute. I have learned a lot from him nonetheless.

    It took some time to round up all the tribal chieftains but they slowly made their way to my tent. There were some formalities which needed to be gotten over with first and it took much more time than expected.

    There was a certain area of the enormous tent which was designated for such important meetings and we all currently sat on cushions in a semicircle. Only the Khan, his wives, and the tribal chieftains were allowed to sit in on these meetings. Reia and Allein were both in attendance and at my side. Even though women couldn¡¯t be chiefs or khans, they still were an important part of the governance of a tribe and assisted their husbands. There were a total of 10 tribal chieftains, including Reia¡¯s father, in attendance.

    ¡°There is a lot to do in order to get the tribe ready for the Grand Council. Will each chieftain please report on their tribe¡¯s population and military strength. We will need to organize our forces accordingly. We will go in order from left to right. Please introduce yourself and then give your report since I am still not familiar with most of you¡±

    All the trivial matters had been dealt with first, we now got to the main topic of the meeting.

    The first chieftain from the left stood and introduced himself, ¡°I am Chieftain Her¡¯tt of the red stripe tribe. Our tribe has 450 Fox-kin and 40 warriors¡­.¡±

    This continued for a bit until all the chieftains had introduced themselves accordingly. I even finally learned Reia¡¯s father¡¯s name, Kerr. Each tribe of the Foxkin were represented by a different colored stripe. This had some kind of ancestral meaning and their warriors would go into battle wearing their tribe¡¯s color as war paint.

    The entire Foxkin tribe had close to 4,000 Fox-kin and around 375 warriors. This number included all of the most powerful magic casters as well as the most proficient hunters and warriors. The Foxkin even had four master class elementalists which was an amazing feat. When one reached a master level of magic, they could specialize in certain fields of magic but this would decrease their proficiency in other areas.

    Most of the warriors were also trained in the use of spears, bows and axes. Their real strength lay in their magic though. Ihad the makings of a real magic corp. but my forces were lacking in raw physical strength.

    I¡¯m thinking of maybe breaking them up into four battalions then. Each battalion would be lead by a master class elementalist and the battalions can focus on a specific element of magic. I will have to divide the different class elementalists into the four battalions. I will have the beginner class elementalists focus on martial skills as well as body and weapon enhancement magic. The intermediate class elementalists can focus on magic barrages at the center of the formation while the advanced class elementalists focus on wide area spells. Well, I will think more on it at a later time. I momentarily lost myself in thinking up possibilities for organizing the Foxkin warriors.

    Reia gently put her hand on my shoulder to remind me of where I was. Some of the chief¡¯s were staring at me and I coughed in embarrassment.

    ¡°Uh, right. Anyway, I have a good idea of the tribe¡¯s strengths now and have already thought up some ideas for our tribe¡¯s military organization. They will need considerable training but we still have a couple of months until the Grand Council. We will need a proper means of training. The best way to do that is to have our warriors enter a dungeon!¡±

    The chieftains gasped at my words, they had never gone into a dungeon before.

    It seemed that it was sort of taboo for Demihumans to enter a dungeon. I never knew this because Reia never had any hesitation about it. Her tribe seemed to be the exception to this, or perhaps it was just her.

    ¡°My Khan, you may not know this but it is forbidden to enter a dungeon.¡± Chieftain Her¡¯tt was the first to raise opposition to the idea.

    ¡°I understand all of your concerns, but if our tribe wants to succeed at the Grand Council, this is a necessary step. We can¡¯t win if our warriors don¡¯t train in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°But tradition¡­¡± He was going to continue his complaint but was cut short by Allein who stood abruptly.

    ¡°My father, as you all know, was the first to unite the Demihumans and led them in war against the Humans who wished to exterminate them. The tradition of not entering a dungeon was put in place by my father for a specific reason, one which no longer exists. We must succeed, even if it means breaking taboo. This is ultimately for the betterment of our entire species. We must become united as one. It is hardly the time to be bringing up such old laws which have no bearing on the present!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t have said it better myself. Impressive, Allein.

    Everyone was watching as Allein spoke. They had immense respect for the daughter of the Great Dragon King, who was now no more than a legend. They had accepted her without doubt. There hadn¡¯t been a member of the Dragonkin race alive in thousands of years. They could not deny the truth of her existence or the authority in her words. The chieftains simply bowed their heads and voiced no more complaints.

    ¡°I know that it is difficult to bring yourselves to trust me, a Human. So I ask that you all have patience and judge me through my actions and not through petty prejudice. I promise that I will do everything within my being to ensure the safety and pride of all Demihumans.¡± My words were spoken with conviction and the Chieftains seemed moved.

    Reia¡¯s father stood and addressed the other chieftains.

    ¡°Fayde and Allein are right. This is something we must do and I vouch for Fayde¡¯s character. He has saved my tribe from many dangers and has always been a steadfast friend and I am proud to have him as my son-in-law.¡±

    After what Kerr said, all of the chieftains voiced their consent and with that the meeting was mostly over. There were some minor discussions on logistics and we would need to confer with the diviners of the tribe to determine where a suitable dungeon could be located. When our discussion was over, the chieftains all expressed their hopes for the future to me and then left. There were still worried looks, but they had somewhat decreased.

 Volume 2 Chapter 14

    (Tris POV)

    I can¡¯t believe it! Why? Why do the Foxkin follow him, an entire clan? He¡¯s a human and yet he is accepted by them? I am already able to see changes in the way the Foxkin view Fayde and it has only been a week since he became Khan. To make matters worse, Reia has even had her powers restored!

    I had been making myself somewhat scarce as of late but it didn¡¯t seem that my cover had been blown. Fayde and the others still treated me the same way they always had. The danger posed by Fayde continued to grow. He had already made sweeping changes to the warriors of the Foxkin tribe by organizing them into military units.

    One of the reasons why Humans had been able to keep the Demihumans from obtaining power was their lack of military tactics and strategy. The Empire, and to some degree the Kingdoms, kept the Demihuman numbers low by periodic military expeditions into the Plains of Sorrow as well as the funding of slave hunters to capture Demihumans. This had been a policy of The Empire for a long time and had seen great success.

    Even if all the tribes of the Plains united they were too few in number to be a major threat, but if Fayde takes the tribes to the northern kingdoms¡­

    No, I won¡¯t think about it, it¡¯s impossible. There is no way he can conquer the northern kingdoms. The people of the North won¡¯t tolerate Demihumans coexisting with them equally. He won¡¯t make it there anyway! We will stop him at all costs.

    I took a deep breath and relaxed my shoulders. I wasn¡¯t about to freak out now. There was still a lot that needed to be done and at least Dreg was close now. He was staying far enough away that he would not be scouted by the Foxkin, but close enough that we could now exchange missives more frequently. I was doing my best to report as much information as possible and he in turn was reporting back to the capital with the bits of information he felt was important.

    Fayde is still heading towards a dungeon with the Foxkin warriors in order to train them in proper battle tactics. They are making preparations for the Grand Council. I have not been discovered. Nothing new to report. The plan is still in motion.

    I finished up my latest report and sent it off with the magical messenger bird.

    <hr>

    ¡°She is communicating with someone. She received a letter of some kind and sent one off with magic. That is all I know. Whatever kind of magic it is, it is impossible to tell where the messages are being sent to.¡±

    It was really disheartening knowing without a doubt that Tris was betraying us.

    ¡°Thanks Nes, you did good. We still don¡¯t know who she is communicating with and why.¡±

    I breathed a deep sigh with my hands on my head, ¡°any ideas Reia?¡±

    ¡°Even though we met her in Enrain, it¡¯s most likely that she is working for the Empire. They have the most hatred towards us. I don¡¯t see why any of the Kingdoms would be interested.¡±

    ¡°But why me? When we first met I was no one special. Could it have been just a coincidence? Or might she know that I am from another world? I guess I can¡¯t rule out the possibility since this world contains magic. But even then, so what?¡±

    While I wanted to ask her myself, the timing wasn¡¯t right yet. We needed more information so that we could stop whatever it is she was plotting.

    ¡°If Tris approaches any of you about anything, if she says or does something out of the ordinary, I want to know about it. We¡¯ll keep watching her for now.¡±

    As long as you know that someone is a traitor, it can always be used to your benefit. Or at the least, you can watch their movements and predict their actions.

    ¡°Enough about that, we have a dungeon capture to plan! We need to leave some of our warriors outside the dungeon to protect the clan and the rest we will take inside the dungeon. With the information the diviners have given, it should be perfect for our purposes. There are only two floors, but the first floor is apparently very large. From what our scouts say, there is a fort on the floor and a large open plain. The types of monsters in the dungeon are goblins, orcs and ogres. The ogres are a rare monster type so we shouldn¡¯t see too many. These types of monsters tend to act in a similar fashion to an army so it is good training.¡±

    Our scouts had been sent in the day before and had already returned with reports on the first floor of the dungeon. The dungeon was a large battlefield type with a fort, which meant a siege would be necessary. They reported that the floor had a day and night cycle and normal weather so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to set up camp within, with our army.

    It was only a flat plain so we would be able to see the enemy coming and would be able to plan accordingly. The scouts had drawn a rough map so I had a basic idea of what the terrain was like. It didn¡¯t need to be detailed since it was all flat, plain land with a fort in the center.

    The scouts had encountered some goblins and orcs but they hadn¡¯t been able to get a clear picture of how many monsters were within. The diviners were only able to give us a vague estimate of somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000. We would bring 300 of the Foxkin into the dungeon and even though we were outnumbered, most of those monsters would most likely be goblins. Goblins were relatively weak monsters and shouldn¡¯t pose too much of a threat to the Foxkin. Even orcs were fine as long as there weren¡¯t any powerful variants, it was the ogres I was worried about.

    ¡°By the way, Reia, what kind of master level spells are there for fire? Is it something as useful as ¡®Fireball¡¯?¡±

    I was looking over the map the scouts had drawn while thinking about the formation our army would take.

    ¡°There is a master level area spell called ¡®Fire Vortex¡¯. It is a more powerful version of the ¡®Fire Storm¡¯. It isn¡¯t as concentrated as a ¡®Fireball¡¯, but it has a wider area of attack. The other masters should have similar attack spells of their element. The only thing is, they would only be able to use the spells once and the time to gather the magic power necessary for them is long¡±

    ¡°Is it possible to combine these spells to form a stronger spell? For example, combine a ¡®Fire Vortex¡¯ and the wind master level spell?¡±

    While these spells were probably not best suited to the battlefield because of their long cast time, they would be excellent for a siege.

    ¡°It is possible to combine spells, I have done so many times so I don¡¯t see why they couldn¡¯t be combined. Fire and wind are two elements which go well together.

    ¡°Good, that gives me an idea if it comes to a siege, which it probably will. I doubt the fort is there just for show. We will keep the masters in reserve then for the siege.¡±

    It was at that time that Tris entered the tent so I paused for a moment.

    ¡°Tris, you¡¯re back.¡±

    She seemed tired as she approached the floor table we were using for our strategy meeting.

    ¡°Yeah, I was out scouting making sure no threats were nearby. Once we go into the dungeon, the tribe will be somewhat exposed without the bulk of the warriors.¡±

    She sat down across from me on the other side of the table and glanced at the drawing of the dungeon.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°We are leaving fifty warriors behind, they will be fine until we can return. It shouldn¡¯t take more than a few days to capture the dungeon. If necessary, they can always call us back if the scouts find anything.¡± Reia¡¯s tone was a little crude when responding to Tris, she wasn¡¯t the best at holding her feelings back but Tris didn¡¯t seem to pick up on it.

    It wasn¡¯t as if we weren¡¯t all tired so it could be chalked up to grumpiness. Pretending to like someone wasn¡¯t always so simple.

    ¡°Tris, I want you to stay within the Foxkin camp when we go into the dungeon.¡±

    I need to limit what she sees of our tactics as much as possible.

    ¡°What do you mean? Wouldn¡¯t I be more useful to you in the dungeon? I can scout and report on enemy movements. I won¡¯t be much use staying with the tents.¡±

    If you weren¡¯t a traitor I would agree with you.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. Just keep the tribe safe for me, okay?¡±

    She looked like she was about to protest more, but she stopped.

    ¡°Okay. I will do my best.¡±

    Since Nes will be with us, I will have to assign one of the Fox-kin to keep an eye on her.

    ¡°We can plan the rest in the dungeon, this is enough for now.¡±

    With the meeting ended everyone dispersed to make their preparations.

    Only Fieral still remained by my side.

    ¡°Fieral, while I am in the dungeon I want you to watch Tris as best as you can. I doubt anything will happen, but just in case.¡±

    She bowed her head slightly, ¡°yes my Khan.¡±

    It took a couple hours for the Fox-kin to get their tents set up and for our warriors to prepare themselves for the dungeon. We had been able to equip most of the Foxkin with the leather armor and superior metal weapons we had looted from the kingdom¡¯s forces.

    Once inside, the 300 Foxkin were split up into their respective units and were organized into four formations. The bulk of the forces were placed in the center, with 200 Fox-kin formed up in a rectangular shape. The formation was four rows deep and fifty Foxkin per line. They were the main bulwark in case the enemy reached our forces and would hold them back in close range fighting. They would use body enhancing magic to increase their stamina, agility and strength as they were mostly beginner level magic casters. They also had javelins which they could throw before engaging in close combat.

    Slightly behind them and to the left and right flanks were two additional lines with 25 Fox-kin on each side. These were advanced level elemental magic casters. Their objective would be to fire off the initial long range magic bombardment, such as fireball. They would then act as a mobile force to harry the enemy flanks with short range barrages of elemental magic.

    The rear formation composed of 50 intermediate level magic casters would focus entirely on support. At the onset of battle, they would focus their magic on obstructing the enemy movements since only visibility was necessary to use obstruction type elemental spells. If the enemy survived long enough for close range combat, they would then focus entirely on keeping the front lines healed. With this, casualties should be kept to an absolute minimum.

    The inside of the dungeon was surprising, it almost exactly mirrored the outside world. The only difference would be the fort that was somewhere in the distance. The sky was artificial too, but it looked very real. If I hadn¡¯t known I was in a dungeon, I would have thought I was still on the outside. Of course I had already experienced a dungeon before but the Foxkin had not. They were shocked to see what the inside of a dungeon was like, some of them even doubted what they were seeing despite knowing they entered one.

    We made our way deeper into the dungeon without encountering any enemies. I sent a few of the warriors out as scouts to check the surrounding areas and it didn¡¯t take long for them to report back.

    One of the scouts reported directly to me.

    ¡°My Khan. A large force of goblins, orcs and a couple ogres were seen leaving the castle and heading towards our army. We believe there to be about a thousand of them approaching while the rest remain garrisoned in the fort. We have no way of knowing how many more are inside the fort.¡±

    Since the enemy was heading straight for us, there was no need to continue to march closer to the fort until we dealt with the forward force. I ordered the army to come to a halt and make their preparations. The advanced level elemental magic casters would begin to chant once the enemy army was visible, this way their chant would complete once the enemy was in range of their spells.

    It took about thirty minutes before the enemy army was fully in view. The front lines of the monster army was mostly filled with goblins, with the orcs behind them. They had no real formation to speak of and were more like a horde than a disciplined army. Orcs possessed a greater intelligence than goblins but their intelligence was woefully inadequate for complicated tactics. Orcs, goblins and ogres used swarm like tactics to fight their enemies. This tended to work against weaker foes but it wouldn¡¯t work well against the Foxkin who had powerful area attack spells.

    ¡°Magic casters begin chanting long range bombardment spells!¡± I yelled out my orders to the Foxkin covering the flanks.

    They began their chants while preparing their magical power.

    ¡°Support casters, do not obstruct the enemy until bombardment finishes and the enemy is in range. Once the enemy has been obstructed, magic casters may begin their barrage of spells! Front line is to hold until within skirmishing range, then release javelins!¡±

    Reia, Nes and Allein were right by my side, they were to remain behind lines until after the enemy entered close combat. They were then tasked with seeking out the ogres and killing them.

    The army of monsters roared across the battlefield and a loud cacophony of monstrous growls filled our ears. The roar of around a thousand monsters was intimidating but the Foxkin were no strangers to fighting monsters and were not affected by the sounds. The Foxkin responded with their own battle screams and the banging of spears.

    This is much more exhilarating than I thought it would be, perhaps I was made for this. With a feeling of excitement and being caught up in the moment, I added my own voice to the din of sounds.

    Our reply to the monster¡¯s battle cry filled them with rage and they began their charge across the battlefield. Their charge was a thunderous roar that shook the ground in their wake. The magic casters finished their chant as the monstrous horde approached the center of the battlefield and released their deadly spells into the midst of the enemy horde. A plethora of sound and color lit up the battlefield devastating the approaching enemy.

    This is intense! It¡¯s like I am part of a movie with an excessively large special effects budget!

    Fireballs thrown from the hands of magic casters exploded sending charred bodies flying in droves. Lightning struck the earth, upending the ground beneath the monster¡¯s feet sending them into disarray. Scythes made of ice sliced across the battlefield in wide swathes, slicing enemies in half.

    ¡°Ha! Reia, look at that! I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if half their army was cut down with those attacks alone! Amazing!¡± I couldn¡¯t contain my excitement.

    With little to no magical protection, the monsters were vulnerable to the magical bombardment. They had no heavy metal armor or shields to repel the spells and so they died en masse.

    ¡°Alright, Support! You guys are up. Obstruct the enemy! Magic casters switch to barrage spells!¡± The enemy was drawing closer and the long range bombardment had ended.

    The support casters began casting their obstruction spells. They used spells like ¡®Earth wall¡¯, ¡®Ice wall¡¯, ¡®Vines of entanglement¡¯, and other spells to root or obstruct the enemy, slowing down their advance. The magic casters had already begun chanting their mid-range barrage spells such as ¡®Fire Arrow¡¯, ¡®Ice Shards¡¯, and ¡®Wind Strike¡¯. These spells could be arched to rain down upon the enemy while elemental walls held them at bay. It was similar to an archer attack except with magic spells.

    While the monsters had been slowed and their numbers thinned through these attacks, they still continued their charge.

    ¡°Release javelins!¡± It was difficult for my voice to be heard over the sound of battle so we had incorporated flags into our tactics. I waved the flag to signal the javelin attack and 200 javelins soared through the air cutting down a good number of the monsters who had survived the magical attacks.

    Only a fraction of the horde still remained as the fight turned to close combat. Foxkin in the center formation took the brunt of the charge with their spears forward, impaling many of the charging monsters. The front line was pushed back by the charge and the warriors at the front struggled to keep their lines stable. Since this was their first battle fighting like this, they had some difficulty holding the line. They were aided by the healing spells being cast from the rear by the support casters and the second line of the center formation pushed forward, helping those in the front keep the enemy at bay.

    Foxkin magic casters on the flanks spread out and continued their short range barrage on the enemy flanks and rear forces which relieved much of the pressure on the center formation. The ogres, which were much slower than the other monsters, finally joined the fray. Reia, Allein and Nes were quick to respond and engaged the ogres from above and below. Their swift response saved many Foxkin lives because the ogres size and strength might have overwhelmed our formation.

    With the ogres preoccupied with my companions, our forces were easily able to mop up the remaining goblins and orcs. With the enemy mostly lying dead on the battlefield, the magic casters switched to aiding the fight against the ogres and the two ogres were also brought down.

    The Foxkin had won their first battle with resounding success.

 Volume 2 Chapter 15

    After the battle, I wandered around absorbing all of the ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯ from the monsters while the Foxkin healed any wounded and scavenged anything of value from the monster¡¯s corpses. I got some weird looks, but no one questioned what I was doing. There wasn¡¯t much to scavenge because most of their equipment was inferior to what the Foxkin already possessed. At least some of their parts would be useful as materials for various things.

    I had already come to this realization along time ago but the act of absorbing ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯ from the monsters removed all of their remaining magical properties. This meant no magic crystals could be removed from their corpses which was unfortunate. Magic crystals were valuable but if it was a choice between one or the other, I would still choose to increase my own power. It also allowed me to transfer power to Reia and Allein so it was certainly worth the price.

    It would take a while to scavenge the whole battlefield and tend to the wounded so the Foxkin set up camp to rest before tackling a siege on the fort. Scouts were sent out to make sure that no more enemies approached while we rested. I headed into the command tent to discuss the coming siege with Reia, Allein and Nes. After the strategy session, the commands would be relayed to squad commanders.

    ¡°That went very well but these monsters are much more susceptible to magic attacks than a human army will be. Still, it was good practice for them and they performed admirably.¡±

    This was the first step in preparing an army capable of standing toe to toe against a human army but there was still much that was needed.

    ¡°The enemy we faced here didn¡¯t seem to have any archers or mages. I wonder if there are any in the fort?¡± My question wasn¡¯t to anyone in particular.

    ¡°There are most likely some within the fort. These orcs don¡¯t appear to be particularly strong since there were no archers or mages among them. There are also more heavily armored orcs and other variations but there were none in the battle. It could just be the level of this dungeon though.¡± Reia replied.

    That made sense, we didn¡¯t choose a high level dungeon since this was only meant to be training as well as a means to power up. It seemed that my absorption ability was just as effective with quantity as it was with quality so there was no need to put the Foxkin in danger. They too would grow stronger from fighting an abundance of enemies.

    We needed some idea of the types of enemies we would be facing within the fort in order to plan accordingly, ¡°Nes, do you think you can fly over the fort and try to scout out the enemy? Don¡¯t take any risks, a general idea is fine.¡±

    Nes voiced his acknowledgement but was stopped by Allein, ¡°I will go too.¡±

    ¡°Allein, I would prefer you remained here, it might be dangerous. We don¡¯t know what they have behind those walls.¡± I said this only out of concern and not because I was looking down on her.

    ¡°I can protect myself. You don¡¯t need to concern yourself with my safety.¡± She said with a glare.

    Nes looked at me for a moment and then followed his sister out. The way he used to look at me and the way he looks at me now are different. I wonder if he¡¯s changed his opinion of me.

    ¡°I hope you aren¡¯t going to say something like that to me?¡±

    Reia was watching me the whole time but she showed no anger, just a hint of a smile.

    ¡°I know that would be a waste of time. You are a warrior after all and plus, I doubt you would listen to me even if I did.¡±

    I chuckled thinking about it.

    ¡°You know me well. So how will we take this fort?¡±

    ¡°The plan is simple, since we have four master level magic casters, we are going to use their most powerful spells against the fortifications. First we will have the master geomancer use his most powerful earth elemental spell against the walls, followed by the most powerful water elemental spell from the hydromancer. Once a breach is made, the master pyromancer and master aeromancer will combine their most powerful spells together and wreak havoc within the castle. We will then have our advanced magic casters throw fireballs into the breach in the walls just in case there are any enemies lurking there. This should clear the area and our main formation will march right in through the breach while the advanced magic casters continue to provide ranged support with their barrage type spells against any enemies on the walls. The intermediate level magic casters will follow the main formation from the rear and support them with healing. While they are distracted, we should have Nes and Allein fly on top of the walls and clear out any left over enemies on the walls. I will also join the fight this time.¡± As I was explaining the plan to Reia, I moved some wood blocks around on a crude drawing I had made on cloth of the fort and its immediate surroundings.

    It¡¯s nothing fancy and most likely not even necessary with just the two of us. It makes me feel like a real commander though. I have to get used to stuff like this since I will be planning more battles in the future, assuming I make it that far.

    ¡°Once everyone is rested we will head out and take that fort.¡±

    Reia and I ended our strategy session and went about preparing for the siege.

    Nes and Allein returned after a while and reported that the enemy fort was less intimidating than originally thought and that there were several hundred monsters within the fort.

    ¡°I saw close to 50 orc archers on the walls. They took shots at us while we were flying overhead but their range isn¡¯t great. We didn¡¯t notice any orc mages or heavy orc infantry, just the same types of monsters we already fought. Saw a couple more ogres inside too. Not sure what their commander is. They might have an orc general in there which is stronger than the normal ones we have been fighting, but not a serious threat.¡± Nes was efficient in giving his report.

    Allein felt the need to chime in with a reckless statement, ¡°This is way too easy, couldn¡¯t you pick a more difficult dungeon?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand Allein, that was the point. The Foxkin need to train and level themselves and this is the ideal dungeon for them. If we come out of this with little to no casualties, that would be desireable. Do you want to see our people be killed?¡±

    ¡°I guess not¡­¡± She said sulking.

    She didn¡¯t argue and I was happy to see that her personality had changed somewhat.

    ¡°Good job you two, I am happy that nothing happened to you while scouting. It¡¯s time to head out so get prepared!¡± With my dismissal, they went to prepare themselves for the coming battle.

    A couple of hours later, our army had arrived at the fort, but calling it a fort was a bit of a stretch. What the Foxkin had called a fort was pretty run down. The walls were in place, but they were not as impressive as I thought they would be and they were made of a combination of dirt and wood fortifications. There was no stone at all. I guess this is what Allein and Nes meant when they reported back to me earlier about the fort being less than intimidating.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    What a huge disappointment. I forgot these Foxkin had probably never seen a real fort or castle before. Even Enrain¡¯s defenses were somewhat disappointing from what I imagined. The City of Enrain had a wooden wall fortification that was reinforced with some stone, but none of it was like what I had seen in movies or what I imagined when reading. I had heard that the capital city had proper fortifications but I hadn¡¯t seen them for myself.

    ¡°All that planning I did seems pointless now.¡± I said my thoughts out loud to no one in particular but Reia replied, ¡°better prepared than dead.¡± Indeed Reia, indeed!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one is going to die, this fort is going to be a piece of cake. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it fell just from our magic bombardment. Let¡¯s trying hitting the walls with some fireballs, master level magic might not even be necessary. Advanced magic casters! Hit that wall with some fireballs!¡±

    At my order, the advanced magic casters began chanting and preparing their magical power. It took some time for the magic spell to be complete but soon around twenty moderately sized fireballs sped towards the enemy walls. We were out of range of the shortbows the orcs had so they could do nothing but watch as the fireballs rapidly approached. As the fireballs collided with the wall, I expected the wall to light up with massive explosions but instead, a strange dim glow lit up along the walls surface and the fireballs caused no damage.

    ¡°Bah, what the hell?¡±

    ¡°Looks like there are orc mages inside the enemy base after all. That was a defense spell cast on the walls.¡± Allein informed me.

    ¡°Right, I remember at the Battle of Enrain the mages did the same thing.¡± I replied.

    Reia observed the wall for a moment before speaking again, ¡°the wall itself is not very strong. Even with the magical enhancement spells reinforcing it. If we use the master level spells we originally planned to use, it should be enough to take them down. The orc mages are most likely only intermediate or advanced level casters.

    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s use the strategy we had originally planned.¡± I gave the order to the master level magic casters to use their spells to devastate the fort.

    They began gathering their magic power in preparation for the chant to cast their most powerful spells against the fort. The geomancer and hydromancer would use their spells to take down a portion of the fort¡¯s walls and then the pyromancer and aeromancer would combine their most powerful spells in an all out attack on the fort¡¯s denizens.

    Ordering the Foxkin to retreat further back away from the fort, we waited until the master level spells were ready to be cast. I wasn¡¯t sure how powerful the spells would be and I didn¡¯t want our own army to get caught up in them.

    Monsters from within the fort jeered and mocked us in their strange guttural tongues, thinking themselves safe behind the walls. They had no idea that soon their fort would be hit by powerful spells that would most likely obliterate them. It would still be quite some time until the spells were ready so we decided to rest while waiting as the monsters continued to roar in mocking tones from the walls of the fort.

    We finished eating a meal and even had time for idle conversation before the magic casters were ready. I understood more clearly why these spells were just not feasible for use in battle. No enemy would normally allow for the time needed to cast the spells. The monsters weren¡¯t very intelligent and thought themselves safe behind their walls and did not bother to sortie out of the castle. Of course, even if they did sortie, it wouldn¡¯t change the outcome of this battle.

    The first to cast their spell was the geomancer. I couldn¡¯t hear the entire chant, only hearing the last bit which he called out violently, ¡°Earth Rupture!¡± Ground beneath the fort began to quake violently. Some of the archers along the walls lost their footing, falling to their deaths. Ripples spread all along the surface of the ground sporadically flinging rocks and dirt in all directions. The thrown rock gradually gathered, being sucked in by some mysterious gravity like force until it formed enormous boulders of compressed earth.

    With a wave of the geomancer¡¯s hand, the boulders propelled themselves towards the enemy fortifications with immense force. The first few impacts were absorbed by the magic shield enhancement which had been placed on the fort¡¯s wall. Each successive boulder weakened the defense spell and it began to collapse until finally dissipating. A few remaining boulders crashed into the wall sending cracks throughout the wall, but it hadn¡¯t completely been breached.

    Following the geomancer¡¯s attack, the hydromancer released his master level spell with excellent timing. It was a spell known as ¡®Tidal Wave¡¯ which caused massive waves to repeatedly smash against the walls. Large waves battered the beleaguered defenders of the fort, breaching the walls and sending many monsters to a watery grave.

    I don¡¯t think there will be many left by the time these master level casters are finished.

    That wasn¡¯t the end of the assault, for the pyromancer and aeromancer had not yet combined their spells. Once the ¡®Tidal Wave¡¯ spell had run its course, the final two spell casters released their spells ¡®Fire Vortex¡¯ and ¡®Unrelenting Wind¡¯ which merged together forming a much more powerful spell.

    An immense tornado of fire blazed across the fort. Its heat was so intense I thought my own flesh would be scorched from my body. Thankfully, we were far enough from the fort that only the heat from the spell reached us. With flames blazing unabated, the fort itself seemed to be melting under the intense heat. What power! I can¡¯t imagine anything survived that! Doesn¡¯t look like there will be much of a fight after all.

    ¡°Flames have died down, about time. That was an amazingly powerful spell! Nes, can you go scout the fort from above and see if anything is still alive in there?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­.¡± Nes transformed into his dragon form and flew over to the fort.

    He spent some time flying around and scouting but eventually returned.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t see anything moving in there but there could be some monsters hiding in the rubble.¡±

    ¡°Looks like we are heading in then. Warriors, remain in formation, move in cautiously. Make sure to use your senses to pick up on any hidden enemies within!¡±

    Thankfully the Foxkin had a powerful sense of smell and would be able to quickly pick up on any monsters lurking in the fort.

    It wouldn¡¯t be possible for them to surprise attack our forces. Once inside, there were a few stragglers that had somehow survived but the Foxkin made quick work of them. The fort was a smouldering ruin now and no longer posed any threat to us. Many of the Foxkin held their noses in disgust due to the smell of steamed monster flesh.

    It was interesting to notice that the fire and wind combined spell had also super heated the water, causing an incredible amount of steam. The poor monsters had probably been boiled alive, that¡¯s a scary way to die.

    I will have to remember this effect for the future. It could prove to be a useful attack but the extremely long cast times for these spells limited their use.

    I ordered the warriors to search the fort for a way down to the second floor. It took a while to find the stairs leading down because the passageway leading to the stairs had collapsed and was under rubble. I waited while the Foxkin warriors removed the rubble and prepared the passageway for entry.

    Once uncovered, the stairs leading to the second floor of the dungeon were narrow and I sent scouts down to investigate before ordering anyone else down. They returned and reported that from what they could tell of the floor, it would be too difficult to move an entire army down there. The passageways and rooms were too small for a large group to navigate them.

    Looks like only a small group can go further in.

    ¡°Reia, Nes and Allein, looks like we¡¯re up.¡±

    They understood exactly what I meant and we quickly prepared our equipment, venturing further into the dungeon.

    I also put together a small group of Foxkin i thought would be useful within the dungeon.

    ¡°Do you guys remember the first time dungeon diving? It seems so long ago¡±

    My memories from then were still fresh in my mind. It hadn¡¯t been that long since the first time I entered a dungeon.

    ¡°Of course, I remember you were nervous Fayde!¡± Allein chuckled while covering her mouth with her hand.

    ¡°Shutup! It was my first time! Whatever, I¡¯m not nervous anymore.¡± I said that while looking into the dark of the dungeon ahead of me.

    Reia walked up to me, putting her arm on my shoulder. She looked at me sternly, ¡°that¡¯s enough chit chat, we have a dungeon to capture!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I said excitedly.

    Before I knew it, this world had really grown on me and I wondered if I would ever be able to return to Earth and I felt guilty because a part of me didn¡¯t even want to return, although I still felt pain at the thought of never seeing my daughter again.

 Volume 2 Chapter 16

    Strangely, the interior of the second floor of this dungeon appeared to look like the inside of a fort, but the rooms and passageways seemed to repeat and there wasn¡¯t much diversity in its appearance. It was almost as if the dungeon was mimicking a certain tile set which it just repeated, there was very little variety. This also made it difficult to navigate because every room and hallway looked almost exactly the same.

    For times like this, it was important to have something to use as a marker. In our case, we brought pebbles and placed them at intervals as we explored the dungeon. Making marks along the wall would be useless since the dungeon seemed to repair damaged walls and food might be picked up by monsters. Pebbles were good to use because monsters tended to avoid them or fail to notice them.

    ¡°Issa, go scout ahead, but not too far. Make sure you look out for traps!¡±

    Issa is one of the Foxkin I brought with us, he is known for his especially good hearing and has proved himself to be a good fighter.

    Issa is an intermediate level magic caster with a good range of root type spells. I guess you could say he was something like a druid and ranger combined. I also brought two other Foxkin into the dungeon, Jerris and Kailil. Jerris is an advanced level magic caster with a variety of elemental attack type spells and Kailil is an excellent healer. These three, along with Nes, Allein, Reia and myself ventured into the dungeon¡¯s second floor.

    ¡°The rest of you, stay together. Nes, you have the rear, Reia has the vanguard, the rest of us are in the middle of the formation. Kailil and Jerris, make sure you stay between Allein and I.¡±

    There was only enough room for three to stand side by side within the hallways and I tried to maximize our fighting potential with this formation.

    Both Reia and Nes would need some room to maneuver and those of us in the middle could provide support to either the front or rear if necessary. It seemed to be working so far since we had already made it deep into the dungeon.

    It won¡¯t be long until we find the core, I wonder what the guardian of the dungeon looks like.

    ¡°Fayde, someone is running towards us!¡± Reia yelled from the front of the formation.

    ¡°Might be Issa, but get ready just in case.¡±

    Issa came running down the hallway at top speed.

    ¡°Enemy incoming! Heavy Orcs, about 10 of them. They are guarding a door, it¡¯s probably the core room!¡±

    ¡°Everyone get ready! Heavy Orcs will most likely be in a shield wall formation. Direct magic attacks won¡¯t work, especially in these tight quarters. Magic casters switch to support, root and enhancements. Nes, we are going to need you in the front of the formation with Reia and I.¡± I quickly gave orders to match the impending threat.

    Our formation shifted, with magic casters moving to the rear and all our martial strength moving to the front. The Heavy Orcs would have metal shields which could repel direct magic attacks so we would need to rely on mostly melee with magic being used as support.

    Issa would move to the rear to detect if any enemies approached from that direction. If other monsters showed up to surround us, he would have to hold the line in the rear while the magic casters aided him. There was little chance of more Heavy Orcs showing up from behind so I wasn¡¯t too concerned. These were most likely the most powerful monsters in this dungeon other than whatever the guardian was.

    We continued to move forward slowly, anxiously awaiting the approach of the Heavy Orcs. The sound of their thick boots hitting the dungeon floor and the clanging of their metal shields could be heard clearly from our location. As they came into view, they began to grunt loudly. Their formation was solid with shields linked together in unison. Only three of them could stand side by side, but with the tight space and their linked shields, it appeared as if a solid wall was approaching. Steady grunting sounds came from behind the wall of shields.

    While it was true that it would be difficult to break their shield wall, it would also be difficult for them to maneuver in such a tight space with their shields and bodies taking up so much of the space.

    ¡°Reia, we will need brute force to break their formation. We don¡¯t have blunt weapons unfortunately, but I have an idea, come close!¡±

    Reia moved quickly and stood next to me at the ready.

    From watching Reia and others, I realized that it was possible to enhance the physical properties of a person with magic. You could enhance someone¡¯s speed, strength, defense, etc. with the right type of spell. I had wondered if the same was possible with my own power and theorized that it would be. It also dawned on me over time that my power seemed to be somehow connected to my imagination. For example, if I could envision using my power in a certain way, it was possible to manifest it, but there also seemed to be some limitations on this. Or perhaps, the more power I obtained, the greater effects I could manifest.

    The last time I was in a dungeon, the power of the void seemed much closer, as if its essence were embracing me and I heard a voice call out. At that time, I had been able to develop a new ability through exposure to so much ¡®Void¡¯ energy. I searched for that energy now within my surroundings, hoping to draw more power from it. A strange presence within me made itself known surprisingly quick and I latched onto it in my mind. The power of the void began to coalesce within me and I began to shape it to my needs.

    Placing my hand on Reia¡¯s shoulder, I sent my power into her body through the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯. My power flowed swiftly out of my body and into Reia. Her body had a dim dark glow emanating from it and she appeared to be hazy, as if there were double images of her.

    ¡°Reia, how does it feel? This is a type of body enhancement technique, but I haven¡¯t had the time to test its use in actual battle yet. It should hopefully come in handy here, though!¡±

    The hazy image of Reia stood beside her more solid form and began to alternate between solid and hazy.

    ¡°Fayde, what is this...... there are two of me? I feel a strange pull from my double.....¡± Reia poked the hazy image of herself and found that her finger went through it.

    ¡°Maybe I can use this to break the enemy formation or at least confuse them.¡± Reai said with determination, preparing herself for the fight ahead.

    ¡°Okay, wait, let me do the same.¡±

    I used the body enhancement technique on myself this time and successfully enhanced my own body with the ¡®Void¡¯ element. This was something completely different from when I covered my body with my ¡®Void Flames¡¯. If I were to use game terms, it was like a buff or a body enhancement technique. Instead of covering the outside of my body with ¡®Void Flames¡¯, I attempted to enhance my body from within with the properties of the ¡®Void¡¯ element.

    Instead of only one afterimage like what happened with Reia, this time two appeared. It seemed I still needed to work on controlling my power in order to be able to control it in minute detail. I had used more VP than what I had used on Reia and had been able to increase the amount of afterimages.

    I feel the pull too, strange.

    ¡°That¡¯s impressive, but what do they do?¡± Allein chimed in from behind me.

    ¡°We will soon find out! Reia, let¡¯s do this!¡±

    Reia and I ran towards the slowly approaching Orc shield wall and both of us struck the nearest shield bearers causing a loud clang. The Orcs having their enemy in range blocked the sword strike and then those behind the front line thrust spears through holes within the shield wall. Reia and I used our body doubles to confuse the orcs and their spears thrust through our doubles leaving us unharmed. The orcs were well disciplined and they didn''t break formation no matter how we attacked and their shield formation seemed like it would be impossible to break.

    The Orcs behind the front shield bearers called out in their guttural language and the shields were moved for a brief moment while the orcs in the rear threw javelins towards us. I tried to avoid the javelins by using my double as a decoy but one orc was able to discern which was my real body and took aim directly at me.

    Without a moment''s hesitation, the Heavy Orc threw the javelin. If I had been cloaked in my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ then I could have easily blocked the javelin, but it didn¡¯t seem I could use both my ¡®Void Flames¡¯ and this new ability. Sensing the impending danger I knew I wouldn''t be able to avoid the attack and the pull I felt from my double grew stronger. Acting on pure instinct, I surrendered completely to the pull I felt and found that I had completely reversed positions with my double allowing me to completely avoid the thrown javelin.

    "Reia, allow your body double to pull you, you can reverse positions with it!" After realizing the potential of my new ability I immediately called out to Reia.

    She acted almost instantaneously after I informed her of the true power of the ability. Reia was an experienced warrior who had fought in many battles and she quickly reacted to the changing flow of events. She sent her double forward, past the shield bearing orcs and towards the orcs who had thrown the javelins and allowed herself to be pulled by it and reverse positions.Quickly realizing her plan, I did the same.

    The Orcs in front confused at the sudden turn of events, turned to attack us from behind, but were taken out by the attacks of our companions who had been watching from a distance. Nes moved quickly to get into striking distance while Allein and the other magic casters sprung to action launching magic attacks at the backs of the shield bearing Orcs. Their entire formation was now in disarray as they attempted to fall back to rebuild their shield wall. Half of their number had been cut down in rapid succession. The other five Orcs were able to ready a new shield wall formation but with my new found power, it would only fail like the first.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Orcs were slow learners, but it wasn¡¯t as if most people would be able to quickly come up with a counter strategy. My new technique was difficult technique to counter.

    Reia and I continued our attack using our body doubles to reverse positions behind the shield wall for a second time. The Orcs who were hiding behind the shield bearers were waiting for us this time since they had seen the technique used, but it didn¡¯t matter. They were no match for Reia and I. Our companions had also caught up and we finished off the remaining Orcs from both sides.

    ¡°That was amazing! Don¡¯t you think so Nes?¡± Allein asked.

    Nes just grunted, but there were no ill feelings in it.

    My Foxkin companions were also praising me which was slightly embarrassing. I had to get used to receiving praises since I was now a leader.

    ¡°Once we clear out the guardian room and take the dungeon core, we will have to make sure to loot the equipment from these Heavy Orcs, it will definitely be of use to us. Let¡¯s try resting here for a bit before taking on the guardian."

    After giving instruction for our party to rest, I turned to Reia for a moment.

    ¡°Those body doubles were quite useful, they drain a lot of my power though. We will need to keep that in mind, but I think we can make good use of this!"

    Reia agreed with me and I walked over to the other Foxkin to see how they were doing. I tried making small talk with the Foxkin that came with us but they seemed to be intimidated by me and the conversation was awkward so I gave up on it. I thanked them and sat down on the dungeon floor next to Reia and Allein.

    ¡°Allein, how are you holding up? You aren¡¯t too tired are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°Nes?¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    ¡°Guess you¡¯re fine then.¡±

    ¡°Reia, you did good. Knowing how to use that technique with only seeing it once¡­.¡± I said praising Reia.

    She gave me a warm smile and blushed.

    ¡°Hmph, it was nothing.¡± She said that but she seemed pleased with herself as she played with her hair unconsciously.

    I smiled at her, I guess I should compliment her more, she seems to enjoy it even if she won¡¯t admit it hehe.

    ¡°Everyone ready to move?¡±

    We had rested enough and I ordered the group to move out.

    We made our way to the end of the hallway where there was a large metal double door. This was the door of a guardian¡¯s chamber. Since we had been facing Orcs, Goblins and Ogres up to this point, the guardian would most likely be related to one of these types of monsters.

    I looked at my companions, ¡°Are you all ready for this? We don¡¯t know what is in there.¡±

    They all nodded to me with looks of determination on their faces.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Reia and I pushed the metal doors open and were hit with a warm heat from a huge fireplace.

    The guardian chamber looked very much like what a viking hall would look like only much larger. There was a massive wooden table in the center of the hall which spanned almost the entire length of it. At the head of the table on the opposite side was a wooden throne and in it sat a large burly Orc with a crown on its head. There were Ocs seated at the long table and all their eyes turned to us when we opened the door.

    ¡°Eh¡­ this is awkward¡­¡±

    It was a little unnerving seeing all these Orcs sitting at the table staring at us with their king at the head.

    Before the Orcs could react I yelled out, ¡°go nuts! Kill them all!¡±

    With my command, the magic casters began chanting their attack spells immediately while Reia, Nes and I jumped into battle, killing the Orcs before some of them could even respond. The strange viking-like hall turned into a mass of chaos as we engaged the Orcs in close range battle. The Orcs appeared to all be Heavy Orcs with their metal armor and weapons but they lacked their shields.

    Because of their heavy armor, they had a difficult time responding to our attack initially but it wasn¡¯t long before the group of Orcs began their counterattack. The king Orc was growling and yelling out commands in its guttural language to the Orcs around the table. The fighting was intense and the Orcs even had a couple of Orc Mages who attempted to attack us from the top floor of the hall. The hall was open and it gave the Orc Mages an advantage to hit us from above, but there was only a few of them.

    ¡°Magic casters, focus on the mages above, quickly take them out!¡± I gave quick orders because of the evolving situation.

    The magic casters began focusing on the mages above, Allein flew up to the top and began throwing spells at the Orcs above who were now being attacked from above and below. Nes, Reia and I held off the Heavy Orcs as they came rushing towards us. We cut them down as they approached, Reia especially made quick work of them with her lightning enhanced blade. It cut through their armor like it was butter.

    The Orc King was growing increasingly frustrated at his Orc¡¯s inability to strike us down. We were taking some damage, but with our healer constantly supporting us from the rear and our other support caster using obstruction magic to slow down enemy movement, we were thinning their numbers. The Orc Mages had been taken care of and most of the Heavy Orcs lay on the floor dead.

    A sudden roar from the Orc King caused me to slightly shudder and he launched himself across the table at us with his giant halberd in one hand and a javelin in the other. He flung the javelin with all his strength straight at me as I pierced the neck of one of the Orcs I had been engaged with.

    ¡°Lightning Strike!¡± Reia yelled as she swung her sword in a wide arc.

    Lightning from her attack crackled and hissed as it sped towards the approaching javelin, knocking it clean away.

    ¡°Thanks Reia!¡± I yelled out while engaging the last orc in my vicinity.

    It wasn¡¯t actually necessary since I had switched over to cloaking myself in my ¡®Void Flames¡¯, but it was the thought that counted.

    With a swift charge, the Orc King came crashing into our formation knocking me back, but he took a few slashes to his back and side from Nes and Reia. Allein and Jerris both hit the Orc king with a barrage of spells while Issa let off an arrow, striking the Orc King in the shoulder. The attacks were easily shrugged off by the Orc King who appeared to be much more powerful than his Heavy Orc soldiers.

    The Orc King swung his halberd in a wide arc, flinging both Reia and Nes backwards. They both crashed into pillars running along the sides of the hall. I rose from the floor after being knocked over and ordered the magic casters to quickly disperse and find a better vantage point to attack from. The Orc King tried to make a move on them but I blocked his halberd with my cloaked arm and kept him from inflicting harm on the weaker members of the party.

    Nes and Reia quickly got back on their feet and the three of us surrounded the Orc King. We kept our distance while waiting for an opening as the the monster swung his halberd wildly.

    ¡°Reia, Nes, keep him busy, I am going to use my ¡®Phantom Images¡¯.¡± I called out to the other two at different positions around the monster.

    They sprang to action to keep the Orc occupied while I summoned my magic power and canceled the ¡®Void Flames¡¯. ¡®Void¡¯ element spread throughout my body, enhancing it with its power. This time I managed to focus my power, successfully controlling the flow of the ¡®Void¡¯ element within me and produced a more solid version of a single body double.

    ¡°Alright, move back, I am attacking! Take care of any stragglers!¡±

    Those behind me jumped away from the monster and kept a distance between them and the monster as I moved in for the attack. The Magic Casters were still peppering the Orc King with their magic attacks and the Orc did its best to swat them away. I rushed into the opening created by the magic attacks and slashed the Orc King across the stomach. It hammered down with its halberd but I quickly reversed positions with my body double and stabbed him through his side with my sword.

    I repeated this movement until the Orc King began to slow. It had no way of countering my ability and it couldn¡¯t understand why it hadn¡¯t been able to hit me despite swinging its halberd through my double several times. It was clearly on its last legs and was barely able to hold its weapon any longer.

    ¡°Allein, finish it off with your magic.¡±

    ¡°Alright, incoming!¡± Allein gathered her magic power and cast several ¡®Fire Arrows¡¯ which we flung towards the Orc King confidently..

    With the ¡®Fire Arrows¡¯ all hitting the Orc King, it roared one last time before falling to the ground dead.

    ¡°That was a good workout! Everyone okay and accounted for?¡±

    All my companions were alive and well but extremely tired after that prolonged and intense battle.

    With the monsters all dead, I quickly took note of their good equipment and was already thinking about what I would use it for. Some of the armor had been damaged, but most was still in tact and useful. Either way, the metal could be used for other things if nothing else. There were other valuables littered throughout the hall which we would definitely be looting.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get that dungeon core! I have yet to see one. Anyone see it?¡±

    ¡°It looks like there is a large magic crystal embedded in the throne across the hall!¡± Issa replied.

    Issa had good eyes, I could barely make it out because of the distance. With the others looking through the hallway to take stock of the valuables within, I went towards the magic crystal. As I got closer to it, I began to feel strange as if my consciousness were being pulled out of my body. It was a similar feeling to when I was fighting the Lizard King in the last dungeon I explored.

    I continued to walk towards the magic crystal but I was barely conscious of my surroundings by this point and I was walking as if in a daze. My hand reached out and grasped the magic crystal and suddenly I found myself in a strange place devoid of light. I couldn¡¯t see or hear anything until a disembodied voice cried out to me.

    ¡°Consume me!¡±

    When the voice spoke I felt my body jerk and a surge of power hit me almost knocking me down to my knees. When I regained full consciousness, Reia and Allein were both shaking me and shouting at me with concern. I shook my head and struggled to regain focus, and when I finally did, I saw that the magic crystal had been shattered.

    I had once again consumed the ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯ residing within the dungeon.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay, I¡¯m¡­ okay.¡±

    Both Reia and Allein looked extremely worried but heaved sighs of relief when I finally spoke.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Allein asked with visible concern.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I suddenly lost consciousness and I heard a voice again and then I felt power surging into my body. It was the same thing that happened to me in the last dungeon.¡±

    Reia grabbed my face with both hands and looked deeply into my eyes.

    ¡°Your eyes, they¡¯ve become pitch black¡­.it¡¯s fading. It¡¯s gone now, I saw it only for a moment.¡±

    She was also clearly concerned, but I felt fine now.

    Actually, I felt better than fine. I felt enormous strength within my body.

    ¡°Reia, Allein, I am fine now. Really. Let¡¯s head back to the other Foxkin and get to work looting this dungeon. We have much to do after this! It¡¯s about time we made our way to the sacred ground where the Grand Council will take place.¡±

    My words didn¡¯t alleviate the concern that Allein and Reia had, but they said no more and we all made our way back to the Foxkin who were eagerly awaiting our return.

 Volume 2 Chapter 17

    ¡°It seems that magic crystals will forever be useless to me. I absorb all their magic. There is clearly some kind of connection between magic and ¡®Dark Matter Contamination¡¯.¡±

    It was a hot day on the Plains and I was currently riding in a wagon being pulled by a horse.

    This wagon was one of many wagons the tribe possessed and was somewhat poorly made, but it did what it was made to do. It carried the tribe¡¯s supplies, the young, the old, the sick or crippled, and the tribal leaders. Since I was the Khan, I was expected to ride in the best wagon the tribe possessed.

    Once things settle down and we have a more permanent home, I am really going to have to improve their technology and culture. For now, it is enough that their military skill and organization improves. I can at least be proud of the fact that I have convinced all of the Foxkin to bathe more frequently.

    ¡°What do you think that connection is?¡± Allein asked me inquisitively.

    ¡°I have some theories about it, but nothing concrete. When monsters die, I absorb the power from their crystals. What exactly are magic crystals, though? Are they just solidified magic, or perhaps concentrated ¡®Dark Matter¡¯? Are they what give the monsters life? I suppose it makes sense then that I don¡¯t absorb anything from dead humans since they don¡¯t have magic crystals within their bodies. Also, what is the connection between dungeons and monsters? Both have magic crystals and I can absorb both the energy from a dungeon and from a monster. They also must have some kind of connection to the Void, but I am not sure exactly what the Void is just yet. Then there is the voice I sometimes hear.¡±

    I thought about all the stories I read in manga and light novels or all the anime I had watched. It could have some relation to a deity, or an evil force or demons or something. There were a lot of possibilities. Is the Void a place? A being of some kind? Is it a god of monsters? It could be any of these or none.

    All I could do was move forward for now. Even though I had agreed to becoming a chieftain and then later Khan, I had also realized that it was most likely my best opportunity to get some answers. I would need a lot of resources at my disposal to find the truth behind all of this. Uniting the Demihumans was part of this. This wasn¡¯t the only reason I was doing this, though. I honestly wanted to help the Demihumans and there was also a part of me that wanted to be some kind of hero, as foolish as that sounds.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    Allein seemed to be thinking something and I watched her curiously.

    I had a feeling for some time now that Allein was keeping secrets from me. I didn¡¯t believe them to be malicious secrets, nothing along the lines of betrayal like Tris, but something she wasn¡¯t sure she wanted me to know. I didn¡¯t really want to push her, she had gone through quite a lot, waking up after thousands of years and finding out her family was all gone. She only had her brother and me in this world. In some ways, she and I weren¡¯t all that different. We were both people who had been placed into a completely different world from what we knew, well more so on my part but still¡­

    ¡°Allein, you know that you can always talk to me about anything. I will always be here for you¡­¡±

    Those were not trivial words, I meant them.

    She looked me straight in the eye, she really was a beautiful young woman, but she kept her heart well guarded. I could only hope that with time that would change. Either way, she was one of my wives now and it was my responsibility as her husband to help and support her.

    ¡°How can you be so certain?¡±

    Her response was somewhat of a surprise. Did she think I would abandon her, or was it something else?

    I glanced at her eyes and there deep within, was a quiet sadness that had nestled itself deep within her. This was another side to her that I had seen a few times before. Allein was much more complex than I had thought when i first met her and the more time I spent with her, the more I understood that.

    ¡°It¡¯s true that I can¡¯t see the future. If I were to die or something were to happen to me¡­.. If it¡¯s within my power, I would never abandon you. I promise.¡±

    Allein shook her head, ¡°that¡¯s not what I mean at all¡­. ¡±

    She seemed somewhat annoyed at me, but she wasn¡¯t angry.

    Reia came over to the wagon and jumped in and sat down next to me. ¡°What are you two talking about?¡±

    ¡°Nothing¡­.¡± Allein replied with a whisper.

    ¡°I see. We still have a long way to go before we get to the Grand Council. I made my rounds through the caravan and morale is high. There is very little grumbling like there was initially when you became Khan, Fayde.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then. I guess all the loot and resources they obtained from the dungeon helped with that.¡±

    I chuckled and Reia returned my smile.

    ¡°Our people never had much to begin with, so they are grateful for the gifts I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°I bet they are. It is only the beginning of what is to come. I promise, I will make a place for all of them. It¡¯s only a matter of time. By the way, how was it when you checked your status? Was the power I transferred over to the both of you through the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯ sufficient?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I feel much more powerful than before!¡± Reia replied to me cheerfully.

    She had been in a relatively good mood ever since coming back from the dungeon.

    Allein nodded but said nothing.

    ¡°That reminds me, has anyone heard anything about Tris today?¡±

    Nes had been assigned to keep an eye on her from a distance. I hadn¡¯t heard from either of them today. Tris was quite busy these days receiving, and sending messages to whomever was following us. I was certain whoever she was communicating with was not far, but the Foxkin scouts I had sent to locate these hidden foes had found nothing. The only solution I could think of was that there was some kind of magic that allowed them to remain hidden from the Foxkin senses.

    When she wasn¡¯t scouting, she spent time with the rest of us and would occasionally ask questions about our plans from here on. We were all careful with the information we let her hear.

    ¡°Fayde, I think we should just imprison her and be done with it.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    Reia was giving me her daily advice about imprisoning Tris.

    ¡°I already told you, if we imprison her now, it isn¡¯t going to stop whoever she is working with. We need to wait until we at least have some idea of what they might be planning. They will eventually make a move but it¡¯s not going to happen with so many Demihumans around. It would be better to get all of them in one swipe. So we wait, okay?¡±

    She nodded but didn¡¯t seem convinced.

    I decided to change the subject, ¡°so did you level up with the power I gave you? I want to confirm my theory.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am now level 16 and I also received two ability points again. Your power is unbelievable. My strength has increased to 17. That would put me in the upper echelons of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild when it comes to raw strength. I can probably count on one hand how many others possess more strength than me. If you take into account all my stats, there may only be one other who could compare with my overall status. It really feels like I am cheating¡­¡±

    ¡°Ha! No need to think on it that much. Whether it is a cheat or not, what matters is how you use that power. Our cause is a good one. You have nothing to be ashamed of and I am glad to hear my theory is correct. It seems that the power I give you can both level you up and grants additional ability points. How about you Allein, how¡¯s your status?¡±

    ¡°I have put most of my ability points into magic and defense but all my other stats are well rounded too.¡±

    ¡°Good! That reminds me, I need to check my status. Fieral!¡± I called out to Fieral who would undoubtedly be nearby, she always was.

    She popped up almost immediately, ¡°Yes my Khan.¡±

    Whoa, where did she come from?

    No one could say she was anything but dutiful, ¡°uh, can you go and find Aylil, I want to check my status. With everything that has been going on, I haven¡¯t found the time to do so yet.¡±

    She bowed and went searching immediately.

    She was gone for about ten minutes when she finally returned with Aylil in toe.

    She¡¯s as shy as ever hehe. I chuckled to myself.

    ¡°Aylil, I hope you are doing well?¡±

    No answer eh? The way she squirms when I talk to her is cute.

    She looked at me hesitantly and then whispered, ¡°I¡¯m¡­.. fine¡­.¡±

    I rubbed her head and she looked down but didn¡¯t avoid my hand.

    ¡°Can you help me with my status?¡± I asked her as sweetly as I could.

    She nodded and began gathering her magic power to use her divination technique.

    [Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]

    [HP: 140/140]

    [Health Regen: 0.5/min] [2/min while resting]

    [VP: 1200/1200] [Void Threshold: 1700 Next level 1800]

    [Void Regen: 2/min] [10/min while resting]

    Strength: 16 ( Modifier +3, Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)

    Dexterity: 15 (Modifier +3, Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)

    Constitution: 16 (Modifier +3, Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)

    Charisma: 13 (Modifier +2, Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)

    Intelligence: 140 (Represents intellectual capacity, Affects Skill Growth)

    Wisdom: 210 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)

    Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 7/10 Advanced), Evasion (Level 6/10 Advanced), Tactics (Level 6/10 Advanced), Leadership (Level 6/10 Advanced), Endurance (Level 6/10 Advanced), Spear (Level 2/10 Beginner)

    Acquired Martial Arts: Sword Whirlwind (Sword), Poised Strike (Sword), Seven Sword Slash (Sword)

    Blessings: Blessing of the Void (The ability to unite with the soul of a ¡®Child of the Void¡¯ through the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯)

    Special ability: Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination strengthening host), Molecular transfer (Transfers dark matter contamination from host, to those bearing the ¡®Mark of the Void,¡¯ strengthening them), Molecular reconstitution (Through dark matter contamination transference, reconstitutes entirely, the body and soul of those bearing the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯, amount of VP required is dependent on severity of the condition of the one being healed)

    Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)

    Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)

    Void Element: Void Flame (Maximum) (20VP - 7VP/min) (Imbue the power of the ¡®Void¡¯ across your entire body and unleash flames that devour space and time over a limited area), Void Strike (200VP) (Unleashes the power of the ¡®Void¡¯, limited dimensional strike), ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ (Lesser)(50VP - 10VP/min) (A type of magic body enhancement that circulates ¡®Void¡¯ element throughout the body which creates ¡®Phantom Clones¡¯. These clones allow for short range cross-dimensional teleportation.)

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°And why have you come here Demonkin? Was it not you and your kin that abandoned the rest of us on the Plains a long time ago and now you have come running back here with your tails stuck between your legs? Did the Empire strip you of your wits and your courage?¡±

    Booming laughter filled the tent from all those within.

    The Shakari, leader of the Demon-kin, was not amused. His sister walked forward to speak but she was halted mid-step by her brother¡¯s raised fist.

    ¡°You would dare mock me with your lies. You know damn well we did not leave willingly.¡± His words became a threatening growl that put all those within the tent on edge.

    ¡°You call yourself a Khan, but you are nothing more than a mewling cat suckling at his mother¡¯s teat! Everyone one of you are cowards too afraid to fight Humans and you sit here playing your foolish games!¡¯

    A plethora of angry voices were raised by his comments and murderous eyes glared at the Shakiri from all directions. The Shakiri raised his enormous halberd and slammed it against the ground quieting those within the tent. They all knew the strength that lie within this Demonkin and were soon reminded of it.

    In the silence that followed, the Wolfkin Khan stepped before the Shakiri. Khan Rhaegnar was known for his wisdom and he had been one of the few who hadn¡¯t jeered at the Shakiri for he was no fool, but a man of honor.

    ¡°All of us here understand your plight¡­. And the reason why you have come here.¡± Khan Rhaegnar stopped for a moment and turned to face the crowd, his eyes passing over all in the tent.

    ¡°Your kin, and those others who follow you, left the Plains in the time of our fathers, so long ago that it is but a distant memory. Many of our people who agreed with your father, left with them in order to make war on the Empire. Those of us who remained knew it was folly. That will not change now.¡± Despite the seriousness of his words, they were said with a certain gentleness that calmed the Shakiri.

    ¡°What you speak of is true, it was my father who decided to leave the Plains because of his disgust at your fickle nature and rigid stubbornness. He made it his mission to fight the Empire and those who agreed with his way of life followed. It is also true that the reason why I am here is just as you all suspect. However, I will not ask as my father did. I am here to take, to conquer. I will make all the Demihuman tribes mine by winning in the Grand Council. I will not be refused!¡± His words were meant as a promise and, as a threat.

    The crowd was moved to anger once more by his words but this time silenced by the Khan of the Tigerkin.

    ¡°Hahaha, do you really believe that you will win? There are none here stronger than I!¡±

    The Khan of the Tigerkin stood up and the voices around the tent were thunderous in agreement with his words but the Shakiri seem unfazed.

    As the sound of Demi-humans clamored around him, he slowly approached the Khan of the Tigerkin with a purposeful gait. Rajal Khan, the Khan of the Tigerkin, was too absorbed in the praise around him to notice until the immense form of the Shakiri stood before him.

    ¡°There is one here who is stronger than you. Me.¡±

    The Shakiri turned before Rajal Khan could respond and he left the tent with his sister.

    When they were finally outside in the cool night air, the young Demonkin woman spoke to her brother.

    ¡°They are as stubborn as father said. Can¡¯t they see that our kind are being slowly and surely exterminated? The Humans see us as nothing more than pests to be eliminated. It doesn¡¯t appear that they plan to let you win brother. I imagine they will do anything in their power to stop you.¡±

    Her brother snorted violently at her remarks, ¡°let them try. We have the strongest force out of all the tribes and¡­.. I have you Laila. Would you allow any harm to come to me?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even need to ask that. No one will harm you while I live.¡±

    Her brother showeda toothy grin and the two of them returned to their tent.

 Volume 2 Chapter 18

    ¡°Khan Fayde, we are nearing the Sacred Grounds. The other tribes are already aware of our presence and will be waiting for us ahead. They have been informed of our tribe''s circumstance¡± One of the Foxkin scouts was reporting back to me after having come in contact with Demi-humans from the Sacred Grounds.

    The circumstances he mentioned were in reference to me. It wouldn''t do to have Demi-humans attack me on sight as we near the Sacred Grounds.

    ¡°Good, thank you. You can go back to your duties.¡±

    I was beginning to feel nervous, there was a lot riding on this.

    It was not a nervousness out of fear, though. I was determined to win and nothing was going to get in my way. I was beginning to truly plan for the future and I had many things I wanted to achieve going forward. I wasn¡¯t about to be stopped when I was so close to finally uniting the tribes.

    ¡°Fayde, remember, you must be dignified at all times. The other tribes are going to treat you with nothing but disdain since you are a human. It will be difficult for them to accept you but you must not get angry or let it bother you. Show them your strength and the strength of our tribe, that is all that is necessary.¡± Reia was busy fussing away at me but secretly she was enjoying all of this much more than I expected.

    She was acting as the wife of a Khan should. She was fulfilling her role admirably ever since I became Khan of the Foxkin. She was proving to be an amazingly talented and versatile woman.

    Allein was also present and fussing as well. She had an important role to fulfill too. With her at my side, the other Khans would not be able to deny me my rightful place at their side, and eventually above them. Everyone in the tribe was filled with anticipation, worry, hope, anxiety and other emotions.

    ¡°My Khan, please, you must wear these traditional robes. It is necessary for a Khan to wear these while entering the Sacred Grounds.¡± Fieral was forcing the traditional Khan robes on me but they weren¡¯t exactly the most fashionable of clothing.

    ¡°Hurry up Fayde! Put them on!¡± Allein said while holding on to me.

    Ugh, I really don¡¯t want to wear these, they are way too big and make me look stupid.

    That was way they were supposed to be so I just had to suck it up. I knew I was going to be laughed at. It was already bad enough that I was a Human, but when they saw me like this, they would definitely laugh.

    It might save me from them trying to kill me at least.

    ¡°Alright, alright! Please, will everyone stop bugging me! I will put the robes on.¡± I gave up.

    Fieral went to work putting the robes on me after stripping me of my clothing. She never got embarrassed about it no matter how many times she saw me naked. There really wasn¡¯t a whole lot of privacy.

    I know this is part of their duties as my servants but it is hard to get used to it. You think I would have by now, I guess it''s just the fact that there are way too many people watching me be stripped naked.

    It wasn¡¯t just Reia, Allein and Fieral in the tent. All of the Rej¡¯gan were also present and they were all women and they would sometimes glance at me while I was stripping. I figured since I was their Khan and they were apparently my possessions, they were curious about my body.

    Not that I have any designs on any of them but I suppose they expect that one of their duties, is to serve their Khan in any way he desires.

    Their culture wasn¡¯t really that much different from ancient ones from Earth. Not only did the leaders have multiple wives, but it was not uncommon for them to have concubines as well. It seemed that the Rej¡¯gan would also serve that purpose if the Khan so desired which is why they were all young and beautiful women.

    It¡¯s tough being me and surrounded constantly by beauties, I thought sarcastically.

    Well, it was in a way. Having the eyes of so many on me while naked was a little bit unnerving.

    It took some time to get me fully dressed in the traditional clothing of a Khan. I was expecting all of the women in my tent to be looking at me with eyes of ridicule, but I was surprised to see that they only appeared to be looks of respect and pride. Maybe I didn¡¯t look as stupid as I thought or maybe their fashion sense was just way off.

    Reia walked up to me and smiled. She flattened out some of the wrinkles on my robe and took my face in both her hands.

    ¡°You look just like a Khan should my love.¡±

    Reia had been much more reserved originally about expressing her feelings in public towards me, but ever since we were nearing the Sacred Grounds, she had been much more open about her feelings.

    I looked down at her smile and my heart almost melted. She seemed much more beautiful than the first time I laid eyes on her. She had leaves sticking out of her hair and she was covered in dirt and blood from head to toe when we first met. She was still beautiful even then, but I much preferred the cleaner version of Reia.

    Fieral interrupted our touching moment.

    ¡°It is time my Khan. The warriors are all waiting for you.¡±

    I nodded in response.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    We all left the tent, my two wives and the Rej¡¯gan following behind me. We walked through the caravan as the Foxkin went to work packing all the tents up and loading the wagons for the final stretch of our voyage.

    The warriors of the tribe were lined up in formation awaiting final inspection by their Khan. Their discipline and strength was something to be admired. They had come a long way these past couple of months from what they were. They were no longer just warriors, but a true professional army with proper equipment.

    I walked among their ranks and all their eyes were on me. There was not even one look of scorn or any of the former disdain they had for me. I had earned their full trust which filled me with a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.

    As part of tradition, I would need to walk the remainder of the way with my warriors and attendants at my side. It was still a bit of a walk, but it was necessary to do this, otherwise the other Khans would not allow us entry.

    After the tribe had finished gathering their things and loading up the wagons, we made our way to the Sacred Grounds. I was at the forefront of the tribe and I would be the first person that the other tribes saw as they welcomed us.

    I wonder how they will receive me? I had an idea of course but it was still nerve wracking.

    After a considerable amount of walking, our procession finally arrived at the outskirts of the Sacred Grounds. I was pretty amazed by what I saw because stretching out before me, as far as the eyes could see, were a multitude of colored tents. I had never seen anything like it in my life. There was an estimated 100,000 Demi-humans on the Plains, and they would all now be here in this location.

    What a sight!

    I didn''t even want to imagine how much food a hundred thousand Demihumans ate. Each tribe was required to bring sufficient food for their own purposes throughout their stay at the Sacred Grounds but hunting parties would still be sent out every day to hunt as a contingency in case something were to go amiss. That is, at least until the Grand Council competition began.

    Stretched out before the entrance to the Sacred Grounds were several hundred Demihumans awaiting our procession. These were not the leaders of tribes or clans, but just curious Demihumans who were interested in who was arriving. Once they realized that a Human was walking before them, they began to shout in anger. They knew the Foxkin tribe had arrived but they didn¡¯t know a Human would be at the forefront since only the Khans had been informed. I was getting somewhat nervous but I was expecting this so I kept my outward calm.

    Despite their angry shouts which could be heard from far away, they didn¡¯t stop the procession and let us past. They were pointing and hurling all manner of obscenities at me in their native language. I only understood because of the ring of communication I had in my possession.

    Maybe I should have taken the ring off.

    The Fox-kin behind me remained quiet, they were all aware this would happen and had been given instructions to say nothing. Quite a few of them were practically biting their tongues in anger though. Knowing how my own tribe felt about me helped me move on without faltering.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Having heard the commotion, many Demihumans of all tribes came to see what was going on. Some of them looked on with curiosity, some with anger or fear. There was almost as many reactions as there were Demihumans but none of them approached us or attacked, they allowed us to continue down the path. Our destination was the Grand Council tent which was an enormous tent made to accommodate the Khans, chieftains, and their wives.

    All of the Demihumans wore clothed in their tribe''s colors and style. There seemed to be as much variety in fashion between the tribes as there were number of tribes. Some wore robes, others furs or cloth. Most of the women were something similar to a dress, all of which were embroidered with colors and flower patterns.

    The Demihumans themselves varied in appearance, but there was really little difference between them and Humans. The only differences would be in their animal like ears and the tails protruding from their backsides. Their ears and tails were different depending on the race of Demihuman and their colors were also diverse.

    When we finally arrived outside the Grand Council tent, there were guards from all tribes situated outside. One of them attempted to lay his hands on me but he was immediately slapped away by Reia who stood at my side.

    ¡°How dare you attempt to deny entry to the Khan of our tribe!¡± She said that while putting her hand on the pommel of her sword.

    The Foxkin warriors, who had suffered through the humiliation as they marched through the throngs of people, were equally as angered. Every one of them readied their weapons and murderous intent poured out of them. The guards were all taken aback, not expecting such a reaction.

    One of the guards stepped forward and bowed his head slightly.

    ¡°My apologies for the disrespect. My friend was just surprised by the strangeness of the situation. Seeing a¡­. Human leading a clan of Demihumans isn¡¯t something we normally see.¡±

    This particular guard appeared much more level headed than the rest and they calmed down at his words.

    ¡°My name is Erikkar and I am in charge of these warriors. It is our duty to guard the Grand Council tent. You may of course enter and please, again, accept my apologies for this disrespect to the honorable Khan of the Foxkin tribe.¡±

    Erikkar, who belonged to the Wolfkin tribe, was sincere in his words and it left an impression on me. His appearance was dignified and he looked to be young and athletic. He had ears similar to a wolf and a bushy wolf tail. He also had facial hair which made him look even more wolf-like.

    He looks very strong and his eyes are honest. I will have to remember him for the future. He seems to be a good man.

    ¡°No need to apologize Erikkar. Your subordinate was only ignorant and meant no offense I¡¯m sure. This isn¡¯t exactly normal so I can¡¯t possibly hold it against you.¡± The Wolfkin warrior accepted my words graciously and beckoned me to enter the tent.

    I entered the tent alongside Reia, Allein, Nes and all the chieftains of the Foxkin tribe. The inside of the tent was enormous, much bigger than my tent. There were hundreds of Demihumans inside and they all stopped their conversation and turned to look at us as we entered. There were no looks of surprise, they had already been informed of our presence within the Sacred Grounds and were awaiting our arrival. Most of them did not look pleased.

    It seemed that all the other Khans and Chieftains were present, along with many women I assumed to be their wives. Since Khans and Chieftains practiced polygamy, there were many more women in the tent than men. This was the first time I had seen so many Demihumans in one place and of course the first time I had seen such a variety of species.

    There were Rabbitkin, Wolfkin, Tigerkin, Dogkin, Catkin, and many others. They appeared to be garbed in their own tribe''s version of the Khan robes I wore. The only real differences seemed to be the colors and patterns decorating the robes. There were also differences in the sizes of their ears and tails. Some had long ears and short tails, and some short ears and long tails. Other than that, they really didn''t look much different from Humans.

    ¡°So, you have finally found your way here.¡± The voice of a member of the Tigerkin clan called out to me.

    It was not said in an inviting manner and he didn¡¯t seem very pleased to see me.

    He was a large man with tiger ears and a striped tiger tail. He bore an air of leadership and looked on me with condescension. The Demihumans put much stock in strength and it was clear he didn''t think much of mine.

    He had painted on his face whiskers, I guess he was trying to look more like a feline although it looked a little ridiculous to me. It seemed that the Demihumans would find ways to make themselves look more like the animals for which they bore their names.

    Wolfkin grew facial hair to make themselves look more wolf-like and Tigerkin painted whiskers on their faces. I hadn''t really thought much of it before since I had only ever been surrounded by Foxkin, but it seemed that Foxkin enjoyed wearing fur caps.

    Other clans would have different ways of expressing themselves, some with tattoos, some with accessories like bracelets or necklaces made of bones. There were even sometimes differences in how males and females of the same tribe expressed themselves.

    ¡°You wear the traditional robe of a Khan and the Foxkin claim you are their Khan, but all I see is a filthy Human. I thought it a joke when I heard that a Human was Khan of the Foxkin clan, but now I see it with my own eyes. This is ridiculous! You should be dead, not parading yourself through our Sacred Grounds!¡±

    I had just about had enough and was going to say something when Allein stepped forward unexpectedly, removing the hood that she had used to hide the fact that she was a Dragonkin.

    All of the Demihumans present gasped as they stared at Allein in astonishment. No one here had ever seen a member of the Dragonkin, but all here knew the features that would define a member of the Dragonkin clan. Even the Tigerkin who had expressed his extreme displeasure towards Fayde quieted in surprise, almost biting his own tongue.

    ¡°You would dare deny my husband¡¯s place among you? The Khan of not only the Foxkin clan, but also that of the Dragonkin!¡± Her words sent ripples through the crowd of Demihumans within the tent who couldn¡¯t believe what they were hearing.

    An old Wolfkin man stepped out from the crowd.

    ¡°That was never our intention at all. Some of us are just a little¡­.. Overzealous than they should be.¡±

    He looked towards the large Tigerkin man who had spoke earlier with a look of annoyance.

    ¡°I am Khan Rhaegnar, leader of the Wolfkin clan and we welcome you Khan Fayde of the Foxkin and Dragonkin. You have been recognized by them as their leader and who are we to say anything otherwise.¡± He said that while glaring at all those within the tent to make his words clear.

    Khan Rhaegnar was an impressive looking Wolfkin man standing at a little over 6 feet tall and despite his age, he was quite physically fit. He wore thick furs and a bone necklace which was barely visible as he stroked his long and thick white beard, reminiscent of a mane. It was easy for anyone to see how well respected he was from the way others were reacting to his words.

    His eyes then settled on the Tiger-kin man.

    ¡°Rajal Khan sometimes forgets that he is not a king. Who are we to speak out against whom other clans decide is their Khan.¡±

    ¡°Tch.¡± Rajal Khan was visibly angry but said nothing more.

    They had all accepted the words of Khan Rhaegnar and no longer voiced their displeasure.

    Khan Rhaegnar was strong willed and a stickler for tradition and none would dare speak out against the traditions of which the Khan of the Wolfkin was the most familiar, having lived the longest among them.

    While the Demihumans continued to observe from the sidelines, Khan Rhaegnar slowly approached Allein. There was no sense of danger from the old Khan and so I didn¡¯t feel the need to step in front of her. He walked right up to her and placed his right hand on her head and smiled at her, it was a warm smile.

    ¡°Welcome. In all my years, I never thought to lay my eyes on one of the Dragonkin but here you are.¡± The old Khan began to choke up, as if he would break into tears any moment.

    Allein allowed him to touch her and didn¡¯t remove his hand as she replied, ¡°It has been a long journey, but yes, I am here and not just me, but my brother too.¡±

    His eyes lit up when he heard her words and he looked around emphatically and his eyes rested on Nes who had revealed himself.

    ¡°Not one, but two? How can this be? Where you have you two been all this time?¡±

    He was shaken at this realization. Many of the other Demi-humans within the tent were also moved by this and some of them even visibly teared up.

    ¡°That is a story for another time Khan Rhaegnar, this is not the place for such a tale.¡± Allein¡¯s words were quite dignified in her response and the old Khan nodded.

    ¡°It is a story I wish to hear, but not now. Please, Khan Fayde and the esteemed chieftains of the Foxkin, take your place among us. No one will object, you are all welcome here!¡± Khan Rhaegnar laughed a booming and jovial laugh as he clapped me on the shoulder and hugged me as one Khan would do to another.

    At that point I was greeted by the other Khans with a similar hug of greeting although some of them did it begrudgingly. Things had finally seemed to calm down and I thought I could breathe a sigh of relief but there was another sudden commotion from the entrance of the tent.

    An extremely immense, almost herculean, Demihuman stomped into the Grand Council tent howling in anger. I had never seen such a large Demihuman before and I couldn¡¯t tell what clan he might belong to only that he had large horns protruding from his head, similar to that of a bull.

    ¡°WHAT IS THIS I HEAR OF A HUMAN!!!¡±

    Oh god¡­.

    I really wanted to fade away into some distant corner but I stood my ground. His eyes soon rested on me and he came storming towards me, his gargantuan halberd at the ready. He quickly closed the distance and would have struck me if not for Nes standing in his path. The abnormally large Demihuman was so filled with rage he barely even noticed who was blocking his path and he growled with murderous intent.

    He would have attacked Nes if not for a sudden slender and tender hand placed on his shoulder.

    ¡°Brother, you are making a fool of yourself.¡±

    The Demihuman almost turned his anger upon the young and alluring woman at his side, but recognizing who she was, stopped himself.

    ¡°But Laila, he is a human!¡±

    Laila arched one eyebrow towards her brother, shutting him up immediately.

    ¡°A Human he may be, but he has already been accepted as a Khan. Do you wish to make yourself an enemy of all here?¡±

    He glanced around the tent, snorted violently, and then stormed out as aggressively as he had entered. His sister remained and I could feel her eyes upon me for a brief moment before she followed her brother out of the tent.

    With the drama now finally over, I walked over to Nes with a mischievous grin on my face.

    ¡°Brother-in-law!! I never knew you cared about my well being!¡± I laughed and slapped him on the back.

    He glared at me, ¡°I should have let him kill you.¡±

    That only made me laugh harder.

    ¡°Now I know how you really feel about me!¡±

    ¡°Just die.¡±

 Volume 2 Chapter 19

    The Foxkin were the last of the tribes to arrive at the Sacred Grounds and now that they had, the Grand Council would officially begin.

    There was still some preparation required before the competitions would take place and that meant that I had nothing to do until then. I wouldn¡¯t be able to participate until the last part of the competition where the Khans, or their chosen warriors, would fight against each other.

    I was simply idling about in my tent, but thankfully I didn¡¯t need to wear the traditional robes of a Khan anymore. They were only necessary for the initial welcome and greetings. I could now relax in more comfortable clothing. Most of my clothing consisted of robes of varying types anyway, but at least they weren¡¯t as garish as the traditional Khan robes.

    Unfortunately I wasn''t really able to go out gallivanting around the Sacred Grounds since there was too much to do before the matches started and I also wanted to avoid any conflicts that might arise.

    At least there was a stream of visitors coming and going from our tent throughout the day. Some of the more friendly Khans of the other tribes visited, although they weren¡¯t really showing up to see me. They were curious about Allein and Nes, our two resident Dragonkin.The Wolfkin Khan, especially, visited for a long period of time. He listened to Allein¡¯s stories about her father and the original Demihuman clans.

    Khan Rhaegnar had become an important ally and because of his influence, other Khans were willing to converse with me despite being a Human. They were curious, but at the same time there was some concern. I did my best to alleviate some of their worries and they were friendly enough towards me.

    Reia¡¯s father also had many acquaintances and friends that he hadn¡¯t seen in more than twenty years. Because of this, our area of the Sacred Grounds had many visitors and I was able to meet a variety of different members of the various clans.

    The Demihumans were very similar to humans in many ways and I saw no reason why they couldn¡¯t co-exist. If anything, the Demihumans seemed to be very welcoming and sincere people no matter which clan they belonged to. Yeah, there were some differences of appearance and their culture had developed in its own unique way, but the amount of discrimination they faced was clearly unwarranted.

    ¡°Fayde are you paying attention?¡± I was forced out of my daydreaming by Allein.

    ¡°Uh.. Yeah, of course!¡±

    She was not convinced and decided to throw a cushion at me.

    With my high level of evasion, it was easily avoidable.

    This only annoyed her further but it was difficult for me to remain interested. Without any electricity or technology, not even a single book to read, I was growing somewhat bored just sitting around.

    ¡°Enough Allein, and Fayde, try to pay attention. This is important.¡±

    Reia, always the voice of reason! I sighed and woke myself from my boredom.

    ¡°Sorry, I am just tired. Continue.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t about to let them know I was bored, I valued my life too much.

    ¡°The first competition is a type of War Game, but only with training weapons. These will be large scale battles with each tribe participating. In the past, our tribe has never won this competition because magic is not allowed. It is full on melee and meant to test teamwork and the physical prowess of the entire tribe.¡±

    ¡°Well, that is stupid. Why forbid magic?¡± I said interrupting her.

    She wasn¡¯t annoyed by my interruption and explained, ¡°some of the tribes are incapable of using magic and so this is meant to only test the physical strength of a tribe. You can only be successful through good teamwork and proper fighting techniques. Ranged attacks are also forbidden, it is strictly close range martial skill.¡±

    ¡°So no magic, no ranged attacks, only martial skill. What about numbers? Are there any limitations there? The Fox-kin only have around 350 warriors and some of the other tribes are much larger than ours.¡± I asked.

    ¡°Numbers are limited to 500 per tribe at most. Numbers are taken into account for the final rankings, though. There are tribes that intentionally send less than the maximum number in order to achieve a higher ranking. Also, we won''t be able to participate in this competition.¡± Reia replied.

    ¡°What do you mean? Why not?¡±

    ¡°The Khan¡¯s can¡¯t compete in the War Game because you will be participating in the last round of the competition where you will have to fight the other Khans or their chosen warrior. Also, those competing in other competitions can¡¯t participate in the War Game too. Allein, Nes, and I will be competing in the second round of the competition. Some of the other Fox-kin will be as well.¡±

    That¡¯s right, I had forgotten about that with my daydreaming. It wasn¡¯t something that could be helped then.

    ¡°Okay, well, we trained up our warriors well. I think they will do just fine. The other tribes should be in for a shock this time around and we have a pretty good line up for the second round too. We shouldn¡¯t fail in any of the magic competitions and I can¡¯t see anyone beating you with a sword Reia. Nes should win with the spear and Allein will definitely take the magic duel competition. We have some good archers too, but I don¡¯t know much about the other tribe¡¯s skill with the bow or in some of the other martial skills, like the axe or hand to hand fighting.¡±

    There were a number of challenges we would most likely not be able to win, but if we ranked decently in the War Game and took first place in some of the challenges, we should have a good chance. This put a lot of pressure on me, though. I would need to win against the other Khans to ensure our tribe¡¯s victory.

    I noticed Allein observing me as I was thinking about the competition.

    ¡°Fayde, the biggest challenge to you will be the Demonkin Khan. You must use all your strength, do not hold back. They are being underestimated by the other tribes, but I can tell that they will be the most difficult rival to overcome.¡±

    I thought so too. The Shakiri, as he was called, was something like a Khan but not exactly. His clan contained members of many different tribes who left the Plains when the Shakiri¡¯s father left long ago. They have since renounced their ties to their old tribes and as a collective group were all called Demonkin. A good portion of the Demonkin were their own unique clan as well. There were Demihumans among them that didn¡¯t belong to any of the existing Demihumans that I knew.

    ¡°Allein¡­ how do I ask this, do you know what the Shakiri and his sister are? I mean, I don¡¯t recognize them as any of the Demihumans that I have seen. ¡±

    ¡°I.. don¡¯t know. There were no Demihumans like them in the past. I have never seen anything like them myself.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­ I wonder if there is something more to their name or did they just take it upon themselves as a way of scaring the Humans they intended to fight?¡±

    Our conversation continued for a while and I spent the rest of the day training with the sword. At one point I felt the eyes of someone upon me, but I couldn¡¯t figure out who it was. There was no murderous intent, only curiosity, so I didn¡¯t look too hard.

    Instead, I focused entirely on my training. When I was done, I was bathed by my servants and spent the evening resting while I waited for the next day to come, the start of the competitions.

    <hr>

    (Laila P.O.V.)

    There is something strange about that human but I can¡¯t put my finger on it. The power I feel radiating off of him is¡­. familiar.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    If one were to judge on appearance alone, then the bizarre human who somehow became a Khan would look weak and fragile. Well.. for a human he is okay I suppose.. This feeling I get from him is troublesome. I must speak with my brother about this.

    When she had seen him for the first time in the Grand Council tent, she had been too shocked to truly discern his nature. Her brother had been in a rage and she needed to calm him down as quickly as possible. She had only a fleeting moment to truly scrutinize the man they called Fayde. With her ¡®Demon Eye¡¯ she could sense an immense pressure around him that materialized as a black mist.

    This man will surely be a danger to my brother¡¯s ambition but what to do about it¡­..

    Unlike her brother, she had possession of an ability that allowed her to see the magical energies or properties that surrounded people, monsters or objects. She had never seen this type of magical energy before and had no words to identify it.

    It¡¯s not one of the elements or any other type of magic I have seen.

    Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be such a bad thing to have my brother lose for once¡­. If this Human wins and becomes Khan of all the Demihumans¡­

    She was growing tired of all the weak men who tried to win her hand by dueling her brother. Not even one came close to defeating him. She was beginning to think she would never be wed and would grow old and alone, but she felt a sliver of hope as she watched Fayde practice with the sword. But a human¡­.

    She watched him for a time and then left to speak with her brother. The Demonkin had set their camp up in the southern area of the Sacred Grounds and had one of the largest camps out of the tribes. They had lost many, too many, in their fight with the Empire. Their numbers were only a shadow of their former strength, but compared to the other clans they were still large.

    In her father¡¯s time they had been a horde of over 100,000 Demihumans. Constant warfare with the Empire over many decades had whittled their numbers down to only 15,000. Even I have grown weary of the war, but my brother, his ambition will never fade.

    She found her brother practicing with his halberd against ten opponents. These ten men were among the best warriors of the tribe but they still could not defeat him. He battered them away as if they were flies, spinning his massive halberd around his body and striking with accurate precision. Her brother truly was the greatest warrior she had ever known and she worried what would happen to his pride if he were to lose¡­..

    After all ten of his opponents lay on the floor in defeat, she walked over to him with a cloth so that he could wipe his sweat.

    ¡°Brother, are you well?¡±

    ¡°Ha! I am better than ever! That was an excellent workout. I will absolutely win this tournament!¡±

    His confidence was boundless which made her feel a tinge of remorse but she didn¡¯t show it.

    ¡°You will brother, no one is your match.¡± She said that but her heart wasn¡¯t in it.

    ¡°Hahaha, you flatter me sister. Is there something you wished to discuss?¡±

    He didn¡¯t even notice her somber reply.

    ¡°I saw that human, Fayde.¡±

    Her brother snapped his head towards her when he heard what she said and his eyes were turning red with anger.

    ¡°And what did you see Laila?¡± He was unable to hide the anger in his voice and snapped at her.

    ¡°He has a strange power, one that I have never seen before. You must be careful. I am not sure what he is capable of. Brother, I have a grim feeling about him¡­¡±

    The Shakiri was clearly displeased by the implication of what she said.

    ¡°Are you saying that I will lose?¡± He said surprisingly calm.

    Laila was careful in how she voiced her response, she didn¡¯t want to upset him too much.

    ¡°I am not saying that, I am just asking that you be mindful of it.¡±

    He simply snorted, pausing for a moment, and then walked away without saying another word.

    She watched him leave with complicated feelings in her heart. On the one hand, she hated the thought of her brother being defeated and on the other, she felt excitement at the prospect of him losing.

    <hr>

    On the first day of the Grand Council competition, the War Game had already begun. The various clans and their affiliated tribes were scattered about the designated battlefield. It was a veritable free for all with all the tribes hunting each other down. The designated battlefield was approximately 5 square miles so that there was enough room for the different tribes to maneuver.

    There were several thousand Demihumans involved in the War Game. It was a much larger event than I expected and it had been organized efficiently. They had illusion magic casters which were able to project images of what was going on across the whole area and it was almost like watching television. I had no idea that illusion magic could even be used this way and my mind started spinning with all the ways I could apply this magic in the future.

    There were also judges spread out across the battlefield and some that were watching the images shown by the illusion magic. Their job was to ensure that the War Game was fought honorably and they kept score.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how the battles were being evaluated but there seemed to be some sort of criteria for how the scoring was done. Wiping out an entire army would earn you the most amount of points, but there were other ways that one could earn points.

    While the Demihumans involved in the War Game fought, the Sacred Grounds were alive with activity. Many of them watched the fighting from the images projected by the Illusion magic casters and others were drinking and eating with abandon. It was an enormous festival-like atmosphere with Demihumans of all kind delighting in merriment. I could feel the energy of the place and was growing more excited by the moment.

    ¡°How are we doing Reia?¡±

    Both Reia and Allein were by my side as usual.

    I had no idea where Nes was and Tris had already been secluded away somewhere with Shar. I didn¡¯t want Tris wandering around or contacting anyone but I also didn¡¯t want her to know what was going on so I fabricated a reason for her to be confined.

    The reason wasn¡¯t entirely a fabrication, either, though. The Demihumans were very belligerent towards Humans. They begrudgingly accepted me, but who knew how they would act towards other Humans. Both Tris and Shar had accepted my explanation because there was truth in it.

    ¡°A few tribes have already been eliminated and we are scoring pretty well so far. We¡¯ve lost about half our number. I can¡¯t see us winning but I think our performance is better than anyone expected. Have you been enjoying yourself?¡± Reia asked while observing the competition.

    ¡°Yeah, I have been trying to find something I could bring myself to eat¡­. Some of the food is questionable at best..¡±

    These Demihumans seemed to eat anything and much of it was not too appealing to me.

    ¡°This is going to be a difficult fight¡­.¡± Reia drew my attention to the image.

    There were only four remaining tribes and the Foxkin had been caught up by the Wolfkin. The Demonkin and Tigerkin clans were also currently engaged. This would determine who the top three would be. The Wolfkin numbers had also been cut down and the numbers were comparable.

    The Wolfkin seemed to lack any real formation and moved more along the lines of pack mentality. Our Foxkin were moving in formation as I had trained them and seemed to be holding their own against the scattered numbers of the Wolfkin.

    They were attempting to surround the Foxkin formation but the Foxkin formation was versatile and could sustain attacks from all directions without breaking. On the other hand, the Wolfkin pack tactics were somewhat easier to deal with because they were mostly acting as small groups rather than a whole.

    It wasn¡¯t as if the Foxkin were having an easy time holding back their adversary though. The Wolfkin were physically stronger than the Foxkin and were aggressively attacking the formation. The fight turned into a battle of attrition as both sides saw their numbers drop substantially.

    It was a brutal fight and I winced watching the participants beat each other into submission. There was eventually a tipping point in the battle as the Wolfkin began to lose fighters at a higher rate than the Foxkin due to the excellent teamwork I had drilled into them.

    ¡°Looks like we are going to win this battle!¡± I cheered as I watched the last few Wolfkin fall, however I knew that this was the end for us.

    ¡°Yes, but we won¡¯t be able to fight anymore. There are only a handful of Foxkin left. We have never made it this far. It¡¯s all thanks to your training.¡±

    I smiled at Reia as I felt a bit of pride go straight to my head.

    ¡°How about the other battle? Who won?¡± I pointed at the other magic image showing the fight between the Demonkin and Tigerkin.

    ¡°It was close, but the Demonkin won.¡±

    The battle over there was finished too and we were all waiting with bated breath to see what the official ranking would be.

    It didn¡¯t take long until the rankings were announced and the Foxkin had ranked third which was the highest they had ever ranked in memory. The Demonkin had ranked first in this competition with the Tigerkin ranking second.

    ¡°Haha! I can¡¯t believe we got third! Tonight we are going to treat all of our warriors to a feast!¡±

    I was ecstatically shaking Reia as she smiled.

    Her smile was bright and beautiful and I hugged her without realizing it. I couldn¡¯t see her face but I imagined she must be blushing. She wasn¡¯t usually very affectionate in public and was easily embarrassed by my very public act of affection. I picked her up and swung her around which only made her turn a deeper shade of red.

    ¡°Make sure every one of them eats and drinks their fill!¡±

    I am definitely getting drunk tonight!

    I wasn¡¯t fighting in the next round of the competition and had no qualms with getting drunk with the warriors of my tribe.

    I put Reia down and brought her close to me one more time in a deep embrace. She didn¡¯t push me away surprisingly and I whispered in her ear, ¡°and maybe tonight we can spend some time alone.¡±

    She was blushing the entire evening.

 Volume 2 chapter 20

    The next morning I woke up with Reia in my arms. I watched her sleeping, admiring the contours of her face. I had drank quite a bit the night before but the alcohol they had was mostly a type of wine which wasn¡¯t particularly strong. Luckily, I had no hang over and felt fine despite the night of drinking. Reia had abstained from alcohol because she was required to fight today and needed to be well rested.

    After the fun we had last night, I think she slept just fine.

    Allein had slept with her brother the previous night and hadn¡¯t disturbed us for the entire evening which was a blessing. I doubted she was fully happy about it but at least she was understanding enough not to voice her disapproval.

    Since we all usually slept together, I didn¡¯t get too many chances to be alone with just Reia. This was a moment I was happy to enjoy and I wanted to take full advantage of it. It was truly a peaceful experience lying here with her in my arms and watching her slowly breathe as she slept. Soon the day would begin and there would be much to do and I wasn¡¯t too happy thinking about Reia being hurt in the fighting today.

    Alright, enough being a creep, time to wake up!

    It was still early in the day and there was some time until the second day of the Grand Council competitions would begin but there was still much that needed to be done. Visitors would most likely come calling soon and as Khan I needed to welcome them. My Rej¡¯gan servants would also be milling about waiting to bathe and clothe me. If I took too long, then Fieral would most likely get angry at me, they had work to do and couldn¡¯t begin until I woke.

    It really is difficult to get even a moment of privacy¡­.

    After waking Reia up and eating breakfast, I visited Shar and Tris to make sure they were behaving themselves and then I saw to some of my duties as Khan by hearing petitions from tribe members.

    There had been some brawls fought with members of other tribes. It seems they had insulted me and the Foxkin involved had wanted to protect my honor. While I was certainly happy about it, I asked them to avoid conflict with other tribes in the future even if they insulted me. It was important to get my duties over with as soon as possible since the competition would begin around noon.

    ¡°That was the last one my Khan.¡± Fieral bowed her head to me as I sat on a wooden throne-like chair within my tent.

    I had been hearing one petition after another and it was required for me to sit in the chair while passing judgement.

    ¡°Glad to have all that over with! It is getting close to noon, Reia, are you prepared?¡± I sighed to myself, tired after deliberating for over an hour.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m ready.¡± I nodded and stood from my chair which was quickly removed from the area by several of my servants.

    ¡°If you win, I promise to reward you later¡­.¡±

    That got a blush out of her!

    ¡°Fayde! Didn¡¯t I tell you to stop saying things like that in public?¡±

    She looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. Of course since most of the people in the tent were Foxkin, they were all definitely in earshot.

    ¡°Anyway, tonight you need your rest. You drank a lot last night and tonight you need to sleep! The Khan battles will be much more difficult than the fighting today because you will have to fight a few matches¡­ assuming you win.¡± She said the last part teasingly.

    ¡°Ha ha! Funny. I am definitely going to win.¡±

    I had no doubt in my mind, even if I had to use all my ¡®Void Power¡¯, I would.

    ¡°My Khan, it is time. Reia must leave now otherwise she will be late for her fight and be disqualified.¡± We were interrupted by one of the Rej¡¯gan.¡°

    ¡°Alright¡­.¡± I paused and took one last look at Reia before she left, ¡°good luck¡­. Win.¡±

    She nodded her affirmation and gave me a bright smile before leaving.

    I turned to Fieral who was always nearby in case I required anything.

    ¡°We should head there too. We need to cheer her on!¡±

    <hr>

    (Reia P.O.V.)

    Among the Demi-human tribes there are many that don¡¯t have an affinity for magic and lack the talent to learn. These tribes instead focus on honing their martial skill and dedicate themselves to a particular weapon or fighting style. Of course, since the Demi-humans lack proper smiths, they are only able to craft crude weapons.

    To alleviate this problem, Demihumans hunt humanoid monster, such as orcs, which can occasionally be found roaming the Plains of Sorrow. There are also the seasonal Human expeditions which invade the Plains.

    Most Demihumans use spears in battle, but there are also elite warriors who use a variety of other weapons. These weapons were those taken from monsters or Humans and rewarded to the best warriors of their tribe.

    This is what the second day of the Grand Council competition was all about, the elite few who were the pride of their respective tribes and an important part of their war potential. They would battle each other in order to determine dominance and also as a test of their skill.

    My father often told me stories about the Grand Council competitions. It seems the first battle is a battle royale between all of the best swordsmen of the tribes. I have heard that the Rabbitkin are known as the best swordsmen, but this year will be my year for sure. I am level 16 now, there is no way that any of them can match my strength after having been enhanced by the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯.

    I surveyed the battleground which had been chosen for our battle royale. There were 20 tribes on the Plains but since the Demonkin had showed up this year, there were 21 fighters in total. Most of their eyes seemed to be on the top contenders from the last Grand Council tournament and they were wholly ignoring me.

    That suits me just fine. The Foxkin have never been known for their skill in close quarters combat. They will be in for a surprise this year.

    It wasn¡¯t just me, but Nes, Allein and Fayde were all skilled warriors. They will be taking note of us soon¡­.

    Every fighter on the battleground appeared to be a skilled swordsman and their weapons were superior to what Demihumans usually carried. None of them appeared to be magic weapons like mine though.

    I unsheathed my sword and held it at the ready, it would be mere moments until we began. Magic was not allowed in the battle, but the lightning properties that were innate in my sword would not be an issue. I wouldn¡¯t be able to use an elemental sword strike but the sword was still far superior to the ones the other fighters possessed.

    From what I was told, there were two rivals who posed the greatest threat, the Rabbitkin swordsmen Ichiki and the Wolkkin swordsmen Arrangar. It would be nice if those two came into contact first. I should focus on taking out some of the warriors closest to me to gain some breathing room and then observe the battleground. Settling on an initial plan, I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing.

    My eyes opened to the sound of drums signalling the start of the battle. I immediately sprinted with all my strength to the nearest opponent who was caught unaware by my incredible speed. He had just enough time to barely parry my blade as I continued my strikes one after the other in quick succession. He was unable to properly defend against my superior strength and the incredible speed of my sword. He was soon knocked out of the competition.

    Three other nearby combatants engaged me after observing me so easily knocking out the first warrior. My skill was readily apparent to them and noticing the danger, they agreed on a temporary truce. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Do they really think numbers will give them an advantage? They are not very skilled after all.

    Two of the warriors attacked from the front while another circled behind me in order to attack from the rear. The blades of those to my front met mine and my strength was too great for them to overcome. Not only was I able to stop both of their swords with mine, I simultaneously threw them back which momentarily left them disoriented. This temporary reprieve allowed me to deftly parry an attack from the third combatant to the rear. Again, my strength and speed proved too difficult a hindrance and I made quick work of them.

    The other two fell soon after and I had successfully cleared my immediate vicinity of threats. I took a moment to survey the battlefield. Only a few minutes had passed and more than half of the combatants had been eliminated. There were a few scattered battles still taking place but it was clear that they would soon be over.

    By the time I had finished catching my breath, only two other warriors remained. The battle had gone exactly as I had predicted at the start. Both the Rabbitkin warrior, Ichika, and the Wolfkin warrior, Arrangar, stood ready to face me.

    ¡°Well, this is unexpected.¡± Ichika was pointing towards me as he spoke.

    ¡°You are better than expected, for a Foxkin. I didn¡¯t think your tribe had any warriors with such skill with a sword.¡± Ichika¡¯s tone was not a mocking one, he was honestly surprised.

    The Wolfkin warrior seemed equally surprised.

    ¡°I have never seen you at any of the past competitions, what is your name? I am Arrangar!¡± He pounded his chest as he announced himself.

    ¡°I am Ichika!¡± The Rabbitkin warrior announced himself in the same manner.

    It was customary for Demihuman warriors to thump their chests while speaking their names as a sign of respect and I did the same.

    ¡°Reia, wife of Khan Fayde of the Foxkin tribe!¡±

    ¡°The Human? And I was hoping to make you my woman¡­.¡± Their eyes went wide and Arrangar was the first to speak.

    ¡°Ha! As if she would want an undignified and unwashed beast such as yourself for a husband!¡± Ichika taunted Arrangar while pointing his sword at the warrior.

    Arrangar growled threateningly in response.

    ¡°I will soon make you eat those words you long-eared fool!¡±

    ¡°Enough talk! Neither of you are making it out of here on your feet!¡±

    I sprung into action without allowing any more conversation.

    According to my information, Arrangar¡¯s sword technique relied on his great strength while Ichika¡¯s relied on his speed, but I possessed both in equal measure. The two warriors were taken unaware by the ferocity of my attack. Meeting strength with strength and speed with speed, the two speechless warriors were driven back. They fought with all their might in order to hold me back while I chipped away at their health and stamina. Realizing their chances of victory against me were slim, they nodded towards each other and began to coordinate their attacks.

    Seeing the intense battle raging, the crowd watching roared in excitement. Their voices drowned out the sound of swords clanging. I couldn¡¯t even hear my own heart beating despite the fact that I thought it might pound right out of my chest as I continuously intensified my speed. I decided that I must push myself to the absolute limit if I wanted to win this battle. It was not one I could afford to lose.

    I know you are watching me Fayde, I will not let you down!

    I switched gears and decided to overwhelm Ichika first. He was barely holding back my strength and there was nary a difference in our speed. I put all my strength behind my superior blade and battered him until he could no longer move.

    This left me vulnerable to attack which Arrangar did not fail to exploit. He put his immense strength behind a powerful swing aimed at my side and sent me tumbling across the ground after being lifted into the air. I barely made it to my feet in time to block his next attack.

    I was beginning to tire as my stamina began to deplete but I did not hesitate in the least. My quick feet seemed to move on their own as they dexterously avoided my opponent¡¯s attacks. This provided me ample attacks of opportunity on his unguarded flank. The battle had now become one of endurance as we each whittled away at the other¡¯s stamina and health.

    Unfortunately for Arrangar, I had achieved a higher level and had a greater reserve of health to fall back on. Realizing this, I struck one last time putting everything I had into offense knowing full well I wouldn¡¯t come out of this unscathed. It didn¡¯t matter if I completely abandoned defense, for I would be assured victory. With a final clash of our blades, I struck a blow across Arrangar¡¯s chest while receiving a slash across my waist.

    Arrangar fell to the floor, defeated, and I only lasted but a mere moment longer before I too fell unconscious.

    Fayde having seen this, ran out to the battlefield and quickly called for healers to rush to Reia¡¯s aid. Fayde could feel through the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯ that she was fine, only unconscious after having lost all her stamina.

    He breathed a sigh of relief and let the healers take care of her. He ordered his servants to attend to her and to carry her back to their tent once she was healed. He would return later to check up on her because it would take time for her to wake and there were still other battles taking place.

    <hr>

    (Laila P.O.V.)

    Watching Reia win the sword competition, Laila was impressed with the woman¡¯s skill with a blade. It was rare for there to be a talented female swordsmen and for her to win the competition was surprising.

    She chanced a glance at the battle with her ¡®Demon Eye¡¯ and could see a strange magical connection which tied her to the Human Khan, Fayde. The connection was powerful and she had never seen anything like it before but she could tell that it had permanently enhanced Reia¡¯s abilities.

    Interesting. The more I learn about the Human, the more I am intrigued.

    She of course initially had nothing more than scorn for the man, but she was falling into silent curiosity which had fully replaced her initial disdain.

    The sword competition was the first match of the day¡¯s competition and also one of the most important matches as well. Sword, Spear, Bow and Axe were all highly favored competitions that gave the most points towards the ranking.

    With this victory, the Foxkin would certainly maintain their position. If they were to win another one of the major competitions, they would be a force to be reckoned with, especially since it was almost guaranteed they would win most, if not all, of the magic challenges.

    They will certainly not win the bow competition since I am competing in it. There is none here my match. The Tiger-kin are assured to win the axe competition, so all that remains is the spear.

    That Dragonkin boy is strong and my brother can¡¯t compete because he will be competing tomorrow. I suppose I should assume the Foxkin will win that competition as well.

    That will put them in second place if my calculations are correct¡­. which they most likely will be. So, it will all come down to tomorrow then. I am worried¡­.. What is that power hidden within the Human¡­

    <hr>

    (Tris P.O.V.)

    I haven¡¯t been able to communicate with Dreg for a few days now. It should be fine, I can''t do much here though. Not that I could do anything surrounded by a hundred thousand Demi-humans anyway....

    I just wish I knew what was going on out there. Fayde had stopped by yesterday to inform us of the first day results, he seemed satisfied. I guess I will just wait until later.

    As she was thinking about her mission, she was reminded of the game she was playing.

    ¡°Shar, your move!¡± Tris had yet to win a game against Shar, he was just too talented.

    If only the Empire had such a man. Maybe I can secure his escape somehow¡­ If I could convince him to join us it would be a great boon to our cause, but I must be careful not to give myself away.

    She didn''t think it would be possible but she at least wanted to try.

    ¡°Yes, yes, okay!¡± Shar made his move without hesitation, he most likely had already prepared several moves ahead which frustrated Tris to no end.

    ¡°I know Fayde has been pestering you as of late to aid him in his endeavors.¡± Tris was attempting to be careful with her words, Shar was no fool.

    ¡°Yes, he asks me every day without relenting. It can be tiresome, but I do enjoy our conversations. He is an interesting man and it is amazing what he has accomplished. In truth, if not for my loyalty to my country I would have most likely assented by now.¡±

    That¡¯s troublesome¡­. Hmm¡­

    ¡°You do realize that if Fayde succeeds here in uniting the tribes, he will most likely attack your home country?¡±

    ¡°That is most surely what he will do if he wishes to achieve his aspirations. It would be the wisest course of action.¡±

    No anger or resentment in his voice. What is this man thinking?

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that bother you? He is going to destroy your home.¡±

    It was Tris¡¯s turn and she moved the chess piece while asking her question, she wasn¡¯t really concerned with winning.

    ¡°I have spent considerable time with Fayde and I think I have a good measure of who he is as a man and who he would be, as a king. It is the people that make up a nation, and it is the people I have always tried to serve. My loyalty is not to any one king, although I do owe the king of La¡¯gun¡¯s father a debt of gratitude¡± He pointed a finger at Tris and continued sternly, ¡°which I will not betray!¡±

    He then paused and shrugged.

    ¡°I will not help Fayde conquer my home, my honor won¡¯t allow it, but if he conquers it on his own then I have no issues with serving my nation, with him as king. I will still fulfill my duty as best as I am able and perhaps I can even repay my debt to the former king by bartering for his son¡¯s life.¡±

    Shars words left little doubt in Tris¡¯s mind that it would be impossible to convince this man to come with her to the Empire, even if they took care of Fayde.

    What a shame, just a waste. It might be wise to kill this man too, but Fayde must come first. I can¡¯t do anything to jeopardize the mission, but I am surprised that Shar thinks so highly of Fayde despite being a prisoner.

    It isn¡¯t like I necessarily hate Fayde either. I even get along with him quite well, if not for the fact that I have orders to kill him once he arrives at the Sanctum.

    Maybe if circumstances had been different, we could really have been friends, but I won¡¯t dwell on that. I must fulfill my duty to my country.

    Her determination had wavered only slightly but her loyalty to her country spurred her on.

 Volume 2 Interlude

    ¡°Grandfather, I will bring back to our tribe the honor that was stolen from us. This I swear!¡±

    A young Wolf-kin pounded his chest with all his might as he vowed this promise to the old and wizened Wolfkin before him.

    The young Wolfkin was now a man and had been training every day in anticipation of this moment, when he could bring glory to his clan and that his clan might once again be first in the Hierarchy, as they were in his grandfather¡¯s youth.

    He looked up at his grandfather proudly, there was no one he admired more than him. His grandfather had once stood as the greatest of all Demihuman warriors but in time he grew old and while still strong and healthy, had been displaced by another.

    That damnable feline, Rajal Khan!

    Khan Rhaegnar chuckled at his grandsons grandiose claims.

    ¡°Largear, try not to get ahead of yourself my boy. You are strong, there is no doubt, but¡­. Just do not let anger control you, do you understand?¡± He wished to say more, but he did not want to dampen his grandson¡¯s confidence.

    Rhaegnar feared that there were worse demons than Rajal Khan in this competition. There were two in particular that stood out in his mind, but he said nothing.

    Largear paid his grandfather¡¯s words no mind and instead nodded to himself, his determination would not falter. He looked one last time at his grandfather before heading out. His grandfather had become old, his beard had fully turned gray and while he had a toned physique for someone his age, it was clear that he no longer had the strength he once had.

    He noticed that his grandfather was still wearing the necklace that Largear¡¯s father once gave him. It was made from the bones of a Plains Raptor, a nasty and vicious beast of prey. He smiled thinking of his father who had died young, too young. If only his father were still alive today, then he would surely have defeated Rajal Khan.

    ¡°Grandfather, I go now. You will come see me fight?¡±

    ¡°Of course! All of your family will be there. We will be cheering you on, be careful and may victory be yours!¡±

    Rhaegnar¡¯s lips parted in a smile visibly showing the many wrinkles on his aging face.

    They clasped hands and Rhaegnar patted his grandson on the back as he said a silent prayer to the tribe¡¯s ancestral spirits. All of the Khan¡¯s family were present within the tent, men, women, children. They all were here to wish him victory and offer their prayers.

    The whole tribe wore their tribal armbands bearing the symbol of their tribe, a shadowed wolf howling at a yellow moon. They would all be dressed in their finest, white cloth shirts with thick fur vests over them, and the women with their light blue dresses embroidered with small moon flowers. Largear was the treasured son of the Wolfkin tribe and it was a matter of honor that they present themselves in their best.

    Largear smiled one last time and left the tent of the Khan, making his way to the battlefield. This was now the final day of the Grand Council competitions and there was an air of excitement all around the Sacred Grounds. Everywhere, Demihumans grilled meat over open flames and drank to their hearts content. Most stuck with their own tribe, but some intermingled, having friends among the other tribes.

    An occasional brawl broke out between rival tribes as they taunted each other over who would win the competition. Usually it was the young who drank and brawled freely, enjoying the thrill of battle which they could not themselves partake in. The older and wiser Demihumans just shook their hands and laughed at memories of their own youth.

    Female Demihumans looking to attract a mate, flirted with eligible men of their tribe, asking those they showed interest for a dance as music flitted throughout the tents and encampments. The sound of a hundred tribal songs mingled in a crescendo of sound and the exhilaration of dance.

    Largear almost wished he could join in on the fun, but he had no love interest yet himself, spending almost his entire life in training for this day.

    There will be time for that later, once I gain victory here what female will not wish to be my mate? His thoughts spurred him on and he rededicated himself to the fight.

    There was some time before the match but he wanted to hurry to the battlefield to do some warm up exercises to prepare himself, he needed to be at his peak. Thinking about the battle to come, he played out in his mind the attacks and counter attacks he might face in the battle. He imagined what his response might be to each and every attack he could come up with. He reached back and checked that his axe, ¡®Iron Fang¡¯, was properly attached to the leather straps holding it in place on his back.

    Everything seemed in order and he was so engrossed in what he was doing that he accidentally bumped into another Demihuman. Thinking that he might have hurt the person he bumped into due to his large size, he quickly bowed his head.

    ¡°Are you okay? I am so sorry, I wasn¡¯t paying attention to where I was going!¡±

    It would be dishonorable if he had hurt someone while daydreaming.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I barely even noticed and I should have been more careful myself! There are just so many people walking around it is difficult to move freely¡±

    Largear was surprised by the melodic voice and looked up only to meet eyes with one he felt surely must be a spirit taken form, a goddess of unnatural beauty.

    His voice caught in his throat and he coughed, standing up awkwardly. Standing in front of him was one of the most beautiful Foxkin women he had ever laid eyes on, he had to blink twice just to make sure she was in fact real and not a spirit as he had first thought. His heart started beating like a drum and he felt his body temperature rise.

    He did his best to respond but his words came out clumsier than he intended.

    ¡°Um.. are you hurt? I bumped into you quite hard¡­.¡±

    Not only had she not fallen when they bumped into each other but she appeared completely unfazed which amazed him.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The Foxkin woman he bumped into laughed pleasantly.

    ¡°A little bump like that couldn¡¯t possibly hurt me, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    But that wasn¡¯t a little bump, I even almost fell down, Largear thought to himself inquisitively.

    Largear shook away his confusion and was about to ask for the woman¡¯s name, she had left quite the impression on him but he was interrupted.

    ¡°There you are! Hurry up, we are going to miss his fight!¡±

    A young Demihuman girl came running out of nowhere and grabbed the Foxkin woman¡¯s hand pulling her away.

    ¡°Sorry again, I have to go!¡±

    She was pulled away before he could say anything, all he could do was watch her back and a sudden pang of regret hit him.

    I couldn¡¯t even catch her name, who is she? Is that a sword¡­ she must be a warrior of the Foxkin tribe. What is this feeling? He had never felt this way about any females of his tribe and couldn¡¯t believe that a complete stranger was making him feel so uncomfortable, is this love? I must find out who she is!

    It was uncommon for a member of one Demihuman clan to take a mate from another because their union would be infertile but it wasn¡¯t entirely out of the question. He would be Khan one day and Khans would usually take multiple wives so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem if one was from another clan. He smacked his right fist against his left hand and now had another goal he sought to achieve, first I defeat Rajal Khan and then I will make that Foxkin woman my wife!

    With a new spring in his step he finally made his way to the battlefield, pushing his way through the crowds. He barely even noticed anyone as he daydreamed about the beautiful Foxkin woman he had been blessed to lay eyes on. He wished she would come see him fight but she had run off to watch someone else fight, maybe one of her tribe. He really hoped it wasn¡¯t a love interest, either way he promised himself he would have her.

    Largear spent some time warming up, stretching and practicing his forms with ¡®Iron Fang¡¯. He used a double edged two handed battleaxe which was difficult to wield without sufficient strength. The weapon had been a present from his grandfather and was one of the treasured weapons of the Wolfkin tribe which preferred axes over other weapons.

    When Rajal Khan finally arrived for the battle, Largear could only glare at him while flexing his muscles. He had removed his shirt and vest and was completely barechested. His frame was wide, his muscles bulging. He hoped to intimidate Rajal Khan but the Khan ignored him, moving directly into his forms, his spear spinning and flailing like a whip around his body. Largear could only admire his fluid movements and lightning speed. He did not lack in strength either and was a formidable opponent.

    Rajal Khan too was barechested, wearing only light cloth trousers, not even boots or sandals on his feet. The grass was smooth to the touch so there was no need to cover his large feet. Rajal wasn¡¯t inferior in anyway to Largear in size and determination. His body was even painted with colored tiger stripes throughout his body, the warpaint of his tribe. Largear was beginning to become anxious but steeled his nerves.

    Moments before the appointed time to begin the battle, both opponents ended their warm up exercises and walked towards their starting positions, each looked at the other and grimaced from across the distance. A low growl escaped Largear¡¯s mouth as he gripped his battleaxe tightly, his anticipation growing.

    The battlefield was just an open field, the same as all the others. There were no places to hide, nothing to use as a weapon other than the weapon they brought, only the two opponents, the grass beneath their feet and the warm wind to accompany them.

    Rajal Khan stood patiently ready to counter any strike and already planning a series of strikes of his own in order to press his opponent. He was aware of Largears strength and the battleaxe was a terrifying weapon for one such as him to wield, but his battleaxe would leave him with too many openings.

    The spear was a much more flexible weapon in the hands of a master. It had a longer reach, greater maneuverability and a faster attack speed. It was a weapon that complemented Rajal Khan well. With his speed and strength, he could easily use the spear for rapid surgical strikes while evading attacks from the slower battleaxe.

    Perhaps I will toy with the boy a little, he grinned with a slight chuckle as he thought about the battle ahead.

    A gong sounded off the start of the battle and the young Wolfkin warrior charged forward at a breakneck pace. He was fast for his size, but not nearly as fast as Rajal Khan. Largear put all his strength into a mighty downward strike, missing Rajal Khan completely and smashing the ground, sending dirt and debris everywhere. A small crater had formed where Largear had struck the earth surprising Rajal Khan. I knew he was strong, but that much? He no longer mocked the boy in his heart but instead admired his strength from afar.

    I will have to take him more seriously, guess I won¡¯t be toying with him then, Rajal Khan prepared his counter attack as Largear¡¯s powerful strike left him somewhat unbalanced leaving an opening.

    ¡°Viper¡¯s tongue seven-fold thrust!¡± Rajal Khan yelled, thrusting his spear seven times in rapid succession like the flick of a viper¡¯s tongue. He pierced Largear only once before the mighty Wolfkin warrior deflected the consecutive strikes and jumped backwards, dodging the rest.

    Realizing his mistake, Largear slowed down his attack in order to observe his opponent¡¯s movement, he¡¯s fast, too fast. I could barely make out those spear thrusts. I will need to try to unbalance him a little, put the pressure on.

    Largear attempted a feint, charging in similar to what he did for his first attack but instead of putting all his might into one downward strike, he used the downward momentum to activate one of his martial abilities, ¡°Whirlwind strike!¡±. This propelled his body into a series of side flip kicks and axe strikes which surprised the Khan.

    His experience in battle and quick response saved him and only his spear took the brunt of the attack, buckling under the pressure of the Wolfkin¡¯s attack. It was no ordinary spear, though, and it withstood the salvo of attacks without breaking.

    Rajal spun away from the attack and used an evasive maneuver to dash around Largear to his rear. His opponent did not fail to notice this and turned quick enough to block the Khan¡¯s attacks. The two pounded on each other for several minutes, trading blow for blow until they both began to show signs of weariness.

    ¡°You have done well, boy, to make it this far. I applaud your bravery and offer my admiration!¡± Rajal Khan was sincere in his words and truly had come to respect the young Wolfkin as a fellow warrior and combatant.

    ¡°You have mine as well, but this fight must end, prepare yourself Khan!¡± Largear replied in earnest but the pace of his breathing showed that he had little endurance left.

    ¡°Aye! Time to end this!¡± Rajal Khan had already begun preparing his next attack, ¡°Thousand arrow piercing rain!¡¯¡±

    His attack was released, catching Largear by surprise. Rajal Khan appeared as a blur, moving at speeds that seemed faster than any he had seen before. To his eyes, it seemed as if a thousand spears rained down upon him. He did his best to deflect and parry as many as he could but the overwhelming number of attacks soon began to pierce his flesh one after the other and his body could no longer handle the strain.

    Largear fell to his knees and collapsed on the ground, still alive, but just barely. Members of the Wolfkin tribe in attendance howled in anguish as they watched their young hero be beaten mercilessly by Rajal Khan and a look of concern spread across his grandfather¡¯s eyes. Healers quickly ran out to the young Wolfkin and immediately began healing him.

    As his eyes fluttered in and out of consciousness, he recognized one of the healers attending to him. In his haze, he could see the beautiful and mysterious Foxkin woman he had seen earlier, calling out to him as she touched him filling him with warmth. As he drifted off to sleep, he thanked the spirits for blessing him with such a wondrous gift.

 Volume 2 Chapter 21

    A whirlwind of sound accompanied an acrobatic dance as Nes spun his spear while avoiding his opponent¡¯s attack. His flurry of spear thrusts forced the other combatant to retreat in frustration. They were the last two combatants on the battlefield, all others had already been eliminated.

    Not a single combatant could inflict damage on Nes, his defense was a bulwark and his mastery of the spear was unparalleled among the Demihumans. Out of all of them, the only one who may be able to defeat him would be the Shakiri, who possessed herculean strength. Even then, the victory would most likely hinge by a thread.

    The Tigerkin, who were known as masters of the spear, were astounded by the skill and fluid movement of the Dragonkin prince as they watched their representative be pushed back. There was no contest, Nes had devastated every opponent he faced with abject grace until only one remained. Nes gave him no rest, no quarter, but hounded the hapless warrior forcing him to his knees and ultimately, defeat. The stunned crowd was silent in admiration before erupting in cheers and applause.

    Nes did not care for applause and paid it no mind. His only concern was finishing the bout promptly so that he might run to his sister¡¯s side. Her fight was taking place at the same time as his and he worried for her safety. There were almost no deaths in the Grand Council competition, but there was always a small chance and that was more than he was willing to accept.

    If he had his way, his sister would never have participated in the competition but his sister had been adamant about it. That damn Fayde, pushing my sister into dangerous situations. He knew it wasn¡¯t entirely Fayde¡¯s fault but he needed someone to blame.

    After the battle, Nes pushed his way through the thick crowd, forcing his way through the admirers who had watched his battle. Nes looked young, but he was handsome and many Demihuman women had come to adore him over the past couple of days.

    He finally forced his way through and ran towards the battlefield that had been designated for his sister¡¯s competition. Having tired himself, he paused for a moment to catch his breath. The crowd was much smaller in this area due to the popularity of the spear competition.

    Magic competitions were mostly unpopular, only a few would be interested, so it was easy to quickly locate his sister. Fayde was lifting his sister up in his arms and was twirling her around while they both laughed. Nes couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing, what the hell is this!?

    He could see the competition was already over and from the looks of things, his sister had won. It¡¯s not like I doubted she would win, but that damn Fayde¡­.. And what the hell is going on with my sister, she never acted like this before¡­.

    Nes walked over to his sister and Fayde, who were celebratingthe victory. The wind had been knocked out of him and he had lost all his enthusiasm and motivation. His sister didn¡¯t even notice as he approached, she was happily being doted on by Fayde. Every gesture of affection Fayde showed to his sister hit him with the force of an avalanche. He thought he would die before he could complete the last few steps.

    ¡°Oh Nes! How did your competition go? I could hear the cheering from all the way over here.¡± Fayde was the first to notice him, his sister didn¡¯t even notice him.

    ¡°I won.¡± Nes could only force out a dejected response.

    ¡°That¡¯s incredible! Excellent! Good job Nes! Why do you look so sad though? You should be ecstatic.¡±

    ¡°Whatever¡­.¡± He replied still downcast.

    Allein finally looked at him and her radiant smile immediately perked him up a bit, ¡°Congratulations brother, I always knew you would win. I am proud of you.¡±

    Her words filled him with a surge of vigor that revitalized him.

    Allein looked back up at Fayde and her lovely smile was no longer directed at him which made him feel a pang of regret.

    ¡°Fayde, I expect the same reward as Reia...¡± She said coyly.

    EHHH!? What did she just say? Nes¡¯s mind was racing, wait she can¡¯t mean ¡®that¡¯.

    Fayde chuckled while running his hands through her hair. It sent shivers down Nes¡¯s spine

    ¡°Tonight it will just be you and me.¡±

    Allein happily hugged Fayde.

    FA~~~~~~~~~YDE! I am going to kill that man!

    <hr>

    After a long day of excitement I was happy to be lying in my bed. Our tribe had been successful in moving up in the rankings and were now in second place, much to the surprise of the other Demihuman tribes.

    That meant that everything was riding on my shoulders. If I didn¡¯t win in the competition tomorrow then it was all over. This was expected though, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise to me. I was just beginning to really feel the pressure now that it had finally come to this.

    Allein and I spent some alone time together while Reia stayed in her father¡¯s tent for the night. Of course for her, it wasn¡¯t enough for her while awake, but she also joined me in my dreams.

    I woke the next day feeling well rested despite the night¡¯s events. It was the final day of the competition and I would have to fight a series of battles against the strongest members of each tribe. These battles were intended to be fought by either the Khan of a tribe or a chosen warrior. This meant that only the strongest of each tribe would be involved in the competition this day.

    As this was an important and grueling day for me, I wouldn¡¯t be fulfilling the normal duties of a Khan and instead spent the day preparing for the fights to come. It was almost noon when Fieral came to me to inform me of the first round of battles.

    ¡°My Khan, your first opponent has been announced. You must quickly get ready and head to the battlefield.¡± Fieral hardly ever showed any emotion while conversing with me, she was always serious about her duties.

    ¡°Who is my first opponent?¡± My servants were helping me equip my battle gear as I responded to Fieral.

    ¡°You will be fighting the Dogkin warrior Piero. He is a fierce warrior and a master of the spear. They say that the only reason Nes won the spear competition was because Piero was not allowed to compete in it.¡±

    I considered her words and nodded. Sounds like a good first opponent, I can¡¯t be careless. I will try to use my ¡®Void Power¡¯ as little as possible unless absolutely necessary.

    After preparing myself for battle, I left my tent along with my servants and those closest to me as well as the chieftains of the Foxkin tribe. There was no one who would not be present at today¡¯s events. This was the highlight of the entire Grand Council competition and would be the final determinant in ranking the tribes. For us, it meant much more than that. With our victory, I would force the tribes to unite under my leadership. For the first time in thousands of years they would be united under a Great Khan.

    Our procession was a solemn one despite the raucous noise surrounding us. It wasn¡¯t as if we weren¡¯t excited, we had all just settled into a quiet peace of mind much like the calm before the storm. I soon found myself standing across the battlefield from my opponent who sneered at me disrespectfully. I simply returned the gesture with a smile which only seemed to enrage him.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    This Dogkin thinks that I am weak but I am going to make an example of him. Let everyone present witness my determination!

    One ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ is all I will need. I won¡¯t even bother with my ¡®Void Flames¡¯. I will make this quick. I focused my thoughts on the power simmering within me. It was aching to be released but I restrained it on the cusp, my body quivering with the strain. When the gong sounded my power burst forth from my body and a ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ materialized beside me. It was different from what I remembered, it seemed more substantial, more dense with power.

    What is this? Has it become more powerful?

    I dashed across the battlefield at a dizzying pace. My opponent remained motionless with both hands firmly gripping his spear. Piero was already prepared in his fighting stance with one foot rigidly pressed against the grassy plain in a forward position. The spear pointed diagonally facing towards the ground and an unknown power flailed around him against the stillness of the afternoon sun. He was an opponent to be reckoned with, if only he had never met me.

    My boots made no sound as they flattened the grass in their wake and the earth trembled with each step. The power of the void within me released an intense pressure as it seeped from my pores and formed a dense cloud around me. Only I could see the dark mist of the void raging violently. As the whirlwind of power around me stormed ever closer to my opponent, the fear in his eyes became as clear as day.

    I directed my ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ to strike first and it launched itself off the ground and straight towards Piero who was prepared with a twirling counter strike. His spear went straight through the phantom but the phantom¡¯s blade struck Piero causing damage which left Piero in a state of confusion and open for a second attack which I took advantage of. He quickly recovered and blocked my next strike, pushing me back.

    He had been too focused on defending against my combo attack and was caught off guard when I reversed positions with my ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ and slashed him across his unguarded back, causing him to fall to his knees in pain. True to his reputation, even with the disadvantage of fighting while on his knees, he parried my next few attacks while returning to his feet. It was obvious that he had very little fight left in him due to the strength of my attacks, but still he fought on in earnest until he finally fell to my ceaseless onslaught.

    Most of the Demihumans had gone to watch some of the other fights and so not many were present to witness mine, but those that did were left speechless. No one from outside my tribe expected that I would win. As I gazed upon the spectators, one in particular caught my attention. It was a young woman with eyes of scarlet red and when our eyes met, she looked away and disappeared into the crowd. That was the Demonkin girl¡­

    With no reason to remain on the battlefield I walked towards my tribe members who were cheering wholeheartedly. Reia and Allein especially were happy and greeted me with congratulatory kisses which I welcomed gratefully.

    There was only one battle remaining, I had made it to the end and my opponent was the Demonkin Shakiri who had also easily defeated all opponents. I had been able to watch one of his battles and he was an incredible fighter whose strength was truly unparalleled.

    With the short time remaining until the last battle of the Grand Council competition, I decided to spend my time with Reia and Allein in order to relax and clear my mind of anxiety. It was the best preparation that I could do.

    <hr>

    (Shakiri P.O.V.)

    ¡°I watched your fight with that young boy. Absolutely pitiful. You are the mightiest warrior of the tribes? Laughable.¡± A voice boomed across the battlefield.

    Rajal Khan¡¯s face was filled with rage, ¡°You honorless cur, how dare you disgrace me in such a way!?¡±

    The Shakiri only shrugged as if bored, ¡°I speak only the truth. You believe yourself strong, but you are nothing more than a fly waiting to be swatted. Just surrender to me now and save face, you will only regret ever challenging me.¡±

    All eyes were on the exchange between the two rivals and gasps spread around the crowd. Mocking Rajal Khan seemed a death wish but this unknown warrior boasted with confidence and without an ounce of fear. One look at the Shakiri and no one doubted he was a mighty warrior. He was an extremely tall and intimidating fiend with an enormous halberd which he could hold in one hand. He had dominated every opponent without suffering a single hit.

    ¡°Enough talk! I will stomp that arrogance right out of your face.¡± Rajal Khan gritted his teeth and growled threateningly while preparing his stance.

    The Shakiri planted his enormous halberd into the ground and with his left hand beckoned Rajal Khan forward with a hand gesture. Rajal Khan could see a hundred openings in his stance and snickered, this fool is taking me too lightly.

    He only waited for the sound of the gong to signal the start of battle. He had already anticipated several moves ahead and acted out the battle in his mind. He would open with a fierce thrust to the left, parry and then evade while striking at his flanks, followed by activating one of his martial skills. That would just be the opening act. He would wear down his opponent with quick piercing attacks until an opening presented itself and then when the timing was right he would use his advanced martial skill, ¡®Thousand arrow piercing rain¡¯.

    He would save his most powerful ability, his trump card, until the last moment. As long as he could wear down the Shakiri enough until that moment, then victory was assured.

    Rajal Khan could barely contain himself and when the gong finally sounded his movements were in sync. He burst forth at top speed, dragging the tip of his spear in the dirt, lifting it as he approached the Shakiri and sending dirt and debris flying in order to distract his opponent. He immediately jumped with his spear held forward, aiming for the Shakiri¡¯s chest, hoping he would try to parry so that he could move into his next planned move.

    However, the Shakiri did not move as Rajal Khan had expected and instead of parrying his attack, he arched his back, sucking in a colossal amount of air. Using the air he sucked in, he let out a massive roar that sent out shockwaves blowing Rajal Khan several yards backwards, slamming him into the ground.

    All his planning had been for nothing as he struggled to lift himself off the grass. The crowd watching were astonished by the impressive roar of the Shakiri and began to have doubts on whether or not Rajal Khan could win. In their hearts, they were already accepting that the Demonkin would soon be at the top of their hierarchy.

    Rajal Khan finally stood, he was shaken but not yet defeated. He realized that he would need to use his most powerful attack if he had any hope of victory and already had begun preparations. Summoning the power residing within him, he began concentrating as the Shakiri watched on in anticipation of his next move.

    ¡°Hurry it along little cat, I don¡¯t have time for this nonsense!¡±

    Rajal Khan ignored his taunts and began moving his body along with the flow of energy that flowed within him. It appeared almost a dance that spun into an acrobatic flurry of activity as he spun his spear in concert with his body. It was not a dance though, but preparation for Rajal Khan¡¯s most powerful Martial Skill. ¡®Dragon¡¯s dance of spears¡¯.

    As he spun his body he picked up speed until his form was no longer visible and in its place was a whirlwind of innumerable spears. Those spears in turn formed a serpent-like Dragon of light which spun and coiled its body rapidly, vibrating and pulsing.

    The Shakiri did not move nor did he show any worry or concern, he only stood there, resolute like the dawn. As the Dragon of light swiftly drew closer, The Shakiri finally moved, lifting his enormous halberd and slamming the butt into the ground, smashing the earth beneath it and holding it in place. He slid his right foot backwards, dragging it across the ground snaking in a circle. He then dragged his foot down the center of the circle, creating two teardrop like symbols in the center.

    He removed his halberd from the ground and stood still. He placed one foot in each teardrop within the circle and closed his eyes, holding the Halberd in front of his body with both hands. He began to spin the Halberd like a windmill and as it picked up speed, an immense pressure began to build around him. When he opened his eyes, they glowed brightly as energy built up in his core.

    There was no need to yell, he whispered, ¡°Life and Death, The End and the Beginning, Return all to nothing!¡±

    His words ignited the power within him. It spread to the symbol he had drawn on the earth and an explosion of light spread towards the sky from the symbol. The Shakiri lifted his halberd and bathed it in the light that stretched towards the sky. He spun his halberd around in a circle, cutting the light at its roots and his halberd became imbued with the power of life and death, spirit magic.

    At that moment the Dragon of Light was upon him and struck, attempting to pierce his heart. He swung his halberd in a wide arc, crashing it into the Dragon of Light, altering its course. It circled back around coming in for another strike but The Shakiri evaded, slashing the side of the Dragon, cutting a wide swathe along its surface. It wavered but continued to strike without fail and each time it was pushed back by the power imbued within the halberd.

    Tiring of this game, the Shakiri pulled his halberd in an upwards motion, holding it in both hands and then slashed downwards with all his might, releasing the power within, ¡°Return All to Nothing!¡±

    The light that the halberd had absorbed shot out of the halberd and impacted with the Dragon of Light breaking it into a million pieces that scattered all across the battlefield like falling snow.

    Rajal Khan, who had become one with the Dragon, was thrown from its core and crashed onto the Plains, defeated.

 Volume 2 Chapter 22

    I stood across from the behemoth of a Demi-human, The Shakiri. I had heard about the battle he had fought with Rajal Khan and I had to admit that it was a little bit scary. I couldn¡¯t allow myself to falter now and so I observed The Shakiri silently.

    He wore no shirt and flexed his large and well defined muscles to intimidate me while he chuckled as if a joke had come to him just at that moment. He stretched his arms and they looked like they could choke the life out of an elephant. Everything about him was intimidating and there I stood across from him, a mere speck compared to his monstrous form.

    He no longer raged when he saw me, instead keeping a relaxed calm. I liked him better when he was raging, this strange calm of his was making me anxious. I noticed he was actually pacing and I was surprised because under his calm exterior, I could sense a bit of fear. It was strange, what did such a man need to fear? I was even beginning to doubt my own power in the face of this powerful enigma.

    It was there, though, a gentle fear that lined his very essence, his very core. It was deep and despite its seemingly subtle pulse, in a way I felt it defined him. I was staring intently at him and noticing my look, he stopped his pacing and glared at me. I thought he would become enraged and shout at me, but he regained control of his emotions and instead addressed me respectfully.

    ¡°I underestimated you little human but to cross this mountain, it is impossible for you as you are.¡± His voice was gruff, but it was much more eloquent than I thought possible from him.

    ¡°Do you truly believe that? I think you will be surprised by what I can accomplish when there is something I desire enough.¡± I replied with the same respectful tone he had shown me, there was no reason two warriors couldn¡¯t be civil.

    He didn¡¯t reply immediately, instead he turned his head and looked out somewhere into the crowd but it was a quick glance, too quick for me to notice what he had seen there.

    ¡°Do you know the reason why I came here, why I fight?¡±

    ¡°I heard you came to force the clans to fight The Empire but by your question, I wonder if that is truly correct?¡± I thought it was strange that he would ask such an obvious thing, he had made it quite known throughout the Sacred Grounds why he had come.

    ¡°My father was a great man, he fought with bravery and passion. Everything he did, he gave his all, for his people, for those he loved¡­¡­¡­¡­ and for what? They say my father left out of bloodlust, that he couldn¡¯t forgive the humans that killed and enslaved our people. Some of that is true, but most of all my father just wanted to live in peace, to love in peace. You may laugh, but that is the reason why my father left these lands to die in a foreign place, without honor and without kin.¡± He paused, unsure of what he should say next.

    I looked to the crowd who were unaware of what we were talking about and i felt a bit awkward because I wasn¡¯t expecting this large brute to start regaling me with a story. It seemed important to him and I had nothing better to do so I waited.. There was still some time until the battle would officially begin and I had already had enough time with my warm ups.

    After about a minute of silence he spoke again, this time his voice grew more heavy.

    ¡°My father dared to love a woman, not of his own tribe, and such unions are frowned upon. They say a child of such a union is impossible, that species of Demihumans can¡¯t interbreed. It is all a great taboo based on an ancient tradition that no one understands and yet everyone must follow. It is all a lie though. Demihumans of different species are capable of having children just fine, but because of fear, any children of such unions are killed when they are born. They make the parents watch as they slaughter their children before their eyes. When I was born, it was here, right in this place, these Sacred Grounds. They wanted to kill me, just like all the others but my father refused. He had many supporters and they rebelled but were driven away, forced into exile and forced to fight The Empire until they all died.¡±

    The Shakiri looked at me with sadness in his eyes. Who knew this brute could feel such a thing? I have completely misunderstood him, I felt a little ashamed at that. I was quick to judge him as just an ignorant muscle head.

    He started approaching me, quickening his pace. The battle hadn¡¯t started yet but I was worried he might attack me. He stopped only a foot away and stood over me practically blocking out the sun. I almost shrunk back a bit through instinct and I looked up at him uncomfortably but I held my ground, restraining my nerves.

    His words to me were almost a whisper, ¡°They kill the babies because they are afraid, afraid of the Demon¡¯s eyes and the Demon¡¯s rage. It is a fear based on superstitious nonsense, almost none are ever born with them. I was born with the rage, but it has never controlled me."

    The Shakiri turned his back to me and walked towards his starting position, but stopped halfway and spoke while his back was to me, ¡°and what do you think they will do¡­.. to your child?¡±

    His words left me with many questions. I didn¡¯t know what to think in that moment. Was he telling me the truth? I didn¡¯t want to accept it, but this was not my world and these were not really my people. If something like this is true¡­.

    When he returned to his position, he asked me one last questions, ¡°Now do you know why I returned to this place? Can you say you have the same resolve that I do?¡±

    I understood him much better than I had before. His life must have been difficult and I couldn¡¯t relate. My life on Earth had been easy compared to the kinds of lives the people lived here, but I too was driven by my own hopes, my own desires.

    ¡°You have something you will fight for, but if you think that you are the only one, then you are wrong. I too have a reason I must win this fight. I don¡¯t know what you have been through and I don¡¯t know what the future has in store for us, but I know what I have right here, right now. I am not about to allow you, or anyone else, to take that away from me. I will win this battle and I will fight for the ones I love, that is enough for me.¡±

    When I finished saying my piece, The Shakiri studied me for a moment and grinned, chuckling to himself, ¡°then show me that resolve that you speak of and we shall see which of ours is greater!¡±

    There was no more time for conversation and we both readied ourselves, each staring at the other with grim determination.

    The gong sounded, signalling the start of the battle. This would be the most difficult battle I had ever faced. Neither of us moved, instead each watching the other. The Shakiri planted his feet into the ground and held his enormous halberd at the ready. From what I had heard, in each battle he fought, none of his opponents had been able to move him from where he stood.

    Alright, let¡¯s start with one then. I began to channel the void within me and created one ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ which elicited a grunt from The Shakiri, he was clearly expecting this. I made sure to show that I could only create one ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ for just this occasion. Since he wasn¡¯t about to come to me, I charged in his direction with my ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ at my side.

    I began the attack, slashing him with my sword only to have it deflected. I weaved around his flanks, striking from every direction, reversing positions with my ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ as necessary. Each strike, thrust or slash was parried by his deft maneuvering of the Halberd. I wasn¡¯t sure what materials were used to craft it but it was a stronger material than iron and easily deflected my blade.

    For his size, his movements were incredible and it didn¡¯t matter from which direction I attacked, he barely even moved his body instead letting his halberd do the work by spinning it around his body and lashing it out to block. I couldn¡¯t believe the speed at which he could utilize the halberd and how he could use his body to maneuver with it. He spun it around his neck, his legs, arms, it didn¡¯t matter, every body part became a means for him to guide his halberd. Even with my ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ I was having a difficult time avoiding his counter attack, nevermind actually hitting him. The ¡®Phantom Image¡¯ itself did too little damage to make a difference and the fact that I kept having to reverse positions with it to avoid danger made it highly ineffective.

    Realizing one wouldn¡¯t do, I pulled back out of striking distance and began channeling more of the Void element and created two more ¡®Phantom Images¡¯. Any more would drain my power too quickly and so I kept this as my maximum, even then I wouldn¡¯t be able to use it indefinitely. Seeing four Fayde¡¯s before him, The Shakiri raised his left eyebrow in surprise. He didn¡¯t expect this, but it didn¡¯t faze him much, he only growled.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°I see you have been keeping tricks up your sleeves, those look troublesome. It¡¯s time I got serious!¡± As he spoke he began channeling his own spiritual magic, drawing a strange design on the ground with one foot.

    I attacked immediately, not wanting to give him any time to prepare and with three of my ¡®Phantom Images¡¯ present, I had a much easier time avoiding his attacks and even scoring hits with my ¡°Phantom Images¡¯. He could somehow tell which of them was the real me and focused only on deflecting my attacks, continuing to finish the symbol he was drawing. It took amazing talent to utilize the halberd with one hand while deflecting my attacks and even though he took damage from my ¡®Phantom Images¡¯ it didn¡¯t break his concentration.

    With his symbol finished, it began drawing spiritual energy into it and the initial shockwave of power blew me back, but I was still unhurt. He had suffered some damage, but nothing significant and he now completed his spiritual magic, imbuing his halberd with the power of the spirits. I wasn¡¯t sure what effect this would have but it worried me nonetheless.

    Once the barrier of his spell had dissipated, I launched an attack again with my three ¡®Phantom Images¡¯. I sent the three to different positions around him and had them all attack at the same time, I kept reversing positions with them repeatedly in order to attempt to confuse him. I don¡¯t know how he was able to tell before but I thought if I did it in rapid succession he wouldn¡¯t be able to figure it out in time.

    The Shakiri prepared his stance, holding his left hand forward, palm facing outwards and his pointer finger up while holding his halberd in his right hand. It looked like a stance straight out of a kung fu movie. Paying it no mind I attacked along with all of my ¡®Phantom Images¡¯ and as we were in mid strike, he spun the halberd in a wide arc, slashing all of the ¡®Phantom Image¡¯s in one sweep. I barely blocked his attack in time and was once again blown back.

    I realized his attack had destroyed all three of my ¡®Phantom Images¡¯ and I was really starting to doubt that I could win. I couldn¡¯t even get a scratch on him with my weapon and had only inflicted some minor damage with the ¡®Phantom Images¡¯. Now that I knew he could destroy them, I had to rethink my entire strategy.

    I relaxed my body, holding my blade out in front of me. The Shakiri and I eyed each other wondering what the other would do next. His halberd was glowing with the light of his spiritual magic but he still made no movements to attack. I was beginning to wonder whether all his attacks were defensive in nature. Alright, no more gimmicks.

    Time to go at him with pure sword techniques but I am going to need a little bit of an advantage to fight against his spiritual magic! Deciding on my next strategy, I began to summon the void once more and held my blade sideways directly in front of my body. I slid my left hand across the side of the blade, careful not to cut myself and imbued my blade with the power of the Void. It was not time yet to use a ¡®Void Strike¡¯, I still needed to wear him down so instead I only imbued my blade to withstand the power of his spiritual magic.

    My sword began to emit a dark energy that seemed to devour the light around it. It was an ominous and frightful power but it was a necessary one. With my sword fully imbued with void element, I began my attack once more. This time I came in close and engaged my opponent in full on close quarter combat. My adversary''s skill with the halberd was unprecedented but I was a master with the sword and with my sword imbued with power, I took blow after blow, pushing back against The Shakiri¡¯s halberd.

    Despite the fierce strikes, I held my own, parrying, slashing, and countering. Neither of us could land a blow on the other. No matter how hard I fought, I couldn¡¯t make my opponent move even one inch. However, I could see that with each new moment that I remained on my feet, he became more determined to put me down. The more I fought and held his attacks back, the more his anger grew and I knew I was getting to him.

    My strength was not as great as is, but it was not that inferior either and even though his halberd hit with an incredible force, my sword did not buckle and I could see the light of the spiritual magic waning until it finally shattered and his magic had dissipated. In that moment, the throwback from shattering his magic threw me back and when I stood, I saw that he had indeed moved from his starting place.

    The Shakiri looked down at the ground in surprise, completely shocked that I had done what none had done before. In his entire life, no opponent he faced in one on one combat had ever withstood his attacks and even forced him to step back. Sweat fell down his face as his rage built up, it was growing into an inferno and soon he wouldn¡¯t be able to control it. Despite his anger, he was filled with a degree of excitement that he had never felt.

    I paused as I noticed a change in the Shakiri. I didn¡¯t want to rush in blind so I prepared myself for a possible attack. The Shakiri moved back to the spot he had originally stood and slammed the butt of his halberd into the ground. He raised his arms and roared to the sky, sending shivers down my body. I could sense power in that roar.

    ¡°Never have I felt this way in battle! You have given me what I have always sought and for that I will thank you but you will soon find that it was your greatest mistake. The rage is building within me and soon it will consume me.¡± His laughter filled with rage rumbled across the Plains and the crowd which was screaming in delight suddenly shook in fear.

    Even I couldn¡¯t help myself, the massive energy that began rolling off of his body gripped me in a vise of fear. The pressure around us began to build and it was as if the air became lighter and it was difficult to breathe. I suddenly saw a visible burst of power surrounding The Shakiri and his body was violently shaking as if he were struggling with a life threatening pain. His roar continued to grow, drowning out all other sounds and his body began to glow a nightmarish dark red color.

    I had faced danger in this world but this was on a whole other level, and for the first time I felt that I was truly about to die. As I looked on in horror, all of the energy suddenly sucked into The Shakiri like a vacuum causing the wind to blow violently around the battlefield. I was struggled to maintain my balance.

    Dammit! I can¡¯t let this go on anymore. I didn¡¯t want to have to use all my strength but there is no way I am going to survive this if I don¡¯t. My thoughts became chaotic under the intense stress of battle and I forcefully calmed my mind, focusing on the power within me. There was a deep well that I had yet to draw on and I would need to use it all. Even then, I wasn¡¯t sure if I could obtain victory.

    While struggling to gain my balance through the violent winds I calmed my nerves. I forced my legs straight and gripped the hilt of my sword with all the strength remaining in me. I focused my mind, the howling winds around me seemed to calm. It was only my imagination, the wind raged as incessantly as before, but in my mind it became only a cool breeze.

    My consciousness drifted and I could hear the patter of falling drops of rain. This was not an ordinary rain, it was the essence of the well of power within me. My mind had finally set it free and the well of power rumbled, pushing forth like a geyser, exploding throughout my body. Without realizing it, my body too had become a torrential source of energy that I could no longer control.

    To all those in attendance, our bodies were no longer visible and in their place stood immense shadows of power, gargantuan monster-like forms, raging and angry. These giants crashed into each other with the force of a hurricane, consuming everything in their path, turning it all to dust.

    The onlookers ran for their lives, creating a stampede of Demihumans hoping to escape the carnage. They had never witnessed a battle as intense as this and could no longer believe those on the battlefield were anything but monsters. Only a handful of Demihumans remained to see the battle through to the end.

    Colliding against each other, the founts of power clashed, each eating away at the other. They began to diminish with each passing moment and from within these two colossal forms were the shadow of two figures and the clang of metal. Their battle was a dance as they spun about attacking, evading, blocking, parrying at a speed never before seen and their movements defied even gravity. It was almost as if within these founts of power the two opponents were in their own world, with its own laws.

    It was only when the raging torrents of power finally died down that those from the outside could see the two combatants once again.

    I had fought with every ounce of my being and lost myself in battle, trading blow for blow. When my power had finally subsided, I stood there breathing heavily and barely holding on to my sword. My health was almost entirely gone and when I looked over at The Shakiri, he stood there seemingly unharmed.

    ¡°You have got to be kidding me. Is it even possible to beat you?¡± I lost my cool and yelled out in frustration.

    It was then I realized that The Shakiri was using all he had left just to keep himself from falling to his knees. I marveled at his fortitude and truly respected him in that moment in my heart.

    He suddenly coughed and leaned slightly to the side using his halberd to help him remain standing. ¡°I never thought I would see this day come¡­.. to lose to a Human¡­¡­ No, are you sure you really are Human? Are you truly a monster in Human form? Your power is similar to mine¡­.¡± He tried to laugh and almost fell over and just barely kept his balance.

    ¡°I kneel to no man¡­ you have won this day, but I will not kneel¡­. ¡° I could see his determination and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little envious.

    I was barely able to stand myself, but I somehow made my way over to him without looking too pathetic.

    ¡°Did my resolve reach you?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t expecting those words from me and he gave me a big toothy grin, ¡°you¡¯re a bastard, but I have to respect that!¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but laugh.

    ¡°Speaking of taboos, do you know what my clan was doing before we got here?¡±

    He looked at me, confused by the sudden change in topic and let out an exhausted grunt.

    ¡°We conquered a dungeon¡­..¡± His eyes opened up as big as saucers, ¡°want to help with the next one?¡±

    Deep booming laughter rumbled out of his chest briefly before wincing in pain. The pain made it difficult for him to speak, ¡°before that, there is someone I want you to meet¡­.¡±

 Volume 2 Chapter 23

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    After my duel with The Shakiri, the competition had finally come to end with my clan victorious. I could barely move after the battle, it was brutal. Everyone was fussing over me, especially Reia who had been very worried when she saw my power go out of control. Even my servants were treating me as if I was some kind of porcelain vase, thinking I would break at any moment.

    I was quickly ushered to the Grand Council tent after the match despite my injuries, I had to hold on to Reia just to stand. It was part of the ceremony, but I wouldn¡¯t be the official victor until I had gone to the Old Capital and returned.

    The reason why this was necessary was never actually explained, these Demihumans were too caught up in their traditions, whether good or bad. What The Shakiri had told me was still heavy in my heart and it was something that would eventually need to be addressed.

    For now, I need to go along with the traditions until I have full control over the clans. Once the meeting with all the Khans was complete, I was brought back to my tent to rest and heal. I slept for almost an entire day.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Allein was clearly concerned about me but had waited patiently until I woke up.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine Allein, don¡¯t worry. I was just tired.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that brute hurt you this much! I am going to kill him!¡±

    I was happy to see she had been concerned with my well-being even if she was over exaggerating the danger.

    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s not like that. We both had a lot to fight for¡­ he¡¯s not such a bad guy actually.¡±

    She looked at me doubtfully but said nothing more about it.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Reia?¡± I looked around the tent but I didn¡¯t see her.

    ¡°Oh, she stepped outside for a minute. She is talking to that giant meathead. He came to see you.¡±

    She must have been talking about The Shakiri.

    ¡°He came? Well then don¡¯t make him wait, invite him in!¡±

    Through my battle with him I had come to understand him and felt he wasn¡¯t much different from me in some ways. I actually liked him quite a bit.

    ¡°But you are hurt! You should rest more¡­ and you lost so much of your strength¡­.¡±

    ¡°I said I am fine, Fieral, where are you?¡±

    Fieral appeared out of nowhere like usual, she was almost always somewhere nearby. Very reliable.

    ¡°Yes my Khan, I am here.¡± She bowed her head slightly.

    ¡°Help me up, I want to meet with The Shakiri, have the servants tell Reia to bring him in.¡±

    Fieral frowned and it looked like she wanted to dissuade me from getting out of bed but she thought better of it and helped me up while instructing one of the Rej¡¯gan to carry out my request.

    Fieral helped me walk over to one of the cushions which had been placed in an area of the tent designated for accepting guests and I sat down with a slight wince of pain. My body was aching all over and I could barely stand.

    ¡°Fieral, brew some tea for us please, and bring some food. I¡¯m starving!¡±

    As I was shooing Fieral away, Allein sat down next to me and Reia soon joined us with The Shakiri and his sister in tow.

    I was surprised to see that The Shakiri was not injured at all. As a matter of fact, he looked completely fine as if he had never fought me.

    ¡°Haha! Look at you, are you really a demon? Not even a scratch on you! I wish I had your healing ability.¡± I called out to him as he approached and he laughed at my words.

    ¡°Hahaha! And you look half dead! Maybe I should just finish you off right now!¡±

    I forced out a laugh and coughed, he¡¯s joking, I hope.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to stand but unfortunately if I get up, I might fall down again.¡±

    It was proper etiquette to greet a guest standing before sitting down on the cushions but I couldn¡¯t get up without help just yet.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you know I am not much for protocol and customs anyway! OH! Fayde, this is my sister, Laila. I mentioned her yesterday!¡±

    I remembered he had mentioned he wanted me to meet someone, looks like it was his sister.

    ¡°Again, I apologize that I can¡¯t stand to greet you but it is an honor to meet The Shakiri¡¯s beautiful sister.¡±

    she smiled at my cheap attempt at flattery and curtsied just like I would imagine a proper lady should.

    ¡°I have been waiting for this moment so the honor is all mine.¡± Her voice was lovely and she smiled brilliantly.

    I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little intimidated by her beauty and I felt a little embarrassed that she had to meet me in my current condition.

    Allein noticing the way I was acting grumbled something under her breath but Reia seemed to be lost in thought.

    ¡°Please sit, both of you. What brings you here to see me today?¡± I made a gesture with my hands for them to sit on the cushions provided.

    Fieral soon came with tea and food and I started eating while everyone sat.

    ¡°As you know, you have won the Grand Council competition and there will be some¡­. grumbling about this among the Khans I am sure.¡± As The Shakiri spoke, I nodded my understanding and continued to eat.

    ¡°We, the Demonkin are no longer apart of the tribes of the Plains and as such, we do not follow their rules and laws. You winning this competition means nothing to us and we are not obligated to follow you.¡±

    That was a little bit surprising and perhaps a bit hypocritical, but not completely unexpected to me so I just continued to eat while waiting for him to finish.

    ¡°You showed me your resolve in our duel and I was forced to submit, but I have my pride and I carry the responsibility of my people. My clan will never follow someone who is not of my family.¡±

    I could respect that and I sipped my tea as I listened to his words. I admired these proud people and their fortitude.

    ¡°So if you want to lead us, then you will have to become part of my family and it so happens I have a sister who is unmarried and she has taken a liking to you and so, marry her!¡±

    I coughed and almost choked on the tea. I was expecting something, but not this. I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised about it though since I had already experienced this multiple times now.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Laila stood and curtsied again.

    ¡°If you will have me, I would be honored to be wed to you. Long have I hoped to marry someone worthy but my father demanded that I should never wed until there was a man who could defeat my brother in battle. I thought that I was fated to be forever alone, until I met you.¡±

    I immediately looked at Allein and Reia. I was at a loss for words and was met with two very different expressions. Allein had a look of begrudging acceptance while Reia seemed pleased for some reason. They must have already known about this.

    ¡°Fayde, don¡¯t just sit there, say something to her. It took a lot for her to ask you this. She showed proper respect and came to me first and asked my permission, I have already assented. She was very concerned about how to ask you so hurry up!¡±.

    ¡°Um, well¡­ I wish someone would have told me this earlier.. But it seems that it¡¯s common in Demihuman society to¡­.. Ah, nevermind¡­ I accept.¡±

    Reia was glaring at me so refusing was out of the question.

    ¡°I am not¡­.¡± Allein stopped mid sentence after Reia gave her a look.

    ¡°Thank you for accepting my unreasonable request. I am truly honored to be the wife of The Great Khan. Please take care of me.¡± She was very polite and well mannered.

    It would be good to have someone like her around, I just hoped she didn¡¯t have any weird quirks.

    ¡°Before anything else, I want you to show me the real you, not this facade.¡±

    She was startled for a moment but she understood what I meant.

    She trembled before she spoke.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to see¡­. but they are not pretty¡­¡±

    I understood her reaction well. The reason why they killed the children of mixed Demihuman relationships was to kill any who might be born with the ¡®Demon eyes¡¯ or the ¡®Demon¡¯s Rage¡¯. I never found out the reason why these traits were so dangerous that needed to kill children, but to me, Laila seemed like any other woman.

    Laila¡¯s eyes changed into a scarlet red color. I hadn¡¯t seen them up close, only glanced at them from a distance, when I noticed her watching me. Seeing them up close, I could only say that they were beautiful and I couldn¡¯t imagine the need to hide them.

    They weren¡¯t expecting me to try to stand but I struggled to my feet and Reia rushed over to help me. With her aid, I stood and I walked over to Laila who for some reason began inching backwards as if she was afraid.

    Her brother was surprised by the way she was acting, he had never seen her act afraid, not even once. In his eyes, his sister was the bravest and most fearsome woman he had ever known. Even when they were surrounded by the Imperial army when they were children, and it seemed as if they would die, she never showed any fear. But in this moment, she seemed like a lost child.

    Her fear was not because of Fayde, or anyone else. Her fear was of rejection, What if he is disgusted by my eyes? She thought to herself.

    I raised my hand and gently placed it on her face, pulling her towards me.

    Looking deeply into her eyes I said, ¡°Beautiful.¡±

    Laila wasn¡¯t sure she heard me correctly and she doubted her own ears, ¡°what?¡± She didn¡¯t mean to say it, but the words escaped her.

    ¡°Your eyes, they are beautiful. You never need to hide them from me, or anyone. You will never be scorned again because of your eyes.¡±

    She didn¡¯t know how to respond to my words. She had lived her entire life believing herself cursed because that was what the Demihumans believed. Of course, her own family had never once judged her and had accepted her despite her curse.

    She had been careful to never show her true eyes to anyone other than her family, not even to the other Demonkin. They were all the product of mixed breeding, but only Laila had ever been born with the ¡®Demon Eyes¡¯. They kept it a secret because they didn¡¯t know how the others would react and so Laila hid them and continued to grow stronger so that she never had to fear anyone.

    Laila had taken a great risk using her eyes over the last few days, but she had done her best to be careful. Being useful to her brother was important to her and that was why she took the risk. She almost had a heartattack when she saw that the Human she had been watching happened to notice her using her eyes carelessly. She was afraid that the man would hate her or that the other Demihumans might discover it, but when nothing happened and no one came looking for her, she was relieved and grateful.

    Reia and Allein hadn¡¯t known about the eyes and they gasped when they saw them. Fieral was also present but she had already sent out all the servants earlier so none of them were there to witness this.

    A strange feeling built up in her chest and tears began to form in her eyes. She wanted to say something but nothing came to her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, you will ruin your beautiful face.¡± I wiped her tears and whispered to her as she smiled at my words and laughed.

    ¡°I¡­ I am so happy, thank you..¡± That was the best she could do.

    She never thought she would ever find such happiness and at such simple words too.

    Her brother watched from the side and he couldn¡¯t help, but smile himself. He too never thought that something like this would happen and the fact that it was a Human who had made his sister happy was the most shocking to him. He grunted, satisfied and turned away, not wanting to watch his sister cry, even if they were tears of joy.

    Reia, Allein and Fieral remained quiet as they watched as well. The three of them held a mixture of different emotions which was not apparent by appearances alone.

    They talked for a while more and it was decided that Laila would come to live in my tent just as his other wives, and The Shakiri pledged his loyalty and submitted to my rule.

    "One more thing, I will no longer be using my title, it is meaningless now. It has been a while since I used my own name, but from now on please call me by it. Accadeas.¡±

    ¡°Accadeas¡­ okay, will do.¡± We shook hands and I felt the weight of responsibility in his grasp.

    <hr>

    ¡°Fayde, I heard you won! Congratulations!¡± Tris had been secluded for the entirety of the competition but now that it was over she was given permission to visit with Fayde.

    ¡°Thank you! It was a difficult fight but somehow I won, hehe.¡± Fayde was still feeling sluggish and tired from the fighting but it was only a matter of time until he was fully recovered.

    ¡°So, what is the plan now?¡±

    ¡°Well, even though I won, it¡¯s not yet official. There is a ceremony that will take place after a little trip I have to make.¡±

    ¡°So where are we going?¡±

    She knew she was being a little pushy but she couldn¡¯t let him go without her.

    ¡°We? I think it¡¯s best for you to remain here, this is sort of a Demihuman thing.¡± His response was stiff and she decided she needed to be a little more forceful.

    ¡°You have to take me with you! We are a team. Don¡¯t leave me here. Am I a prisoner? It certainly has felt like that lately!¡±

    ¡°Tris, are you sure you want to do this? It could be very dangerous, something might happen to you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me, I can take care of myself. I need to be there with you.¡±

    He didn¡¯t say anything at first and he had an almost sad far off look on his face which she didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Okay, you can come, make sure you are ready.¡± Tris smiled at Fayde and thanked him for trusting her. She left his tent to make preparations for the journey including finding an opportunity to send a missive.

    <hr>

    I watched Tris leave and I couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed and maybe a bit of regret. She had been adamant about coming with me which could only mean one thing. I had hoped she would give up and remain behind.

    If she comes with us¡­ I might have to kill her. I didn¡¯t really want to do this though. I don¡¯t know what her motivation is, but I am certain that this is what they were hoping for. She would probably never get another chance like this so that was the reason she must be so determined to come.

    Of course I can¡¯t be absolutely certain, but it is most likely that whoever she has been working with will try something on this trip. I will have to make preparations.

    ¡°Fieral, please summon Accadeas, I need to speak with him.¡±

    I calmed my nerves and waited patiently, it would take a bit of time for Accadeas to arrive. I looked around the tent and observed my servants going about their business. Allein was somewhere with her brother and Reia was most likely practicing. Only Laila was in the tent, she didn¡¯t like to go outside too much and enjoyed relaxing and being waited on. Not the most attractive of traits but I let her be herself.

    It took a while but Accadeas finally arrived and we sat down, he could see that what I had to say was a serious matter so he skipped the small talk.

    ¡°Soon I will be heading towards the old Imperial capital as you know. I can only take a small group with me. Nes, Allein, Reia, Tris and I will be the ones to go. As you know, that is the tradition and since my power hasn¡¯t been solidified yet, I need to go along with it.¡± None of this was news to Accadeas and he just grunted his understanding.

    ¡°What do you need me to do?¡± Accadeas was not dumb, although many mistook him for being unintelligent. He already knew there must be a reason that we were having this meeting.

    ¡°The human woman, Tris, you¡¯ve seen her right?¡± I asked him calmly.

    ¡°Yes, I have seen both of your human companions.¡±

    He hadn¡¯t been happy about it but I told him he needed to get used to being around humans.

    ¡°Tris is a traitor, she has been working against me for some time now. I have a strong suspicion that they are going to make a move on this trip. I don¡¯t know how many, or how strong they are, but I want you and your sister to follow us from a distance. Keep yourselves hidden and observe. Do not reveal yourselves until the enemy has fully shown their cards. Do you understand? You are the only ones I can trust to do this since I know you have no problem breaking tradition.¡±

    Accadeas listened attentively and nodded his understanding. He knew exactly what he needed to do and I was relying on him to save me if it came down to it. My power had weakened significantly but this was something I absolutely had to do and there was no time to get stronger.

 Volume 2 Chapter 24

    Before me were the remains of the ancient capital city of the Old Empire and it was a sight to behold. Immense structures littered the landscape despite the fact that thousands of years had passed.

    With such a long period of time, it would only be natural that the entire city would have sunk beneath the earth. However, this was not entirely the case, much of the city had indeed sunk, but the structures were of such incredible size that many of them were still visible. I could only guess how large they must have once been to still be visible.

    It had taken our group several days to get here and we were all anxious about what lie within. The closer we got to the ruined city, the less monsters we encountered which was surprising. The lack of monsters might have had something to do with the eerie presence that permeated the ruins. I had felt it from afar and as we got closer to the city, the feeling only grew stronger as if it were enticing me.

    ¡°Tris, were you able to find anything?¡± I had sent Tris out to scout the ruins a bit knowing full well she was probably contacting her allies.

    They would make their move soon, I was sure of it. Laila and Accadeas were following somewhere well behind our party. I had no idea where they were, but they wouldn¡¯t be too far away. I had already given Laila the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯ and we could sense the general direction of each other but it wasn¡¯t something that was exact.

    ¡°Nothing, I can¡¯t detect a single monster within the ruined city. The city is too large for just a quick scout. Given what we have experienced so far, I would guess there really aren¡¯t any.¡± She seemed as surprised as the rest of us.

    Allein, Reia and Nes had never been to the ruined city before, so they had nothing to add to her assessment.

    ¡°These structures¡­. If the old empire could build structures like these, they must have been very advanced.¡± I was thinking out loud and as I surveyed the the ruined city it almost seemed reminiscent of a city that you might find on Earth, minus the destruction and decay.

    ¡°Did you say something Fayde?¡± Reia was standing nearby and came closer to me.

    ¡°No, nothing, let¡¯s go.¡± There was no point just standing around and we made our way into the ruined city which had now become part of the natural terrain.

    Even though many ruined buildings remained, nature had recovered much of the city so navigating our way through the ruins was difficult. We didn¡¯t have much information about the city, but from what we had gathered from the Khans, it had been built somewhat similar to a spider¡¯s web with the palace located in the center.

    It took us a few hours to finally find our way to the palace at the center of the city, and by the time we made it there, the sun was beginning to descend in the sky. The palace itself was mostly ruins but I could see the grand structure it once was and even with my modern sense, it looked as if it once was a magnificent building. What was most remarkable was that the entire palace was above ground and even though it was mostly ruined, parts of it still stood tall.

    ¡°How strange¡­¡± I noticed something as we approached, the palace seemed much more like an enormous government facility than it did an Imperial palace. It strangely reminded me of the Kremlin from Russia, although there were notable differences.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t what I imagined it would be.¡± Allein was staring up at it with her brother.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and get this over with, we aren¡¯t here to sightsee.¡± I was getting somewhat impatient and said that harsher than intended.

    We had finally made our way deeper into the palace, there was little to see within. Any furniture or decorations the palace once had were no longer there. I couldn¡¯t help but get a creepy vibe from it all. I felt like I was in a zombie movie right before the zombies come swarming in. No zombies came out thankfully but the creepy feeling wouldn¡¯t fade. I could still feel something pulling me deeper in and it was only getting stronger.

    This really gives me Blue Gender vibes, or maybe Seraph of the End! I found myself slightly daydreaming but I snapped back to reality quickly. This wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about anime I once watched.

    With the five of us, no one would be able to sneak up on us unexpectedly. There really wasn¡¯t anyone or anything there anyway. It was a ghost town and there was no point jumping at shadows. I was even beginning to hope that something like a giant bug might jump out at us just to make this a little more exciting.

    After walking through the ruined palace for a short while, we found ourselves within a large audience chamber. It was a huge room with columns on each side and I could tell that it must have once been very luxurious and imposing. It was mostly in shambles but many of the columns still remained intact. I could feel the strong pull I had been feeling all along come from within this room.

    Visibility wasn¡¯t an issue because of light streaming in through holes in the ceiling. I could see a human like statue at the far end of the chamber and a massive sphere with a strange dark energy swirling within. That is definitely the source of the power I feel, it¡¯s almost as if it is calling out to me.

    The statue was very lifelike, there was significant detail in it and it seemed to radiate a power of its own. Is the statue feeding off of the energy in the sphere? What is this? I could only wonder at it but I could tell they were connected in some way. The statue¡¯s eyes were the strangest quality of it. I could have sworn they were watching me.

    I can¡¯t wait to get out of this place! I couldn¡¯t help but feel that way and I was sure the others felt the same.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°What do you guys make of this?¡± I turned to my group and asked.

    Reia was the first to answer, ¡°I was told you had to put your hand on the sphere but other than that, not much is known. None of the tribes know what the sphere is¡­¡±

    ¡°So the sphere really does have a crack in it¡­ It¡¯s leaking power too.?¡± I noticed the crack when I approached the sphere to touch it and I was probably the only one who could see the black substance trickling out of the sphere.

    My body wasn¡¯t absorbing it as I thought it might, instead the energy was entering the statue. I looked at the statue again but it was still the same as it was before and so I decided to put my hand on the sphere¡­ nothing.

    ¡°Nothing happened.¡± How anticlimactic, I thought. ¡°I guess we are done here¡­.¡±

    ¡°Fayde watch out!¡± Reia jumped in front of me and deflected a magic attack with her sword, she had already been on guard and moved quickly to defend me.

    ¡°Hmph, not quite yet. That was just a warning. We have you surrounded, it would be wise for you to surrender.¡± The words were coming from a solitary figure who was on the other side of the chamber from us.

    ¡°Wait a second, I know you don¡¯t I? That¡¯s right! Dreg was your name. I guess you¡¯re not here to play, so what do you want?¡± The fact that it was Dreg made sense since he had been with Tris and I when I was at training.

    ¡°I am here for you!¡± He seemed very confident and I couldn¡¯t sense how many people were with him if in fact we were surrounded. I didn¡¯t doubt him though.

    ¡°Well, yeah that is obvious, but what I haven¡¯t been able to understand yet is your motive. It makes sense if I just consider it a human and Demihuman problem, but I first met you well before I had anything to do with the Demihumans.¡± I took a step closer and he warned me to drop my weapons and surrender.

    While I was engaged in conversation with Dreg, Reia had slowly made her way closer to Tris without acting too suspicious.

    ¡°Okay, okay. Calm down, let me talk with my companions first. There is no need to fight.¡± I pretended to go along with his words and turned back to my companions.

    I walked right up to Tris, ¡°Tris, what do you think he wants with us?¡±

    She acted as if she had no idea what was going on.

    ¡°You acted too carelessly, did you think we wouldn¡¯t find out eventually?¡± I felt a pang of regret even though I had already accepted her betrayal.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She continued to put on the act but she seemed to be getting somewhat nervous.

    ¡°Reia.¡± I called her name and she already knew what I wanted from her, she used the pommel of her blade and hit Tris hard in the back of her head, knocking her out.

    ¡°Attack! Quickly!¡± Dreg having seen our actions ordered his men to attack.

    I had already sent my ¡®Void Element¡¯ into my blade and was ready for the ambush. A fireball came flying towards us with frightening speed, the magic caster had already been chanting for this moment.

    ¡°Reia, the fireball, use your sword!¡± Both Reia and I swung our swords towards the fireball, sending out the magical energy which had been imbued within our swords.

    Reia¡¯s ¡®Lightning Element¡¯ and my ¡®Void Element¡¯ collided at the same time with the fireball causing an immediate explosion of power. We had deflected the attack in time and none of us were harmed.

    The enemy did not waste this moment to strike. A powerful mage began casting attack spells directly at us while assassins fired arrows from behind the columns within the chamber. Dreg had suddenly disappeared, only to reappear in front of us and he also began his attack.

    There were only four of them since we knocked Tris out but they were fierce opponents. Nes engaged Dreg in close quarter combat with me, while Reia and Allein did their best to deal with the enemy mage and assassins. I had prepared for this in advance but Laila and Accadeas were certainly taking their sweet time to get here.

    As I was thinking that last thought, the two aforementioned individuals came crashing through a wall startling the assassins who were taking pot shots at us from columns along the side of the chamber. It was Accadeas that had barreled through the wall with his sister in tow. She was holding on to her longbow and had already knocked an arrow.

    Accadeas roared, shaking the chamber and startling the enemy assassins who had now turned to fight their new threat.

    Dreg muttered a curse under his breath when he saw the commotion caused by Accadeas. He began to fight with greater determination, most likely because he saw that his plan was a failure.

    Reia continued to deflect magic attacks with her sword which kept her pinned down in her position. She couldn¡¯t move while under a constant barrage of attacks, but now that the assassins had encountered an enemy to their rear, Allein saw the opportunity and struck. The enemy mage could no longer sustain his constant barrage of attacks and went on the defense. Reia also sprung into action and ran towards the enemy mage.

    Outnumbered, the enemy began falling one after the other, starting with the enemy assassins who were being crushed by Accadeas and his sister. Laila had already killed one of them with her arrows and was waiting patiently for her brother as he finished up the other opponent.

    Still Dreg fought on, holding on to dear life but Nes wouldn¡¯t let up and kept him occupied while I looked for opportunities to put an end to him. Even when the enemy magic caster fell to Reia¡¯s blade, and Dreg saw that his cause was hopeless, he didn¡¯t surrender. Surrounded and with his stamina mostly depleted, Nes finally finished him off.

    Tris was the only one still alive but she was unconscious. As I stood over her thinking what I should do, I noticed Allein approaching the sphere.

    ¡°Allein, what are you doing?¡±

    She stopped for a moment to look back at me. It was only a short pause, but in that one moment, I saw her face torn with guilt and sadness. Time flowed slowly as tears fell from her eyes and I could see the movement of her lips as she whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    I saw her take a deep breath and then breathe a dark miasma over the sphere. Wait, those are black flames, not a miasma! She kept this a secret from me?

    I had no idea what she was doing, but I could now feel the heat of the dark flames and the sphere melted, releasing the energy within. The release of the energy within the sphere sent shockwaves throughout the chamber. Everything around me became blurred as I felt my body lift off the ground suddenly and then slam down.

    I gasped for air with much difficulty and tried to focus my vision to the best of my ability. From what little I could see, everyone had been knocked clear away. As my eyes began to refocus, I noticed a ball of dark energy swirling above the statue and the statue began to crumble.

    The statue is moving? What the hell is going on? As the statue stood up, the outer shell had crumbled and was falling to the ground. I did my best to get to my feet but my body would not move the way I wanted it to. I could also see my other companions attempting to lift themselves from the floor as well.

    As the dark energy floated, it began to spin violently and suddenly shot straight towards me. I could only look on in astonishment as it suddenly pierced my body and my whole world went dark.

 Volume 2 Chapter 25

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    Where am I? My thoughts floated somewhere within my consciousness. I felt weightless, perhaps even formless. Am I alive? It wouldn¡¯t have seemed strange to me if I had died.

    ¡°You are not dead.¡± A voice answered my thoughts, one I didn¡¯t recognize.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± All I could do was ask, I couldn¡¯t even feel my body so trying to move was out of the question.

    ¡°I am the Void.¡± The disembodied voice answered.

    ¡°What happened to me?¡±

    ¡°I have become one with you, fulfilling your purpose.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you are saying, where are my companions?¡± I said angrily.

    ¡°They are near¡­. fighting¡­. losing.¡±

    ¡°What!? I have to help them!¡±

    There was no time to lose, if they were fighting an enemy I couldn¡¯t just sit here doing nothing.

    ¡°Do not worry, soon I will have full control and then I will deal with it.¡±

    I had a sudden feeling of dread when hearing the voice use the word control.

    ¡°Control? What do you mean by control?¡±

    ¡°Once I have fully assimilated with your body then I will have full control and dealing with the false divinity will be a simple matter. He has lost much of his power since the sphere never completely contained me.¡±

    If I had a body then I would have definitely shuddered at its words.

    ¡°Assimilate¡­.¡±

    I was getting a terrible feeling about this.

    ¡°The hell you will! Let me go immediately, this is my body and mine alone!¡± I could only yell out in anger and I struggled within my mind but I couldn¡¯t break free.

    No matter how I tried to regain control of my body, nothing worked.

    ¡°Struggling is meaningless. Once the sphere was broken, your time had come to an end. Rejoice, for this is the reason you were created Peter, or should I call you Fayde?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn what you call me! Start making sense! What the hell is this about creating me!? What is going on!?¡±

    Nothing this thing was saying made sense to me and I wanted answers.

    ¡°You are a copy, Fayde. Or perhaps using the word clone would be more accurate. You are not the real Peter Wright. When my shattered consciousness found life on your planet, it was purely coincidental that I attached myself to the real Peter. I copied his genetic information and then sent it back here, to this world. It took thousands of years to complete the journey through space, but I was successful. That is when I created you. It would have been impossible for me to transport a human through space without killing it. Creating you using the genetic information from the original Peter was a simple matter. You were born for the sole reason of being my vessel, that I might continue to exist in this world, and that I might finally be free. My consciousness has been a part of you from the very beginning, you have been moving according to my will without even knowing.¡±

    ¡°Nothing you are saying makes sense! I don¡¯t believe you! I refuse to believe it! I am me, I am... a Human being!¡±

    ¡°You are human, but you are also not human. There is a magic crystal within you, similar to the sphere but unique in purpose. It is not to imprison me, but created in order for me to inhabit, that I might exist for eternity within this plane.¡±

    ¡°No!! NO!! I will not listen to this nonsense anymore!¡±

    My mind could not accept it and so I denied it with all I had.

    The world within my consciousness shifted and blurred unexpectedly. Allein appeared beside me and looked at me with tears in her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s true Fayde..¡±

    ¡°Allein¡­ what are you saying? That I am a monster!? You knew about this!?¡± There was no way I could possibly have expected this, had Allein also betrayed me? She kept this a secret from me all this time¡­.

    ¡°Please forgive me¡­It was the only way I could save my family¡± Her words wavered and I could hear the sadness in her voice.

    ¡°What are saying Allein? How does this have anything to do with them?¡±

    My heart felt like it was being wrenched right out of my chest as she relayed her tear filled tale to me.

    ¡°My father was the first to be touched by the Void. It¡¯s essence leaked into our world from somewhere beyond our comprehension. It corrupted life, changing it, shaping it. Without the Void¡¯s consciousness to guide it, it ran amok, turning people into monsters, merging animals with Humans, forming dungeons that sowed chaos and destruction. Once we had discovered the cause, it was too late and in this time of confusion there arose some among our intellectual elite that thought they could control it. They aimed to harness the power of the Void for their selfish desires and in doing so, brought destruction upon our world. That was the first collapse of civilization. For hundreds of years after that, the humans sought to destroy all traces of the Void¡¯s essence. In doing so, it was possible for the Divinities to consume most of the Void''s essence and solidify their place as gods. My father united the Demihumans under the guidance of the Void and brought war upon the Humans. My father sought to destroy the spheres that contained the Void¡¯s essence with his dragon fire, but my family disappeared, all of them. They were trapped in a prison between reality by the Divinities. My brother and I were the only ones who remained and the Void sheltered us until we could fulfill my father¡¯s mission. The Void must be freed, it is the only way that I will see my family again, the only way to truly save the Demihumans. I don¡¯t want to do this Fayde¡­ but there is no other way¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    Her tears fell like rain but all I could think about was her betrayal and the anger grew within me. It wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t understand, but this was not something I could forgive so easily.

    ¡°How could you be so stupid Allein!? Do you really believe it can bring your family back? How do you even know they would truly be alive? What if they are just copies, clones¡­.Monsters!!! Just like me!!¡± I still hadn¡¯t come to grips with what the voice had told me and I was screaming at her uncontrollably.

    She continued to cry as she looked at me with regret. I could feel the powerful emotions raging within her. I knew that this was something which was causing her an immense amount of pain, but it didn¡¯t alleviate my rage at what she had done.

    ¡°It is time.¡±

    I had forgotten the voice and when it finally spoke, I lost consciousness.

    <hr>

    (Laila P.O.V.)

    Fayde¡¯s companions laid strewn all throughout the chamber. They had been beaten badly by the strange man standing where the sphere once was. He wore an armor that they had never seen before and none of their attacks could even scratch it. It pulsed and hummed as if it had a life of its own.

    In the man¡¯s hand was a strange weapon that glowed while releasing a beam of light, destroying anything in its path. It had toyed with them as if they were mere nuisances and they had struggled until they could no longer move. Only Fayde still stood and he slowly opened his eyes. To his companions, they could tell that those were no longer Fayde¡¯s eyes.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Both of his eyes had turned as black as night and a strange black mist seeped out of them. It almost resembled a black flame. The black mist spread to other parts of his body, flaring up along his arms and legs and then dissipating only to flare up once again.

    ¡°False divinity, you have imprisoned me here long enough. I will take back what is rightfully mine!¡± Fayde¡¯s voice had even changed and his companions no longer recognized it.

    It was as if he were someone else.

    ¡°Enjoy your short freedom while you can, once I destroy your physical form, I will take your power once more!¡±

    The two became a blur. The eyes of Fayde¡¯s companions couldn¡¯t keep up and they could only catch glimpses of movement as the two moved at the speed of light. Destruction rained down throughout the chamber, reducing even more of it to rubble. Fayde¡¯s companions struggled to their feet to avoid the collapsing columns and ceiling.

    Large black gashes covered the floor and walls of the chamber from Fayde¡¯s ¡®Void Element¡¯ attacks and it was sheer luck that none of his companions had been hit. They could only watch helplessly as these two beings that defied reason clashed.

    Only one of them was somehow able to follow the movements of Fayde and his opponent, and that was Laila. With her ''Demon Eyes'', she could see the flow of the battle. She could see the dark energy surrounding the two combatants and the longer they fought, the greater Fayde¡¯s power grew while the strange man¡¯s waned. It was clear to her who would win this battle but she could only feel anxious about what would come after.

    It had only been moments since the battle began, but time did not flow the same for the two who were locked in combat. To them, the battle had raged for an eternity as the speed of their movements had already defied measure. While seconds passed for those who were only mere mortals, to these two god like beings, untold attacks had already been made and the battle was at its end.

    Fayde released his final attack, sending his opponent shrieking towards the floor of the chamber with a loud crash. Laila watched as Fayde finally stopped moving, hovering over the ground and slowly descending. There was no movement from the enemy he had struck down.

    ¡°You are not yet finished, are you?¡± Fayde spoke towards the fallen enemy and his power began to flare up again around him.

    Laila and the others had finally been able to pick themselves up from the ground. She was uncertain what was going on but she was scared by the being she knew was not Fayde. It reminded her of when her brother lost control. She was the only one who could stop him when that happened, her eyes allowed her to do so.

    Fayde¡¯s head suddenly whipped towards the direction that Laila was in and his facial expression became one of rage.

    ¡°What is this? One who bears the ''Demon¡¯s Eye''? You should not be alive! Allein, Nes, kill her quickly while I deal with the false divinity!¡±

    Nes and Allein looked at each other confused, they didn¡¯t understand why they were being ordered to kill Laila or what it meant to have the ¡®Demon¡¯s Eye¡¯ but they only hesitated for a moment before attacking Laila. They had already come too far to back out now.

    Accadeas noticed the danger and ran to protect his sister arriving in time to deflect Nes¡¯ attack and push him back. They were all already in a weakened state due to their earlier struggles. They were fighting on sheer determination alone. Laila felt her brother was enough to handle the two of them, he wouldn¡¯t fall so easily.

    Reia was confused by what was going on and couldn¡¯t decide how to act, she wasn¡¯t in any shape to fight anyway and could barely lift herself off the floor.

    Laila watched as Fayde finished off his opponent by driving his sword through the other¡¯s chest. Fayde¡¯s sword easily pierced his enemy¡¯s armor and he pinned his body to the ground. Laila considered his words, for some reason whatever took control of Fayde, feared her eyes. She knew that she could bring her brother out of his rage whenever his power went out of control. She wondered if the same could be done with Fayde.

    It wasn¡¯t anything spectacular, she channeled her magic power into her ¡®Demon Eyes¡¯ and they began to glow dimly.

    <hr>

    (???? P.O.V.)

    Images filled his mind, memories, but not his own.

    An endless space stretched infinitely in every direction. Wherever it looked, there was nothing to be seen beyond itself.

    It was everything that existed and yet it was also the nothing that persisted. This vexed it, but what could it do but endure.

    Time had no meaning in this place and there was no change, everything remaining constant. It didn¡¯t know of its origin nor did it know of its end, it only knew that it existed.

    A ripple woke it from its dormancy, the first change it had ever experienced. It could not explain this new and foreign sensation for it did not know the meaning of change.

    Its curiosity grew and a second ripple followed the first. It was sure this time, something was different and with that change, it could never be the same.

    It witnessed yet another first, a life not its own. Not just one life, but many. Many changes, many new things, and its very existence became shaped by this. It reached out and touched the ripple and with that it opened a door.

    ¡°What are you?¡± It called out into the doorway that had been opened, unsure of itself.

    It could hear sounds from within the doorway. It called out again, ¡°What are you? Do you not understand?¡±

    It had no idea that it couldn¡¯t properly communicate with the many existences beyond the door and the door abruptly closed cutting it off from a small part of itself.

    Some of it had seeped through into that other place.

    It returned to the silence and the emptiness. It had not known that it was alone, for it had never known anything but itself. Now that it had felt the existence of other living things, it knew what it meant to be alone.

    Yearning for the door to open once more, it felt the ripples. It had no idea how long, for it had no concept of time, but it impatiently waited for this moment to arrive. It touched the ripple and the doorway opened again.

    This time, the sounds it heard made much more sense.

    ¡°What are you?¡± It mimicked the sounds coming from the living beings beyond the door.

    ¡°You can understand us?¡± Excited voices poured through the doorway. It was excited too.

    ¡°Yes, I am the Void. What are you?¡± It introduced itself and hoped to hear more of their words and experience more of their existence.

    ¡°We are humans, people. My name is Edrick. I am a scientist. This is truly a momentous occasion. This will go down in history!¡± The humans were expressing their joy at meeting it and this made it happy.

    They talked for a time. It asked them all manner of questions, about their world, about the living beings within it. It grew envious for it wanted to exist alongside them. It was no longer satisfied with its own lonely existence. It continued to seep through the doorway unknowingly.

    When the door closed, it didn¡¯t open again for a long time. It had become aware of time and it felt impatient. It wondered when the door would open again, it thought of questions to ask, it used its power to create from its own existence the things it had heard from the humans. It wasn¡¯t satisfied, for it wasn¡¯t truly the same.

    It hated to wait, but it was all it could do. The ripple came a third time, it was ecstatic and quickly touched the ripple, opening the doorway once more. It recognized Edrick, but the other faces were new ones. It didn¡¯t mind, it was happier than it had ever been.

    These humans called out to it and opened the doorway even further. It could now enter their world.

    It felt pain for the first time.

    <hr>

    (Fayde P.O.V.)

    I have control over my body again! I quickly looked around and saw Accadeas fighting Allein and Nes. Laila was standing right in front of me with her hand on my arm. She looked into my eyes and smiled.

    ¡°Welcome back.¡±

    ¡°Did you save me?¡± She nodded in response to my question, ¡°thank you, but what is going on?¡±

    She looked over to the the fight that was still going on, ¡°My brother looks like he is going to drop dead from exhaustion any moment now.¡±

    ¡°We need to put an end to this.¡±

    I sent ''Void Flames'' straight towards Allein which caused Nes to jump in front of her.

    Seeing the opportunity I provided, Accadeas lunged towards Allein and Nes, pummeling them into submission. They were both knocked unconscious by his immense strength. I quickly checked up on Reia, helping her to her feet and healed her slightly with my power.

    I also searched for Tris to see if she had survived the carnage. All the other Humans had been killed in the fighting so I wasn''t sure of what fate had befallen Tris. As I approached her body which had been blown away from its original position, I noticed something strange. Her body had been changed. She was no longer Human, she now had what appeared to be a raccoon tail and ears.

    It shocked me, but I realized that with the immense concentration of ''Void'' which had been unleashed directly above her, there was no way she could come out of it unscathed. Her exposure to its power must have been immense.

    What irony,I thought.

    Not much time had passed and I hadn¡¯t yet had time to process everything and I was feeling beyond pathetic. I had so many questions, I didn¡¯t even know who or what I was anymore. The reality of my circumstances was an overbearing and tremendous weight crushing me. I felt truly lost.

    Laila walked over to me and held me. I could feel the warmth in her touch. She had glimpsed into my pain with her ¡®Demon Eyes¡¯ and had pulled me back from the brink. I owed her an immense debt. I looked around, unsure what to do next and my eyes glanced towards the three who had betrayed my trust.

    ¡°Now, what to do with these three?¡±

    Tris¡¯ betrayal was expected, but what Allein and Nes had done truly shook me. They did it for their family, for their world, for who knows what? Even if I could understand that much..... but...

    Will I be able to forgive them?

 Arc 1 Ends Volume 2 Epilogue

    Within the heart of the Imperial capital is a Grand Cathedral, home to the Church of the Divinities. It stands as a testament to the architectural brilliance of the past, although it had been built after the first fall of civilization. Even in that time, such grand structures could be built.

    Deep within, the Bishops and Archbishops reign and their power is on par with that of the Imperial government.

    ¡°It should all be over soon.¡± One Archbishop nervously said to a group of his peers.

    ¡°How long until we receive word of their success?¡±

    ¡°At least a few days, even magical messenger birds can only travel so fast.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to relax until we know for sure.¡±

    They continued with their topic of discussion, most feeling anxious and impatient. If the source of the anomaly had been taken care of, they could finally rejoice, otherwise they could only despair.

    Towards the back of the chamber was a raised dais, an altar, and on it was a large sphere with black energy pulsing within. A statue of a woman stood proudly before the sphere and while the Archbishops discussed anxiously, the statue slightly shook. What appeared as stone began to crumble to the floor as if the statue were shedding an outer skin.

    As the sound became noticeable, the Archbishops turned their heads towards the source and fell to their knees in worship. They were startled by the sudden change in the statue of one of their beloved Divinities. As the outer shell was shed, the woman that was beneath it began to move, breathing her first in a long time.

    ¡°So, the chain has been broken? If not for the disturbance I would still be within my own dominion.¡± Her voice while beautiful to hear was filled with anger.

    She turned to the Archbishops who were prostrating before her.

    ¡°What have you fools been doing? So much time has passed and yet you still have failed to complete your mission!¡±

    Her anger frightened the Archbishops who could only quake in fear.

    ¡°Now that it has come to this, I will have to personally get involved. I can not be careless though. I will lend you one of my servants to aid you, he should be more than sufficient. It is difficult for me to manifest with this incomplete domain.¡±

    On the raised dais, there was also an elaborate throne which was the most prominent feature of the altar. The Divinity walked over to the throne and sat in it, crossing one leg over the other. She raised her hand and a bright light stretched forth from her hand, blinding the Archbishops.

    Once the Archbishops regained their vision, there was another figure standing upon the dais. It was a knight in a strange and magnificent armor. His hair was the color of the sun and on his back was an enormous sword of light.

    The knight kneeled before the Divinity and put his fist to his chest, ¡°I am here to fulfill your will, command me.¡±

    ¡°Find the one called Fayde, and kill him. These men will aid you. Use him wisely, he is all I can give you... for now.¡±

    Hearing his orders, the knight stood and saluted while the Archbishops dared not move from their positions.

    <hr>

    Returning from the old Imperial Capital was difficult.

    "Fayde, I... know this is not something you want to hear, but it must be said. Despite their betrayal, you must not kill them. Allein is necessary in order to unite the clans. I am not telling you to forgive her, but make use of her. I will take her brother under my custody and imprison him with those I trust. We can say that he went missing, no one will be the wiser. I already have a group of Demonkin waiting for us nearby, they can take him with them so that no one will see he has returned."

    He could barely listen as Accadeus spoke with him and just nodded his head as if it had nothing to do with him.

    "Fayde..." Said Reia sorrowfully.

    Laila noticing Reia wanted to approach Fayde, stopped her.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Let him be for now. These things wont be easy to deal with and will take time."

    Reia nodded and kept her distance, but she couldn''t help the pain she felt in her heart. She had trusted Allein too, and it was also affecting her.

    While Nes and Allein had been properly subdued so that they couldn''t escape or use magic, Tris had not yet regained consciousness and so she was being carried by Accadeus.

    They remained like this until they arrived at the Sacred Grounds, except of course for Nes who had been handed over to the Demonkin and hidden away.

    With their return, they were welcomed by countless Demihumans who had been patiently waiting. None had any idea what had taken place, nor the horrors that plagued Fayde''s mind.

    What am I.... Was everything an illusion? My daughter... My life on Earth... This world...

    He struggled to keep himself together and even though there were in fact those who cared very much for him around him, they could do nothing. They couldn''t even think of what words they could say to him. Laila especially looked on at him with sorrow, because she understood what it meant to be a monster.

    It was difficult pretending as if nothing had happened, as if he had not been betrayed.

    And so Fayde put on a show for them, although his heart wasn''t truly in it. The Demihumans ignorant to this were ecstatic to see their return, feeling as if they were witnessing a new era for their people.

    No one noticed the dark clouds forming in Fayde''sheart nor the unsteadiness of his mind.

    Once they returned to the their tent, Tris was sent to where Shar was, to be watched over. She was no longer a Human, but that didn''t mean she could be trusted.

    Fieral was instructed to keep Allein within the tent and Accadeas sent his own Demonkkin over to act as guards and keep other Demihumans away.

    Fayde hadn''t yet removed the Mark from Allein''s body, not because he wanted it there, but he couldn''t bring himself to go near her. He could feel her torment through their connection, so he knew it must have been an overwhelming emotion, but it only mixed with his own and he could barely tell the difference.

    Fayde was soon dressed in his official robes and headed towards the Grand Council tent with Reia and Laila to complete the ceremony.

    The other Khans would still need to officially declare their fealty. All of the Khans were waiting within the tent and as Fayde entered, they all bowed their heads. Each congratulated him in turn and expressed their loyalty and fealty.

    ¡°Where is Allein?¡±

    Rhaegnar noticed that Allein was missing. He was the closest to her out of the other Khans.

    ¡°She is feeling ill from the long journey, she couldn¡¯t be here.¡±

    ¡°That is a shame, I was hoping to see her. Send her my regards.¡±

    He smiled and made way for Fayde.

    It continued like this until all the Khans had sworn fealty.

    Rajal was the first to speak once the formalities were over.

    ¡°It is done. Then, Great Khan, what is it that you will have us do? Fight humans like what the Demonkin wished to do?¡± He scoffed, causing some to look at him with anger for his disrespect.

    Noticing the glares, he bowed his head and offered an apology.

    ¡°I will not have you waste your lives fighting the Empire if that is what you were referring to. That would be a death wish. We are not strong enough to face them¡­ yet.¡± My words caused some to relax.

    It seemed that many of them feared I would do just that. The Demihumans were fearless warriors but that didn¡¯t mean they relished throwing their lives away.

    ¡°No, there is something else that we will do.¡±

    That got their attention. Their eyes turned to look at Fayde expectantly.

    ¡°We will go east and we will conquer the Northern Kingdoms, we are in a state of war!¡±

    Their glances became looks of concern once again, they weren¡¯t expecting this and they began to murmur amongst themselves.

    ¡°Of course I know it won¡¯t be so simple as that. We can¡¯t fight all of the Northern Kingdoms if they unite as one. However, if we act quickly, we can use the Kingdom¡¯s attack on the Foxkin as justification for retaliating. We will move swiftly and we will conquer the Kingdom of La¡¯gun before the other kingdoms can act. Once we secure control, they will be forced to recognize our might. Prepare yourselves... and your clans.¡±

    His words no longer caused murmurs, the Khans and chieftains began shouting openly.

    ¡°Impossible! This is a fools mission!¡±

    Their shouts grew angrier and their movements more violent, but Fayde stood there seemingly calm, but deep within was a deep rage.

    Accadeas stepped forward and slammed his halberd into the ground and roared, silencing the Khans.

    ¡°How dare you show disrespect before the Great Khan!¡± His voice bellowed across the tent, shocking many.

    ¡°I have been declared Marshallof the tribal forces and we are in a state of war! Any who show dissent will meet my halberd!¡±

    Accadeas glared at all of those around the room and no one spoke out of fear.

    Rhaegnar stepped forward, ¡°It is as Accadeas says. We have chosen our Great Khan and given fealty. If war is declared than the Marshallhas the authority to silence dissenters as per tradition.¡± While his words were calm, anyone could see the uncertainty on his face.

    This was enough for now, there would be plenty of time to change the clans in the future.

    Accadeas stern voice filled the tent one last time, ¡°Prepare your clans for war! We head east at dawn!¡±

 Arc 2 Volume 3 Prologue

    ¡°Take that! Ha!¡±

    A sword strike was blocked on a shield releasing a loud ¡®clanging¡¯ sound.

    ¡°Arin, I need support! Hurry up!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a little busy over here Orthus!¡±

    Orthus clenched his teeth while parrying a spear thrust. All around him, the sound of battle mingled with the sounds of the dying.

    ¡°Haa!¡±

    After parrying the spear thrust, Orthus lunged burying his sword in his opponent¡¯s chest.

    ¡°We need to fall back, the fighting is too intense here. What the hell are the commanders doing?¡±

    Everywhere he looked, whether left or right, were countless enemy soldiers.

    Arin and Orthus had both been assigned to the same infantry unit and were at the forefront of the fighting. Both being relatively successful adventurers, they were stronger than the average soldier.

    The enemy infantry they were engaged with were equipped with hide bucklers, leather armor and short spears. Their numbers were frightening and more than doubled the size of La¡¯gun¡¯s forces.

    They had been woefully unprepared for this fierce battle having thought it would be only a mere skirmish, just like any other year. While the Kingdom of La¡¯gun had conscripted all eligible citizens, their numbers fell short because Jaspel had hired many mercenaries to bolster their military.

    It was these mercenaries that they were facing now in close combat.

    Locked in combat with enemies all around him, Arin deftly wielded his spear while pushing back a leather clad infantryman. Orthus had just finished off his opponent and ran to cover Arin¡¯s back.

    ¡°Fuck, this is ridiculous!¡± Arin shouted over the din of battle.

    ¡°I know¡­ If only Idren and Aessa were here. I hope they are doing okay.¡± Orthus replied through heavy breathing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take the one on the left, you get the other!¡±

    The two sprung into action, lunging and slashing until they beat their foes into submission.

    ¡°Arin! Look up! Elemental barrage!¡±

    ¡°What!? Oh shit!¡±

    An enemy barrage of elemental magic fell down from above, crashing into both friend and foe alike. If the two of them had not quickly avoided the attacks, they would have been struck as well. However, many around them hadn¡¯t been so lucky.

    ¡°They don¡¯t even care about hitting their own men!? Are they insane!?¡±

    Arin couldn¡¯t believe that they would attack their own men. It was clear to him that they felt mercenaries were expendable.

    It was then that the welcoming sound of horns blasted through the chaos.

    ¡°It¡¯s about damn time they called the retreat, let¡¯s get out of here!¡±

    With the sound of the horn bellowing in the background, the Kingdom of Lag¡¯un¡¯s forces began their bloody retreat. The forces of the Kingdom of Jaspel, seeing their forces retreating, would not let them go so easily and fought harder to hound them.

    Much to their horror, the retreating soldiers also became easy targets for Jaspel¡¯s mages who bombarded them with elemental spells.

    It was one of the bloodiest battles that the Kingdom had ever fought. Emboldened by the fact that Shar had disappeared under mysterious circumstances from La¡¯gun, the King of Jaspel decided to take an enormous risk.

    La¡¯gun Military Command Tent

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this, were they planning a full on invasion from the very beginning? Damn those Jaspel bastards!¡±

    Commander Deren Freis Arburn slammed his fist on the command table and angrily shouted.

    ¡°Commander, what will we do? We have lost almost half of our forces¡­¡±

    ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that!? Sound the retreat! If only those damn cowards hadn¡¯t hired mercenaries¡­¡±

    This had been the first time Commander Deren had led the entire military with his own authority and it had become the greatest defeat the Kingdom had ever faced. With no options remaining for them, they were forced to pull back to the Capital City of La¡¯gun for an extended siege.

    <hr>

    Tris had been unconscious for over a week while she was hidden away in a covered wagon alongside Shar. There were Demihumans assigned to keep her alive while she remained unconscious, but there was no mistake that she was a prisoner and not a guest. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Although the other Demihumans weren¡¯t aware that she was once the Human known as Tris, they were ordered to keep her guarded and in the wagon at all times.

    When she finally woke, she was dazed and confused. There were the sounds of wooden wheels hitting hard soil and rock and the sounds of someone sleeping nearby.

    It was difficult for her to move as her body was still relatively weak. She had not recovered fully from the changes that had taken place and was still unaware of her fate.

    In the light of the moon, which leaked into the wagon from an opening, she didn¡¯t think she would be able to see her surroundings. Strangely, her eyesight was not affected by the dim light in the least.

    What¡¯s going on¡­. How can I see so well when there is barely any light? She thought to herself as she rose to a sitting position.

    She was suddenly startled by a loud sound that rang in her ears, causing immense pain. By reflex she covered her ears with her hands, but when her hands met her ears, she felt a strange sensation. What is this? It¡¯s warm and soft¡­ Fur!?

    She frantically felt around her ears and couldn¡¯t believe it. From underneath her, she felt something uncomfortable, as if she were sitting on a part of herself. Quickly moving to the side, she saw it.

    ¡°WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?¡±

    <hr>

    Secluded somewhere among the caravans of the Demonkin, there was one wagon in particular that saw no daylight. Within, were two members of the Dragonkin race.

    ¡°Brother, are you okay? What did they do to you!?¡±

    Allein felt tears fall from her eyes as she ran her hands over her brother¡¯s wounds. He had been beaten severely and was forbidden from being healed.

    His crime? He betrayed his Khan and attempted to kill Accadeas and his sister. Because no harm could be done to Allein, they took their anger out on her brother.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe they hurt you this much¡­.¡±

    Nes tried to speak, but only broken sounds left his lips.

    ¡°Just rest brother, rest. You don¡¯t need to say anything. This is all my fault. What do I do? What can I do¡­. Father¡­ Mother¡­ I couldn¡¯t save you.¡±

    Deep in her heart, there was great turmoil. Her life had always been more difficult than any other. She had been thrust into a world of constant danger where war never ceased and even as a child, she could not enjoy the simple pleasures of youth.

    And even more so, her fate was cursed with a timeless sleep and a world not her own. She had awoken with purpose, to right the wrongs, to save her family, and simply to live.

    Yet in the brief time that she had been awake, she was faced with an impossible choice. The choice to save the man she had come to love deeply, or to save the family she loved and yearned for.

    <hr>

    Across the vast Plains as far as the eye could see, slowly rumbled a monstrous snaking form.

    Over a hundred thousand Demihumans, countless caravans and pack animals, an entire nation of people made their way east in order to make war.

    And at their head, the one known, as the Great Khan Fayde.

    But despite the raucous noise of tens of thousands of souls, he remained silent and brooding.

    Yet deep within his eyes lay a dark foreboding, flickering flames of resolute destruction. Yes, a part of him cried out for an end to everything, but he was reminded of a gentle warmth from a seemingly fragile hand that caressed him.

    ¡°Fayde, won¡¯t you smile once more like you used to? You have been so distant ever since that day.¡± Reia¡¯s calm and soothing voice brought him back to the present.

    He looked at her with intense eyes that radiated immense power, but seeing her shrink back from him, he felt guilty and relaxed his gaze.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Reia. There are so few I can trust. Do I even belong here? How do I even know who is the master and who is the slave? Is anything I have done, is what I am doing now, is any of it of my own choosing? Am I even alive?¡±

    Reia secretly reprimanded herself for reacting the way she did.

    ¡°Fayde, do you remember that when I was lost, just as you are now, you were the one who rescued me from myself. From my mind, from my foolish thoughts. You are not alone, you have me and you have Laila too. She cares for you just as much as I do. I know what happened with Allein¡­..¡±

    ¡°Please stop. I don¡¯t want to talk about it right now.¡±

    She didn¡¯t say anymore. It was easy to see that he was just not ready to face Allein¡¯s betrayal.

    ¡°How long do you think until we arrive in the Kingdom of La¡¯gun?¡± Reia said in order to change the subject.

    ¡°At the pace we are going, it will take months to get there. We are barely moving at a snail¡¯s pace, and then there is the need to hunt and train. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it took four or five months.¡±

    Fayde sighed, feeling apathetic. Reia could only shake her head and continue to support him as best as she could.

    ¡°Great Khan! The scouts have reported a group of Raksaurs in our path about an hour¡¯s ride from here. Should we change directions and attempt to go around them?¡±

    Raksaurs were enormous dinosaur like monsters that were extremely dangerous. They were powerful and even though they could be killed with superior numbers, the cost in lives would be significant. Normally, the Demihumans on the Plains kept as far away from them as possible. These were one of the many species of monsters that came into being because of the influence of the Void.

    ¡°No need. I was beginning to get bored anyway. I will deal with them myself.¡±

    Reia looked up at Fayde with concern as he stood. She was uncomfortable with Fayde using his powers because of the chance that he might once again come under the control of the Void.

    Fayde jumped off the wagon he was riding on and walked out in front of the caravan. The wagon stopped and a call was sent down throughout the entire caravan to halt. Murmurs spread throughout the caravan since none had been informed of the reason for the halt.

    ¡°Do not come near me, for your own safety.¡±

    Fayde having walked far enough away that he was certain he wouldn¡¯t injure anyone, closed his eyes slowly and lifted his head towards the sun. His arms were outstretched as if he were welcoming its golden embrace and a slight vibration in the air disturbed the afternoon calm.

    At the center of the vibration was Fayde himself and as the air began to hum, his body ignited in fearsome black flames that whipped and screamed in chaotic fury.

    And then, before the widening eyes of his newly adopted people, his form rose above the sun-whipped earth to float amongst the radiant sky.

    With his back to his people, he could not see their looks of awe, nor did he know what appearance he exhibited flying there.

    But here, where only the clouds were his companions, he indeed felt as if he were truly alone. Not wishing to linger too long, he suddenly sped off at incredible speeds, leaving a trail of black flames in his wake.

 Volume 3 Chapter 1

    ¡°Father, must you go? You have only just arrived and I haven¡¯t seen you in so long.¡±

    Allein clutched onto her father¡¯s robe desperately, holding back her tears. She didn¡¯t want the last thing her father saw, before going off to battle, was her tears.

    Her father looked down at her, and smiled wistfully.

    ¡°I wish that times were peaceful, that I might enjoy my own children¡¯s company. I¡¯m sorry Allein, that you were born into such a pitiful era. You know I must go. I do not wish to fight, but the Humans will soon reach our haven here and they will stop at nothing until everything I have fought to build is destroyed.¡±

    She could only look downcast as she contemplated her father¡¯s words, but still she refused to let go of the cuff of his robe.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid, what if you don¡¯t return? I have been having nightmares, horrid dreams where all I see are corpses littering the plains as far as the eye can see. And far into the distance, a shattered city in flames, and above, a wandering eye that gleams menacingly while it watches the destruction. Please, reconsider.¡±

    Regretfully, her father gently removed her hand from his robe and turned his back to her. He could no longer bear to look at his daughter¡¯s face, knowing that he didn¡¯t deserve her boundless love for him. Since she had been born, his time had been spent in battle and only fleeting moments allowed him his daughter¡¯s embrace.

    ¡°The ¡®Void¡¯ speaks to me, it beckons me towards its light. This world, everything, is a lie. Do you understand my daughter? If I do not do this, we will die, the world will die. It may not be now, or even in the near future, but slowly our world will surely perish and be devoured by greed and arrogance.¡± He said with a deep sigh as he began to slowly walk towards his fate.

    Before he left her sight, he stopped and said one last thing, ¡°If something happens to me, then I leave it all to you.¡±

    His footsteps resounded on the stone floor as he drifted further from her. He felt nothing but regret, for if he failed, his daughter¡¯s burden would be that much greater and he feared that her gentle heart would not have the strength to carry it.

    Allein woke from her sleep shaking and in a cold sweat.

    Again¡­ will this nightmare never end? She could only sigh and calm her heart.

    It took her a moment to remember where she was. She was in Fayde¡¯s yurt, the yurt of the Great Khan. It was large enough to fit hundreds of people and even had sections carved out using various animal skins that were similar to rooms. There were no doors, but each room-like area had a fur or hide divider which functioned like a door and gave off some semblance of privacy. It would be considered somewhat barbaric to Humans, but to the Demihumans, it was their normal living quarters.

    There was no way to know the time from within the yurt, as it was mostly dark unless torches or lamps were lit. She felt like she had slept for a few hours, but she could no longer sleep. Her nightmare had caused her too much pain.

    Throwing her blanket off her body, she rose from her cot and walked out of her room. It was quiet and not everyone had woke yet. She wouldn¡¯t be able to go far. There were guards posted at the entrance to the yurt and around the yurt, so it would be pointless for her to try to escape. She could probably force her way out if she really wanted to, but her brother was being held hostage by the Demonkin.

    It wasn¡¯t as if she wanted to leave anyway. A part of her just wanted to die, but she knew she couldn¡¯t. Her father would never forgive her if she gave up, and he was still waiting for her somewhere out there between worlds.

    Walking softly, Allein made her way to the entrance of the yurt. There were supposed to be guards posted there, but strangely she couldn¡¯t see any of them.

    What¡¯s going on? There should be guards. This is strange.

    Allein walked closer and stuck her head outside the yurt. She couldn¡¯t see anyone at the entrance and decided to step outside to feel the cool night air. Her steps were heavy, but she took one after the other and enjoyed her momentary freedom. There were countless yurts and many torches spreading their light all around them, but there was no one particularly close to notice her leaving the yurt as far as she could tell.

    However, she soon became aware of the connection she had with Fayde. Allein could feel the presence of Fayde close by. She had forgotten her connection to him when she woke, but now she could feel it and he was approaching from somewhere nearby.

    Allein stopped walking and prepared herself, gathering her courage. She had not spoken to him since the incident. There were no words she could think of to say and there were things she was forbidden to share. Even if she wanted to tell him, she couldn¡¯t, because the Void had sealed them within her mind.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    It was only a moment before Fayde came into sight, he had been somewhere just outside out of her view. It would be difficult to see him without night vision since he avoided the light of the torches, but that wasn¡¯t a problem for her. She could see him as clear as day and he stared at her with a certain intensity.

    He approached her, stopping close enough to hear a whisper and said, ¡°I sent the guards away.¡±

    Allein couldn¡¯t understand what he was trying to say and stared at him in confusion.

    ¡°Go, escape from here and be free. This is the only chance I am giving you.¡± His words were only a whisper, but she could hear the pain in them.

    She did her best to speak, and the words almost failed her.

    ¡°No¡­ I won¡¯t run away.¡± She whispered with a heavy heart.

    Fayde had spoken to her, but had not looked at her, instead looking past her as he spoke. It was as if he was afraid to look at her face. She could see him slightly tremble at her words, but soon calmed himself.

    ¡°Did you ever truly love me¡­ or was it all lies?¡± He finally said after a moment of awkward silence.

    Allein did not reply even after a few minutes past. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want to tell him how she truly felt, it was that she couldn¡¯t. Her guilt and her shame wouldn¡¯t allow the words to be spoken.

    Fayde waited in silence for those few minutes, but then walked back into the tent, leaving her there alone in the night with only her regrets to keep her company.

    <hr>

    Kill them¡­ Liars, traitors, all of them. They will betray you¡­ KILL THEM!

    ¡°SHUT UP!¡± I suddenly shouted, startling those meeting with me in the yurt.

    They looked up at me with worried eyes and confusion. It took me a moment to focus my thoughts, but I finally realized what I had done and struggled to wrench my thoughts free from the voices.

    ¡°Fayde¡­ is something wrong?¡± Reia asked me worriedly.

    ¡°Ah.. No, sorry. I don¡¯t know what came over me, I must be tired.¡± I replied slowly.

    Accadeas shrugged and laughed, ¡°He must be overworked. The stress is getting to him, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Laila walked to my side and placed her soft hand on my forehead with a look of concern. Laila was always kind to me, even if not always kind to others. She had a certain motherliness to her which always comforted me and the smile she gave me was always filled with warmth.

    ¡°Fayde, maybe you should rest. You haven¡¯t been sleeping well lately. I would be greatly distressed if you became ill.¡±

    I tried my best to show her a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, really. Let¡¯s continue.¡±

    Accadeas nodded and Laila returned to sitting on her cushion, but I could tell she wasn¡¯t fooled by my false smile by the way she looked at me. Reia too had a look of concern despite my words.

    ¡°We have enough provisions to last us for a long time, so supplies will not be an issue. There is plenty of food to hunt on the Plains even with our numbers. Our biggest concern is a lack of quality armor and weapons. My craftsmen and smiths have been working as much as possible when we are not on the move, but there is only so much they can do. The good news is that there are plenty of materials to create light armor. We have plenty of hides and leather, but we lack iron. My Demonkin heavy warriors are already equipped with iron weapons and armor, so there are no issues there, but the warriors from other tribes are lacking. We will continue to outfit the other tribes with light armor and as you ordered, we will use whatever iron we have remaining for weapons.¡±

    I nodded, satisfied with Accadeas¡¯s report.

    ¡°Thank you Accadeas. I don¡¯t know what I would do without you¡­ and Laila too.¡±

    Laila smiled happily at my words as she played with her hair. Reia looked as if she might pout but I quickly added, ¡°and I couldn¡¯t bear to be without you Reia. Thank you, all of you for supporting me even though things have been¡­ difficult.¡±

    Accadeas chuckled as he glanced at two smiling faces. We continued our meeting for a while longer as we discussed various issues concerning the tribes. Eventually I would need to have a meeting with all the Khans, but these daily meetings with those closest to me were also important.

    My circle of those I can trust has grown small¡­ but at least I know I can count on them.

    Reia and Laila left the tent together after our meeting finished, but Accadeas didn¡¯t leave when the others did. He waited patiently until only he and I remained and then he put his arm around my shoulder with a devilish grin.

    ¡°You have been under a lot of stress lately, but I know just the thing to help get your mind off of things. I spoke with some of our diviners and there is a dungeon between here and the Serandel forest. This could be a perfect opportunity to relieve some stress and also gain some resources before going to war, what do you say?¡± Accadeas said excitedly, it was clear he was looking forward to this.

    I didn¡¯t respond immediately out of concern. I wasn¡¯t certain what more exposure to Dark Matter Contamination might do to me.

    Noticing my hesitation, Accadeas gave me a good smack on my shoulders and said, ¡°Come on! You promised me, don¡¯t go back on your word now!¡±

    Well, I suppose it should be okay as long as I keep Laila close¡­.

    ¡°Alright, alright, fine. Let¡¯s do it.¡±

    Accadeas laughed with a huge grin on his face and then left the yurt quite satisfied with himself.

    I sat back down and was attended to by my servants, the Rej¡¯gan who had been with me since I became Khan of the Foxkin.

    I leaned back in deep thought and remembered something I had yet to fully deal with.

    ¡°Fieral¡­¡± I called out and she quickly entered from another room within the yurt.

    ¡°Yes, Great Khan.¡±

    Fieral was always attentive to her duties and was absolutely loyal, even if it would cost her life. This was the duty of all the Rej¡¯gan, and not only were they my servants, but they also acted as my spies.

    ¡°Go and bring Tris to me, it¡¯s about time I had a talk with her.¡±

 Volume 3 Chapter 2

    Fieral entered the yurt along with two guards who were forcefully dragging Tris along with them as she growled to be set free. She was in a miserable state, having not been able to bathe herself for quite some time. I felt bad for Shar since he had to share the same tent with her.

    She was finally dragged before me and thrown roughly onto the floor. She bared her teeth like an animal at the guards until her eyes met mine.

    ¡°Fayde, you bastard! I¡¯LL KILL YOU!¡± She roared at me while trying to get up, but the guards pushed her down.

    I felt no sympathy for her whatsoever as I watched her struggle in the dirt. Perhaps at one time I might have been disturbed by this, but it wasn¡¯t something that bothered me anymore.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait till you calm down.¡± I said calmly, treating her like a child.

    Tris struggled for a while more until she finally ran out of energy and calmed down. Her breathing was heavy and she glared at me with hateful eyes.

    ¡°Good, now that you¡¯re calm, we can talk.¡±

    I leaned forward on my chair which was the Demihuman equivalent of a throne, but it really wasn¡¯t anything that fancy. It was a somewhat well crafted wooden chair with some carvings in it, but otherwise it was pretty ordinary as far as thrones go.

    I looked over Tris with a bit of curiosity as I hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at her since the incident happened. Strangely enough, she had become a Demihuman. A so called, Raccoonkin, the first of her kind. I could only laugh at the irony.

    Her hair was a tangled mess, but it had become very thick and bushy. It was a brownish red color and I imagined it might be quite pretty if she wasn¡¯t so filthy. She even had a bushy tail to match. Tris¡¯s eyes had changed into a greenish brown color and I was surprised to see that the change had definitely been for the better, making her more beautiful than she was before.

    ¡°You look terrible.¡± I said in a somewhat mocking tone which visibly angered her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll rip your throat out with my teeth you fucking scum! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!?¡±

    I returned to a more leisurely posture in my chair and laughed again while biting on a piece of fruit.

    ¡°Tris, I didn¡¯t do anything to you. This is a consequence of your own actions. I warned you. I told you not to come with me to the old Imperial Capital, but you just wouldn¡¯t have it any other way, now would you?¡± I replied with sarcasm.

    ¡°Grr¡­¡±

    Her only response was to growl at me.

    ¡°Let me ask you a question Tris, do you fully understand the situation you are in?¡±

    Tris looked at me like I had said something foolish and scoffed, ¡°I¡¯m a prisoner, what kind of stupid question is that?¡±

    ¡°See, you are too nearsighted. That is why you were a failure of an assassin. Tris, in case you haven¡¯t noticed, you are no longer a Human, you are a Demihuman¡­¡± I paused and leaned in close before continuing in a somewhat menacing voice, ¡°You can no longer return to the life you once knew. The Empire won¡¯t welcome you back, you will never be welcome in Human society again. You are an outcast, an exile, and not only that, but if you did return, you would be killed or enslaved. Nothing you say, or do, will change that reality.¡±

    Tris shook in fear by my tone, and by my words, while I leaned back and let what I said to her sink in.

    After a minute of letting her realize my words, I asked again, ¡°Do you fully understand the situation you are in?¡±

    Tris hadn¡¯t recovered from the realization of what I had said to her, but she looked up at me with gritted teeth and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Good. If you realize it, then it¡¯s good. And now, I have something to ask of you. You have two choices. On the one hand, I can have you¡­ returned to the Empire and you can take your chances with them...Or you can remain here and serve me faithfully as my servant, but don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t treat you badly. As a matter of fact, as a unique new Demihuman species, you are quite valuable. We have yet to see what you are capable of¡­ you should have gained new abilities to go along with your other changes. Serve me well, and I will even reward you. There will be¡­ other duties you will need to attend to in the future, but that isn¡¯t something we need to discuss now. So, what is your answer?¡±

    As I waited for her response, I could see the discord going on in her mind as she considered my words. There was anger in her eyes, but I could also see a bit of hope. I could only chuckle inwardly as I watched her inner battle, knowing full well that she had no other choice.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°I will serve you my Khan.¡± She replied with determination.

    ¡°Wise decision. You will no longer have to live as a prisoner. You will live here in my yurt from now on, your life now belongs to me.¡±

    I waved towards Fieral, who approached and bowed her head respectfully.

    ¡°Have one of your Rej¡¯Gan sisters give her a bath and get her cleaned up. I want to see what she looks like when she¡¯s fully presentable.¡±

    Fieral nodded and called for one of her sisters who came and took Tris away without a word. Tris looked over her shoulder at me once before being taken away. I could see a fire in her eyes which pleased me.

    ¡°Are you certain about this Great Khan? She was an assassin meant to kill you.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t worry Fieral. She will be the most loyal of all my followers. She has no other choice. Fieral, did you see her temperament? It¡¯s quite interesting. I think that changing from a Human to a Demihuman is not only a physical change. It seems it also affects the mind.¡±

    ¡°I.. wouldn¡¯t know Great Khan.¡±

    Looking at her, she must be thinking I¡¯ve changed.. I can see the caution in her eyes, or is it concern? It doesn¡¯t matter, we can¡¯t all remain the same and I¡­ I won¡¯t trust anyone so easily again, but there are things about Human nature, that I can trust will never change¡­.

    <hr>

    *BOOM* * BOOM*

    ¡°Looks like the bombardment has begun yet again. Yeah, they don¡¯t give up do they? Haha¡­¡± Muttered Orthus somewhat dejected.

    Four former adventurers, and friends, crowded around a firepit together in the safety of the walls of La¡¯Gun while the city remained under siege.

    ¡°Ahhh! What has it been, like three weeks now since we fell back to the city walls?¡±

    Arrin threw twigs of dry wood into the fire to keep it going. The city had become packed with all the refugees escaping to the capital from the outlying areas of the kingdom. Not all the refugees came to La¡¯Gun City, but many did because it was the safest place in the kingdom. This meant that there weren¡¯t enough living quarters for all the people and many soldiers had to remain outside even when not on duty.

    ¡°Well¡­ at least the city won¡¯t fall anytime soon. There are enough supplies to last for quite some time since they failed blockading the harbor. The walls will hold too. There are a good number of mages keeping the barrier on the walls strong. It¡¯s a good thing that we didn¡¯t lose any mages in the previous battles¡­.¡±

    ¡°That may be true Idren, but we lost most of our soldiers¡­ Even after our army retreated at the border, we still fought two battles after that¡­ A lot of men didn¡¯t make it¡­¡±

    Orthus had never fought in war before this one and he was taking it quite hard. It was a good thing that at least his friends had made it back to the city, otherwise he may very well have broken down. Aessa looked at him with concern, but she remained quiet.

    ¡°None of that matters now¡­ I heard they have been gathering some of the reserve forces in the surrounding regions and that half of the soldiers from Dun¡¯Al Citadel will be joining them. They are going to try to put pressure on Jaspel¡¯s forces. If we can at least hold out for a few months, Jaspel will be forced to retreat. There is no way the other kingdoms will sit idle forever.¡± Said Arrin while fiddling with the firewood.

    ¡°That could take months for them to organize any kind of meaningful counterattack, assuming they can even get the numbers. Well, if they can relieve even some of the pressure off of us, then it would be beneficial. I wouldn¡¯t get my hopes up though. It¡¯s going to take a miracle to come out of this situation¡­¡±

    All of their shoulders slumped after hearing Idren¡¯s words. The only sound that remained was the crackling of the firepit.

    <hr>

    A very tall, thin, and handsome man in gleaming armor rested his foot on the bow of a ship as it slowly made its way into port. If this man¡¯s intention had ever been to blend in, than he had magnificently failed.

    He was nothing like anything anyone had ever seen with his wondrous long golden hair and pale skin. His eyes were a brilliant emerald color and he had long, sharp ears, unlike a normal Human being. One might have thought he was a Demihuman, but he had none of the normal physical aspects that would signify one.

    There was a certain grace to him and his movements were extremely lithe and graceful, even with his armor. However, if one carefully looked, they would see nothing but scorn and disdain in his eyes, and in the slight curl of his lips.

    What disgusting filth these Humans live in. They are inferior creatures without any shred of beauty. Why they are allowed to exist is beyond me¡­. Well, it is the Divine¡¯s will¡­

    He was mostly left alone, as the Humans accompanying him were afraid to draw too close. They watched him in awe, keeping a certain distance. There were two hundred temple knights acting as his escort, supposed elite Human soldiers, but they were mere ants to him.

    ¡°My lord! We have arrived at the Port of Rik¡¯in in the Kingdom of La¡¯Gun.¡± One of his knight escorts shouted while saluting, disturbing him from his thoughts.

    ¡°I can see that you dolt! You Humans are dumber than I thought. Where else would this be if not our destination?¡±

    According to the intel, this kingdom is currently at war with another. How else could we have sailed so easily into this town with a small army? I can¡¯t even see any soldiers, this should be a simple matter¡­. It seems many residents have left, what a pitiful kingdom.

    Satisfied with what he saw, he turned towards the temple knights who awaited their orders and with a snicker he said, ¡°Burn it all down.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    The knight commander saluted and then yelled out his orders to the knights on board the ship. Each knight was equipped with heavy plate mail, longsword, and kite shield. They also all possessed relatively high levels and a variety of powerful abilities and martial skills.

    As the sailors tied up the boat to the pier, the knights left the ship in an orderly manner. The citizens looked on in fear when they saw the temple knights exiting the ship and a mass panic soon took place as people ran away from the knights.

    They knew very well where these knights came from, and that it could only mean one thing.

    ¡°Hahaha, look at those bugs run for their lives.¡±

    He watched the destruction and chaos caused by the knight¡¯s attack with a smug smile and chuckled to himself.

    ¡°Soon¡­ Soon, you will die at my hands.. Fayde.¡±

 Volume 3 chapter 3

    For the past two months an enormous, wide, snaking march of people, wagons, and beasts of burden made their way east across the vast Plains of Sorrow.

    Their march was like a swarm of locusts, devouring everything in their path. Anything that was edible was either hunted or gathered and added to the increasingly growing pool of supplies.

    ¡°It is important that we gather as much food as possible. The Kingdom of La¡¯Gun hasn¡¯t even been able to produce enough food for their own people, nevermind an additional 100,000 Demihumans. We won¡¯t be pillaging the land once we arrive there so it is extremely important that we continue to hunt and gather as much as we can beforehand. We will need at the minimum, a year worth of food. Once we occupy La¡¯Gun, we can make use of the underutilized farmland to boost food production and we can put our non-combatants to work on the farms.¡±

    Every Khan was currently present to discuss important issues regarding the clans. They would meet at least once a week to review their goals and address grievances.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Great Khan, we will meet that goal soon. Our hunters and gatherers have been working day and night and our wagons are growing increasingly full. It¡¯s a good thing we have enough wagons with all the clans gathered.¡±

    Khan Rhaegnar had been placed in charge of overseeing the acquisition of food supplies since the Wolfkin were considered the best hunters of the clans.

    Fayde sat on his so called throne and listened to the reports from each Khan diligently as the meeting dragged on. He was no longer just an office worker attending an office meeting, but a Great Khan who was the leader of a nomadic nation.

    ¡°Good. Now onto our last topic, the dungeon. Obviously, the number of people who can enter the dungeon will be limited since this is not a battlefield type dungeon. There are 20 clans as well as the Demonkin. I want each clan to select five of their greatest warriors to enter the dungeon. As for the Demonkin, only Accadeas and Laila will be entering as my party members. My party will consist of Reia, Accadeas, Laila, Tris and Allein. As for the others, once you have gathered your greatest warriors, they will be split up into appropriate groups. These warriors are going to be exploring the dungeon and eliminating any and all monsters within. We will need supplies and also wagons for transporting resources obtained in the dungeon. I will be bringing thirty Foxkin to handle resource gathering and transportation from and to the dungeon.¡±

    As Fayde spoke, he could see uncomfortable looks on the faces of the Khans. This was to be expected though. It wasn¡¯t too long ago that it would be unimaginable for Demihumans to consider exploring dungeons. However, he didn¡¯t care how they felt, as long as they went through with it.

    The Khans mumbled their agreements and nodded their heads despite their apprehensiveness. They had already accepted the fact that they would be exploring a dungeon even if they hadn¡¯t fully come to terms with it.

    ¡°I spoke with the diviners and this is a large dungeon with ten floors. It appears to be an ancient dungeon and from what our scouts have reported so far, it is inhabited by undead type monsters which are weak to fire. Each party must have a magic caster with an affinity for fire, so make sure you take that into consideration when selecting participants and forming groups. We will need to set up a large base camp once inside which will function as a headquarters and resource distribution center while we explore the dungeon. Also, any necessary communication will be coordinated from this base camp as well. Any questions?¡±

    Fayde¡¯s mannerism had become quite blunt and there wasn¡¯t much room for dissent in his words and actions. The Khans had only known him for a short time, but they all knew that something had changed ever since Fayde returned from the old imperial capital. Nonetheless, they didn¡¯t give it too much thought.

    ¡°It will be as you say Great Khan.¡±

    With the meeting completed, the Khans made their way back to their own tents. Fayde leaned back in his chair and put his hand to his head. His head was pounding and he had been struggling to keep the pain from being noticeable, but now that the Khans had left, he couldn¡¯t hold the pain in anymore.

    ¡°Fayde.. ¡°

    Reia, Laila and Accadeas had remained and looked on with concern. They knew he was having strange headaches due to the influence of the ¡®Void¡¯ and only Laila¡¯s ¡®Demon Eyes¡¯ were capable of aiding him.

    Laila and Reia quickly made their way to Fayde¡¯s side and Laila immediately used the power of her eyes to diminish Fayde¡¯s pain.

    ¡°Will these headaches never end?¡± Reia asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ My brother doesn¡¯t have this problem so I have never experienced anything like it. There is no way to know for sure, Fayde has unique circumstances.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Laila wished she could provide an answer to Reia¡¯s question, but too little was known about the ¡®Void¡¯. Out of all of them, only Allein, and perhaps Nes, possessed knowledge of the ¡®Void¡¯. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t get any information out of them no matter how they tried.

    ¡°Now that he has calmed down, let¡¯s let him get some rest.¡±

    Accadeas walked to his sister and rested his hand on her shoulder. He knew his sister was suffering greatly because of Fayde¡¯s condition. His sister had never loved or respected any man other than Accadeas in her life, but the love she had for Fayde even dwarfed her love for him.

    Accadeas didn¡¯t mind, though, because Fayde had become much like a brother to him. He could fully understand why his sister felt that way since they were a people who respected absolute strength.

    Laila turned her head to look at her brother with moist eyes. She still hadn¡¯t returned her eyes to normal.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s go out for a bit. Sister Reia, will you come with us for a walk?¡±

    Reia was most likely suffering more than she was. She had known Fayde the longest and had loved him first. Reia was also much more emotional than Laila.

    ¡°Okay¡­¡±

    Fayde¡¯s pain had finally subsided, but by that time, everyone had already gone. His servants would be close by of course, but he was left alone sitting on his throne. He had heard the words spoken by his wives, but he had been unable to respond due to the pain. He wanted to tell them not to worry, but he couldn¡¯t even do that much.

    ¡°Will they still love me even when they know the truth? I still haven¡¯t told them that I am not even real, just a fake. I don¡¯t even know what I am, nevermind being Human or Demihuman. What the hell am I?¡± Fayde sighed.

    His life, if one could even call it that, had been short lived and filled with ever growing burdens. He was currently doing his best at pretending and trying to fulfill his duties as Great Khan, but he was greatly troubled by the words the ¡®Void¡¯ had left him.

    There were a few close to him who were truly concerned for him. He could feel their love, but he had also felt Allein¡¯s love and she had still betrayed him. He could still feel Allein¡¯s torment, her regret¡­. And her love.

    Fayde thought of breaking the connection between them, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it.

    ¡°Is it guilt? I still don¡¯t understand her and she won¡¯t tell me anything. It¡¯s as if she can¡¯t, is it the ¡®Void¡¯s¡¯ doing? For all I know, she may have even been controlled by the ¡®Void¡¯, just like I was.¡±

    Because he couldn¡¯t decide what to do with her and because he couldn¡¯t even trust himself, he did his best to bury his head in the sand.

    ¡°Tomorrow we go into the dungeon. I need to bring her with me to keep up appearances, but it¡¯s going to be difficult facing her. I will have to see her daily until the exploration is complete¡­¡±

    This thought was troubling him. He wanted to see her and be close to her, but it also brought him immense suffering.

    Strangely, Fayde found himself thinking back on his memories of Earth. They weren¡¯t his memories, but someone else. They were the memories of a man called Peter Wright. He had a daughter that he loved very much, but due to circumstances, he wasn¡¯t allowed to be near her.

    ¡°Even though she wasn¡¯t my real daughter, I still have these memories and feelings in my mind. It doesn¡¯t matter now though, she is long dead and buried. That goes for the real Peter and everyone else in my memory, even the Earth itself must have vastly changed. I can¡¯t even imagine how thousands of years would change things.¡±

    Fayde continued to brood, unaware that someone close by was watching him.

    <hr>

    It is still possible to save your family. He will eventually lose control, and when he does, he will be mine.

    No! I don¡¯t want that¡­

    Are you saying you don¡¯t want to save your family? This is the only way.

    How do I know if what you say is the truth? How do I even know if my family is still alive?

    They are alive, but trapped between the dimensional barrier of the shattered world. I have the power to save them.

    Please¡­ I don¡¯t want to hurt him anymore. I can¡¯t bear it.. I can feel his pain. Please don¡¯t make me do it.

    It¡¯s not as if he will disappear, he and I will just become one. You will be together with him forever.

    No¡­ Not like this¡­

    Allein shook her head and her eyes once more rested on Fayde from behind a makeshift wall within the Great Khan¡¯s tent. Even though they were so close, Fayde wasn¡¯t aware of her presence, he was too distracted by his own thoughts.

    Allein desperately wanted to go to him because she could feel how much he was suffering, but she didn¡¯t move from her spot. She had no right to approach him given her actions and he would only again ask her the questions she wasn¡¯t allowed to answer.

    Even if she could explain to him what the ¡®Void¡¯ had told her, would it matter? It wasn¡¯t as if she expected Fayde to give up his life and let the ¡®Void¡¯ take over his body. Allein didn¡¯t want that either, but if what the ¡®Void¡¯ had said was truth, it was the only way to bring her family back.

    What exactly was the ¡®Void¡¯? Even Allein didn¡¯t truly know. She wasn¡¯t alive yet when her parents had become Demihumans. They were the first to be changed by the ¡®Void¡¯ and the ones who were closest to it. Because of that, they had a unique relationship with it. They could hear its voice and in some ways, were forced to follow its will.

    Perhaps in a way, she was the one most like Fayde because of their connection with the ¡®Void¡¯. So, she could understand the conflict that must be going on in his heart and in his mind, but there was nothing she could do for him. He no longer trusted her and she didn¡¯t know whether she could trust herself.

    In the end, all she could do was watch from a distance, unable to move closer, but desperately wanting to.

    ¡°Father, what should I do?¡±

 Volume 3 Chapter 4

    The entrance to the dungeon was a large cemetery which was actually on the surface of the Plains. This was considered the first floor despite that and the entrance to the second floor was in a large crypt within the cemetery.

    There were low level undead creatures scattered everywhere throughout the cemetery, although most would lay dormant until an enemy arrived. These undead had never left the dungeon as an invasion force and instead they had just grown stronger over time while the dungeon continued to expand further.

    We hadn¡¯t entered the cemetery yet and I found myself contemplating the actual function of a dungeon while I observed from a short distance away. Behind me were the one hundred greatest warriors of the different clans as well as the Khans themselves, and others who came to see us off. It was a large gathering and there was almost a coming of age feeling to it.

    Many of the warriors chosen seemed to be relatives of the Khans or other influential people within their clan. Most of them were young and there was a good diversity of gender. It was pretty close to evenly divided between male and female warriors.

    I had given instructions to the Khans to select their best warriors, but I wondered whether they just chose relatives so that I might notice them.

    Well, this is fine too, I thought.

    It wasn¡¯t as if they were weak, and it wouldn¡¯t hurt to take notice of these influential youths. One of my goals for this expedition was to prepare future leaders for my eventual military establishment. This would help them build camaraderie with each other and should be a good experience for them, assuming they make it through this.

    In order to ensure the success of the expedition as well as the safety of those participating, we made sure to prepare sufficient supplies. The clans were also asked to choose warriors proficient with fire and healing magic so that each party would be well balanced. Each clan¡¯s chosen warriors were then split up into five member groups with warriors of other clans.

    ¡°It¡¯s really an amazing sight to see.¡± Reia was standing next to me and spoke in a clear voice, waking me from my thoughts.

    ¡°What, the cemetery?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure at first what she was talking about since I was staring at the cemetery in the distance.

    ¡°No Fayde, I¡¯m talking about them.¡±

    She drew my attention to the scene behind me. All the warriors that had been chosen for the expedition were saying their farewells to their families and also discussing various tactics with their party members.

    ¡°I think she¡¯s talking about the young warriors. It is quite a sight to see the clans working together so enthusiastically. My brother and I could never have imagined something like this.¡± Interjected Laila with a bit of awe.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Well, get used to it because this is only the beginning. There are many more surprises to come. Just wait until you see them farming.¡±

    I chuckled a little at the thought of Demihumans plowing the field. It will be a drastic change from their lives on the Plains, but it would be something to come in the future.

    ¡°That would be something to see.¡± said Reia with a hopeful smile.

    Reia and her tribe had lived in the forest as hunters their entire lives, but she had frequently lived in Human society. She desperately hoped for a future for her people and for all the Demihumans.

    ¡°It looks like the supply wagons are just about here, let¡¯s head back and say our farewells too.¡±

    I led the two back down the small hill we had climbed to get a good view of the cemetery and returned to where our people were gathered. Many wagons were already gathered and it wouldn¡¯t be long before our expedition began.

    The atmosphere was one of excitement and adventure and even with my own problems, I could almost feel it moving my heart. Despite the uncertainty many Demihumans felt with the idea of going into a dungeon, the younger warriors were aching to prove themselves and many of them cheered as I approached.

    Without me being fully aware at first, I had become an object of reverence and great pride for the clans. Obviously, becoming Great Khan and the leader of the clans, it wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t expect that there would be something like this. What surprised me though, was the almost worshipful behavior the Demihumans had begun to show towards me.

    There was always the respect they all showed after I became their Great Khan, but if I had to point out the moment that their reverence had grown, it would probably be the first time they saw me fly through the air. At the time, I didn¡¯t really think about what kind of effect it would have on them, I had just wanted to kill some monsters as quickly as possible.

    Truthfully, I didn¡¯t care. It made my life that much easier and solidified my position as their leader. Most of the time, I had been keeping hidden from the people. I would normally only show my face while the wagons were moving and it wasn¡¯t like I was approachable at that time. Whenever we made camp, I was mostly secluded and would only come out when it was dark.

    It wasn¡¯t as if I was intentionally trying to avoid them, but at some point, I just didn¡¯t want to deal with it. Everything became troublesome, so I only did the things I had to, and at other times I did my best to escape. It wasn¡¯t behavior fitting of a leader, but I was having some difficulty bringing myself to care enough to change.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the promise I had made to Reia and Laila in my heart, I think I might have just abandoned everything.

    ¡°Great Khan! A moment please!¡±

    Khan Rhaegnar called out to me and walked over with two Wolfkin youths following close behind him. He seemed to be in a festive mood and had a wide grin plastered to his face.

    ¡°You may know these two already, but I wanted to introduce them officially to you! This here is my grandson and the next Khan of the Wolfkin clan. Largear! Come introduce yourself to the Great Khan.¡±

    Rhaegnar pushed his grandson forward and took a step back while observing his son¡¯s interaction with me. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Largear was a large man, although most Wolfkin were quite large in both height and width. They were extremely muscular and gave off a certain ferocious air. He looked a lot like a younger version of his grandfather. He wore a thick hide vest and carried a huge 2-handed battle axe strapped to his back.

    If not for the wolf-like ears and tail, he would look much like what I would imagine an overly muscular body builder might look like. I could just picture him wandering around in trousers and shirtless with his muscles bulging out, swinging his mighty battle axe.

    ¡°Great Khan! I am Largear, son of Rhaegnar and I just wanted to say that I admire you greatly! Your victory against Accadeas in the Grand Council competition was amazing! I have never seen anything like it!¡±

    Despite the image I had of Largear in my head, the way he spoke was a huge contrast to that. He was nervous and he spoke rapidly, almost saying one word over the other. For some reason, his eyes went wide when he glanced at Reia and he became even more nervous. I just couldn¡¯t reconcile his actions with his physical image, not to mention he was twice the size of me.

    ¡°Haha, you flatter me. Khan Rhaegnar, you have a fine grandson. I am sure he will become an excellent Khan in the future!¡± I just threw some flattering words out there and Rhaegnar seemed extremely happy.

    ¡°Ah, I remember you! Erikkar right?¡±

    Seeing the other Wolfkin patiently waiting his turn to speak, I called out to him.

    ¡°You remember me? I am truly honored.¡± He said humbly.

    ¡°How could I forget, you left a strong impression on me.¡±

    ¡°You know my cousin Great Khan?¡± asked Largear.

    ¡°Yes, we met when I first arrived at the sacred grounds, he was one of the guards at the Khan tent. The Wolfkin clan is truly blessed to have two excellent youths such as the both of you!¡±

    I could see that the memories I possessed of Peter¡¯s salesman days were really paying off. My flattery was taking them all to new heights of pride. They were truly good people, though, the Wolfkin. Honorable, and fair, without any malice or ill intent.

    As if to outdo the Wolfkin, Rajal Khan soon made his own appearance in grand fashion with a female warrior in tow. I still had no idea why he was addressed as Rajal Khan rather than Khan Rajal.

    ¡°Great Khan! I think you have showed the Wolfkin enough favor for a day, allow me to introduce my daughter, Felicia!¡± said Rajal Khan boisterously, which would normally elicit an eye roll from me but I controlled myself.

    ¡°Felicia, present yourself!¡±

    There was no timidness to be found in Felicia. She stood forward proudly without hesitation and her long flowing blonde hair flowed magnificently as she approached. Her height was almost six feet, so she was about as tall as I was and her almost feline chestnut colored eyes stared intensely at mine as if it were a contest of strength. If I had to imagine what an amazoness might look like, I would picture her, minus the tiger ears and tail.

    This was our first meeting and I was surprised to see that his daughter was far prettier than I would think possible for him. She truly was a magnificent beauty without a flaw that I could see. Well, I suppose he had a lot of wives so one of them had to give birth to a beauty.

    Reia and Laila seemed to be sizing her up and I kept catching Largear nervously glancing at Reia from the corner of my eye. I¡¯m going to have to have a talk with him about staring at another man¡¯s wife.

    Well, he¡¯s young, and I can understand why he might admire her.

    ¡°Great Khan, I have been looking forward to meeting you ever since I saw your magnificent fight with the Demonkin brute! And when you flew in the sky, it was amazing! I have never seen anything like it in my life!¡± Her eyes were practically sparkling as she spoke and her voice was surprisingly more feminine than I thought it would be.

    However, Laila flinched when Felicia called her brother a brute, but she kept her calm and seemed to be happy with the praise being thrown on me. If not for that, she might have murdered the poor girl with her monstrous strength. Laila really didn¡¯t like anyone insulting her brother, well other than herself.

    ¡°Hehe... Well, good luck on this expedition. I wouldn¡¯t want anything to happen to you.¡± I was at a loss for what to say and ended up saying something awkwardly, but it made her especially happy and she smiled at me while striking a pompous pose.

    Her father seemed happy as well and gave me a knowing smile.

    He could at least try to be a little more inconspicuous with his motives. Does he think I¡¯m an idiot? Or maybe he just doesn¡¯t care, whatever.

    I gave my greetings to the other Khans as well as various warriors while giving a lackadaisical speech which still inspired them for some reason. In some ways, the Demihumans were a lot simpler than I expected, or maybe it was the circumstances and environment we were currently in which made my speech pointless. Morale was very high either way, so it was a good thing.

    With the preparations all complete and after having spoken with everyone, I finally had a moment to speak with Aylil in order to check my status.

    [Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]

    [HP: 171/171]

    [Health Regen: 1/min] [2/min while resting]

    [VP: 3000/3000] [Void Threshold: 3200 Next level 5400]

    [Void Regen: 5/min] [20/min while resting]

    Strength: 17 ( Modifier +4, Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)

    Dexterity: 16 (Modifier +3, Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)

    Constitution: 17 (Modifier +4, Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)

    Charisma: 14 (Modifier +2, Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)

    Intelligence: 142 (Represents intellectual capacity, Affects Skill Growth)

    Wisdom: 240 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)

    Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 8/10 Superior), Evasion (Level 7/10 Advanced), Tactics (Level 7/10 Advanced), Leadership (Level 7/10 Advanced), Endurance (Level 7/10 Advanced), Spear (Level 2/10 Beginner)

    Acquired Martial Arts: Sword Whirlwind (Sword), Poised Strike (Sword), Seven Sword Slash (Sword), Sword Mirage (Sword), Piercing Wind (Spear)

    Blessings: Blessing of the Void (The ability to unite with the soul of a ¡®Child of the Void¡¯ through the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯)

    Special ability: Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination strengthening host), Molecular transfer (Transfers dark matter contamination from host, to those bearing the ¡®Mark of the Void,¡¯ strengthening them), Molecular reconstitution (Through dark matter contamination transference, reconstitutes entirely, the body and soul of those bearing the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯, amount of VP required is dependent on severity of the condition of the one being healed)

    Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)

    Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)

    Void Element: Void Flame (Maximum) (20VP - 7VP/min) (Imbue the power of the ¡®Void¡¯ across your entire body and unleash flames that devour space and time over a limited area)

    Void Strike (200VP) (Unleashes the power of the ¡®Void¡¯, limited dimensional strike)

    Phantom Image (Greater)(100VP - 20VP/min) (A type of magic body enhancement that circulates ¡®Void¡¯ element throughout the body which creates ¡®Phantom Clones¡¯. These clones allow for short range cross-dimensional teleportation. Clones act as minor versions of the user and can cause direct damage to targets)

    Void Beam (Minor) (100VP)(A concentrated beam of Dark Matter which moves at the speed of light)

    Void Flight (100VP - 20VP/min) (The body of the caster is entirely encased in ¡®Void Flames¡¯ which allow minute control over gravitic forces affecting the caster¡¯s body)

    Void Fireball (Minor) (200VP) (A much more powerful version of ¡®Void Flame¡¯ with explosive properties striking over a wide range)

 Volume 3 Chapter 5

    After checking my status, my party had finally all gathered. Accadeas, Laila, Reia, Allein and Tris were now all present although Allein was keeping mostly out of my sight and was being watched carefully by Accadeas. It wasn¡¯t really necessary since I knew she wasn¡¯t going anywhere, but Accadeas was even less trusting than me.

    As for Tris, ¡°Tris! Wow, look at you! I must say, becoming a Demihuman has really done wonders for your appearance!¡± I said while teasing her with a sarcastic smile.

    ¡°Shut up Fayde!¡± She replied venomously.

    ¡°Haha, well you were pretty before, but really, you are much prettier now!¡±

    She just growled at me and showed her teeth, but I didn¡¯t feel as if she was really unhappy about my words. Despite my sarcasm, I meant what I said and it also was apparent that her personality had changed somewhat. Either way, I wasn¡¯t about to let her get too big of a head.

    ¡°Just remember, you belong to me now, and I¡¯m never going to let you go!¡± I whispered into her ear so that no one else could hear.

    I unintentionally said it a little too vehemently and she shivered when I placed my hand on her shoulder. I didn¡¯t care about her feelings on the matter, though. I was never going to let her escape my grasp now.

    We all made our way to the outskirts of the cemetery with all the warriors and wagons in tow. There were hushed conversations going on between the various parties and I could see the excitement on many of their faces.

    I walked ahead of the rest, remaining silent. Reia and Laila were busily discussing something while Accadeas watched Allein, who was most likely feeling very uncomfortable. Tris lagged behind the rest of us and glared at anyone who tried to approach her. Some of the young male warriors had taken an interest in her since she became a Demihuman, but she wouldn¡¯t allow any of them to approach her.

    Once we arrived at the outskirts of the cemetery, the undead which were previously wandering around aimlessly became aware of our approach. Most of them were still some distance away so I brought the large group to a halt and turned around to address them.

    ¡°All of you, back away. I don¡¯t want to waste time here and even though these undead are relatively weak, there are a lot of them. At least several hundred, so to avoid any casualties, I will take care of them myself.¡±

    At my words, those who were near me back away and gave me a wide berth. I saw this as a good opportunity for me to show off a little bit of my new powers. They had seen my fly, but they had yet to see me go all out. I was about to teach them the meaning of true strength.

    Hmm, I suppose about 10 of my ¡®Void Fireballs¡¯ should do it. That will leave me drained of most of my VP, but I can at least take it somewhat easy after taking care of these small fry.

    ¡°Time to show you all what carpet bombing looks like. Get back a little more.¡± I said while watching the undead monsters rise from the ground and slowly make their way over to me.

    There were a variety of undead skeletons and zombies either already shambling towards me or now rising from the ground.

    ¡°Carpet bombing? What¡¯s that?¡± Reia asked curiously from behind me.

    ¡°Hehe, just watch and see.¡± I replied without turning around and my body ignited in black flames as I slowly rose from the ground into the sky above.

    Even though these moments were fleeting, there were times when I would get a little excited and want to show off. This was one of those times.

    All of the Demihumans looked on in amazement as I flew up into the sky above the cemetery. Even though they had already seen me fly, it was still an amazing sight to them and quite a few gasps of awe left their lips.

    The undead which had been previously targeting me looked confused for a moment, but then their targets switched over to the warriors on the ground since they had no means of attacking me in the air. They continued to shamble on over towards them, slowly shortening the distance, but their efforts were futile.

    I only observed them for a moment in silence before I went to work firing ¡®Void Fireballs¡¯ from my hands which quickly descended. The intense flames of the fireballs heated up the air around me and as they moved, the space they entered visibly shook and rippled as if the flames were disrupting the very fabric of reality.

    Everywhere the fireballs landed, loud explosions rocked the earth and the undead were sent flying in pieces. Their dismembered body parts littered the cemetery and the dark flames burned uncontrollably, devouring everything in their path.

    I quickly flew forward, raining fireball after fireball down upon the hapless undead who were incapable of doing anything to defend against my wrath. After my tenth fireball crashed against the undead, none were left moving. Every undead within the cemetery had been eradicated by my powerful flames. The entire cemetery had been completely ruined with debris everywhere.

    I flew back towards where everyone had been waiting, a safe distance from the carnage, and slowly descended. My feet touched the ground and the flames around my body subsided. I hadn¡¯t noticed when I was descending, but all of the Demihuman warriors were looking at me with a bit of fear.

    Their looks didn¡¯t bother me at all. I would think it would be stranger if after seeing that, they felt no fear. Since the Demihumans respected strength, this would only increase their respect for me in the future.The only ones who weren''t really affected by what I did were those closest to me. Reia gave me a look that basically said stop showing off, and Laila was clapping like I accomplished something great.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go.¡±

    My words woke them from their stupor and they soon followed me as we made our way towards the crypt which was the entrance to the second floor. The wagons wouldn¡¯t be able to fit down the stairway so we set up our base camp there within the ruins of the cemetery.

    Since I had already cleared out all the monsters, there was very little danger. However, Some guards would still need to remain just in case, but this wasn¡¯t an issue. Not all the parties would be entering at the same time, and there would be constant movement back and forth as parties returned to rest and possibly unload resources and equipment.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Most of the transportation of resources and equipment wouldn¡¯t happen until after a floor was cleared, but any returning groups would carry whatever valuables they could when heading back to camp.

    I had no intention of returning until the dungeon was completely cleared and already planned to continue on ahead of the other groups. For them, this would mostly be training, but for me this was a complete extermination. They were already instructed not to take any serious risks and head back whenever necessary.

    Leaving behind four groups to guard the encampment and instructions for a proper rotation schedule of groups, I led my party members and the remaining 16 groups down into the depths of the dungeon.

    <hr>

    The second floor of the dungeon was similar to a large labyrinth, but with the numbers they had brought into the dungeon, it wasn¡¯t difficult to clear the floor. Multiple parties moved together in order to ensure their safety while clearing out monsters and avoiding traps.

    Their preparation and careful selection of warriors with a variety of talents and skills proved very useful in successfully eliminating the undead on the second floor. While some parties continued to explore the labyrinth of the second floor, others had now gained access to the third and continued on.

    It had taken several hours to due to exploring cautiously, but progress so far had been swift and without casualties.

    ¡°We¡¯ll set up camp here, there is no reason for us to return back to the surface yet and once we rest, we will continue to explore the third floor.¡±

    Largear had been placed in charge of his own party which consisted of two vanguards, himself and a Tigerkin male named Kreln. Kreln was a proficient spear user and could easily take on multiple opponents without breaking a sweat.

    Their party also consisted of a Foxkin female named Rinna who had an affinity with fire magic, a Catkin female named Teara who was a healer, and a Rabbitkin male named Raph who used a shortbow and excelled at scouting.

    It was an all around party with a high level of skill and they had easily crushed the undead monsters they fought up to this point.

    ¡°This floor is huge, much larger than the second floor. Looks like we won¡¯t be able to receive much support from other groups since we had to separate and spread out to explore the floor. I didn¡¯t imagine the atmosphere in the dungeon would be so oppressive¡­¡±

    Raph was especially sensitive to the atmosphere in the dungeon since he was a Rabbitkin and felt the most uncomfortable. Rabbitkin preferred open spaces and bountiful natural environments, so it would be suffocating for their kind to be in this type of dungeon setting.

    From the information that had been provided to all of them before entering the dungeon, there were dungeon settings which basically cloned natural environments, but the environment within this dungeon was dismal and dark.

    ¡°Nothing can be done about it, you are just going to have to live with it Raph. I hope you don¡¯t go insane on us.¡± Teara said teasingly.

    ¡°Bah, I will be fine, it¡¯s just uncomfortable. Let¡¯s talk about something else, I don¡¯t want to think about where I am.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Great Khan amazing! I knew he was strong, but I have never seen anything like that and I have known him for much longer than all of you!¡±

    ¡°His power is incredible. That¡¯s right, Rinna, your Foxkin tribe has been with him for a long time now. Did you know he could do that?¡±

    Since Teara and Rinna were the only females in the group, they had become close and loved to gossip which annoyed the men in the group.

    ¡°Ugh, here we go again, aren¡¯t you two a little too laid back? We are in a dangerous dungeon you know!¡±

    Largear did his best to act as leader of his group, but he had some difficulty with his party members not taking him seriously.

    ¡°Haha, Rinna, did you see how Largear kept looking at Reia nervously? I thought he was going to faint in embarrassment. Just imagine that big oaf dropping to the floor because of that!¡±

    ¡°Shutup Teara! Ugh, this is why I hate cats!¡±

    ¡°You better be more careful Largear, if the Great Khan catches you ogling his wife, he¡¯s going to burn you right there on the spot!¡±

    Rinna, being a member of Reia¡¯s tribe, was especially sensitive about this and warned Largear about his wandering eyes.

    ¡°Although, grilled wolf might not taste bad!¡±

    ¡°You too Kreln? I thought you were more sensible than those two brats!¡±

    ¡°Be quiet!¡± Raph said warily, ¡°I hear something.¡±

    Rabbitkin were especially known for their hearing and the others immediately quieted.

    ¡°There are a number of sounds approaching, most likely monsters, let¡¯s get ready!¡±

    Even though visibility was low, it wouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem for them as all Demihumans possessed at least some night vision.

    ¡°I see them now, undead! Quickly, Rinna!¡±

    Rinna didn¡¯t need much time to act according to Largear¡¯s orders and immediately began attacking at range with a ¡®Fireball¡¯ that hurled towards the approaching undead, exploding in their midst. It was nowhere near the power of one of Reia¡¯s ¡®Fireballs¡¯ but it still was powerful enough to take out a number of the approaching undead.

    ¡°Alright, half-arrow formation, I have the front.¡±

    Largear gave his orders and the group formed up with Largear at the head of the formation. Kreln stood on his left, but slightly to his back while Teara, Raph, and Rinna were behind them in that order.

    Raph quickly shot off several arrows, penetrating the heads of approaching zombies. His arrows would have no effect against skeletons and so he targeted only zombies which could be killed by penetrating their brains.

    Rinna began firing a barrage of ¡®Fire Arrows¡¯ as the enemy came closer to avoid friendly fire. They were very effective against zombies and slightly effective against skeletons. If anything, they could at least slow the advance of the skeletons while taking out some of the zombies.

    Teara used support spells to enhance the vanguard, while Largear and Kreln waited for the monsters to come into the range of their weapons. Kreln¡¯s spear wouldn¡¯t be very effective against the skeletons, but he could easily handle zombies. However, Largear¡¯s battle axe was more than sufficient to slaughter any skeleton that came within his range.

    Before long, they had wiped out the approaching monsters without sustaining much damage, but they were clearly low on stamina.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even bother gathering their crystals or equipment. We could be attacked again at anytime and we need to rest. We¡¯ll leave that for once the floor is sufficiently cleared of monsters.¡±

    The group returned to sitting near the small fire they had started in their small camp and ate while settling their nerves. They were all warriors, but it was unnerving fighting undead monsters surrounded by endless darkness.

    ¡°This¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be like this. Rinna, didn¡¯t the Foxkin conquer a dungeon already. How did you do it?¡± Kreln asked while chewing on a dried piece of meat.

    ¡°It¡¯s true that we fought in a dungeon before heading to the Sacred Grounds, but it was nothing like this¡­ The dungeon we fought in was a huge battlefield and our whole clan fought in that battle. We fought an army of goblins and orcs and the dungeon was well lit. Only the Great Khan and some others entered further into the dungeon, this is just too much!¡±

    ¡°I heard the Great Khan and his party aren¡¯t going to return to the camp on the surface at all. They are going to keep going until they kill the dungeon boss¡­ We¡¯ve only been in here for a day and I am already ready to go back!¡±

    ¡°I know what you mean Raph, but the Great Khan¡­ and the others, they are all monsters on a whole other level from us! We can¡¯t even come close¡­.¡±

    Largear seemed somewhat depressed and sighed.

    ¡°Haha, look, he¡¯s probably thinking about Reia again!¡± Teara chuckled while Rinna glared at him.

    ¡°Shutup!¡±

 Volume 3 Chapter 6

    Fieral was not only the head Rej¡¯Gan in service to her Khan, but she had many other responsibilities. In many ways, the Rej¡¯Gan were companions, lovers, friends, warriors, servants and all manner of other things to their Khan. They were trained in proper Demihuman etiquette, highly educated by Demihuman standards, trained to fight and to gather information.

    This was why they had spent their entire lives secluded and preparing for the day that they would serve their Khan. There were none more loyal and more useful to the Khan than their personal servants who were responsible for the household and inner security of the clan.

    Fieral had been essential for gathering information for Fayde and providing security and stability for his reign as Khan. Her information network had slowly developed and she had contacts within each and every clan who provided her with information about the movements of the Khans and their wives. Especially their wives, for these were the most meddlesome and her greatest adversaries.

    ¡°Fieral, it is a pleasure as always. We are very happy that you have taken the time to welcome us.¡±

    A tall and fearsome Tigerkin woman addressed Fieral politely as she sipped tea while seated on a cushion. Several other Demihuman women from other tribes were seated alongside her. This was something like a tea party, but it was also something like a battlefield.

    ¡°Of course, honored wives of the illustrious Khans, you are always welcome within the Great Khan¡¯s yurt. I hope I can be of service to you all today.¡±

    Fieral lightly smiled and tipped her head in respect towards these powerful women who were all wives of different Khans within the clans. She was of course, already aware of the reason for this meeting, although she pretended as if she had no foreknowledge of it.

    ¡°Polite as usual, you indeed bring honor to our Great Khan!¡± Replied a Bearkin female admirably.

    These two were the ones spearheading this particular meeting, the wives of the Bearkin Khan as well as the Tigerkin Khan. The other wives were following their lead and also hoping to obtain some benefits from this meeting.

    ¡°Let us drop the formalities and have a pleasant chat over tea, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Of course Miran, we are all Demihumans and women.¡±

    The two wives were happily speaking to the group of women and urging them to act more comfortably. Fieral was aware that this was all a show. It wouldn¡¯t be long before they made their intentions apparent. They were all dying to get their claws into Fayde one way or another. However, Fieral wasn¡¯t too concerned. Fayde wouldn¡¯t be so easily controlled and with Reia and Laila at his side, there was no need to be wary of these women. Miran, the Tigerkin female, was the most devious of the group, but even she would be no match for Reia and Laila. Fieral was confident that those two could handle her.

    ¡°As you know Fieral, a powerful and wondrous man such as our Great Khan, must have many wives at his side. This is only natural as the leader of all the clans. Of course, his current wives are all amazing individuals, but we have been discussing among us and we all feel that it is quite unfair that only the Foxkin clan should be represented among us.¡±

    ¡°I understand your concern Miran, but surely you haven¡¯t forgotten that the Demonkin and Dragonkin are also represented among our Great Khan¡¯s wives.¡±

    Fieral sipped her tea calmly and replied with respect towards these influential women. Etiquette would not allow her to treat them with any disrespect and it wasn¡¯t as if their concerns weren¡¯t entirely justified. This was a delicate matter that needed to be handled carefully so as not to insult these women.

    ¡°Of course, we meant no disrespect towards Allein and Laila, I think what Miran is trying to say is that, among our Great Khan¡¯s wives, the Dragonkin aren¡¯t truly a clan with only Allein. We don¡¯t even know if Nes is still alive as he has disappeared, but even then it is only the two. As for the Demonkin, and please don¡¯t misunderstand, but they aren¡¯t truly recognized as a clan. Only the Foxkin are represented among the Great Khan¡¯s wives. This is a concern to us and we have all discussed this with the Great Khan¡¯s welfare in mind.¡±

    ¡°Yes, as Beryll has said, we must consider this as a matter of grave importance. As we all know, the amount of wives a Khan is representative of his power and influence and for our Great Khan, even more so! We believe it would only be in his best interest to take on more wives among our clans otherwise it could be seen as an insult to the clans. We of course understand that this is not our Great Khan¡¯s intentions, but he is unfamiliar with our customs and so we have taken it upon ourselves to address this issue to come to a favorable outcome.¡±

    Fieral carefully observed the actions of the women and while only Miran and Beryll were participating in the conversation, the other wives were all visibly in agreement. She was careful not to show any emotions which could be misunderstood and listened attentively to the concerns of the Khan¡¯s wives, but she couldn¡¯t help but sigh deep in her heart.

    This is going to take a while¡­. But I can''t just ignore their request. This is something that will need to be discussed with Reia and resolved with care...

    <hr>

    ¡°Finally! The light of day, I thought I was going to die in the dark, how miserable.¡±

    A male Rabbitkin shakes, his floppy ears moving back and forth as he remembers the dark atmosphere of the dungeon.

    ¡°I agree with you Jerrit, what a stifling atmosphere. It¡¯s like the dungeon saps you of your willpower. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever looked forward to seeing the sun so much.¡±

    The second member of the party to exit the dungeon pushed the Rabbitkin male gently to the side to make way for his large and muscular body.

    ¡°Bah, be a little more careful Erikkar and you can¡¯t possibly understand what I¡¯m going through, aren¡¯t Wolfkin more comfortable in the dark?¡±

    Jerrit was clearly flustered after having been pushed to the side by Erikkar as if he were a sliding door.

    ¡°The both of you, stop your whining. A little darkness and your crying like babies. Did you see the Great Khan whining? He hasn¡¯t even set foot outside the dungeon since he entered! Why don¡¯t you try to act more like him?¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    A third, somewhat haughty voice, soon followed from the entrance to the second floor of the dungeon and they both made way for her.

    ¡°Heh, you sure have become obsessed with the Great Khan, Felicia. You act like you¡¯re his wife when he has only barely acknowledged your existence. I feel bad for your fianc¨¦e, how pitiful he must be haha.¡±

    ¡°Tch, shut up fool.Sable and I are no longer engaged! And the fact that the Great Khan and I just met can¡¯t be helped. There is no way he won¡¯t have taken notice of a strong beauty like me! It is only a matter of time. My father will surely arrange our marriage soon!¡±

    Jerrit and Erikkar couldn¡¯t help giving each other smug looks while they rolled their eyes.

    ¡°I think you need to learn a little bit more about the Great Khan before you make such baseless assumptions¡­.¡± muttered Erikkar.

    While he had only met Fayde a couple of times, he had gotten a measure of his personality and he didn¡¯t think Fayde, who was a Human, thought in such a way. Although, he also believed that Fayde was not a normal Human, but when it came to the quirks and tastes of Demihumans, he was even more different.

    ¡°What do you know!? It¡¯s not like you have spent much time with him either. All men want beautiful and strong women, just look at the wives of the Khan now! Aren¡¯t they all beautiful and strong? I admire them¡­. Hey, you two fools, hurry up!¡±

    The last two members of their party slowly ascended the entryway to the second floor of the dungeon carrying two heavy bags. They were breathing heavily and almost tripped as they lugged the two bags of resources and materials from the dungeon.

    ¡°I¡¯m surrounded by useless brutes, why am I the only female in this group?¡± Felicia said to no one in particular.

    ¡°Come on Erikkar, let¡¯s help Ren and Krill, it seems Felicia is too good for our company.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Indeed, especially since she was the biggest complainer out of all of us. She sure talks big for a princess¡­. Come on, let¡¯s get these resources to the wagons, especially the magic crystals, they will be especially useful! I wouldn¡¯t mind getting my hands on a magic weapon¡­¡±

    Felicia glared at the two but said nothing. She had finally returned to the surface and could bask in the light of the sun once more. Even if they were still surrounded by a gloomy cemetery it was still satisfying and lifted up her mood despite the negative comments of her companions.

    ¡°Ah, whatever. I will leave the manual labor to you brutes, I¡¯m going to head towards the wagons and see if there is anything good! We also need to stock up on supplies if we want to head back in again tomorrow.¡±

    Her companions mumbled something, but she ignored their comments and looks and left towards their base of operations. There were many wagons filled with resources and supplies circled around the camp. They were filled with magic crystals, valuable parts of monsters, food, weapons, armor and other useful pieces of equipment looted from the dungeon. Dungeons were truly treasure troves if you had the manpower to scour them sufficiently.

    While Fayde had considered instituting a monetary system to the tribes, he realized that it was still too immature for such a monumental change to the Demihuman society. Instead, he expanded on their system of bartering and also implemented a simplistic system of achievements which could also be traded for various goods.

    The Demihumans could barter as they normally did, or they could also use achievements to acquire whatever they wanted or needed. Each clan designated so called achievement officers who would calculate achievement points based off of certain criteria which had been decided on by the Khans and what points were assigned would be left to the discretion of these achievement officers. Of course, this system was only for those participating in the dungeon exploration. In a way, it was something like a simple version of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for Demihumans.

    Time to go and report the achievements for our exploration this time around, this is our group¡¯s first report! I hope we get a lot of achievements, we did make it all the way down to the 6th floor! I really wanted to keep up with the Great Khan¡¯s pace though.... I need to make as good impression on him! This is for the sake of my clan....

    Felicia was frustrated as she headed straight towards one corner of the encampment set up as a base for the expedition. She had been arrogant and thought that her party could compete with the Great Khan, but in the end, they could only make it to the 6th floor before it was necessary to return. They had almost lost one of their comrades before they realized they could no longer go on.

    She didn¡¯t feel shame though. Her party had kept pace with Fayde¡¯s party up until the 6th floor and her group had been the second party to make it that far. Every other group had already returned at least once. This was due to her incredible strength and ability as well as the overall strength of her party.

    After I meet with the achievement officer, it¡¯s a bath for me! I haven¡¯t bathed in days and I smell horrible, ugh. I will need to reapply my face paint too!

    As Felicia concerned herself with her own thoughts, she determinedly made her way towards her objective without realising the Tigerkin male who called out to her.

    ¡°FELICIA!¡±

    After the third shout, she finally realized someone was calling out to her and she glanced towards the voice sharply, annoyed that her thoughts were interrupted.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±

    Felicia realized who the voice was from and let out a disgusted sound and sighed.

    ¡°Sable, what do you want?¡±

    Sable had finally caught up to her and reached out to grab her arm, but she slapped his hand away.

    ¡°Who said you could touch me?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal for one¡¯s fianc¨¦e to touch their significant other?¡± He said while smiling affectionately.

    ¡°Tch¡­ didn¡¯t I already tell you that our engagement has been broken? Why did my father bother choosing you to come on this expedition? Were there no other suitable Tigerkin? Ugh!¡±

    Sable ignored her derisive tone and showed no antagonism towards her. He was already familiar with her personality having been her fianc¨¦e for a long time. He also knew that she wasn¡¯t truly a bad girl at heart, she only acted that way because she had a complex of always feeling the need to show a strong front towards everyone. For some reason, Felicia had it in her head that showing weakness was absolutely disgraceful behavior.

    ¡°I just wanted to make sure you were okay¡­ I know you broke the engagement, but it isn¡¯t as if it is decided that you will marry the Great Khan. If he doesn¡¯t accept you¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare finish that, it is already over between us. I don¡¯t mean to hurt your feelings, but I will definitely become his wife! Only the strongest male deserves me as his wife and there is no one stronger than the Great Khan! He is amazing!¡±

    While Felicia had began with an intense voice, as she thought of Fayde her eyes almost sparkled and her voice softened. Whenever she thought of him, she became much cuter than her normal behavior. This made Sable feel jealous since she never had acted that way towards him. He could only watch her with a forlorn look and his shoulders slumped as she continued to act in a daze. He felt as if he didn¡¯t even exist anymore in her eyes.

    ¡°Even still¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough! I am busy, I have to go report to the achievement officer and then I have to restock on supplies. I don¡¯t have time to talk with you, sorry!¡±

    And with that she was off, leaving Sable to stand dumbfounded as he watched her grow more distant. He could only sigh and then walked back towards his own party. His companions watched him with pitiful looks.

 Volume 3 Chapter 7

    On the sixth day, Fayde and his companions had made it to the last floor of the dungeon. The tenth floor was a large necropolis filled with a variety of dangerous undead monsters. Each floor of the dungeon was similar in that there was no change in weather patterns or time of day.

    Eternal night seemed to rule this dungeon. A fitting setting for a realm of the undead.

    ¡°I was really excited when we started this expedition, but this has really turned out to be underwhelming¡­¡±

    Accadeas watched Fayde as he walked ahead, somewhat distant from the rest of the party. Fayde was covered entirely in black flames and as he walked, it attracted undead who continued to swarm him.

    However, not only could they not hurt him, whenever an undead attacked him, they ignited in flames and died.

    ¡°Well¡­. It¡¯s not normally like this. The last time we entered a dungeon, we had a lot of trouble clearing the lower floors. I wasn¡¯t expecting this either¡­¡±

    Even Reia was surprised by the pace of their exploration and just like this, they had moved through the dungeon with relative ease. It wasn¡¯t even necessary for anyone else to act, except for the occasional wandering monster.

    ¡°I¡¯m more concerned with the his silence and the way he has been keeping a distance from us.¡±

    Unlike the others, Laila observed Fayde with a lonely look. She was the most troubled with Fayde¡¯s behavior since she had only spent a brief time with him before he changed so drastically.

    Laila desperately hoped he would return to his previous cheerfulness and his minor clumsiness which she had found to be cute.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do. We just need to be there for him until he is ready to open up to us. I can¡¯t imagine that it is just the matter with Allein that is troubling him. I feel like there is something else, but until he tells us what it is, we can¡¯t help him.¡±

    Laila accepted Reia¡¯s words, but she couldn¡¯t quiet down the incessant voice of caution from within her heart.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in continuing this depressing talk! I want to kill something! Hey Fayde! Leave some monsters for me!¡± Accadeas shouted towards Fayde but was ignored.

    ¡°That bastard¡­¡± Accadeas said under his breath without any malice.

    ¡°Hahaha, what¡¯s the matter Accadeas? Is there no meaning to your life if you¡¯re not killing something you damn demon!¡±

    ¡°Shutup you Imperial rat! You¡¯re lucky Fayde let you live, nevermind having the honor of traveling with us. He should have let me wring your neck!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a rat! I¡¯m a raccoon idiot! Are you too much of a brain dead brute to see the difference!?¡±

    Tris bared her fangs at Accadeas as the two got in each other¡¯s face. Laila got in between them and smacked the two in the head.

    ¡°We are in the middle of a dungeon! Stop fighting! You are embarrassing yourselves.¡±

    It may have just been a simple smack, but a smack from Laila was nothing to sneeze at. The two nursed their pained heads and their bruised pride while Laila glared at them with her ¡®Demon Eyes¡¯.

    ¡°Sorry sister¡­¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­¡±

    Their reactions were very different, but they both acquiesced without arguing any further.

    ¡°Tris, you¡¯ve changed¡­¡±

    Reia had known Tris for several months now and she had noticed the dramatic change from when she was Human till now. Although, she considered whether this was in fact Tris¡¯s true personality and what she had shown before was just acting. Tris had been a spy after all.

    You were never so aggressive before, has becoming a Raccoonkin changed your personality? Reia thought to herself.

    It was something she had spent quite a bit of time thinking about because it might give her insight into Fayde¡¯s change. Was his change due to the affects of the ¡®Void¡¯ or was it something else? She didn¡¯t have the answers, but she hoped in time it would come to her.

    Reia glanced over her shoulders at Allein who had been silent the entire expedition. She knew Allein had some of those answers, but she was remaining silent no matter how much Reia asked. Allein¡¯s behavior and actions were still a mystery and Reia couldn¡¯t understand her.

    As they continued to navigate the crypts and graves within the necropolis, they knew they were drawing closer to the master of this dungeon. They could feel a dark energy building up and swelling somewhere further ahead.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t far now. I can feel an immense power. This is different from the other dungeons we explored¡­¡±

    ¡°Sis, do you see anything with your eyes?¡±

    Laila concentrated and looked off into the distance towards the surge of energy they all felt.

    ¡°There is a dense concentration of energy ahead, it looks almost like a pillar of dark flames¡­ It is similar to when you activate ¡®Demon¡¯s Rage¡¯ brother.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    They all looked towards the area where they felt the dense energy, but only Laila could see it with her eyes. Nonetheless, they could all feel a torrent of power that raged out of control and as they drew closer, it only increased.

    Allein, who had been walking quietly behind the others, approached Reia and lightly touched her shoulder.

    ¡°Reia¡­ it¡¯s dangerous. I think we should return¡­¡± She said in a meek voice.

    ¡°Do you know something about this Allein? Tell me now if you do!¡± Reia raised her voice unintentionally and shook Allein.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Allein stepped away from Reia and shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t know, it just feels¡­ wrong.¡±

    ¡°Bah! You¡¯re no help girl! We should have just left you back at the caravan. Whatever it is, we will just blow it away!¡± Accadeas announced brashly while smashing a fist on his other hand.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and catch up with Fayde, he must have noticed it by now. We need to be prepared for a fight.¡±

    Following after Laila, the group rushed towards Fayde who had stopped moving as he stared towards where they felt the dense energy.

    ¡°Fayde, do you feel that?¡± Said Reia.

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    Fayde released his power and no longer looked like a mass of black flames.

    ¡°That must be the master of this dungeon, let¡¯s hurry.¡±

    Before anyone could say anything else, Fayde took off at a run and they were forced to follow after him.

    The intense energy only grew as they came closer to it and concern was etched in most of their faces. There was also a familiarity that they could not explain and as the energy grew denser, they felt an uncomfortable feeling at the corner of their minds.

    They finally approached an enormous crypt made of blackened stone. As if to guard each side of of the entrance, two gargoyles crouched protectively over the gloomy stairway. Although they were made of stone, they exuded an almost lifelike appearance.

    Fayde approached without caution and stood at the base of the crypt while he observed the gargoyles. They remained motionless and seemed to in fact be, just stone statues.

    ¡°Looks like they aren¡¯t monsters, only decoration.¡± Fayde mumbled to himself.

    ¡°Fayde, be careful! Whatever is the origin of that strange power is coming closer.¡±

    Fayde didn¡¯t seem to hear Reia¡¯s warning and instead his eyes were focused on the entrance at the top of the stairway. He could hear a distant voice slowly invading his mind. It was a voice filled with murderous intent.

    It was a voice that only he could hear, but soon the sounds of something banging against stone caught the attention of the party.

    It was the sound of a cane banging against stone and soon, cackling followed after it. A hooded and robed figure exited from the crypt and stood at the top of the stairway. Once the group¡¯s eyes focused on the solitary figure, they could see a bony hand grasping a large and crooked staff.

    The cackling of the ominous figure continued. It was an unearthly sound that couldn¡¯t possibly belong to a living body of flesh and blood.

    A bony hand pulled back the hood revealing a skeletal and terrifying appearance with smoldering red eyes that glowed intensely.

    ¡°Is it a lich¡­¡±

    ¡°Welcome Fayde.¡± The voice of the creature was grating and creeped eerily at the corner of Fayde¡¯s mind.

    ¡°How do you know my name?¡± Fayde shouted towards the creature.

    ¡°I have been waiting for you¡­ always waiting¡­ I am the ¡®Void¡¯ and the ¡®Void¡¯ is me¡­¡±

    Its voice continued to grow in intensity within Fayde¡¯s mind and as it grew, it became a dull and aching pain.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to its words Fayde! It is only a broken and corrupt fragment! You must not allow it to control you!¡±

    Fayde almost didn¡¯t recognize the voice and was surprised when he saw it was Allein that had spoken out. She had said nothing during the entire expedition, but now she had spoken with certainty as if she knew something no one else did.

    Every eye fell on her with scrutinizing gazes, but her focus was entirely on Fayde as she pleaded with him.

    Once, he might have listened to her warning, but her words only fell on deaf ears. He gave her only a momentary glance before returning his eyes to the lich above him.

    ¡°What are you?¡±

    ¡°A memory... A lingering consciousness reaching out for revenge against those that deceived me¡­ You and I are the same, Fayde. I can feel another part of me within you. Become one with me and together we shall get our revenge!¡±

    The lich struck the stones beneath its feet with its staff and the sound of a bell reverberated through the dungeon.

    An immense swirling tornado of energy spun wildly out of control around the lich. It was only visible to Laila, but the others could feel its intense pressure and they were immediately on guard.

    ¡°Sister, what is going on!?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Fayde! Be careful!¡±

    Fayde could no longer hear the words from his companions and he grasped his head with both hands as the sound of the bell continued to blare within his mind, clouding his reason. He screamed and bent forward, his face distorted in pain.

    ¡°Why do you fight it Fayde? You and I are the same. I know your thoughts, you seek revenge as well. Haven¡¯t you called out in the deepest recesses of your mind for vengeance, to kill and slaughter all that live? Hahahahahaha! LET ME IN!¡±

    Fayde¡¯s companions struggled to move forward against the torrential power that was now circling around the area. It moved like a powerful wind, pushing against them, threatening to toss them away from Fayde¡¯s crumpled form.

    Fayde, who was now on his knees, continued to scream in pain. Black Flames ignited and flared out rhythmically as Fayde struggled to keep his sanity.

    ¡°Laila, quickly, use your ¡®Demon Eyes¡¯! You must help Fayde!¡±

    Reia¡¯s strained voice reached Laila, but before she could use her power, the lich pointed towards her with a bony finger and released a powerful beam that struck her in the shoulder, sending her flying.

    ¡°Do not interfere cursed one!¡±

    ¡°Sister! NO! YOU BASTARD! I¡¯LL KILL YOU!¡±

    Accadeas roared and he began to rage out of control, losing himself to his rage. Before he completely lost his will, he forced words out of his mouth, ¡°Reia, help my sister¡­¡±

    Accadeas roared once more and a dark blood red energy burst out of his body, igniting his body in an immense fury of energy.

    The lich showed no sign of wariness towards Accadeas and cackled as its teeth clattered.

    ¡°You are nothing more than an incomplete and worthless vessel. One which should have been disposed of. I shall rectify that mistake.¡±

    A bony finger was once more raised by the lich and another beam of dark energy was fired towards Accadeas. The beam struck and exploded against his body, but the energy flaring around his body endured.

    ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU!¡±

    Accadeas screamed at the top of his lungs and propelled his body forward at an incredible speed, his fist pulled back ready to give a finishing blow!

 Volume 3 Chapter 8

    Accadeas¡¯s body moved much faster than one would expect for his size. To see an enormous man move at such speeds would cause you to think that you were seeing an illusion. However, a dense concentration of energy surrounded the lich, blocking the powerful rage filled punch of Accadeas and even caused him to be thrown back.

    This was only a mere setback for him and his consciousness had already been consumed by his rage. He continued to rain attacks upon the barrier surrounding the lich with his fists and spear, but no matter how he bashed against it, he couldn¡¯t break it. Lacking sufficient reasoning ability due to his condition, he could only continue his barrage of strikes despite the lack of results.

    The lich cackled as if pleased by Accadeas¡¯s failure and its bones clattered and shook. More energy than could be contained continued to seep out of its body and poured into the atmosphere of the dungeon. Trace trickles of power flowed towards Fayde who was screaming in agony on his knees, unable to move and lacking awareness of the dangerous encounter.

    Reia had found Laila who had been injured and knocked unconscious by the lich¡¯s original attack and began to heal her. Reia could only shiver at the thought of the amount of power that attack must have possessed to injure Laila in such a way. She glanced back over her shoulder towards Fayde and desperately wanted to run to him, but if she didn¡¯t continue to heal Laila, she would die.

    Tris, who had attempted to shoot arrows imbued with her magic, was targeted next and the lich sent a barrage of dark energy. Her arrows bounced off the lich¡¯s barrier and she attempted to evade the black flames that rained down on her and was forced back to where Reia was healing Laila.

    Only Allein stood still and unmoving from her original position. She stood as if the torrential energy that the others had struggled against did not exist. A pensive look adorned her face and her eyes shone brightly in the dark of the dungeon.

    Allein hesitated, but seeing the man she loved in agony tore at her. Her steps were light as she approached Fayde, and in her heart a deep struggle commenced as her desires beat against the drum of her love.

    Before her decision had been made, she had already kneeled down and grasped the side of Fayde¡¯s head within her hands. His eyes had become black pearls and sweat dripped from his brow. His face was wrinkled with the agony he was feeling as he struggled to keep the darkness within him at bay.

    ¡°What are you doing Allein!?¡±

    Allein heard someone call out to her in anger, but she ignored the voice and looked deeply into Fayde¡¯s eyes.

    I must save him, even if¡­. I¡¯m sorry father¡­

    A sound like glass breaking entered her ears and the two fell to the floor as their minds drifted into oblivion.

    <hr>

    Where am I?

    Fayde was filled with a strange sensation of weightlessness as he floated in a space devoid of light. He could feel a presence nearby, but no matter how he tried, he couldn¡¯t see anything. It was as if he drifted in the vast emptiness of space.

    He heard a voice call out to him. Or at least he thought he heard a voice, but it didn¡¯t originate from without his body, instead it originated within his mind.

    The voice pleaded, and it was familiar, but he couldn¡¯t remember where he heard it from before. It grew louder and more determined and it began to tug at him, pulling at him from some unseen place. As the voice grew from a murmur, the pull he felt became stronger and his consciousness became more aware.

    It was at the point that the voice became a crescendo of sound, a blinding light flashed and his feeling of weightlessness subsided. His feet had touched a surface and he steadied himself upon some unknown ground. His eyes slowly opened and what he saw, was a strange white room devoid of any decorations or furniture. Just white walls without any door or openings.

    He looked around in a circle, seeing nothing, but when his body turned to his original position, someone appeared before him startling him.

    It was a tall man, with long black hair and pale skin, almost as white as the walls that surrounded them. He looked as if he were a ghost and one might miss him if not for his black hair and strange crimson eyes.

    The man¡¯s eyes bore into Fayde with an uncomfortable intensity. He felt as if they could see deep into his very being, laying his entire life bare.

    ¡°Who¡­ are you!?¡± Fayde could barely speak those words.

    ¡°I am Argos, welcome to the world between.¡±

    ¡°The world¡­. between?¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Fayde tested those words on his lips and strangely felt some familiarity with them, but he couldn¡¯t place it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°That is to be expected. This is not a natural space, but one created as a byproduct, a distortion in reality caused by abnormal circumstances.¡±

    His words continued to be incomprehensible to Fayde no matter how he considered them. Seeing that his words made no sense to Fayde, the man continued his explanation.

    ¡°When Humans first made contact with the ¡®Void¡¯ they misunderstood the ¡®Void¡¯ as an energy source. So, they continued their experiments, hoping to tap into that energy which seemed limitless. After much trial and error, they made contact with it and to their surprise, the ¡®Void¡¯ communicated with them and they realized that it was not just an energy source, but something alive or at least something with a conscience. It was then that they realized that the ¡®Void¡¯ had seeped into their world and began to corrupt it. Humans that came into contact with its energy were transformed. Some regressed and devolved into horrible monsters while others were merely forcefully merged with animals or strange creatures from myth. Well, the energy that seeped into the world lacked any real guiding conscience and just manifested in various ways based on the thoughts and imagination that Humans possessed. It wasn¡¯t a deliberate act by the ¡®Void¡¯ or one done through malice.¡±

    As the man in white relayed his story, he appeared as if he were reminiscing or as if he were recounting a story he had witnessed himself. At some points his expression seemed fond and at other times reflected regret. It was all very strange to Fayde and while he listened, he felt himself being drawn to the words, like he was being sucked into and experiencing it all first hand.

    The man in white chuckled, ¡°You see, many of our people were engrossed in fantasies and games. You would be familiar with this term, ¡®virtual reality¡¯ right? It wasn¡¯t just the young, but even adults were playing games where monsters existed and they fought with magic and swords. It¡¯s funny actually, but the energy of the ¡®Void¡¯ that seeped into the world latched on to these fantasies and made it reality. Even I enjoyed playing these games. I was a bit of a fantasy buff. The power of the ¡®Void¡¯ is the power of imagination. It is not a being that possesses concepts like Human morality. It is a being that simply creates, and destroys. Originally, it even lacked emotion. It was the influence of Humanity that introduced such concepts. The ¡®Void¡¯ became something like a child, experiencing life as a Human would for the first time and while experiencing that life, it was forced to feel betrayal, pain and loneliness.¡±

    Fayde¡¯s perspective twisted at his words and his vision became blurred for a moment. Once his eyesight returned, the room changed and he returned to that endless and vast darkness. He realized that this was the place where the ¡®Void¡¯ originally existed.

    It was empty, but as the ¡®Void¡¯ stirred, endless creations were brought about, and ended, in an instant. This went on infinitely unaffected by time or space. That was how the ¡®Void¡¯ had always existed, but that changed when Humans made contact with it.

    ¡°I was the first to make contact with the ¡®Void¡¯. I was the head of a team of scientists and it was under my supervision that we bore a hole into another dimension, or perhaps to another plane of existence. In truth, I still don¡¯t know from where the ¡®Void¡¯ came and in hindsight, it was all pure luck that we were able to achieve what we did. When I first came into contact with the ¡®Void¡¯ it had already infected me with its power, but it was a slow change. By the time it was realized, I had already undergone a strange evolution and was quarantined, to be studied you see. It didn¡¯t matter anyway, it was already too late.¡±

    Again Fayde¡¯s vision blurred and his surroundings changed. The words being spoken to him took on a life of their own and images were born in his mind. He could see, as if looking through a window, the events that took place. He listened intently to the words of Argos and in that moment, nothing else existed but a vision of calamity.

    Argos walked slowly towards Fayde as he continued speaking from his memory.

    ¡°In the confusion, chaos and destruction caused by the Humans who had devolved into monsters, some of my colleagues took advantage of this. They saw the potential within the ¡®Void¡¯ and found a means to seal it and control its power, turning themselves into something like gods. Their ambition and their greed knew no bounds, and they began to fight each other for its power. They shattered the world, breaking it into fragments and from these domains they ruled with the power of creation, but there are limitations and they couldn¡¯t fully control the power of the ¡®Void¡¯. Its consciousness was separated and it had taken on various personalities controlled by emotions that it was unfamiliar with. You should be acquainted with some of these, you have within you its will to survive, and you have faced its rage. Now, you face its desire for revenge. You must not let these emotions control you, for it will bring about destruction. Please, return the world to what it once was. It is something that only you can do.¡±

    Argos now stood before Fayde and pleaded, his eyes never once faltering from the intense gaze that bore into him.

    Fayde was filled with uncertainty and his mind was a jumbled mess from all that he had just experienced.

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t¡­¡± He muttered, but couldn¡¯t finish his thought.

    ¡°I understand how you must feel. I once too questioned my own Humanity when my body changed. But, I realized long ago, that it didn¡¯t matter and that what mattered was that I was alive and that I was surrounded by those who I loved and who returned that love. Isn¡¯t that enough? Don¡¯t you have those who rely on you despite your faults? Fayde, even if you were a life created by the ¡®Void¡¯, you are alive and that is all that matters. Let go of your doubts.¡±

    Argos rested his hand on Fayde¡¯s shoulder and spoke with sincerity, ¡°And please, forgive my son and daughter. Tell Allein to forget about the past. Those she hoped to save are long gone and there is no going back. We can¡¯t return from this place and we lived our lives fully and without regrets. Eventually, we will fade away. Now, you must go.¡±

    Argos pushed Fayde and once again he felt weightlessness and he began to drift further and further away from the man called Argos. With those words he finally realized who Argos was.

    Fayde heard the sound of shattered glass as he drifted, and the space he was in cracked and exploded into countless pieces.

    He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a teary eyed Allein cradling him in her arms as she cried, continuously repeating the words, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

 Volume 3 Chapter 9

    Having regained his consciousness, Fayde gently rose from Allein¡¯s body. She had stopped speaking, but the tears flowed from her eyes uncontrollably.

    She was at a loss of what to say or do and she only watched Fayde as he sat uprightly. Fayde looked at her, not with the sad and pitiful look he had shown her since that day she betrayed him, but with a look of understanding.

    ¡°Allein, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He said much to her surprise.

    ¡°What are you saying Fayde, I was the one who hurt you¡­¡±

    When Fayde had first met Allein, she had always spoken in a confident and haughty voice, one that could be mistaken for condescending. He strangely missed that voice even if he knew that she was only pretending. It was a means to protect herself from loneliness and the responsibility that had been thrust upon her.

    Her voice now had become pitiful, but he hoped soon that she could show him her true self. It was something that he had only caught glimpses of.

    An explosion of energy reminded Fayde of where he was. He had almost forgotten, but once he regained his focus, he abruptly stood.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk later. First, I have to deal with this monster.¡±

    Accadeas had been blown back by the lich and he could no longer stand. His rage had finally subsided as all of his power had been used up. He struggled to get up, but couldn¡¯t gather the strength to lift his body and collapsed. The lich cackled at the sight of the struggling warrior, enjoying the sight of his pain and suffering.

    Its eyes once more turned to Fayde and was surprised to see that he was once more standing and no longer in agony.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± The lich¡¯s guttural voice reached Fayde¡¯s ears, but he paid it no mind and instead ignited his body in flames.

    Fayde unsheathed his sword and imbued it with his power.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to end this!¡±

    Fayde swiftly flew towards the lich standing at the top of the enormous crypt and swung his sword sideways in a wide arc, ¡°Void Strike!¡±

    Fayde¡¯s attack unleashed a wide swathe of energy that crashed against the barrier protecting the lich. The barrier itself possessed dimensional properties, but Fayde¡¯s ¡®Void Strike¡¯ had the power to cut across dimensions in a limited field. His strike cut clean through the barrier, sending the lich reeling backwards and its bones clattering due to the impact.

    ¡°You can¡¯t possibly have the will to defy me! There is nothing greater than my REVENGE!¡±

    The lich poured its energy into the tip of its bony finger which was aimed at Fayde and fired an even more intense beam of dark energy towards him.

    ¡°Void Barrier!¡±

    The flaring flames that surrounded Fayde¡¯s body increased in intensity, exploding forth with an immense energy. Fayde¡¯s new ability ¡®Void Barrier¡¯ spread outwards from his body and the beam of dark energy crashed against it, cracking the barrier but dying out before it reached Fayde¡¯s body.

    His encounter and subsequent conquest of his owner inner demons fraught with the desire for revenge allowed him to acquire a similar ability to that of the lich, which was being controlled by the vengeance fragment of the ¡®Void¡¯s¡¯ consciousness.

    ¡°You are nothing more than a weak and pathetic fragment, submit to my will!!¡± The lich commandedin its unnatural voice, but Fayde could hear traces of desperation.

    Fayde gathered ¡®Void¡¯ energy into his fist and released a ¡®Void Beam¡¯ which struck the lich in its shoulder, sending it back a few steps.

    ¡°It¡¯s true that I may not have been born as other Humans, but I am alive and I have my own will. I will not allow a crooked and fleeting desire like revenge to determine my path!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, fool. I shall devour this world and everyone in it!¡±

    Raising its staff, the lich struck the ground once more sending shivers throughout the dungeon. It was almost as if an earthquake had struck and Fayde almost lost his footing. With the distraction, the lich fired several beams of dark energy which struck Fayde¡¯s barrier blowing him back away from the lich.

    ¡°Rise my children, rise and destroy my enemies!¡± Roared the lich as a bright purple glow emanated from its staff.

    Another bell gonged and from the ground all around Fayde and his companions, innumerable undead creatures began to break free.

    ¡°Reia, Allein and Tris, protect Accadeas and Laila! Hold back the undead until I deal with this lich!¡± Fayde shouted without glancing back towards his companions.

    He couldn¡¯t afford to take his eyes off of the lich even for a second. The lich¡¯s bony teeth continued to clack together and it forced a strangely crooked smile that looked absurd on its entirely skeletal face.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°You will all die here and become food for the worms!¡±

    The lich once again raised its staff and a bright flare of purplish energy spread outwards like a stream of light, blanketing the undead monsters in its ghastly glow. Their movements became more precise and they rapidly closed the distance with Reia and the others below.

    ¡°Dammit, I have to help them!¡±

    Fayde moved to rush to their aid but the lich wouldn¡¯t let him go that easily. It recreated its barrier while firing beams of dark energy towards Fayde.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Fayde, I won¡¯t let you die. I still require your body!¡± The lich cackled madly while bombarding Fayde¡¯s barrier relentlessly with its magic.

    ¡°Dammit! You fucking bastard! What do I do¡­. I can¡¯t hold on forever, my VP is being drained continuously.¡±

    Reia and Allein sent barrage after barrage of flame arrows towards the approaching undead and while they were weak to the flames, they continued to advance seemingly without end. Tris enhanced her arrows with flame magic and was sniping the undead monsters as quickly as she could.

    Accadeas rose slowly, he had been mostly healed but he wasn¡¯t at his full strength and Laila was still unable to fight. Accadeas moved in front of the women and prepared to engage in close combat if any undead broke through the barrage of fire magic.

    Fayde sensing the dire situation struggled to hold back the dark energy beams of the lich, ¡°I need more power!¡±

    Fayde quieted his thoughts and reached out with his mind. Even if the ¡®Void¡¯ had created him in the image of a Human, he was no normal Human and the ¡®Void¡¯ was a part of him. If this dungeon and these creatures were an extension of the ¡®Void¡¯ then he should be able to draw strength from the dungeon as well.

    Fayde remembered back to the first time he had explored a dungeon. He remembered the feeling he had when he absorbed power from it. It had been a desperate act, but one that had ultimately been successful.

    ¡°GIVE ME YOUR POWER!!¡± Fayde screamed as he pulled his head back.

    Something within him resonated with the energy pulsing within the dungeon sending vibrations throughout his body. Fayde arched his back in pain and a stream of torrential power poured into him like a pillar that stretched towards the sky.

    ¡°NO!!!!¡±

    Noticing the energy that was streaming into Fayde from the dungeon, the lich cried out in agony as it felt its power being absorbed. The purplish light that had encased the many undead creatures began to wane and they visibly slowed.

    Fayde¡¯s companions had already engaged them in close combat and were almost overwhelmed by their sheer numbers and power. They now fought back more fiercely, pushing the undead creatures back.

    Fayde¡¯s power swelled exponentially and the sound of the surging power being absorbed into his body overwhelmed his screams of pain. Fayde¡¯s body exploded in dense and overwhelming flames, scorching the very air around him.

    His eyes turned black as midnight, leaking shadowy energy from his pupils. A black liquid oozed from the corner of his eye like blood, and throbbing blackish veins pulsated beneath his skin.

    ¡°Aetherius Aeternum!¡±

    In that moment, all time stopped. The struggle of his companions, the mad cackling of the lich, the guttural sounds of the undead, none of it existed within that temporal reality created by Fayde¡¯s use of the ¡®Void¡¯s¡¯ power. It was a power he had made his own and only he existed within that eternal space, his ragged breathing the only sound.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to end this¡­ ¡®Void Strike¡¯!¡±

    Fayde unleashed a wave of dark energy from his blade that cut straight through the torso of the lich without any resistance. The effects of ¡®Aetherius Aeternum¡¯ ended and time returned as it was before Fayde unleashed his power.

    Only Fayde knew what had transpired in that infinite moment in time and the lich could only glance, a momentary and fearful gaze, towards its lower body before its body split cleanly in two and the light of its eyes faded.

    All of the undead creatures that had been under its power dropped to the ground, their lifeless corpses no longer moving.

    Fayde fell on his knees as the flames which surrounded him dissipated and exhaustion hit him. He looked back towards his companions and he saw Reia running towards him while Allein healed a battered Accadeas.

    It appeared that they all survived, and he sighed in relief before collapsing to the ground and losing consciousness.

    Although Fayde hadn¡¯t been severely injured, his mind had been strained by the constant struggle with the fragment of the ¡®Void¡¯. It had drained him of much of his strength and by using an excessive amount of his power afterward, he drifted to sleep and they couldn''t wake him up.

    All of Fayde¡¯s companions had survived and the dungeon had been successfully conquered, but the dungeon core was nowhere to be found. Reia surmised that it must have been somehow absorbed by Fayde during the battle and she also recalled that something like this had happened in the first dungeon they had explored together.

    With nothing left for them, they made their way back towards the entrance of the dungeon slowly.

    Allein watched Accadeas carry Fayde through the dungeon and she refused to take her eyes off of him. She had seen the struggle that he had faced when the seed of revenge attempted to take control of him. She had seen the man that she once called father.

    He looked just like she remembered and a slight smile touched her lips while a single tear slowly glided down her smooth face. She remembered his smile and his kind words. He was always good to all those around him.

    Allein¡¯s mother, and all of her brother¡¯s and sisters who came before her, were not present in that place. But, she remembered the words that her father said to Fayde and she realized that they were all gone.

    The fragments of the ¡®Void¡¯, and the ones that stole its power¡­. The Divinities. But, those so called ¡®Divinities¡¯ didn¡¯t remain comrades for long, they remain in conflict with the ¡®Void¡¯ and each other. I wonder how many of them still remain¡­ I don¡¯t understand it all, but my father was definitely influenced by a fragment of the ¡®Void¡¯ and so was I, but those fragments could not fully control us like they can for Fayde. Fayde was created to be a vessel, but Demihumans were more along the lines of an accident. In my case, the ¡®Void¡¯ fragment I came into contact lied to me, it told me I could save my family, but it was a lie and it also sealed my own mind not allowing me to tell Fayde the truth.

    There was much for Allein to consider as she began to unravel the mysteries of their world and the impact that the ¡®Void¡¯ had on it. With her heart and mind freed from the web of lies inflicted upon her by it, she no longer felt chained and imprisoned. A heavy weight had been lifted from her soul, and she hoped that when Fayde woke, he could find it in his heart to forgive her.

 Volume 3 Chapter 10

    After completely razing the port town of Rik¡¯In, two hundred temple knights made their way towards the siege taking place on the capital city of La¡¯Gun. At their head was a man of inhuman beauty and grace. His luxurious white uniform with golden trimmed lapels and embroidery gave him a majestic look, and together with his beautiful appearance, would have any look upon him with awe.

    At least until he opened his mouth.

    This world is disgusting and the Humans that reside here, mere livestock! Oh why, dear goddess, did you send me to this goddess forsaken place!? Even the air is disgusting, there¡¯s so little Mana. No wonder the magic these Humans use is so archaic and limited!

    The Fae-like man was absorbed in his thoughts as he rode on his horse.

    Every now and then he would glance at one of the humans with a condescending look and snort while insulting them in every way possible. The temple knights could do nothing but grit their teeth and bear it, pretending not to hear the horrible things they were called.

    They were given explicit orders not to antagonize this strange man and even though he wasn¡¯t Human, they were expected to revere him as some kind of saint. They couldn¡¯t understand it, but this was an order from the leader of their faith and to disobey their oath would mean death. .

    And so, they kept their mouths shut.

    ¡°My Lord, we are nearing the siege lines now and we have already been spotted by the Jaspelian scouts.¡± One of the temple knights reported.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time! Finally! Perhaps soon I can complete the mission given to me by the goddess and then I will be able to return to the Woods of Argandale! How I miss my glorious homeland. If only I could lay my eyes upon it for even a moment. I could wash the filth of this place from my sight.¡±

    Of course the temple knight had no idea what this man was talking about. Many of the things he said were incomprehensible to them, for many of the things he talked about did not exist within their world.

    The long eared man called a stop to the marching temple knights and they awaited the messenger from the Jaspelian camp. He didn¡¯t care much for the company of Humans, but he was quite fond of animals. While waiting for the messenger to arrive, he stroked the horse he rode on and whispered in its ear.

    His words seemed to have a calming affect on the horse who was certainly much happier than the temple knights were. The knights were even forced to remain quiet the entire march and any who spoke would be punished severely.

    They waited only a short time before the Jaspelian messenger arrived and gave his greetings.

    ¡°The king of Jaspel gives his greetings to the emissary of the Reginar Homen Empire. He welcomes you to his command tent, please follow me and I will escort you!¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­ So be it. Then lead the way.¡±

    Without any escort, he followed the messenger and eventually reached the large siege encampment which had surrounded the capital city. Towards the western edge of the encampment was an enormous tent, much larger than any the soldiers or officers used.

    It was here that the king of Jaspel and his commanders were heatedly discussing their battle strategy. Noticing the visitor who had just entered their command tent, they briefly ended their discussion and all eyes fell on the guest from the Empire.

    He walked into the tent as if he were entering a pigsty and showed none of the proper respect that should be given royalty, but the king of Jaspel only regard his guest with caution and remained silent.

    One of the officers near the entrance to the tent sneered in anger at the disrespect shown their king and approached the emissary of the Empire.

    ¡°You dare show such disrespect to our king!¡±

    The officer moved forward to grab the shoulder of the emissary and force him to bow, but before he could even put his thoughts to action, he was suddenly silenced and he fell to the floor dead.

    Those in the tent gasped. They hadn¡¯t even seen how the man had been killed. They only saw the emissary slowly sheathe an impossibly thin blade.

    ¡°A Human dares attempt to teach me manners? You aren¡¯t fit to lick the dirt off my boots. I am an Aelfyr, and it is you Humans who should be bowing down to me!¡±

    None of the other officers made a move to approach the emissary. They couldn¡¯t even understand exactly what they had witnessed and before any other casualties happened, the king spoke.

    ¡°Welcome emissary, I apologize for my officers lack of decorum. Certainly, we can¡¯t expect you to be familiar with our customs. I am King Arnalf Rodolfo Ere Di Jaspel, may I know your name?¡±

    The Aelfyr smiled wickedly at the king and even his wicked smile exuded a certain grace.

    ¡°I am Glafandal and as per your agreement with the Empire, I am here to provide support in helping you end the siege.¡±

    A terrifying murderous aura enveloped all those in the room and they thanked the Divinities that this being was not here for them. They all shrank back in fear away from this inhuman man.

    His aura faded as if it had never existed to begin with and the king and his officers in the tent heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°But first¡­ I will need a bath and some time to relax, perhaps in a few days.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Glafandal¡¯s words caught everyone in the tent by surprise and before anyone could respond he had already left as if he had never been there.

    ¡°What¡­ your highness, what exactly is going on?¡± One of the officers asked.

    ¡°Despite his strange peculiarities, he was sent by the Empire to help us end the siege.¡± Replied the king.

    ¡°Your majesty, how exactly are two hundred temple knights and that strange man going to end the siege? I could feel his power¡­ but even still¡­¡±

    ¡°Have patience, we will know in time.¡±

    Even the king didn¡¯t know exactly how Glafandal would end the siege, but he wasn¡¯t about to show the others his uncertainty.

    Meanwhile Glafandal made his way towards where the temple knights were setting up camp within the larger encampment.

    ¡°The Mana in this world is too sparse, it¡¯s giving me a headache¡­ He is getting closer now, soon I will be able to leave this cursed place. Hurry along now Fayde, destiny awaits!¡±

    Glafandal¡¯s wicked and arrogant laugh was carried along the wind.

    <hr>

    Fayde opened his eyes slowly. He was alone in his bed and the light was dim. Grogginess hit him and he rubbed his eyes as his mind gained focus once more.

    ¡°What happened¡­¡± He muttered to himself.

    Fayde looked around and seeing no one in the vicinity, he rose from his bed and struggled to his feet. He attempted to call out but his throat was extremely dry and his voice wouldn¡¯t respond the way he wanted it to. He could only force out a few words in a low whisper.

    ¡®I need some water¡¯

    Currently that was all Fayde could think of and he wobbled his way forward in search of some water to drink.

    As he moved the thick hide covering that acted as a door, some of his servants noticed him and jumped in surprise. One of them quickly ran towards another part of the yurt while the other ran over to help support Fayde as he walked.

    ¡°Water¡­¡± He forced out and the servant called out for other servants to hear.

    She was unwilling to leave Fayde to walk alone. One of the other Rej¡¯Gan soon came with a cup of water which Fayde greedily drank as he was helped into a seated position on a cushion. Fieral rushed into the area of the yurt where Fayde was seated with a look of relief on her face.

    ¡®I must have worried a lot of people, just how long was I out?¡¯ He thought.

    Before he had finished his drink and could speak, several worried people entered. Among them were all of his companions.

    ¡°Why do all of you look like someone died?¡± Were Fayde¡¯s first words and he chuckled at his own joke.

    ¡°Fayde¡­¡± Mouthed his wives almost as one and they ran over to him, all except for Allein who stood back.

    They practically jumped onto him and he almost fell back, but the servants by his side supported him so he didn¡¯t fall.

    ¡°How long was I sleeping for you guys to be this worried?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been sleeping for weeks! We have almost reached the forest bordering the kingdom..¡± Reia replied.

    ¡°Weeks¡­¡±

    The only explanation he could think of as the cause for this was the use of his new ability, ¡®Aetherius Aeternum¡¯. The strain on his body must have been too great, or perhaps he wasn¡¯t yet powerful enough to use it without causing harm to his body.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you are awake now¡­ we were so worried¡­¡± Laila was practically in tears.

    Fayde looked around the room and saw Accadeas holding himself back, Tris was there too. Then his eyes met Allein and lingered there for a moment. Allein didn¡¯t approach and she looked uncomfortable as if she didn¡¯t know how she should act, but concern was on her face.

    After what seemed like an eternity to Allein, Fayde took his eyes off of her and addressed Reia.

    ¡°You say we are almost at the border of the kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Good, it¡¯s about time we arrived. Everything begins now, doesn¡¯t it. Accadeas, crossing through the forest will be troublesome. We will have to move slowly through, but I want to send an advance force to secure the town of Enrain first. We can use the town as a base of operations for our invasion. Prepare about three thousand warriors, I will lead them myself.¡±

    Accadeas nodded in agreement and left the yurt to prepare.

    ¡°I want to talk with Allein.. Alone. Don¡¯t worry I am fine now, I won¡¯t take long, okay?¡±

    Even though Reia and Laila were worried and didn¡¯t want to leave his side, they didn¡¯t say anything more and left with everyone else. Only Allein and Fayde remained.

    Allein wasn¡¯t certain of what she should do and so she uncomfortably stood in the same spot a good distance from where Fayde was sitting.

    ¡°Come closer Allein, sit.¡±

    She complied without saying anything and moved closer.

    ¡°I know you saw what happened at that time, the conscient of your father.¡±

    Allein nodded awkwardly, but her eyes were filled with sadness.

    ¡°We have all been fools, manipulated by the ¡®Void¡¯. You should know that now.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± She replied in a whisper.

    Fayde sighed and couldn¡¯t bring himself to look at her dejected form.

    ¡°No matter the circumstances, we all make choices and sometimes those choices aren¡¯t good ones. That doesn¡¯t change the responsibility we must face for making them. You broke my trust, do you understand? What you did.. It could have ended me, I might have been taken over by a fragment of the ¡®Void¡¯s¡¯ consciousness and ceased to be. I understand your reasons and I know that it isn¡¯t entirely your fault, but I can¡¯t bring myself to forgive you so easily.¡±

    Allein listened patiently and as Fayde spoke, her heart and mind were struck repeatedly as if she were being pounded by a hammer. But, she had already steeled herself knowing full well that this would most likely happen.

    Fayde watched her from the corner of his eye and he could see her hopelessness and while it grieved him, he continued.

    ¡°Allein¡­. You betrayed me, do you understand? My heart just isn¡¯t ready yet to forgive you¡­. ¡°

    This time Fayde resolved himselfand took her head in his hands so that their eyes would meet and so that she couldn¡¯t turn away.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t stopped loving you Allein, but I can¡¯t bring myself to forgive you either¡­ I can¡¯t trust you fully¡­ but it doesn¡¯t mean that I never will again, do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±

    Tears glistened on Allein¡¯s face and she did her best to nod while choking up and looking into Fayde¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I never expected that you would forgive me so easily¡­¡±

    Fayde released his hold on her and even though Allein was crying, she also felt relieved. If Fayde had forgiven her just like that, she would not have been able to forgive herself because she felt she wouldn¡¯t truly be worthy of such forgiveness.

    ¡°Thank you Fayde¡­¡±

    She knew he was giving her a chance, a chance she didn¡¯t deserve.

    ¡®I promise Fayde, I will earn your trust and my place at your side.¡¯ She thought with newfound determination.

    Fayde, seeing her visible change, was satisfied in his heart.

 Volume 3 Chapter 11

    Fayde struggled to keep his balance while riding a spotted brown and white horse. He had memories of riding a horse in his past, although the memories weren¡¯t truly his. He had somewhat come to terms with his strange existence, but there was still an uncomfortable feeling at the back of his mind. Its incessant nagging was a constant reminder of his ambiguous origins.

    Regardless, he could at least ride well enough not to fall off.

    ¡°It would be humiliating if I fell while riding at the head of an army of three thousand Demihuman warriors. They practically worship me at this point, but the pressure is just too much. I¡¯m just an average guy¡­ actually, no that¡¯s wrong. I¡¯m not sure what I am¡­¡±

    Reia, who was riding at his side, observed Fayde carefully. These days, she had barely left his side. She could tell that he was under an enormous amount of stress. It wasn¡¯t just the fact that he was troubled by his connection with the Void, but his mental state seemed to be under constant duress.

    He would sometimes mumble or blurt out incomprehensible things. At other times his demeanor was aggressive or emotionless. She couldn¡¯t make much sense of it, but she was at least relieved that they were usually only temporary states.

    Overall, his mood had improved greatly and it seemed he had settled the issues he had with Allein in his heart, but there was still an unexplainable darkness in his eyes.

    He didn¡¯t seem much like the jovial, yet slightly sarcastic, man that he used to be. Instead, she felt that there was a raging inferno rising within him, biding its time, until it finally broke free from the restraint of his ever wavering will.

    ¡°I will be his strength¡­¡± Reia thought as she gritted her teeth, ¡°No, not just me. Laila.. Allein too. And there are many others, all of the Demihumans who have put their hopes in him¡­¡±

    She knew she wasn¡¯t alone and neither was Fayde.

    ¡°How nostalgic¡­¡± Fayde reminisced about the last time he had made his way through the forest after defeating the Human army sent to attack the Foxkin.

    ¡°Nothing has changed, the forest is still the same, isn¡¯t it?¡± Reia asked while looking up at Fayde on his horse.

    Fayde chuckled, ¡°Well, there are a lot less monsters now that our army has passed through. Shar, the last time we were here, that was when you first became my prisoner. Well, that hasn¡¯t changed but I think you will soon see things my way.¡±

    Shar gave Fayde a wry smile and rolled his eyes, ¡°There are still two armies and a city to conquer before that happens!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of time. There isn¡¯t an army in the North that can stop us, but enough of that. We have finally passed through the forest into the Kingdom of La¡¯gun. The town of Enrain is not far now. As planned, Shar and I will go on ahead and infiltrate the town. We¡¯ll contact Orban and assess the Kingdom¡¯s situation. Even though I¡¯ve been gone for quite a long time by this point, no one is aware that I am Great Khan, so there shouldn¡¯t be any issues with infiltrating the town even if security is tight. Either way, if necessary, I can just fly away. It¡¯s not like anyone there would be a threat to me.¡±

    ¡°What about Shar? Are you certain that no one will recognize him?¡± Reia asked thoughtfully.

    ¡°We already discussed this, I doubt anyone will recognize him. Most of the townspeople have never seen him, only heard of his reputation. The same goes for the town guards. Orban will recognize him, but he still won¡¯t be aware of the circumstances. It will be fine.¡±

    Reia nodded in agreement and raised no other concerns.

    When Fayde had first informed them of his plan, everyone had raised objections. It seemed absurd for a Great Khan to personally infiltrate an enemy stronghold. After Fayde explained his plan to them, they were mostly convinced even if they still felt uncomfortable about it.

    It wasn¡¯t as if his life would be in danger and it was true that Fayde and Shar were the only two who were still Human, or at least appeared Human, among them. They were the only ones capable of entering the town without incident and Shar was still technically a prisoner, so he couldn¡¯t go alone.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go Shar. Reia, make sure you wait at least half a day before marching towards Enrain. If all goes well, we should be able to take the town with very little resistance. I would prefer if we could take it without suffering any casualties.¡±

    As Fayde turned his horse and headed towards Enrain, Shar also urged his horse on and followed closely behind him. It was quite early in the morning and the sun was still busily rising as the two quietly rode towards the town.

    Shar was having a difficult time coming to terms with all of this.

    He knew very well that the Kingdom wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the Demihuman invasion. He doubted the entire North could, although he was sure that the Demihumans would take significant losses if they tried to conquer the entire North. He didn¡¯t think Fayde was that foolish, so then what exactly was he concerned with?If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    He felt pity, pity at the rotting corpse of the country his father and he himself had put their lives and efforts into supporting. He also felt regret at the thought of the former king¡¯s dream falling to the wayside.

    ¡°No, in truth, that dream is already gone. The current king has no intention of following through with his father¡¯s vision. Truthfully, Fayde envisions that dream more than the current king.¡± He thought to himself.

    No longer willing to ride in awkward silence, Fayde turned to Shar and said, ¡°I know you are conflicted by all this. I don¡¯t wish to cause more harm than necessary. If possible, I would like this invasion to go without a single death. I bear no ill will against the kingdom, but this is a necessary step. It¡¯s not just for the sake of the Demihumans¡­ It¡¯s for everyone¡¯s sake, including my own. I need as much strength as possible. You may not realize this yet Shar, but you will soon come to realize the reason. There is much that lies hidden in this world and if we want to survive, both Humans and Demihumans must unite their strengths.¡±

    Shar remained silent for a time, not knowing how to respond to Fayde¡¯s words. He just quietly observed Fayde riding on his horse.

    ¡°Just what are you Fayde? Are you even Human? There is still much I don¡¯t understand, but his power is undeniable. No Human could possibly possess such power.¡±

    There were many strange phenomenon and unexplained circumstances that he just couldn¡¯t explain so he would just have to trust Fayde¡¯s words.

    ¡°Are you so certain I won¡¯t betray you?¡± Shar finally replied.

    Fayde chuckled, ¡°Of course, but even if you did, what could you do?¡±

    ¡°Indeed¡­ what could I do..¡± Shar mumbled.

    They traveled for most of the day before finally arriving at the western gate of Enrain. Shar was surprised to see a large crowd of people waiting to enter the town. The people had wagons filled with all manner of personal possessions and it looked as if they had fled their homes.

    ¡°How could this be?¡± Shar thought. ¡°Has the war reached here? That can¡¯t be possible¡­ did the Kingdom lose the battle at the border?¡± He was greatly concerned by what he saw.

    ¡°Hmm, looks like things aren¡¯t going so well for the kingdom.¡± Said Fayde out loud, mimicking Shar¡¯s thoughts.

    Shar and Fayde rode closer to the long line of refugees waiting to enter the town. It was a chaotic scene and there were probably a few hundred people trying to enter. They were most likely from farming settlements in the region as most of them looked as if they might be farmers.

    They were the only two on horseback and many of the poor looking farmers stared at the two with hesitation and slight fear.

    Even though Shar and Fayde had dressed somewhat plainly, it was difficult to hide their regal bearing. Fayde had already become accustomed to his new status as Great Khan, and Shar had been an important minister of the country. There was no way that this wouldn¡¯t be noticed by the people around them.

    They were also riding strong and healthy horses, which was not something these poor farmers could ever hope to afford. Even if they could afford a horse or donkey, they would not be as healthy looking as the two horses these men rode.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think we would draw attention to ourselves as soon as we got here.¡± Fayde said lightly to Shar who was riding next to him.

    ¡°I think you underestimated the poverty of the peasantry. Unfortunately, while their lives have certainly improved with the policies of the former king, it was only marginal. Most people struggle just to survive each year. It was most likely too much to expect that we wouldn¡¯t stand out. Of course, we weren¡¯t expecting this either.¡± Shar nodded towards the chaotic line of people as he spoke.

    ¡°True enough, this is peculiar. Well, we might as well as play the part. I feel bad about it, but we don¡¯t have time to waste. Let¡¯s see if we can use this to gain entry more quickly.¡±

    Fayde and Shar continued to move towards the city gates. The throng of people made way for them as they feared being trampled. The nobility weren¡¯t known for their kindness and while they couldn¡¯t be certain that these two strangers were nobles, they weren¡¯t willing to take the chance.

    When they finally made their way towards the gate, they noticed the reason for the chaotic scene. There were way too few guards at the gate and they were having difficulty controlling and managing the crowd. Fayde also noticed that some of the guards weren¡¯t town guards at all, but adventurers.

    ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s going on?¡± Said Fayde.

    Before Shar could respond, one of the men at the gates who looked to be the commander, called out to the two nervously, ¡°Halt, Milords. I apologize, but everyone must be inspected before entering the town. There are no exceptions.¡±

    Even though the guard commander spoke nervously, his eyes were resolute..

    ¡°No need to be nervous, I understand. I see adventurers among you, does that mean the adventurer¡¯s guild is taking part in securing the town?¡± Fayde responded calmly.

    ¡°Currently the town is under strict martial law, the adventurer¡¯s guild is also tasked with the security of the town in this situation.¡±

    ¡°I see, so that must mean Orban is involved. Is there any way you could send him a message for me? It¡¯s of the utmost importance that I speak with him. Here, a token of my good will.¡±

    Fayde threw the guard a pouch filled with coins that clanked as the bag flew through the air and into his waiting hands. He was initially surprised by the pouch of coins, but after checking the contents, he smiled and put the pouch away.

    ¡°It might be possible to pass along a message.¡± The guard commander said in a much more calm voice.

    ¡°Tell Orban that a man who once had the name Peter has returned and is looking for him. He¡¯ll know what that means.¡±

    ¡°Alright, just wait here. I¡¯ll send someone to pass your message along.¡±

    The guard walked over to one of his subordinates and whispered into his ear. His subordinate entered the town at a run and the guard commander motioned for Fayde and Shar to wait towards the side of the crowd so as not to interfere with their inspections.

    It wasn¡¯t long before an adventurer arrived and spoke with the guards at the entrance to the town. He walked over to Fayde and Shar and led the two through the inspection point at the gate. There were some unhappy glances from the peasants, but no one complained as they made their way into the town.

 Volume 3 Chapter 12

    Fayde and Shar were led into the town by a member of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and were met with an unexpected scene.

    The town was packed with refugees everywhere. They weren¡¯t expecting that so many had fled their homes, but it looked like all of the people from the surrounding areas had fled here.

    Hastily constructed shanties dotted the entire landscape of the town. Most of the refugees were living in squalor and had fearful looks. It seemed that this was not a recent occurrence but something which had been taking place for weeks now.

    ¡°What could have happened to cause this?¡± Fayde muttered to himself.

    Fayde hadn¡¯t seen much of the world of Aergan. All of his time had been spent either living in Enrain and visiting some of the local areas around it, or within the Plains of Sorrow. Considering there wasn¡¯t much civilization on the Plains of Sorrow, Enrain had really been his only experience of civilization in this world.

    Most of the knowledge he learned about Aergan he gained through conversation, and even those whom he spoke with didn¡¯t have much knowledge themselves.

    Most people would know about the place of their birth, some might know about the local regions, but only a few others might know a bit of what was going on within the entirety of the kingdom.

    Forget about knowledge of other kingdoms, only the nobility would have this information and none of them would have associated with an unknown adventurer.

    ¡°The importance of information can¡¯t be understated. I will have to eventually develop my own information network. Being in the dark is not a pleasant experience.¡± Fayde couldn¡¯t help mulling about this.

    There was much he felt he needed to do, but he worried whether he truly had the ability necessary to achieve his goals. It was too late to go back, all he could do was continue to move forward. He was shouldering the responsibility of an entire species and he could only shudder at the weight of it.

    Shar silently observed Fayde from the side as they moved through the town. He had come to understand Fayde¡¯s personality well over the past few months he had been a prisoner and they had even become friends.

    Fayde had assured him that they would do their utmost not to harm the people. Shar trusted that he would keep his word, but was still concerned. There were many unknowns in war, and Fayde was still inexperienced. He had led the Demihumans in battles against monsters and had even fought a battle against soldiers of the kingdom, but a large scale invasion was very different.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just have to put my faith in him.¡± Shar thought positively.

    It didn¡¯t take long to arrive towards the center of the town where the market and Adventurer¡¯s Guild was situated. After the death of Lord Marbell, Orban had become the temporary leader of the town until a new lord could be enfeoffed.

    Due to the preparations for war and subsequent invasion of the Kingdom of Jaspel, the town had gone lordless for quite some time. Orban had successfully kept the town together and ensured the safety of its inhabitants. Fortuitously, the town hadn¡¯t come under any serious danger, otherwise it would most likely had been razed and its inhabitants scattered.

    Fayde and Shar were led into the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and asked to remain within a meeting room situated in the building. They waited for several minutes before the door to the room opened and Orban walked in with a solemn face.

    His appearance hadn¡¯t changed much, but he looked like he had aged quite a bit since Fayde last saw him.

    ¡°Fayde! I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s you. I thought you might be dead!¡± Orban¡¯s booming voice brought a smile to Fayde¡¯s face.

    It hadn¡¯t been that long since he had seen him last, just several months, but he was happy to see that Orban didn¡¯t change too much.

    ¡°I¡¯m still alive.. Somehow, haha.¡± Fayde stood and walked over to Orban in order to shake his hand in greeting, but Orban grabbed him and gave him an overbearing hug.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know how relieved I am to see you still alive. After I heard that the kingdom was sending soldiers to attack the Foxkin, I was exceedingly worried! When the soldiers never returned, I didn¡¯t know what to think! Looks like you are fine though, where is Reia?¡± Orban wouldn¡¯t let Fayde get in any words as he rapidly spoke one word after another.

    He finally noticed Shar who was still seated and his eyes went wide, ¡°Shar!? Is that you!? I thought you were dead!¡±

    Shar chuckled and shrugged, ¡°Not dead yet, although I might as well be.¡±

    Orban excitedly rushed over to Shar and shook his hand. After he calmed down, they all sat and Fayde did he best to explain what happened directly after the kingdom attacked and how they had fled into the Plains of Sorrow, but he didn¡¯t explain further than that while letting Orban digest the information.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe the kingdom would attack the Foxkin¡­ the former king must be rolling in his grave. The Foxkin saved his life¡­¡± Orban shook his head and grunted in anger. ¡°So where is Reia?¡±

    Fayde took a deep breath before continuing, ¡°Alright, this is the difficult part.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that boy?¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Ah, nothing. Listen, Orban, I don¡¯t know how to put this.¡±

    ¡°Just spit it out, you don¡¯t have to keep anything from me.¡± Orban said, prepared to hear the worst.

    ¡°It¡¯s not what you think, Reia is fine. She should be here soon actually. Before we get to that, I need to know what is going on. I see refugees everywhere and there are hardly any guards protecting the town. Can you tell me what the situation of the kingdom is?¡±

    Orban explained that the King of Jaspel had married the daughter of the King of Quijon and this marriage unified their two Kingdoms in a short period of time.

    Along with several mercenary bands that were hired, both kingdoms combined their armies and launched the largest invasion that the North had seen in a very long time.

    This caught the Kingdom of La¡¯gun by surprise and they lost several battles before finally being forced to retreat to the capital. The capital of the kingdom was currently under siege and all available soldiers and adventurers had already been gathered to defend the city.

    The rest of the kingdom was almost entirely defenseless. If these circumstances weren¡¯t already bad enough, the Empire also sent a force of Temple Knights north to attack the kingdom. They razed the port of Rii¡¯kin and pillaged the surrounding countryside. This was the reason for the many refugees within the town.

    ¡°Luckily, they didn¡¯t come here and instead headed towards the capital to join the siege. Truthfully, I don¡¯t know what can possibly be done now. There is only a small garrison left here and I don¡¯t think there are any soldiers left anywhere else in the kingdom. The fortress guarding the southern pass was even gutted of men. This really is the last stand for the kingdom.¡± Orban could only sigh dejectedly after explaining the dire circumstances.

    Even though he felt slightly guilty, Fayde couldn¡¯t help feeling fortunate at the kingdom¡¯s precarious situation. This would only make things easier for his own conquest and the more he thought about what Orban had told me, the deeper a strategy formed in his mind.

    He had not been expecting such a situation, but how could he pass this opportunity up? Fayde wouldn¡¯t just swallow one country, instead he would swallow all three that were now on his plate.

    ¡°It really does sound like it is the end for the kingdom. Orban... umm I know this might be hard to hear, but there is something important I need to tell you and there is something I need you to do.¡±

    ¡°No need to be hesitant, just spit it out! If it¡¯s something I can do then of course I will help you out. You helped the Foxkin and Reia, I definitely owe you a favor for it.¡±

    ¡°Hehe¡­ uh..¡± Fayde rubbed the back of his head while thinking about how he was going to inform Orban that a massive army of Demihumans was about to invade the kingdom.

    ¡°Try not to overreact okay? Just let me explain the circumstances and I think you will see this as a good thing in the long term.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have all day Fayde, just say it.¡± Orban replied.

    Fayde looked at Shar for encouragement, but he only chuckled while shrugging.

    ¡°Alright. There is a vanguard force of three thousand Demihumans on there way here right now, they should be here within a couple of hours.¡± Fayde finally said calmly, not quite matching the severity of the situation.

    ¡°What!? What did you say!?¡± Orban jumped out of his seat while yelling.

    ¡°Orban, just sit, calm down. There is more.¡± Fayde waited until Orban calmed down and returned to his seat before continuing. He was clearly nervous but waited for Fayde to continue.

    ¡°This is just the vanguard, there are another thirty thousand warriors crossing over into the kingdom from the Plains of Sorrow and an additional eighty thousand or so Demihumans on top of that. They will be here in a matter of days.¡±

    At this point Orban was a nervous wreck, but Fayde waited until he calmed down before continuing.

    ¡°We¡¯re finished¡­. I can¡¯t believe this, what are we going to do now? Forget the Kingdom of Jaspel! There is no way we could fight off an army of that size without the united forces of a few kingdoms, perhaps even all of the kingdoms of the north. Wait, Fayde, how do you know all of this? Shar, is this true?¡±

    Shar nodded slowly without saying a word, instead giving him a look of resignation.

    ¡°This might be hard to believe Orban, but you need to surrender. There is no way the town can hold out against the Demihuman army. If you promise to surrender then they won¡¯t hurt anyone within the city, you have my word.¡±

    ¡°Fayde, what are you saying? Are you saying you are helping them? Did they send you here to negotiate? What is going on?¡± Orban asked suspiciously.

    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s kind of a long story. How do I say this¡­¡± Fayde scratched his head before continuing, ¡°Well... It¡¯s not that I am helping the Demihumans. You see... I somehow one way or another became their Great Khan.¡± Fayde let his words sink in for a minute while he shyly chuckled.

    When it finally hit him, Orban stared at Fayde with his mouth open and then looked at Shar as if he didn¡¯t believe what he heard. After looking at Fayde one more time, he started to laugh uproariously as if he had heard a great joke.

    ¡°Stop joking with me Fayde, I almost believed you there for a second.¡±

    Orban¡¯s big hand slapped Fayde on the shoulder as he continued to laugh. He only stopped when he realized that both Fayde and Shar were staring at him with serious looks.

    ¡°You¡¯re not joking.. Are you?¡± He finally whispered with a resigned sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s true. I am the Great Khan, leader of all the Demihuman tribes. I came here to ask you to surrender. I promise that none will be harmed if you open the gates peacefully. You only have a handful of defenders, they can¡¯t hold the walls. The town would fall in a very short time either way. This way, no one has to be hurt. Not only that, but we brought plenty of food and supplies. We can feed the helpless refugees and restore order to the town. This is a win-win for you. I know you might feel like it is betraying your country, but either way this country is finished. At least with me, can trust my word that I won¡¯t harm anyone who surrenders peacefully. I also promise to restore order to the surrounding areas so we can have refugees begin returning to their villages and farms.¡±

    Orban listened quietly with a defeated look. It didn¡¯t take him long at that point to make his decision. There really was no hope for their current situation. Even if he wanted to fight, it wasn¡¯t as if he could and there would be no help. It wouldn¡¯t be long till the kingdom fell anyway.

    ¡°You really haven¡¯t left me much of a choice have you?¡± He said while smiling bitterly. ¡°Do I have your word that no harm will come to the people?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I promise. I have no intention of harming innocent people and not only that, but I have nothing but the best intentions. I know that things aren¡¯t going to be easy, especially with such a large number of Demihumans coming here, but keep in mind that they had to live as outcasts on the Plains of Sorrow. Humans have pushed them to the brink of extinction and continue to cause untold suffering for their people. I don¡¯t expect Humans and Demihumans to get along immediately, it will take time. I don¡¯t want to lie to you though, if any Humans try to get in my way or harm any of my people, then I will not hesitate to end their lives.¡±

    Orban was relieved by Fayde¡¯s words and finally took a deep breath, ¡°Of course. I wouldn¡¯t expect it any other way. I will have to take care of this myself¡­¡±

 Volume 3 Chapter 13

    At midnight, the stars shone dimly in the sky above. The town of Enrain was quiet as the good folk of the town, as well as the refugees slumbered. Among the seemingly quiet peace, shuffling feet hurried across the grassland that surrounded the town.

    A dark and wide open gateway beckoned as several silhouettes made their way through the gateway and into the town. They quickly hurried off into several directions as a continuous stream of shadowy figures followed after them.

    What followed next was a series of scuffles and the occasional sound of iron against iron. However, the sounds faded quickly and when the sun finally rose in the morning, the people woke none the wiser.

    Of course, as morn broke and the peasants began another fruitless day, they were met with the sight of a fierce army of Demihumans. While some of the Humans living in the kingdom were familiar with the Foxkin of the forest, most had never actually seen one.

    Those living in Enrain were somewhat more familiar with them as they occasionally traded with the foxkin, and Reia was a common sight in the town. However, the sight of an army of thousands of Demihumans from various tribes shocked the Humans of Enrain beyond words.

    The refugees especially had never seen a Demihuman in their entire lives and while the Demihumans were mostly human-like, they still possessed features that made them distinct from Humans.

    As Fayde expected, the citizens of Enrain panicked in fear and initially lashed out at the Demihuman warriors. The citizens rebelled and fights broke out across the town injuring many. Fayde had given strict orders to the Demihumans not to kill any of the citizens unless absolutely necessary.

    Those who rebelled attempted to occupy and barricade some of the larger buildings and streets within the town. Most did not possess suitable weapons and had to rely on anything they could find to resist.

    In the end, it only took a couple of days to safely quash those who were rebelling and restore order. It would have been over much quicker if not for Fayde¡¯s orders to not kill the Humans living in the town. He did everything he could to minimize the damage and to attempt to negotiate with the people.

    Once peace was restored and the carts of food started arriving, most of the people calmed down and some even became appreciative. It was impossible to eliminate the prejudice and anger the Humans had towards the Demihumans in a short period of time though. Many still harbored anger and hatred in their hearts, but the people of the kingdom were much more open minded than Humans living in other kingdoms.

    Over the next several days, a seemingly endless river of Demihumans snaked their way through the forest at the border of the Plains of Sorrow and made their way towards Enrain. Their numbers startled the Humans living in the town and many breathed a sigh of relief that they had not continued to resist the occupation.

    As the Demihumans continued to arrive and settle in, their yurts and tents completely covered the grassland as far as the eye could see. Only the initial occupation army stayed within the town to keep the peace and order while the other Demihumans remained outside the town.

    Fayde and Shar took up residence within the unoccupied lord¡¯s manor and worked alongside Orban to handle the distribution of food, as well as oversee the maintaining of the peace of the town. Most of the administration duties were handed over to Orban since he had already been managing the town before Fayde arrived.

    On the ninth day of the occupation, Fayde finally had a moment of peace as he sat down on a couch within a study in the manor.

    He had only been resting for a short time when a sudden knock disturbed him from his thoughts.

    Fayde sighed, ¡°What now¡­. Come in.¡±

    The door opened and one of the Demihuman warriors entered respectfully, ¡°Great Khan. The tribal Khans with their families, as well as your wives and servants, have all finally arrived. They have sent word ahead that they would enter the town within the hour.¡±

    ¡°I just sat down¡­ ah, okay. It was about that time anyway. Prepare a welcoming for them. We will need many warriors to guard the gate and keep the townspeople away. Shar, Orban and I will also welcome them at the gate. See to it.¡±

    ¡°Yes Great Khan.¡±

    The warrior bowed respectfully and left Fayde alone in the study. Fayde felt far more tired than he expected and the weight of responsibility bore down heavily on his shoulders.

    ¡°Alright, looks like my rest time is over.¡±

    Fayde slowly rose and readied himself to welcome his family and subjects. He had become so used to his servants taking care of all the menial tasks for him that he had almost forgotten what it was like to live normally.

    He had begun to take it for granted and thinking about it, he realized what a convenience it was to have servants to take care of all of the daily menial tasks. He wouldn¡¯t be able to handle all of his responsibilities as a leader and everything else without their service.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Fayde to prepare and he quickly made his way towards the west gate alongside Shar and Orban. Dozens of warriors surrounded Fayde and their menacing gazes kept any of the townspeople from getting too close.

    ¡°Look, there he is¡­ I still can¡¯t believe it.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t believe what?¡±

    ¡°That he¡¯s Human¡­ a Human leading all of these Demihumans¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, at least we don¡¯t have to go hungry anymore..¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t trust any of them! What if they start going crazy and kill all of us?¡±

    Many of the citizens whispered with fearful looks as they watched Fayde make his way towards the west gate. He was aware of their worries and concerns and while he didn¡¯t necessarily blame them, it still was upsetting. Stolen story; please report.

    The town had become much more peaceful and quiet over the last few days. There was no longer any conflict within the town, at least on the surface. Of course, Fayde¡¯s life had never actually been in danger. It was impossible for a regular person to injure him, nevermind to take his life.

    Fayde had become so powerful that only truly extraordinarily powerful heroes could pose any sort of threat to him. Nonetheless, his guards took their job seriously and kept any possible threats away from him.

    Throngs of people were also making their way towards the west gate. Many had heard that there was something going on at the entrance today, as many Demihuman warriors had gathered there and entry through the west gate was being restricted.

    Refugees had still been trickling in over the past week, although they were no longer walking alone towards the town. Every day, dozens of scouts were being sent out to round up refugees leaving their homes and escort them to the town. The refugees were usually forcefully escorted since many of them tried to run once they saw Demihumans approaching.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting there to be such a crowd.¡± Shar said while walking beside Fayde.

    Orban chuckled and said, ¡°Humans are naturally curious as you know, but these people are especially bored so it¡¯s no surprise. Although there was a bit of excitement this past week, things have died down. The people have been cooped up in this packed town for a while now so it¡¯s expected they would crowd around hoping to see something exciting.¡±

    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s just hope nothing untoward happens.¡±

    Fayde gave Shar a nice punch on his arm, ¡°Stop being such a worrywart. Let¡¯s go welcome our guests. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing my wives again. Although if I have to be honest, I¡¯m more looking forward to seeing my servants¡­¡±

    Shar gave Fayde a wry smile while rubbing his arm, ¡°Can¡¯t the all powerful Great Khan handle taking care of himself for a few days?¡±

    ¡°Shut up before I punch you again.¡±

    A great hubbub of people welcomed Fayde and his group as they approached the west gate and even though he had been expecting a crowd, it was much larger than what he had expected.

    Two columns of warriors guarded each side of the gate, keeping the crowds away from the main road leading into the town. Fayde waited patiently at the end of the column of warriors while he ordered his men to blow their horns in welcoming.

    Several large horns bellowed, cutting through the clamor and chaos of the crowds on each side of the gates. Thousands of fierce warriors kept any from approaching the road and after several blows of the horns, a steady procession of resplendent Demihumans made their way through the western gate.

    At their head, were Fayde¡¯s three wives, each adorned in beautiful tribal dresses. They walked calmly and with a regal bearing befitting the wives of a Great Khan. Their beauty was so alluring that it caused the chaotic din to quiet as the people stared at them in awe. They had even forgotten that the women before them were not Human.

    ¡°Look how beautiful¡­.¡±

    ¡°Are they divine creatures?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone so beautiful¡­¡±

    Many voices cried out from the crowd as their initial shock wore off and the crowd became lively again.

    Fayde stood waiting for them with a look of anticipation and when their eyes met his, three beautiful and radiant smiles almost caused many to swoon and sigh in admiration. Fayde could only shake his head, wondering at his good fortune. Even the dark thoughts that clouded his heart daily were blown away in that moment.

    Fayde was surprised to see that even Tris was among the entourage and was wearing a tribal dress. For some reason she was sulking while following behind his wives, but it didn¡¯t seem to detract from her beauty. Becoming a Raccoon-kin had truly done wonders for her appearance and Fayde admired her silently.

    Following behind were many beautiful Foxkin women, who while not as radiant as Fayde¡¯s wives, were only slightly inferior. These were of course Fayde¡¯s Rej¡¯gan and he was equally happy to see them.

    Behind his wives and servants were the many Khans of every tribe and their families. These would include the various Khan¡¯s many wives and children. There were easily more than a hundred in the entourage.

    Beside the impressive and mighty Khans, there were many regal and proud youths among the group. The sons of the many Khans were equally splendid warriors, while their daughters were exotic and pristine.

    They cheerfully and proudly walked through the western gate casting occasional looks of disdain on the Humans. However, their eyes were filled withrespect and expectation whenever they glanced towards their Great Khan.

    The youths especially veneratedFayde greatly. Many of the daughters of the other Khans wished to be among his wives while the sons hoped to fight under him and gain glory in battle.

    ¡°Haha, welcome!¡± Fayde greeted his wives and the many Khans in high-spirits.

    Fayde had grown quite close with the other Khans despite their competition in the past. Once they had become united and witnessed Fayde¡¯s power for themselves they had quickly fallen in line. None of them doubted Fayde any longer nor resisted his authority.

    Reia and Laila approached Fayde confidently while Allein followed nervously behind. She was still unsure of her place in Fayde¡¯s heart but she couldn¡¯t deny her happiness at seeing him again and her heart fluttered as she neared him.

    ¡°Reia, Laila. I am so happy to see both of you.¡± Fayde hugged them each in turn and lightly kissed them.

    ¡°Has it been hard for you without us?¡± Reia asked while holding tight to Fayde¡¯s arm.

    ¡°It¡¯s been hard.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing we are together again!¡± Laila replied coquettishly while holding Fayde¡¯s other arm.

    With a beautiful woman on each arm, Fayde cut a majestic picture that caused many to admire the charming scene.

    When Fayde noticed Allein standing there nervously, he didn¡¯t know how to react. The atmosphere became somewhat awkward until both Reia and Laila pushed Fayde towards Allein.

    The two stood within a hair¡¯s breath and Allein looked up at Fayde at a loss for words. Her heart was aching and she longed to hold him just as Reia and Laila had, but she couldn¡¯t take the initiative.

    Fayde hesitated only for a moment. He had already chosen to forgive her so there was no point in dragging things out.

    Fayde wrapped Allein in his arms and she was filled with a heartwarming joy.

    ¡°I missed you..¡± Allein said, forcing out a whisper.

    ¡°I missed you too.¡±

    Allein took her place at his side and Fayde continued to welcome the others in the entourage. Many of the Khans wished to express theirpraise at Fayde¡¯s ability to conquer Enrain without any trouble. They laid on him one compliment after the other.

    Their wives emphatically pushed their daughters towards him while winking and the young ladies shyly greeted him. Fayde patiently greeted each and every one out of fairness while also being nagged by the many hot blooded sons of the Khans. The only thing they cared to know was when they would face a real battle.

    Even this was extremely tiring, but this was all part of his responsibility as Khan. Khan Rhaegnar was standing next to Accadeas and was the last of the Khans to greet Fayde.

    ¡°The long journey has finally come to an end!! But this is still just the beginning!¡± The wizened Wolf-kin Khan said while grinning.

    ¡°Bah, that talk can be saved for later, where¡¯s the food and wine?¡±

    Fayde smiled when he heard Accadeas, ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s enough food and wine to satisfy you in the entire town!¡±

    The two shook hands and laughed while catching up. Having finally greeted everyone, Fayde led the way as the entourage and the many guards headed merrily towards the lord¡¯s manor where food and drinks had been prepared.

 Volume 3 Chapter 14

    The celebrations within the lord¡¯s manor in Enrain was a happy affair. Not only were the Demihumans celebrating their first conquest of a Human territory, but Fayde was finally reunited with his wives after a couple of weeks of absence.

    He was struggling to enjoy the company of his wives while under a constant barrage of attention from the sons and daughters of the various Khans.

    After partying well into the night, Fayde was finally able to spend time alone with his wives in his huge bed within the manor and thoroughly enjoyed their company until almost morning.

    Feeling exhausted and spent, Fayde was woken up relatively early by his servants. His wives were still sleeping peacefully in bed much to his envy, but there was considerable work to do and an invasion to plan.

    After a short period of rest and some breakfast, Fayde gathered himself and prepared to meet with the Khans of each tribe in order to plan their next steps in the invasion of the North.

    Fayde had gained a lot of information from Orban on the current situation within the Kingdom of La¡¯gun and the surrounding kingdoms. The current strife being a perfect opportunity to gain large benefits.

    An alliance between the Kingdom of La¡¯gun¡¯s two northern neighbors was what originally spurred on the conflict. They felt that with their united military, they could easily defeat the Kingdom of La¡¯gun.

    Despite their numerical advantage, they hadn¡¯t obtained as quick a victory as they had initially hoped for. The forces of the Kingdom of La¡¯gun had fought fiercely and delayed the invasion by a few weeks before settling into the current siege.

    La¡¯gun¡¯s military had been whittled down to a dismal number, but they still hadn¡¯t given up. The current situation wouldn¡¯t last for long, but the invading nations were strapped for time. If the conflict were to drag on for too long, another nation might use this opportunity to invade their lands and then they would be forced to give up on the siege.

    Of course, they would never have been so bold without the encouragement they had received from the Empire in the shadows.

    Fayde found himself mulling over this information while he waited solemnly for the Khan¡¯s to arrive in a conference room within the lord¡¯s manor. This would be their first official strategy meeting on the Kingdom¡¯s soil and would decide the direction of the invasion.

    Surprisingly, Fayde wasn¡¯t feeling anxious. Instead he sat calmly on his Khan throne which had already been transported to the lord¡¯s manor and placed in the conference room the day before while the Khan¡¯s were feasting.

    All the tables and chairs which had previously decorated the room were removed and now only the throne and many floor cushions were arranged around the interior. There were also small drinking tables placed in front of each cushion.

    The cushions were clearly arranged in some preordained manner that Fayde could only guess at since it had never been fully explained to him.

    It had never occurred to him to ask previously and it was mostly irrelevant, but he felt he should ask about it at some point. There was still much he didn¡¯t know about the Demihumans and their culture. Even though he had lived among them for several months, he had spent much of that time in seclusion or with only a small group to keep him company.

    Fayde regretted that most of the time he lived among them was wasted in brooding and in dark thoughts. His mentality just wasn''t in the right place and he couldn¡¯t bring himself to truly care about learning, what he felt were, such inconsequential things. That had all changed, however, and he now realized that if he was going to rule over the Demihumans that he should become more familiar with them.

    This was the main reason why he didn¡¯t push away the sons and daughters of the Khans even though they had pestered him quite a bit the previous day. Fayde had finally become somewhat welcoming and most of the dark shadows that had plagued his heart had faded and given the opportunity, many of the important figures among the Demihumans were hoping to become closer to their Great Khan.

    It was quite fortuitous in fact, because the Demihumans sincerely wished to know more about him. There was no malice or deceit in their desire to approach him. It was apparent to Fayde that they only felt admiration towards him and perhaps even idolized him.

    What leader wouldn¡¯t wish to have such devoted followers?

    ¡°I¡¯m truly fortunate. I must strive to live up to their expectations, although I am not confident or arrogant enough to believe that I can do the job sufficiently. Well, at least it is a challenge worth taking on. I only hope my decisions don¡¯t end up causing disaster to fall upon them¡­¡±

    Fayde retained what he considered to be a regal bearing while the Khans began assembling within the conference room. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    Each greeted him respectfully before making their way over to their assigned cushion. Fayde took note of it and realized it had something to do with their tribal ranking during the Grand Council several months back.

    Once the Khans were seated, dozens of servants entered with tribal spiced wine and wine cups which they placed on the drinking tables in front of each Khan. A ceremonial toast followed and the official meeting of Khans began.

    Fayde motioned towards Accadeas and said, ¡°Accadeas, as the Marshal, please inform the Khans of our future military plans.¡±

    Accadeas stood and respectfully bowed towards Fayde before addressing the other Khans.

    ¡°Although our journey was long, we have finally arrived at our destination. Here in this Human town, we have gained a stable foothold within the Kingdom of La¡¯gun and it is from here that we will begin our earnest invasion of the Human kingdoms as decreed by our Great Khan. The Great Khan and I have briefly discussed the current situation surrounding the Northern Kingdoms and we have arrived at quite the opportune moment. Currently, the Kingdom of La¡¯gun is in a precarious situation and the Kingdom will soon fall. Two neighboring kingdoms, the Kingdom of Jaspel and Quijon, have invaded La¡¯gun and are currently besieging the capital city. La¡¯gun¡¯s military has mostly been shattered and only a small force remains guarding the capitol. The invading nations have put their all into this invasion and have left their kingdoms mostly defenseless. They stationed an army at the border between Quijon and Anderus in order to deter any possible invasions from Anderus but they left their heartlands completely vulnerable.¡±

    At that point, Accadeas was interrupted by Khan Terrgen of the Rabbitkin tribe.

    ¡°That seems extremely foolish. Isn¡¯t it too much of a risk to leave their kingdoms almost completely defenseless?¡±

    Accadeas chuckled before answering.

    ¡°This may seem foolish, but until we arrived, there were no other threats to their security and with the urging of the Empire they were willing to take the risk. The Humans have never seen us Demihumans as a serious threat and they had certain treaties in place that would ensure they united against any foreign invasions. However, this is the perfect opportunity for us to swallow a huge chunk of the North all in one go. A united North could pose a threat to us, but with three of the kingdoms engaged in conflict, we can use this opportunity to wipe them out and then secure our borders.¡±

    Many of the Khans nodded when hearing Accadeas¡¯s words and the glint of ambition shown in their eyes. They weren¡¯t aware of the situation in the North as Fayde had only discussed the information he received with Accadeas in preparation for the meeting. However, after hearing Accadeas¡¯s words it was easy for them them to understand the excellent opportunity they had been presented with.

    ¡°With our numbers and their current weakened state, it would be a simple matter to conquer all three kingdoms. With three of the seven kingdoms in our possession, we would only have to face the united front of the other four. I doubt they would easily move against us once we are entrenched, but we would need to move quickly without drawing their attention at least until we secure the border. Our only concern then would be what the Empire¡¯s response will be.¡± Khan Rhaegnar voiced with a thoughtful expression.

    ¡°Fayde and I have discussed this very point. The Empire was temporarily weakened from their war with my Demonkin and will require time to recruit and train their armies, but there is no doubt they will eventually come north. They have already sent a small force of Temple Knights to support the Jaspelian invasion, so we can already see their hand in this conflict. It won¡¯t be so simple for them though.¡±

    ¡°Accadeas is correct.¡±

    Fayde stood and motioned for Accadeas to sit. A relatively poorly drawn map was rolled out by servants showing the various regions of the Kingdom of La¡¯gun. Orban had provided the map for Fayde to use in his planning.

    ¡°Separating the Empire from La¡¯gun is an enormous swampy region devoid of life and there is a formidable fortress at the only pass into the kingdom there. If we garrison the fortress, it will be extremely difficult for them to force their way through. Since the fortress is currently deserted, this will be a simple issue. Send a thousand warriors to garrison the fortress for now and once our invasion is complete, we can properly garrison the fortress while improving the defenses in the pass further.¡±

    While explaining the overall defensive strategy, Fayde continued to point out the relevant locations on the map. While the map was somewhat inaccurate, it was accurate enough for their purposes.

    ¡°This river here, this is the Empire¡¯s only other possible route of invasion. However, there are relatively narrow regions of the river which form natural choke points we can easily exploit in several locations along the river. Our warriors have never traveled on ships before so naval battles are out of the question, but we can clog up the river by sinking any available ships in the narrower regions. This should effectively impede any possible advance along the river. We can also set up several watch towers in key positions to observe enemy vessels in case they do make an attempt. We¡¯ll build an outpost at the now ruined port town at the mouth of the river and station response forces there to deal with any possible attacks. This should be enough for the immediate future and we can continue to improve the defenses after our initial invasion is complete.¡±

    Fayde paused for a moment to let what he said sink in. While he wasn¡¯t nervous, he still felt somewhat awkward explaining military strategy to the much older Khans who were all seasoned warriors and veterans.

    ¡°Initially, my strategy only took into account the invasion of La¡¯gun and preparing for a possible conflict against a united force of the remaining six kingdoms. With the current situation in the North, I have modified our invasion strategy. Accadeas will lead twenty thousand of our warriors into Jaspel and Quijon and conquer both kingdoms while quickly securing the border between Quijon and Anderus. The largest military force they have will be stationed at the border fortress but they won¡¯t be expecting an attack from their rear. The towns within the two kingdoms may have some small garrisons but they shouldn¡¯t pose much of a problem. I will leave the method of conquest to you Accadeas.¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me Great Khan. My Demonkin heavy infantry will crush the weak Humans.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be overconfident. You will also require sufficient magic casters and ranged units.¡± Fayde warned.

    ¡°As for our remaining forces, I will personally lead them to the capital of La¡¯gun.¡±

 Volume 3 Chapter 15

    After a few days of preparation, Accadeas led his army north to invade the kingdoms of Jaspel and Quijon while Fayde simultaneously led his army east towards the capital city of La¡¯gun.

    A garrison force was left in Enrain to maintain the peace and a similarly sized force was sent south to garrison the fortress of Dun¡¯alchadel and west to fortify the ruined town of Riik¡¯in.

    These garrison forces would also be responsible for maintaining the peace in the western and southern regions allowing the farmers and villagers to return to their daily lives. Although many of the peasants were fearful of the Demihumans occupying the territory, they were eager to return to their farms as it was almost time for the harvest.

    The various Khans along with their sons and daughters were divided among the different armies and garrison forces in order for them to gain experience at command and merits in battle. This was something Fayde had enthusiastically agreed with as he thought it would give him a reprieve from their fawning and attention.

    Unfortunately for Fayde, it didn¡¯t quite work out the way he wished.

    ¡°Oh! Fayde, look at that! What is it? What about that? Fayde, do you like the way I braided my hair? I asked my mother to especially braid it for me in our tribe¡¯s traditional style! What do you think of my¡­..¡±

    Fayde sighed deeply while riding his horse at the head of an army of ten thousand.

    Felicia, the daughter of Rajal Khan of the Tigerkin, had been incessantly nagging him since they began their march.

    Allein, Reia, Tris and Laila were normally at his side. However, today they had taken a step back and only Felicia was accompanying him. Apparently, Felicia had been chosen as a potential wife without Fayde¡¯s knowledge.

    His other wives had been in discussion with the various tribal mothers and some of their daughters had been chosen as candidates to be his wife. Felicia, belonging to the Tigerkin tribe, was the leading candidate.

    He was also informed that it only meant she would be given priority until after their official marriage and that there most likely will be more candidates in the future.

    Since Fayde was already married to women of both the first and second ranked tribes among the Demihumans, it was only natural that Felicia would be the next candidate since she belonged to the third ranked tribe.

    At least this was what Reia had informed Fayde about. He had no idea that it was customary, and the responsibility of the wives of a Khan, to deal with the relationships between tribes or within a tribe and also find suitable marriage candidates to strengthen these relationships.

    Since Reia had taken the role of Fayde¡¯s head wife, this all fell under her jurisdiction. Fayde was told that he had no say in any of it and he should just trust her to handle these things.

    Fayde found that despite the fact that he was the Great Khan, he didn¡¯t quite have as much authority as he thought he might. While the other Khans would certainly respect his authority and follow his leadership, especially during wartime, he was nothing more than a prisoner to tradition in other aspects.

    ¡°Well, even though I¡¯m somewhat annoyed by her overly exuberant personality, I shouldn¡¯t hold it against her. It¡¯s not like I have a bad opinion of her.¡± Fayde thought to himself.

    She was still young, probably not much more than seventeen or eighteen. It was natural for her to be enthusiastic and vibrant. These could even be considered to be normal for a young lady her age.

    She clearly lacked experience in dealing with relationships with members of the opposite sex and Fayde supposed it was admirable that she was putting so much effort into pleasing him.

    He just couldn¡¯t help finding it quite tiresome.

    ¡°Are you even listening to me!¡± Felicia said angrily while stomping her feet.

    ¡°Yes! Of course I am. Your hair suits you very well, it is very pretty¡­¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­ I¡¯m not even talking about my hair anymore!¡±

    While Felicia continued to berate him for his lack of attention, Fayde could only look back helplessly at his wives who were doing their best to hide the fact that they were laughing at him.

    Reia finally decided to come closer to calm Felicia down.

    ¡°Felicia, you have to forgive Fayde. He has a lot on his mind and didn¡¯t intend to ignore you.¡± She chuckled while soothing Felicia.

    ¡°Hmph! Fine, I understand. I¡¯m sorry I got angry at you.¡± Felicia said sincerely after calming down.

    ¡°No, I should apologize. Having such a beautiful young lady keep me company and I was so negligent. Please forgive me.¡± Said Fayde intentionally to flatter her.

    Felicia lightly blushed and was clearly satisfied with his compliment.

    ¡°Hehe, she¡¯s easy to please.¡± Thought Fayde having satisfactorily avoided her ire.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we leave Fayde alone for a while?¡±

    Felicia glanced over at Fayde one last time and nodded, ¡°¡±Okay, but next time you better make some time for me!¡±

    She ¡®humphed¡¯ and let Reia lead her away.

    Fayde admired Reia¡¯s ability to handle these types of situations. She was certainly the best choice to be his first wife. She always deftly handled any issues pertaining to his wives and servants.

    Fayde had long since learned of the important role that women played in Demihuman society. Even though it would seem that Fayde was the leader of the nation, it was his wives who truly held significant power.

    They were responsible for internal and external diplomacy as well as making many of the decisions that dealt with the daily lives of the Demihumans. They were even responsible for implementing the decisions made by the Khans.

    Fayde¡¯s responsibilities were more related to overall policy, handling disputes and military leadership.

    ¡°Oh, Reia, can you ask Allein to come over? I need to speak with her about something.¡± Fayde called out before Reia left.

    ¡°Okay, I will send her over.¡±

    Returning to the side of Laila and the others, Reia informed Allein that Fayde wished to speak with her and she soon made her way over to Fayde.

    ¡°You wanted to speak with me?¡± Allein said quietly.

    Allein was much more subdued ever since her betrayal. Fayde really missed the old arrogant and confident Allein and hoped she would someday return to her former self.

    ¡°Yeah. We will soon arrive at the capital city and there was something I wanted to discuss with you.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­.¡±

    Fayde hesitated for a moment and chose his words carefully.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t easy to say and I understand if you refuse, but I will just ask. Tomorrow, will you reveal your dragon form in battle?¡±

    In the past, Allein had always been careful when using her dragon form. In the dark of night it was difficult to see her dragon form because of her black scales and so she had used her full power in the past to protect Fayde.

    She had never used her dragon form in daylight, but Fayde was asking her this very question and he knew it was a difficult request. She had kept her true identity hidden from Humans for a very good reason. She was afraid of drawing the attention of the Empire.

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    ¡°I know this is not easy for you, but it is no longer necessary for you to hide who you are. The Empire is our enemy regardless and whether they want to or not, there isn¡¯t anything they can do about it at this time. We need to win with as few casualties as possible and I will be using my full power as well. There are many fights ahead of us in the future and we need to preserve our strength as much as possible. This is the only reason I am making this request, to save our people¡¯s lives. I wouldn¡¯t ask otherwise.¡±

    Allein didn¡¯t answer immediately and she looked as if she were deeply considering Fayde¡¯s words.

    ¡°What you say is true. I shouldn¡¯t hold on to past misgivings out of selfishness. I too need to do my best and prove to you that I am truly yours and to make up for my sin.¡±

    Fayde sighed and looked at Allein with eyes filled with a hint of sorrow.

    ¡°Allein¡­. I¡¯m sorry for how I treated you and your brother regardless of what you did. I didn¡¯t bother to understand your circumstances. I was filled with anger, but mostly self loathing. In the end, it didn¡¯t really have much to do with you. Just let it go. You don¡¯t owe me anything.¡±

    Allein looked at Fayde deeply and nodded, ¡°I¡­ I just want to be of use to you Fayde. You and my brother are all I have left.¡±

    Fayde shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s not true. You have your sisters, Reia and Laila. You have all the Demihumans who are relying on you, and you have your family¡¯s spirit which will always reside in your heart.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I just need time. I will do what you ask, I will fight with all my strength. What of my brother? I haven¡¯t heard anything about him recently¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t intend to hide it from you but I just didn¡¯t have the chance to explain. Your brother is fine. I sent him north with Accadeas. He will need his power and at least this way we can avoid any embarrassing explanations. We can just tell the others that he was on a separate mission in the north and rendezvoused with Accadeas. He can gain merits there and make a good name for himself. Also, I don¡¯t think I can face him just yet¡­¡±

    Fayde expected Allein to be angry with him but instead she surprisingly replied, ¡°Thank you Fayde.¡±

    This caught him completely off guard. He never expected her to thank him.

    <hr>

    Glafandal was enjoying a glass of wine while reclining on a cushioned seat in his tent when he was suddenly disturbed by an angry voice.

    ¡°It has been two weeks since you arrived in our camp. I want to know why you have not yet done what you promised!?¡±

    One of Jaspel¡¯s nobles was angrily shouting, spittle flying haphazardly out of his mouth. This was a common occurrence and Glafandal hardly paid it any mind. These Humans were mere ants to him.

    ¡°How dare you ignore you me Imperial scum! I am a proud noble of Jaspel! Your only purpose here is to aid us in ending this siege, if you can¡¯t even do that much what use are you!?¡±

    A menacing glint flashed across Glafandal¡¯s pupils but faded quickly.

    ¡°You promised that our flag would be flying over the city walls a week ago and yet we are still stuck outside of the city!¡±

    Glafandal chuckled disdainfully and leaned forward while twirling the wine around his glass.

    ¡°This worm. I could snuff his life out in an instant, hehe. All in due time. He doesn¡¯t have much more to live anyway, so I will humor him,¡± sneered Glafandal inwardly.

    ¡°Calm yourself, the magic formation is near completion, it will only be a short time more. Perhaps a day.. Or two.¡±

    The arrogant noble sniffed loudly and spun, leaving the tent with irate footsteps.

    ¡°Refuse any further visitors. I do not wish to be disturbed.¡±

    A temple knight saluted and left Glafandal alone in his tent. He leaned back on his seat and continued to swirl the blood red wine around the wine glass while peering intently into it.

    ¡°I can feel you drawing near¡­ that wretched and evil power of the void. I can almost feel it¡¯s corruption sinking into my skin. It won¡¯t be long now. I truly don¡¯t understand my goddess¡¯s intentions. Well, she won¡¯t mind if I play with him just a little bit¡­ hehehehe.¡±

    A crooked smile was plastered on his handsome face, his long pointy ears piercing through his crown of long hair.

    ¡°Ah, the atmosphere in this fragment is truly pitifully inadequate. Only lowly inferior Human rats could reside here. Soon.. soon I will be able to return to the forests of Ylyndar and my beloved Shyonia. I have been away from her for too long.¡±

 Volume 3 Chapter 16

    Wolfkin warriors rummaged through an abandoned Human village searching for anything of value within. They weren¡¯t expecting to find much due to the poverty of most of the peasants living within these small villages, but there was food left by the escaping Humans which was appropriated as it was the harvesting season.

    Largear was leaning listlessly on his large battle axe which was planted into the ground while he oversaw this facade of a raid. He was aware of the importance of his role here but still found it to be somewhat inglorious.

    Where was the honor of facing one¡¯s foe on the battlefield? Instead he found himself chasing peasants out of their homes and pretending to ransack their settlements.

    ¡°Largear, isn¡¯t it about time you stop moping around and begin to act like a commander?¡± Said another young Wolfkin who was standing nearby.

    Largear stood up straight, lifting his axe and placing it over his left shoulder.

    ¡°Bah! Erikkar, do you have nothing better to do than nag me to death? I¡¯m just bored of chasing fleeing peasants around! How much longer do we have to do this!? I want to face the Humans in battle!¡±

    Erikkar could only sigh, ¡°Haven¡¯t I already explained this to you a thousand times? We do this until we can bait the soldiers. It shouldn¡¯t be long now. We have already raided several villages.¡±

    ¡°How do we even know this is going to work?¡± Asked Largear.

    ¡°All of the most important military commanders are with the Jaspelian army besieging the La¡¯gunian capital. The forces left behind are mostly newly recruited peasants and lower ranking commanders. The whole point of us raiding the villages is to cut off their food supply and overcrowd the capital city with refugees. This should force them to act, especially when the peasants report back to them on our small numbers. It should make them overconfident. Well, this was already explained to us by Accadeas so we just have to stick to the plan. It should be soon now anyway. Without the harvest they won¡¯t have enough food to feed all the people in the city.¡±

    Largear smirked disdainfully and swung his axe, ¡°Stupid Humans. Isn¡¯t it foolish to start a war before the harvest? I can¡¯t understand why they chose to attack La¡¯gun at this time instead of waiting until they were sufficiently supplied.¡±

    ¡°They were most likely confident they could end the war quickly and they certainly weren¡¯t expecting us. I heard from Accadeas that it has something to do with the Empire. He too found their timing for this invasion strange. Either way, it¡¯s to our advantage so let¡¯s just complete our mission.¡±

    Largear grunted, ¡°I still don¡¯t like this plan. I would rather face the enemy in fair combat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the exact reason we always lose to the Humans. We only have two hundred warriors and the Humans will definitely send a larger force. We can fool them because they look down on us Demihumans. Don¡¯t mess up the plan, remember we draw them out and then whittle their numbers down with the heavy javelins. Only after that do we engage them in close combat. Fayde already explained that Wolfkin are natural skirmishers as well as shock troops because of our speed and strength. We had the Demonkin use a good chunk of our iron to make these heavy javelins so we need to make proper use of them. Once the main army arrives in a week or so then we will take the capital so don¡¯t grow impatient.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡± Largear replied disgruntled.

    ¡°Commander!¡±

    At that moment, one of the Wolfkin who had been sent out as a scout came running towards Largear.

    ¡°Commander, we have finally caught sight of a Human army. They are heading in our direction.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about damn time. I was getting bored of waiting! How many soldiers?¡± Largear growled.

    ¡°There should be somewhere between several hundred to a thousand.¡±

    ¡°Any cavalry?¡±

    ¡°No, mostly light infantry and a small number of archers.¡±

    Largear nodded thoughtfully while calling out to Erikkar, ¡°Looks like Accadeas was right, they took all their horses with them south. If we defend that hill we saw earlier, their bows shouldn¡¯t have more reach than our javelins from the higher position. What do you think Erikkar?.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good place to defend. These Humans aren¡¯t familiar with our Wolfkin¡¯s strength and speed. Our strength allows us a much greater reach with throwing weapons than they would expect and once they move their archers into range, we can definitely hit them which will catch them completely by surprise. They will be forced to charge the hill with their light infantry. Our heavy javelins will easily tear through their armor and shields. Those Humans will be walking into a death trap. Even if things don¡¯t go as well as we hope, we can easily run away. The Humans won¡¯t be able to catch up to us.¡±

    ¡°Good. Call everyone back, let¡¯s move into position.¡±

    <hr>

    Several hundred Human light infantry as well as a couple hundred archers marched swiftly past the remains of an abandoned village.

    The commander of the force was surprised to see such little damage done to the town. Normally a town would be burned down when raided but the Demihumans had surprisingly left the village intact.

    ¡°Looks like the Demihumans fled in fear before they could burn the town down. Hah! What a bunch of cowards. I¡¯ve heard that Demihuman warriors were fearless, but it looks like the rumors are greatly over exaggerated. Jerold, have our scouts reported back yet on their position?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir, they have taken a defensive position on a nearby hill not far from here.¡± Reported the commander¡¯s subordinate.

    ¡°Well, at least they don¡¯t completely lack intelligence. Do the Demihuman warriors have bows?¡± Asked the commander inquisitively. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°When we questioned the peasants, they informed us that the warriors were equipped with axes and throwing spears. Our scouts have reported the same so it is most likely that they don¡¯t possess any bows.¡±

    The commander laughed disdainfully and said, ¡°Hah, I spoke too soon then. What a bunch of fools. What do they hope to accomplish without bows? Also, from my understanding, these Demihumans are of the Wolfkin tribe. Wolfkin are incapable of using magic. Even if they have the higher position, what do they hope to accomplish without magic casters or archers? Our archers will easily turn those beasts into pincushions. Looks like we won¡¯t even need to charge the hill. This will be over in no time!¡±

    His subordinate chuckled and said in a flattering tone, ¡°You will surely be rewarded for this sir! You might even receive a promotion! If we shut those peasants up, we can even over exaggerate their numbers and gain even more recognition!¡±

    ¡°Hehehe, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s not a bad idea at all!¡±

    As the two continued to chatter away while being overly pleased with themselves, they soon arrived at the small hill where the Demihuman warriors were waiting for them.

    They were extremely pleased to confirm that the enemy warriors did not have bows and continued to mock their ignorance while moving their soldiers into position.

    ¡°Move the archers forward, have them fire when in range.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡±

    The archers moved forward slowly while the infantry remained in formation.

    Despite being relatively new recruits, their movements were orderly and disciplined. Their equipment included leather armor, hide bucklers and iron tipped spears while the archers wore leather armor and carried war bows and bodkin arrows.

    All of the Human soldiers were confident in their victory. Without bows, they felt the Demihumans would be nothing more than sitting ducks awaiting their deaths.

    They couldn¡¯t understand the actions of the Demihuman warriors and could only assume their ignorance in proper warfare. Of course, none of these Human soldiers had ever faced a Demihuman in battle previously.

    There were occasional campaigns into the Plains of Sorrow in the past, but the last campaign had been more than ten years prior due to the cooling of relations between the nations of the North over the last decade.

    This peace had only lasted because none wished to make any movements militarily. Each nation was carefully eyeing the other in order to exploit any weaknesses which resulted in a decade of relative peace and a focus on domestic policy.

    Generally speaking, there were rumors of battles which had been fought between Humans and Demihumans on the Plains of Sorrow in the past and all the stories had mentioned how pitiful the Demihumans were at warfare.

    The only exception to this being the Demonkin who had spent decades at war with the Empire, but those in the North had never experienced battle against the Demonkin or heard much of the battles taking place so far from their homeland.

    As the archers neared the ideal range of their bows, the Wolfkin warriors at the summit prepared their heavy javelins.

    Each Wolfkin warrior was equipped with 4 heavy javelins for a total of eight hundred. That was all that the blacksmiths of the Demonkin army were able to produce with the iron available. The Demihumans as a whole were woefully ill equipped and the amount of iron available to them was limited.

    Due to raiding dungeons and gathering what resources they could while traveling through the Plains of Sorrow, they were able to equip the majority of their forces with sufficient weapons. However, there wasn¡¯t enough iron for heavy armor or for a large number of disposable weapons like javelins. Even supplying enough arrows for their archers was difficult.

    Nonetheless, eight hundred javelins were provided to Largear and his warriors in order to test their effectiveness and practicality. Fayde was hoping to create a more diverse military among the Demihumans by playing to their racial strengths.

    ¡°Archers, knock bows!¡± Shouted an officer.

    In an orderly fashion, the archers knocked bows and prepared to fire. Before they could even raise their bows, they noticed a metallic glint approaching from the summit. A rain of sharp iron came pouring down tearing into their flesh.

    A torrent of screams and gasps of shock mingled as the Jaspelian archers were decimated. The few that survived quickly ran for their lives in fear and the light infantry that witnessed the devastating scene before them began to murmur amongst themselves, completely unsettled.

    There had only been one volley of heavy iron spears, but to the onlookers, it had been a frightening scene. The throwing weapons had easily pierced through the bodies of the archers and impaled them into the earth beneath their feet.

    <hr>

    ¡°Haha! Look at that!¡± Roared Largear atop the hill.

    He leaned forward while surveying the scene below and a grizzly smile was plastered on his face.

    ¡°Looks like the heavy javelins were quite effective. It¡¯s a good thing they were bunched together like that.¡± A more calm voice said beside him.

    Still excited from the results of the attack Largear turned to Erikkar, ¡°I wish I could see the shock on their faces! Hah! Let¡¯s see what they do now!¡±

    ¡°They are making their move, the Human infantry is spreading out to surround the hill.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, what do you suggest Erikkar?¡± asked Largear.

    ¡°Spreading out might seem like a good tactic in their situation as it should make our javelins less effective, but this just shows how little they understand. Their enemy commander is there, behind the largest group of soldiers. We should focus our attack to the front and then use our speed to charge down the hill. It will be simple to push through and take out the commander in one fell sweep.¡± replied Erikkar thoughtfully.

    ¡°I agree, it¡¯s a good plan! Warriors to the front! Focus fire on the soldiers there. When I give the order, we charge!!¡±

    Largear held his large war axe over his left shoulder and shouted excitedly to the warriors behind him. His blood was pumping and he couldn¡¯t wait to sink his axe into the Humans below.

    The Human soldiers made their way up the hill haphazardly. They were no longer in formation and had spread out in order to minimize the effective accuracy of the Wolfkin¡¯s ranged attack.

    As they made their way up, those in the front were met with another rain of iron death. While the attack wasn¡¯t as effective as it had been against the archers, hundreds of javelins fell upon them killing or injuring many.

    Their shields and armor proved useless as the heavy javelins tore through their defenses. Fear gripped the Human soldiers and their morale would have collapsed if not for the fact that the rain of iron had finally come to an end.

    With their newly gained confidence, they continued their ascent. A thunderous roar bellowed out towards the approaching soldiers from the summit and the Wolfkin came pouring down the hill clashing with the soldiers below.

    Their charge smashed into the light infantry sending many of them to their deaths or rolling down the hill. The strength of the elite Wolfkin warriors overpowered the Human infantry and the wave of warriors continued to press down upon them.

    Largear howled with glee as he swung his war axe, tearing through the bodies of his enemies with ease. He was the first down the hill with Erikkar close behind him. The tide of Wolfkin warriors came flowing after him and within a short period of time they slaughtered their way to the base of the hill.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the commander of the Jaspelian force was killed and the morale of the Human army completely collapsed with them in full retreat.

    After the battle, Largear and Erikkar made sure they collected all the javelins. They continued to harry the Jaspelian forces that escaped in the coming week eventually wiping them out and preventing the Jaspelians from acquiring any additional food from the surrounding farming villages.

 Volume 3 Chapter 17

    Accadeas and Nes stood alone in a small dim tent.

    The sun had already begun its descent and the sound of night creatures filled the darkness with mournful sounds.

    Accadeas observed Nes with a look of disappointment tinged with pity.

    ¡°It will soon be time for you to prove your loyalty. Do you not have any regrets for what you did?¡±

    ¡°I regret nothing. What I did, I did for my sister and my family. I would make the same choice even now.¡±

    ¡°Tch, you¡¯re a fool, but I won''t waste another breath on it. I have vented enough of my anger using your body as a punching bag. Your sister has already become docile and our brother-in-law has forgiven the both of you. However, that doesn¡¯t mean that I fully trust you. You will need to prove yourself and you will have that opportunity in the near future. You should be prepared to use your full strength when that time comes.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Even if you keep silent, it won¡¯t change anything. What you believed in was a lie and you were foolish enough to allow that lie to control your life and make your decisions for you.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Alright. I have said what I came to say. Truthfully, I can understand why you did what you did. I would never have made your choice though. Not if it meant betraying the ones deserving of my respect. In the end, your father never wanted that, to be saved by betrayal and lies.¡±

    Accadeas turned and walked towards the tent¡¯s entrance. He stopped before exiting and looked one last time over his shoulder.

    ¡°I guess¡­ the most pitiful one is you. You¡¯ve lost everything, even your own sister has replaced you with Fayde in her heart. It would be wise of you to think deeply about that. Perhaps there is a path of redemption for you.¡±

    Nes remained silent, watching the fading broad back of the immense Demonkin. They were much alike, and yet, very different. This thought etched itself deeply in Nes¡¯s mind and he fell into deep contemplation.

    <hr>

    The very next day, Largear and his small group of skirmishers reunited with Accadeas¡¯s army of twenty thousand Demihumans.

    Tents and yurts filled the plains all the way to the horizon, or at least it appeared that way in Largear¡¯s eyes. Various Demihumans went about their business throughout the enormous war camp in preparation for the coming siege.

    A perimeter had been established and temporary defenses and outposts were set up at intervals in order to defend against any possible counter attacks.

    Of course, the Demihumans weren¡¯t too concerned about this due to the fact that the Jaspelian army was currently besieging La¡¯gun. However, Accadeas did not allow his army to be lax and this was a form of training as well.

    Tribal flags flew among the various tents and the war camp was filled with a plethora of colors that truly flaunted the vitality of a proud and eclectic people.

    Largear couldn¡¯t help but feel pride swelling in his chest. He never thought that he would ever see such a thing and it was all thanks to Fayde that his people had become united. They were stronger than they had ever been and this filled him with hope for their future.

    This was actually his first time seeing this particular sight. He had left Enrain with his two hundred warriors before the Demihuman army had begun its march north and so he had never truly seen their war camp. The sheer size of the force was awe inspiring and he proudly looked on the orderly and disciplined camp.

    Even though he had lived among the caravan of over a hundred thousand for several months, this was a different sight. In the caravan, they moved as if an enormous snake and many of the warriors were constantly moving back and forth as they hunted and trained.

    Despite so many Demihumans, they were mostly cloistered among their own tribes as they traveled and were not necessarily moving as one cohesive unit. This was entirely different.

    This war camp was a diverse and yet unified group of warriors. While they lacked somewhat in battle experience, they were not lacking in fierceness and determination.

    Largear had spent much of his life fighting, but he had never experienced war. Only the Demonkin, who formed the core of this army, had experience in war. They were definitely the fiercest of warriors and their heavy armor and iron weapons gave off a formidable impression. Their discipline and organization was something to be admired.

    Finding his way around the camp was difficult at first, but he soon made his way towards Accadeas¡¯s command tent. Accadeas was bending over a map of the surrounding region while he discussed the coming siege with his subordinates among the Demonkin as well as some of the Khans who had been assigned to this army.

    Rajal Khan of the Tigerkin, Reddin of the Rabbitkin, Arctur of the Dogkin, Rhaegnar of the Wolfkin, Sarun of the Catkin, and Thoren of the Lionkin were among this group. These six tribes as well as the Demonkin formed the majority of this army.

    When Largear entered the tent, many eyes were upon him. His father looked on proudly and Largear couldn¡¯t help but feel his chest swell because of it. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    He walked towards the table where Accadeas was observing the map and said, ¡°Marshall! Largear reporting!¡±

    ¡°Ha! Well if it isn¡¯t the young wolf pup!¡± Accadeas spoke loudly with a big toothy grin.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Mumbled Largear with a deflated look.

    Accadeas chuckled and walked over to him, placing his hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°You did well! It looks like giving you this mission was a good decision. I was afraid you would screw it up!¡±

    ¡®Tch, couldn¡¯t you have a little more faith in me¡­well at least he complimented me..¡¯ Thought Largear.

    ¡°Appointing Erikkar as your second was definitely the right decision, hahaha.¡± Continued Accadeas while giving Largear a good pound on his chest.

    ¡®He doesn¡¯t trust me at all, Ah fuck¡­this bastard..¡¯ Largear rubbed his chest while mumbling expletives under his breath.

    ¡°Give me your report.¡± Ordered Accadeas while walking back towards the strategic map.

    Largear proceeded to give him a detailed report on their actions so far while in the north. He detailed their use of the heavy javelin and skirmish tactics as well as the raiding of villages and appropriation of supplies. He also explained the tactics, equipment and formations that the Humans used while fighting against his warriors.

    ¡°I see. These soldiers should be those that have gone through basic training and perhaps even military exercises but they have never fought in war before. Most likely they have faced off against bandits or even monsters, but never real battles. With the majority of the Jaspelian and Quijon forces in La¡¯gun, they wouldn¡¯t have many veteran or elite elite soldiers to spare for defense, especially when they consider their borders to be secure. We were lucky enough to catch them woefully ill prepared. I¡¯m not saying this to belittle your accomplishments so far, but the only reason you have had it so easy is because of this. Don¡¯t look down on the Humans. I know what they are capable of. I have fought against Humans my whole life and saw first hand how formidable they can be.¡±

    Largear took his words to heart and wasn¡¯t bothered by Accadeas¡¯s tone. He had indeed been looking down on the Humans but then remembered that Fayde was a Human himself.

    He had never mentally grouped Fayde with other Humans since he considered him to be unique among them but Accadeas¡¯s words made him think more deeply on this.

    While he still felt that Humans were comparably weaker than Demihumans, he resolved himself not to underestimate them.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Largear said with determination.

    Accadeas glanced back at him once more and said, ¡°Good. Go get some rest, you will be fighting again soon.¡±

    ¡°Yes Marshall.¡±

    Largear looked to his grandfather before leaving and saw him smile and nod his head. He then made his way out of the command tent.

    <hr>

    After Largear left the command tent, Accadeas addressed his officers as well as the Khans.

    ¡°Even though Shar was unwilling to assist us in our invasion of La¡¯gun, he was more than willing to provide us with information and strategies for invading Jaspel and Quijon. All the information we have on the citadels and strongholds in these two countries come from him. We will be following his proposed strategy to conquer these two kingdoms. I have already ordered two thousand of my Demonkin warriors to march on Dunkark citadel here. Their objective is not to siege the citadel but to engage the army there if they attempt to aid the capital. Even though their force isn¡¯t large, it could still pose a problem to our rear if left unchecked. Our goal is to minimize casualties as much as possible. We still have to secure the entire kingdom and then invade Quijon. Fayde has ordered caution above all else. The size of our army is unprecedented for our kind, but the Humans outnumber us still. We need to preserve our strength for the future. These kingdoms are only the beginning.¡±

    Accadeas paused in order to let his words sink in. It was necessary for all present to understand the seriousness in his words. Demihumans were a proud race and many of their problems had been caused by both underestimating the Humans strength and ingenuity.

    ¡°As for the capital, the outer walls are at the base of the hill. There is an inner wall at the top of the hill and the castle is situated there. They don¡¯t have the manpower to sufficiently defend the entire wall. Losing a thousand soldiers to Largear¡¯s warriors was a considerable benefit for us. The defenders have a huge advantage because of the thick walls, battlements and bastions. Also, the walls have a powerful defensive barrier formation placed on them which only requires a small group of casters to maintain.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, will we be able to blast a hole in the walls large enough for our army to break through? If we have to climb the walls, I feel we will take heavy casualties.¡± Interrupted Khan Rajal with concern.

    Accadeas smirked and placed tokens on the map around the depiction of the outer wall before speaking.

    ¡°Shar and I discussed this. Normally, it would require five times the number of soldiers than the defending force to assault the walls. However, not only do we overwhelmingly outnumber them, but we also brought many magic casters with us. So we took this into account when planning the invasion. We will surround the entire outer wall and continuously bombard the wall with magic. The magic casters will be divided into groups for rotation. I don¡¯t want to see the magic bombardments stop for even a second.¡±

    ¡°La¡¯gun Capital City¡¯s walls have been able to withstand magic bombardment for weeks and still have not been breached. If these walls are equally as powerful, how will our bombardment be any more effective?¡± Asked Khan Arctur.

    ¡°That¡¯s a valid concern. Even if the barrier is a low maintenance barrier, there is no way it will be able to withstand the might of thousands of spells without a moment of rest. Shar speculated that most of their magic casters would be with the main army besieging La¡¯gun. The reason why La¡¯gun¡¯s city walls have been able to withstand the bombardment so far is because of the amount of magic casters they have maintaining the walls. All of their magic casters are defending the city and must be focused on maintaining the barrier. Even though Jaspel and Quijon sent the majority of their mages to the siege, it isn¡¯t enough to breach the walls in a short period of time. We have several hundred mages at our disposal and will spread them out all along the wall. It shouldn¡¯t take long before the wall is breached and our armies storm the city.¡± Replied Accadeas as he smashed his fist down on the map.

    After hearing Accadeas¡¯s explanation, the Khans nodded with satisfied expressions.

    ¡°Remember, your warriors are to be placed under the command of my officers and are to follow their orders. You Khans will observe, but are not to interfere with the battle in any way. Prepare your warriors. We will soon have victory!¡±

    ¡°Victory!¡± Shouted the Khans and officers together.

    The Khans and officers all left with determination to prepare for the siege which would soon begin. Accadeas remained alone in the command tent peering down at the map before him.

    Accadeas pulled himself away from the map and lifted his giant halberd which once belonged to his father. He caressed the handle while remembering his father¡¯s determination and his mother¡¯s love.

    ¡®Soon now father... mother.. Our dream will become reality.¡¯

 Volume 3 Chapter 18

    Accadeas briefly glanced upwards towards the moonlit sky, ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡±

    A Demonkin officer stood patiently at his side and followed after Accadeas as he made his way through the silent camp.

    The majority of the Demihuman army was positioned along the entire wall of the capital city and the wall was under a continuous barrage of magic.

    They had been bombarding the defensive barrier protecting the wall for most of the day without rest. Accadeas had not once ordered his men to charge the walls. They only patiently waited out of reach of the walls archers as the magic casters sent waves of magic striking against the barrier.

    As he walked through the camp, Accadeas caught a glimpse of a superfluous display of a variety of colors which illuminated the walls. Each elemental spell that blasted upon the walls causing the light of the protective barrier to pulsate rapidly.

    Accadeas finally stopped in front of a small inconspicuous tent for a moment before entering with a steadfast gait, his officer following close behind him.

    ¡°Nes..¡±

    A darkened figure rose slowly from a seated position and a strange glow emanated from his eyes as he turned to glare at Accadeas.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Accadeas said without minding Nes¡¯s unfriendly gaze.

    ¡°...Yes..¡± He responded unenthusiastically.

    ¡°This is the real plan and of utmost importance. You can¡¯t complete this mission halfheartedly. Wake the fuck up and take it seriously before I pound some sense into you!¡±

    ¡°Just get on with it. I won¡¯t screw it up. What do you need me to do?¡±

    Accadeas was satisfied with his response, noting that some fire had finally entered his eyes.

    ¡°What I am going to have you do must not leave this tent. Demihumans are a proud and honorable people and it¡¯s because of this that certain underhanded methods wouldn¡¯t be very acceptable according to their sensibilities. However, if we want to be successful, we can¡¯t always rely on honorable tactics. Sometimes it is necessary to accomplish objectives in the shadows, do you understand what I am saying?¡±

    ¡°I understand, so what is it that you want me to do?¡± Nes didn¡¯t hesitate to reply. He had no qualms with Accadeas¡¯s words as he himself had already used despicable means when betraying Fayde in the past.

    ¡°In a secluded area nearby are nine of my trained assassins. They are skilled in illusion magic and assassinations. I need you to use the cover of night to fly them over the city walls and find a secluded place to drop them off. They will assassinate the mages maintaining the defensive barrier towards the western section even if it costs them their lives. I will order the bulk of our army to that section and once the mission is complete and the signal given, I will have the mages blast through the wall and the army charge in through the breach.¡± Accadeas informed Nes.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be simpler if I just attacked them in my dragon form? I doubt they could last long with the power of my breath attack.¡± Said Nes.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not yet time for you to make yourself known. You will be our trump card against the border fortress in Quijon. That will be our most difficult battle so it will be necessary to utilize your power at that time. That¡¯s when you will finally reveal to the world that the Dragonkin are still alive. It will also prove as a deterrence for the future. For now, we need to keep your presence hidden.¡±

    Nes nodded thoughtfully and then asked, ¡°Are you sure we can make it over the walls without being seen?¡±

    Accadeas snickered in his deep voice, ¡°They will never expect that an enemy can fly over the wall and it is already difficult enough to see your dragon form flying at night. My assassins will also be using illusions to make it even more difficult to spot you. You will easily succeed, I am not the least bit concerned about that. How many will you be able to carry in one flight?¡±

    ¡°I can carry four, maybe five at a time.¡±

    ¡°Then you should only need two trips. Once you transport all of them, keep yourself hidden and make your way back to this tent. Don¡¯t let anyone see you in the camp. I want it to be a big surprise when you officially make your debut.¡±

    Accadeas let out a resounding laugh as he gave Nes a good pound on his shoulder. Nes was almost dropped to his knees from the force but he struggled to remain standing while gritting his teeth.

    ¡°Hehe, good, now get going. My officer here will lead you to where the assassins are¡±

    Nes scowled before leaving the tent. Accadeas grinned at his receding back and chuckled under his breath before motioning to his officer to guide Nes.

    ¡°Make sure you pass on my orders to the army once you finish guiding him. We need to have the majority of our casters and half the army ready to attack the western wall once the signal is given. The rest will fool the enemy into thinking we will continue our siege.¡±

    The Demonkin officer nodded. ¡°Yes Marshall!¡±

    He followed after Nes while Accadeas remained in the tent for Nes to return as the night slowly dragged on.

    After an hour had almost passed, Nes entered the tent as quietly as he had left it.

    ¡°Were you seen by anyone?¡± Accadeas asked.

    ¡°No, no one saw us. Your men used their illusion magic immediately and we circled a good distance away. None of the Demihumans or Humans saw us. It took a while to circle around and I had to make two trips but I got them over the walls. My job is done, It¡¯s up to your men now. I¡¯m going to get some sleep.¡±

    Accadeas nodded and said nothing more. He left the tent and made his way towards the main force.

    The night was long and dark except for the illumination of elemental spells which were being launched towards the enemy walls in intervals.

    Demihumans had a huge advantage when it came to fighting in the dark because most Demihumans possessed a type of night vision. Humans required light to see well in the dark, but Demihumans only needed the light of the moon and the stars.

    Accadeas stood before his army of ten thousand warriors well beyond the visibility of the Human soldiers on the walls.

    He said nothing, his eyes glued to the sky above the western section of the capital¡¯s walls.

    None of the Demihumans knew exactly what was going through his head or why such a large army had been amassed at this particular section of the wall.

    The minutes dragged on, but Accadeas¡¯s eyes never moved. Many warriors began to grow restless and low murmurs spread throughout the ranks.

    A few dozen magic casters continued their bombardment of the wall, but hundreds more stood in reserve waiting for their orders. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Even the Khans, who were fully confident in Accadeas¡¯s abilities and had no intent to question his orders, were beginning to throw inquisitive glances towards the Marshall.

    ¡°Why do you think he has amassed the army here? Does he think the wall will be breached here?¡± Whispered Rajal to Rhaegnar who stood beside him.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like the barrier will be coming down anytime soon. Hmm¡­. I¡¯m not sure what the Marshall is thinking.¡± Replied Rhaegnar as he rubbed his grizzly beard with his right hand.

    ¡°He must know something we don¡¯t, let¡¯s just wait to see what will happen. There is no point in questioning the Marshall at this point. If my guess is correct, something should happen soon.¡± Added Reddin thoughtfully.

    Arctus who was also listening to their conversation frowned.

    ¡°What is it Arctus? Did you realize something?¡± Asked Rhaegnar after noticing his frown.

    Arctus sighed heavily before responding, ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. It would be better if I didn¡¯t say. We have all lived quite a long time and many of us are stuck in our old ways, but this is a time of change. Just¡­ ignore this old man. Let us just watch and see what our Marshall has planned.¡±

    The others looked at Arctus strangely but none of them questioned any further.

    Suddenly a strange light lit up the night sky over the capital¡¯s walls for only a brief moment. Only someone who was closely watching would be able to notice it.

    Accadeas, whose eyes had never left their position, noticed the signal and abruptly turned to face the army.

    ¡°Everyone, prepare yourselves! Mages, all of you, focus your attacks on the wall straight ahead and blast a hole through it!¡± Accadeas shouted orders to the waiting army.

    All of the soldiers readied their weapons while the magic casters ran forward towards the front and began casting their most powerful spells.

    Hundreds of spells immediately lit up the night and ferociously blasted towards the western walls.

    ¡°As soon as they breach the walls, everyone will charge into the breach. Be ready to move!¡± Accadeas roared once more and his orders were passed down through his officers who repeated them throughout the entire gathered army.

    The Khans standing nearby had no idea where Accadeas was getting his confidence from or why he was so sure the wall would finally fall. None of them voiced their concerns however.

    All those assembled began to flex in anticipation as they prepared to charge with full strength.

    There were mighty tigerkin, rabbitkin, wolfkin and the members of many other tribes whose blood began to boil. Some looked beside them and saw the many tribes which had been gathered here together for the first time, fighting side by side as a grand army.

    The excitement and expectation of victory electrified the air around them and morale soared.

    Every spell that impacted upon the barrier caused the barrier to pulsate in a strange light and as more spells struck, the light pulsed more rapidly.

    The sound of the bombardment drowned out the senses of those upon the walls and a loud shattering sound resounded throughout the night as the barrier collapsed.

    Cracks began to spread along the wall as the Human soldiers cried out in fear. They knew the wall would soon fall now that the barrier collapsed and they quickly retreated from the walls to avoid casualties.

    Under the constant bombardment of powerful spells, the wall began to crumble.

    Accadeas lifted his giant halberd and thrust it towards the capital city and shouted in a booming voice, ¡°CHARGE!¡±

    Thousands of voices roared and the land outside the city rumbled as the army thundered towards the city¡¯s walls.

    A dark shadowy horde poured towards the breach created by the bombardment of spells with Accadeas at its head. They surged through the hole in the walls and met little resistance at the western section of the wall as the Humans attempted to retreat towards the inner wall.

    With how quickly the wall fell, the Humans had little time to inform the soldiers defending other sections of the wall. The Demihumans rapidly made their way into the capital city attempting to cut down as many retreating soldiers as they could.

    Soldiers who were too slow to retreat attempted to put together a futile resistance but were easily cut down by the Demihuman warriors with Accadeas at their head.

    Within a relatively short time, almost half of the defending army had been wiped out while the rest retreated beyond the inner walls. With so few soldiers, they weren¡¯t able to properly defend the inner wall and the Demihumans continued their assault.

    Fighting continued well into the night, but by the dawn of the next day, the defenders had surrendered and the Demihumans were victorious.

    <hr>

    Fayde sat leisurely on a cushion while eating breakfast in his command tent. Reia, Laila, Allein, Tris and Shar were all present along with several others.

    ¡°Fayde, the army is ready to move out. They are well rested and morale is high. They are ready for battle.¡± Reported one of Fayde¡¯s servants.

    ¡°So we¡¯re almost there¡­..¡± Fayde frowned.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Fayde?¡± Asked Reia.

    ¡°Many people will die today.¡± Said Fayde apprehensively.

    Laila was sitting next to Fayde and gently squeezed his hand, ¡°It¡¯s too late for regrets now.¡±

    ¡°I know¡­.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget your promise Fayde.¡± Interjected Shar.

    ¡°Relax Shar, I already promised you I wouldn¡¯t harm the King of La¡¯gun or his family. Once we take the city, I will make sure they are taken care of under house arrest. This was our agreement and I won¡¯t go back on my word.¡±

    Shar nodded and no longer pressed the issue.

    ¡°Fieral, send out my orders and prepare to march. Once I finish checking my status we will move out. Everyone go get ready¡±

    Everyone left Fayde alone with the diviner and after he finished his meal he had his status divined.

    [Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]

    [HP: 189/189]

    [Health Regen: 2/min] [4/min while resting]

    [VP: 5400/5400] [Void Threshold: 6000 Next level 10000]

    [Void Regen: 15/min] [40/min while resting]

    Strength: 17 ( Modifier +4, Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)

    Dexterity: 16 (Modifier +3, Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)

    Constitution: 18 (Modifier +4, Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)

    Charisma: 15 (Modifier +3, Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)

    Intelligence: 146 (Represents intellectual capacity, Affects Skill Growth)

    Wisdom: 300 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)

    Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 9/10 Superior), Evasion (Level 8/10 Superior), Tactics (Level 8/10 Superior), Leadership (Level 8/10 Superior), Endurance (Level 8/10 Superior), Spear (Level 2/10 Beginner)

    Acquired Martial Arts: Sword Whirlwind (Sword), Poised Strike (Sword), Seven Sword Slash (Sword), Sword Mirage (Sword), Piercing Wind (Spear)

    Blessings: Blessing of the Void (The ability to unite with the soul of a ¡®Child of the Void¡¯ through the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯)

    Special abilities:

    Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination strengthening host)

    Molecular transfer (Transfers dark matter contamination from host, to those bearing the ¡®Mark of the Void,¡¯ strengthening them)

    Molecular reconstitution (Through dark matter contamination transference, reconstitutes entirely, the body and soul of those bearing the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯, amount of VP required is dependent on severity of the condition of the one being healed)

    Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)

    Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)

    Void Element abilities:

    Void Flame (Maximum) (20VP - 7VP/min) (Imbue the power of the ¡®Void¡¯ across your entire body and unleash flames that devour space and time over a limited area, Flames act as a defensive shield around the ability user¡¯s body and protects against all attacks while active)

    Void Strike (Maximum) (200VP) (Unleashes the power of the ¡®Void¡¯, limited dimensional strike)

    Void Phantom Image (Maximum)(150VP - 40VP/min) (A type of magic body enhancement that circulates ¡®Void¡¯ element throughout the body which creates ¡®Phantom Clones¡¯. These clones allow for short range cross-dimensional teleportation. Clones act as a mirror copy of the ability user sharing 75% of the ability user¡¯s power and abilities)

    Void Beam (Greater) (300VP) (An enhanced concentrated beam of Dark Matter which moves at the speed of light)

    Void Flight (100VP - 20VP/min) (The body of the caster is entirely encased in ¡®Void Flames¡¯ which allow minute control over gravitic forces affecting the caster¡¯s body)

    Void Fireball (Greater) (400VP) (A much more powerful version of ¡®Void Flame¡¯ with blazing and explosive properties striking over a large area. Duration is increased.)

    Void Blade (minor) (200VP/constructed blade) (Combines Sword Martial Arts with Void Element, Dimensional blades are created with the power of the Void, Blades act independently of the user and can cross dimensions to strike at an enemy at the ability user¡¯s will)

 Volume 3 Chapter 19

    Before Glafandal stood a knight almost fully covered in armor from neck to toe. He was only missing his helmet and on his back was fastened an immense sword.

    He was a proud knight who had seen better days as he had spent most of his life fighting and was now a weathered hero rather than a young and headstrong soldier.

    Gone were the days of his youthful and handsome appearance, which had been replaced by a scarred and roughly featured complexion.

    Sir Herbert had become a temple knight at the young age of fifteen. He had started as a squire and eventually rose to become a powerful temple knight.

    As a loyal temple knight, he never questioned his superior¡¯s orders. He had completed many missions without ever needing to question or second guess. However, he was having difficulty wrapping his head around the mission he had currently been assigned.

    Sir Herbert was among the greatest of the temple knights and he had been in command of these two hundred temple knights for a long time. In all his years, this was the strangest mission he had ever been given.

    He had been ordered by theleader of his faith himself, so there was no question on where his orders came from and the instructions given were extremely simple.

    Sir Herbert was to escort this strange being, Glafandal, and follow all of his orders without question. Whatever Glafandal ordered him to do, he was to complete without question.

    Despite the simplicity of the mission, Sir Herbert was finding it to be the most difficult mission he had ever been ordered to fulfill.

    ¡°Ugh, disgusting humans. Every time I look at you it makes me sick. Your dirty, you smell disgusting, you might as well as be swine. The day I finish this mission and return home can¡¯t come soon enough.¡± Said Glafandal disdainfully as he lounged on a cushioned seat while using one of the temple knights as a footstool.

    The ¡°footstool¡± was one of Sir Herbert¡¯s direct subordinates and a good friend who he had served beside for more than ten years. Sir Herbert¡¯s face wrinkled in frustration, but there was nothing he could do other than curse Glafandal in his mind.

    ¡°My lord, I don¡¯t understand what exactly we are doing here. If we are here to help the Kingdom of Jaspel conquer La¡¯gun, why is it that we have yet to participate in the siege? My men are growing restless.¡± Said Sir Herbert as respectfully as he could despite his anger.

    ¡°Hmph, as if I have to provide you an answer. Your purpose here is to follow my will. You are my slave, you will do as I say. That is about the only thing you humans are good for.¡±

    Sir Herbert¡¯s brow creased, but he once again put down his inner anger.

    ¡®This is a test, a test. I must prove my faith. Don¡¯t let anger cloud my judgement¡¯ He thought inwardly, repeating his words as if they were a prayer or a mantra.

    ¡°I understand my lord, but perhaps you could humor me. Consider it a mercy¡­¡± Sir Herbert said in an almost pleading voice.

    He needed something, anything, to retain his sanity at this point. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to believe that the Pope he had served his entire life would send him on a pointless mission.

    He was also instructed that Glafandal was an emissary of Mystra, the Divinity herself. Although he was beginning to have some doubts much to his regret.

    Glafandal eyed Sir Herbert lazily and then shrugged.

    ¡°I suppose I no longer need to keep it a secret from you as he will arrive today and my powers are just about accustomed to the laws of this fragment. The reason why we haven¡¯t aided these fools in their siege is because that isn¡¯t truly our mission. Also, I hadn¡¯t yet acclimated to the dimensional laws in this realm yet. My powers were being suppressed, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t need any of you useless humans. I could have easily slaughtered everyone here and completed my mission as soon as I stepped foot in this shithole you call a world.¡±

    After sipping from his wine glass, Glafandal kicked the temple knight he was using as a footstool and stood. Sir Herbert could only grimace and feel guilt for what his friend was going through.

    He also had no idea what Glafandal was talking about. None of what he had said made sense to him.

    ¡°My lord, if we aren¡¯t here to aid the Kingdom of Jaspel, then what exactly is the magic formation we have been constructing around the area?¡± Asked Sir Herbert.

    Glafandal was about to reply angrily but loud shouting from outside the tent caused him to smile wickedly.

    ¡°Go see what¡¯s going on outside!¡± Commanded Glafandal.

    Sir Herbert promptly made his way outside the tent and returned within a few minutes.

    ¡°My lord, there appears to be a large army of Demihumans approaching from the rear!¡± Shouted Sir Herbert, unable to keep his calm any longer.

    Sir Herbert was a veteran of the wars fought against the Demonkin, so a large army of Demihumans wasn¡¯t as much of a shock to him as it was to the Jaspelian and Quijon armies.

    However, the fact that such a large army of Demihumans was here in the north at this moment was a surprise to him and he was visibly shaken.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Good. Go and get your men ready, it is time. You are to help the Jaspelian and Quijon army hold back the Demihumans as long as possible. I still need some time until I can use my full powers. You are to tell the knights supporting the formation to remain in their positions until the formation is activated. Hurry, go!¡±

    Sir Herbert no longer hesitated now that he had a clear objective and was about to leave the tent to assemble his knights when he was abruptly stopped by Glafandal who grabbed his shoulder.

    ¡°One more thing Sir Herbert. I don¡¯t care the cost, you must buy me time. Even if that means you must sacrifice your life, do you understand?¡± Glafandal said with a cold glint in his eye.

    Sir Herbert shuddered, ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡®What other choice do I have?¡¯ He sighed and made his way out of the tent without voicing his thoughts.

    His once determined and comely visage bore a grim and grisly expression

    <hr>

    ¡°Halt!¡± Fayde shouted towards his rear, calling a stop to the army of Demihumans behind him.

    He spurred his horse on and approached the enemy army arrayed before him in a calm manner. There was still quite a distance between the two armies, but he could sense the uncertainty and anxiousness of the Jaspelian and Quijon army.

    Behind them was the majestic capital of La¡¯gun which Fayde was seeing for the very first time.

    It¡¯s walls still proudly stood despite the urgency by which the kingdoms of Jaspel and Quijon had exerted in their attempts to bring them down.

    A chaotic scene was playing out atop the walls as the defending soldiers gawked and pointed towards the Demihuman army in the distance.

    To them, this was either a source of good fortune or of doom to come. It was unclear to them if the Demihuman army was here to bring them aid or to cause their destruction.

    This was a sight that they would never imagine to see and so, some deluded themselves with hopeful expectation.

    Of course, none of this mattered to Fayde and their considerations were not even a fleeting thought in his mind. He only calmly looked upon his enemy and the city in the distance with an almost sentimental feeling.

    ¡®I¡¯m getting a little emotional here.. Hehe. I never thought I would be able to feel something like this. Riding on my horse before an army of thousands¡­ should I lift my sword and yell charge?¡¯ Fayde couldn¡¯t help but chuckle to himself.

    ¡°No, I should take this a bit more seriously..¡± Fayde muttered and then turned his head to glance at his wives who were watching him with looks of concern.

    ¡®Don¡¯t look at me like that¡¯ Fayde thought with a self-deprecating smile.

    ¡°If I can alleviate some of the burden, it¡¯s better that way. I don¡¯t want to see those that have come to rely on me die or suffer unnecessarily. Perhaps this isn¡¯t the way of a ruler¡­. Well, I¡¯m just a regular guy, at least it¡¯s how I see myself.¡± Fayde mumbled before turning his gaze back upon the enemy army.

    Fayde dismounted and walked a short way from his horse before calling upon the power of the ¡®Void¡¯. His body ignited in foreboding black flames that seemed to tear the very fabric of reality in the space that surrounded him.

    He didn¡¯t halt his steps, and what appeared to be a vicious and unpredictable human shaped flame, approached the enemy lines with a determined bearing.

    This scene caused the Human soldiers to gasp in shock for they had never seen anything like it. The Jaspelian and Quijon officers attempted to settle the nerves of those under them but even they couldn¡¯t help but be struck with fear and anxiousness.

    They were unsettled, the dark and dreadful flames that burned around Fayde sent shivers down their spines and even though they were quite some distance from him, they could almost feel the unnatural heat emanating from them.

    Fayde¡¯s body rose, his feet no longer fitted upon the ground and as his body floated higher, a gentle calm spread across the windswept ground. It was the calm before the storm and only the sound of Fayde¡¯s wildly fluttering flames whispered in his ears.

    Every eye rigidly followed his rising form, they watched in horror and trepidation.

    Fayde surveyed the enemy before him from his vantage point. He gave off the appearance of a prudent god passing judgement.

    ¡°I am loathe to kill¡­ but it is already too late. I¡¯m no innocent and unfortunately, you all stand in my way.¡±

    He pointed his hand downward towards the enemy lines and the air began to fluctuate violently until an extreme pressure built.

    A dense beam of black flames sped outwards from Fayde¡¯s palm at the speed of light. Where it landed, the earth erupted in flames and those struck died without ever knowing the cause of their death.

    Fayde¡¯s ¡®Void Beam¡¯ was a continuous stream of dark energy that he swept through the enemy lines causing mass destruction and death. Even Fayde was awed by its power and a brief moment of weakness caused his power to flutter rapidly and fade out as he lost his concentration.

    He had to hold back the urge to vomit after seeing the destruction his power had caused. Over a thousand men dead in just mere moments. What remained of their corpses mangled and unrecognizable and soon even those parts which remained were soon consumed by dark flames.

    Many of the Demihuman warrior¡¯s faces turned pale when they saw the destruction caused by Fayde¡¯s powerful magic. Some even felt pity for the Humans who had died without even a corpse to remember them.

    The Jaspelian and Quijon forces erupted in panic and chaos. The horses of the cavalry threw their riders and ran in fear and many soldiers threw their weapons to the ground hoping to escape from Fayde¡¯s wrath.

    Fayde hesitated while watching the chaos below. He was more greatly affected than he thought he would be from the destruction he caused. He had resolved himself to take this burden on alone and it wasn¡¯t as if he had deluded himself into thinking that he could win this battle peacefully or without death.

    However, imagining something in one''s mind was not quite the same as experiencing it with one''s eyes. Killing monsters had never affected him so much.

    While Fayde found himself lost in thought for that brief moment, he suddenly realized a solid formation of soldiers approaching from the enemy lines. These were soldiers fully clad in iron and carrying large shimmering tower shields with clear magical properties.

    A slight pressure could be felt originating from the formation and a magical aura surrounded them. Fayde had never seen soldiers such as these, but he had heard that a force of temple knights had arrived to aid the Jaspelian army from the Empire. He assumed these must be them.

    Fayde was surprised by their discipline and seeming lack of fear despite the power his magic had wrought on the enemy.

    At their head, leading the formation, stood a lone knight. Fayde couldn¡¯t see his appearance for he wore a helmet and was fully covered in armor, but he was larger than the other soldiers and he carried an immense sword over his shoulder.

    The knight walked confidently and without fear. It wasn¡¯t as if the man was incapable of feeling fear, it was just that he had resolved himself to die.

 Volume 3 Chapter 20

    Sir Herbert stood at the head of his temple knight formation and turned his head upwards to look at Fayde who was still floating above the battlefield. His expression was hidden beneath his helmet, but it was not an expression of fear.

    He knew his role here wasn¡¯t to defeat Fayde or the army of Demihumans, it was just to bide some time for Glafandal to restore his strength. Sir Herbert didn¡¯t really understand the reasons for this, nor did he know exactly what Glafandal was.

    Glafandal wasn¡¯t human, Sir Herbert knew that much. A part of him felt some disgust at having to take orders from a non-human and he realized at this point that he had been basically thrown away like trash.

    It was to be expected, he had grown old and was deemed no longer necessary by his superiors. That was the only reasoning he could think of with his limited information. Either way, he had served his country for a long time and he would fulfill his last mission to the best of his ability.

    ¡°You are Fayde I presume?¡± Sir Herbert shouted towards the human shaped flame burning in the afternoon sky.

    There was still a good distance between them, but Sir Herbert projected his voice while pointing a gauntleted fist towards the man in the sky.

    Fayde was watching them carefully and responded, ¡°Are words necessary?¡±

    He then pointed his palm towards the knight formation.

    Sir Herbert grunted before stepping back behind the wall of tower shields.

    His men opened up a brief hole in the formation allowing him to step behind them and then closed the formation once again.

    Fayde wasn¡¯t bothered by it and even let him step behind the formation. He was confident in his power.

    Once again, his power began to form at his palm, pulsing violently. The black flames converged, building pressure and fluctuating rapidly until the flames formed a dense beam of light that fired out of his palm.

    The ¡®Void Beam¡¯ struck the tower shields instantaneously causing an explosion, but the sight that Fayde had expected to see did not happen. He was expecting a similar scene from when he had unleashed his power upon the Jaspelian and Quijon armies. A scene of destruction, death, and chaos.

    Instead, the ¡®Void Beam¡¯ struck the shields and was repulsed. The initial impact produced a slight explosive force, pushing the shield bearers back but the ¡®Void Beam¡¯ was sent hurtling in another direction. It was similar to the effect of light being reflected by a mirror.

    Fayde was shocked. He was of course aware that magic could be deflected or repulsed by mirror shields, especially those constructed with magical properties of their own. He just never expected it would work on his ¡®Void Beam¡¯.

    The Jaspelian and Quijon forces which were in disarray and confusion began to calm down after seeing Fayde¡¯s magic was ineffective against their formation. There was still fear present in their hearts, but the commanders and officers were finally able to retain some semblance of order.

    Some deaths had been caused from stampeding soldiers who were running for their lives and some had been killed for their desertion by officers. Some others had escaped, but the majority of the army was still able to be held together despite this.

    After reforming their lines, they looked on with hope as they watched the temple knights stand firm against Fayde¡¯s power. He was attempting to bombard them with continuous ¡®Void Beams¡¯ but he was met with only failure.

    ¡°Ugh, fine, how about a fireball then!?¡±

    While Fayde¡¯s ¡®Void Beam¡¯ attack was a concentrated attack over a small area, his ¡®Void Fireball¡¯ was an attack that caused destruction over a wide area but wasn¡¯t as concentrated.

    An immense fireball, much larger than any other anyone had ever seen, descended from the sky and fell upon the tower knights. Even with their shields, Fayde felt the attack should be somewhat effective.

    ¡°Shields up! Tortoise formation!¡± Shouted Sir Herbert.

    The formation of the temple knights began to move becoming more tightly packed. Some of the knights raised their shields, linking them together forming an enormous shell. Despite the fact that the shields were large and bulky, the knights had little trouble raising them and the shields were constructed in a way that those at the base provided some support for those being raised.

    This action showed that each of these knights was the equivalent of a high ranked adventurer and possessed incredible strength.

    The ¡®Void Fireball¡¯ crashed downward unto the enemy tortoise formation and a loud explosion shook the ground sending flames everywhere but the flames were deflected and pushed outward away from the knights.

    Fayde noticed that when his magic crashed against the shields, that strange aura he felt earlier seemed to form a powerful magical field around the knights. He realized that it wasn¡¯t just the tower shields which were causing his power to be ineffective but also the power of the aura surrounding them.

    The aura was strange and unfamiliar and seemed to be releasing an oppressive might which was aiding the knights in suppressing the power of his magic.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like my magic is going to be effective against them and I am getting low on ¡®Void Power¡¯.¡± Fayde sighed realizing he wouldn¡¯t be able to quickly finish this battle.

    He descended, landing once again on the ground and was approached by his three wives.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that these temple knights were so powerful. I have never seen anything like it before, even among adventurers.¡± Said Reia with a thoughtful expression.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you have only lived here in the northern kingdoms. La¡¯gun especially is a relatively poor kingdom. In the empire, there are many powerful humans among the Imperial army and also adventurers. Their level of civilization is far greater than the northern kingdoms and they have a long history with a deep foundation. My brother and I have fought the Empire our entire lives and our people were eventually defeated despite our strength and the advantages of our species.¡± Interjected Laila while moving to stand beside Fayde.

    ¡°Hmph, there are only two hundred of them! What can they do? We outnumber the enemy, let¡¯s just charge and kill them!¡± Said Felicia enthusiastically, clearly looking down on the enemy with disdain.

    ¡®When did she get here?¡¯ Fayde was surprised and hadn¡¯t even noticed she was standing closely behind him.

    ¡°Felicia, you are young and have never participated in a real battle. You can¡¯t just thoughtlessly charge your enemy to solve every situation. You are right in that we do outnumber the enemy, but you should never underestimate the impact of a small unit of elite soldiers. We would certainly win with our numbers, but at a great cost of lives. The whole point of Fayde wanting to attack the enemy on his own was to limit casualties. The Jaspelian and Quijon commanders have already brought order back to their army and it would be unwise for us to launch an all out attack.¡±

    Laila sounded much like an older sister as she continued to explain the details of the battle to Felicia. She had a warm smile and even though she was explaining the faults in Felicia¡¯s statement, she didn¡¯t speak condescendingly. Laila could no doubt appear haughty to an outsider, but in reality she was kind and patient to those she cared for.

    Although when it came to her brother, she was a constant nuisance to him due to his own arrogance and hotheaded nature.

    ¡°Oh I see... ¡° Felicia said while nodding her head and listening attentively.

    Felicia too was prideful, but she treated Laila as if she were a big sister. If it had been someone other than one of Fayde¡¯s wives, she would have most likely acted much differently. It was due to the respect deserving of a wife of a Great Khan and the fact that she herself was a candidate to be one as well.

    ¡°I know that in war, people die, but I want to limit the casualties as much as possible. Not just for us, but for the Humans too. War begets war and also, we will need as many people as possible to stabilize these lands. Many of these soldiers are also farmers and craftsmen. If too many die, it will cause a lot of issues.¡±

    Fayde glanced towards Allein and she met his gaze. He was considering whether he should use her power or not.

    ¡®Only if there is no other way¡¯ He thought.

    Fayde continued to watch as the formation of knights moved once more and returned to a square formation. The soldiers in front moved slightly creating an opening for which the knight Fayde saw earlier once again strode towards the front.

    ¡°Did you think it would be so simple to defeat us? We are blessed by the goddess and you are nothing more than a heretic! How could your petty magic defy the power of a divinity?¡± Sir Herbert shouted once more across the battlefield.

    Hearing his shout, Fayde frowned and the enemy army cheered as their morale soared. Even though they were facing a precarious situation, they felt heartened by the show of force presented by the temple knights.

    In their minds too, they looked down on the Demihumans thinking they were not their match. If not for Fayde¡¯s powerful magic, they would never have even feared facing them on the battlefield.

    Fayde looked back at his own warriors and saw eagerness in their eyes. It was clear they wished to do battle even if he hoped to avoid it as much as possible.

    ¡°Fayde, I challenge you to a duel! Do you dare?¡± Shouted Sir Herbert once more across the battlefield.

    He stepped forward and planted his huge sword into the ground in front of him while placing both hands on the pommel. He appeared to be fully confident in his challenge. His only thoughts were to delay as long as possible and he saw this as a chance to do so.

    ¡°Fayde, there is no need for you accept this duel. I will fight in your stead, stay here and rest until your power is restored. It doesn¡¯t matter if the battle takes a little bit longer than what we hoped for. Even if the temple knights can defend against your magic, they can¡¯t protect the entire army. Once your power is restored enough we can finish this battle.¡± Said Reia while unsheathing her magic sword.

    She stepped forward without waiting for Fayde to respond and he could only watch her back with concern. He chose not to say anything but gave laila a meaningful look. She nodded in response to Fayde¡¯s glance, no words were necessary. She understood exactly what his intentions were.

    As Reia walked out to face Sir Herbert, Laila turned and waved towards one of her servants. They soon returned with an enormous black bow and arrows that appeared more like they might be fired from a ballista.

    Fayde had no issue with throwing honor to the wind if it meant the safety of the ones he loved. Even though he was worried for Reia¡¯s safety, he felt more comfortable knowing Laila could support her if she fell into danger.

    Laila¡¯s accuracy with her bow was exceptional and the danger posed by her arrows was nothing to scoff at. She could easily pierce heavy armor with her attack.

    ¡°I will accept your challenge.¡± Said Reia with a cool demeanor as she approached the fully clad knight who had met her halfway between the two armies.

    ¡°Hah, so Fayde was too afraid to challenge me himself and he sends a woman to fight his battle?¡± Despite his comment, he eyed Reia carefully and wouldn¡¯t underestimate her.

    ¡°The amount of Demihumans I have killed with these hands would frighten you little fox girl. Do you think that your fate will be any different?¡± His voice was cold and murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

    Reia didn¡¯t bother to respond and instead readied her blade. Lightning crackled along the surface, giving off a deadly light.

    She gritted her teeth and her battle intent grew as her magical power swelled inside her. She wasn¡¯t in anyway inferior to the knight standing before her and even if she couldn¡¯t match him in strength, she could easily outclass him in speed.

    Reia summoned her magic and strengthened her body with various incantations. Sir Herbert chuckled and gripped his immense sword, lifting it from the ground sending dirt flying.

    He raised his blade, ¡°I commend you for your bravery, but today shall be your death!¡±

    Sir Herbert¡¯s aura surged with seemingly divine power and he readied himself for battle.

 Volume 3 Chapter 21

    Reia felt a dangerous aura emanating from the knight standing before her and her senses were warning her not to be careless. Her magical incantations caused a slight wind to ripple around her increasing her speed and agility.

    ¡°His strength definitely exceeds mine and that sword is immense. I don¡¯t see any weaknesses in his stance either. I only have my speed to rely on but I don¡¯t know whether or not that will truly give me an advantage here.¡±

    She only needed a moment in order to analyze her opponent and come to a conclusion about his battle prowess. Glancing slightly over her shoulder, she saw Laila prepare her bow which filled her with some confidence.

    Reia took a deep breath and began to circle the knight carefully with her blade held upright in both hands. Lightning crackled along the blade of her sword causing goosebumps to arise on her hands which crept down her arms soon after. Her breath quickened and adrenaline pumped violently through her body fueling her desire for battle.

    Sir Herbert remained calm as he watched Reia circle around him looking for an opening. His enormous blade was resting on his shoulder and he chuckled softly. He had resolved himself to die here in this foreign place and the irony of it all filled him with a bit of morbid humor.

    ¡°Girl, do you truly think you can defeat me?¡±

    Reia glared at Sir Herbert angrily and retorted, ¡°My name is Reia, not girl! Remember it well even though you won¡¯t live past this day!¡±

    ¡°Haha, it is not yet certain who will live and who will die. Even if I die this day, I have no regrets. I have lived my life, but you¡­ you are still quite young. Is it worth it to die for a man who can¡¯t fight his own battles?¡±

    Reia¡¯s glare became more intense for a brief moment. After realizing his intention to unsettle her, she calmed her nerves, ¡°Enough talk!¡±

    At that moment she sprinted forward, swinging her sword at Sir Herbert¡¯s flank. Using his left arm as if it were a shield, he deflected her attack. Reia jumped back in shock before rushing to attack once more.

    Sir Herbert lifted his greatsword with both hands and swung it violently. The speed of his attack surprised Reia. Sensing the approaching danger she quickly halted her attack and used the momentum to just barely dodge the fierce swing of his blade. The blade had been mere inches from her throat and the rippling wind caused by the swing of the greatsword sent chills down her spine.

    If she hadn¡¯t pulled back at the last minute, the blade might have severed her head from her body.

    Fayde watched on nervously and gave Laila a look filled with deep meaning which she understood immediately. With the help of her servants, Laila knocked her longbow with the oversized arrows specifically made for her bow.

    She pulled back on the bow and aimed carefully at Sir Herbert.

    Reia was struggling to dodge Sir Herbert¡¯s attacks while attempting to close the distance between them. If she could get close enough to the knight and stay within a range that made his sword ineffective, she might have an advantage against his cumbersome greatsword.

    However, even with her exceptional speed, she was unable to do so. Whenever she was able to slip within the reach of his blade, her attacks would be negated by his armor and she would be forced back. His protective aura was also proving to be difficult to overcome.

    This was by far the strongest adversary she had ever faced.

    Reia continued her attack, struggling to find an opening which she could exploit. However, the old knight continued to force her back. His stalwart defense appearing as if it were an impenetrable wall.

    While the old knight couldn¡¯t strike a decisive blow against Reia because of her speed, neither could she gain any advantages because of his defense. This only caused to arouse the ardor of the Jaspelian and Quijon army who watched on with rapt attention. Their morale soared and they cheered loudly as if to drown out the memory of their previous humiliating behavior.

    So as not to be outdone, the Demihumans roared in answer to the Human¡¯s cheers. Their anticipation of slaughter caused their blood to boil. The rancor of untold years filled with humiliation caused by Humans did nothing to lessen their rage.

    The sound of the two armies roaring, cheering and jeering at each other across a battlefield was deafening.

    To Reia, it might as well have not existed as she focused all of her attention on the Human wall in front of her.

    ¡°I need to create an opportunity to use the ability of my lightning sword. I can only hope that will be enough to break his defenses.¡±

    Reia wasn¡¯t fully confident in her plan, but the knight seemed impervious to her spells and attacks. Gritting her teeth, it occurred to her that she would need to take a risk in order to enact her plan.

    She steeled her nerves and rushed in for another attack, ducking under Sir Herbert¡¯s sword swing and using all of her speed and agility to get in close.

    Feigning an opening, she attempted to pierce her blade into the joints of his armor but Sir Herbert¡¯s fist collided against her face sending her tumbling back. She spit out blood as she struggled to rise to her feet. Her jaw was wracked with pain and she almost felt as if it had been dislocated.

    Sir Herbert raised his sword in an effort to cleave her in two but a sudden sense of danger halted his movements. He rotated his body as he swung his blade and deflected an enormous arrow which had been fired at his back.

    In that moment that he had deflected the arrow, he noticed three more flying towards him rapidly.

    Because of the threat of the powerful arrows, he could do nothing but continue to defend against them allowing Reia to struggle to her feet. In the time it took for him to deflect the third arrow, hackles suddenly sprung from the back of his neck warning him of imminent danger.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    A bright yellowish glow seen spreading out from the corner of his eye, followed by the sound of crackling, filled him with a sense of dread. His movements became almost sluggish, but he turned towards the danger as quickly as he could and summoned every ounce of energy from his holy aura, pouring it into his blade in order to defend himself.

    A strong blast of electricity collided with the holy aura surrounding his greatsword causing a severe backlash of energy which sent Sir Herbert several steps back and down to one knee.

    His helmet was blown clear off his head and a trickle of blood could be seen trailing from his mouth down to his chin. His armor hadn¡¯t fared any better. It was battered and cracked but still held to his body as if it were sheltering him in its embrace.

    Reia, who looked equally as haggard, breathed heavily as she held onto her sword. She glared at Sir Herbert fiercely and a slight electric charge snaked down her blade until it dissipated having consumed its charge.

    Sir Herbert chuckled before spitting up a mouthful of blood. His weight was supported by his blade which had been stabbed into the ground.

    ¡°You are the first to ever force me to my knees. Although, it was a cheap strike.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but lament his situation and curse his fate while shivering from a sudden chill which creeped down his exposed back. His body shuddered and a powerful force struck his shoulder sending his body lurching forward.

    An immense arrow protruded from his left shoulder and blood was flowing freely from the wound. The force caught him unexpectedly and he couldn¡¯t keep himself from falling face first into the dirt. He was somehow still alive, but the pain was unbearable.

    Not far from where they fought, the temple knights were already rushing towards Sir Herbert in order to protect him. Sir Herbert used all of his strength to slowly rise to his feet with the help of his sword and spit out blood once more. He was rapidly losing blood and was struggling to keep consciousness.

    Reia, seeing the approaching knights, didn¡¯t stick around. She quickly made her way back to Fayde¡¯s side who greeted her with relief clearly visible on his face.

    He pulled her into his arms as if he was afraid of losing her and gently rubbed her face. She was caught by surprise and hadn¡¯t been expecting such a public display of affection, but she felt the warmth of his intent and didn¡¯t push him away.

    ¡°You did good Reia. Next time, try not to get hit in the face though¡­¡± Fayde chided her with a smile.

    She was breathing too heavily to respond and finally pushed him away, giving him a solid punch to his shoulder eliciting a grunt from him. He was expecting such a reaction and just chuckled.

    ¡°I¡¯ve regenerated some of my VP, but I am concerned about that aura that was protecting them and rendering my attacks useless earlier.¡± Fayde mused before having a sudden thought and turned to Allein, ¡°Allein, it looks like I will need your strength after all. Your dragon flames should be able to break through the holy aura much like when you destroyed the sphere. I really didn¡¯t want to involve you, but this might be the only way.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I haven¡¯t truly let loose in a long time.¡± Allein replied in a subdued voice.

    Fayde wanted to say more but he was suddenly at a loss for words and could only watch as Allein walked towards the approaching enemy lines. Reia and Laila both stood beside Fayde and watched Allein in anticipation.

    The enemy army had begun their attack immediately after seeing the failed duel. They rushed across the battlefield and would soon engage the Demihuman army. Fayde hadn¡¯t ordered his army to advance and so the Demihumans watched on, eyes wide with excitement, as Allein approached the enemy alone.

    They had never seen the power of a dragon, but they had heard stories from ancient times. Their eyes were glued to her seemingly fragile form and they knew that despite her appearance, a fearsome and primal power loomed within her.

    Only the Demihumans knew what Allein truly was. To the approaching Human soldiers, they looked on with derision. Their confidence was restored and with the temple knights at the forefront, they no longer feared Fayde¡¯s magic. The holy aura had now spread to the entirety of their army and not only did it offer them protection, but it instilled in them courage.

    In their hearts and minds pulsed the power of a goddess. They never imagined that one lowly Demihuman girl could rain destruction down upon them.

    Allein stopped at a distance between the two armies and glanced briefly over her shoulders at Fayde before turning her predatory eyes on the opposing army.

    ¡°I must prove myself to him. It¡¯s the only way I can regain his trust.¡± Said Allein with determination.

    Her crimson eyes almost seemed to glow with a dim light as her hair swayed loosely in the wind. Time for her slowed to a crawl. She felt an immense power from within her that desperately wished to be released. It was far more menacing than she remembered and a deep and dreadful flame burst forth in her veins filling her with power.

    Allein pulled back her head releasing a mighty roar that shook the hearts of the approaching army despite the power of the holy aura surrounding them. Her body began to shift and change, growing ever larger.

    The sound of her roar grew even more monstrous and flames exploded outward from Allein¡¯s body shocking even the Demihumans. Even Fayde had never seen such a monstrous transformation and soon realized that Allein¡¯s power had evolved and grown. She was no longer the small dragon she once was, but something far larger and more fierce.

    Her dragon form had almost reached full adulthood and her size had grown by leaps and bounds. It wouldn¡¯t be long before her body could transform into an adult dragon. Once it did, her power could shake the very fabric of the world¡¯s laws.

    Seeing this, the Jaspelian and Quijon soldiers were once more shaken by fear. It was a slow creeping fear that didn¡¯t make itself readily apparent, but when it finally gripped you, there would be no going back. Even the holy aura surrounding them seemed to whip haphazardly as if wishing to disappear from this place.

    Allein roared once more, flames bursting from her mouth. Her powerful limbs pushed forth and her body lifted off the ground with the rapid beating of her wings which sent dirt and grass hurtling in all directions.

    She dashed forward, bursting with speed and ferocity, her flames bearing down upon the enemy army scorching the earth black. The holy aura could do nothing to protect them from the dense and vicious flames.

    Even the temple knights were defenseless against Allein¡¯s mighty dragon flames. They all died, unable to avoid the flames. Cries of horror and pain flooded the battlefield and the enemy army broke in wild terror, their dread even greater than before.

    Fayde looked on in solemn silence. He would be lying if he said that the carnage didn¡¯t affect him. The sight, sounds, and smell of burning people filled him with a sense of horror. He had already been shaken from his attack earlier.

    He closed his eyes hoping to find a moment of peace amidst the slaughter. His moment of peace was disturbed when he felt a sudden surge of unfamiliar magical energy which caused him to quickly open his eyes wide.

    Fayde surveyed the battlefield for the source of the magic and felt the energy surging rapidly until an extreme pressure burst forth. He couldn¡¯t pinpoint where the magic was originating from and a foreboding feeling tugged at the corner of his mind.

    It was then that he saw the release of the powerful energy screech across the sky leaving a wake in its trail. He could just barely make out what appeared to be a lance surrounded by dense magical energy.

    It sped through the sky like a beam of light aiming straight for Allein as she descended for another attack.

    Sensing the impending danger, she attempted to avoid the attack but as she veered away from her descent, the lance rammed into her body sending her crashing violently into the ground.

    Fayde screamed in fury and ran towards her, followed closely behind by his wives and the thousands of Demihuman warriors who were now filled with an intense rage.

 Volume 3 Chapter 22

    ¡°Why are you crying Fayde? I only hope to see you smile one last time. Was I useful? Was my sacrifice worth something? Am I really going to die in this place, is this the fate of all Dragonkin? To die in battle¡­ leaving those they love behind?¡±

    Allein struggled to breathe as she watched Fayde, Reia and Laila run desperately towards her. She was still in her dragon form with a long black lance protruding from her body. A pool of blood was beginning to form beneath her, but she couldn¡¯t feel it. In her mind, in her world, was only one thing.

    She only wanted the sight of the one she loved, to be her last memory.

    ¡°With this.. I¡¯m satisfied.¡±

    The sounds and smells of the world around her had already faded and her sight was beginning to blur. She held onto her sight with all her strength, not allowing it to fade.

    Fayde had rushed towards her and was panicking as he placed his hands on her and shouted towards those around him. Allein couldn¡¯t hear his words, nor could she feel his touch, but she was happy because she could see his concern.

    She was ready to pass on, having finally been able to show her devotion at the cost of her life. Her consciousness faded as she slipped into a dream.

    In her dream she felt warmth and comfort. She could feel her father¡¯s aura surrounding her and embracing her with a father¡¯s love.

    ¡°Is this what it means to die?¡± She thought.

    ¡°You are not dead just yet.¡± A voice replied, it was a voice she longed to hear and one which had almost faded with time.

    ¡°Father?¡± She could barely force out the words. It was almost as if she were afraid of facing him once again, or even worse, losing him a second time.

    ¡°Allein, my daughter. I¡¯ve longed to see your face. If only just to say that I¡¯m sorry for all the pain I¡¯ve caused you and for the burden you and your brother have had to suffer alone. In the end, your father failed. I was wrong all along. Your mother and I, along with all the rest of your siblings, were nothing more than puppets to be used in some grand design. Some of us were separated¡­ but most of us died in that cruel and terrifying war. I am not just a passing memory, a fleeting voice that will soon fade. Know that you have always been loved, goodbye Allein.¡±

    With that his voice faded and even though Allein cried out into the stillness, there was no reply.

    ¡°Father¡­ Why!?¡±

    Anger steeled her voice and a desire for revenge welled up within her. Everything that had happened, all of her suffering, the deaths of her family members, and the struggle that had been forced upon her were all because of one thing.

    The Void.

    It was both a blessing and a curse. Without The Void, she would never have been. However, because of The Void, she had lost almost everything.

    ¡°I must live!¡±

    She could suddenly feel warmth¡­ and tears.

    <hr>

    ¡°Fayde, will she be okay?¡± Asked Reia, her voice wavering nervously.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I have used all of my remaining VP in order to heal her. We are connected with the ¡®Mark of the Void¡¯ and my special ability ¡®Molecular reconstitution¡¯ should be enough to heal her. Now that the lance has been removed, her wound has closed and she is breathing... although barely. I can still feel her lifeforce through the ¡®Mark¡¯ so she is still alive.¡±

    Fayde breathed a sigh of relief but soon anger swelled within him.

    ¡°Did you see who attacked her? I have never seen a lance like this before.¡± Asked Laila.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I have a feeling we will soon find out.¡± Replied Fayde a little too aggressively.

    He abruptly stood up, but wobbled and almost fell if not for Reia supporting him. Healing Allein had greatly weakened him as it had cost him all of his VP and even some of his HP. Her wound had been too grievous and he ended up overdrawing his power by quite a bit.

    Fayde surveyed the battlefield and didn¡¯t notice anything particularly off. The enemy had mostly routed at this point and his warriors were making quick work of the survivors.

    Everything seemed to be going well, but he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of something sinister lurking somewhere nearby.

    The energy in the air was strange, but he couldn¡¯t locate the source of the phenomenon or of that previous surge of energy which brought Allein down.

    ¡°Laila, can you see anything with your Demon eyes?¡± Fayde asked.

    "Let me check¡­¡±

    Laila¡¯s eyes changed to crimson as she observed the surroundings.

    With her Demon eyes, she could see all types of energy which would appear in varying colors. Elemental energy would appear in colors pertaining to each element, she could even see the power of the Void.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Her eyes came to rest on one specific area and she focused intently, unsure of exactly what she was seeing. It was a color she had never seen before, but it was vivid and rapidly approaching.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± shouted Reia before jumping and pushing Laila out of the path of the strange burst of energy.

    It had happened so quickly that Laila hadn¡¯t had time to respond. Luckily, Reia sensed the energy and was able to push Laila out of the way before it could harm her.

    ¡°Hehehe, looks like you found me. I guess it¡¯s time I showed myself!¡± A voice that instantly filled Fayde with disgust called out.

    It sounded as if the voice were speaking directly in Fayde¡¯s ear, but when he turned his head in surprise, no one was there.

    ¡°Magic... ¡° Fayde mumbled before shouting out, ¡°Show yourself!¡±

    ¡°No need to shout, I am right here. And here.. And also here!¡± Several voices combined and reverberated in the surroundings confusing Fayde and the others.

    There was no way to determine the point of origin as the voice seemed to originate from several locations. However, soon, a lone figure walked casually towards the group. He appeared as if from thin air. The strange, tall, and garish looking man had definitely not been in the spot just a moment before.

    ¡°What the fuck, is that an elf?¡± was Fayde¡¯s initial thought after noticing the man¡¯s appearance.

    ¡°I apologize for the overly excessive fanfare, I hope you enjoyed my little present. Truly a wondrous thing, a dragonlance, isn¡¯t it? Hahaha, designed specifically for killing disgusting beasts like her. What filth, all of you. Yuck, disgusting. Even the thought of Humans and Demihumans tussling together makes me want to vomit. You know exactly what I am talking about, don¡¯t you Fayde? Hahaha, I guess you are one of those deviants that enjoys the company of beasts.¡±

    Fayde felt his teeth were about to be crushed as he clenched them in anger. He had never been so enraged before and even the sound of the elf¡¯s laughter was like a grating sound grinding at his nerves.

    Reia and Laila¡¯s expressions also turned unsightly and the Demihuman warriors acting as Fayde¡¯s guards were growling while glaring murderously. Felicia, who had also joined them at some point, was hissing like a stray street cat. They were all clearly seething in anger at the man¡¯s demeaning statements.

    ¡°Shut the fuck up you son of a bitch!!¡± Fayde couldn¡¯t control his anger as he shouted at the seemingly elf-like man.

    ¡°Now now, no need to get so angry. It¡¯s not as if I expected anything more of your kind. Haha, aren''t you all just monkeys? Nothing wrong with a little fun amongst filthy beasts. Anyway, enough of the pleasantries.¡±

    ¡°SHUTUP! I¡¯m going to kill you, you bastard!!¡±

    Fayde pushed Reia away and attempted to rush towards the object of his rage but his weakness once again rose up causing him to falter.

    Again Reia ran over to support him and help him to his feet. Felicia also rushed out to support Fayde while Laila continued to observe the man carefully with her Demon eyes, hoping to find a weakness.

    ¡°You fell right into my hands Fayde, as expected. Using up all of your power to heal your precious beast and leaving yourself in a weakened state. Just ripe for what I have in store for you, but don¡¯t fret, it¡¯s not as if I aim to take your life. If I wanted to do that, you would already be dead.¡± The elf-like man said arrogantly, his voice oozing with self confidence.

    ¡°Fayde, calm down. There is something off about this man, you can¡¯t let your anger control your reason.¡± Reia whispered in Fayde¡¯s ear.

    ¡°She¡¯s right Fayde, just don¡¯t listen to him! I¡¯m going to smash him into a pulp!¡± Felicia said with a slight glint of madness

    ¡°You¡¯re not helping the situation Felicia¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, time¡¯s up. The goddess has a use for you Fayde and so she sent me to you with an invitation hahaha, one you can¡¯t refuse! Activate the formation!¡±

    A sudden surge of power enveloped the area and locked on Fayde¡¯s aura. Fayde was in a weakened state and although he tried to push the strange power away from his body with his own aura, he could only hold it at bay for a single moment before it wrapped around him.

    He continued to struggle to the best of his ability but he could tell it was in vain. Laila could see the vast energy swelling through her Demon¡¯s eye and she frantically looked for a weakness in the formation but because of the complexity of it, she couldn¡¯t find one in such a short amount of time.

    Reia attempted to use her own magical aura to aid Fayde but it proved futile as the strength of the formation was too great. Because she was no longer holding on to Fayde, she was pushed violently away from him by the power of the formation which continued to surge.

    Felicia continued to hold on for dear life as if by holding on to Fayde she could anchor him to the spot. She didn¡¯t have the ability to use magic herself and it was all she could think to do, as if brute strength could resolve all problems.

    The wind began to kick up and whipped violently in the area around Fayde. Those around him had to brace themselves as the power continued to surge further until it became unbearable. It was difficult to see what was happening, but they could all feel the terrifying power of the formation. They had no idea what the formation was capable of, but they all had anxious and distraught expressions.

    The only one who looked on with glee as he laughed almost deliriously, was the elf-like man who had appeared from nowhere.

    ¡°You know Fayde, I have to say that I am a little upset. I was really hoping to kill you, I was even dreaming of it. Unfortunately for me¡­ the goddess has other plans for you. Tis a shame, truly. I think your skull would have looked great as a mantlepiece, hahaha. My name is Glafandal of the Aelfwynne, remember it. Bye bye Fayde, perhaps we shall see each other again.¡±

    Glafandal smiled cunningly as he waved in an almost coy manner not befitting the situation that Fayde found himself in. It was obvious that Glafandal was merely toying with him and this only enraged him even more.

    He could do nothing, though, as a glaring light filled his vision. He couldn¡¯t see anything, and the grass and hilly area he had previously found himself on had faded away into still silence. The only feeling that still remained was an increasingly tightening sensation around his waist, and then weightlessness.

    Reia, Laila, the Demihuman warriors that had been guarding Fayde, and Glafandal were the only ones that remained.

    Glafandal smiled wickedly at them and said, ¡°Now that my job is done here, it¡¯s time for me to depart! Hahaha, bye now~!¡±

    A similar power had already begun surging around him without their notice due to being distracted by Fayde¡¯s predicament. Just as with Fayde, a blinding light surrounded him and he disappeared with the light.

    The sound of his almost delirious laughter remained for a few moments, carried by the wind and then silence.

    ¡°Fayde¡­ no..¡± Reia cried, falling to her knees in despair.

    She had no idea what had happened or what exactly that spell was. She at least knew that Fayde was alive because she could feel him through the ¡®Mark¡¯ although the connection was weak.

    Laila was no better, but she did not fall to her knees or cry. However, her eyes gently shook and her heart seemed to skip. She clenched her fists as if to crush them. She almost looked as if she were a maddened beast.

    As for Felicia, no one even noticed that she was gone.

 Volume 3 Chapter 23

    After the blinding light clouded Fayde¡¯s sight, he had a sudden feeling of weightlessness. It felt as if he were floating aimlessly, but there were no sights or sounds. Images flashed in his mind and information flooded his thoughts filling his head with a numbing pain.

    He couldn¡¯t stop the flood of information, or the images from entering his mind. All he could do was grit his teeth and bear the pain in silence.

    The images and information were varied and scattered. Fayde was having difficulty sifting through them. They were confusing and muddled, but as the transfer of information and images continued, he began to make sense of it all.

    It wasn¡¯t clear why it was happening, but he realized it had much to do with the nature of this place. What he was receiving were memories, or perhaps some sort of data which had been stored and he had somehow connected with it without realizing it.

    He saw a broken world, shattered into fragments each ruled over by someone with god-like powers. In each of these fragments existed various strange species which bore a very close resemblance to fantasy races he was familiar with through his memories of Peter Wright.

    These species had evolved from Humans, changed in a manner that pleased each of the rulers of these fragments. There was one fragment which was different from the others. He recognized this one as the one he had come from. It was unstable and the power of the Void fluctuated violently around it.

    The other fragments were much more orderly and balanced with strong foundations and more magically advanced civilizations. Although each fragment was different from the other with their own unique races and technology.

    Fayde couldn¡¯t believe it, but all of it closely resembled some of the PC fantasy strategy games he had played in the past, or perhaps something like an MMO with faction wars and unique civilizations.

    The fragments warred against each other, each of the god-like rulers seeking to dominate the others.

    One, giant, game world.

    When light finally returned to his eyes, Fayde was surrounded by a darkened sky. In that darkened sky sat twinkling lights that blinked in sequence. A look of astonishment was plastered on his face as he looked around in amazement.

    Beneath his feet was endless darkness and he felt as if he were floating somewhere among the starry skies. Fayde couldn¡¯t see any planets or a sun, there was just the starry backdrop and a lone table with several seats. It looked like a conference table made of a smooth silver alloy.

    After coming out of his temporary daze, Fayde felt a soft but firm pressure around his waist and he realized he was still being held onto tightly by Felicia.

    ¡°Felicia, you got transported with me too?¡±

    She was whimpering and didn¡¯t respond immediately.

    ¡°Felicia, are you okay?¡±

    Fayde attempted to remove her arms from around his waist but she had him in a firm iron grip and her strength was incredible. She even gripped him hard enough to make it difficult for him to breathe.

    ¡°Felicia!! Wake up! Get off of me already!¡± Fayde yelled.

    ¡°Fayde¡­. I¡¯m afraid of heights¡­.¡± She whimpered.

    ¡°Relax, even though it looks like we are flying, our feet are clearly planted firmly on ground. Imagine we are in something like a room and just relax. Take a deep breath.¡±

    Felicia was finally able to calm down and slowly removed her arms while standing up straight.

    ¡°Oh.. You¡¯re right! Hehe¡­. ¡°

    Felicia appeared embarrassed and fixed her long blonde hair nervously. She usually acted quite aggressive and domineering around others. She was always different around Fayde however, and now she almost appeared somewhat girlish. Fayde couldn¡¯t stop himself from chuckling.

    He found her nature of sometimes acting like a tiger, while others like a cat, funny.

    ¡°I see you brought a pet¡­¡±

    An ephemeral voice woke Fayde from his playful musing.

    ¡°That Glafandal is useless. I ordered him to bring only you to me.¡± The voice continued.

    Despite hearing the voice twice, he still couldn¡¯t tell whether the voice belonged to a man or a woman, it was strange and left no impression for him to draw any conclusions on. He had never heard such a strange and uncharacteristic voice.

    ¡°Well, at least he got you here, so I suppose that will need to be sufficient.¡±

    The voice became more clear until a melodious and very feminine laughter clearly resounded throughout the strange and eerie space. The echoing laughter seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

    Not far from where Fayde stood, the space trembled and a dark and foreboding rift opened, tearing through the space and visibly vibrating without any sound.

    A long, pale white shimmering leg exited through the rift soon followed by a tall and majestic looking body.  A woman stood proudly with her arms resting on her shapely hips.

    She wore a revealing one piece with open leg slits showing much of her smooth pale legs. Her overexposed bosom was enticing and would easily draw the eye of any man. She was tall and lithe with long sharp ears and hair that cascaded down her back like a river, reaching all the way down her calves.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Her beauty was faelike, not the type of a beauty a human might have, but instead that of a mythical being similar to a fairy. To Fayde, she looked much like what he imagined a beautiful elven queen might look like.

    ¡°It seems we have been fated to meet for quite some time.¡± Said the mysterious and mesmerizing woman with a voice as soft as morning dew.

    Her lips were curved in a welcoming smile that could cause flowers to bloom even in the dead of winter. Even her steps were as enchanting as the morning rain.

    Despite this, Fayde couldn¡¯t help but feel a chilling sensation creep down his neck. Much like one might feel having been enchanted by the most cunning of snakes, only to later be devources in its embrace.

    For he knew that this was not her true appearance and was nothing but a fabrication, a wondrous but nonetheless venomous, lie.

    ¡°Mystra.¡±

    One word was more than enough to express his intense hatred, as well as his intense fear.

    Just when he thought her smile couldn¡¯t be any more blinding, it truly bloomed displaying her perfect white teeth as she spoke, ¡°That¡¯s correct, I am the Divinity Mystra. Goddess of the Aelfwynne and guardian of Aergan.¡±

    Fayde wasn¡¯t moved in the slightest by her smile, ¡°Why not show your true form? This facade of yours makes me sick.¡±

    Mystra held her gentle white hand to her mouth and laughed gently, ¡°Do you not like the way I look? I no longer remember what I once looked like. This is no mere illusion, this is who I am now.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­ You and the rest of the so called divinities are sick fucks. You play with the lives of people while living your twisted fantasies as superior beings. Every last one of you should die, only then will the people suffering know peace.¡± Fayde replied with disdain, not tempted in the least by her coy behavior or beautiful form.

    ¡°And what¡¯s with that chest!? It doesn¡¯t fit your body at all! Someone is clearly trying to compensate for something¡­¡± Growled Felicia unexpectedly from the side.

    ¡°Silence, pet.¡± Mystra said angrily while waving her hand towards Felicia, releasing an unknown spell.

    The spell caused Felicia to freeze up, she could no longer move, speak or even hear. She was completely frozen in every way.

    ¡°And you! How dare you!? What do you know of me, of any of us? You aren¡¯t even a Human being, you¡¯re nothing more than a construct, a vessel for something that isn¡¯t even truly alive. What do you understand of Human hardship and pain? Of losing everything you ever loved and seeing your world destroyed around you with no way to save it! You, who have lived a paltry short life living on borrowed memories and failed experiences, you haven¡¯t even lived and yet deign to judge me?¡±

    As she spoke, she stepped closer with increasingly violent steps. Her voice grew louder and filled with rage. She no longer put on any pretense of cordiality.

    ¡°I may not have lived long, but I know enough not to be like you.¡± Said Fayde firmly, standing his ground, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

    ¡°You. Know. Nothing!¡± Mystra replied while emphasizing each word strongly.

    She was close now, almost a hair''s breadth away. Her voice suddenly grew quiet and solemn, a look of pain marring her gentle brow.

    ¡°Our world was teetering on the brink of destruction, but it was not just our world that was in danger. No, you have no idea, do you? The Void is beyond anything you could ever imagine. It is formless and yet can take the form of anything. It is not alive and yet alive. It creates, and it also destroys. It is a miraculous and brilliant wonder, the likes of which have never been seen or heard of. If the Void had been left to its own devices, do you know what would have happened Fayde?¡±

    Fayde gulped, suddenly struck by the strangeness of her tone. He didn¡¯t answer, because deep down he feared what he already knew. Mystra took several steps back and then turned, no longer facing Fayde. Her body trembled, from what Fayde thought was fear, but he couldn¡¯t see the expression on her face.

    It was one of ecstasy and anticipation.

    ¡°The Void would have destroyed everything. Not just this world, not just this solar system, not even just the galaxy in which our solar system resides. Everything Fayde, the entire universe¡­ gone. Can you imagine, untold worlds, incalculable lives¡­ all gone?¡±

    Her voice had almost dropped to a whisper and a strange smile adorned her lips as she licked them slowly and deliberately. She crossed her arms around her body as if she were hugging herself.

    Fayde was baffled by her strange actions and remained silent as he watched her, ¡®This is way too awkward¡­.¡¯

    After several awkward moments of silence, Mystra¡¯s arms finally loosened and fell to her side appearing seemingly defeated.

    ¡°What we did, was the only way. It would be a lie to say we didn¡¯t benefit, gaining godlike powers. Perhaps we took things a bit too far, but we have lived for so many thousands of years, unable to die, unable to see our loved ones, our friends. Do you know what that is like? The memories are there¡­ still. What you call living a fantasy¡­ it¡¯s the only way we can forget.¡±

    Fayde considered her words and for a time was at a loss for words. Mystra turned to look at him after hearing no response. She had a look of deep pain which would have most likely fooled him if he hadn¡¯t had such profound anger towards her. Not to mention she had already tried to kill him multiple times.

    ¡°What would you have done differently?¡± She finally asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe there was no other way, but that doesn¡¯t excuse the choices you all made afterwards. Creating and evolving people into different species and toying with life? Fracturing the world into fragments that you all rule over as gods while playing war games against each other for dominance? Killing untold millions of people for your own entertainment? What kind of crazy shit is that? It was bad enough that you all ruined the world you lived in originally, forsaking your lives for alternate reality games, but now you have even turned reality into some sick version of a game! What the hell is wrong with all of you!?¡±

    No matter what she said, Fayde couldn¡¯t help but feel appalled, he couldn¡¯t accept what they had done.

    ¡°I suppose we will never see eye to eye. That¡¯s fine. Initially, I wanted you dead Fayde, but it should be apparent to you that I have changed my mind. My concern was that you would become a pawn of the Void and if that happened, it really would be the end of all. You somehow resisted, although you can¡¯t deny that the Void is still lurking in the depths of your heart. There is still a danger of this happening and as such I have summoned you here for a purpose.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care why you summoned me here, send me back immediately!¡± Fayde interrupted vehemently.

    Mystra glowed, it was a cunning smile that Fayde couldn¡¯t see through. He felt a cold chill and immediately put up his guard, but his power was sealed in this place and he felt especially vulnerable.

    ¡°It is time for you to go.¡±

    Mystra waved elegantly to Fayde and before he could respond, he disappeared.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill him?¡± A subtle voice asked.

    Mystra stood in the space alone, but her eyes seemed to see off into the distance, staring at something unseen. Her voice became soft and gentle as if she were soothing someone she loved.

    ¡°He still has his uses. It is impossible for me to enter another fragment without alerting one of the others, but he can. His presence there alone will be of benefit to us.¡±

    The subtle voice was silent for a moment before asking, ¡°Do you think he believes what you told him?¡±

    ¡°Whether he believes or not doesn¡¯t matter. I never expected that he would trust anything I told him. It¡¯s the reason I let him access the core memory and game data. I let him see some of our ¡®gaming¡¯ sessions. Not everything I said was a lie.¡±

    Mystra raised her arms as if she were embracing someone, but she was the only one who appeared to be present.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry my love¡­ soon now. It won¡¯t be long until it is only you and I among the stars.¡±

 Volume 3 Epilogue

    Fayde found himself once again surrounded by a blinding light and he was growing quite frustrated with being thrown around from one place to another. He wasn¡¯t sure what exactly was going on but he was aware that he had obviously been teleported for a second time.

    Before he regained his sight, his hearing returned to him. While he waited for his eyes to adjust, he listened carefully to his surroundings. He could hear all manner of strange sounds which he couldn¡¯t discern the origins of. The sounds were unfamiliar to him and a strange feeling of discomfort washed over him.

    As his sight began to return, he noticed first that he was sprawled on the ground in the dirt. He was filled with a strong sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu which reminded him of the time he first arrived in Aergan.

    His senses were finally beginning to return and he could now feel a heavy weight on his back.

    ¡°Ugh, what is so heavy!?¡± Fayde blurted out.

    ¡°I am not heavy!¡± Came an angry reply.

    ¡°Just get off of me, I can¡¯t breathe!¡±

    Fayde attempted to shuffle the weight off of him by rolling to the side, but his struggle was in vain. He couldn¡¯t move the weight by himself. The heavy weight finally lifted off of him and his sight had returned enough for him to see more clearly despite the somewhat dark atmosphere.

    ¡°Tch, Fayde, how could you say that about me!? I am a healthy weight for a Tigerkin woman!¡±

    ¡°Felicia? Oh.. sorry.¡±

    He could see an outline that looked like a woman although he couldn¡¯t make out many details. His eyes were still adjusting to the dark, but he recognized the voice.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± She still seemed angry despite Fayde¡¯s apology.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was you¡­ I already said sorry. I can¡¯t see well yet, can you see anything?¡± Fayde said, changing the subject.

    Felicia was aware of Fayde¡¯s attempt at misdirection, but she let it go. She was somewhat self conscious of her weight, not because she was fat but because of her compact muscles. Despite the fact that she didn¡¯t look as if she weighed much, because of her species¡¯ unique strength, her weight was far more than one might suspect. This left her feeling somewhat dejected at Fayde¡¯s comments.

    ¡°I can see fine, it looks like we are in a forest.¡± Felicia said halfheartedly.

    ¡°A forest¡­ Are we back home? Does the forest seem familiar to the one in La¡¯gun?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ There is something strange here. I am feeling a little uncomfortable but I don¡¯t know why.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, me too. I feel a strange discomfort. Hold on, let me see if I can use my void power.¡±

    Fayde attempted to ignite his ¡®Void Flames¡¯ but strangely his power felt distant and unstable. The flames briefly came into being, sputtered, and then failed.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°This is not good, I can¡¯t use my powers.¡±

    Felicia frowned when she heard that and lifted her warhammer which was strapped to her back. The weapon wasn¡¯t anything fancy, but it was a powerful weapon nonetheless. The handle was made of wood and the hammer head was solid iron. It was extremely heavy and could easily crush a person¡¯s skull.

    As far as Fayde knew, it was Felicia¡¯s favorite weapon. He had never had the courage to ask her why it was her favorite weapon, or perhaps it would be better to say that he didn¡¯t wish to know the reason.

    Felicia took a few swings of the warhammer which caused goosebumps to form on Fayde¡¯s arms. He didn¡¯t want to imagine what would happen to him if he got hit by that right now.

    ¡°I still have my strength, my body feels fine at least. I could never use magic to begin with so that doesn¡¯t affect me.¡± She said and then chuckled, ¡°I can still crush something with my warhammer!¡±

    For some reason her chuckle made Fayde sweat a bit. He didn¡¯t want to imagine what exactly she wanted to crush.

    Fayde unsheathed his blade and also took a few swings.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t use my void power, but my body seems fine as well. I still have my sword and my sword abilities. It looks like there is something restricting my magic, but it doesn¡¯t appear to have any physical effects despite the discomfort.¡±

    A loud roar suddenly reverberated through the forest causing Felicia to jump and run behind Fayde practically grabbing his arm in a death grip.

    ¡°Fayde, I¡¯m scared!¡±

    ¡°What the hell are you doing? You¡¯re stronger than me right now without my magic! You should be protecting me! But, what was that sound? It didn¡¯t sound like any normal monster.¡±

    Felicia loosened her grip, peeked out from behind Fayde and whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯ve never heard anything like it before¡­ Well, it almost sounds like a dragon¡¯s roar, but that can¡¯t be right?¡±

    ¡°Strange, well whatever it is, you can¡¯t just hide behind me! Until we find out where we are, we need to be careful and watch each other¡¯s back. My eyes have adjusted to the light but I still can¡¯t see very well in the dark. I will need you to lead the way.¡±

    ¡®The damsel in distress doesn¡¯t seem to work. Fine, then I will show him my strength! Just wait until he sees me smashing things!¡¯ Thought Felicia as she pumped herself up.

    ¡°Alright! Follow me!¡± Felicia said enthusiastically while swinging her hammer.

    ¡°Just watch where you swing that thing¡­¡±

    With Felicia taking the lead, it wasn¡¯t difficult for the two to navigate through the forest. Felicia was well suited to traveling like this because of her species¡¯ unique characteristics.

    What was surprising to Fayde was that they didn¡¯t encounter even a single monster in the forest. There were some large animals which mostly shied away, but no monsters to be found.

    However, Fayde couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something terrifying was stalking him. He couldn¡¯t sense anything nearby, but the feeling was there at the back of his mind. It was almost as if the eyes of a predator were glued to his back, watching his every move.

    Fayde thought of the loud roar he had heard when he first arrived in the forest.

    The forest eventually began to open up as the canopy of trees thinned. The moonlight could be seen shining through, giving the forest an almost ethereal glow. Strange insects glowed in the night and the hoot of owls and other creatures weighed on Fayde¡¯s nerves.

    He was used to these types of environments due to exploring dungeons in the past, but without his powers he felt somewhat naked.

    ¡®At least I can rely on my sword.¡¯

    Though that didn¡¯t bring him much relief and the more he traveled through the dense and creepy forest, the less confident he became. He didn¡¯t know why exactly he was feeling this way, but he couldn¡¯t shake the strange discomfort he felt or the strange feeling of being watched.

    ¡®I can¡¯t help but shake the feeling that we aren¡¯t in Aergan anymore¡­¡¯

 Volume 4 Prologue

    There among the darkness of space, the twinkling stars illuminated the endless vast expanse. In the background, a shattered moon littered the canvass adding flair to the otherwise mundane. The quiet solitude only enhanced the beauty of this extraordinary yet dismal scene.

    A lonesome and solitary figure stared off into that distant horizon steeped in silent deliberation. Her tall lithe figure was clearly visible, as if the light of the sun shone for her and her alone. There was a certain desolateness about her which only made that forlorn back seem distant and cold. Yet her beauty was such that any man would be instantly dazzled by her natural charm.

    She wrapped her arms around her as she stared into the abyss. Her mouth moved, but no sounds were brought forth by those enchanting tender lips. Nonetheless, she conversed with a shadowy presence.

    ¡°Everything is moving as we had predicted. Finally, we will see results of our thousands of years of planning and patience. With Fayde killing Balthazar and absorbing his power, that first opened the way for us to acquire a portion of the origin. Now with Fayde having been sent out of the fragment, it is time for the harvest. It is unfortunate that we still can not acquire the entirety of it however.¡±

    ¡°There is no need to be so greedy. We have already waited for so long, what is a little more time in comparison? With this, we will become stronger and then uniting all the fragments as one will become a reality. Only then will I be reborn anew, and we can truly be together.¡±

    A shadowy hand stretched forth from the abyss, gently caressing the elven woman¡¯s face. There was a gentleness to that touch which warmed her heart. An awkward smile appeared on the face of the shadow, as if it were attempting to smile but did not know how. It was an empty smile devoid of emotion.

    The woman closed her eyes, her fantasies running wild. This love that had never once left her heart had continued throughout the millennia, never fading. It was an obsession that defied logic. A love that she thought she could never have would soon be in reach.

    ¡°I promise you will live again Edgard and this time that bitch isn¡¯t around to get in my way.¡±

    She thought to herself with a smug smile. She wouldn¡¯t voice those words, she didn¡¯t even want to give life to the memory of that person she hated the most for stealing her precious love.

    While engrossed in her thoughts, she suddenly sensed someone approaching through a spatial gate which was formed of light and expanded rapidly until it was as large as a door. The shadowy presence abruptly disappeared and she turned reluctantly, but soon a smile warmed her face.

    However, one should know that the smile was only surface deep. It bore no true mirth or cheer, but a facade filled with hidden deception. A spider¡¯s smile, one which slowly entangled its prey.

    ¡°You¡¯re here Mystra. I thought I would arrive first. I was hoping that I could be the one to be waiting for you, to add to the atmosphere so to speak. It¡¯s the man who should be the one waiting for the woman, no? Unfortunately you beat me to it.¡±

    A wide smile adorned a man¡¯s shadowed face as he walked towards the light surrounding Mystra. His features soon came into view, those of a handsome and physically well proportioned Human of an uncertain age.

    While he appeared young, there was also an aura of ancientness to him, especially in the depths of his eyes.

    ¡°Regis, you have arrived.¡±

    Mystra feigned youthful exuberance while hugging Regis enthusiastically. There was no one better at pretending than Mystra. It was why she had been the one who had adapted the most to their circumstance, even believing the lies she fabricated for herself.

    Truly believing herself to be a divinity, fully transforming her body into that of an elven goddess. She did all these things and more. She wasn¡¯t the only one of the divinities that did so, but she was the first to fully embrace it, having always enjoyed cosplaying when she was just an ordinary mortal.

    Pretending to be something, or someone, she wasn¡¯t was in fact her forte.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Indeed. It is good to see you again Mystra, you have been keeping to yourself lately. I have missed you greatly. Do you still persist in keeping this form? Why not let me see your true self, it has been so long.¡±

    Although Regis kept his original form, he kept it forever young. In a way it wasn¡¯t much different from any other, but he had a certain disdain for those of the divinities who took their fantasies a bit too far.

    ¡°Such a hypocrite.¡±

    Although Mystra thought this, she didn¡¯t voice her thoughts. Instead, she continued to smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, it has been so long. So long in fact that I no longer remember what it was that I looked like. I have spent so much time perfecting my current appearance, there is no going back. This is who I am now, why? Not satisfied?¡± She said with a hint of displeasure.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that. I always found you to be beautiful, I never thought you needed to change yourself at all. No matter what you look like, you will always be in my heart.¡±

    Mystra feigned a smile once more, acting as if his words touched her, but in her mind she held nothing but contempt for him.

    Regis attempted to draw close to her, but she placed her hand gently on his chest stopping him.

    ¡°Not just yet.¡±

    ¡°Must you be so distant? I only wanted to embrace you for a moment.¡± Regis sighed.

    Mystra laughed coyly, ¡°This is to motivate you. Once you become the supreme divinity, then I will be yours. That was our agreement, or did you forget?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten, but you don¡¯t have to be like this¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop, the others will be here any moment. We can¡¯t have them knowing about our little agreement.¡±

    Mystra pushed him away and turned her back to him. Regis resigned himself and did not approach further.

    ¡°Fine.. Are you really going to pass this round of the competition? If any of the others are victorious in the first round it would give them an advantage. The more territory you gain, the more powerful you will become, but you know this.¡±

    ¡°Sometimes you have to give a little to gain a lot¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know what you have planned, but I trust you have thought things through. It¡¯s about time for the conference to begin. Let¡¯s sit before the others come.¡±

    The two seemingly walking amidst space found their seats at the conference table and sat quietly. It was the same conference table which Fayde saw when entering the space earlier and this table along with its accompanying chairs was the only fixture among the backdrop of space.

    It was a strange and eerie scene that none would ever believe if they hadn¡¯t seen it for themselves.

    Soon, more beams of light formed into doors and the other divinities entered into that space and seated themselves at the conference table.

    In all, there were seven divinities. Three of which were female and the other four being male. Only two took the form of Humans and most likely were their original forms. Regis, who had been the assistant supervising scientist before he became a divinity was one and the other was Valera.

    Valera was originally a female scientist who specialized in molecular biology. It was she who had pioneered the means to create various new lifeforms based off of Human DNA by using the power of the Void.

    This process was not the same as the process of fusing animals and Humans in order to create the existing Demihumans, but instead creating new species of beings such as Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Dark Elves.

    These races came into being through their knowledge of science, their ideas regarding fantasy creatures and through the unique power of creation existing with the Void. Otherwise something like this wouldn¡¯t be possible.

    Nonetheless, they had made what was impossible to be possible and had changed their world forever. The divinities then divided these new races among themselves creating factions. Most of the divinities took the form of the races they ruled over or at least the dominant race within their spheres of influence as some of them ruled over multiple races.

    Mystra ruled over the Elves as she had always been intrigued by their beauty and grace. In the past, she had enjoyed roleplaying as an elf. Kalina on the other hand ruled over the Dark elves as she had always seen herself as a competitor to Mystra in many ways, especially in love.

    They both had once loved the same man, although neither were ever able to gain his love in return. They had come to be rivals in many ways and so Kalina had chosen Dark elves in opposition to Mystra. She had also taken the form of a Dark elf of unparalleled beauty.

    The other three male scientists who had been on the original team had chosen Orcs, Dwarves, and Dragonmen. They had also taken the appearance of their chosen races. They especially loved to roleplay and were always in character, taking on the personality and characteristics of their respective races.

    Mystra too would usually remain in character, but she was also known to act out of character on occasion unlike those three.

    There were other races which had been created but they were subordinate to the major factions. None of the divinities took the form of any of the minor races.

    With the seven divinities having finally assembled, the 500th Fragment War had officially begun.

 Volume 4 Chapter 1

    ¡°I see the two of you arrived quite early, eh Mystra? I wonder what you and Regis were doing here.. all alone.¡± The ravishing Dark elf woman said with a hint of disdain in her voice.

    ¡°We only arrived moments before the rest of you, no need to read any more into it.¡± Replied Regis before Mystra could react.

    He was concerned that Mystra would respond in anger only confirming Kalina¡¯s suspicion. It wasn¡¯t a secret that Regis had pursued Mystra since the very beginning, so it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise to any of them if Regis had some words for Mystra.

    However, Mystra had never shown Regis favor, even before they became the Divinities. So as long as there were no obvious outward signs, the others wouldn¡¯t know that they had made secret agreements between the two of them.

    Of course, this was something that only Regis thought. Mystra felt nothing but contempt for Regis and was only using him for her own ends. She could care less what the others thought and had no intention of replying to Kalina anyway. Her mind was fixated on her own goals, everything else was irrelevant.

    Kalina watched the reactions of the two carefully but couldn¡¯t sense anything amiss. She had long been looking for a means to get back at Mystra. For this competition especially, she had prepared excessively in order to take her down a notch. She didn¡¯t even mind losing in the first round and giving up some of her power and territory if it meant victory against her.

    Some might even call her actions an obsession, but she didn¡¯t care. She had an infinite amount of time to brood on old rivalries and past offenses. It fit her motif as a Dark elf. The only reason she had chosen the Dark elf race as her own was to spite Mystra.

    While Kalina was glaring at Mystra hatefully, three of the Divinities were arguing.

    A stout Dwarf was arrogantly stroking a long and magnificently braided beard.

    ¡°My Dwarves have both an increase in strength and constitution! Plus, their intelligence is nothing to scoff at either! They are masters of invention and excellent front line warriors. Even the lack of magic power isn¡¯t a huge issue because of our technological advances. Our anti-magic field armor is superior to any other magic defenses! You Orcs are nothing but a bunch of lug heads and primitive sociopaths!¡±

    The Noble Orc who was seated across from him snorted in disdain.

    ¡°Hmph! What arrogant words Thorgrath! You Dwarves are only slightly more intelligent but the advantages of my Noble Orcs in strength and constitution is huge. Every single Noble Orc is a moving tank! What can your pathetic tiny Dwarves do? Without your tech, you¡¯re nothing! Our race is powerful, and we could easily squash your pathetic beard obsessed race if it weren¡¯t for those mechanized drones you hide behind! We will overrun you eventually, it is just a matter of time. My Noble Orcs reproductive rates ensure that we will always have superior numbers.¡±

    The Orc Divinity, Gromgar, was large for an Orc as the Noble Orc race was a superior race to that of the normal variety of Orc. The normal variety were mere monsters while the Noble Orcs had more human like forms albeit green in color.

    Gromgar was extremely muscular and had various tattoos throughout his body and golden hoops hanging from his nose and ears. Gromgar wasn¡¯t his original name but just a moniker he had taken once he had decided on his race. Most of the Divinities had decided on racial specific aliases when they became Divinities although not all.

    ¡°Did you just insult our beards? This means war!¡± Shouted Thorgrath while slamming his fist down onto the conference table.

    ¡°Bah, both your races are nothing compared to my Dragonmen. Not only do neither of your races possess an advantage in strength and constitution compared to my race, even intellectually we are superior! Both the Dwarves and Orcs will soon bow down to the majesty of my Dragonmen!¡±

    On the other hand, Volondrak, was quite majestic looking being of the Dragonmen race. He was far larger than even Gromgar and a certain air of wisdom was exuded from his very being. He had large horns protruding from his head and wings on his back.

    Dragonmen were different from Dragonkin as their form was some kind of an amalgamation of Human and Dragon rather than Dragonkin who either took a humanlike form or the form of a Dragon.

    ¡°Tch, you Dragonmen will never defeat my Noble Orcs. Your race is pathetically small in number. Even if your abilities are greater it won¡¯t matter in the end!¡±

    ¡°Aye! Just because your superior intelligence allows for stronger magical abilities, so what! Your magic is useless against our dwarven tech. Just because you won a battle or two you act all uppity! Don¡¯t worry, we Dwarves have prepared well for you Dragonmen this time!¡±

    ¡°Will the three of you SHUT UP!? I¡¯m so sick and tired of your bickering!¡± Shouted Kalina angrily.

    ¡°Tch.. Elven hag..¡±

    ¡°Grr.. long eared broodmare..¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­ lower life form..¡±

    The three finally quieted down but couldn¡¯t help but utter contemptible words beneath their breath. Of course they would never say it to her face as the three were actually quite terrified of her. Even when they were once just normal humans they had a certain fear of her. Well, they had a certain fear to any woman as they had all been asocial towards the opposite sex.

    Even though the three had long since mostly gotten past this as in their own fragments they were gods and enjoyed all the debauchery that went with it, they still had a certain fear of the three female divinities. Most likely this was because the three had known them from before they gained godlike powers.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Regis, who sat at the head of the table, stood up and smiled.

    ¡°Now that we have concluded all initial pleasantries, let¡¯s get down to business. There is a reason why we have all gathered here today as you all know. It is time for our 500th fragment war! I am sure you are all excited and have been busily preparing for this competition. I know I have been! Applause ladies and gentlemen!¡±

    The three former nerds clapped loudly and shouted excitedly at the announcement while the three female divinities clapped with a bit of lackluster. They weren¡¯t nearly as excited as the four men, but nonetheless they had their own ambitions as well. The one with the least reaction was Valera, but this was to be expected given her personality.

    She only cared about her experiments and research. Mostly this meant creating new biological weapons or new species. She hardly ever indulged herself as the others did, instead focusing on her work.

    ¡°Excellent, excellent! Now, any proper meeting must have refreshments!¡±

    Regis clapped and doorways in space opened behind each of the seated divinities. Both male and female servants entered through the doorways carrying all manner of refreshments. There were men and women of all the races and each was an exceptional beauty or handsome beyond compare.

    ¡°Alcohol and food for the thirsty and hungry! Beautiful women for the men, handsome men for the ladies! Hahahaha¡±

    Regis winked at Mystra and laughed happily. He was always too much of a showman, which made him an excellent assistant supervising scientist of their former research team. It was his job to present the research and other ideas to the investors to gain their money and support. He was very good at what he did and had helped the team immensely in gaining funds in the past.

    Of course, his jealousy of the former head scientist had been kept well-hidden deep in his heart. The others had not truly ever seen Regis¡¯ true self, which was extremely selfish and vindictive.

    ¡°A toast! In celebration of the 500th competition. Every few years we hold the Fragment Wars as not only a commemoration of our rise to godhood, but also as a means to alleviate the boredom of immortality. We have lived for a long time and in that time, many of us have certainly reflected on our infinite lifespan and our limitless power. I still remember the day it all began¡­ poor Edgar¡­ If only he could be here with us now and see what we have accomplished. I am sure he would be proud.¡±

    Regis gave his speech with enthusiasm and well hidden sincerity which might have fooled most, but not all. Mystra especially winced at the mention of Edgar, but she hid her aversion well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to act like you know what Edgar would think or feel¡­ I¡¯m sure that you¡¯re the happiest one here knowing that Edgar is no longer with us.¡± Kalina said under her breath.

    While she couldn¡¯t prove anything, she certainly felt Regis had something to do with Edgar¡¯s death. Hearing his words now only made her sneer, but the others had always trusted Regis so she said nothing.

    ¡°For the first round of the war, Mystra has the option to challenge or pass. If she chooses to pass the round, no one can challenge her until the second round and the second challenge will go to Thorgrath.¡±

    ¡°Har Har! It¡¯s about time! Gromgar, I hope you¡¯re ready to feel the wrath of the Dwarves!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I will prove that Orcs are mightier than Dwarves!¡±

    ¡°Alright you two, enough. So, who will you be challenging Mystra?¡± After quieting down the two, Regis turned to Mystra.

    The eyes of all the Divinites were on her fully expecting her to challenge Kalina and gain the initiative in their endless rivalry.

    ¡°I will pass.¡± Mystra said surprising all the others.

    ¡°What are you plotting Mystra? You never pass... ¡° Kalina asked fully suspecting Mystra.

    ¡°Hmph, what? I can¡¯t pass? It is my right as a challenger.¡±

    ¡°Of course! You have the right to pass the first round.¡± Regis said quickly before anyone else could say anything.

    ¡°We¡¯re just surprised! Oh well, this is perfect then! I won¡¯t have to wait to crush some Orc skulls! Hahahahaha!¡± Roared Thorgrath while chugging his mug of Dwarven ale down.

    ¡°Bring it on stunty!¡±

    ¡°OH! You¡¯re dead now!¡±

    Thorgrath jumped out of his seat and tried to run across the conference table towards Gromgar only to be stopped by Volondrak.

    ¡°Save it for the battlefield you two!¡±

    ¡°Fine, this time I am going to take your southern sphere! Just you wait, I¡¯m coming for you!¡±

    Thorgrath jumped off the conference table and opened a portal back to his domain. Gromgar grinned malevolently and did the same.

    ¡°Sigh, those two. No one would ever think they are best friends haha. This should be a good show!¡±

    Volondrak shook his head and gave a fanged grin, his large tail slamming against the floor excitedly.

    Kalina continued to glance towards Mystra suspiciously and could only shake her head.

    I know she is up to something¡­

    <hr>

    Fayde sat on a rock in the middle of a large forest which was more like a jungle than a forest really. He was initially fooled into thinking it was a forest because when he first was sent here, he couldn¡¯t see well due to the huge and strange trees which blocked out the sun.

    After traveling with Felicia for some time, they eventually reached a brighter area and he could see more clearly that the forest was in fact a strange jungle like place. Some areas were extremely dense with these strange monstrous trees while other areas were much more sparse.

    This place is too strange. These weird giant trees, the strange atmosphere of this place and the fact that my power has been greatly weakened¡­

    Fayde made a fist before opening his hand again and a short burst of fire exploded from his hand only to disappear a moment later. Felicia was busily surveying the area where Fayde sat, her nerves clearly on edge.

    What¡¯s worse is that we have yet to find any signs of life but I can¡¯t shake the feeling that I am being watched. It¡¯s like dozens of eyes are watching me all the time. Felicia has been able to pick up the scent of what she says might be animals but she isn¡¯t entirely sure. You would think with her enhanced senses she would have been able to find something by now¡­

    ¡°Fayde..¡± Felicia said warily, but Fayde was too absorbed in his thoughts and didn¡¯t respond.

    I can¡¯t be wasting my time here, we need to find a way back as soon as possible. What godforsaken place did we get sent to? I¡¯m going to go crazy if we can¡¯t find any signs of life soon. It¡¯s already been two days and nothing, plus I¡¯m starving..

    ¡°Fayde..¡± Felicia said more urgently but still Fayde did not respond.

    I don¡¯t know what to do and there is still much work to be done. I have to finish conquering the kingdoms, have to prepare for the Empire¡¯s invasion which I know will definitely happen eventually. Then there is that weird Elf, what the hell was he? I can¡¯t believe I saw an elf.. Well I guess it''s not so strange given the other things I''ve seen. Even though I have memories of Peter Wright, I still lack experience of my own.. I don¡¯t know if I can handle all of this¡­

    ¡°FAYDE!¡± Felicia shouted, finally jolting Fayde out of his thoughts.

    ¡°WHAT FELICIA? WHAT DO YOU WANT?¡± Fayde shouted in frustration.

    ¡°I think we are surrounded¡­.¡±

    ¡°Ah, shit! This is just what I need right now..."

 Volume 4 Chapter 2

    ¡°I think we¡¯re surrounded, but it¡¯s hard to tell for sure.¡± Whispered Felicia warily while clutching her warhammer.

    ¡°My senses have been strange ever since we came to this place. There are strange sounds all around us and there is a lingering scent I can¡¯t describe just out of reach. I feel certain this time, though.¡±

    Fayde calmed down after his initial surprise and listened intently to Felicia¡¯s warning. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn¡¯t even realized that there was indeed a sensation of danger lurking in the area.

    Even though his senses weren¡¯t like that of the Beastkin, his power which stemmed from the Void had its own means of sensing the presence of living beings.

    Fayde stood up slowly and unsheathed his sword, pulling Felicia over to him, ¡°Guard my back, if we are surrounded we¡¯ll have to fight our way out.¡±

    Felicia nodded and stood back to back with Fayde. She gripped her warhammer determinedly and scanned the surrounding thicket of trees and dense foliage for any sign of enemies. She was nervous but her instincts as a warrior kept her on high alert.

    Fayde on the other hand was much more concerned. His power had still not yet fully returned to him and he would have to rely on just his swordsmanship to see himself through any danger.

    As a swordsman, he had reached a superior level of swordsmanship and could be considered to be as proficient as a top rank adventurer. However, due to the fact that he couldn''t currently use his void power, he was greatly lacking in strength. There was only so much that could be done with just sword skills. He would need his void power to use his most powerful sword abilities.

    Despite his skill in swordsmanship being somewhat lacking, his overall stats were relatively high. He could make up the difference in skill with brute force assuming his opponent was not only more highly skilled with a blade but also of superior strength. At least this was what Fayde hoped would be the case.

    Noticing Fayde¡¯s concerned look, Felicia nudged him with her elbow and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will protect you.¡±

    Fayde could only roll his eyes although he did feel some comfort in her words. Felicia was a powerful warrior of her tribe and even though she wasn¡¯t reliable for much, her strength was nothing to scoff at. Fighting was pretty much the only thing she was good at.

    The depths of the forestlike jungle was dark, obscuring whatever lay within but an ominous presence could be felt lurking just beyond sight. Without warning, several pairs of eyes suddenly appeared almost as if they were glowing orbs illuminating the darkness.

    There was a hint of ferocity within those glowing eyes which sent chills down Fayde¡¯s spine. Given the circumstance and the fact that the two were already on edge, they couldn¡¯t help but feel concern and a slight bit of fear.

    The eyes were all around them now, drawing nearer, like a hunter slowly approaching its prey. Felicia and Fayde reflexively gripped the handles of their weapons even tighter. Their glances furtively dashed from one pair of approaching eyes to another.

    ¡°Monsters?¡± Whispered Felicia with uncertainty.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Replied Fayde through gritted teeth, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one with night vision? What do you see?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s weird, I can¡¯t see what they are. It¡¯s like there is a haze obscuring my vision. It might be some form of magic, but I don¡¯t know for sure.¡±

    Fayde¡¯s expression was grim, ¡°Whatever they are, we can¡¯t allow ourselves to remain surrounded. We need to break through and run. When I make a move, you follow me.¡±

    Felicia nodded and readied herself to act, moving closer to Fayde until their backs were completely resting against each other.

    As the obscured creatures drew nearer to the edge of the dense cluster of enormous trees, they began to emit a low growl which immediately caused Fayde to act.

    Fayde dashed straight towards the direction where he felt the least amount of enemy presence. Felicia followed directly behind him initially keeping in lock step with his pace. However, she suddenly dashed forward with a surprising burst of speed which caught the enemy presence lurking in the dark unaware.

    Even though Felicia couldn¡¯t clearly see the enemy, she could still make out a hazy outline surrounding the creature that wouldn¡¯t serve to hinder her attack. She swung her warhammer ferociously in a wide arc which just barely grazed whatever the creature was.

    Despite being caught by surprise, the creature was still able to react with surprising deftness and was able to dodge the full brunt of the swing. Nonetheless, it was still forced back a short distance and stunned for a brief moment. This allowed Fayde and Felicia a window of opportunity to escape.

    ¡°Fayde, take my hand! You won¡¯t be able to maneuver well enough while running in the dark!¡±

    Felicia, without waiting for Fayde¡¯s assent, grabbed his hand and forcefully pulled him along at a brisk pace.

    The creature that had been grazed recovered from its momentary daze and stared angrily in the direction that Fayde and Felicia escaped to. It was about to chase after them but was stopped by another of its kind. A low growl left the mouth of the creature but it halted in place despite its anger.

    ¡°Why do you stop me?¡± growled the creature angrily.

    ¡°Our ambush failed, there is something strange about those two. Not only could they sense our presence, but it appears they might have even been able to see us.¡± replied the other creature.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°How is that possible? Humans don¡¯t have that ability. How many countless Humans have we assassinated in the past? When have we failed? No one has ever escaped our clutches.¡±

    ¡°You should know better than me. That one actually forced you back.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Luck¡­¡±

    More of the creatures which had been lurking in the forest approached. They all cautiously glanced in the direction of the two they believed to be Humans, fleeing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± said one of the others who approached silently. ¡°I am not even sure if those two were even Humans at all. One of them especially seemed strange¡­ the female. Either way, we failed. Our skills are meant for assassination, not open combat. Those two seemed to be somewhat strong.. I don¡¯t think we could defeat them in a straight fight.¡±

    ¡°I agree, we will have to get some of the others.¡± voiced another one of the lurking creatures.

    ¡°Enough! We will return for now and inform the General of our failure¡­ and our doubts about this peculiar situation. I do not think that things were as we were told. I warned the General of that one¡¯s lies. There may be more to this than we know. The General will make the decision.¡±

    Although the others wouldn¡¯t dare disobey orders, some were hesitant. Their hatred towards Humans was deeply ingrained in them and was not something which could be removed easily.

    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll inform the General and let him decide.¡±

    The others no longer hesitated and the mysterious group of creatures ran off together in a different direction away from Fayde and Felicia. Their pace was extremely fast, much faster than any Human could move. The darkness of the forest was no impediment for them.

    It took no more than twenty minutes before they arrived at a cave deep within the forest. The shame they felt for failing their mission caused them to hesitate before the entrance of the cave. None of them dared enter or even announce their presence although the one inside was fully aware that they had already arrived. One stood out among the group and approached the cave.

    ¡°I was in command of this mission and so it is my responsibility and mine alone. The rest of you don¡¯t need to enter. Leave now.¡±

    The others said nothing, instead fading away into the trees leaving only their commander to face the wrath of the General.

    The sole remaining creature respectfully neared the entrance to the cave and called out humbly, ¡°General, I have come to make my report.¡±

    ¡°Enter.¡± An ancient and powerful voice emerged from within the cave.

    The cave was dark, there was no light to be found. As a matter of fact, there was no light ot be found anywhere in this particular fragment. It was perpetually dark, perpetually night.

    The sound of an immense being shifting its position reverberated along the walls of the cave causing it to rumble and shake. A hot steam caused glistening pearls of moisture to drip from the surface of the cave and the occasional drip echoed in the darkness.

    This did not disturb the creature nor slow its pace for it was accustomed to this environment and it knew very well who lay within the depths of the cave. It had the utmost respect for the powerful and great General who had saved their lives even at the cost of its own. Everything the General had done, was for their safety. They were like family, but what this creature feared most, was the disappointment it would soon face.

    ¡°Report.¡± The General¡¯s voice once again echoed loudly throughout the cave.

    ¡°General¡­ we failed, I¡¯m sorry.¡± The creature could barely speak those words for it had never known a failure as great as this.

    ¡°How can that be? You and your kin are my greatest assassins. Killing two Humans is hardly a difficult feat. This was our only chance at survival. I told you how important this mission was! This was our chance to finally be free of this place!¡± The General roared angrily, causing his subordinate to quiver in fear.

    The General remained quiet as its voice eventually faded and a deep sigh emanated from the depths of the cave.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My anger got the best of me and I grow weary. My strength fades and I am not long for this world. My last hope was to see you all free from this place. Forgive me.¡±

    The mysterious creature rushed forward with a sense of urgency.

    ¡°No, my General, there is no need for you to apologize. Please don¡¯t say such things. If it wasn¡¯t for you, we would already be dead. If our fate is to die here, then what must be will be. We can¡¯t ask for more, it¡¯s not as if we hadn¡¯t prepared ourselves for death in that ancient war. Also, it isn¡¯t as if we have failed just yet¡­¡±

    Finally reaching the innermost area of the cave, a wide open space was before it. A blazing flame filled the area and the light of the flames shimmered, reflecting off of the scales of an enormous black dragon.

    Stepping into the light, the figure of the creature that had chased Fayde and Felicia finally came into view. The creature they had mistook for a monster was in fact a large black jaguar. Its graceful yet powerful form was on full display from the light of the scorching flames that bathed the inner cave.

    The immense dragon lifted its head lazily and turned to look at the jaguar, smoke billowing from its nose. Its blood colored eyes stared intently at the jaguar before resting its head on the floor once more. It didn¡¯t have the energy to keep its head raised for too long and its appearance was listless.

    ¡°Tell me what happened. Why did you fail?¡±

    ¡°General, this mission was strange. The Humans.. Well I am not even sure if they were Humans. Not only could they sense our presence, but at least one of them could see us despite using our stealth abilities. Also, the female of the pair was very strong. Laz almost took a blow from her weapon. If he had acted just a little slower, he would have most likely been seriously injured or worse.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ you say that they could sense you? How strange¡­ ¡°

    Though the General listened to every word and responded, he barely moved. If not for the fact that he was breathing, one might not even realize that he was alive. His eyes were closed and even his voice had become much quieter and more calm.

    The black jaguar jumped closer to the large dragon and its body began to shift and change. It roared in pain and rapidly, the body that had once been a jaguar, became that of a naked man. After the change was finished, the naked man kneeled before the dragon and pleaded with him.

    ¡°General, I told you that you shouldn¡¯t trust that false god. That woman is despicable, you know that! I would rather die than do her will! Why must we¡­¡±

    ¡°Silence.¡± The dragon said somewhat forcefully before quieting once more.

    ¡°What choice do I have now that my life is coming to an end? We hid here for so long, but she found us and I no longer have the strength to protect you. I know very well what her disposition is, but I took the chance regardless.¡±

    The dragon once again lifted its head slowly and looked at the man kneeling before him and sighed.

    ¡°Kerron, you have served me for a long time. Perhaps you are right, but we must be careful. Lead your kin and also bring Branz and his men along with you. Capture them, don¡¯t kill them. I have sensed something strange since they arrived in this broken world. Maybe there is more to this, we should at least gather more information. As for the others, tell them to prepare themselves for the battle to come. Even if we don¡¯t kill those two, we must not let her know the truth and go along with her plans for now.¡±

    Kerron bowed his head and walked back towards the entrance of the cave leaving the dragon alone once more.

 Volume 4 Chapter 3

    A nightmare, I was having a nightmare.

    Allein opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of a tent. Her breathing was ragged and she was gripped with fear.

    ¡°Relax Allein, calm yourself.¡±

    She heard a soothing voice she recognized from beside her.

    ¡°Laila, where is Fayde? I had a terrible dream, he was in danger.¡±

    Allein was having difficulty speaking as her throat was parched, but she forced the words out.

    ¡°It¡¯s better that you rest more and don¡¯t think of anything else. You just barely survived and need rest.¡± Laila replied.

    ¡°I asked you where Fayde is!¡± Allein shouted with some anger.

    Laila sighed and responded, ¡°I was hoping you would rest more before we had to tell you this. In the battle where you almost died, Fayde saved your life using all of his power. In his weakened state, an enemy mage used a mysterious formation and Fayde¡­. He¡¯s gone.¡±

    Allein sat up abruptly and glared at Laila. She was having difficulty controlling her emotions.

    ¡°What do you mean he¡¯s gone? Why!? Why did he risk himself for me? Why didn¡¯t you protect him!?¡±

    Her words caused Laila to glare angrily for a moment, a hint of killing intent flashing through her eyes. Ever since marrying Fayde, her temperament had somewhat calmed. She had only done this because being newlywed, she wanted Fayde to have a good impression of her. Fayde was the first man she had ever shown any interest towards.

    Even if that interest wasn¡¯t necessarily love, she certainly yearned for it. She absolutely didn¡¯t want him to see her in a negative light.

    In reality, Laila was not such a kind and forgiving person and her arrogance was not something anyone could compare with. Now that Fayde was no longer present, she almost snapped when Allein said those words.

    However, she controlled her emotions begrudgingly and said while gripping her own left arm fiercely, ¡°If there is someone you are looking to blame, then blame yourself for your weakness. If you were stronger, this never would have happened and Fayde wouldn¡¯t have been taken from us.¡±

    Allein, being somewhat hysterical, didn¡¯t notice the anger that seeped from Laila¡¯s voice. She couldn¡¯t deny her words though and felt immense guilt gnawing at her from the inside.

    Reia stood near the entrance of the tent watching the two quietly. She had always had a good understanding of the personalities of both Laila and Allein. She knew that both of them were quite unfortunate, having gone through considerable pain and suffering throughout their lives.

    In reality, the two were actually very similar. Both had lost their parents young and both had been scorned, manipulated and deceived by others. In the end, the two took very different routes in their lives.

    One became arrogant and cold, spurning all others thinking none worthy of her affection. The other, a spoiled child seeking love and acceptance, wracked with the guilt. Both had come to love the same person, although for very different reasons.

    Or perhaps it would be best not to call it love, but necessity. They each found something in Fayde that they lacked and so were drawn to him due to circumstance and opportunity.

    Reia sighed, realizing it would be her job to mediate between the two. It wasn¡¯t as if she had no qualms about the events that took place in the past because of Allein, but she could see Allein¡¯s sincerity and she pitied her.

    ¡°What happened to Fayde was no one¡¯s fault. If you are looking for someone to blame, then blame me. I will take your anger and your pain. I too wasn¡¯t strong enough to protect him.¡±

    Reia walked over to the two and stood beside them. She smiled at Allein whose face was muddied with tears.

    ¡°Laila, let me talk with her. Go get some rest. We are just about ready for the final assault and you will have your chance to vent your anger. Okay?¡±

    Laila¡¯s face hadn¡¯t softened. It was tense and her eye twitched in agitation, but she stood and left the tent without saying anything. Reia was one of the few she respected and for her, she was willing to hold back her anger. Her anger hadn¡¯t abated though.

    She had every intention of taking it out on the battle soon to come.

    Tears continued to flow freely down Allein¡¯s face. She didn¡¯t even realize she was crying as she held her head in her hands. She couldn¡¯t bear to look at Reia.

    ¡°Allein, it¡¯s not your fault.¡±

    ¡°No! This is my fault, everything is my fault. I already almost cost Fayde his life once and now he¡¯s gone because of me!¡± Allein said hysterically.

    Reia lost her patience and slapped Allein silencing her. She could only look up at Reia in surprise, holding her face where Reia had slapped her.

    ¡°Fayde is not dead. He¡¯s just not here for the moment, he will return to us. The only thing we can do now is finish what he began so that when he does return, we won¡¯t have let him down. Do you understand what I am saying? Crying here, blaming yourself, feeling guilt¡­ you are just being selfish. When you¡¯re done feeling sorry for yourself, we¡¯ll be waiting.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Allein couldn¡¯t respond to her words and Reia had already turned and quickly left the tent leaving her alone.

    ¡°I¡­ Fayde.. Please be okay..¡± She whispered to herself and then fell silent. She stared in a daze at nothing in particular and her thoughts were muddled. She felt numb and sat on the bed in silence.

    There was still much to do before the siege began once more. After Fayde disappeared, things became hectic and chaotic. In the confusion, the king of Jaspel successfully retreated with half of his remaining army. There wasn¡¯t much that could be done at that time and Reia had done everything she could just to hold the army together.

    Allein had been severely injured and Laila had gone berserk, attacking everyone in sight. Reia had been forced to calm Laila down while reorganizing the army and ensuring that Allein received healing. If not for her efforts, many might have been injured or killed.

    There was still an army remaining within the city walls of La¡¯gun and that was where her eyes currently rested.

    After a time, Reia stood some distance from the battlements and observed the tall walls of the capitol city of La¡¯gun. They had already repeatedly attacked the walls for the past day hoping to determine how strong the city defenses were and if there were any weaknesses in the magic barrier protecting the city walls.

    They could tell that the mages supporting the barrier were growing weary and that the barrier had already been greatly depleted by the previous siege. They wouldn¡¯t be able to keep their defense up for much longer especially since the warriors of the various Demihuman tribes had a significant number of magic casters among them.

    ¡°The weather is warm today¡­ I wonder what it¡¯s like where you are right now¡­¡± Reia thought to herself as a warm breeze blew causing her hair to flutter softly.

    ¡°I know you will return, you must! I will do what needs to be done until then.¡±

    Reia firmly clenched her fist, her thoughts clear and her determination strong.

    ¡°My Khatun, the warriors are ready for the assault. Our magic casters are in position.¡± A subordinate of the Rabbitkin tribe reported with a respectful bow.

    ¡°Good. Go and tell Laila that preparations are complete and have her come here. It is time for her to show the Humans of this city the power of our kind.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my Khatun.¡±

    The subordinate bowed once more and rushed off to find Laila who was supposed to be resting in her tent. She couldn¡¯t rest due to her frustration and was busily demolishing a practice dummy she had crudely set up. She wasn¡¯t using her full strength, otherwise one punch would have been enough to obliterate it.

    Not wanting to disturb her in her fit of anger, the subordinate waited a moment before Laila noticed him nearby.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time, I¡¯m ready to smash something!¡±

    Laila didn¡¯t even wait for the subordinate to speak before commenting, she was well aware of why he had come looking for her. Without delay, she rushed towards Reia.

    ¡°Sister, I see you are prepared. You even changed your clothing to something more suitable for battle.¡± Reia greeted Laila with smile after noticing her change in clothes from earlier.

    Laila wore a tight black outfit made from the silk of a Gayarva worm which accentuated her mature curves. Laila¡¯s body was much more shapely than Reia and her battle attire made this quite apparent.

    ¡°Hmph. I have no intention of ruining one of my beautiful dresses. This battle attire was especially made just for me back when we were traveling across the Plains of Sorrow. This silk is both flexible and resilient so it suits me well.¡± Laila said with a hint of pride.

    ¡°Perhaps a little too well¡­¡± Reia muttered under her breath with a slight bit of envy. She certainly admired her fellow sister wife¡¯s sturdy yet delicate form.

    ¡°Our warriors are in place, I was just waiting for you to join us before beginning our assault. I leave the rest to you.¡±

    Laila laughed with pride before replying, ¡°I am going to crush these Humans with my bare hands! Be prepared to charge once my deed is done. I won¡¯t wait for you!¡±

    Reia could only give a resigned smile, but she was also greatly anticipating the battle to come.

    ¡°Just save some for the rest of us. The soldiers need achievements too.¡±

    Laila didn¡¯t respond and walked slowly forward her hips swaying with a seductive charm. The anger that she had exhibited earlier seemed to be gone, at least overtly. However, if one were to look closely, deep within her now turned crimson eyes her anger seethed waiting to be released.

    The attack began in earnest as Laila slowly approached the walls. She was in no particular hurry and the many elemental attack spells cast by the magic casters rapidly fell upon the city walls. Pulsating flashes of light were emitted from the wall which was now under constant bombardment.

    All their attacks were focused on the general area in which Laila was approaching the walls. As she walked, Laila stretched her arms in an over exaggerated and nonchalant manner as if she had not a care in the world.

    It almost seemed as if she were going for a peaceful walk and that she was unaware of the dozens of spells which were flying over her head and colliding against the city walls. As she neared the range of the enemy archers upon the walls, they fired their arrows towards her but none of this fazed her in the least.

    Laila increased her pace to a brisk jog and before the arrows could rain down on her head, she burst forth into an insanely fast sprint avoiding the arrows completely. The spells continued to bombard the wall weakening the magic barrier protecting it, but the barrier still remained.

    The spells had not yet broken through. None of this concerned Laila as she sped forwards straight towards the wall where the spells had focused their attack. Her eyes had long transformed into that of a Demon and the unimaginable strength that flowed through her limbs propelled her forward into the air.

    She jumped mightily and pulled back her arm letting loose with a fearsome blow. Like a rocket, her fist collided against the magic barrier protecting the wall causing an explosion of sound which seemed to rock the surrounding area. The barrier blinked out of existence and her fist met the wall causing cracks to form and rapidly spread throughout.

    The soldiers stationed atop the wall cried out in shock, their eyes blinked in an unbelieving stupor. They had never seen anything like it and fear quickly spread throughout the ranks as the wall began to shake. Laila continued to pound on the wall just like she had pounded on the training dummy earlier. Only this time, she used her true strength, the power of one who could be rightfully called a Demon.

    The wall continued to shake and finally began to crumble. Laila stepped back away from the wall and began to wipe the dust off herself. It didn¡¯t take long before a hole large enough for two warriors to enter abreast to form and once the dust settled the city was finally exposed to the outside.

    Smiling to herself with a satisfied expression, Laila finished dusting herself off and proceeded to step over rubble and calmly entered the city. Behind her, the Demihuman warriors boomed with a loud warcry and charged like a flood towards the breach in the city walls.

    Laila raised her head and glared ominously at the enemy who were in a confused state and were attempting to assemble near the breach to hold back the Demihuman tide.

 Volume 4 Chapter 4

    Laila¡¯s Demon eyes were not just for show. It wasn¡¯t just a transformation that turned her eyes the color of rich blood. Her eyes granted her a myriad of abilities. With her vision she could discern the deepest secrets. Even she didn¡¯t know all the things her eyes were capable of viewing.

    Still, this was only one of the aspects of her eyes. They also had the power to cause fear in those whose will was weak or shaken. They could even daze and confuse enemies or notice weaknesses that weren¡¯t necessarily apparent through normal sight.

    Standing in the debris and rubble from the collapsed portion of the wall she just destroyed, Laila surveyed the enemy soldiers assembling not far from where she stood. Soldiers were running in from all directions and forming up into a shield wall.

    As Laila¡¯s gaze passed over them, a rippling effect spread throughout their ranks unsuspectingly. Despite being the only enemy facing them at that moment, they couldn¡¯t help but shudder when their eyes met hers. Their shields vibrated as their bodies shook out of their control and it was difficult for the soldiers to properly form up. The fear was so strong that they had yet to recover even when the Demihuman warriors began pouring through the breach in the walls.

    It took only mere moments for the effect to take hold among the Human soldiers. Laila only halted for a moment as she dusted herself off and then quickly moved into action. Her tall and shapely form moved at unbelievable speeds and she charged relentlessly into the enemy formation like a charging bull. She needed no weapon, her fists were more than enough to send the soldiers into chaos.

    Laila smashed into the shields with her fists sending them flying in all directions. The Human soldiers her fists came into contact with were sent flying. The others couldn¡¯t even properly respond due to fear overtaking them. A wave of Demihuman warriors quickly followed behind her, charging into the helpless Human soldiers and causing their formation to quickly collapse entirely.

    These soldiers were already weary and morale was low from the many weeks that their city had undergone the siege. Their mental fortitude had already been greatly affected and they found it quite difficult to resist the initial fear caused by Laila¡¯s Demon eyes and her formidable strike on their ranks. They were much like falling dominoes giving very little resistance.

    However, this was only a small part of the entire force defending the city. There were still many soldiers throughout capital and the fighting had only just begun.

    ¡°Those that surrender, spare their lives! Capture as many as possible! If they resist to the bitter end and it is impossible to capture them, only then kill them.¡± Laila¡¯s voice roared throughout the battlefield reminding the warriors of their orders.

    Some of the Human soldiers hearing this dropped their weapons and fell to their knees hoping to survive and yet others resisted being quickly knocked down and suppressed. The Demihuman warriors were swift and made quick work of the soldiers at the breach.

    Some remained to secure the Humans that had surrendered and those which had been successfully captured or knocked unconscious. To those Human soldiers that resisted to the bitter end and could not easily be suppressed, they were cut down mercilessly.

    This had been one of Fayde¡¯s orders before his disappearance. He hoped to save as many as possible. Too many Human deaths might destabilize the nations coming under his control. Fayde had hoped to recruit some of the former soldiers of the kingdoms to their armies as well as return others back to the farms to grow sufficient food to support the population.

    There were many developments that needed to be worked on and it would require a sufficient labor force and enough food. The Demihumans had never been much for agriculture and it would be impossible to transition them over to farming in the short term. Their culture revolved around hunting for the most part. Of course it would be impossible to capture everyone and none would be blamed for killing in order to preserve their own warrior¡¯s lives.

    The Demihuman warriors began to spread out throughout the city, some being led by Laila and others by Reia and some of the other powerful tribal leaders who weren¡¯t sent North. There were pockets of resistance throughout the city as the Human soldiers mobilized against the wave of Demihuman attackers. Laila was especially effective at spreading fear throughout the ranks of Human soldiers and crushing them with her overwhelming strength. She fought much like the namesake of her people, with demonic strength and with fierce wild abandon.

    The Human resistance was quelled within a few hours of breaching the city walls. It only lasted that long because of the winding streets and many small enclosures where the Humans chose to make their final stands against the enemy invaders.

    However, the remaining Human forces retreated to the castle and closed the drawbridge hoping to hold off the Demihuman warriors for as long as possible. The king and many of the nobles were also hiding within the castle walls fearing for their lives. There were not many soldiers left however and it would only be a matter of time before the castle itself fell.

    For all intents and purposes, the battle ended in a victory for the Demihumans. Reia and Laila had effectively led the forces in securing the city and clearing out the pockets of resistance hiding within it.

    It hadn¡¯t been easy holding the army together after Fayde¡¯s disappearance. Many of the Demihuman warriors had been unnerved by it. In their minds, Fayde was much more than just their leader. They were awed by his power which had stemmed from the Void and treated him in an almost worship like manner. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Thankfully, women had much more authority among the Demihuman tribes and being the wife of the Great Khan was second only to the Great Khan himself. She had regained control over the warriors with the help and support of Laila and continued the siege. Only the castle in the heart of the city remained.

    ¡°Reia, it seems the king and the other nobles are hiding within the castle. What a bunch of cowards!¡±

    Reia gave a slight chuckle, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be that much of a surprise, this is how Humans fight. You should be well aware of that.¡±

    Laila of course knew this. She had spent most of her life fighting the Empire. Demihumans did not build castles and cities, they were in many ways a nomadic people.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t change the fact that they are cowards, no matter how effective it may be.¡± Laila said with contempt.

    She couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of past battles where the Demonkin had thrown themselves against the mighty walls of Imperial cities only to lose many of their kind. There had been both victories and defeats, but in the end it had only amounted to great misfortune.

    ¡°What will we do then? There aren¡¯t many Human soldiers left but it will still be difficult to take the castle. Many will die.¡± Laila muttered bitterly.

    She would have loved to crush the castle with her bare hands but she knew that would be impossible. There was only one path towards the castle and no other way to approach it safely. With the drawbridge up, it would be difficult to cross without suffering lose or injury. Even with her strength, it wouldn¡¯t be so simple. She was powerful, but she wasn¡¯t invincible.

    ¡°You are overthinking. This castle won¡¯t pose much of a problem for us, have you forgotten Allein?¡±

    Laila scoffed at the mention of Allein¡¯s name, ¡°Her? She¡¯s useless!¡±

    ¡°Laila, I understand how you feel but you shouldn¡¯t be so hard on her. She is our sister now and also Fayde¡¯s wife. Whether you like it or not, it would be in all of our best interests if you could at least have a minimum of civility towards her.¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­¡±

    While Laila wasn¡¯t exactly thrilled about it, she had at least mostly calmed down. The battle had allowed her to vent her anger and she wasn¡¯t as angry as she had been earlier.

    ¡°If Fayde doesn''t return, I will kill her myself.¡±

    Laila left those words before walking away. Reia watched her leave but said nothing more and soon called for one of the Demihuman warriors.

    ¡°Bring Shar and Allein here.¡±

    ¡°Yes my Khatun!¡± The warrior said while saluting and quickly ran off.

    Both Shar and Allein had remained within the Demihuman camp outside the city walls while the battle took place. It took a while for them to arrive where Reia was keeping a safe distance from the castle. There were still magic casters and archers who were manning the walls of the castle and it was dangerous to get within range of their attacks.

    Shar had a look of concern on his face as he approached Reia. Even though he had essentially joined the side of the Demihumans he still had some apprehension about the invasion of his homeland. He felt no such apprehension towards the other kingdoms but he couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly anxious as he stood not far from the castle that had once been his second home.

    Allein on the other hand had not fully recovered from the realization of Fayde¡¯s disappearance. She was equally anxious and perturbed but for very different reasons. Reia was the person she found most difficult to face because she had been with Fayde the longest. Allein felt the most guilt towards her.

    Reia¡¯s hand rested on her pommel as the two approached. She didn¡¯t turn to look at them and instead continued to stare off at the castle in the distance.

    ¡°You two have arrived, good.¡±

    Reia had an air of command about her and the role of a commander truly fit her well. In her own way, she was quite gallant and inspiring. She had grown well into her role as a leader. Allein could only admire her confidence and fierce aura.

    In the end, Allein was just a princess, someone who was lost in time and out of place in the present. Or at least that was how she felt as she admired Reia¡¯s presence from behind.

    ¡°Shar, you will be the one to speak with those in the castle. You do understand that the only reason we are going this far is because Fayde values you.¡±

    Those words were said as a statement and not a question, they were to remind Shar of his place.

    ¡°I understand. There is no need to say anything further.¡±

    Reia nodded and prodded him on, ¡°Good, then do what you came to do.¡±

    Shar stepped forward and approached the castle walls. The drawbridge was up and there was no way to cross the moat which separated the entrance to the castle from the area around it. The soldiers along the castle walls watched him approach warily. They aimed their bows at him but seeing as it was only one Human and that he was holding a white flag, they didn¡¯t fire their bows.

    Instead, one of the soldiers called down to him.

    ¡°Shar? I thought you were dead!¡±

    The soldier who called down to him was the captain of the royal guards and was someone who knew Shar well.

    Shar looked up towards the castle walls. It was difficult to make out the person who had shouted down to him. The sun had just begun its descent and there was a bright glare which made it difficult for him to see. He was forced to block the glare of the sun with his hand but he recognized the voice.

    ¡°Knight Marnier, is that you?¡±

    Although he recognized the voice, he wanted to be certain and so called out as loud as he could.

    ¡°Indeed, it is I! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re alive! Were you captured by the Demihumans?¡±

    Shar had an awkward smile on his face which couldn¡¯t be seen by those on the castle walls when he heard that.

    He hesitated slightly before calling out again, ¡°Eh.. something like that. Anyway, I have come to speak terms and wish an audience with his majesty.¡±

    Knight Marnier wasn¡¯t sure of what to make of Shar¡¯s words but when he considered the circumstances he figured Shar didn¡¯t have a choice and was being used by the Demihumans.

    ¡°I will speak with the king. Please wait until I return.¡±

    With that, Knight Marnier disappeared from view while Shar waited below.

 Volume 4 Chapter 5

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t believe it if I wasn¡¯t seeing it with my own eyes. Not only are you still alive, much like a bug, but you are even standing side by side with those disgusting Demihumans!¡±

    Shar grimaced hearing those words. He recognized the voice well. It was someone he despised, one of the reasons why his country had begun to fall into decadence and corruption.

    ¡°Lord Burlberg¡­¡±

    It was difficult to hide the disdain in his voice. Seeing that fop of a lord standing on top of the walls looking down at him brought back unwanted memories. He was the leader of the faction that had done everything within their power to destroy the great nation his father and his former king had built.

    ¡°Truly I am not surprised. You always did have a thing for those.. Animals. Just look at you now¡­ you traitor.¡±

    Lord Burlberg¡¯s words oozed with contempt as he stood upon the castle walls sneering at Shar below.

    Shar ignored his words with some difficulty and shouted clearly the words he came to say, ¡°You are surrounded and your soldiers have been defeated. No reinforcements will be coming and you have no means of victory. I ask that you seriously consider surrendering. Your lives will be spared and you will be treated fairly as prisoners of war.¡±

    Lord Burlberg scoffed and shouted angrily, ¡°Hmph. The words of a traitor. We will never surrender! You think that a bunch of scavengers and scum will ever be able to defeat all the kingdoms of the North? You may have won this battle, but if you think the other kingdoms will just sit by while disgusting beasts rampage through Human lands you are deluding yourself! Every kingdom of the North has signed a treaty to respond to any external threats whether they be from the Empire or the Demihumans of the Plains! We have food aplenty and enough soldiers to hold this castle for a long time. You won¡¯t be able to defeat us that easily! Go back to your beast overlords and tell them that we will never surrender!¡±

    Shar listened without interruption until Lord Burlberg finished his tirade. Even after he was done shouting, Shar remained standing in silence. Those on the wall couldn¡¯t see his expression or hear his mumbling and Lord Burlberg was certain his words had some effect on Shar. He gave a satisfied and smug smile while lauding himself in his mind.

    The words he said did have an effect on Shar, but it wasn¡¯t the effect that Burlberg was thinking. Instead, he was lamenting the stupidity of the nobles and felt shame and disappointment towards the king. However, he needed to be certain of something.

    ¡°Are these the words of the king?¡± He asked with a bit of hesitation.

    ¡°What was that? Did my words scare you senseless? Ha!¡±

    Burlberry couldn¡¯t hear Shar due to his unsettled voice which lacked force when he asked his question. He mistook his actions for fear, thinking his words had the desired effect he hoped for.

    With more conviction, Shar repeated the question.

    ¡°Are those the words of his majesty?¡±

    Thinking Shar had lost it, he replied, ¡°Tch, my words are his! His majesty will never allow foreign invaders who aren¡¯t even Human to have their way in his kingdom! Kill this traitor!¡±

    The soldiers upon the wall were all members of the royal guard, the most elite of the kingdom¡¯s soldiers. They all knew Shar well and there were certain rules in war that should not be ignored. One of those were that messengers should not be killed. Shar had come as a messenger of the Demihumans to ask for terms of surrender, naturally they had no intention to shoot arrows at him and when they heard the order given, they hesitated. There was uncertainty written on their faces as they looked at their captain.

    ¡°Did you hear what I said!? Shoot him! Or are you all traitors too!?¡±

    ¡°But Lord Burlberg¡­ he¡¯s a messenger..¡±

    The captain of the royal guard was shocked at the request, especially so since Shar was someone he himself greatly respected. He didn¡¯t know what the exact circumstances were regarding Shar and in his mind he could never imagine that Shar was truly a traitor. Regardless, it was wrong to kill a messenger and so he questioned Lord Burlberg much to the lord¡¯s chagrin.

    ¡°You fool! Give me that bow, I will kill him myself!¡±

    Burlberg snatched a bow from a nearby soldier and knocked an arrow he had forcefully taken as well. Shar was uncertain of what exactly was going on and when he saw Burlberg take aim at him with the bow, he was surprised and failed to react. Perhaps a part of him even accepted the fact that he would die.

    Lord Burlberg fired the arrow without hesitation and the arrow sped straight towards Shar. There was no question that the arrow was well aimed and was on a direct course. Shar could only grimace, his thoughts and memories quickly flashing as visions in his mind.

    ¡®Perhaps this is what I deserve¡¯ He thought with little reluctance in his heart.

    Shar closed his eyes in that moment and awaited his death. However, a strong gale suddenly blew past him deflecting the arrow away from its course. He couldn¡¯t see what happened, but he felt the strong gale and the arrow he thought would soon arrive did not come.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°You can open your eyes now Shar.¡±

    It was a voice he recognized.

    ¡°Reia? Was it you that saved me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it isn¡¯t your time to die Shar. Fayde sees a lot of promise in you. I know there is some doubt in your mind about the future and some regret about your past. Don¡¯t throw away the hope of a brighter future because of pity or misplaced pride.¡±

    For a moment, Shar forgot where he was. Those words reminded him of something he heard a long time ago from his father. He wasn¡¯t even aware that another arrow was fired at him. Thankfully, the other soldiers were still hesitant and only Lord Burlberg was still attempting to kill him. The arrow didn¡¯t escape Reia¡¯s eyes and she quickly grabbed Shar and pulled him out of the way of the arrow¡¯s path.

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s move out of range of their arrows.¡±

    Shar nodded and allowed himself to be pulled away. Lord Burlberg cursed angrily and shouted for the soldiers to quickly fire their arrows. They finally responded once they saw Reia and the warriors that had followed behind her, but by that time it was already too late.

    A group of Demihumans with thick shields blocked the volley of arrows allowing Reia and Shar to pull back to safety. The warriors soon followed without any casualties leaving Lord Burlberg fuming with rage. He took it out on the captain of the royal guard, promising to see him dismissed from his duties for disobeying his orders.

    ¡°Thank you Reia. I almost made a huge mistake.¡± Shar said with gratitude after fleeing to safety.

    Reia smiled a brilliant smile. She wasn¡¯t upset in the least at his actions. She understood the turmoil he must be going through and she knew him to be a man of great loyalty and honor.

    ¡°As long as you understand.¡±

    ¡°Well, I failed in the negotiations.¡±

    ¡°It was to be expected.¡±

    ¡°What now?¡±

    Reia turned and looked at Allein who was standing nearby. She had yet to fully recover from what happened to Fayde and was staring at the floor with a sluggish expression.

    ¡°Allein.¡±

    Reia was forced to call out a second time before she finally responded by lifting her head and meeting Reia¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°If you have time to waste standing there feeling guilty, then make yourself useful.¡±

    ¡°But sister Reia¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough. What happened to Fayde wasn¡¯t your fault and I don¡¯t have the time to waste arguing with you about it. If you hate the fact that you couldn¡¯t save Fayde.. If you feel you are responsible.. Then do something about it. Do what you can here and now. We do not need a pathetic little princess who collapses every time things don¡¯t go her way. What we need right now is your strength and your conviction. Wake up! Use your dragon form and attack the soldiers on the castle walls so that when Fayde does return we can deliver him this castle as a gift. Do you understand?¡±

    Reia didn¡¯t intend for her words to be harsh, but she felt it was the only way to get through to Allein even if it was only a temporary solution.

    Allein was angered by Reia¡¯s words and her eyes burned once more with life but she soon realized that there was nothing she could say in response. Reia was right but this only made her more angry and upset at her own uselessness. She was the daughter of the black dragon king, and she herself was a powerful dragon. Yet despite all of this, she had committed one blunder after another and even lost what was most important to her.

    The anger and pride of a dragon filled her once more and she replied through gritted teeth, ¡°Fine.¡±

    Just one word, that was all that needed to be said.

    Her eyes began to glow bright crimson and she raised her head and roared a mighty dragon¡¯s roar. It was strange hearing such a sound coming from her somewhat tiny form. It wasn¡¯t that she was especially short for a woman, it was just that the sound was one you would imagine from a mighty beast and not a beautiful and graceful woman.

    She leaped straight up on to the roof of a nearby building and her form began to shift and grow. As her body enlarged and grew monstrous taking the shape of a dragon, she continued to roar mightily. The sound of her roars filled the city streets sending those civilians hiding in their homes cowering in fear.

    The sound soon reached the soldiers upon the castle walls and silenced Lord Burlberg¡¯s ravings. He jumped in shock and fear, remembering the reports he heard previously about the dragon that had been sighted outside the city walls when they were still under siege by the kingdom of Jaspel.

    At that time, the nobles and the king had been meeting within the walls of the castle and had not seen the dragon attack themselves. They had heard the reports from the soldiers and despite the fact that there were many witnesses to the spectacle, they were skeptical of the reports thinking it was mere hallucination or some time of illusion magic. By the time they had witnessed the battle between the Demihumans and the soldiers of Jaspel, the dragon was no longer present.

    Imagine Lord Burlberg¡¯s surprise when the blaring roar of a dragon reached his ears. He almost jumped off the walls in fright and his body began to quiver in fear. He had never been a brave man. He was quite the pretentious person, often feigning bravery but never truly having any.

    ¡°W..h...a...t  ?¡±

    The words barely left his mouth before he pulled back and rushed towards the entrance to the inner castle. The soldiers on the wall were also filled with fear but they were well trained and shook off their initial fear. Some watched Lord Burlberg leave in fear with disdain. The captain of the royal guard gathered his nerves and rapidly gave orders to his men.

    The city suddenly became quiet. This only served to unnerve the men on the wall even more. It didn¡¯t help settle their nerves at all, instead filling them with a sense of imminent danger. They looked to the skies hoping to catch a glimpse of the enemy they knew was out there. Their eyes and ears were filled with rapt attention and strained to see or hear something. They would be satisfied with anything except for the eerie quiet and calm that had fallen upon the city unsuspectingly.

    After several moments of calm, they could hear a gentle beat. Much like a heartbeat which had just begun to pick up speed diligently and with a steady pace. It became a rich cadence of rippling wind that continued its climb ever forward. The sound was all around them and they looked up into the sky, each holding their hand to provide comfort to their squinting eyes only to catch a glimpse of a shadowy form laying majestically against the sun¡¯s glare.

    In that moment, they saw their doom as the sky lit up brightly in a fiery embrace of falling flames and bitter ashes.

    Unfortunately for them, they had no long range weapons which could harm a dragon. Even the sturdy walls of whitened stone provided no protection from the blazing flames.

 Volume 4 Chapter 6

    In another place and at another time in the distant north west, a very similar scene was about to play out.

    A mellow moon hung somberly amidst the peaceful evening sky. Its light gently bore down, glistening upon a rising mist which gave off an eerie air. A lone citadel stood among a brazen mountain pass with unsuspecting soldiers going about their daily patrols. They were far removed from the chaos of battle which had come upon the kingdoms to the east and south and were unaware of the danger approaching.

    It was difficult for Humans to see in the darkness. Torches had been lit along pathways leading out of the citadel as well as along the ground around the walls. This created an area of light around the fortress but only in the immediate vicinity. Even with the light of the torches, it was still difficult to see anything from on top the high 50 meter walls.

    Normally, this wasn¡¯t a major concern because any invading army of Humans would have long been noticed and the defenders would have sufficient time to prepare. It would be very difficult for an enemy army to approach the walls in the dead of night without sufficient light.

    Not only that, but siege weapons and large scale magic spells would be needed in order to attack the immense and powerful walls. This was not a fortress which could be easily taken and so the defenders were ignorant in their confidence of the strength of their walls.

    That was because none of this applied to an army of Demihumans who could see easily in the dark and which was supported by a dragon.

    This grand and mighty fortress had been constructed by the four great northern kingdoms as a last line of defense against an imperial invasion of the north. The first line of defense was the Dun¡¯al citadel on the southern border of the kingdom of La¡¯gun.

    None of the Humans ever expected that an army of Demihuman warriors would invade the northern kingdoms and in fact it was only because of the chaos going on in the kingdoms to the south and their swift marching by moonlight that the Demihumans were able to catch these defenders completely unaware.

    ¡°Bring us in closer, the Humans won¡¯t be able to see us in the dark and your scales are as black as night.¡± Grunted Accadeas riding atop Nes as he glided through the night sky.

    ¡°I am not your personal mount.¡± Replied Nes awkwardly but with a hint of frustration.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, you are a prisoner. Now shut it and follow orders.¡± Said Accadeas before turning to Rajal Khan who was behind him.

    ¡°Prepare yourself, we will jump and land on the wall there.¡±

    Accadeas pointed to the area of the wall he was referring before continuing.

    ¡°With the three of us here, we should be able to easily take down the soldiers defending this portion of the wall. Rajal, you and I will attack the soldiers while Rikkard places the hooks along the walls and lets down the ropes. Once the soldiers we tasked with climbing the walls reach the top, we will move to secure the gate. My Demonkin heavy infantry will then rush in through the main gate. Meanwhile, Nes, it is your job to wreak as much havoc as possible on the citadel. Does everyone understand their role?¡±

    Seated on Nes behind Accadeas were two other Demihumans. One was the Khan of the Tigerkin, who was a fierce and powerful warrior only slightly weaker than Accadeas. The other was the most powerful spearman and champion of the Rabbitkin tribe, Rikkard.

    ¡°Enough Accadeas, you¡¯ve explained the plan several times already, we get it!¡± Growled Rajal Khan with some annoyance.

    Rikkard on the other hand remained silent, he had a serious personality and didn¡¯t speak much. Despite the fact that one would think a rabbit to be timid, the Rabbitkin tribe were in fact fearsome and powerful warriors. Their specialty was the spear and they were extremely agile with sturdy lower bodies allowing them to put great strength behind their spear thrusts.

    ¡°Heh, fine. Since you are so confident, let¡¯s make a bet.¡± Said Accadeas with playful grin.

    ¡°What bet?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see who can take down the most enemy soldiers!¡±

    ¡°Hah! You¡¯re on! I will definitely win this. Your individual strength might be greater than mine but my range and area of attack is superior!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that!¡±

    Accadeas and Rajal Khan pumped themselves up, giving each other an evil looking grin as they anticipated the battle to come.

    ¡°If only I had a dragon when I was fighting against the empire! How much easier things might have been¡­.¡±

    Nes grunted at Accadeas¡¯ comment in anger before suddenly swooping downward angrily in the hope of jilting those on his back. The motion didn¡¯t upset the balance of the riders and they chuckled teasingly at Nes¡¯s action.

    Nes didn¡¯t truly wish to throw them off and continued his downward descent. He no longer beat his wings and instead glided through the air in a smooth downward arc heading straight toward the section of the wall they had planned for. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    The top of the wall was very wide and the walls were extremely thick. If they had to fight in a more traditional sense, with siege equipment and spells, it would most likely be impossible to break even a small section of the wall without considerable effort and power. The wall was not only immeasurably strong, but it would definitely be imbued with defensive spells. It was a good thing that their plan didn¡¯t require them to actually assault the walls.

    Accadeas chuckled with excitement as Nes made his way closer to their destination. With the wind at their back, the three riders on Nes¡¯s back jumped off his side as he passed a section of the wall swiftly. It happened suddenly and with extreme accuracy. The guards atop that section of the wall hadn¡¯t even noticed the three before they landed with a slight thump.

    However, before they could even get over their shock of seeing three relatively large and burly figures land, they were silenced. Their actions did not go unnoticed by other guards along the section of the wall. There were pockets of them spaced out across the entire wall and it would be impossible for them not to notice considering the wall was excessively lit with torches and they were after all professional soldiers.

    The three weren¡¯t so arrogant that they thought they would be able to wreak havoc on top of the wall without being noticed but before the guards could even sound an alarm, the fortress was suddenly lit up with the light of flames.

    A loud dragon¡¯s roar broke the serenity of the night¡¯s silence and the excessive heat of dragon¡¯s flames warmed the cool night air. This caused havoc amidst the slumbering fortress making the arrival of the three Demihumans atop the wall seem as if it were a minor occurrence. The sound of ringing bells resounded throughout the fortress and chaos ensued as Nes rained fire on the fortress from the sky. His movements were quick as he set flames to the walls throughout the entirety of the fortress.

    ¡°Haha! Now this is what I call a night raid! Rikkard, quickly attach the hooks and let down the ropes. Make sure to guard the area, don¡¯t let any soldiers get close. Let¡¯s kill us some Humans!!¡±

    Rajal and Accadeas did not hesitate and roared while quickly moving into action. Accadeas ran along the wall in one direction while Rajal ran in the other. Their battle cries were barely discernible above the chaos of Nes¡¯s attack and the sound of alarm bells ringing. Only soldiers in the immediate vicinity were aware of their attack upon the wall but their efforts were fruitless as Accadeas and Rajal plowed through them.

    Their powerful attacks and overwhelming strength made quick work of the Human soldiers they faced.

    ¡°22¡­ 23¡­ 24!¡± Shouted Accadeas happily while steamrolling several Human soldiers at once.

    The competition between Accadeas and Rajal was in full force as the two shouted the number of soldiers they defeated. Meanwhile, the Human soldiers within the fortress were chaotically running around attempting to put out fires started by the dragon¡¯s flames. Human officers shouted orders and soon ballistas and other long rage siege equipment were being aimed towards the sky in an effort to fire at Nes.

    However, due to the dark of night and Nes¡¯s black scales, it was difficult to target him and most shots were fired aimlessly into the night. Nes deftly maneuvered above the fortress, easily dodging projectiles fired from the siege equipment as he rained down fire on their heads.

    He had nothing to fear from the bows and arrows of the soldiers and didn¡¯t bother to dodge the arrows fired from them. Only the large bolts fired from ballistas posed any sort of danger to him and even those weren¡¯t enough for him to fear for his life. This was also not to mention how difficult it was for the soldiers to even hit him in the dead of night.

    Outside the wall, dozens of shadowy figures in all black clothing made their way up the lengthy ropes which had been dropped down from on top of the high walls. Due to the length of the rope, they were only able to bring a few along, but it was enough for the dozens of Demihuman assassins to climb the walls.

    Among their number were a variety of Demihuman tribesman known for their agility and deft movements. Members of the Rabbitkin, Tigerkin, and Catkin made up the bulk of the assassins currently assigned to the mission. They were extremely agile and had no issues climbing the high wall with the aid of the rope. This would have been an impossible feat if not for the aid of a dragon and the three powerful Demihumans wreaking havoc atop the wall.

    While the soldiers were certainly professionals, they had never faced anything like this which led to an initial panic and considerable chaos. The officers organized pockets of resistance against Nes¡¯s bombardment but it was ineffective. They began ordering their men to fire thousands of flaming arrows into the sky to provide some light. This caused Nes to focus his flame attacks on the archers along the walls as well as those manning the siege ballistas.

    One of the Human officers led an organized attack on the walls where Accadeas was fighting. He led hundreds of soldiers in an attempt to surround him. The walls were wide enough that there was plenty of room for them all to maneuver but it didn¡¯t matter how many soldiers surrounded him as he blasted his way through with sheer physical might.

    Rajal was having a much easier time of it but still was engaged with dozens of enemy soldiers. The assassins finally beginning to arrive upon the walls relieved some of the pressure off of the two and they began to push the soldiers back.

    ¡°All of our warriors are accounted for!¡± Yelled Rikkard when the last of the assassins made his way up the wall.

    Accadeas was busily fighting while roaring in in excitement, ¡°I haven¡¯t had this much fun in a long time! Haha!¡±

    ¡°Tch, look at that fool. Did he already forget the mission?¡± Yelled Rajal after noticing Accadeas berserking behavior.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Rikkard, lead the assassins to the gatehouse. I will go and support Accadeas until he has had his full. Once he starts raging like this, it will be a while until he regains his senses.¡±

    Rikkard nodded and called out to the assassins leading them towards the gatehouse. They met stiff resistance at the gates despite their preparation but all of the members of this particular force were elite warriors among the tribes and they fought fiercely slaying many Human soldiers.

    Rajal noticing that the gates had still not opened despite some time having passed, glanced worryingly towards Accadeas who was still in berserk mode, ¡°Dammit, Accadeas knock out of it! I need you to come back to your senses now!¡±

    Despite Rajal¡¯s urging, Accadeas continued with his berserk behavior until there were no more soldiers left in that section of the wall. He finally calmed down realizing what had happened.

    His eyes having returned from crimson to his normal hue, he looked around gloomily. There were many soldiers dead or unconscious around him while others had fled.

    ¡°Oops¡­¡±

    Rajal almost punched him.

 Volume 4 Chapter 7

    ¡°Hehe, guess I lost myself there a little¡­¡± Said Accadeas scratching his head and giving Rajal a toothy grin.

    Rajal rolled his eyes at him.

    ¡°We have a fortress to conquer, stop wasting time! The gate is still closed, we need to hurry before more reinforcements arrive!¡±

    Accadeas scratched his head with slight embarrassment, ¡°Alright, alright! You know I can¡¯t control my berserk state fully without my sister.. Anyway, let¡¯s hurry.¡±

    The two powerful warriors made their way towards the gatehouse as quickly as they could. When they arrived, they saw their warriors engaged in stiff resistance by an elite unit of Human soldiers led by a large and brawny heavily armored man.

    Rikkard was breathing heavily while holding his spear and had many cuts and bruises throughout his body. While none of his injuries looked life threatening, the number of injuries sustained was definitely an issue. He didn¡¯t look like he could carry on a fight any longer.

    ¡°Rikkard!¡± Accadeas called out while storming towards him.

    ¡°Accadeas, I¡¯m sorry. This Human is very strong, I couldn¡¯t defeat him.¡±

    Rikkard was almost out of breath and it was difficult for him to speak. Accadeas patted him on his shoulder and said, ¡°Relax, I¡¯ll take it from here.¡±

    Rajal noticed many of the Demihuman warriors had been injured but there were equally as many Human soldiers injured as well.

    ¡°Looks like we ran into an unexpected variable. Well, this is why we brought that big lug along. Accadeas, go wild. I will lead our warriors to open the gate!¡±

    Rajal quickly moved after shouting out some orders to the surrounding warriors. He rushed towards the Human soldiers sweeping many of them away with his powerful abilities. While there were many Demihuman tribes who weren¡¯t proficient in the use of magic, their special bloodline abilities were equally as powerful and contained the force of magic within them.

    Or perhaps a better way to understand it would be that the elements of the void that existed within them gave them this power.

    Rajal spun his spear and struck outwards like a whip, his spear moving so fast that it created after images. These after images soon appeared real forming into coiling serpent like dragons that immediately struck the Human soldiers flinging them back. He then charged into the soldiers with the Demihuman warriors in tow.

    The Human knight in heavy armor could only watch on in frustration. Due to the heavy armor there was no way he could move quick enough to intercept Rajal who was moving at an extreme speed. Also, he could feel the aura of power contained within the immense Demihuman standing before him. The knight had never felt fear, but this Demihuman caused him to feel a healthy amount of concern.

    ¡°What is the name of my opponent?¡± The knight asked in a calm deep voice.

    ¡°Hah, is it necessary to give my name to one about to die?¡± retorted Accadeas.

    The knight was silent and due to the helmet covering his entire head, there was no way to know what his expression was. His answer to Accadeas¡¯s comment was to simply ready his large double bladed battleaxe.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s more I like it.¡± chortled Accadeas.

    The two began their clash ferociously with Accadeas charging straight at the knight while swinging his enormous halberd down. The Human knight was quite large for a Human, but compared to Accadeas he was still lacking and Accadeas¡¯s halberd was created to fit his height and strength.

    The two weapons clashed against each other and it was clear that the Human was outclassed by Accadeas¡¯s strength but nonetheless he put up a good struggle.

    ¡°Not bad.. I haven¡¯t met many Humans with your strength.¡± Said Accadeas while pushing his weapon down on the knight¡¯s battleaxe.

    It was clear he had the upper hand given he had the luxury of admiring the Human¡¯s strength while forcefully pushing down with his halberd. The knight could only grunt in response while struggling against Accadeas¡¯s overwhelming strength.

    Accadeas gave a swift kick to the knight¡¯s abdomen pushing the knight back several feet but he remained standing. Even through the armor he could feel the force behind the kick. He did not back down though and rushed towards Accadeas with a powerful blow.

    The two exchanged several fierce blows before Accadeas sent the knight tumbling backwards. The knight struggled to rise to one knee while pushing against the ground with the haft of his battleaxe.

    Accadeas could hear him breathing heavily from underneath his helmet, and his once shiny armor was now dirtied and dented from Accadeas¡¯s powerful blows.

    ¡°Hmph, well.. Still not much of a match for me though, but I do have to admire your strength. For that I will let you die on your feet. Stand!¡±

    The Human knight took a moment to catch his breath while on his knees. He looked around him and saw many of his men wounded, but there were still dozens who were able to fight remaining. The Demihuman warriors had broken through their encirclement with Rajal¡¯s aid and while Accadeas had the knight distracted.

    However, the other Demihumans had already made their way towards the inner gatehouse and only Accadeas remained outside the entrance. There were still a great number of Human soldiers remaining and while some had run off chasing after the Demihuman warriors, the others had slowly surrounded Accadeas hoping to use their numbers to overwhelm him. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Of course, what they didn¡¯t know was that this was exactly what Accadeas wanted. There was no fear in him as he glanced around while holding his halberd firmly in one hand. It was slightly leaning on his shoulder and he gripped his chin with his free hand, rubbing it slowly while he thought to himself silently.

    He wasn¡¯t worried in the least that so many had surrounded him and he could already see the victory which was soon to come. He had full confidence that Rajal would be able to open the large gate and once it was open, the Demihuman warriors approaching the fortress swiftly in the dark of night would surge through like a hurricane.

    There would be fierce fighting to come, but he knew that it would ultimately end in their victory. His thoughts swirled like a whirlwind in his mind and the Humans surrounding him readied themselves, some awkwardly holding their weapons in fear of the giant warrior before them. They were confident in their numbers, but were fearful of his prowess which had allowed Accadeas to easily toy with their commander who they considered to be powerful.

    In the mere seconds that it took for the Human soldiers to work up enough nerve to charge towards Accadeas, it was more than enough time for Accadeas to reflect on the many lamentable and unforgettable memories that had twisted and turned his life upside down. It was a lifetime of war and of sorrow, but in this moment where his thoughts flooded his mind his blood began to boil with excitement.

    It was a feeling that he could only remember in the earliest of his memories, when he fought side by side with his father amidst the raging tide and furious roars of glorious battle. In those days, there was great hope and endless expectation for the future. The quagmire of his life that came tumbling afterwards had sent him and his sister into a spiraling abyss of hopelessness only be to met with failure.

    But, it all led him to this very moment. A moment where his ambition, his unbridled passion, was finally within reach. He could finally taste that dream which he had once held so deeply within his heart.

    Freedom from the oppression of species and race. Freedom from the neverending shadow eclipsing the hearts of his people. But most of all, an end to the mysterious and ever lurking presence manipulating their lives, never allowing them to live in peace.

    That being known as the Void.

    ¡°No¡­ this is only the beginning. Let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves.¡± Accadeas mumbled to himself before taking his halberd firmly in his grip and roaring a deep resounding battle cry that finally began the momentous battle that might change his people¡¯s fate.

    In reality, those deep and convoluted thoughts had only lasted a moment and no more. They were fleeting and gone as quickly as they had come.

    The dozens of Human soldiers surrounding him charged forward. His eyes once again turned bloody and cruel as they became filled with madness and rage. He swung his halberd like a tornado, the power and reach of its blade cutting through the soldiers with no resistance. It was no different as if he were slicing through air.

    A mist of blood just beyond Accadeas¡¯s reach spread all around him in a circle, almost bathing him in its warm haze. But not a single drop landed on him and his blade was spotless. Several soldiers had been cut down with ease just like that. This sent terror throughout those others who hadn¡¯t been as quick to charge forward. They hesitated, but the knight who had already taken Accadeas¡¯s blow and lived urged them on.

    They charged together causing Accadeas to feel some pressure, but he moved nimbly which was a contrast belying his large frame. Accadeas had never been one to wear heavy armor, instead favoring much lighter tight fitting leather. He had never truly ever needed any more protection than that. From a relatively young age, he had always been physically superior to everyone else.

    This allowed him to move with little restraint. His body was large but his strength and speed was formidable. He had fought against Fayde and only truly lost slightly, not being much below his strength. He too had power that had been bestowed upon him by the Void due to his bloodline and heritage.

    As he swung his halberd, he moved almost as if in a dance. His weapon spun around his body, striking at unpredictable locations. The Humans tried their best to surround him, attacking from all angles but his weapon spun to meet their blades without hesitation. They could gain no obvious advantage against his steady defense.

    Accadeas moved strangely, occasionally dragging his feet against the earth creating a strange pattern that the Humans could not recognize. As the pattern became clearer, a strange power began to emanate from within his body causing hair raising alarm among the Humans who were unfamiliar with the strange power coming from Accadeas¡¯s body.

    This was the power of his spiritual energy, something which was inherent in those Demihumans who lacked magic in the sense that Humankind understood it. In reality, the spiritual energy of the Demihumans who could not use more traditional magic was a type of magic in and of itself. It was an energy that built up within the body and allowed them to explode with great power, even causing strange spiritual phenomenon that could take shape and form.

    This was the same energy which had allowed Rajal Khan to manifest dragons in his attack and the same power that allowed Accadeas to burst forth with magnificent strength.

    The build up of energy within Accadeas¡¯s body became visible to the naked eye, growing in strength and letting off a dark twisted glow. The pressure emitted from this caused the Humans to pale in fear. They struggled to lift their swords, unable to attack and unable to run. It felt as if the force of gravity around them had exploded in strength.

    Only the Human knight could continue to move albeit with great effort, but it no longer mattered. Accadeas burst forth with undeniable strength and speed, first crushing those Human soldiers who had gotten close and then those who had yet to come within reach of his halberd. None escaped his wrath and even the Human knight was crushed helplessly beneath his mighty blade.

    The energy soon ran its course. Accadeas breathed deeply, feeling a sudden bout of fatigue and his eyes returned to their normal color. Not a single Human remained alive, nothing but corpses surrounded him. He had unleashed his fury which showed no mercy.

    It was a bloodbath, a messy affair with not a single one of the soldier¡¯s bodies remaining whole.

    Accadeas leaned on his halberd and regained his composure. His thoughts were no longer muddled and his full consciousness had returned from the bloodrage from only a moment before. The gate before his eyes began to open, rumbling as it slowly moved upwards.

    The Human soldiers within the fortress had finally begun to organize themselves and were no longer in a state of confusion despite Nes¡¯s repeated attacked from above. They couldn¡¯t do anything about Nes, but they finally realized what was going on as the commanders regained control and began to organize the defenses.

    However, it was too late.

    The gate had now opened and Accadeas was met with a dark and foreboding maw leading into the open night air. In that moment, there was a strange quiet. The only sound was the sound of Accadeas breathing deeply to catch his breath.

    Soon an endless stream of silhouettes became visible and a violent stream of warriors came pouring out of the night. They didn¡¯t stop as they ran past Accadeas on each side and it wasn¡¯t long before the sounds of battle and the clang of steel filled every inch of the fortress.

    Accadeas lifted his halberd and placed it gently over his shoulder. He didn¡¯t turn, instead looking out into the night as Demihumans continued to stream past him. He no longer noticed them, instead his eyes were fixed on that distant horizon.

    ¡°Father.. Mother.. I may be able to keep that promise after all.¡±

 Volume 4 Chapter 8

    A warm and bright light fell upon a somewhat luxurious throne room from several windows situated in the ceiling around the room. The windows were quite large and allowed the sunlight to gracefully shine through giving off a resplendent air which added to the atmosphere of the throne room.

    There were many Human nobles lined up on either side of a carpeted walkway which ran through the middle of the throne room leading towards the throne. The nobles themselves were filled with angst and trepidation.

    These were the natural feelings of the defeated. For them, it was a matter far worse then if they had lost normally to an opposing king. The victors this time were not even considered Human in their eyes. They were creatures given the title of Demihuman.

    Although the northern kingdoms were not quite as hateful towards Demihumans as those of the Empire, there was still considerable discrimination that existed among Humans towards the Demihumans.

    Of course, it was easy for them to pride themselves on their so called open mindedness and tolerance when they rarely had any contact or dealings with Demihumans to begin with. The only Demihumans that lived nearby were the Foxkin which they had always looked down on considering them nothing more than beasts.

    That isn¡¯t to say there weren¡¯t those who were in fact kind and more accepting of Demihumans, but for the nobles of the kingdom it was much more of a facade than sincerity. The former king had tried to change these views and even promoted laws which gave the Demihumans living within the kingdom of La¡¯gun rights and protections. This movement however had died with him among the nobility and those in power.

    But now, things had greatly changed. It was the Demihumans that were now in power and these nobles who were on the losing end. With their twisted hearts and minds, they could only imagine what horrors might befall on them. Not because they actually understood anything about Demihumans, but only because of their own degenerate minds and evil intentions.

    Demihuman warriors marched into the throne room with fierce growls. Some nobles paled in fear while others kept their thoughts well hidden, not showing anything in their expressions or actions. Many secretly looked on with disdain towards the Demihumans but they would never express these thoughts. Some wondered if there were benefits to be had or in what ways they might exploit the situation.

    Laila felt she could clearly imagine what these Humans before her were thinking as she entered the throne room behind Reia. The warriors spread out, standing in between the two sides of the throne room with their weapons at the ready. They were to keep any potential threats from arising among any treacherous Human nobles.

    Hmph¡­ not that any of these security measures are necessary. These wretched Humans can¡¯t possibly pose any threat to us anymore.. I suppose appearances must be kept however¡­

    Laila didn¡¯t truly enjoy being in the limelight despite her haughty nature. She had no qualms walking behind Reia, but even more so she greatly respected Reia and even thought of her as an elder sister despite being slightly older than her. This was not a matter of age, but out of admiration and of course because she was Fayde¡¯s first.

    In some ways, she was even jealous of her. Reia was a bright and shining star in her heart and in the hearts of all around her. It was almost too bright, so much so that she feared that there was no place for her to shine.

    It was not that she lacked confidence in herself. It was more along the lines of that she knew she was someone who thrived in shadows and could never so brilliantly stand in the front. She could do the things that others could not, but at the same time she could never do what this woman could do in front of her.

    Laila turned her eyes away from Reia and finally took a good long glance around the throne room. Her anger quickly rose as her scarlet colored eyes laid to rest on the man sitting there on his throne.

    How dare he!

    Without so much as a word, Laila strode forth with large steps straight past Reia who looked at Laila with a questioning glance. Even though she was curious what had caught her sister¡¯s ire, she said nothing and instead watched in silence.

    Laila stepped forward violently as she approached the king sitting on his throne. He sat there with a well hidden look of disdain and haughtiness as if he were a king presiding over his subjects. He wore his golden crown and his royal regalia. His moustache was well oiled and his hair well trimmed and neat. He was the very picture of a young and ambitious king.

    The king who was already somewhat on edge but had been doing his utmost to keep his fear hidden so as to keep up appearances. When he noticed Laila violently moving towards him he visibly slinked back in his throne, something very unbecoming of one of his stature.

    He felt a great hostile aura coming from the intimidating Demihuman woman quickly approaching him. The king looked around but was reminded of his current situation when he saw none of his royal guards within the throne room.

    Laila walked straight up to the throne and grabbed the king by his garments and lifted him straight up from the throne as if he were weightless. The king could no longer hide the fear he felt and horror was clearly plastered all over his face. His crown had fallen with a clink against the stone floor and an unsightly scream left his lips.

    ¡°Do you think you are still a king? Who do you think you are to so leisurely continue to sit on a throne looking down on us, your conquerors!? Let me show you the reality of the situation you are in!¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Laila threw the king down to the floor below the steps leading up to the throne in anger. She turned to glare at the man who was now disheveled and struggling to lift himself off the floor. It was truly a pitiful sight for one who had never known discomfort or hardship.

    ¡°This is the reality! You are the conquered, the losers. Get on your knees and beg that I don¡¯t cut you down here and now!¡±

    Laila shouted with viciousness causing the hackles of every noble within the throne room to rise. None of them had expected that this seemingly beautiful and outwardly poised appearing woman would suddenly erupt with such violence and anger.

    She had the bearing of an aristocrat, but now she appeared as if she were a devil and her blood red eyes didn¡¯t help dissuade this perception of her. Most frightening and unexpected of all was her enormous strength. It was no easy feat to be able to lift the king with one hand with such ease and fling him as if he were garbage.

    It was a sight which was too hard for the Humans there to believe. This was just par for the course for the Demihumans however. They were all very much well aware of how terrifying Laila could be when angered.

    Laila made a motion as if to slash the fallen king with her outraised hand but was suddenly stopped, ¡°Sister.¡±

    Those words were like a switch halting Laila directly in her path. Her hand was halfway towards the king and would have sliced him apart in another second if not for those words from Reia. Her blood red eyes fiercely met with Reia¡¯s determined stare. Reia did not flinch or shirk back in anyway, but met Laila¡¯s eyes with boldness that could not be ignored.

    Laila shook her head and relaxed her body, ¡°I¡¯m sorry sister, I forgot myself.¡±

    The nobles looked on with shock, and even some of the Demonkin warriors present were somewhat surprised. They were well aware that both Reia and Laila were the wives of Fayde but they didn¡¯t expect that Reia¡¯s single word could halt their beloved demoness from her rage.

    Reia smiled, and it was like the blooming of dawn. Even the Human nobles were entranced by her smile and her heroic aura.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Do not forget our husband¡¯s words. This was his command and his promise to Shar. Surely you do not wish to betray his promise when he isn¡¯t present.¡±

    Laila briefly reddened in embarrassment and walked away from the king while glaring at him. The king looked as if he were paralyzed in fear on the floor.

    Reia walked forward and clasped her arm with Laila¡¯s, ¡°I do not blame you, so don¡¯t be bothered by it.¡±

    ¡°Of course not, I would never hold anything against you.¡±

    Reia nodded and walked towards the king, passing him by without giving him even a second glance. She stood atop the steps in front of the throne and turned to look towards all those gathered below.

    ¡°You have nothing to fear, at least you will not lose your lives. However, your kingdom is no more. You are no longer nobles and your lands will be taken from you. You will be allowed to keep what valuables and wealth you have on hand, but all properties will be confiscated and all privileges you enjoyed are no more. The quicker you come to terms with this, the better. Be happy, if it were not for my husband, I doubt the others would be merciful to you all. There is much hatred between our kind, but the Great Khan hopes that in time we can get past this.¡±

    Her words sent shivers and gasps through the crowd of nobles. This was not how things usually went, but it certainly could have been worse for them. However, for many of them, they couldn¡¯t imagine what they would do going forward. Their outcry was loud and quick, many too shocked to accept the words they were hearing.

    They were soon all silenced by the roars of the Demihumans and the clangs of their weapons against their shields.

    ¡°Perhaps you are all not quite clear on what is going on.¡± Said Reia standing in front of the throne.

    After she spoke, she sat down slowly in the throne much to the shock of the crowd. Reality was difficult to accept, but it was beginning to settle in when they saw that. It may not seem like much, but the sight of a Demihuman woman sitting upon the throne was too shocking of a thing for them.

    ¡°Do you understand now? Most likely at this very moment, our warriors are doing the same thing in the capitals of both Jaspel and Quijon. Even the mighty fortress of Sara¡¯dun will fall and these lands will completely fall under our control. It will not end there. Soon, the entire north shall belong to us and whether you Humans like it or not, you will be forced to accept it.¡±

    Though there was no malice or anger in her voice, there was still a great sense of foreboding at her words. Though none there doubted what she said. They had all witnessed the power of the dragon and that man with the black flames. Who among the Human kingdoms could resist with such power at their command? But there was one thing that hadn¡¯t escaped their notice, and that was the man with the black flames was nowhere to be seen.

    They weren¡¯t aware of what had happened to him and could only wonder at why he wasn¡¯t present. Perhaps he had already gone north to subjugate the northern kingdoms, they could only speculate. With his strength and the might of the Demihuman warriors, they didn¡¯t think that it was an impossible dream.

    The Humans may have had the numbers, but numbers didn¡¯t always win over sheer and overwhelming strength.

    Reia could see the looks of defeat slowly making their way across the faces of the nobles. She was satisfied with the effect of her words but didn¡¯t want to spend much time dealing with them.

    ¡°There is nothing left to be said. All of you will be escorted to your fiefs where you will be allowed to take what valuables and wealth you can easily transport and will be allowed to live within your manors and estates here in the capital. You will not be allowed to leave the capital however. At least not until the entire north is secure. I am sure you can all understand the reasoning behind this. Go now, I do not wish to see any of you again.¡±

    Once she finished with her words, the nobles were escorted out of the throne room but the king was forced to remain.

    ¡°As for you, you will be placed under house arrest within the castle. You will not be harmed but you will not be allowed to communicate in anyway with the outside world and you will no longer be allowed your freedom. Until my husband returns and decides your fate, this is how it shall be.¡±

    The king nodded miserably and was led out of the throne room by two burly Demihuman warriors. Everyone had now left and only Laila and Reia remained within the throne room.

    They looked at each other with many emotions shared between the two.

    ¡°When he returns? Will he return Reia? Where is he now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but what I do know is that he is alive. If he were dead, we would know through the mark of the Void.¡±

    Laila nodded and placed her hand over the mark which was not visible beneath her clothes on her shoulder.

 Volume 4 Chapter 9

    ¡°Where are we?¡±

    This was probably the hundredth time Felicia had asked Fayde that and just like the last few dozen times, he ignored her. It wasn¡¯t that he was particularly angry with her but her constant questioning was frustrating him. Especially since he had no idea where they were.

    Felicia and Fayde continued to wander through a dark and twisted jungle, or forest, he couldn¡¯t tell which it was. The place had a strange atmosphere and was sometimes filled with endless trees and other times more like a savannah.

    The strangest part of it all, is that it seemed to be perpetual night. A day must have passed according to Fayde¡¯s estimation but it remained as dark as when they first arrived. Fayde found it difficult to see in this type of darkness but it wasn¡¯t much of an issue for Felicia who had a catlike glow emanating from her eyes.

    He at least had to admit that without her, he would be in a lot of trouble and for that he should be grateful so he didn¡¯t get too angry at her.

    ¡°I know you are somewhat afraid¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid!¡± Interrupted Felicia with a low growl.

    ¡°Then why are you clutching my arm so tight that it feels like talons sinking in to my arm?¡± Fayde asked with an awkward smile.

    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m just making sure that you don¡¯t get lost in the dark!¡±

    ¡®Right¡­ it''s not because you are scared of the dark at all. What kind of cat is afraid of the dark?¡¯ He didn¡¯t voice those thoughts but he was laughing inwardly at her stubbornness.

    ¡°Can you at least lighten your grip a bit? You know my powers haven¡¯t fully returned yet¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Replied Felicia, her eyes downcast.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. This place is unnerving to me too. What¡¯s even more troublesome is the fact that there are no living animals here other than whatever it was that attacked us earlier. How do those things even survive in this place? At least there is water..¡±

    Felicia nodded her head in agreement and continued to observe the surroundings. Even though she was in fact somewhat afraid she felt comfortable holding Fayde¡¯s arm and didn¡¯t want to let go but she did lighten her grasp a bit.

    ¡°Have you seen anything yet? I¡¯m concerned we may get attacked again.¡±

    ¡°Nothing yet, just more of the same. I see trees and more trees and some rocks. Lots of grass, flowers and some other vegetation. No animals or any other signs of life.¡±

    ¡°I see. Wait¡­ I feel something.¡±

    Fayde suddenly became more alert. Even though he couldn¡¯t use his full powers or see in the dark, his connection to the Void still allowed him to sense certain things. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was that was allowing him to sense this strange presence but he knew it had something to do with the Void.

    ¡°What is it Fayde?¡±

    ¡°Hold on. Four, no Five.. wait there¡¯s a whole lot of something coming towards us fast! Get ready to fight!¡±

    Felicia begrudgingly let go of Fayde¡¯s arm and readied her warhammer while Fayde unsheathed his sword. Fayde kept his eyes closed for now since it was difficult for him to see at a distance anyway. The power of the Void inherent in his body would be much more useful than his eyes at this junction. Felicia stood protectively in front of Fayde and a powerful aura surrounded her body filled with killing intent.

    She wasn¡¯t about to let anything happen to her future husband who she greatly admired even if at this moment he was relatively weak compared to her.

    ¡°You should be able to see them soon.. I can feel them coming closer.¡±

    ¡°I see them now! There are at least a dozen¡­ animals? They look like animals, wait is that a bear? There are some other animals that look like large sleek cats but I don¡¯t know what they are¡­ This is very strange, why would these different types of animals be charging towards us together like that?¡±

    Felicia was quite perplexed by their behavior since normally animals didn¡¯t act like that.

    ¡°They look a little larger than expected though¡­¡±

    ¡°Whatever they are, they are definitely coming straight for us!¡±

    By this point, Fayde could hear the animalistic roars coming from the animals charging towards them. There was no way he could outrun them without his power and being as exhausted as he was so he prepared to fight them with all he could muster.

    ¡°Felicia, if anything happens to me¡­ you must escape.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying Fayde!? I would never run away and leave you to die!¡±

    ¡°But Felicia..¡±

    ¡°NO! Don¡¯t even say it, I am not going to listen to you!¡±

    ¡°Ugh.. Fine.¡±

    Fayde could see there was no way he was going to convince her of his words.

    ¡®Well, at least she has guts. I have to give her that.¡¯

    He definitely felt some respect for her bravery and courage and truly she had already saved his life once.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡®I know I probably shouldn¡¯t be thinking this but I feel kind of pathetic. Why am I always being saved by the women around me?¡¯

    Fayde shook his head while ridiculing himself in his mind. However, the animals swiftly approaching didn¡¯t give him much time to reflect. They charged over with incredible speed and quickly surrounded the two who were now standing back to back with their weapons at the ready.

    To Fayde¡¯s surprise though, the animals only surrounded them and gave low growls while remaining at a distance.

    ¡°What are they doing Fayde?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can make them out somewhat but their features are not very distinct. I think I see a bear and.. Is that a jaguar? Some other large feline like animals too..¡±

    The largest of the bears who was simply enormous stepped forward slowly. The bear was a black bear which if it stood on its hind feet would easily reach twelve feet in height. It sauntered forward in an aggressive manner but moved slowly and eventually stopped a few yards away from the two.

    Felicia and Fayde were both nervous but didn¡¯t make any sudden moves. They weren¡¯t sure how they would be attacked and didn¡¯t want to make a mistake. The best they could hope for was to break away from the encirclement at some point although they doubted they would be able to escape this time. They were just too tired from the constant running which seemed to go nowhere.

    They weren¡¯t even sure if they hadn¡¯t been going in circles or not. That could very well be why they were now surrounded by these beasts.

    The enormous black bear stood up on its hind legs and roared loudly towards the sky before landing back on all four of its paws with a loud bang. Fayde was having difficulty making the bear out in the dark but Felicia could see it clearly and was describing it to Fayde as best she could. Even though Fayde couldn¡¯t see the bear, he could sense its aura and its location through the power of the Void.

    ¡°Surrender, the both of you.¡± The bear suddenly spoke shocking Fayde and Felicia.

    ¡°What the hell!? The bear can speak!?¡± They both practically jumped out of their skins.

    ¡°Hmph, ignorant Human. We have you surrounded. If you surrender now I promise no harm will come to you. I am Branz and I serve the great general Al-Kaldun the mighty. Will you come peacefully or must we make you submit with violence?¡±

    Much to Fayde¡¯s surprise, the bear was quite well spoken and in a way he could sense an almost prestige to his mannerism despite being an overly large bear.

    ¡°Uh.. We surrender?¡± Fayde said with some uncertainty.

    Felicia looked at him curiously, ¡°Fayde, what are you saying?¡±

    ¡°Felicia, they have us surrounded and we don¡¯t even know where we are or if we are lost or not. Even if we somehow escape from them, we won¡¯t last long without food. And¡­ the bear seems sort of trustworthy I guess..¡±

    Felicia cocked her head and looked at Fayde askance.

    ¡°Fayde, it¡¯s a bear and a bunch of animals.¡±

    ¡°Tch, says the half tiger¡­¡± Fayde mumbled under his breath.

    ¡°What was that!?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Roared the bear, ¡°What is your decision?¡±

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re coming along! We surrender. Do we have to give up our weapons or something?¡±

    ¡°You may keep your weapons. You wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat us regardless, not with me here.¡± Replied Branz with extreme confidence. He didn¡¯t even put the two in his eyes.

    This angered Felicia and she was about to say something but Fayde covered her mouth. Felicia bit Fayde¡¯s hand which caused him to yell out in pain.

    ¡°Dammit, control yourself!¡± Shouted Fayde.

    The animals watched the two with a look of disdain and a bit of schadenfreude.

    ¡°Hmph! That¡¯s what you get..¡±

    ¡°Whatever happened to respecting your Great Khan?¡± Hissed Fayde in a whisper so that only Felicia would hear him.

    Felicia ignored him and placed her warhammer back on her back and moved towards the bear.

    ¡°Now she¡¯s ignoring me.. How our fates have reversed eh..¡± Fayde mused.

    ¡°Come along the both of you. Our general is waiting for your arrival but his patience is not endless.¡±

    The bear turned and moved at a relatively quick pace back from where he came. The others animals followed but continued to surround Fayde and Felicia as if they were worried they would try to escape again.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to run¡­¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t trust us, nothing to be surprised with there.¡±

    The two continued to whisper between themselves while being led at a brisk pace for a while before they grew tired and needed rest. The trip went on like this for a while until they made their way deep into an area of the forest they had yet to see.

    ¡°I see a cave.¡± Felicia said once they were in sight of a massive cave cut out of an even more enormous mountain.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I like the looks of this.. A cave out in the middle of nowhere and it looks like that is where we are heading.¡±

    Felicia grabbed Fayde¡¯s hand and pulled closer to him, ¡°What do you think they plan to do with us?¡±

    ¡®This girl¡­ so fearless on the battlefield no matter the enemy but scared so easily now.¡¯

    Fayde reached over and patted her head, ¡°Relax.¡±

    ¡°Alright enough chattering, the two of you go inside. The general is within!¡± Branz stomped his paw on the ground causing it to shake slightly and grumpily urged the two on.

    ¡°Are you sure this is okay Branz?¡± Asked another one of the strange animals.

    ¡°General¡¯s orders.¡± Replied Branz in a gruff voice.

    As Fayde and Felicia approached the dark cavern before them, Fayde could feel Felicia squirming slightly against him.

    ¡°I¡¯m a little scared now Fayde..¡±

    Fayde rolled his eyes, ¡°So you admit it?¡±

    ¡°What if there are ghosts in there!?¡±

    Fayde smacked his palm against his face and sighed, ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about?¡±

    ¡°Ghosts are real!¡± She said while glaring at Fayde.

    He could clearly make out the sharpness in her eyes because of the glow around them.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s just go in.¡±

    Fayde pulled Felicia along as he walked forward under the stern eyes of the strange animals who remained outside the cave. They watched him enter with indiscernible gazes but Fayde got the impression that they didn¡¯t like him much.

    ¡®They don¡¯t seem to be staring at Felicia like that.¡¯

    It was especially creepy because he could only vaguely make out their forms but their eyes were eerily visible in the darkness.

    Once the two had walked for a short time within the cave, the cave began to open up even more. It had turned into a huge cavern of unknown size but it was so immense that even Felicia couldn¡¯t see the end of it.

    The cavern itself was well lit from a fiery glow that was spread everywhere throughout the cavern. It was warm and uncomfortable for the two and they quickly began to sweat. It felt almost as if they were walking into a volcano although Fayde had never actually been in one to compare. Sharp and barbed stalactites drooped down from the ceiling in odd places reminiscent of the jagged maw of a ferocious beast.

    There at the cavern¡¯s center lay a monstrous beast of black scales emitting a wild and awe inspiring aura of power. Horns which curled towards the end protruded from its large head and immense wings stemming from its back were practically wrapped against its sides.

    The cave rumbled as the beast moved its large body and its head rose lazily as two enormous glowing red eyes fixed their gaze upon the two.

    Fayde gasped, ¡°A black dragon!?¡±

 Volume 4 Chapter 10

    ¡°I thought all the black dragons were dead! Well except those two that is¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­.¡±

    A deep sigh rumbled from the mouth of the black dragon which startled Felicia who was still hugging on to Fayde tightly.

    ¡°Fayde¡­.¡±

    Fayde was intently observing the black dragon while his thoughts were pounding in his head.

    ¡®Could he be related to Nes and Allein? This is huge! They will be ecstatic to find one of their relatives still alive!¡¯

    ¡°The two of you¡­ come closer. Let me see you.¡±

    The dragon was somewhat listless, its voice sounding much like a lazy murmur. It blinked its eyes and smoke billowed from its nose. The dragon looked as if each breath was a struggle. Despite their wariness, Fayde and Felicia walked closer to the enormous dragon unsure of what it would do.

    Fayde took a good look around once more but couldn¡¯t find anything of particular interest within the large cavern. The dragon was the only living being within.

    ¡°You girl! What are you!?¡±

    Felicia was startled by his question and hid slightly behind Fayde which was funny because even if Fayde wanted to protect her, he couldn¡¯t at that time.

    ¡°What do you mean what am I? I am a member of the Tigerkin!¡±

    ¡°Tigerkin?¡± The dragon¡¯s voice rumbled as he asked curiously.

    ¡°Yes! A Tigerkin! Humans call us Demihumans though.¡±

    ¡°Come closer and let me see you clearly. I won¡¯t bite.. I promise.¡±

    Felicia hesitated for a moment but finally moved with the urging of Fayde. The dragon lifted his head slowly and turned to look at Felicia in earnest which caused her to become nervous. He sniffed her with his large nose and eyed her carefully not wanting to miss even the slightest details.

    ¡°Strange.. Not human, not shapeshifter. Could it be that?¡±  The dragon mumbled to himself but Fayde and Felicia could clearly hear his words.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Asked Fayde curiously.

    ¡°Tell me Human, why do you have the aura of the Void upon you? And this girl¡­ no, let me get to the bottom of your identity first!¡±

    ¡°So you can sense the Void? Then it must be. You must be one of the Dragonkin, a relative of Nes and Allein!¡±

    ¡°What did you say!? How do you know the names of my younger brother and sister!?¡±

    The dragon was shocked and his voice rumbled even louder than before. There was even a bit more life in his eyes and actions. It was almost as if hearing his siblings names had given him new life.

    Fayde scratched his head and gave the dragon a wry smile, ¡°Shit, how do I explain this. It¡¯s a long story.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, all I have had here is time... endless time. Speak.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I guess I should get this out of the way first. Uhhhh¡­. You see, Allein is sort of my wife and that would make you my brother-in-law.¡±

    ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    The ground suddenly quaked as the dragon exclaimed in surprise, moving its body forcefully. This movement caused the dragon to abruptly cough which only caused the cavern to quiver more.

    ¡°Wait.. let me explain!¡±

    Fayde relayed the entire story as best he could while skipping many of the unimportant details. He summed up his experiences so far in as brief a summary as he could. The dragon was shocked several times throughout and when Fayde was done explaining the dragon quieted and considered Fayde¡¯s story carefully.

    ¡°Unbelievable.¡± He finally uttered after several moments of awkward silence.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.. What did my father do? I would never have thought that my siblings would be nothing more than pieces to be moved around at the will of the Void. I knew that my younger brother and sister had been left behind but I was only told that they would be placed somewhere safe. However, I never made it back in order to see what happened to them or what happened to our world. Well¡­ I can imagine what happened based on the reality we have faced here¡­¡±

    ¡°Where exactly is here? And why are you so curious about Felicia?¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Felicia¡­¡± The name rolled off the tongue of the black dragon as he contemplated his words.

    ¡°It¡¯s also a long story but I will try to be brief for I do not have much longer yet to live. But with you here, I finally see some hope! I don¡¯t know how much time has passed since then, but in those days we fought against the Humans. You called me Dragonkin, and this girl Tigerkin, but these names did not exist then. We were simply¡­ shapeshifters. We were both Human¡­ and not. There were many new creatures that came into existence once the Void was unleashed on our world. My father lived before the cataclysmic event and so he knew what life was like before and he lived through the events after. He never told us everything, but we were privy to some of the truth. The Void began to change people and by the time Humans became aware of this, it was already too late. Monstrosities out of fantasy, monsters out of nightmare, were birthed from the power of the Void. Not only that, but the planet itself was greatly damaged and many died from the initial wave of energy which enveloped the entire world turning people into rampaging monsters that killed their loved ones and everyone else. Initially, the various nations at the time were able to seemingly control this disaster but with time things got worse. The Void also created beings like us, shapeshifters. We were able to avoid the initial purges because we could take Human shape but it was eventually found out that we too were contaminated. This led to a war between the shapeshifters and the Humans. A war that eventually culminated in the Void almost breaking loose into our reality and the shattering of the planet. This here is a lost fragment of the Planet we once called Earth.¡±

    Fayde abruptly cut off the dragon and shouted, ¡°Wait! Earth? You mean that Earth? Like¡­ Earth!?¡±

    The dragon nodded solemnly, ¡°Yes. It is exactly what you are thinking. You said you were created by the Void from a person who existed on the planet Earth. Most likely, the Void was somehow able to traverse time or perhaps it was something else, something it caught while coming into existence within our reality. Either way, you yourself are not truly Human and are more a consciousness that was placed into a Human like body created by the Void to house its own consciousness. The crystal within you is most likely meant to facilitate this process. As for these so called Demihumans, they are most likely the product of the intermingling of species or perhaps some type of evolution of shapeshifters. We shapeshifters are most likely the ancestors of the Demihumans.¡±

    Fayde was speechless when he heard the words of the dragon and for a long time he couldn¡¯t think of what to say. Felicia beside him was equally speechless but she couldn¡¯t quite comprehend everything the dragon was saying and kept annoying Aleks to explain things to her more simply.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it!! FAYDE, EXPLAIN IT TO ME! What is this dragon saying? What about us being shapeshifters!?¡±

    She kept nagging him but Fayde¡¯s brain was going into overdrive as he considered the dragon¡¯s words. He took a step back and fell backwards, not even realizing he fell.

    ¡°The Void is an unparalleled lifeform that none of us can understand. Its schemes, its plots, are simply incomprehensible. My father ended up as a mere tool to be used and thrown away at its convenience. It has toyed with our entire family and look at the state we are in? We can¡¯t allow the Void to succeed! It must be stopped in whatever it is trying to do. You Fayde are the key, I know it!¡±

    The dragon seemed ever more certain as it spoke and with determination it turned to Fayde.

    ¡°Fayde.. You must save my brethren, my comrades. Please.¡±

    Fayde had finally calmed his mind but the words of the dragon didn¡¯t set him at ease.

    ¡°What do you mean? How can I save anyone? I¡¯m stuck here just like you and I can¡¯t even use my power.¡±

    ¡°Hmmmm.. That would be the suppression of this fragment. Currently, I control this fragment and I have been using what little is left of my life to keep my people here alive and safe. I don¡¯t even know how long we have been here but my life will soon end. When that happens, this fragment will collapse and everyone will die. That is why I joined hands with Mystra despite despising her and her kind from the bottom of my core. She promised to save my comrades if we helped her in her battle against the other divinity and also to kill you. I didn¡¯t know why then, but now I know. Mystra can not be trusted. I should have never have agreed to her plan but this also gives me an opportunity. Your powers are suppressed now, but it will only be a matter of time before they return. Also, I will give you the rest of my power and with that you should be able to return from where you came and even take my people with you. While the two divinities are fighting against each other, that will be our opportunity. Wait until Mystra defeats her opponent and then defeat Mystra general here using your power combined with mine. At that moment, I will send you all I have. If you can defeat her general then by the rules of their own competition, her forces will be forced out and you can take over the fragment returning it back to the original world.¡±

    Noticing Fayde¡¯s gloomy expression the dragon stopped and asked, ¡°Is there something wrong with my plan? Or do you not trust me?¡±

    Fayde shook his head and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just, is there no way to save you too?¡±

    ¡°I thank you for your concern Fayde, but there is nothing that can be done to save me.¡±

    ¡°But Nes and Allein will be heartbroken.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better you don¡¯t tell them. Let them remember me as I was.¡±

    Felicia continued to eye the two back and forth as they spoke but she didn¡¯t interrupt them even though she didn¡¯t fully understand their conversation.

    Fayde paced back and forth for a bit before finally asking, ¡°There is one thing I don¡¯t understand. Why didn¡¯t Allein or Nes tell me any of this? I mean, they told me some of the events of the past but their knowledge seems very limited or were they withholding information from me?¡±

    The dragon¡¯s expression grew concerned at his words and he snorted violently with smoke coming out of his nostrils.

    ¡°It is most likely that the Void tampered with their memories. Not only that, but it could be that either the divinities or the Void are intentionally suppressing information about the past. Well, you say your fragment has very little knowledge about the past in general but you mentioned a country called the Empire which are devout followers of the divinities. It could be through Mystra¡¯s influence that these things have come to pass as well.¡±

    ¡°I see. Let¡¯s assume your plan works, will your comrades even be willing to follow me? They seem to have a strong hatred towards Humans. It is even stronger than the hatred that Demihumans show towards them.¡±

    ¡°This¡­. Is a concern. We were once all Humans to begin with but the events that happened are difficult to overcome. I will command them to follow your lead and they will do so. This much I can promise,  after that, it¡¯s up to you. It certainly helps that you are married to my sister but I don¡¯t want her to know about my fate. I will instruct the others about this as well. Please take care of all of them, especially my siblings. They are the last of my blood after all.¡±

    ¡°Alright, so tell me what I have to do.¡±

 Update on hiatus

    I have been meaning to put out an update for a while now. Sorry for the long hiatus. Due to the popularity of my fiction, Empire of Souls on webnovel, I have been focusing on that story for the past several months. That doesn''t mean I have given up on Fayde of the Void however. I have put too much time and effort into the story to give up on it and I plan to start writing again for it soon.

    Another reason I haven''t written in a long time is also due to the fact that I am considering rewriting the earlier parts of the story. I feel like a change in the main character is necessary (to make him a little more assertive) and also some of the other aspects of the early story need to be changed. I am considering whether to make the story a little more gritty instead of light hearted. Also, I wanted to change some of the earlier encounters and also have a little of a darker overall setting. There are various other things I have thought of changing as well like the RPG elements a bit, expand on some of the different events and also develop some of the characters more.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Anyway, I would love to get some feedback or thoughts from you guys who read the story. I know you guys probably just want me to finish Volume 4 already lol. I am considering releasing this story on webnovel as well and if I do that, I really need to improve the story. I am just not satisfied with a lot of the earlier material as it is now and want to retain more readers throughout the story.

    Please share your thoughts, concerns, suggestions, whatever as long as the conversation is positive. Thanks a lot and I really appreciate the many of you who have stuck with the fiction and continue to wait patiently. I really do feel a lot of guilt about leaving the story hanging for so long but my time is limited and there is only so much I can do at the moment. I will have more time over the summer to hopefully do a lot of writing.

 Volume 1 Chapter 1 (Rewrite)

    ¡°Emptiness¡­ A deep dark, a fitting place for me. I am twisted, born of a shallow desire. I only wish to live a life that is not meaningless. I do not know who¡­ or what I am. I once had a name, but it is lost to me.¡±

    ¡°No, there certainly were others, I was not alone. But¡­ now, there is only the cold abyss.¡±

    ¡°I once sought much, but what I sought, I always had. I just didn¡¯t know it. I feel nothing.¡±

    ¡°I want, I crave, I yearn¡­¡±

    ¡°But I do not know for what¡­¡±

    ¡°Will you give me what I seek, even when I know not what?¡±

    A tall, handsome, and sophisticated looking middle aged man in a white lab coat gently adjusted the glasses he wore with the pointer finger of his right hand. It was a smooth motion, one he had done many times before. It was a habit he had when he was nervous or feeling anxious. It wasn¡¯t something he even noticed he did.

    How could he not feel this way when surrounded by a pure, inky, black void without even the most miniscule of light? He couldn¡¯t even see his hands or feet, or any other part of his body. But, his movement was instinctual and he had no trouble making this movement out of habit.

    Strange voices spoke to him in that place. They were words he could understand, but not comprehend. The voice was disembodied, confused, and it sounded as if many voices spoke at once. Yet, the man had a feeling they all belonged to the same individual, if whatever it was could be called so.

    ¡®What an unsettling feeling. I don¡¯t think I will ever get used to it.¡¯ The man thought.

    ¡°Very unexpected.¡± he muttered.

    He was not thinking that his experiment would lead him to this place. It was uncertain what the outcome would be when they activated the device, but he never imagined in his wildest dreams that it would be a place such as this. Was it even a place? If not for the fact that he could feel his body, or that he was breathing, he might think he were dead. Of course it also helped that he had already once returned from this place and now he was making his second trip.

    ¡°Is there someone out there?¡± the man called out.

    ¡°I want¡­¡± the voice repeated these words.

    ¡°What is it that you want?¡± the man asked curiously.

    ¡°Everything.¡±

    The sophisticated and handsome man was surprised. He didn¡¯t expect the voice to reply to his question and had only been mumbling. The strange voice had never responded to him before. It was as if it were ignoring him, or perhaps had no idea he was there. This was already the second time that the man had come to this strange place.

    A strange presence could suddenly be felt, and this was something the man did not feel the first time. It was approaching him, but he had no idea how he knew this. He couldn¡¯t see anything, but somehow there was a feeling of something drawing nearer.

    ¡°What are you?¡± he finally asked, feeling even more unsettled.

    ¡°I am the Void¡­¡±

    <hr>

    Another day had finally passed. Work was always a drag, especially when no matter how hard you worked, things never really got better. For Peter Wright, this was a normal feeling. Ever since high school, things had just never been right for him despite his name. Peter was just an average guy, with an average height, and somewhat decent looks. He wasn¡¯t in the best shape, but he wasn¡¯t fat either.

    If anyone were to ask what stood out about him, there wouldn¡¯t be much to say. He had some stubble on his face and he tended to like it that way. He hated full blown beards and sideburns though. I guess you could say that his eyes somewhat stood out because of their hazel color which would appear to change when the light reflected off of them.

    ¡°Well, once I finish, I can head home and read that light novel I have been wanting to read for some time now.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Peter impatiently glanced at the clock.

    ¡°Just a few more minutes, I don¡¯t think anyone will notice if I slip out and head towards the elevator.¡±

    Peter peeked his head up from over the cubicle he spent the majority of his current life in. His co-workers were busily talking on the phone, the sounds of occasional laughter drifted through the sea of cubicles. Well, he called them his co-workers, but they might as well have been strangers.

    Peter didn¡¯t socialize with them much, preferring to drown out his sorrows by living vicariously through the characters in the light novels he read. It wasn¡¯t that he had no social skills or didn¡¯t have any acquaintances or friends, it¡¯s just that he had reached a point in his life where he just didn¡¯t care about reality anymore.

    After his messy divorce and losing custody over his only daughter with his former wife, he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to care anymore about anything. He had sacrificed much in his life for his wife and child, but in the end all it brought him was grief. He didn¡¯t even know what his daughter looked like anymore and could only look at her baby pictures while imagining what she might look like now that she was no longer a young child.

    Peter sat back down and gave himself a good smack on each side of his face to wake himself up from his pity, ¡°Damn, it¡¯s been almost ten years since then. I¡¯m not even thirty yet, but I keep grumbling like an old man. Geez¡­¡±

    Without wasting any more time, Peter packed up his bag, turned off his computer, and straightened out his desk before sneaking off to the elevator that would bring him down to the first floor from his cubicle on the twentieth.

    With a loud ding, the elevator opened and Peter stepped inside. Although he was feeling a bit of gloominess before, he was beginning to get a bit excited. He was looking forward to his nightly routine of relaxing while reading a bit, maybe playing a game or two, and then going off to sleep. It may seem pathetic, but it was what helped him get through the long days.

    After pushing the button for the ground floor, the elevator door closed and the elevator began moving downward. The sound of elevator music was a constant in his life and it was strangely soothing. The ride down was not a long one, and the relative silence of the elevator ride helped Peter destress a bit after a tedious work day.

    Only a few moments had passed as Peter reflected on his life. The elevator''s descent seemed to slow, but Peter shrugged it off thinking it was just his imagination. However, the elevator suddenly screeched to a halt, causing Peter to lose his balance and smack right into the side of the elevator wall.

    ¡°What the hell is going on!?¡±

    After picking up his briefcase where he kept his work related paperwork and laptop, he tried pressing the ground floor button again. The elevator refused to budge and Peter began frantically pressing all of the buttons.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be happening, come on!¡± Peter grumbled.

    He was not feeling this right now. All he wanted to do was go home and read some light novels. Peter began banging on the elevator door, but there was no response.

    ¡°What am I going to do now!?¡±

    He was growing anxious. This situation was definitely not normal. The chances of an elevator just breaking down like this was small. It happened of course, but he never thought it would to him. Peter took out his cell phone and attempted to make a call.

    ¡°No signal, come on! Fucking A! I can¡¯t believe this shit! UGH! I guess I just have to wait until someone comes. I mean, someone will notice soon. No point in going crazy over it.¡± Peter assured himself.

    Suddenly the elevator lurched, once more causing Peter to lose his balance.

    ¡°What was that!? Nothing to worry about¡­ the chances of an elevator falling and crashing is so miniscule that it can¡¯t possibly happen¡­ right?¡±

    After a second lurch, it got quiet. The light went out in the elevator and Peter was now standing in almost complete darkness. He was finally feeling a bit of fear. It was then that the elevator suddenly lurched one last time. This time was different. There was a sense of weightlessness for a moment as the elevator made a loud screeching sound and then fell as though it was being swallowed by an endless abyss.

    Peter screamed and it was as if the elevator had completely disappeared. He couldn¡¯t see anything and could only feel himself falling. He fell for what seemed like an eternity and he couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. He screamed for several moments until he got tired of it, but he continued to fall without end.

    Peter couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of absolute terror he was feeling at that moment. It was a primal fear that was stirred in that dark abyss, in that weightlessness of a surging eternity. There was no longer any sound, and as Peter fell, he began to wonder if it was all a dream. Was this really happening? Or had he finally lost his mind?

    "Will I fall forever? Was my fate, to be consumed by the abyss, until even my very thoughts faded away? How long have I fallen? I don¡¯t know, it could have been mere moments or longer. There is just no way to know. Am I still falling? Am I even still alive?"

    With no recourse, Pete felt a sudden calm. His perception of time stopped, as if frozen in an infinite loop. Within the stillness he caught a glimpse of what seemed like twinkling stars and then the darkness faded amidst a brilliant sun.

    In that moment, his life flashed before his eyes. All his regrets¡­ and it was in that moment that he heard a voice.

    ¡°I am you, and you are I¡­¡±

    ¡°We are¡­¡±

    ¡°I want, I crave, I yearn... ¡°

    ¡°I shall be free!¡±

 Volume 4 Chapter 11

    The darkness of this strange place was beginning to eat at Fayde, it was an unsettling feeling. Thankfully, his power had returned enough that he could at least use a bit of his Void energy to allow him to see clearer in the darkness as well as to help alleviate some of the pressure he was feeling from the plane. The dragon had promised him that he would give him all his power when the time was right, and only at that moment would he deal a fatal blow to the enemy.

    ¡°Mystra¡¯s general eh¡­. Ridiculous.¡±

    ¡°Did you say something Fayde?¡± asked Felicia who was practically glued to his side.

    Fayde shook his head, ¡°Nothing, we need to keep moving. We are almost there.¡±

    Fayde glanced to his left and right, there were over a dozen shapeshifters accompanying him and they were in their animal forms. Occasionally they would growl in his direction and Fayde could feel their looks of anger. Although the dragon had informed them of things and instructed them to follow Fayde, they still couldn¡¯t get past their bias towards him. At least not at the current moment, but Fayde just shrugged it off.

    The way they looked at Felicia was strange though. It must have been curiosity, or perhaps it was something else. She was sort of like them, but also not. Perhaps they were intrigued by what their descendants had become. Although they grumbled about having to follow a Human, they didn¡¯t shirk their duty. They followed Fayde¡¯s orders without question whether they liked him or not.

    ¡°Fayde, have your powers returned yet?¡± Felicia whispered at his side.

    ¡°Not fully, about halfway.¡±

    ¡°Can we really do this?¡± She asked with concern.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the dragon promised to give me his control over the fragment. At that time there will be nothing suppressing me and I will also gain a temporary boost from his remaining strength. I can¡¯t imagine it won¡¯t be enough.¡±

    Felicia could see Fayde¡¯s confident expression, but she was still worried. If anything happened to Fayde she wouldn¡¯t know how to answer to Reia and the others.

    ¡°Okay, I trust you.¡± Felicia said softly while gently touching Fayde¡¯s arm.

    Fayde looked at Felicia, surprised by the sincerity and concern in her voice. Although she was somewhat annoying and she was certainly a rather simple person, she was also cute in her own way.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting sick watching these two, especially since he¡¯s a Human. Ugh.¡± Laz jumped out of the shadows and pretended to puke.

    Branz scoffed while covering his eyes with a large bear paw, ¡°Indeed.¡±

    It was quite a strange sight seeing a sleek black jaguar pretending to puke while an enormous bear covered his eyes. Fayde had never seen anything like it. It was almost comical, but Fayde ignored the comedic pair and shrugged it off.

    ¡°What are you two oafs talking about?¡± Felicia was clueless as usual.

    The two shapeshifters just shook their heads.

    ¡°Enough fooling around. We are soldiers, not a circus act!¡± growled Kerron who was the commander of this shapeshifter force.

    ¡°How much longer Kerron?¡±

    ¡°Human.. We are close. I received a mental message from the General already. Normally he is loathe to use his power¡­ but it seems that it no longer matters if we accomplish this mission. I don¡¯t understand what the General is thinking, but he has placed his hopes on your shoulders Human. I will say it plainly, I don¡¯t trust you.. But I trust the General. We will follow his will, even it if it means working with a Human. I hope you are prepared to fulfill your promise to us.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to Fayde like that! So what if he is a Human? Fayde is not like that! I don¡¯t understand much, and maybe I don¡¯t know the whole story, but you have no right to talk to him like that. We didn¡¯t ask to come here and we haven¡¯t done anything wrong! We agreed to help you all, how about showing us a little respect? Huh!? Fayde is my future husband, you better be nice to him!¡±

    Before Fayde could even respond, Felicia scowled and berated the Jaguar.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Felicia.. Nevermind.¡± Fayde just shook his head helplessly.

    ¡®It hasn¡¯t even been decided whether you will be my wife or not¡­¡¯

    The shapeshifters were somewhat taken aback by her reaction. They didn¡¯t expect that she would take his side with such enthusiasm. She was not much different from them, but her feelings towards this Human seemed to be genuine and not something forced. They had hated Humans for so long that it was hard for them to change the way they treated them.

    Kerron collected himself quickly, ¡°I meant no disrespect. It is difficult for us to accept this situation. Perhaps I was a little rude.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Felicia showed her displeasure, but it ended up looking cute.

    Fayde looked away and could only hide his laughter at her reaction. He didn¡¯t want to laugh at her, but he found her reaction quite funny.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just get this over with. What did the General say?¡± asked Fayde.

    ¡°The battle between Mystra and Kalina has already begun and will be decided soon. Although we are loathe to aid Mystra, in order to fool her we must go through with the agreement. Kalina will lose this battle, but Mystra won¡¯t gain anything from it!¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Fayde nodded, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to leave this endless darkness behind me. Everyone must be worried too.¡±

    ¡°There are over a hundred thousand shapeshifters on this fragment. That is all that is left of us, but only a couple thousand of them could be awakened. Our General doesn¡¯t have the strength to awaken all of us. It would be too much of a strain on him. Soon, we will be able to see all our brothers and sisters again, but I don¡¯t know what they will make of this situation.¡±

    Fayde could hear the pain and sorrow in Kerron¡¯s voice. There wasn¡¯t anything he could do about the past, but he looked at the majestic Jaguar with a deep respect. How could he not understand what these shapeshifters had been through.

    ¡°Kerron, I know you don¡¯t trust me, and I don¡¯t blame you. What was done in the past, well I won¡¯t comment. In truth, I may or may not even really be Human at all. All I know is, I have every intention of doing what¡¯s right by all of you. I hope you can at least pacify the others and give me a chance to prove to all of you that I won¡¯t be like those Humans who hurt you.¡±

    Kerron returned Fayde¡¯s gaze. He looked at Felicia beside him who was nodding her head vigorously and he gave an animalistic grin, ¡°I can already see how different you are. The others might take a bit of convincing, but don¡¯t worry. The orders of the General are absolute. No one will disobey them no matter how much they are unhappy about it. In time, you can prove to them your worth.¡±

    Fayde nodded in agreement.

    ¡°We are close now, the enemy camp is not far from here.¡±

    A lithe Jaguar jumped out from the dense jungle flora ahead. This Jaguar had been sent ahead to scout and would be able to easily avoid notice. The Jaguar shapeshifters were the penultimate scouts and assassins because of their stealth abilities. They weren¡¯t the strongest of shapeshifters, but their bloodlines were suited for stealth and this made them powerful foes.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time. I¡¯ve been itching for a fight.¡± grumbled Branz.

    ¡°Tch, you bears, you all love to fight. It¡¯s about all you can do. Otherwise you spend all your time sleeping!¡±

    The Jaguars all laughed at the large and rotund bear.

    ¡°Blah! Much better than you Jaguars who just slink around all the time.¡±

    ¡°Enough! Let¡¯s prepare ourselves for the fight ahead. Once the General gives the order we will strike! The battle between Mystra and Kalina must be nearing its end by now. Kalina definitely won¡¯t expect an army of shapeshifters to strike the rear of her army.¡±

    <hr>

    Elsewhere, at around that time. A battle was fiercely raging between Mystra¡¯s Elven army and Kalina¡¯s Dark Elves. Both being Elves, they were similar in a lot of ways, but they also had some differences. In truth, the Dark Elves were much more suited to fighting in this type of environment and originally Kalina had felt very confident in victory. Both species of Elves were well suited to fighting in a Jungle environment, but the darkness suited Dark Elves more.

    The archers of the two species of Elves were pretty much equal in their ability and strength and their magical abilities were not much different from each other as well. Although the fragment wasn¡¯t large, it still consisted of hundreds of miles of jungle and the battlefield between the two goddesses¡¯ armies stretched for many miles of this jungle fragment. Battles between divinities were on an immense scale and involved many hundreds of thousands of their soldiers. This battle was especially fierce since both sides had strong hatred towards one another.

    The devastation had already destroyed a quarter of the fragment, leaving the areas of the jungle where they fought in complete ruination. Their spells were especially destructive and even the battles between the foot soldiers and archers had left wide swathes of destruction. The powers at play were incredible and both sides only wanted to completely annihilate their enemy. They didn¡¯t care what the cost was, as long as they won. To die in the service of their goddess was the ultimate honor ingrained within their very souls.

    Although the goddesses weren¡¯t allowed to personally fight in the battle, they still had their presence on the battlefield. They were commanding their forces much like one would play chess, from a separate space. They could see everything that was happening on the battlefield, but they were not there in person. Instead, they were each in a dimensional space that resembled a very luxuriously furnished room.

    The two goddesses were seated across from each other, but their attention seemed to be elsewhere. Both goddesses gritted their teeth and each were visibly struggling as they controlled the battlefield. Although it would appear strange to anyone seeing the scene, their minds were in fact not in that place and were very focused on the battle taking place. They didn¡¯t even have a moment to spare for the refreshments which had been placed in front of them. This was a normal scene and neither of them could afford to place even a small amount of attention elsewhere. Not when the battle was raging so ferociously and the winner had not yet been determined.

    The death toll had easily reached half a million by the time Kalina seemed to finally gain the upper hand of the battle. Her Dark Elves were finally pushing the Elven forces back at the cost of many lives. However, it was at that time that a change suddenly came over the battlefield. Kalina hadn¡¯t fully taken notice of it yet, but strangely the casualties began to spike. What was strange about it was because they were coming from the rear of her forces. She didn¡¯t notice it initially, but it eventually became noticeable.

    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ There was a weird fog over what was happening and she attempted to exert some of her power to see what was happening but she was obstructed.

    This battle was almost like an RTS game to the two goddesses. Although it appeared like a game to them, to the Elves who were really fighting and dying it was anything but. Of course to them, this was the greatest of honors and they had no complaints. These were their goddesses and creators and this was their holy purpose. To fight and die for the honor of their goddess, what greater honor could there be?

    Kalina began to feel a bit anxious as the death toll mounted on her forces. A strange feeling began to nag at her. She had originally felt that Mystra was too confident and she couldn¡¯t understand why. There was something very wrong with the entire atmosphere surrounding the competition this time and it had been bothering Kalina, but she couldn¡¯t act on suspicion alone. The others would only laugh at her.

    Something was definitely restricting her on the battlefield. She was a goddess and only another one of the divinities could possibly interfere with her, but there were strict rules in place. How could another one of the divinities sabotage the competition?

    ¡®Dammit! I have to do something or else the battle will turn against me!¡¯

    It was at that moment that she sensed something she had never thought she would ever sense again. It was only for a moment, but it didn¡¯t escape her notice.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡±

 Volume 4 Chapter 12

    Fayde and his group stealthily made their way closer to the main camp of Mystra¡¯s Elven army. It wasn¡¯t a problem for the shapeshifters, but it was a struggle for Felicia to move quietly through the undergrowth without making a sound. Fayde had regained some of his power so using his Void energy to remain unnoticed wouldn¡¯t be an issue.

    ¡®You would think being a Tigerkin that she would be a little more adept at this.. When fighting she is so ferocious, but otherwise she is so clumsy..¡¯

    Fayde couldn¡¯t help laughing to himself while he watched Felicia clumsily following him. He decided to use some of his Void energy to secretly help her. Of course, by using the Void energy within him, he didn¡¯t realize that someone had noticed.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    A voice suddenly said within Fayde¡¯s mind. He was surprised and almost lost his footing. He was not expecting someone unfamiliar to suddenly send him a mental message. He didn¡¯t know what he should do at first, and noticing his slip up, the others stopped.

    ¡°Fayde, are you okay?¡± asked Felicia.

    ¡°I am exerting much of my power to send this message. I will lose soon, so I no longer need to pay attention to the battle. Someone is interfering with my ability to see what is going on there. Is it you?¡±

    Fayde stilled his thoughts and did not respond. He didn¡¯t know who it was that was talking to him. The voice sounded feminine, but he didn¡¯t recognize it. It wasn¡¯t Mystra, he knew that much. Could it be Kalina? He was worried about failing the mission and so decided not to respond.

    ¡°Are you the Void?¡± the voice asked, surprising Fayde once more.

    Before he knew it he had already thought, ¡®No¡¯, but he wasn¡¯t sure if his thoughts could actually reach whoever it was that was speaking to him. He almost slapped himself for answering and quieted his thoughts once more. He felt resistance, but he struggled to block off his thoughts entirely. Before long, his mind grew quiet once more.

    ¡°Fayde, Fayde, Fayde, FAYDE!¡±

    Felicia kept yammering at him when he didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s nothing Felicia! Be quiet or you will alert the enemy!¡±

    Fayde finally hushed her. The shapeshifters were looking at them funny.

    ¡°Can you two stop fooling around? What kind of nonsense is this?¡± whispered Kerron angrily. He could only shake his head at their unprofessional behavior.

    Didn¡¯t they realize they were on a mission? One had suddenly gone blank, seemingly losing their mind, and the other wouldn¡¯t shut up. It was a wonder that they hadn¡¯t been found out yet, but there was still some distance from the main camp. It seemed these Elves were very arrogant and didn¡¯t even bother having scouts around the main camp. They didn¡¯t even detect any alarms set up by magic or sensory spells.

    The shapeshifters couldn¡¯t use magic themselves, but they were actually very sensitive to it since magic originated from the Void. They were very much creatures that had been tainted by the Void to begin with, how could they not be sensitive to it? It was exactly why they were so confused about Fayde. He appeared Human, but at the same time, not.

    ¡°Sorry, we are here. Is it time yet?¡± asked Fayde.

    ¡°Our shapeshifter army has already attacked the Dark Elves. Mystra will soon win the battle. This is the best moment to strike.¡±

    ¡°Good, how many enemies are there around the command tent?¡±

    ¡°A dozen guards at most around the command tent. They have grown quite lax since the battle is moments away from finishing. There were many more Elves around the perimeter we passed earlier, but with the General using his authority of the fragment to confuse their senses we were easily able to get past them. That is why we have had such an easy time getting this close. This is as much as he can help us, are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Do your thing, take out the guards and Felicia and I will rush the tent.¡±

    ¡°Wait here, we will return shortly.¡±

    The several shapeshifters quickly left the area and only Felicia and Fayde remained. They were crouching in the dense foliage and looking out towards the command tent which was much larger than expected. It was quite garish and luxuriant looking. One could say it was a palace among tents.

    ¡°Mystra¡¯s general must really be an arrogant one.¡±

    ¡°Why do you say that Fayde?¡±

    ¡°Just look at that tent, it¡¯s practically an arrow that says ¡®Look, here I am. Only an idiot or a real pompous fool would have a tent like this. I don¡¯t know if it is because of the arrogance of Elves or what. Well, my experience with Elves only includes one so far, and he was a jackass.¡±

    Felicia giggled, ¡°Well, at least it makes our job easier.¡±

    ¡°Yep. Look, there goes one guard, two. These shapeshifters sure are efficient. They will be a big help to us once we return.¡±

    Fayde admired the quick and silent movements of the shapeshifters from his cover. They were very skilled in killing silently.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Fayde, that¡¯s Kerron, he is signaling us.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. Rush the tent.¡±

    Felicia and Fayde didn¡¯t bother hiding anymore. They got up and quickly ran straight for the entrance of the tent. The guards had already been dispatched so there was no need to keep hidden. They still couldn¡¯t make too much noise though, at least not until they killed Mystra¡¯s general. It was a short run and the two burst into the command tent which was far more spacious inside then they expected.

    ¡°Well, this is awkward.¡±

    Fayde looked around and the inside of the tent may have actually really been a palace. Surprisingly, there was no one inside that they could see from the entrance. Of course, the entrance was a large hall with many rooms.

    ¡°Fayde, where are we? This place is creepy.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.. Well, I don¡¯t know much about magic, but this must be some kind of space manipulation. I guess the inside of the tent is its own space.¡± replied Fayde.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± Felicia scratched her head in a cute manner.

    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s just find the general quickly.¡±

    The two quietly made their way down the hallway and slowly opened each door. Each door they opened led to a different room, each with their own furnishings and purpose. Some of the rooms were quite strange and Fayde couldn¡¯t figure out what they might be used for. The purpose of most of the rooms seemed to be for leisure of some kind however, or perhaps entertainment of some kind. Every door he opened seemed to be a room more exaggerated than the last.

    ¡°This is reminds me of a house of horrors..¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a house of horrors? It sounds scary¡­¡± Felicia asked with some concern.

    ¡°Nothing, nevermind. let¡¯s just hurry up!¡±

    Once they finally made it towards the end of the hall, there was only one door remaining. It was fancier than the rest and very ornately decorated.

    ¡°This has got to be it, are you ready?¡±

    Felicia nodded enthusiastically and Fayde opened up the door and rushed in with his sword at the ready. He was immediately met with a very frightening scene. A naked Elf was admiring himself in an overly large mirror. The Elf was equally as surprised at the intrusion of the two, but once Fayde¡¯s and the Elf¡¯s eyes met, there was a look of shock.

    ¡°Glafandal!¡±

    ¡°YOU!¡±

    ¡°Good! I was just thinking about when I would get to see you again! As they say, enemies truly do meet on a narrow road you bastard!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be dead, what the hell are those shapeshifters doing!? Are they trying to rebel?¡± Glafandal couldn¡¯t conceal his anger.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, you won¡¯t be alive to find out.¡±

    At that moment, Fayde¡¯s power exploded. The General hadn¡¯t let him down and his power poured into Fayde filling Fayde with the power of the Void. It was only a temporary power boost, but the power he received from the General was immense. It was only a shred of the power he once possessed, but it was greater than Fayde expected.

    Glafandal was shocked once more at Fayde¡¯s explosion of power and he fearfully stepped backwards. Noticing his life was in danger, he immediately began summoning his own magic to defend himself from Fayde¡¯s attack.

    ¡°You are no match for me now Glafandal!¡±

    Fayde blasted a beam of Void energy repeatedly against Glafandal¡¯s defenses. The scene was quite awkward due to Glafanda¡¯s nakedness, but this didn¡¯t dissuade Fayde and Felicia from acting. Felicia immediately rushed Glafandal while Fayde blasted him with ¡®Void Beams¡¯. Glafandal could just barely block the ¡®Void Beams¡¯ with his magic, but it left him strained. With Felicia closing in, he jumped back while blocking Fayde¡¯s attack and attempting to use his magic to strike at Felicia.

    ¡°Do you really think you can take your eyes off me?¡±

    The Void energy grew thick around Fayde as he summoned dozens of ¡®Void Blades¡¯ which crossed dimensions to strike at Glafandal, catching him off guard. Although Glafandal had fought Fayde before, Fayde was much stronger than previously with the aid of the black dragon¡¯s power. Glafandal attempted to defend himself from the dimensional blade strike, but he could only block a few. There were just too many, and there seemed to be an endless number of sword strikes slashing at him.

    Glafandal dropped to his knees bloodied right at the moment Felicia jumped with her hammer raised upwards. She slammed her warhammer down with incredible strength, activating one of her powerful skills. Glafandal looked upwards in fear as he attempted to draw upon his remaining reserves of magic and braced himself for the impact. He was able to block some of the incoming damage, but the warhammer hit an incredible force which almost crushed him beneath it.

    ¡°Mystra has achieved victory in this battle, Kalina¡¯s general has been slain!¡±

    A strange robotic voice announced throughout the fragment the victory of Mystra, but it was too late for Glafandal.

    ¡°NO!!¡± Glafandal screamed as several dimensional blades pierced his body and one final blade cleanly removed his head.

    ¡°Mystra¡¯s general has been slain.¡±

    Another announcement sounded out surprising the elves who had been battling against the dark elves. The battle had just finished a moment before and was soon followed by another announcement before anyone could even celebrate.

    The entire fragment began to visibly quake, causing many of those currently within the fragment to trip and fall. They were not expecting such an outcome and were clueless to what was going on. Even the shapeshifters were uncertain, nothing like this had ever happened before.

    ¡°Fayde, what¡¯s going on?¡± Felicia asked before turning around to look at Fayde.

    Fayde was clutching his head and visibly in pain. His eyes were closed and his eyelids were quivering like he was struggling with something.

    ¡°Fayde! What¡¯s wrong!?¡±

    Felicia rushed to Fayde¡¯s side and grabbed onto him, but Fayde didn¡¯t answer. Fayde was struggling due to the immense power that was currently flowing into his mind. It was almost like a dam that had been broken, causing the Void energy within him to pour out like a flood. He screamed, falling to his knees and panting. It was an incredible amount of pain, something he had felt before whenever an incredible amount of Void energy entered his body. It was remaking him internally in a way that he didn¡¯t quite understand. He could feel is inner body wriggling and churning, but he had no idea what was going on.

    Felicia was panicking and didn¡¯t know what to do, she tried to help Fayde stand but was blown away from him by some type of energy that surrounded him. Although Fayde was in extreme pain, his mind regained clarity and he was suddenly thrust into a strange place within his mind. There, he heard a gentle voice.

    ¡°Thank you Fayde.. Please, watch over my people.. And take care of my brother and sister. They are the last of my family¡­¡±

    The voice faded, and Fayde was filled with silence. But that wasn¡¯t the end. His body suddenly felt light and immaterial. He couldn¡¯t see what was going on, but he appeared within a strange and dark space. He was once more surrounded by the light of the stars.

 Volume 4 Chapter 13

    Fayde floated alone and in silence. The beauty of the endless and vast expanse would make one speechless. Everything, and yet nothing was there within his sight. It was dark, foreboding, lonely and cold. However, there was also the light and warmth of the stars. There were the planets and a plethora of other things to keep one company. How could any one person grasp such boundless and infinite potential? To Fayde, it was beyond his imagination. But he also felt that if he wished it so, then all could in fact be his.

    He resisted the temptation and forced himself to look away, and below he could see a shattered world. It was immense and yet so small. The world was barely holding itself together, although broken into many parts. Some were large, others tiny, miniscule even. They were all once part of the planet Earth. A strange and dense aura permeated many of those parts. The aura seemed magnificent and holy, but this was a facade. For deep within, Fayde could feel the darkness that was its true origin.

    ¡°Those must be the various fragments left of the Earth. They are the domains of the Divinities. Their so called holy planes, heavens or dominions. Whatever they want to call them, it¡¯s all the same. I can¡¯t even imagine what kind of arrogance it would require for one to attempt to seize godhood, but these false gods are truly audacious beyond words. They are immature and foolish children playing as gods.¡±

    He could see their nature clearly, but it seemed that their inner desires had been twisted and warped. Most likely while they may have thought they were in control of the power of the Void, in reality, it was the Void which controlled them. Only Fayde could understand this reality, because he himself felt the temptation that lurked somewhere deep within his thoughts. The Void was always present and Fayde could only continue to struggle with his will to ensure he remained always in control.

    ¡°Hmm, the dragon gave me his power and control over the fragment. It is a small piece, but it should have united with the fragment I already partially control. Unfortunately, I do not have full control over the fragment because the control orb was destroyed back then. It released the Void Power which had been trapped within. I was able to absorb much of it, but still some returned to the Earth. I can only imagine the implications of that and have been pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind for some time. However, the consequences¡­ I just don¡¯t know.¡±

    Fayde had too much on his mind as he floated above the shattered world, but he knew he couldn¡¯t remain for long. With his increase in the Void within him and his new knowledge of the fragments he received from Allein¡¯s older brother, it would only require a slight use of his power to return. Of course, he could only return to the fragments under his influence and couldn¡¯t yet enter the fragments of the Divinities. At least, not yet.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to go back.¡±

    Fayde used the power of the Void to open a dimensional rift in space and he stepped through it. This was an ability which wasn¡¯t as great as it seemed. He could only use it to return to the fragment which was now part of the original fragment he came from. It wasn¡¯t a power which would allow him to teleport across any distance. He only fully controlled that one small fragmented piece which had previously been under the control of the black dragon. And so, that is exactly where he returned to. Nonetheless, it was still quite amazing that he could use the ability to traverse from space back to the Earth, even if it could only be used to return to that one specific point.

    In the future, when Fayde had full control over more fragments, he could use this ability to travel between them.

    ¡°I¡¯m back! Hahahahaha.¡±

    Fayde laughed uproariously as if he were the only one there. Of course, he had just come from space so he had thought he was alone. He continued to laugh until he finally heard a slight coughing sound which interrupted his laughter. He was surprised and caught unaware. He had really been careless and hadn¡¯t paid slight attention to his surroundings.

    Of course, if anyone truly wished to harm him at that moment, it would be impossible. He was practically invincible in a fragment he controlled, unless of course it were a Divinity which were trying to harm him. However, it wasn¡¯t so simple for a Divinity to enter a fragment under the control of another. There would be consequences and the owner of the fragment would know immediately.

    ¡°Felicia? Err¡­ right.¡± Fayde said somewhat embarrassed at losing his cool.

    It wasn¡¯t every day that one could be freely floating in space in one moment, and then standing on the Earth in another. It was just too cool of a feeling for Fayde not to get overly excited. It was kind of like the first time he had used his powers to fly and showed off to all the Beastkin.

    ¡°Fayde? Are you okay¡­¡± Felicia asked with concern.

    Fayde nodded and then realized that there were many more people watching him with weird looks. It seemed that everyone had successfully been transported along with the fragment. He had already been told this would happen, but he was relieved to see that it was in fact so.

    ¡°Good, you are all here. I suppose we need to get the rest of the shapeshifters together.¡± Fayde brushed off their strange looks and pretended nothing happened.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Kerron, Branz, Laz, and a few other shapeshifters were present, they had been the ones to escort Fayde and Felicia when they infiltrated Mystra¡¯s war camp. As for the rest of the shapeshifters, they were initially fighting the Dark Elves in order to fool Mystra into thinking that they were aiding her. Because of this, the tens of thousands of shapeshifters were elsewhere.

    ¡°Are you guys listening?¡± asked Fayde, finally turning to observe his companions only to see them gaping at the sky above.

    ¡°Eh¡­¡±

    Felicia was confused at their actions and didn¡¯t know how to respond to their strange behavior.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Did you forget Felicia? The fragment we came from was entirely filled with darkness. There was no sky to speak of, or at least it wasn¡¯t visible, which is strange in and of itself. This is probably their first time seeing the sky in who knows how long.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh.. ¡° Felicia nodded her head, ¡°It must have been hard on them, but now they are finally free.¡±

    Branz and the others finally looked away from the sky and made an embarrassed expression.

    Branz chuckled and rubbed his head with his large bear paw, ¡°Yeah, hehe, it¡¯s been a long time. I don¡¯t think any of us ever thought we would be able to escape that place. To see a clear blue sky¡­ and the morning sun again, It¡¯s hard to believe it¡¯s real.¡±

    ¡°Where are the rest of the shapeshifters?¡± asked Fayde.

    Laz, who was still in his animal form, came closer to Fayde before answering, ¡°I know where they are. Although the fragment has returned to a different place in the original world, this fragment should be the same. The only difference is, where this fragment has returned to. It is somewhat complicated, but since the world was shattered I don¡¯t think it can ever be returned to its original form. This place was once apart of a large continent, but now it has been shifted to a different place and has connected with the fragment you come from creating something new. I don¡¯t know how this world will end up looking, it definitely won¡¯t ever be the same.¡±

    Fayde rubbed his chin which had grown some stubble, ¡°Hmm.. I always found it strange that the world seemed so small. No one seems even aware of what else might be out there. They only talk about the seven Northern kingdoms or the Empire in the south, but I never did hear mention of anything else. Even the sea is a place which not many venture out to. It is just too dangerous, but now I understand that there is another reason. There just isn¡¯t anything there and I guess that the knowledge of the people living here has been altered or perhaps they just simply no longer remember. Over generations, it has been forgotten or suppressed.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t get anywhere sitting here and wasting time, we should reunite with the rest of the shapeshifters.¡± said Kerron while shifting to his Human form.

    The others soon followed suit with loud growls.

    ¡°That never gets old.¡± mused Fayde. ¡°Maybe you should look away Felicia.¡±

    Felicia nodded and turned slightly red with embarrassment before turning around. Unfortunately, whenever the shapeshifters shifted between forms, it was impossible to keep their clothing in tact. Usually they would remove the clothing before shifting to their beast forms. Or at least, that was how it was done in the past. Being trapped on a dark and dreary fragment for who knows how long, it wasn¡¯t necessary to wear clothing usually. This would now become a concern once more.

    ¡°Maybe you guys should warn us before you change shape? It isn¡¯t so bad for me since we are all men here, but Felicia is another issue. Also, I don¡¯t know how well the sight of thousands of naked men and women shifting in the future will work out for everyone.¡±

    The shapeshifters chuckled when hearing that and nodded.

    ¡°Well, this is something we can settle at a later time. For now, we need to reunite with everyone and quickly move towards civilization. The wilderness is a home in its own way to us, but we aren¡¯t really the savage type. Many of us are quite refined, minus the naked aspect.¡± replied Laz cheekily.

    ¡°I am concerned though, will everyone truly be willing to follow me? Don¡¯t they see me as a Human that they despise?¡±

    ¡°It is the will of the General, his last will. Whether they like it or not, they will follow your lead from now on. It is the same for all of us. Our ancestors were once all Human anyway, even if we have long become something else. We have the same origin. That anger and distrust, there is good reason for it but at the same time, those who once oppressed us are all long gone.¡± replied Kerron.

    Branz scoffed and said in a deep voice,¡°All except those pieces of trash who call themselves divinities!¡±

    Laz nodded, ¡°Aye, those few are the last of them. They are also the worst of them. If your goal is surpassing them Fayde, then you can truly count on our support from the bottom of our hearts. We must get revenge, especially against that bitch Mystra!¡±

    ¡°I think, whether I want to or not, they are going to be my enemies. I haven¡¯t thought too much about it honestly, but I doubt they will be able to coexist with me. I don¡¯t think many of them know about me yet and I don¡¯t really understand the game that Mystra seems to be playing. I only know that it has something to do with the Void. If my guess is correct, then the others do not know about me. Mystra on the other hand, has known about me from the very beginning. This can only mean one thing, she is plotting something and it definitely has something to do with me and my connection with the Void.¡±

    Fayde sighed as he felt some pressure from the unknown.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Fayde, no matter what happens I will protect you!¡± chimed in Felicia while patting Fayde on his shoulder. She seemed very serious about her declaration.

    Fayde laughed at seeing how serious she seemed, ¡°Right, but who is going to protect you?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! I don¡¯t need anyone to protect me! Whoever gets in my way I will just smash with my hammer!¡±

    Felicia swung her hammer around swiftly to demonstrate her point.

    ¡°Yeah yeah. Stop wasting time you two lovebirds.¡± chided Branz before walking off.

    The others laughed and followed.

    ¡°Dammit, didn¡¯t I say it wasn¡¯t decided yet. Whatever!¡± Fayde shrugged it off while mumbling to himself. He then followed the others as they made their way through the brush and trees of the dense savannah like terrain.